Prophecy about Gog and Future Invasion of Israel
38 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently clothed in full armor, a great horde with [a]buckler (small shield) and [large] shield, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), and Put (Libya, N. Africa) with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north and all its troops—many peoples with you.
7 You [Gog] be prepared; prepare yourself, you and all your hordes that are assembled around you, and be a guard and a lookout for them. 8 After many days you will be summoned [for service]; in the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from [the ravages of] the sword, where people have been gathered out of many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual wasteland; but its people were brought out of the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.(A) 9 You will go up [against them], you will come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against an open country; I will come against those who are at rest and peaceful, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having neither bars nor gates, 12 to take spoil and seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the [b]center of the world [Israel].’ 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish (southern Spain), with all its young lions (villages) will say to you, ‘Have you come to take spoil? Have you assembled your hordes [of fighting men] to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?’”’
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel live securely, will you not become aware of it [and become active]? 15 You will come from your place in the remote parts of the north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding horses, a great horde, and a mighty army; 16 and you will go up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. In the last days it will come about that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy through you before their eyes, O Gog.”
17 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you (Gog) against them? 18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My wrath will rise and show on My face. 19 In My zeal and in My blazing rage I declare that on that day there will most certainly be a [c]great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth will tremble and shake at My presence; the mountains will crumble, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s (invading soldier’s) sword will be against his brother (ally) [in panic and confusion]. 22 With pestilence and with bloodshed I will enter into judgment with Gog; and I will rain on him torrents of rain with [great] hailstones, [d]fire and brimstone on his hordes and on the many nations that are with him.(B) 23 Thus I shall magnify Myself and demonstrate My greatness and sanctify Myself, and I will be recognized and will make Myself known in the sight of many nations; they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 38:4 See note Jer 46:3.
- Ezekiel 38:12 Lit navel.
- Ezekiel 38:19 Today the Great Rift Valley, the longest fault line in the world (about 4,000 miles), runs from Syria through Israel to Mozambique in east Africa. Israel and the surrounding areas have experienced a significant number of moderate earthquakes (4.0 to 5.2 in magnitude) since the year 2000, and one could not rule out a massive earthquake even in the near future. Thus the stage is already set for the catastrophic earthquake described here.
- Ezekiel 38:22 Perhaps a volcanic explosion.