The events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will occur after Christ’s return, at the very beginning of His rule over mankind—not 1,000 years later. In a previous Q&A, we discussed the fact that Jesus Christ will have to complete 3 ½ years of His public ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, before His rule over all nations in the Millennium can really begin to flourish. We saw that Christ will free the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah from captivity and bring them into the Promised Land. They will build the waste cities and inhabit them, live in peace and safety, and God will forgive all their iniquities and enter with them into the conditions of the new covenant.
To live God’s way of life is a learning process. For instance, we read in the book of Isaiah, that Gentile nations will hear about the law of God which will be taught by Christ in Jerusalem, and they will flock there to learn God’s laws as well (Isaiah 2:1-3). They will reach the point when they do not want to learn war anymore (verse 4). We also read that some nations will at first refuse to live by God’s law to observe His annual holy days (Zechariah 14:16-19). So Jesus will have to deal with all these problems.
We must view the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 in this light. We read that a great army from mostly Far Eastern countries will try to fight against the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah who had returned to the Promised Land and who will be living peacefully. God will allow those Gentile nations to advance against Jerusalem for several reasons. He will show these nations that He is LORD and that war and rebellion will not be permitted under Christ’s rule—so He will deal with those hostile armies very quickly. Also note that these events will apparently take place during the remaining 3 ½ years of Christ’s public ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This ministry will include, first and foremost, the important teaching that man is not to fight in war—ever. Before Israel can become an example of peaceful coexistence with other nations, it has to learn and embrace this understanding itself. After all, Israel has been a war-waging nation throughout most of its existence, without ever really trusting in God that He would fight their battles for them. Christ told Peter to put his sword away (Matthew 26:52), and this is the same teaching which Christ will bring to all of the survivors of Israel and Judah, as well as to the rest of the world.
We published a Q&A on the timing of the events, as described in the 38th and 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel. Let us quote here from this Q&A:
“Ezekiel 38:8, 16, tells us that the events will occur ‘in the latter years’ or in the ‘latter days.’ Verse 8 emphasizes that it will happen at the time when those living in the land have been ‘brought back from the sword and gathered from among many people.’ We are also told that ‘they were brought out of the nations’ and led to ‘the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate.’ It is emphasized that they are NOW dwelling ‘safely.’ Verse 12 also reiterates that these former ‘waste places’ are ‘again inhabited,’ and that the people of Israel, who were gathered from the nations, ‘have acquired livestock and goods.’ Since there will be no desolate mountains of Israel throughout the Millennium, and since the people of Israel have been living in safety during the Millennium, and since they were gathered out of the nations and brought to the Promised Land at the time of Christ’s return, it is clear that the events described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 do not occur 1,000 years AFTER Christ’s return.”
At the same time, it is evident that these events do NOT take place PRIOR to Christ’s return. Continuing with our Q&A on Ezekiel 38 and 39:
“We read in Ezekiel 38:11 that the people of Israel will live in ‘unwalled villages’; that they are a ‘peaceful people, who dwell safely,’ ‘without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’ This shows that the events will not occur PRIOR to Christ’s return, as the modern descendants of the houses of Israel and Judah — mainly the USA, Great Britain, Canada and the state of Israel–do not live in peace today, and they will not live in peace, without walls, bars or gates, prior to Christ’s return (For proof, please read our free booklets, ‘The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,’ and ‘The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.’)… Also, Ezekiel 38:8 refers to the ‘mountains of Israel’ where the modern houses of Israel and Judah will live at that time–but the modern house of Israel does not presently reside there at all, nor will they live there prior to Christ’s return.”
To fully grasp the importance of the events, which are described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we must realize that God will be intervening very mightily. He will show mankind that He does not need their help in fighting against His enemies, as Moses told the Israelites at the time of their Exodus from Egypt: “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:14).
We say in our Q&A on Ezekiel 38 and 39:
“Ezekiel 39 emphasizes in numerous places that God will destroy the invading army, and that because of God’s intervention, the nations, and especially the nation of Israel, will know that He is the Lord. Verse 22 states: ‘So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.’ This is clearly a reference to the BEGINNING of the Millennium–not to the END when God has ruled over the world and Israel for 1,000 years. Verses 23-29 add that the Gentiles will know by then that ‘the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity’–a reference to the coming slavery of the modern house of Israel, prior to Christ’s return. Christ will free the modern nations of Israel and Judah out of their slavery when He returns–not 1,000 years later (compare verses 25, 27-28). It is THEN that God will begin to convert the survivors of the modern houses of Israel and Judah (verse 29)–not 1,000 years later.”
In our Q&A on the timing of the events in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we also identify the Gentile nations mentioned in these passages which will build a coalition against Israel and Judah. They include peoples from China, Russia, Iran, Libya, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, as well as peoples from the vast regions in northern Eurasia extending from the Baltic to the Pacific. As we put it in our Q&A, “But when they attack, GOD will do the fighting for His people… He would do the same for our peoples today, if we would only let Him do so, submit to HIM and be obedient to His commands.”
We also briefly allude to another attack of hostile armies against the camp of the saints in Jerusalem at the very END of the Millennium, stating the following:
“A similar… attack on Jerusalem will occur about 1,000 years later, after Satan has been ‘released from his prison’… He will ‘go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea’ (Revelation 20:7-8). As they did 1,000 years earlier, they will try to conquer Jerusalem, but God will destroy them (verse 9). Again, no human being will fight against those warring and attacking nations–it will be GOD who will do the fighting for His people. This is the last time that we read that humans–deceived by Satan the devil–will fight. Satan will be removed forever, unable to deceive humans anymore to fight and kill in war. Ultimately, ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ (Revelation 21:4).”
At the beginning of the Millennium, after Christ has returned and while He is fulfilling the remaining 3 ½ years of His public ministry, hostile nations will try to attack Israel and Judah because they still have Satanically-inspired feelings and habits to contend with. When moving ahead 1,000 years, the peoples in the Millennium did not know Satan and his demons who were imprisoned during that time. They were unaware of Satan and his evil devices. Once he is released from prison for a short while, he goes out to deceive the nations, as he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. And as Eve fell for Satan, so will those people, choosing to believe Satan rather than God. Having lived all this time in a peaceful “Garden of Eden,” they still want to believe Satan. This shows us how powerful Satan is, and we must never underestimate him. Today, he is still very much free, roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). But God will make a quick end to Satan’s influence then, as He promised to do for us now, if we are submitting to God and let Him fight our battles (James 4:7; Romans 16:20).
Lead Writer: Norbert Link
