The Strand Study Bible

EZEKIEL 38:9

EZEKIEL 38:22

1305

9 1 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. P 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, 1 and thou shalt think an evil thought: P 11 And thou shalt say, 1 I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, P 12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; 1 to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the peo- ple that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. P 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of 2 Tarshish, with all the young lions there- of, shall say unto thee, 1 Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy com- pany to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? P 14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto 3 Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwell- eth safely, shalt thou not know it? 15 1 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many peo- ple with thee, all of them riding upon hors- es, a great company, and a mighty army: P

16 1 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the hea- then may know me, when I shall be sancti- fied in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. P 17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring 1 thee against them? P God will destroy Russia and her allies 18 And it shall come to pass at the same time 1 when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. P 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day 4 there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; P 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, 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, 4 shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. P 21 4 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: 5 every man’s sword shall be against his brother. P

1. Fulfilled - Rev 6:3-4 (Russia to Invade Israel) 2. or, “Southern Spain” - Ezk 27:12 3. that is, “prince or ruler of Magog, i.e., Russia” 4. Fulfilled - Rev 6:4 (God to Destroy Russia) 5. Jud 7:22 & I Sam 14:20 & II Chro 20:23 & Rev 6:4

22 4 And I will plead against him with the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, 38:11 Because of Israel’s treaty with the future Antichrist (Dan 9:27), Israel will feel safe ( dwell safely ) and secure from any invasions (I Thess 5:3). William T. James in Foreshocks of Antichrist notes:

One day, perhaps quite soon, a leader will step from the ranks of his contemporaries, and through guile, persuasion, and diplomatic acumen unparalleled in the world’s long, war-torn history, he will convince even the most skeptical Israeli hard-liner to trust him to ensure Israel’s security. 1

38:12 The reason this great northern confederacy of atheistic and materialistic people will desire to attack Israel during the middle of the Seven-year Tribulation Period is because, since 1948, the development of Israel has been phenomenal. The mineral wealth alone in the Dead Sea is of almost incalculable value. Add to that the promise of huge amounts of oil, not only in shale form (thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem lies the Shfela basin, which holds the second largest deposit of oil shale in the world – 250 billion barrels of it), but also in liquid form as well, thousands of feet below the surface of Israel, just waiting to be brought up ( Gen 49:25 and Deut 33:24 ). Is it no wonder there will be an attack on Israel in the End Times? James R. and Steven M. Spillman, in their book called Breaking the Treasure Code believe this statement “ To take a spoil ” really means, “ To take a spOIL .” They note: What could Israel possibly possess in the last days that would make it such a prize for conquest that the world’s armies would meet there to fight for the spoils? Israel’s high-tech sector is respectable and her agricultural products are world-class but she doesn’t possess wealth enough to warrant the world’s avaricious interest to the point of invasion. Countries don’t invade their neighbors for pomegranates and olive oil…but they do go to war over another kind of oil. 2 38:13 According to Charles Ryrie in The Ryrie Study Bible , Sheba and Dedan are Arab peoples and Tarshish is located in the S. of Spain near Gibraltar. 3 1 James, William T. Foreshocks of Antichrist , Eugene, OR, Harvest House Pub., 1997. Print 2 James R. and Steven M. Spillman. Breaking the Treasure Code , Travelers Rest, SC, True Potential Pub., 1981. Print. 3 Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible, Chicago, ILL, Moody Press, 1978. Print.