The Invading Forces of Russia and of the Anti-Christ Overthrown in Palestine

The
Invading Forces of Russia and of the Antichrist Overthrown in Palestine

By David L. Cooper

            The prophecy contained in Ezekiel,  chapters 38 and 39, constitute one of the most important predictions relative to the present day that is to be found in either the Old or the New Testament.  Of course, all prophecy is of vital importance. But the special significance of this passage for us today is to be seen in the fact that we are living in the days when this prediction is to find its fulfillment.  This statement being true, it behooves us to study it with an open mind.  Since there has been so very much speculation and guessing with respect to the prophetic word, many students have become disgusted with the study of it and refuse to consider any fulfilled predictions.  The abuse of anything is no justification for the rejection of the proper uses of the same.  In like manner the abuse to which prophecy has been put is no basis for our rejecting a sane, sound, and sensible interpretation of the messages of the Prophets, which by the way, were
given to us to serve as a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the day star arises in our hearts (II Peter 1:19-21).

The Old Jewish commentators understood this prediction to refer to the invasion of Palestine in the latter days by Russia and her associates.  Not
being clear in the apprehension of biblical prophecy, these masters in Israel connected the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39, with that found in
Zechariah 12:10:  “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as on mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.”  This passage was interpreted in the following way:  They (the Jews in Palestine) at the time of the invasion will look upon Him (the Messiah, son of Joseph, the generalissimo of the Jewish forces defending Jerusalem, who will be killed in the midst of the fighting) whom they (the attacking Russian forces) have pierced.  In such a crisis as this the entire Jewish population of Palestine will realize their impotency and will weep and mourn before Jehovah in such a way as they have never done before.  In answer to their petition God will bring to their attention Messiah the Son of David, a descendant of their illustrious king, who will be one of the greatest military geniuses of all ages, and who will be placed at the head of the defending Jewish armies and
will lead them on to victory.  A scientific exegesis of the two passages will show that there is no connection between them and will demonstrate the fact that this interpretation of the Zechariah passage is foreign to the context of Ezekiel’s prediction.  But an examination of the facts of the Ezekiel passage will show that they were correct in interpreting it as one foretelling the invasion of Palestine by the Russians and their allies in the latter days.

An examination of the entire passage will reveal the fact that each of them constitutes a literary unit within itself, and that the 39^th chapter gives supplemental information to that which is found in chapter 38.  This unity becomes apparent in the over-all picture of the entire prophecy.  We shall look, therefore, at each chapter separately and see the truth unfolded before us as we proceed.

Ezekiel,
Chapter 38

            (The reader would do well if he would at this point read both chapters and get clearly the facts before him in order to appreciate properly the following discussion.)

             Assuming that he has done this, I shall ask three questions and answer them.  In doing so, I shall gather the salient points of the chapter together,
correlate them, and present the entire picture to the reader.  The questions to be asked are as follows:

1. Who constitutes the personnel of this drama of the end-time?
2. What is foretold as coming to pass at this future time?
3. When will the prediction be fulfilled?

For the sake of brevity and aiding the memory let us put these questions as follows:  Who? What? When?

A.  Who constitutes the personnel of this drama of the end-time?

The oracle is directed against Gog of the land of Magog, who is the “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”  There are those who are associated with him and who are named.  These are:  Persia, Ethiopia, Put, Gomer, and Togarmah.  When all of the facts of the context are taken into consideration, it is seen that God is a future prince of Russia.  He will also be, as we shall learn, shortly, the last prince of that mighty empire.  Persia, the first one mentioned as an ally of
Russia, is in existence today and is known as Iran.  Cush is Ethiopia.  Put is somewhat difficult to be identified.  On the Egyptian monuments appears the name of a country call Punt that seemed to be located south of Egypt on the Red Sea.  It is altogether possible that it may be Eritrea or Somaliland.  Gomer likewise is mentioned as one of the confederates of Russia.  Gomer was the oldest son of Japheth, the eldest son of Noah.  His oldest son was Ashkenaz.  This last term has been associated with Germany and still is.  The German Jews are known as Ashkenaz-speaking Jews—as contrasted with the Sephardic or Spanish-speaking Jews.  The word Togarmah proves to be the phonetic equivalent of the modern word Armenia.  This kingdom was divided and swallowed up by both Russia and Turkey.  Allied with these are vast hordes of peoples.

