Ezekiel 38 describes an End Days invasion of Israel by an alliance of nations. The traditional interpretation has Russia being the leader of this coalition with other nations being Iran (Persia), Turkey, Ethiopia and Libya and some of the former Soviet Republics. This outer ring invades Israel when she is feeling secure. Ezekiel 38:11 says, “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’” Recently, many have been noting that the this Alliance is moving toward formation. But this last month there seems to be a little trouble with that. Turkey and Russia, believed to be two of the major principles of this allied group, well they just are getting along.
President Erdogan of Turkey issued a “final warning” to Russia over its support of Syria before launching attacks. From Breaking Israel News: “On Thursday, Turkish troops with heavy weapons entered northern Idlib while Turkish artillery shelled Syrian army positions. The Russian air force came to the aid of the Syrian army, bombing Turkish positions in the region. Fifty Syrian soldiers and members of Iranian-backed Shiite militias were killed in the battle and Turkey lost two soldiers. The Turkish military and their Islamist rebel allies also destroyed five tanks and four armored vehicles belonging to the pro-Assad troops. Two Turkish soldiers were killed in a Russian airstrike, bringing the total Turkish military casualties in Syria to 16. More than 50 Syrian soldiers were killed in retaliation.”[i] So does this mean the Ezekiel Alliance is breaking up? Will God’s prophecy go unfulfilled…for the first time?
Hardly! First of all God could fix this. But for the record, not everyone holds that Russia is part of this allied grouping. An alternate view is that we are not looking for Gog / Magog to be the Russia but rather Turkey. Russia’s role is then to serve as “king of the north” (Daniel 11:40) that comes against Antichrist “like a whirlwind.” In that scenario Russia then becomes the King of the North and what was southern Soviet Russia, (combined with Turkey) is the Muslim Magog Alliance. [All of that needs much more explaining and I’ll soon run a series to do so.]
[i] Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Erdogan Gives “Final Warning” Before Launching Gog-Magog War Against “Edom” Russia,
Breaking Israel News, February 24, 2020
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