Russia's [1968] invasion of Czechoslovakia brings to mind the prophecy of Ezekiel in which God foretold His people of the last invasion that will be made by that powerful and ravenous nation. Here are the opening words of the prophecy, "And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal" (Ezek. 38:1-3).
The leader of this great invasion is called Gog, which means "a mountain," and he is from the land of Magog, who was the second son of Japheth. He is also the ruler of Rosh, or Russia, being the prince of that land, whose present western capital is Meshech, or Moscow, and whose ancient eastern capital was Tubal, or Tobolsk. Ezekiel, God's prophet at the time of Israel's captivity, was to set his face against this adversary of God's people Israel, to prophesy his doom, but he was also to proclaim that the Lord God of Israel, the Almighty, was against him, and from His powerful hand there would be no escape.
In self-will this powerful ruler would seek to crush the people of God, and to enrich himself with the spoils of war, but God will intervene in His government to draw him and his armies onward to the judgment He has prepared for them, even as it is written, "I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them thoroughly equipped, a great assemblage with targets and shields, all of them handling swords" (Ezek. 38:4). Although doing his own will, Gog is nevertheless being drawn to the place of slaughter by God, just as an animal is taken with hooks in its jaws to the place of slaughter.
Allied with Russia in its final assault will be "Persia, Cush, and Phut … all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah from the uttermost north, and all his bands; many peoples with thee" (Ezek. 38:5-6). Just as Russia used the surrounding Communist lands to assist in the assaulting of the small land of Czechoslovakia, so will it bring with it its allies, making an apparently invincible force to crush a very small country. Persia, Ethiopia and Libya, in joining with this great northern confederation, evidently hope to share the spoils of war.
Every kind of defensive and offensive weapon is with this immensely powerful group of armies, but what is all this great array of human power in the eyes of God? As if taunting the great foe of His people, God says to him, "Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself thou, and all thine assemblage that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them" (Ezek. 38:7). Gog no doubt professed to be the guardian of his allies, for his own advantage; now he will have the opportunity to be their guard, but what can he do when confronted by the almighty power of the God of Israel? He cannot protect himself or his allies, for all their targets, shields and helmets will be of no avail when God intervenes on behalf of His people Israel.
The time of this last invasion by Russia, its location, and the conditions prevailing in the land of Israel are given in these words, "After many days shalt thou be visited; at the end of years thou shalt come into the land brought back from the sword and gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel which have been a perpetual waste; but it is brought forth out from the peoples, and they shall all of them be dwelling in safety" (Ezek. 38:8).
These words, "after many days … at the end of years," clearly speak of a time then future, and the words, "the land brought back from the sword" show that the time spoken of has not yet come, for even now the sword is very active in the land of Israel. Not until the Lord Jesus returns to the land to reign as the true David will the land be brought back from the sword. When the Lord comes back to this world, He will first of all reign as the warrior King, subduing all the foes of His people, before He reigns as the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace.
After the Lord returns, Israel will be "brought forth out from the peoples" of the world, according to the Lord's words in Matthew 24:31, the prophecy of Isaiah 11:11-12, and other Scriptures. The mountains and cities of Israel, which had been for centuries a perpetual waste, but will be fertile and inhabited when the Lord brings His people back, will be a temptation for the covetous eyes and heart of Gog which he cannot resist. Dwelling in safety, with no evident means of protection, Gog imagines this land which again flows with milk and honey, will be an easy prey for him with his powerful armies.
In Ezek. 38:9 the Lord says to Gog, "thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee." Left to themselves, Israel would be powerless against this invasion, with its raging and darkening influence, but Israel is not alone, for Messiah is with them, in their midst, having already come to deliver His people from the nations that had taken His beloved city (Zech. 14:3-4), and He will be the shield of Israel and Jerusalem.
Centuries before Gog has being, the thoughts of his heart are exposed to us, for it is here recorded, "Thus says the Lord Jehovah: It shall even come to pass in that day that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will come to them that are in quiet, that dwell in safety, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to seize a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against a people gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land" (Ezek. 38:10-12).