In the table of nations which appears in Genesis, chapter 10, one sees these nations north of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, which was the cradle of civilization.  Because of this fact some have denied the accuracy of the interpretation just given. But we must remember that in this most highly authentic table of nations we see the dispersion of the peoples in the primitive ages of the world.  They are north of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and are on the move.  By Ezekiel’s time he could speak of different ones of them as being in the uttermost parts of the north.  This is especially true of the country of Gog, whose chief cities are Meshech and Tubal, the modern Moscow and Tobolsk.

(There is a picture of the Golden Gate in the East Wall of Jerusalem here and then talks about it)

The tradition of Alexander’s Gate* confirms the interpretation that Magog, the land of Gog (Russia), together with 25 or more other nations, was located north of the Black and the Caspian Seas.  This legend has persisted through the centuries and has located these nations as being north of the seas just mentioned.

          *Note: The student who wishes to enter into a thorough investigation of this most interesting legend would do well to procure the scholarly volume   entitled Alexander’s Gate, Gog and Magog, and the Enclosed Nations by Andrew Runni Anderson, published by the Mediaeval Academy of America, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When all the facts are taken into consideration, the overwhelming preponderance of historical evidence confirms the identification of the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:1-6 as those which I have just given.  To this great confederacy of nations I attached the name “The Great Northeastern Confederacy.”  My reason for thus labeling them is found in the fact that the territory occupied by these nations is north of Palestine, Ezekiel’s home, and Babylon, where the prophet was when he issued this prophecy, and also east of these places.  When a person looks at this prediction, then glances at the world map as it is today, and takes into account the spread of Russian totalitarianism (falsely called communism, which implies interest in the common man(, he will see that this system of political economy is spreading over Asia.  In view of these facts he does well to label those associated with Russia as the Great Northeastern Confederacy.

In verse 13 we have the following language:  “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art
thou come to take the spoil? Hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey?  To take great spoil?”  Sheba and Dedan have been identified as Aden and Muscat on the Persian Gulf.  The question arising at this point is:  Who is Tarshish?  Two answers have been given.  Some have surmised that Tarshish is the
ancient name for Spain; others have come to the conclusion that it is the name of ancient Britain.  When all the facts that have bearing upon the situation are taken into consideration, I personally am led to believe that Tarshish is the name of Great Britain. Confirmation of this position is to be found in Psalm 48, which foretells that the ships of Tarshish are destroyed at the end of the Tribulation. In Isaiah, chapter 60 appears the prediction that certain ones of Israel will return to the land of her fathers at the beginning of the Millennium in the ships of Tarshish.  It is a well-known fact that Spain ceased to be a maritime power of any importance after the destruction of the Spanish Armada.  Great Britain then lunged forward as a seafaring nation, and held that position up to the time of World War II, and has been surpassed only by America.  Moreover, Tarshish is a nation of merchants.  When we look at Great Britain and at Spain,
we see that Pre-eminently this name is applicable to England rather than to Spain.  We therefore conclude that Tarshish is none other than the United Kingdom.

But who are the young lions thereof?  According to the Golden Rule of Interpretation we are to take everything at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the context indicate otherwise.  IT is clear that Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish are nations.  Yet the young lions join their voices with them in issuing a protest against the aggressive action of Russia and her allies in invading Palestine.

