17 “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? 18 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. 19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. 23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 38: 17-23 ESV
Ezekiel 38: 17-23 Judgment On Gog
Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate for war;
stir up the mighty men.
Let all the men of war draw near;
let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weak say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up
and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13 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.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.
The Glorious Future of Judah
17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy, Joel 3: 9-17
My servants the prophets of Israel - They had warned Israel for a long time about their sin and corruption that led to the mistreatment of orphans and widows, taking advantage of the poor, but also their bloody egos that were always ready and ravenous towards the messengers. God always promised to judge sin, religion was no cover against His holiness.
…11Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. 12For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate. 13Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.… Amos 5: 11-13
36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38Look, your house is left to you desolate.… Matthew 23: 36-38
18-23 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel - This will be after the abomination of the Antichrist, Gog and his united kingdoms, along with that of the world will be turned towards Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble.
…9You and all your troops, and many peoples with you will go up, advancing like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. 10This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates—… Ezekiel 38: 9-11
My wrath will be roused in My anger - God has called him out, yet this time to show His mercy to many in Israel. There is a remnant left.
My anger (Come up doth My fury in My face) - "Face is literally, “nose”; in Hebrew, the idiomatic expression for anger, as men in anger breathe strongly through the nostrils. Anthropopathy: God stooping to human modes of thought (Ps 18:8)." (Jamieson)
Joel Rosenberg - As the forces of the Russian dictator (Gog) and his military coalition — including Iran, Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Turkey and other key Islamic nations — converges against the State of Israel in the last days, the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel tells us that at the last moment when there seems to be know hope for Israeli Jews the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is going to supernaturally intervene.
There shall be a great earthquake - This sounds very similar to the accounts of Revelation 6-19, but in a condensed form, where the sixth seal is opened at the end of the Tribulation.
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave[d] and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling 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, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6: 12-17
…18The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. Revelation 11: 18-19
16And they assembled the kings in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!” 18And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth—so mighty was the great quake.…
…19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. 20Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found. 21And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.… Revelation 16: 16-21
…14The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. 15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.… Revelation 19: 14-16
The fish of the sea (etc) - The point is that all the earth would "shake at" God's presence. This implies that the earthquake was felt worldwide (in the oceans, the air, the forest, all mankind). - Precept Austin
Every man's sword will be against his brother - This text does not mention other groups except those associated with Gog, yet they are many, and like another time in Israel's history, it is reminiscent of the confusion that befell the armies that Gideon attacked, or the rustling of the trees, and when the walls of Jericho fell down.
Fire and sulfur - Many people speculate here and I won't discount some of the things I have read about nuclear war, and those things may come into play during this time, but the readers of Ezekiel's time would be more familiar with the stories of Egypt and Sodom and Gomorrah. Certainly the godless are like those on death row, with seemingly nothing left to lose, so weapons of mass destruction would not be off the table.
Fire and brimstone - This day ("on that day" Ezek 38:19) is the most horrifying day in human history in modern times and recalls God's destruction of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Beloved, do we not see the world catapulting into a moral cesspool, a rapidly escalating wickedness and evil that casts off all restraints, especially the "restraints" from the Almighty God! Are these days not becoming like the evil, amoral days of Sodom and Gomorrah? And what was God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah?
Ge 19:24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven - Precept Austin
They will know that I am the Lord - There will be no confusion here among those that remain, that the true owner of Creation is here.
Joel Rosenberg - Why does the Lord act? The Lord tells us directly in 38:23. The nations have forgotten that God still loves the Jewish people. He still loves the nation of Israel. They are not perfect, but He loves them and has made promises to them and He intends to keep those promises (Ed: Despite the teaching of the increasing popular belief in "Replacement Theology."). And He wants the rest of the world to know there is a God in Israel.
Know (yada; Lxx uses ginosko = know by experience) means the nations will know by observing and reflecting (thinking) and by experiencing these events - they will come to see and understand God is the One and Only Living and True God. This "revelation" of His character to the entire world suggests that this is at the end of this age and at the dawn of the "new age" of the Millennium, which would place these events in the last 7 years (Daniel's Seventieth Week - The Seven Year Period). This is of course not meant to be a dogmatic statement, but is presented for you to ponder. - Precept Austin
and strangers shall never again pass through it.