To all outward appearances the land was without defence of any kind, and the people unsuspecting and unprepared, and Gog thought there was nothing to hinder him enriching himself from the wealth of a land that was rich through God's blessing, and with the gold and silver that those who had come back to the land had brought with them. Of old, when Israel left Egypt, they took with them "jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment … and they spoiled the Egyptians" (Ex. 12:35-36); and it will be the same at the end, for "Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem: and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance" (Zech. 14:14).
Gog is probably aware that all this wealth is in Israel, and it has excited his avarice. Others are also aware of the existence of all this wealth, and seem to have no doubt about Gog's intentions, for "Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13).
Other nations who were not in the great confederacy would gladly have joined in the spoiling of Israel, but were content to encourage Gog only with words, no doubt hoping that if success crowned his efforts to do business with him. It may be that having known of the great defeat of the western nations, and of the nations around Israel, at the time of the Lord's intervention, the dread of Israel will be upon them, as it was on the nations of Canaan when Israel came out of Egypt (Joshua 2:9-10). The young lions of verse 13 were unwilling to attack Israel, but would no doubt gladly have rushed to share the spoil had Israel been defeated.
In Ezek. 38:14 and 16 God speaks of "my people Israel," and Gog was to learn what Pharaoh, in his day, had to learn, that in assailing Israel he was challenging the God of Israel, for Israel were the beloved of God. If Gog, evilly disposed towards Israel, determined to come against them, the Lord said, "I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes" (verse 16). Instead of enriching himself at the expense of God's land, and God's people, Gog would be the means of displaying before the nations the glory of the God of Israel.
From Ezek. 38:17 we learn that Gog is viewed as the final Assyrian, the one of whom the prophets had spoken, for it would appear that the land occupied by the Assyrian will, at the end, be under the control of Russia. One of the prophecies referred to is that of Isaiah 14:24-25, "As I have purposed, it shall stand: to break the Assyrian in my land; and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot."
Instead of meeting a defenceless people, as he had vainly imagined, Gog will be confronted with the wrath of God, for, "says the Lord Jehovah, my fury shall come up in my face; for in my jealousy, in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Verily in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel," and all creatures "shall shake" at His presence (Ezek. 38:18-20). The Lord Himself is with His people, not now as the meek and lowly Jesus, but as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and when His anger is aroused, not only Gog, but the whole land shakes before Him.
Gog, unwittingly, had challenged the power of the Almighty, and the Lord answers his challenge, saying, "I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, says the Lord Jehovah: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples that are with him, overflowing rain and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am Jehovah" (Ezek. 38:21-23).
As it was in Judges 7:22 and 1 Samuel 14:20, when every man's sword was against his fellow, so shall it be with the armies of Gog, and the destruction of these mighty forces will be completed with other divine instruments of judgment. When God intervened to deal with Pharaoh and his army, Israel did not require to lift a finger in their defence; so shall it be when God deals with the last invasion of the powerful Russian nation against His land and His people.
If Israel is defended, and Gog judged, the Name of the Lord is magnified, and He will be known as Jehovah among many nations. From verse 2 of the next chapter we learn that God, in His wisdom and mercy, leaves a sixth part of those who come against His land, to witness to what He had done. Moreover, He will "send a fire on Magog," the land from which Gog came, "and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles," whose armies had not been engaged in the conflicts of the last days, and who had not laid to heart the solemn lessons of the divine judgments on others (Ezek. 39:6).
The seven months required to bury the dead of Gog, and the seven years needed to burn the instruments of war, emphasise the dread character of the divine judgment on the great northern powers (Ezek. 39:8-15). Israel and the nations are to learn from God's dealing with Gog that he is jealous for His holy Name, and that having chastised His people for their sins, He will bless them in their own land, which He has given them (Ezek. 39:21-29).
Wm. C. Reid.