While Daniel saw the beginnings of the final wars in the Middle East, other prophets went further and predicted what would happen next.  Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 contain perhaps the most fascinating and frightening prophecy in the entire Bible concerning these future battles.  Where Daniel only hinted at the fact that a northern power would attack Israel at the end, Ezekiel was very specific.  He names regions that today perfectly correlate to the nation of Russia and its allies in the Middle East and to the north.  However, to understand the interpretation of this new prophecy and to see how it fits into the scenario of World War III, we need to look closely at the first seven verses of Ezekiel chapter 38.  This particular prophecy holds the key to identifying exactly what nations are represented by an attacking northern power, which amazingly describes Russia’s attack on Israel in the last days.

“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

“And say, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal,

“And 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 clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

“Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with shield and helmet;

“Gomer, and all its hordes; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all its hordes; and many peoples with thee.

“Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.”

Ezek. 38:1-7

Ezekiel’s prediction begins in a strange way with weird names and places and bizarre references to primitive battle accoutrements.  On the surface it may seem like Ezekiel’s words were meant for a people and a time long since forgotten, to armies equipped with the armor and weapons of an ancient world.  However, as our study of these verses progresses it will soon become apparent that the Lord has provided the information in this way for a very definite purpose—to identify one of the major aggressors in the final battles and to emphasize that they would be armed to the teeth as they attack the Middle East…[read full article]