But lions cannot speak in human language and approve what men say; we know that they are not literal beasts.  This fact forces us to understand that they are used symbolically.  What then is the significance of these wild beasts?  A glance at Daniel, chapter 7, shows that animals are there used symbolically and are interpreted as signifying kings and the kingdoms over which they rule.  ( See Daniel 7:17, 23)   Whenever God attaches a meaning to any symbol in the Scriptures, and when it is used with a figurative significance in other passages, it indicates the same thing.  When we understand that the lions of our passage are used symbolically, and when we remember that their significance when thus employed is that of a civil government, we see that this is exactly the meaning which accords with the facts of our passage.  The young lions of this prediction that join their voices with that of England, Sheba, and Dedan are the younger nations of the world.  It is a well-known fact that the governments of the Western Hemisphere are indeed the young nations.  We are therefore logically bound to interpret these young lions as signifying the Western Democracies, that are ever drawing closer and closer to Great Britain in their thinking and political
schemes.  It is a well-known fact that the western nations of Europe are working in the closest connection with the United States, Canada, and the powers of the Western Hemisphere.  There are also alliances that are joining the nations of the Western Hemisphere together.  At the present time Russia is recognized as the great leader of the East.  At the same time England and France, together with the countries of the Western Hemisphere, are recognized as the “Western
Powers.”  We constantly hear over the radio and read in current literature of the “iron curtain” which has been lowered over Central Europe.  The gulf
between Russia and her allies on the one hand and the Western Powers on the other is constantly widening.  A close survey of the political situation of our day reveals the fact that there is developing today the exact political pattern that is set forth in Ezekiel’s prophecy.

There may be changes in the picture that might temporarily appear to discredit this position.  But such minor moves will, in my judgment, not affect the over-all picture.  (In this connection I wish to throw out a warning:  It is well for us to profit by the lessons taught by the past.  Many excellent brethren were of the profound conviction that Mussolini was either the forerunner of the Antichrist or the Antichrist himself and taught to this effect.  Events, however, discredited this interpretation.  In view of the possibilities of anyone’s being mistaken in regard to the proper interpretation of a given prophecy and the identification of its fulfillment, it behooves all of us to keep our minds open to truth and to keep seeking for further and additional light.  At the present time, however, I accept the same position as to this prophecy that I have held for years—even though events at times seemed to favor a different interpretation.)

According to verse 8 the Jews have the status of a state in the land of their fathers at the time of the fulfillment of this prediction.  As is well known to everyone, the state of Israel was proclaimed as a reality on May 15, 1948.  She has been recognized by some of the leading powers of the world as a nation and is accorded all the privileges and advantages of a modern state.  So far, therefore, as this phase of Israel’s status is concerned, her situation has developed to the extent that the prophecy may now be fulfilled.  Of course, as we shall presently see, it is impossible for the prediction now to be fulfilled; because, when this invasion occurs, the people of Israel will be dwelling in their land, enjoying peace, prosperity, and plenty.  So long, therefore, as the endless antagonism
and fighting continues in the land, the prediction cannot be fulfilled.

B.  What occurs according to the prediction?

When the East is pitted against the West and Israel is enjoying statehood in her own land, our prediction will find its fulfillment, in the latter days.
The first thing in the unfolding of the drama of our prophecy is set forth in the following words:  “And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy hordes, and many peoples with thee” (38:9).  The language of this verse is modern, up to the last minute.  Let us note the three statements made:  First, Gog with his forces ascends; second, they come like a storm; third, they like a cloud cover the land of Palestine.  We are not concerned at this point regarding what Ezekiel’s contemporaries understood by his language.  Since the prophecy is to be fulfilled in the latter days, and since we are in the latter days—as the facts of present-day events indicate—the question with us is:  What do they mean to us today?  There can be no doubt concerning the proposition that Ezekiel was shown in vision what would occur when the prediction is fulfilled.  In describing the events he says that Gog ascends, that is, he goes up from the earth.  His vast hosts are with him.  After they ascend, they go to the land of Palestine and their going is compared to a storm.  When they arrive at their destination, they cover the land “like a cloud.”  It is clear that Ezekiel was speaking of some vast military operation.  I ask the reader this question:  What does such language mean to us today?  There is but one answer, which is that it is a clear indication of the sending forth from Russia of an aerial armada against Palestine.  On D-Day, 1944, at the zero hour, a great aerial armada went like a storm from England
and covered the Normandy Peninsula like a cloud.  Thus a beachhead was formed in France which developed into a mighty military Juggernaut that rolled over France, across the Rhine, and continued its irresistible onward movement until the American armies met the Russians at a point agreed upon by President Roosevelt with Stalin.  To interpret Ezekiel’s language as referring to an airborne army with all its necessary equipment is to interpret this passage with soberness and sanity.

