THE GOG / MAGOG WAR & THE TREATY WITH DEATH & HELL

THE GOG / MAGOG WAR & THE TREATY WITH DEATH & HELL

Written By
S.R. Shearer




WAR

There is perhaps nothing as devastating in its impact on human lives than war. It strikes with the terrible, hideous force of a hurricane - churning, twisting, and smoldering as it comes. It overwhelms the psyche and stuns and shocks the senses. The old routines of life are swept away. Social institutions which seemed durable and steady disappear, family relationships dissolve - in an instant, all is gone. The Seventieth Week will be born of war and will die in war: specifically, the Gog/Magog War will initiate the great events of the Seventieth Week, and Armageddon will bring them to a close.
[Click here to see chart #3, last chapter]

In sheer size and scope, these two wars will dwarf all the conflicts which have preceded them. Indeed, the course and magnitude of both wars will stagger the imagination. Neither clash will be an isolated incident - the use of the Greek word polemos (Revelation 16:14) rather than the Greek word mache, clearly indicates this. Polemos signifies a campaign of some duration, while mache signifies a single, isolated battle. This distinction is observed by Trench (New Testament Synonyms), Thayer (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament), and Vincent (Word Studies in the New Testament).

In the popular mind, the Gog / Magog War and Armageddon have more often than not been confused as one rather than two wars, the tendency being to merge the Scriptures which detail the events of the Gog / Magog War with those of Armageddon. This confusion of the popular mind has been aided and abetted by pastors and teachers who should know better, but who, for reasons of timidity and fear, have seen fit to encourage this confusion or at the very least, to remain aloof from it.

THE FAILURE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE GOG / MAGOG WAR AND ARMAGEDDON IS NOT AN ACADEMIC FAILURE, BUT A FAILURE OF SPIRITUAL CONVICTION AND COURAGE FRAUGHT WITH REPERCUSSIONS WHICH ARE LADENED WITH POTENTIAL DISASTER FOR THE AMERICAN CHURCH.

Intellectually, the differentiation between the Gog / Magog War and Armageddon has long been made (please see below). Why then has this knowledge not filtered down from the seminaries - where it was first made - to the evangelical church in general? The answer to this question reveals a lot with regard to the spiritual condition of the church today. Why? - because when one finally admits to this difference, certain conclusions with regard to the United States and its involvement in the Middle East become inevitable - conclusions which the vast majority of American evangelicals are simply unprepared to accept.

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN
THE GOG / MAGOG WAR
AND ARMAGEDDON

But that such a distinction exists, there can be no doubt! As J. Dwight Pentecost, Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at Dallas Theological Seminary has pointed out, there are a number of considerations which make it clear that we are dealing with two great wars rather than one during the Tribulation.

In the Gog/Magog War, definite allies of Gog are mentioned as opposing Israel - "Magog," "Mescheck," "Tubal," "Gomer" (Turkey), Ethiopia, Libya, (see Ezekiel 38) and Egypt (see Daniel 11:42], while at Armageddon all nations are engaged against Jerusalem (Joel 3:2; Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 12:3; and 14:2).

Gog comes from the North (Ezek. 38:6, 15), while at Armageddon, the armies come from out of the whole earth.

Gog comes to take a spoil (Ezek. 38:11-12), while at Armageddon the nations of the earth assemble themselves together specifically to destroy the people of God.

Gog is the head of the armies at his invasion (Ezek. 38:15), but at Armageddon, the Beast is at the head of the invasion (Rev. 19:19).
There is a protest against Gog's invasion (Ezek. 38:13), but at Armageddon there is no such protest because all the nations of the earth have joined themselves with the Beast in his attack against Jerusalem.

Gog is overthrown by divine intervention through the convolutions of nature (Ezek. 38:22), but the armies at Armageddon are destroyed by the sword which goes out of Christ's mouth (Rev. 19:15).

Gog's armies array themselves in the open fields (Ezek. 39:5), while at Armageddon they are seen in the city of Jerusalem.

Gog's armies are destroyed outside of Jerusalem on the mountains and in the valleys (Ezek. 39:2-4), while the Beast and his armies are destroyed in the city of Jerusalem itself (Zech. 12:2; 14:2).

The Lord calls for assistance in executing judgment on Gog (Ezek. 38:21), while at Armageddon He is viewed as treading the winepress alone (Rev. 19:15; Isaiah 63:3-6).

The invasion by Gog will be sudden and will come with relatively little warning (Ezek. 38:11), while Armageddon will be no sudden and unexpected event.

