Sect-5 Appendix H – Ezekiel 38 & 39

(From Chapter 19 – In Our Beginning . . .)

By reviewing the conditions surrounding the context of Ezekiel 38 and 39, I’ve concluded they represent God’s righteous judgment upon a group of nations, but occur in two different time periods. An interesting twist is in relation to the order of the prophesies, whether intentional by the Holy Spirit, the author, or unintentionally by translators and those arranging the books of the Old Testament. Ezekiel 38 speaks to the latter end of the age, where Ezekiel 39 speaks to a prior end of the age.

Two Periods of Eschatology

Scripture divides these two separate end times by the arrival and reign of Yeshua the Christ on earth. The first period of eschatology obviously occurs at the end of this age and Christ’s appearance in the heavens (Joel 2:30-31; Matthew 24:29-31), when he sends his angels to collect the dead and the living saints faithful to him (Revelation 6:17; Revelation 7:9-17). This coming is on the heels of the reign of the satanic trinity; the dragon, the beast power, and the false prophet (Revelation 16). Recall that it is Yeshua’s goal to destroy every rule, authority, and power in heaven and on earth as he establishes his kingdom reign on earth (1 Corinthians 15:24-25).

 

The second period of eschatology appears near the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth (Revelation 20:4-6). It’s at this time that the Serpent is loosed again on the earth to deceive mankind and to raise a rebellion against God and his people (Revelation 20:7-10). This will be a test for Israel and the nations to reveal those who are faithful to their king Yeshua. On the heels of this rebellion is the Great White Throne judgment for the living and the dead. All things will be subjected to Yeshua the Christ in one of two ways; as a faithful servant committed to the obedience of faith, or as ashes under his feet (1 Corinthians 15:24-27; Revelation 20:14-15).

Israel Sanctified as an Example to the Nations

To understand the broader context of Ezekiel 38 and 39, we must see the work that God intends to complete for his chosen people Israel and how that relates to the salvation of the world. According to the prophet Joel, God outlines his process for sanctifying his people in the sight of the nations around them, those who’ve treated his people with contempt and reproach. As the Day of the Lord approaches, devouring and desolation has come upon the land of Israel and Jerusalem; cry out to the Lord for his salvation (Joel 1). Within this chaos, there is a process God is using to restore all disobedient Israel back to himself. It involves revelation, repentance, and reconciliation.[1]

Joel 2:1-11 – introduces the Day of the Lord and the army of the Lord

• His army is a great and powerful people, the likes of which have never been seen
• They advance like a powerful army drawn up for battle
• Before them, the people are in anguish
• They burst through the weapons and are not halted
• The earth quakes before them, and the heavens tremble
• The Lord leads his army, and they execute his word

Joel 2:12-17 – the Lord’s call to repentance

• Return to me with all your heart
• Rend your hearts and not your garments
• Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful
• Call a solemn assembly and gather the people

Joel 2:18-27 – the Lord has mercy on his people

• The Lord says to his people – Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
• You shall have plenty to eat and be satisfied
• You shall praise the name of the Lord your God
• You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel
• You shall know that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other
• Never again will my people be put to shame

Joel 2:28-32 – the Lord will make with them a new covenant

• I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh
• Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved

 

It’s within the context of this work that God has promised and will complete in Israel that we can better see the sanctification of his people spelled out in Ezekiel.

Israel Restored From the Nations

To achieve the reconciliation he desires for the disobedient in Israel and Judah, God promises to reverse their situation and restore them from and in the sight of the nations where he scattered them.

• God will reverse the reproach suffered by the land of Israel and put it on the surrounding nations (Ezekiel 36:6-7).
• God will return his people to their homeland and it will be tilled and sown. The land will be fruitful; man and beast will multiply on it as an inheritance for them (Ezekiel 36:8-12).
• God will vindicate his holy name which Israel profaned among the nations to which he scattered them so that they will know that I am the Lord. God will gather his people from among the nations, cleanse them from their idols, give them a new heart, and put in them a new Spirit. God will deliver them and they will be his people, and he will be their God (Ezekiel 36:22-32).
• The nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the Lord; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the Lord; I have spoken it, and I will do it (Ezekiel 36:33-36).

Israel Restored From the Grave

God will raise the dead of the whole house of Israel and restore flesh and blood to their dry bones and breath life into them; an exceedingly great number. God will put his Spirit within them and place them in their own land, and they will know that he alone is the Lord when he restores his people from their graves; I have spoken it, and I will do it (Ezekiel 36:1-14).

Israel Restored as One People

God will unify the houses of Israel who were divided. The northern tribes of Israel and the southern tribe of Judah will be united as one people (Ezekiel 37:15-23).

• One people gathered from all around
• One nation in their own land
• One king shall be over them
• No longer shall they be divided; no longer defiled with their idols or with any of their transgressions.

Israel Restored Under One King

My servant David shall be king and prince over them; a shepherd for the people. I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Ezekiel 37:24-27)

Israel Restored as an Example to the Nations

All this God will do to make his name great among the nations, so that then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore (Ezekiel 37:28).