When the forces of Gog invade Palestine, the Western Democracies will issue a protest in which they ask, “Art thou come to take the spoil?  Hast thou
assembled thy company to take the prey?  To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil?” (vs.13)  This protest seems rather weak; nevertheless we are told that it is that which will be sent to the invading forces.  The Western Powers do not go beyond the issuing of this protest.  The reason for this is that they do not have to do anything more, because God steps into the picture in a miraculous manner and intervenes in Israel’s behalf.  The first thing which the Lord does when all the high places of Palestine are seized is to cause an earthquake in the land of Israel.  “For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall to the ground” (vss. 19-20).  This earthquake is not the result of natural
causes but is the action of the Almighty, for it is said that all the things in the earthquake zone “shall shake at my [Jehovah’s] presence.”  This statement leaves no doubt that the earthquake is the result of direct intervention of God Almighty.  The destruction resulting therefrom is of course to be understood as being within the earthquake zone, which is the land of Israel, Palestine.

By this earthquake doubtless vast hordes of the invaders will be killed, when the high places which they seize, and which they hold, are shaken down and the valleys are filed with the debris.  Such a catastrophic event will throw those who are not killed by that initial stroke into absolute confusion.  Then there will be a mutual slaughtering of their forces.  This reminds one of the self-destruction of the Midianites when they invaded Israel, and when Gideon’s men waved their torches and cried, “To Jehovah and to Gideon” (Judges, chaps. 6 and 7). After this turn of events the Lord will smite those remaining alive “with pestilence and with blood.”  This will be a miraculous judgment which will fall upon those surviving the ordeal up to that moment.  The next stroke of judgment will come in the form of rain, a regular cloudburst that will doubtless destroy multitudes.  The final stroke will come in the form of “great hailstones, fire and brimstone” (vs. 22).  By all of these acts of judgment the entire forces of Gog and his allies invading Palestine will be wiped out.  We have reason to  believe that they will be destroyed to a man.

Is there any battle described here?  Some prophetic students think that they see a conflict.  But when the chapter is read carefully and each thought weighed, it becomes quite evident that there is but one army, the invaders, and that this entire military force is wiped out by miraculous intervention on the part of the Almighty.

(There is a chart that is in the booklet at this point that deals with the invading forces.  Also D. L. Cooper has two principles of interpreting prophecy:

The Law of Recurrence:
After the prophets made a statement relative to something in the future, they often gave a fuller discussion covering the same ground, but laying the emphasis in a different place.  The second presentation is but supplemental to the first.  It therefore clarifies the picture.  This is a most important law, which finds
many applications throughout the Scriptures.   The Bible student should master this principle to the extent that he can recognize an application of it whenever he comes across it.

The Law or Double Reference:
There is what is known among Bible students as the law of double reference or manifold fulfillment of prophecy.  We find many applications of this principle.
The principle might be illustrated by a stereopticon which gives the dissolving effect.  One picture is thrown upon the screen.  It begins to fade and at the same time the dim outline of another begins to appear.  By the time the first has faded, the second is in full view.  One must master this rule if one is to understand the message of the prophets.)