1
Thus, as Dwight Pentecost has suggested,

"Two diverse movements (wars) must be acknowledged."2

Finally, it should also be noted in reference to "Gog/Magog" that this great conflict has nothing to do with the conflict described in Revelation 20:8; the war that is described there takes place AFTER the Millennium (Rev. 20:7), while the conflict which is described in Ezekiel and Isaiah (see citations above) clearly takes place BEFORE the Millennium. "Gog" is obviously a reference to an evil, angelic prince who possesses Satanic dominion over those nations which have arrayed themselves against Israel - much in the same way that the "Prince of Persia" and the "Prince of Gracia" (Greece) [described in Daniel with whom Michael, the archangel of God, fought] possess. Evidently, Gog will be loosed one final time after the Millennium (please see Revelation 20:7-8).

THE SEQUENCE OF
GOG / MAGOG & ARMAGEDDON

The Gog/Magog War will precede the Tribulation and will act as a catalyst for the great events of that period, while Armageddon will bring to a conclusion the events of the Seventieth Week [Again, please see chart #2 of Chapter 5] - an examination of the Scriptures which deal with this great event will yield no other result. To begin with, any fair reading of the passages which deal with the Gog/Magog War (Ezek. 37-39) will make it plain that this prophecy clearly cannot refer to any past event in Israel's history. Indeed, it should be obvious to anyone with a modicum of knowledge relative to the history of the Middle East that the details given to us from these Scriptures do not correspond to any invasion experienced by Israel. There have been invasions in the past which have wrought hardship on the land and the people of Israel, but none answer to the details given here. The fact is, no invasion of the past is sufficient to be the fulfillment of this prophecy - and this fact is attested to by almost all Orthodox Jewish scholars [who themselves consider these events to be as yet unfulfilled].

These passages, then, can only refer to some as yet future event in Israel's history - and this is clearly indicated by the phrase, "... in the latter years" (Ezek. 38:8) - but at what precise time in the future?

Ezekiel 37 deals with the restoration of the nation of Israel to her land. This is pictured as a gradual process, for the prophet sees the process of bone being joined to bone, tied together with sinews, clothed with skin - a process which took over fifty years from the founding of the World Zionist Movement in Basel in 1896 to its culmination on May 14, 1948, with the re-establishment of the state of Israel. It is a regathering in UNBELIEF, for the prophet observes that there is no life in the assembled carcass. Thus, the Gog/Magog War is seen as taking place sometime between the restoration of the state of Israel (1948) and the beginning of the Tribulation [i.e., the Seventieth Week]. Pentecost and Culver 3 agree, as does David L. Cooper. He writes,

"... it is utterly impossible to locate the fulfillment of this prediction after the Millennial Age. It cannot be placed at the beginning of the Millennium, nor at the end of the Tribulation. It must, therefore, be located (at the beginning) of the Tribulation, because there is no other logical place for it to occur since the three other dates are impossible ... There will (thus) be a time between now and the beginning of the Tribulation when (this attack will occur)."4

This thesis is substantiated by Ezekiel 39 when the prophet reveals that a full seven years will be needed to clear away the wreckage of the Gog/Magog War:

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons ... and they shall burn them with fire seven years ..." (Ezek. 39:9)

The seven years referred to here by Ezekiel could be none other than the seven years of the Tribulation period - since no such seven years will follow Armageddon; after Armageddon, the beasts of the field and the fouls of the air will clear away the wreckage - and that by divine direction and in a short period of time [Please see chapter 10]. Then the Millennium will begin - there is no seven year interval here. Thus, the Gog / Magog War will immediately precede the events of the Tribulation period (there is, as Cooper suggests, simply no other place to put it which will conform to the pertinent Scriptures) and initiate the great happenings of that era.

THE SCRIPTURAL IDENTITY
OF GOG AND MAGOG

After fixing the time sequence in which the Gog/Magog War will take place, the next problem is to identify the participants in this great war. J. Dwight Pentecost agrees. He writes,

"(One of the main) problem(s) ... (in any treatment of the Gog/Magog War) is to identify Gog and Magog, together with those nations allied with them."5

In the past, most Bible expositors have identified Gog and Magog as Russia and her socialist allies of eastern Europe - a popular view of things until the communist world was swept away between 1989 and 1991. Pentecost, Walvoord and others certainly were of that view. 6 But while there is still much to suggest that Russia may indeed ally herself with Libya, Ethiopia and Egypt (which, unlike Russia, are specifically mentioned in the prophecy) against Israel at a date yet in the future, it may also be true that such an interpretation was more the result of fundamentalist (evangelical) political pre-dispositions against Russia than of any real Biblical insight. Still, there was more than just a political pre-disposition of mind against Russia at play here - the truth is, "Rosh" [please see Ezekiel 38:2-3 (Revised version)] does bear an uncanny and bizarre similarity to Russia; "Mesheck" [Ezekiel 38:2-3] sounds a lot like Moscow; and "Tubal" [Ezekiel 38:2-3] sounds very strangely like Tobolsk. The tendency to conclude that these designations signified a link with Russia seemed quite naturally to present itself; it seemed irresistible - even compelling.

