Gog, Magog and an Iranian-Russian Alliance?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 11:38AM 
Joel Rosenberg is a very popular writer who tells a compelling story. His books are even endorsed by Rush Limbaugh. In his book Epicenter, which ranks high up on the Amazon best-selling chart, Rosenberg argues that the current animus between Israel and Iran is actually foretold in chapters 38-39 of the famous prophecy of Ezekiel regarding Gog and Magog.
As Rosenberg sees things, one day soon Israel will find itself cornered by a Russian-Iranian-Arab alliance which will threaten Israel's very existence. To prove his point he cites from a number of military, political and journalistic sources. He is probably right about the animus and the Islamic designs upon Israel. But my interest in this post is with Rosenberg's appeal to the prophecy of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39.
Typically, dispensationalists like Rosenberg appeal to this passage as a yet unfulfilled prediction of a Russian-backed Islamic invasion of the modern nation of Israel, at or about the time the seven-year tribulation begins. Dispensationalists believe that the nations listed in the prophecy refer to people living in Ezekiel's time, who can then be traced to modern nations. Following this method, Gog is the mysterious leader of Magog, a land north of the Caucasus mountains inhabited by the ancient Scythians. This is in modern Russia. Meshech is supposedly Moscow. Tubal is variously taken as Turkey or Tolbosk (a city in Russia). Persia is clearly Iran. Put is Libya. Cush is Ethiopia. Beth-Togarmah is Turkey. Some have even identified Gomer as Germany. But since the fall of the Soviet Union, Gomer is more often identified with Russia. Since the bulk of these people live to the northern parts (Ezekiel 38:15) and since the predicted invasion of Israel will come from the north, Rosenberg's thesis is simply a new variation of an old dispensational theme. At some point near the beginning of the tribulation, Israel will be invaded by a Russian-Iranian-Islamic confederacy, only to prevail militarily through God's amazing grace.
To be fair, the dispensationalists were not the first to tie this prophecy to contemporary events. Ambrose identified these same figures as the Goths who were then threatening the Holy Roman Empire. Luther applied this prophecy to the Turks, who were at the gates of Vienna at the time of the Reformation.
But there are two significant problems with this approach to Ezekiel 38-39. First, as Edwin Yamauchi (a noted evangelical archaeologist and historian) has pointed out in his book, Foes from the Northern Frontier: Invading Hordes from the Russian Steppes (Baker, 1983), this identification is based upon a number of unsubstantiated assumptions. For one thing, Gog and Magog cannot be directly tied to the Scythians. Yamauchi believes that their identity is not certain at all. Furthermore, he contends that Meshech and Tubal cannot be tied to Moscow or Tobolsk in any sense. He believes these are references to ancient Assyria which did invade Israel from the north. This means that Ezekiel is speaking of Israel's immediate future (an Assyrian invasion from the north), which also prefigures an end-time event.
How do we know that to be the case? If you follow the basic hermeneutical principle that the New Testament interprets the Old Testament (something dispensationalists are want to admit when it comes to interpreting biblical prophecy), then in Revelation 20:8-9, John speaks of Gog and Magog as symbolic of the nations of the earth, gathering together to make war on the saints (the church).
This leads to the second problem with the dispensational understanding. In Revelation 20:8-9, John is universalizing Ezekiel's prophecy of Israel being invaded from the north to the church being attacked from the four corners of the earth--this "spiritualizing" of the Old Testament as practiced by John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is, of course, the very thing dispensationalists claim is illegitimate. The fact of the matter is, this is exactly what John does.
In Revelation 20:8-9, John sees a vision of Gog and Magog leading all of the nations on the earth to wage war against God's people (the church), after Satan has been released from the Abyss. These enemies of Christ and his church are ultimately and finally destroyed at Christ's second advent (see Beale, The Book of Revelation, Eerdmans, 1022-1024). This means that the Assyrian invasion of Israel from the north foretold by Ezekiel, is actually typological of the end-times war upon the entire people of God as witnessed by John in his vision.
If you are interested in such things, I also deal with this topic more fully in my recent book, The Man of Sin. You can check it out, Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist
Rosenberg tells a great story and has gathered much interesting evidence about Islamic and Russian intentions. But he also misuses the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 to make his point.
Reader Comments (15)
And, oh, yeah, Ezekiel 37 is about Israel returning to the land in 1948 (huh?!). And the "exceedingly great army" that rises from the dry bones is (surprise!) the Israel Defense Force. And a ressurected David is going to reign as Jesus' viceroy in the millenium (because, ya know, it says David will reign).
Unfortunately, our dispy-costal church talked a lot about Paul's letters - and I still can't read them without all those bizarre teachings about Law and Grace and sanctification I was taught recurring. I listened to a Tim Keller sermon about Romans 8 and it wasn't anything like what I heard as a child.
Oh, yeah, we got the Gog/Magog stuff too.
"The problem with both Idealism and Dispensationalism is that these schools of interpretation await a future antichrist "man on the scene" before the return of Christ....Christ could return at any moment. We do not await a future man of sin."
Apostle Paul said,
"Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him...Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat1 in God’s temple, displaying himself as God."
Again, "let no one decieve you in any way"
Thanks,
Alan
http://www.prewrathrapture.com/
Daniel had to pray and fast three whole weeks before a powerful heavenly angel was able to get past the Prince of Persia to give Daniel a message. I personally assume that particular Satanic ruling Prince still rules over Iran ( Persia) within the sovereignty of God's providence. And I don't doubt for one second Timmerman's assertion that Iran has at least four good imported nukes ready to be lobbed onto land from boats 12 miles out in International waters. When, not if.
I am amil and think Riddlebarger is the best in the world for eschatology. The dispys are too focused on current events and Israel, and are blind to the truths about this. But it doesn't change the biblical fact that the Prince of Persia was- and probably still is- perhaps one of the most powerful evil strongholds on earth. The Iran-Russia connection may well usher in nuclear devastation.
In context, Paul is explaining that the resurrection had not yet come because the papacy, the man of sin, had not come yet because he was being restrained by the Roman Empire, the restraining/ruling power at the time (Acts 17:7). The papacy alone opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, the church, displaying himself as God."
Any idea yet on when your next book on eschatology will be finished, printed and available???
Whether that is a validation for an Ezekiel 38-39 scenario I have no idea, but you cannot deny the facts.
And since there are smarter and more knowledgeable people than Kim Riddlenabarger concerned about the subject and the fact the Ahmadinejad is on record as stating Israel should be destroyed, Riddlebarger cannot deny the fact that these two paradigms exist.
How about sticking to the facts instead of using your usual "All Dispensationalists are like Tim Lahaye" argument.