C.  When will the prediction be fulfilled?

The next question to be asked in this connection is, when will this prediction be fulfilled?  Four answers are given by different ones.  One group asserts that it will be fulfilled before the Tribulation.  Others believe that it will be fulfilled in the Tribulation, especially at the very end of it.  There is another group which feels that it will be fulfilled in the Millennium.  There are still others who are confident that it will be fulfilled at the conclusion of the millennial reign of our Lord.  All four answers cannot be correct.  Three are bound to be wrong.  What is the truth in regard to the matter?

Let us take these answers in the reverse order and by the process of elimination determine the truth regarding this subject.  Those who believe that it
will be fulfilled at the end of the Millennium find proof for their position in the fact that there is a great host of people who go up from the four corners of the earth to Jerusalem after the thousand-year reign of our Lord in order to intimidate Him and to embarrass His regime.  These are called “Gog and Magog.”
Because of the presence of Ezekiel’s prophecy and that of John in Revelation, chapter 20, of the words, Gog and Magog, some have thought that both passages are talking of the same thing.  Thus identifying these two predictions as referring to a single event and seeing that the invasion of Palestine mentioned by John is at the end of the Millennium, these interpreters insist the Ezekiel’s prophecy will be fulfilled after Christ’s thousand-year reign upon earth.  The presence, let it be understood, of similar words in two or more passages does not at all prove identity of persons or events.  The facts of each context must be consulted to determine the identification and the locating of the events of a passage.

The situation set forth in Ezekiel’s prophecy is one thing; that which is found in John’s passage in Revelation, chapter 20, is entirely different.  In Ezekiel’s prophecy there are two great confederations of nations, the forces of the Great Northeastern Confederacy that invade Palestine and the Western
Democracies that protest.  In the Revelation passage the forces that go up to Jerusalem with hostile intent are from the four corners of the globe—an international movement.  In no sense can we expand the prophecy of Ezekiel and make of it a global affair.  On the other hand, we cannot change the great international movement mentioned in Revelation and reduce it to become a local affair as Ezekiel’s passage sets forth.  For this and other reasons that cannot be mentioned it is impossible for us to identify Ezekiel’s prophecy with that made by John in Revelation, which latter prediction occurs after the Millennium is over.  For this reason, therefore, we are confident that Ezekiel’s prediction cannot be fulfilled after the Millennium.

Can it be fulfilled during the Millennium, as some seem to teach?  This is impossibility, for the following reason:  When the Lord Jesus comes back to this earth to establish His kingdom; He causes wars to cease (Ps. 46:11).   All the weapons of war will be converted into agricultural implements.  Neither shall men learn war anymore.  In view of this statement we are confident that it will be impossible to equip an army during the Millennium.  Since the forces mentioned by Ezekiel are well-armed, trained, and disciplined, it is impossible for this prediction to be fulfilled during the thousand-year reign of our Lord.

Can it refer to something that will occur in the Tribulation, especially what is usually called “the battle of Armageddon”?  My answer to this question
is in the negative.  The political situation when the invasion of Palestine by Gog and Magog takes place in one thing; that which will exist in the Tribulation, especially the latter half of it, is entirely different.  Moreover, when Ezekiel’s prediction is fulfilled, the Jews will be dwelling in Palestine in peace, plenty, and prosperity.  During the Tribulation they will be robbed, plundered, and hounded from one place to another.  For a picture of Israel in the Tribulation see Isaiah 42:18-22.  The same situation is echoed in Psalm 79.  For these and many other reasons it is impossible for us to believe that Ezekiel’s prediction will be fulfilled during the Tribulation.

Since it cannot be fulfilled after the Millennium, nor during the Millennium, nor during the Tribulation, it must take place before the Tribulation.  From
this conclusion there can be no escape.

EZEKIEL,
CHAPTER 39

            What is the relation that exists  between chapters 38 and 39?  Is the prophecy of chapter 39 dealing with an entirely different situation?  OR does it supplement the one found in chapter 38?  A careful examination of the first six verses shows conclusively that the prophet is talking about the same event which he describes in chapter 38.  The reason for this conclusion is found in the fact that the forces of Gog are completely wiped out by the events foretold in chapter 38.  In the light of this truth there would be no other man and no other nations rallying to his standard that could be described in chapter 39.  In view of these facts it is quite evident that chapter 39 is a part of the prophecy of chapter 38 and supplements it.