The Transcaucasian Region (between the Caspian & the Black Seas) - the extreme northern horizon of the Hebrews (Ezek. xxxviii. 15; xxxix. 2); the place of Magog's dwelling. This is where Mescheck and Tubal are mentioned as being located in the Assyrian inscriptions - encompassing what is now known as Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Iran, and Turkey.


Pentecost thought so. He writes,

"The prince of Rosh is called Gog in Ezekiel 38:3. It is to be understood (no other real explanation given) that Gog is the name given to the leader of this confederacy and his land is called Magog, which is composed of three parts: Rosh, Mesheck and Tubal (i.e., Russia, Moscow, and Tobolsk)."7

Pentecost then cites Gaebelein8 Bauman and Kelly to substantiate his conclusion, and then confidently continues -

"The identification of Rosh as modern Russia would (therefore) seem to be well authenticated."9

The textual problem, however, in identifying Russia with Gog and Magog was that those who did so were forced to extend the range of those nomads identified in the ancient texts as "Rosh," "Mesheck," and "Tubal" far beyond (and to the north) of those areas where the ancients had originally located them (i.e., around that area which is today called Iran and the regions which encompass Turkey, Iraq and the Black and Caspian Seas). The truth is, however, the ancients never believed that these tribes (i.e., nations) extended north of the Black and Caspian Seas - NEVER! Indeed, Bauman admits as much when he writes,

"'Rosh' was a designation for the tribes then north of the Taurus mountains (i.e., in the Caucuses area) ..."10

The Biblical and Theological Dictionary confirms Bauman. It reads,

"Magog ... signifies ... the general name of the northern nations around the Caucasus ... (pg. 417)"11

And finally, in the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, we read:

"A stricter geographical location would place Magog's dwelling between Armenia and Media, perhaps on the shores of the Araxes ... filling there the extreme northern horizon of the Hebrews (Ezek xxxviii. 15, xxxix. 2). This is the way Mesheck and Tubal, are often mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions (Mushku and Tabal, Gk. Moschoi and Tibarenoi)"12

Thus, while most expositors were still disposed to extend the boundaries of the tribal regions referred to in Ezekiel 38 and 39 to areas far beyond the Caucasus (i.e., to the Volga and northward), it's also true that there is no necessity in doing so. And there's something more: the term "Rosh" (which many took to be an ancient rendition of "Russia") may not have even been a geographic or ethnic designation at all - as Kelly suggests, it had another more common meaning in the ancient texts; it was -

"... a common (Biblical) appellative (which meant) 'head' or 'chief' ..."13

One thing remains, however - a fact common to all the nations referred to in the ancient texts: they are all today Islamic nations - and that's true whether we are talking about Libya and Egypt in the south or Azerbaijani, Checnia, etc. in the Caucuses to the far north.

The point to be made in all this is a simple one: while Pentecost, Kelley, Bauman, etc. may indeed be right about a future alliance between the Islamic world and Russia (which is directed against Israel), another very real possibility presents itself, and one which is more in tune with the political realities of today's world; specifically, that the Bible is pointing to a coming conflict between a resurgent and very militant Islamic fundamentalism on the one hand (one which has captured for itself Egypt, Libya, Iran14 , and most of the other Islamic states), and Israel on the other hand - a struggle which will invariably draw into it's churning vortex the Western World and even the United States: a "clash of civilizations" as Professor Samuel Huntington of Harvard has suggested. Such an interpretation would conform easily to the Biblical text - in fact, even more so inasmuch as the ancient boundaries of these tribes and peoples would not have to be so unnaturally stretched northward to make them conform to Pentecost's, Bauman's and Kelly's interpretation.

