IS EZEKIEL 38 & 39 A PRE ARMAGEDDON INVASION OF ISRAEL?

Magog – Zondervan Atlas of the Bible

Do you remember the challenge question from a previous article? Here it is in so many words:

Can you find any nations listed in the Old Testament prophets that Christ physically judges upon His return that are not located in the Middle East?

I asked this question because prophecy teachers know the Old Testament prophetic books list the nations Christ judges upon His return by name. They also know they’re all located in the Middle East. That’s not in dispute. However, in order to make these passages support their Western Antichrist theories, some have imagined that there will be a giant war in which the West will wipe out Islam after which a Western Antichrist from Europe will rise to power. This war, they say, takes place in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

As a result of this claim, they have to maintain the position that all the literal references in the Old Testament to these Middle Eastern nations are actually just allegorical names of European nations because, after all, we’re waiting for a European Antichrist. Where is the biblical evidence for this? Did God lie to His prophets when He told them the names of these nations? Does this reasoning make sense to you?

Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. [Amos 3:7 NASB]

This is a worst-case scenario of assuming what you’re trying to prove.

The Battle of Gog of Magog

If you’ve spent any time browsing prophecy web sites in the past year, you’ve probably seen an increasing number of references to Ezekiel 38 and 39, or what has generally been called the Battle of Gog of Magog. The reason for this is that many prophecy teachers believe these chapters tell of a pre-Armageddon invasion of Israel from the north led by Russia, which will ultimately result in Islam’s destruction paving the way for a Western Antichrist.

With recent events concerning Russia and Ukraine, many believe Russia, or Magog, is gathering her allies for this invasion and that Vladimir Putin, or Gog of Magog, is getting ready to lead this invasion. We’re going to examine this popular view by looking at a few passages in these two chapters and by consulting respected, scholarly Bible maps.

Here are the questions for us:

• Is Ezekiel 38-39 a pre-Armageddon invasion of Israel?
• Is Vladimir Putin Gog of Magog?
• Is Vladimir Putin the Antichrist?
• Is Magog in Russia?
• Full article at  http://p2alm.com/2014/11/16/is-ezekiel-38-39-a-pre-armageddon-invasion-of-israel/