Days of Noah

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger.”

[Ezekiel 38:17-18]

In parts 1&2 of this profile, I proposed that the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 depict a future military invasion of Israel led by Gog, who is the end-times Antichrist. I also established that Gog is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, in the land of Magog, which is modern-day Turkey. Based on these two foundational ideas alone, it is only logical to predict that the Antichrist, the great enemy of God’s people, will emerge from Turkey and lead a Middle-Eastern alliance of armies to invade Israel in the last days.

The purpose of this post is to begin breaking down the Scriptures themselves to see if this interpretation is in harmony with the rest of the Biblical prophets. In other words, are the descriptions and events of Ezekiel 38-39 substantiated by other prophetic passages that clearly refer to the Antichrist and the Day of the LORD?

The Latter Days

Just to be clear, this prophecy about Gog and his invasion of Israel is connected to the “latter days” [Ezekiel 38:8, 16]. The latter days, or last days, is a Hebrew phrase that often refers to the time of the end before the restoration of all things. Here are but a few prophetic passages using the same phrase.

“The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

[Daniel 10:13-14]

“Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.”

[Hosea 3:5]

“It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it.”

[Micah 4:1]

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”

[2 Timothy 3:1]

Furthermore, the LORD God identifies Gog as the great and final archenemy of Israel that was foretold by all the prophets throughout the Scriptures. The LORD clearly places unique significance upon Gog saying, “Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?” [Ezekiel 38:17]

Gog’s Military Alliance

Ezekiel’s prophecy names specific nations who will be in league with Gog in the last days. Persia represents modern day Iran. Cush and Put represent northern Africa. Gomer and Beth-togarmah represent Turkey and Asia Minor. Although these nations are listed by name, it doesn’t necessarily limit the military invasion to these countries alone. Parallel passages in Joel 3, Psalm 83, and Zechariah 14 describe an end-times invasion from all the “surrounding nations,” and Ezekiel 30 lists many of the same surrounding nations as falling in judgment on the Day of the LORD.

“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD:
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3For the day is near,
the day of the LORD is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.
4A sword shall come upon Egypt,
and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and her wealth is carried away,
and her foundations are torn down.
5Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

[Ezekiel 30:2-5]

By simply harmonizing these passages, it is clear that they are depicting the same military alliance, or “league,” that will follow the Antichrist into Israel in the last days. The Apostle John also saw a vision of this coming invasion, writing, “For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty… And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” [Revelation 16:14, 16]

Likewise, Revelation 19:19 says, “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.” It is evident that John and Ezekiel were given visions of the same military invasion of Israel, which means that the Antichrist and Gog also are one in the same.

The King of the North

Gog is described as leading his invasion from the north, which harmonizes precisely with Daniel’s vision of the Antichrist, as the king of the north. Ezekiel writes, “You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” [Ezekiel 38:15-16]

Now compare to Daniel’s prophecy.

“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.41He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.”

[Daniel 11:40-43]

The Day of God’s Wrath

Finally, Ezekiel says that the LORD will vindicate His people Israel on that Day, as His “wrath will be aroused in anger.” [Ezekiel 38:18] This is another reference to the Day of the LORD — a Day of God’s great vengeance and wrath on His enemies. There is only one final Day of the LORD, which will take place in connection with the triumphant return of the Lord Jesus Christ. King Jesus will effectively lead a military campaign against Gog and his armies, as He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God. Consider just a sampling of the prophetic passages that describe the ultimate demise of the Antichrist and the enemies of God on the Great and Dreadful Day of the LORD.

“Put in the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Go in, tread,
for the winepress is full.
The vats overflow,
for their evil is great.

Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.”

[Joel 3:13-14]

““Therefore wait for me,” declares the LORD,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy
all the earth shall be consumed.”

[Zephaniah 3:8]

“The sound of a tumult is on the mountains
as of a great multitude!
The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,
of nations gathering together!
The LORD of hosts is mustering
a host for battle.
5They come from a distant land,
from the end of the heavens,
the LORD and the weapons of his indignation,
to destroy the whole land.
6Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
7Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt.
8They will be dismayed:
pangs and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it.”

[Isaiah 13:4-9]

“When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

[2 Thessalonians 1:7-10]

“Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

[Revelation 6:15-17]

Stay tuned for the final installment of this profile, which will wrap up the comparative analysis of Gog and Antichrist and the coming salvation and restoration of Israel in the last days.