Ezekiel 39 – At the Close of the Kingdom of the Firstfruits

The kingdom building period for the priests of God occurs prior to our Lord’s return in power and glory. These priests to God are the firstfruits of salvation I discussed previously.[2] Those who are called the first are not the only, and they reflect the process Christ is using to make the Father known to the world, starting with the descendents of Israel.[3]

The Holy One in Israel

God will make his name known in the midst of his people Israel for their benefit and for the benefit of all the nations;

“And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day of which I have spoken. (Ezekiel 39:7-8)

 

The time he is referring to is a period prior to when he has gathered his people from the nations and set them in their own land – an event that occurs early during Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth.

Profane My Name No More

God states clearly that he will not let them profane his holy name anymore. This profaning is more characteristic of their behavior amongst the Gentile nations than it is after they’ve been returned to their own land by Christ; a land they will then possess in peace (Ezekiel 20:1-44; 36).

They Shall Know

It is only after the Lord has established his kingdom rule in Israel and Jerusalem that they would come to know him. This indicates the time being referred to here in chapter 39 is prior to that time of knowing. And how will the Lord achieve this?

“And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. The house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them. (Ezekiel 39:21-24)

A New Covenant for All of Israel & Judah

Ezekiel continues to outline the pre-kingdom conditions for Israel and Judah.

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore. And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 39:25-29)

A Stone of Stumbling

In order to achieve this revelation to his people, God will once again make Jerusalem a stone of stumbling for the nations, yet Jerusalem will remain and not be removed from its place (Zechariah 12:1-9). In this case, God will use Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal from the uttermost parts of the north[4] to stir the nations against Israel.

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 39:1-5)

Consumed by Birds and Beasts

When compared to the destruction of the army in Ezekiel 38, which is consumed by fire and brimstone and leaves nothing behind, this army in Ezekiel 39 falls upon the Mountains of Israel and is consumed by birds and wild beasts.

“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 39:17-20)

 

In addition, God will send a fire on the lands from where the army originated (Magog) but the nature and character of that fire are not described (vs 6).

Spoils for Israel

The army, which is destroyed and consumed by birds and beasts, leaves behind their shields and arrows, clubs and spears; fuel to be used for fires by Israel’s inhabitants. If this had been the fire and brimstone of Ezekiel 38, certainly the armaments would be consumed along with the army, leaving nothing behind as spoils. Likewise, there would be no bodies left behind to bury (vs 11-16). This is similar to the wrath God prophesied by others also (Isaiah 34:1-8; Joel 3:1-17).

Fruits of the Kingdom

After the armies of the nations are subdued, Christ’s reign over the nations begins to bear fruit (Isaiah 35; Psalm 133).

“So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain.

And Jerusalem shall be holy,

and strangers shall never again pass through it.

“And in that day

the mountains shall drip sweet wine,

and the hills shall flow with milk,

and all the streambeds of Judah

shall flow with water;

and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord

and water the Valley of Shittim.

“Egypt shall become a desolation

and Edom a desolate wilderness,

for the violence done to the people of Judah,

because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

But Judah shall be inhabited forever,

and Jerusalem to all generations.

I will avenge their blood,

blood I have not avenged,

for the Lord dwells in Zion.” (Joel 3:17-21)

Ezekiel 38 – At the Close of the Kingdom of the Son

The Lord’s dwelling in Zion is a distinguishing characteristic of this age and comes as a result of his glorious return and the establishment of his earthly kingdom and rule over Israel and the nations. Here in Ezekiel 38, the prophet is describing conditions that were promised and completed in Ezekiel 39.

• The armies will come against a land that is restored from war
• A land whose people had been gathered from many peoples
• But they now dwell upon the mountains of Israel which were desolate but are now inhabited
• These came from the nations but now dwell securely (vs 8)
• Their villages are without walls and they dwell securely in the presence of the Lord (38:11; 39:7,21-22)

 

Once again the prince of Meshech and Tubal will come against the mountains of Israel and the people dwelling securely there (vs 3-4). Together with other nations, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth-Togarmah, they will come; multiple hordes, a great and mighty army (vs 9,15). They come to seize spoil and carry off plunder (vs 12). Yet the Lord will again vindicate his holiness in the sight of the nations, that they may know him (vs 16). In wrath and anger, the Lord God of Israel will enter into judgment with Gog and those with him.

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.

I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 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. (Ezekiel 38:18,21-22)

 

And who is the catalyst for this uprising against God’s people dwelling in peace amongst the mountains of Israel but the Satan, a catalyst to sin and a test for the nations. First the Satan is bound at the onset of Christ’s reign so that Yeshua might sow peace and prosperity among Israel and the nations.[5] This peace continues for nearly one thousand years until such time that the loyalty of the nations will be tested.[6]

As described in Ezekiel 38, Gog and Magog are stirred up for battle. However, this battle will end decisively and completely.

• There shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel (vs 19b)
• All that dwell on earth and in the heavens will quake at the Lord’s presence (vs 20)
• The Lord will summon a sword against Gog
• Yet they will be consumed by torrential rains of fire and sulfur

 

And all this for a purpose that was planted in the days of the first Adam; 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 (vs 23).