The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Is Ezekiel 38-39 Armageddon?

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Questions and debate among students of Bible prophecy over if Ezekiel 38-39 is the Battle of Armageddon comes across my inbox frequently. Fortunately, The Herald of Hope website, an Australian Bible prophecy ministry, presents a excellent 10-point comparison of what the Bible is pretty clearly describing as two separate battles — the Ezekiel 38-39 Gog-Magog Battle and the Battle of Armageddon.

Question

Some commentators interpret the last-days invasion of Israel described in Ezekiel 38-39 as the battle of Armageddon, while others believe it is a separate invasion by Russian-led Muslims. Which view is correct?

Comparison

Some commentators have confused the invasion of Israel by Gog, from the land of Magog (Russia), as described in Ezekiel 38-39, with the final battle to be fought at Armageddon, as described in Rev. 16:16. The Bible makes it quite clear that there are two invasions of Israel during the Day of the LORD, otherwise called the Great Tribulation. These invasions have different participants, and have an entirely different purpose. Joel describes BOTH conflicts separately and indicates that Armageddon is AFTER the Russian/Muslim invasion and Israel’s repentance (see Joel 2 and 3). Ezekiel’s prophecy explains the rise of Islam, and cannot be Armageddon for the following reasons:

1) The invasion described by Ezekiel involves only a limited number of nations which are named. They are Meshech and Tubal from the land of Magog (Russia), Persia (Iran), Togarmah (Turkey), Libya, and Ethiopia (Sudan in our day) with protests from “the merchants of Tarshish and the young lions thereof” (Britain and USA etc) and “Sheba and Dedan” (Arabian Peninsula). The invaders are Muslim nations led by Russia, whereas the final battle to be fought at Armageddon will involve “the kings of the earth and of the whole world” (Rev.16:14; Joel 3:1).

2) There are different leaders in these two invasions. The first invasion is led by Gog from the land of Magog (Russia), while Armageddon is orchestrated by Antichrist who is the final ruler of the Roman Empire (EU).

3) A large component of the armies at Armageddon will come from “the kings of the east”, and their number is stated as 200 million and is said to come from the east beyond the Euphrates, whereas the Russian-led invasion is described by Joel as “the northern army” (Joel 2:20). Muslim nations couldn’t raise an army of this size.

4) After the Russian/Muslim invasion one sixth of the invaders will be driven into Siberia, “a land barren and desolate with his face toward the east sea” (Joel 2:20), but there will be no place for the armies to escape from Armageddon. Those surviving will actually be gathered to Jerusalem for final judgment as “sheep” or “goats” (Matt. 25:31-46).

5) The armies at Armageddon will fill the land of Israel and reach Jerusalem (Zech. 14:2) and “the valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:2), whereas the Russian/Muslim army is destroyed on “the mountains of Israel” (Ezek.39:4). There is nothing to indicate they will reach Jerusalem.

6) Armageddon will see the visible appearance of Christ sweeping through the armies of the kings of the earth, who will be slain by the sword that proceeds from His mouth (Rev. 19:15), but the northern army of Russians and Muslims will be slain by an earthquake, disunity (they will slay each other), disease, hail stones, and fire and brimstone. At Armageddon the Lord says, “Of the people there were none with me” (Isa. 63:1-6), but in the northern invasion God uses natural agencies. They are totally different scenes.

7) The purpose of these invasions is quite different. Armageddon is to bring the judgment of God on the Gentile nations led by Antichrist and to deliver Israel who will be in grave physical danger, whereas the Russian/Muslim invasion is intended to bring Israel to repentance.

8) To describe Ezekiel 38-39 as Armageddon is totally inconsistent with the message of Ezekiel. His commission was exclusively to Israel, whereas Armageddon is the final rebellion of the Gentile powers. Ezekiel was told, “Thou art NOT sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel” (Ezek. 3:5). Daniel’s prophecies, however, are essentially about the “times of the Gentiles.”

If we trace the message of Ezekiel through his 48 chapters, he describes Israel’s sin and the glory of God departing from the Temple in his own day. This is followed by prophecies which have already been fulfilled by the Babylonians, and the final segment, from chapter 34 to 48, describes events of the last days which bring Israel to repentance, and sees the glory of God return to a rebuilt Temple in the Millennial Kingdom. There is nothing in Ezekiel’s prophecy about the final judgment of Antichrist and the Gentile nations but only God’s response when Israel repents (Ezek. 39:22-29; Joel 2:20). The purpose of the Russian/Muslim invasion is to bring Israel to repentance.

