Enemies have frequently attacked Israel from the north, including Assyria, Babylon, and the Hittites. Prince Gog and his horde will swoop down from the north, “like a cloud to cover the land,” totally ignorant that the God of Israel intended their destruction. The decisions made in the war room of Magog will conform to the will of the Lord who planned this invasion for His own purposes. God in no way violated their own freedom to think and decide, but He overruled Gog’s decisions for His own purposes, just as He did with Babylon (21:18–24). “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16: nkjv). “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Prov. 21: nkjv).
What does the leader of the European coalition think when this undeclared war begins? Surely a man of his intelligence would have known that these nations were mobilizing. Having just entered into the sevenyear covenant with Israel, he had to act to protect them; but he would also want to make the best use of the crisis to promote his own agenda. After all, he had agreed to protect Israel so that he might one day use their temple for his own evil purposes. Perhaps he could use Gog and his allies to hasten the day when he would become world dictator.
But before the European leader has time to act, God will intervene in His jealous wrath and wipe out the invading forces! First, He will cause an earthquake that will be felt around the world (Ezek. 38:19–20). This earthquake doesn’t seem to fit any of the earthquakes mentioned in the book of the Revelation (Rev. 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18), but in some places on the earth, the damage will be terrible. The shaking of the land of Israel will throw the invading army into panic, and the men will begin to slaughter one another. Then God will send rain, hailstones, and fire and brimstone (sulfur) from heaven as well as a plague on the army, and this will end the invasion, leaving so many corpses that it will take seven months to bury all of them (Ezek. 39:12).
The description of the defeat in chapter 38 focuses on the army, but in 39:1–8, the focus is on the leader of the army, Prince Gog of Magog. In the KJV, verse 2 gives the impression that one sixth of the invading army will be spared and sent home humiliated. However, the verse is stating that it is God who brings Prince Gog into the land and allows him to try to attack the people of Israel. “And I will turn you about, and will lead you on, and will cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north, and will lead you against the mountains of Israel” (ab).
God not only leads the prince, but He also disarms him so that he is helpless before his enemy (v. 3). Instead of slaughtering the Jews, his soldiers will themselves be slaughtered and become food for the vultures and the beasts of the field. But the Lord won’t stop with His judgment of the armies that invade Israel; He will also send a fiery judgment on the land of Magog (v. 6)!
In verse 23, the Lord gives three reasons for bringing Gog and his armies to Israel and then defeating them so dramatically. First, this victory will reveal the greatness of the Lord as He displays His power before the nations (v. 23). There is no evidence that the Israelite forces ever confronted the invading army. The Lord intervened and used weapons that no general on earth could use—rain, hailstones, and fire and brimstone from heaven! In fact, the invading army will get out of control and destroy itself! This victory will also reveal His holiness as He judges the sins of the leader from Magog and deals with his enmity against the Jews. The wealth of the Holy Land belongs to the Lord, and He has shared it with His people Israel, and the other nations have no right to exploit it. Third, the victory will make Jehovah known to the Gentile nations, and the world will see that the God of Israel is the only true and living God.
But perhaps the most important reason is given in 39:7, that Israel will recognize the holiness of God and be convicted of her own sins. During their time of dispersion in the other nations, the Jews had profaned the name of the Lord (36:19–23). Now God has gathered them back into their own land, but they are still not a converted people; otherwise they would confess God’s holiness and greatness. It will not be until they see their Messiah that they will loathe their sins, put their trust in Christ and become a regenerated people (37:25–38). But this great victory will be the beginning of their spiritual experience with the Lord. Both Israel and the nations will know that Jehovah is the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. During the difficult tribulation period, did the Jewish people remember God’s great victory over the invaders? Did it encourage their faith? Did any of the Gentiles remember and turn to God?
We’re tempted to speculate on how the European leader responded to this remarkable series of events. No sooner did he guarantee his protection to Israel than a coalition of nations invaded Palestine, and he couldn’t do anything about it. Perhaps he said that the “forces of nature” were under his control! At least the Jews could build their temple without interference from the neighboring nations. The Lord will give Antichrist what he wants, but in the end, it will all combine to lead to his destruction.