Specifically, what we are suggesting here is an interpretation which would make "Magog," "Rosh," "Tubal" and "Mesheck," conform to the boundaries of the ancient texts, which would place these tribes and peoples in an area which nowadays encompasses Iran, Iraq, Turkey [indeed, Gomer and Beth-Togarmah (Togarmah) (which are specifically named in Ezekiel 38:6) are the ancient names of the people now living in Turkey], Kurdistan, and the Islamic states of the Caucuses - all this in addition to the southern nations mentioned also in the same texts: Libya, Egypt, and the rest of the Arabic states which surround Israel (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) and then which swing westward along the northern rim of Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, etc.).

This is exactly what former Secretary of State James Baker is afraid of - a three-way "civilization war," one which today has already started in the Balkans - one which already involves the Western World (Slovenia, Croatia), the Islamic World (Bosnia, Albania {and to a lesser extent, even Turkey}), and the Orthodox world (Serbia), and one with the potential of spreading into the Caucasus region, Central Asia and eventually into the Middle East itself - despite the efforts of NATO and the Dayton Accords to stop it. As it spreads, it will draw in Europe, and through Europe, America; the Turks and eventually the other Muslim nations of the Middle East, etc. - and as it expands, it will intensify as the hostility of the one plays off on the fury of the others - barbarity begetting barbarity as each civilization's radical "champions" feed off the frenzy of the others - ratcheting each ever upward in a spiraling, widening circle of violence leading to the further radicalization of each respective civilization (i.e., Islamic, Western, and Orthodox) - and careening finally into catastrophe in the Middle East as a frustrated Islamic world - one which is bound to come off on the loosing end of any such struggle (and one which is inclined to blame these failures on Israel and the "Jewish lobby" in the United States) - turns its wrath on Israel.

GOG / MAGOG - BACKGROUND

The events of the Gog/Magog War are described in Ezekiel 38 and 39; Daniel 11:40-45; Matthew 24:4-21; and Revelation 12. A clear understanding of this great struggle can only emerge after all these pieces [the above cited verses] are fitted properly together. The examination of only Ezekiel 38 and 39 will yield but an incomplete picture of the great events of this period. This much, however, can be gleaned from Ezekiel: the northern nations of the alliance arrayed against Israel (i.e., "Magog," "Mesheck," "Tubal," "Rosh") shall descend on Israel in the "latter days" to "take a spoil." That it will be a massive invasion is clearly foretold by Ezekiel 38:4. Persia [the land that is today occupied by modern Iran and Iraq] will join in the attack. Ethiopia and Libya (ancient lands which today bear these same names] and others will evidently coordinate with the northern confederation in an attack from the south. There will be a protest from Sheba and Dedan [the ancient names of the lands of the Arabian Peninsula] as well as from the merchants of Tarshish [evidently the Western trading nations]. But, having said this, little else can be gleaned from Ezekiel concerning the Gog/Magog War except that Gog will be almost totally annihilated, but evidently not by God acting alone, but - as J. Dwight Pentecost has suggested - with the help of other nations:

"And I will call for a sword against him (i.e., Gog) throughout all my mountains (the Gentile nations) ..." (Ezek 38:21)

But what nations? What about Israel? How will the war unfold? These and other questions are left unanswered by Ezekiel. Instead, Ezekiel passes over these questions, bypassing the rest of the Tribulation period, and moves directly into a picture of a restored Israel during the Millennium. We must take up the rest of the Gog/Magog story (where Ezekiel left off) in Daniel chapter eleven. [Please see Daniel and the Latter Days (Moody Press) by Robert Duncan Culver for an excellent treatment of these and other passages.] Daniel 11:36-39 begins the prophecy with a description of the Antichrist and compares him with Antiochus Epiphanes [the Greek (by ethnicity) not Syrian ruler of the ancient Selussian Empire] who desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem in the Second Century B.C. (Daniel 11:21-35). Among other things, he (Antichrist) is described as a man who shall corrupt with flatteries (Daniel 11:32), and a man infatuated with military power and glory. Daniel goes on to say:

"And at the end time [same as "in the latter years" - cf. Daniel 11:40 and Ezekiel 38:8] the king of the South [the leader of the southern confederation, i.e., Egypt, Libya, etc.] will collide with him (1) [i.e., the Antichrist - please see Daniel and the Latter Days by Robert Culver], and the king of the North [the leader of the northern confederation, i.e., Magog, Iran, etc.] will storm against him (2) [again, the Antichrist] with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he [Antichrist] will enter countries, overflow them, and pass through.