             Such a method of delineating the future is frequently resorted to by the various prophets.  This principle is known by Bible students as the Law of Recurrence.  I may illustrate it as follows:  I was with a famous artist when he painted the portrait of a certain lady.  At the first appointment he, after having
lights and shadows exactly as he wanted them and proper expression on her face, did what the artists call “blocking out” the portrait.  He did that in a very few minutes.  Thus he soon transferred to the canvas the likeness of his subject.  He then said that he was through for that time and asked for nother appointment for a “second sitting.”  On this second occasion after getting his lights and shadows as he wanted them and having the proper expression on his subject’s face, he brought out details which he had simply in a primary manner put in at the first sitting.  He also brought out new features, details that were not suggested at first.  In the language, therefore, of portrait painting we would say that Ezekiel “blocked out” his picture in chapter 38.  Some of the details he brought out in very bold relief.  Others he omitted.  However, in chapter 39, at the “second sitting,” he added new features, as well as touching up some of the older ones.

One of the new details which is added in chapter 39 is the flattening out by God Almighty himself of the whole country of Magog, Russia, and the destruction of all their forces who, as fifth columns, are slavishly working in the interest of Gog.  This is found in 39:6:  “And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.”  WE must always bear in mind that this oracle is directed against Gog, a future—in fact the last—ruler of Russia, and his forces.  WE are told that the Lord God Almighty rains down fire upon Magog, the country of Gog, and all Russia.  Russia and her allies will send vast forces down into Palestine to seize the country in a bid for world power.  As we have seen, these forces will be wiped out, exterminated to a man.  In completing the overthrow of these armies, the Lord rains down fire and brimstone, as we have already seen, upon them.  In the verse which is immediately before us, we see that God rains down fire, probably also brimstone, upon Magog.  Since this oracle is directed against Russia as a military power, we have good reason to believe that this judgment of fire and brimstone rained down from heaven will destroy her armies and the war potential that will be in the fatherland.  Of course Gog will not send all of his forces down into Palestine.  Some will be held in reserve to be sent to other portions of the world as Gog makes his bid for world power.  Thus we can see the blotting out of the great Soviet Union as a government from the earth.  Let it be borne in mind that this is a judgment which God Almighty hurls against Gog.  He is able to carry out this threat.

We also learn from this verse that God rains down fire upon the forces of Gog that are secure “in the isles.”  The word rendered isles in the original meant coast-lands. It soon expanded its meaning to embrace nations that had a waterfront.  As time passed, it took on a larger significance and was used to refer to a nation regardless of whether or not it was on a body of water.  This is the significance which it has in the present passage.  From this verse we see that there will be those in the employ of and working for the Russians, and who will be scattered among the nations.  In other words, this passage refers to the Quislings that Gog will have in strategic positions of the governments of the world in order to cripple them when he makes his bid for world power, so that they will be unable to marshal their forces against him and resist his aggressive designs.  But the Lord knows where every one of these spies and traitors throughout the nations is.  When Gog does make his initial stroke, the Lord will destroy all of his Quislings throughout the world and thus blot out from all countries those forming a fifth column for the overthrow of the nations.

Another detail which as this secondo sitting Ezekiel adds to his portrait is that there will be sufficient wood and combustible materials, from the arms and weapons of Gog’s armies that invade Palestine to supply fuel for the country for seven years.  When a person realizes that this is a prediction of a bid on the part of Russia and her allies for world power, and when he sees the great amount of supplies that will be necessary to be sent along with such vast hordes of armies, it becomes very clear that there will be enough wood in these supplies to furnish a country like Palestine with fuel for seven years.

Another detail of this portrait that is placed at this second sitting is that of the burial of the forces of Gog that fall under the strokes of the Almighty in the land of Palestine.  It will take especially assigned groups of men seven months to bury all of the dead that fall in that great catastrophic event.  This latter detail is found in 39:11-16.

