Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: and I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords Ezekiel 38:2-4
Like the Rapture, the Gog Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39 is one of the most debated prophecies among Christians. There are many sides of the debate for believers to discuss:
1. Who are the players? Is Russia involved or not?
2. When does it take place? Before the Rapture, after the Rapture, before the Tribulation, at the
end of the Tribulation, or at the end of the Millennium?
3. Is it the same war as Psalm 83? Is it the same war as Armageddon?
Let's see where Scripture leads us.
THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE GOG MAGOG WAR
Gog is noted as being the leader of Meshech and Tubal, and being of Magog. Many consider Gog to be from Russia and Meshech and Tubal to be Moscow and Tobolsk, but this is a misuse of those words.
The Hebrew word "Rosh" means "chief, the head, the top or beginning". You can see in the verses above that the King James Version translates the word "rosh" as "chief prince". Some other translations, however, translate it as it is written – "Rosh". But you cannot change the meaning of the word. What the verse says is Gog, the chief (leader) of Meshech and Tubal. It is not saying that Gog is Russia. Is Rosh Hashanah really Russia Hashanah? No, Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year".
The same error can be made if one assumes Meshech and Tubal sound like Moscow and Tobolsk. Meshech is actually Moschi/Mushki, and Tubal refers to Tubalu – both, along with Magog, were well established regions of Asia Minor in the 6th century BC when Ezekiel wrote his book. These included countries south of Russia and north of Israel – Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turmenistan, Azerbaijan, etc.[146] Afghanistan may be included as well. Again, "When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense..."
Gog, leader of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal –Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, etc.
Persia – Iran and Iraq
Ethiopia – Ethiopia and the Sudan
Libya – Libya
Gomer – central Turkey
Togarmah – southern Turkey, near the Syrian border
Here is a map showing where all the debatable participants of the Gog Magog War are located in Turkey:
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Some say that the Gog Magog War is actually the same as the Psalm 83 War, but it cannot be because the principals involved are not the same.
