We are going to continue where we left off in Part 3, talking about how to study and how to work in the Scriptures. This will relate to biblical eschatology, but the techniques can be used for any subject. If you get down the principles, you can apply them anywhere. We did a brief study in Micah 1.1-8 and now we are going to dig a little deeper and give more detail on what we have been going over.
In Ezek 38.1-2 we have Gog and Magog mentioned, but just who is this. Gog is only mentioned two times in the Scripture, here and in Revelation. However, Gog is mentioned in the Septuagint in Amos 7.1 and in Num 24.7. The word “rosh” is translated as chief prince in some versions, and it can be “prince of Rosh” and “rosh” is where the word “Russian” comes from. Meshech is Moscow, Tubal is Tobolsk. Ezek 38.5-6 has a brief list of nations that will be with Russia when it invades Israel. Persia is Iran, Ethiopia and Libya (Put), Gomer is the Germanic peoples, Beth-Togarmah is the Slavic, Serbs, Bulgaria and old Russian satellite nations. Where it says “and other peoples with you” it is referring to the list in Psa 83.1-8 and Oba 3-7. Ezek 38.8 gives us a time for this invasion when it says “in the latter years.” We have already mentioned that one of the terms for biblical eschatology is “acharit yamin” which means “latter days” and “latter years” is a synonymous term. Now, we know that in our study of the ages, the “latter days or years” is a Hebraic term for the “day of the Lord” or the Atid Lavo. So, understanding the terms we have given and applying them to these verses, we see that this invasion of Israel will not happen until the Day of the Lord, or after the Natzal occurs and we have had the resurrection of the righteous.
In Ezek 38.9 it says they will come like a “storm” and a “cloud” and cover the land. These are Hebrew idioms for an army. Isa 8.5-8 discusses the Assyria army overflowing its banks and coming “like a river” and it relates to this army being like a flood. These idioms are also used in Jer 12.5; Rev 12.16 and Isa 17.12. Ezek 38.10 says “on that day” and this is also referring to the “day of the Lord” or the Atid Lavo in our timeline. Russia will devise and evil plan, or a conspiracy, to come into the land to plunder and control the oil. In Isa 10.5-7 we have Assyria called the “rod of my anger” (Micah 5.1 remember?) and “my indignation” is an idiom for the Birth-pains. The purpose of the attack is seen in v 6, which is plunder, but in v 7 it says that their true purpose is to destroy Israel and to cut off the nations that have entered into this conspiracy with them.
The Arabs are going to attack Israel in the second year of the birth-pains (The last ten kings of Judah and the reign of King Ahaz teaches this). Damascus is destroyed after Israel pays Russia for help against the Arabs (Isa 17). Russia will then enter into a conspiracy with the Arabs to defeat Israel (Psa 83). This is intended to give Israel a feeling of “security” and she relaxes her defenses. If there is any festival day where Israel is most vulnerable it will be Yom Kippur. Russia is going to double-cross the Arabs in order to have everything herself.
Ezek 38.14 says ” on that day” which is the day of the Lord, Russia will realize (“will you not know it?”) that Israel is living securely. In Ezek 38.16 says that it will come about “in the last days” or the “acharit yamin” (which again gives us a time period when this happens) that the Lord is going to bring Russia and her allies into the land. God will be sanctified through Russia, which was his purpose all along (like Pharaoh). In Num 24.14-24 we have a prophecy about this very thing. Many do not realize that this Russian invasion was discussed in the Torah, but it was. In Num 24.14 we have a prophecy about what will happen “in the days to come” which is another reference to the “acharit yamin” or the “latter days.” So, we have a time reference for this. In Num 24.22 we have “Kain” mentioned, and this is one of the Arab nations in Psa 83, the list of nations who will come against Israel in the invasion in Ezek 38-39. Asshur is Assyria as we have already mentioned. Notice that there will be an “Assyria” in the acharit yamin (v 14). Assyria (Russia) attacks the Arabs in this verse (22).
In Num 24.23-24 we have another nation mentioned called “Kittim.” Kittim is Rome according to Dan 11.30 and here is why. It says “For ships from Kittim will come against him (Antiochus Epiphanes)..” and it goes on. What happened was, the Maccabees called on Rome for help against the Seleucid king Antiochus. Antiochus is met by the Roman General Popilus Locanus. He tells Antiochus to cease against the Maccabees and draws a circle around him. He tells him to make a decision before he leaves that circle. Antiochus decides to retreat, and Rome withdraws. But Antiochus is enraged and comes with a vengeance against Israel. But the concept that we have identified is that Kittim has been identified as Rome, and Rome is Europe in eschatology. The Targum Uzziel (an Aramaic paraphrase on the Torah) substitutes Kittim with Rome in this verse. Rome (Europe and the False messiah) fights Russia, and we have seen this in Micah 5.5-6. Num 24.24 mentions the fact that Asshur (Russia) will afflict Eber, which is Israel. The word for Eber is “Ivrit” where we get the word “Hebrew” from. So, this verse refers to the events in Ezek 38-39.
Ezek 38.18 to 39 6 we have the account of how the Lord will defeat Russia. A picture of this can be seen in the defeat of Assyria in Isa chapters 36 and 37. Israel was totally defeated. Isa 36.3 says it was a “day of distress’ which is an allusion to the birth-pains of the Messiah. They cannot defeat the Assyrians and they need the Lord to intervene and defeat them. They will turn to the Lord and he does deliver them. It will be the same way when another “Assyria” invades Israel. There will be no hope and they will turn to the Lord through the preaching of the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 who have been working in Israel the first three and a half years of the birth-pains. They will believe in Yeshua and Russia, the rod that God used to bring them to tis point, is totally defeated. They will never turn away from the Lord and Yeshua again (Ezek 39.22). All of this has not happened yet because we are still in the Olam ha Zeh and have not reached the Atid Lavo yet, also known as the “Day of the Lord” and “the acharit yamin (latter days).” The Lord needed to bring the people to where they could go no further, described like a birth in Isa 37.3.
This battle was given to teach about this future battle involving the Russians and her allies “in the latter years” in Ezek 38 and 39. An angel kills the Assyrian army in Isa 37.36 and this “angel of the Lord” is often synonymous with the Messiah. A similar thing will happen to Russia. As a result of this massive defeat, Ezek 39.1-6 says that God sends fire on Magog, and he will use the false messiah and Europe to do it. This is discussed in Micah 5.5 and Num 24.22-24. Isa 10.20-23 says that Israel will never turn away from the Lord and rely on others. This agrees with Ezek 39.22. Isa 9.5 says that the weapons from the Assyrian defeat will be used for fuel, and this is what Ezek 39.9-10 says. This battle and defeat will be on a Yom Kippur (Isa 37.28-30), which is Tishri 10. In Ezek 39.12-14 it says they will need seven months to cleanse the land of the dead. This means that this period will go from Tishri 10 to Iyar 10 on the religious calendar, one month after Israel flees to the wilderness. That means that they will celebrate Passover with the Mishkan in the wilderness one month later, according to the Torah (Num 9.1-11), which would be Iyar 14. The time fits perfectly.
In Micah 5, we have identified that Assyria is the Russians. In the Mesorah Publications book on “Ezekiel” p 581 it says “There is an oral tradition that says ‘when Russia passes through the Bosporus on the way to the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles, it will be time for the Messiah (Vilna Gaon).'” In Part 5, we will pick up here and develop the meaning of “seven shepherds and eight princely men” in Micah 5.5.
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