THE
OVERTHROW OF THE ANTICHRIST AND HIS VAST ARMIES

            We have just seen that Ezekiel 39:1-16 is a description of the details that are added at the second sitting of the painting of this picture.  But in 39:17-21 we have a prophecy that goes far beyond that of Gog and his forces that invade Palestine.  Everyone should read 39:17-24 very carefully.  He will note in verse 18 that the expression, “the princes of the earth,” occurs.  These princes of the world are the leaders of the forces which invade Palestine, and which are mentioned in verses 17-20.  This army, therefore, cannot be the one that invades Palestine under the leadership of God, for those that accompany him are only the rulers of the Great Northeastern Confederacy.  In contrast, therefore, with the latter is the force led by “the princes of the earth,” an international army.  When his force is thus destroyed, God will, according to verse 21, set His glory “among the nations.”  From the day of the overthrow of these vast armies, and the setting of God’s glory in Palestine among the nations—from that day forward the people of Israel will know that Jehovah is their God, and that He is Supreme Ruler of the universe.  These facts are asserted in verses 21 and 22:  “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 upon them.  22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and
forward.”  Thus the army that is described in verses 17-20 and that is destroyed immediately before God sets His glory—the coming of Israel’s glorious Messiah to reign upon the earth—can be no army other than that of the Antichrist, which is destroyed at the time that Christ appears upon the earth to set up His reign.  Confirmation of this position may be seen by reading Revelation 19:11—20:4.  In this passage we see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the rider upon the white horse.  He makes war against an international army under the leadership of the Antichrist and destroys it completely.  Then Satan is bound.  At that time the Lord mounts the throne of David and is crowned KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS of all the earth.  Ezekiel 30:17-24 is seen, in the light of the Revelation passage, to be talking about the same identical thing.

            Since the overthrow of Gog’s forces as described in chapter 38 and in the first 16 verses of chapter 39 occurs before the Tribulation and since the
overthrow of the armies mentioned in 39:17-20 takes place at the time that God sets His glory among the nations, we see that the destruction of this second
army occurs at the end of the Tribulation.  Since, however, the destruction of Gog’s armies occurs before the Tribulation, we see that there are at least seven years which separate these two overthrows of the armies of the enemies of Israel.  There is, therefore, a blending of the description of the overthrow of Gog’s armies with the prediction of the overthrow of the armies of the Antichrist.  Thus Ezekiel 39:1-16 is related to Ezekiel 39:17-29 by the principle which is known as the Law of Double Reference.  This principle is frequently employed throughout the Scriptures.  I might illustrate it by the stereopticon which gives the dissolving effect.  One picture is thrown upon the screen.  As the audience views it with delight, it begins to fade.  At the same time there appear the faint outlines of another picture.  By the time the first one has faded, the second one is in full view.  The pictures thus presented and blending may be centuries or millenniums apart.  A like situation exists in the prophetic word.  An excellent example of this principle is found in Zechariah 9:9, 10.  In verse 9 the first coming of Christ is clearly set forth.  Then without any indication whatsoever the second coming of Christ is depicted in verse 10.  Approximately two thousand years separate these two events.  Nevertheless, they are blended together into a single prophecy.  In a similar matter the destruction of the forces of Gog before the Tribulation, found in Ezekiel 38:1-39:16, is blended with the destruction of the Antichrist at the end of the Tribulation, which prophecy is found in 39:17-29.

According to the scientific principles of biblical exegesis we see clearly the prediction concerning the two future invasions of Palestine and the complete overthrow of these military forces.

But penitent Israel, acknowledging her national sin and pleading for the return of the Messiah, will be delivered from her greatest enemy, the Antichrist and his forces.  She will be established, having been purged of all wicked and rebellious ones, in the land of her fathers and will become a blessing to the world and fill the earth with fruit (Isa. 27:2).