9) Since the conversion of Israel occurs at the Russian/Muslim invasion (Ezek.39:22), and Israel has “the testimony of Jesus Christ” at the midpoint of the 7-year Tribulation (Rev. 12:17) when she is driven into the wilderness for the last 1,260 days, then the Russian/Muslim invasion must occur in the first half of the Tribulation. It cannot be before the Rapture or there would be no Jews here for the Tribulation. They would become part of the Church and all be raptured.

10) The reason why some commentators have confused these two conflicts is because they have assumed that Israel repents when Christ returns to earth, but Israel will then be a saved nation and looking for the Lord when He comes. It will be too late to repent when Christ appears in judgment. They will say, “Lo, this is our God: we have waited for him, and he will save us” (Isa.25:9). He would not rescue a nation that was still rejecting Messiah!

Additional Thought

I’d like to add an eleventh point beyond the Aussie’s article that Ezekiel 39:9 states that the Gog-Magog Battle will supply Israel with seven years worth of fuel and verse 12 states that Israel will take seven months to bury the dead. As Armageddon ends with Jesus’ Second Coming, the Gog-Magog Battle must be a separate incident. It is also no coincidence that the Tribulation lasts seven years, placing the date of the Gog-Magog Battle at the very beginning of this upcoming time period.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

11 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • That is correct. Also…Psalm 83 will probably occur a short time before the Gog-Magog Battle.

    Nathan- Do you think the Psalm 83 Battle will also occur after the Rapture or before?

  • Because of the imminent return of Jesus Christ, I’d speculate after the Rapture. Most likely if there is a Psalm 83 battle, the Gog-Magog battle will follow very soon after, and then the covenant with the Antichrist.

  • But what about the signing of the peace agreement giving Israel 3.5 years of “peace”? How can they sign an agreement that kicks off the Tribulation, then get the Ez 38 war? I know that God will protect Israel, so is that counted as “peace”? KPB

  • greetings from jon hartman
    gogmagog happens AFTER the rapture cuz:1. God is once again returned his attention to isreal 2. God is dealing with the nations in judgement 3. Isreal is in relativve peace. It happens BEFORE the tribulation 1. 7yrs for burning fuel 2. No mention of a temple or antichrist.3. It would pave the way for a peace treaty

  • Ha, noone of those bible references speak of what you say.

    I have seen many, claiming and claiming, where are those books of the bible? what are your historical references?

    Do you really think i am so uneducated that i would swallow your false claims?

    Now here you have things that arent in the bible in reality:
    -7 year tribulation
    -Covenant with antichrist
    -Building of the temple to the satan
    -Escape style “rapture”

    These guys know that, thats why they need to make those false claims.

  • So a more sure word to unbelievers to watch for would be the battle of Gog-Magog, and THEN the signing of the peace treaty with Israel.

    Thank you for clarifying these events and their order.

  • THE END RESULT OF THIS BATTLE IN EZEKIEL IS THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL TO GOD AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD.

    THEREFORE, THERE IS NO WAY THAT THIS BATTLE CAN TAKE PLACE BEFORE THE ANTICHRIST OR IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS REIGN. IT CAN ONLY BE THE RESULT OF CHRIST COMING BACK TO RESTORE ISRAEL AND SET THINGS RIGHT IN THE WORLD.

    Simply read these verses and you will have to conclude that this is the case…

    Ezekiel 38:16 …and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog."

    38:23 "I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD."

    39:6-7 "And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD. "My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

    39:13 "Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I glorify Myself," declares the Lord GOD.

    39:7 "My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

    39:21-22 "And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. "And the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward.

    39:25 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26 "They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.

    39:27 "When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 "Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer.

    39:29 "I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.

    • In the Ezekiel 38 war, SOME nations come against Israel, some sit it out; in the Armageddon war, ALL nations come against Israel; Christ does not return until the Armageddon war; I look forward to reading your thoughts after your contemplation of the Ezekiel verses and the Revelation verses.

  • It is often speculated the "identity" of the rider on the white horse with being the Antichrist (agreed, in that he wears a "crown", he is an anti-Christ Spirit but seemingly not the Antichrist himself). I would associate the ring leader as the Caliph leading the armies of the Islamic caliphate. So often many stop there, not "identifying" the following three horses and horsemen but only "describe" the remaining three as to their judgements they inflict. If you speculate one, I believe one can speculatively identify the remaining three as well by simply paralleling the passage in Revelation 6:1-9 with the passage in Ezekiel 38:1-6. Let's look at the passages with the understanding that the "hook" actually means "bit"… view my article: Identity of the Four Horses and Horsemen Unleashed Prior to the Apocalypse.

    • I think the rider on the white horse with a bow and no arrows is a coalition of leaders using “diplomacy” (no arrows to fight) as their weapons; mandates might include lockdowns, food rations, property theft, vaccines, engineered food, and others the coalition might use before war breaks out (the red horse).

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