Simeon Western
The Rise of Russia Part 2
In our last article, we sought to set a context and a framework for the study of the Russian Islamic invasion of Israel during the tribulation period. We established from Ezekiel 38 that we believe the battle occurs in the first half of the tribulation period. I was surprised to hear from a family member recently that a well-known Bible prophecy teacher, who is quite sound on many areas of Bible prophecy, teaches that he is not sure if the Ezekiel 38-39 battle happens before the tribulation or during the tribulation. I answered that it is inconceivable that it would take place before the tribulation as Ezekiel makes it very clear that this battle happens when Israel feels safe and has disarmed (See Ez. 39:8,11 & 12). Israel certainly does not feel safe at the present time, being surrounded by hostile, Islamic neighbors who continually call for her utter annihilation (e.g., Iran). Nor has Israel in any way disarmed. Israel is a major military power despite her small population. The false sense of security will come when Israel signs the peace treaty with the Antichrist marking the start of the seven-year tribulation period (Dan. 9:27). It is highly likely that disarmament will be one of Antichrist’s terms which Israel will agree to, leaving her vulnerable to Russia’s attack in the first half of the tribulation as described in Ezekiel 38-39.
Here’s a reminder of the outline we are working with for Ezekiel 38:
I. The Invaders in this Battle (Vs. 1-6)
II. The Invasion of this Battle (Vs. 7-9)
III. The Intention in this Battle (Vs. 10-13)
IV. The Interrogation about this Battle (Vs. 14-17)
V. The Intervention in this Battle (Vs. 18-23)
In this article let’s begin considering the invaders in this battle described in Ezekiel 39:1-6. There is both what I would call the principal invader (Russia) (Vs. 1-4) and the participating invaders (Russia’s coalition) (Vs. 5-6). We will consider the coalition that joins Russia in the next article but for now, let’s prove from the text that Russia as the principal invader (Vs. 1-4) is in view. Russia is referred to as “Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal”. This is undoubtedly a reference to Russia. There are at least three solid arguments that support the Russia interpretation.
1. The Linguistic Argument. A study of the title God uses when addressing this invader points to Russia.
➢ The word ‘Gog’ appears to be a title like ‘Pharaoh’ so saying “Gog and Magog” would be similar to saying “Pharaoh and Egypt”. Wilhelm Gesenius (1786-1842) said in his Hebrew-English lexicon that Gog is “undoubtedly the Russians.”
➢ Next, we have reference to “the land of Magog”. Magog was the second son of Japheth (Gen. 10:1-2), one of the three sons of Noah. According to Louis Bauman in his book Russian Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy, “his descendants seem to have inhabited exclusively the region of the Caucasus and of northern Armenia.” Jerome stated that the Jews of his day held that Magog was a general designation for the numerous Scythian tribes. Josephus also identified the name with the Scythians. The Scythians were inhabitants of Scythia or what we know today as modern-day Russia and are mentioned by Paul in the Bible (See Col. 3:11). John Walvoord explains, “Magog is best identified with the Scythians, a people descended from Magog. The ancient historian Josephus makes the identification and we have no reason to question it. The Scythians apparently lived immediately to the north of what was later to be the land of Israel, then some of them emigrated north, going all the way to the Arctic Circle. In other words, their posterity was scattered precisely over the geographical area that today is called Russia.” (Walvoord, The King of the North Article 27/8/2007, p. 3) Interestingly, the ancient Scythians, like their modern counterparts, were a warlike people who struck fear and terror into the hearts of their enemies with their lightening attacks on horseback (see illustration).
➢ The phrase “chief prince” also points to the identity of Russia. The word ‘chief’ comes from the Hebrew word ‘rosh’. Wilhelm Gesenius (Hebrew-English lexicon author) declared that ‘Rosh’ was a designation for the tribes then north of the Taurus mountains, dwelling in the neighborhood of the Volga, and he held that in this name and tribe we have the first trace in history of the ‘Russ’ or Russian nation.
➢ Then we come to the words “Meshech and Tubal”. Gesenius identified “‘Meshech’ as Moscow, the capital of modern Russia in Europe. ‘Tubal’ he identified as Tobolsk, the earliest province of Asiatic Russia to be colonized, and, also, the name of the city wherein Peter the Great built the old fortress after the pattern of the Kremlin at Moscow. Moscow bespeaks Russia in Europe, and Tobolsk bespeaks Russia in Asia.” (D. Cloud Ezekiel Commentary p. 244)
David Sorenson in his Understanding the Bible Commentary summarizes the linguistic evidence for Russia well: “The clues presented indicate that Magog, Meshech, and Tubal were areas to the north in the region of the Caspian and Black Seas. In modern geography, they would represent southern Russia or the southern republics of the old Soviet Union. Some have gone so far as to suggest that Meshech was the ancient predecessor of Moscow. There is also evidence that Tubal is the ancient name for the more modern city of Tobolsk (once known as Stalingrad).”
2. The Geographic argument. The geographical location of the primary attacker also points clearly to Russia. The prophecy identifies the geographical origin of this aggressor against Israel as being in “the north parts” (38:15; 39:2). The phrase has the idea of “the uttermost north” according to grammar experts. So, this attack will come from the far north of Israel. There is only one power to the extreme north of Israel and that is Russia! David Cloud writes, “Regardless of the meaning of the name of Gog and Magog, Ezekiel tells us exactly where this enemy of Israel lives – to the north of Israel. And Ezekiel doesn’t merely say “north.” He says Gog’s place is in “the north parts” which has the idea of “the uttermost north”. A quick reference to a modern map reveals only one great power to the extreme north of Israel and that is Russia.” (D Cloud, Ezekiel Commentary, p. 245) Dr. John Walvoord adds, “If one takes any map of the world and draws a line north of the land of Israel, he will inevitably come to the nation Russia. As soon as the line is drawn to the far north beyond Asia Minor and the Black Sea it is in Russia and continues to be in Russia for many hundreds of miles all the way to the Arctic Circle. Russia today spreads east and west some 6,000 miles, and one cannot escape Russia if he goes north of the Holy Land.” (The King of the North Article 27/8/2007, p. 2)
3. The Logistics Argument. The size of Gog’s army also points to Russia. It has a fearsome number of troops and formidable weaponry. The weaponry is described in verse 4, 5b. The huge cache of weapons is further highlighted in 39:9-10 where it is revealed they will be burning the weapons for 7 years after the conflict. This means the burning of the weapons will continue even into the start of the Millennium! The soldiery is described in verse 6, 9, 15. The massive numbers of soldiers is again highlighted in 39:11-16 which describes the huge aftermath of the battle and the fact it will take 7 months to bury the slain. Currently Russia is ranked as the world’s fifth largest army with an active personnel of over 1 million and 2 million reserves. Russia spends over 65 billion annually in its military budget.
So we should be in no doubt that the opening verses of Ezekiel 38 clearly identify Russia as the principal aggressor and leader in this attack against Israel during the tribulation. In our next article, we will consider the coalition of Islamic nations that will join with Russia in this battle. Russia has had a long history of supporting Israel’s Islamic enemies in the past, and she will join hands with them again in the future!