"He [i.e., the Antichrist] will also enter the Beautiful Land [i.e., Israel] (3), and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon [i.e., that portion of land east of the river Jordan which sweeps in a large arc (with the Dead Sea as the fulcrum) from about 30 miles northeast of the Dead Sea southward to about 50 miles due south, southeast of the same sea - a barren and desolate wilderness devoid of any significant vegetation. Mt. Nebo is located in this area where it is reputed that Jeremiah hid the "Arc of the Covenant" in order to prevent its capture by the Babylonians - and there are some scholars today (mainly Orthodox Jews) who believe that it is still there (numbers 35)].
"Then he [i.e., Antichrist] will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.

"But he [i.e., Antichrist] will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels.

"But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him [i.e., Antichrist], and he [Antichrist] will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.

"And he [Antichrist] will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he [Antichrist] will come to his end, and no one will help him." (Daniel 11:40-45)

As described here, the Gog/Magog War will be initiated by a "push" by the king of the south (i.e., the leader of the southern confederation, probably the leader of Egypt) against the Antichrist, whose forces are at least partially located in the "glorious land" [Israel] - probably as a result of a defense pact between Israel and Babylon, the nation which he leads (1). Shortly thereafter, the king of the north [Gog] - leading the combined forces of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, etc - will launch his attack (2), and between them, the king of the north and the king of the south will attempt to trap the combined forces of Israel and Babylon in a giant pincer movement. The attack of the king of the north [Gog] has been referred to in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Now new detail is given. Ezekiel 38 and 39 had mentioned the fact that Ethiopia and Libya would join Magog and Iran in this attack; now a third nation is added - Egypt (Daniel 11:42).

THE TREATY WITH DEATH
& HELL; THE DEFENSE PACT
BETWEEN ISRAEL AND BABYLON

Moreover, in Ezekiel 38 and 39, the object of Gog's attack was Israel; but in Daniel 11 the object of Gog's attack is the Antichrist. What is this? - the obvious answer is that the Antichrist [Babylon] and Israel are apparently in league with each other. The Bible says:

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Dan. 9:27a)

The living Bible translates this passage thus:

"This king [Antichrist] will make a seven year TREATY with the people [Israel], but after half that time, he will break his pledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and their offerings; then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the enemy [Antichrist] shall utterly defile the sanctuary of God [which is to say, he shall commit the Abomination of Desolation]." (Daniel 9:27a LB)

Concerning this treaty "made with the many for one week," J. Dwight Pentecost writes:

"According to Daniel 9:26-27 the prince of the Roman empire (i.e., the West, called Babylon) will make a covenant with Israel for a seven year period. This covenant evidently ... guarantees Israel's integrity [is a defense pact] ... [and] also is a Satanic imitation of the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (see chapter 3 - this book) which ... [guaranteed] Israel title deed to the land. This action is pictured by John [in the Apocalypse] (Rev. 16:2) as a rider going forth to conquer [as the first horseman in the Apocalypse] ... This condition exists for three and one-half years, after which the covenant is broken by the ... [Antichrist]."15

The treaty will be in the form of a defense pact between Israel and Prophetic Babylon and will be directed against Israel's enemies - most likely a coalition of Islamic fundamentalist states in the Middle East. The Scripture calls this agreement between Israel and Prophetic Babylon as "YOUR COVENANT WITH DEATH" and " YOUR AGREEMENT WITH HELL:"

"Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, ye ... men that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
"Because ye have said, We have made a COVENANT WITH DEATH, AND WITH HELL (Prophetic Babylon) are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us ...
"(But) ... your COVENANT WITH DEATH shall be disannulled, and your AGREEMENT WITH HELL shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." (Isaiah 28:14-15, 18)

Why does the Bible use such strong language with regard to this covenant? - because it is an abomination to God for His people to trust in anything but the hand of God! It is a fearful thing for the people of God [be that people Israel or the church] to trust in gentile world power. God calls it "harlotry!"

The consummation of this treaty will signify the beginning of the Seventieth Week - the Tribulation period! Concerning this matter, Sir Robert Anderson writes:

"... the Seventieth Week [the seven year period of the Tribulation] will be a definite period of time, of which the beginning, the middle, and the end are definitely marked [by certain well defined events (please see chart #3, last chapter)]. [Just as the beginning of the first sixty-nine weeks were signified] ... not by the return of the Jews from Babylon, nor yet by the rebuilding of their Temple, but by the SIGNING OF THE PERSIAN DECREE [TREATY] which restored ... [them], so also the beginning of the Seventieth Week will date not from their restoration to Judea [May 14, 1948], nor yet from the future rebuilding of their shrine, but from the SIGNING OF THE [DEFENSE] TREATY BY THE COMING PRINCE [ANTICHRIST]."16

[link to www.antipasministries.com]