By
Bill Salus
ProphecyDepot.com
Current Middle
East events are definitely stage setting for the final fulfillment of the
Israeli War prophecies of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39. Turkey's recent newsworthy
gyrations against Israel has got the “EZEKIEL 38 NOW” advocates rightfully at
the edge of their seats. Now, Turkey and Iran, both members of the Ezekiel 38-39
prophecy, share a common enmity toward Israel.
Mainstream media has
seized the opportunity to make Turkey’s bid to embarrass Israel and Iran’s
nuclear aim to destroy Israel front page news. This media blitz has played an
instrumental part in creating a significant amount of recent Ezekiel 38
newspaper exegesis.
Certainly, there is just cause to consider the
Ezekiel 38–39 prophecy in light of recent events, however, what about Hezbollah,
Syria, Hamas, and the Palestinians? They also are at odds with Israel and
likewise frequently dominate current Mideast headlines. Curiously, Ezekiel 38
describes nine distinct populations by their ancient names including Russia,
Iran, Turkey, and Libya but omits the historic name equivalents of Hezbollah,
Syria, Hamas, and the Palestinians
In light of the fact that these
omitted populations are presently among Israel’s most observable enemies, some
“EZEKIEL 38 NOW” advocates have attempted to identify them in Ezekiel
38:6 among the "many peoples with thee" of the Ezekiel 38 Magog
confederacy. However, there are three potential problems with this line of
teaching.
1. Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas and the Palestinians along with
Egyptians, Saudis, and Jordanians are identified in a distinctly different
Israeli War prophecy described in Psalm 83. The Psalm lists ten entirely
separate members not included among the Ezekiel 38:1-6
invaders. Thus it is probable they are not the “many peoples with thee” in Ezekiel
38:6, but are the “many peoples distinct from thee.”
2. The
hordes of Ezekiel 38 invaders must cross over much of the land possessed by
these Psalm 83 nations and/or territories presently occupied by the terrorist
populations in order to invade the nation of Israel. This beckons the question;
Why aren't these nations, terrorists, or refugees listed among the Ezekiel 38
invaders?
3. Most importantly, Ezekiel 38 identifies nine specific
invading populations but oddly doesn’t mention any of the Psalm 83 Arab
confederates among them. This conspicuous omission makes no sense when you
consider that Ezekiel references all of the Psalm 83 members numerous times
elsewhere throughout his prophetic book.
Case in point, Ezekiel lists
Tyre 12 times. Tyre is a member of Psalm 83 and likely represents the Hezbollah
today. He alludes to Philistia and/or Philistines 4 times. They are probably the
Hamas. Edom or the Edomites are referenced 7 times. Asaph, the author of Psalm
83, calls them the tents of Edom and I interpret that as today’s Palestinian
refugees.
The
other Psalm 83 members like, Moab or Moabites, Ammon or Ammonites, Amalakites,
Egyptians, Assyrians, Gebal (Lebanon), and the Saudis under the ancient banners
of Dedan or the Ishmaelites, are also referenced elsewhere in the book of
Ezekiel. In fact, all together the above Psalm 83 confederates are mentioned 89
times by Ezekiel.
Not one of those 89 references shows up in Ezekiel
38-39, with the exception of a potential Saudi contingent represented by Dedan
in Ezekiel 38:13.
But in this instance, Dedan appears to abstain from enjoining with the Ezekiel
invaders. This suggests they want no further part in an invasion of Israel. Ezekiel
25:13 declares many in Dedan will be killed in a war, which appears
to be the result of the Psalm 83 war. If so, this could be the reason they
apparently opt out of the Ezekiel invasion.
I believe the glaring
omission of the Psalm 83 Arab confederates from the Ezekiel 38 list of invaders
suggests they are not part of the Ezekiel 38-39 invasion. It is highly possible
that they are defeated either prior to, or in the aftermath of, the Ezekiel
38–39 Israeli War prophecy. Listed below are a few of the reason I believe Psalm
83 precedes Ezekiel 38.
Ezekiel
38:8-13 mandates that Israel must be dwelling securely, without
walls, bars, or gates, and in the center of the Genesis 15:18
landmass. Additionally, the Jewish State must be in receipt of great spoil. In
my estimation, Israel today is not fulfilling these conditions.
Israel is
unable to dwell securely as a result of their surrounding Psalm 83 hostile Arab
neighbors. Walls, bars, and gates exist in Israel today in order to protect them
from being terrorized by certain members of the Psalm 83 confederates, like
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinians in general. Additionally, the goal of the
Ezekiel 38 invaders is to destroy Israel and take plunder and great spoil.
Israel doesn’t’ presently appear to possess the great spoil that Russia and
their coalition will someday covet.
However, in the aftermath of an
Israeli Conquest over the Psalm 83 confederates, all of the above requirements
could easily be met. A safe dwelling Israel could temporarily emerge. Arab
spoils of war could be had, additional territory annexed, and walls, bars, and
gates could be swiftly brought down.
Another important distinction
between the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83 is found in their differing
motives. Psalm 83:12
declares that the Arab confederates want to destroy Israel to take over the
Promised Land. Ezekiel
38:12-13 states the Ezekiel invaders seek to destroy the Jewish State
and confiscate plunder and great spoil.
The Exceedingly Great Army of Ezekiel
37:10 Argument
Another important difference
between Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 may be understood by identifying the purpose of
the “exceedingly great army” of Ezekiel 37:10.
The Ezekiel 38 invaders are destroyed divinely, but the Psalm 83 Arab
confederates appear to be defeated by the Israeli Defense Forces according to Ezekiel
25:14, and Obadiah
1:18.
Interestingly, an exceedingly great army of Israel is
mentioned in Ezekiel 37:10.
This reference seemingly segues into the Ezekiel 38–39 prophecy. Logically, a
reader might assume this army plays an instrumental role in the war of Ezekiel
38. However, Ezekiel 38:18-
39:6 teaches that this army plays little to no part in Ezekiel’s
invasion.
Upon closer investigation, this army appears to be the tool
empowered by God to defeat the Psalm 83 Arab confederacy. If so, the fact that
the army of Ezekiel 37:10
is referenced prior to the Ezekiel 38-39 war passages infers that
chronologically Psalm 83 precedes Ezekiel 38.
Some of today’s expositors
teach that Ezekiel 37:10
alludes to a “multitude” rather than an army. However, there are some important
interpretive details to consider when deciphering Ezekiel 37:10.
The Hebrew word Ezekiel uses in verse 10 for army is, "chayil" and it
is used 12 times elsewhere by Ezekiel and over 225 times throughout the Old
Testament.
All of Ezekiel’s usages and many Old Testament renderings
clearly depict it as either an army or riches acquired via the spoils obtained
in the aftermath of a war. Nowhere else in the book of Ezekiel can it possibly
be translated as a multitude. This establishes precedent that an army rather
than a multitude is being described by Ezekiel.
Ezekiel’s 12 specific
usages of the word “chayil” are as follows;
Further supporting the proper interpretation
being an army, the following Bible translations interpret
chayil to be
an “army”: King James Version, New King James Version, American Standard
Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, New Living
Translation, New Century Version, and The Living Bible.
Conversely, the
Revised Standard Version translates the word as “host”. The New Revised Standard
Version calls it a “multitude”. Obviously the reasons to interpret
Ezekiel
37:10 as an army far outweigh the arguments for it alluding to a host
or multitude.
In conclusion, the fulfillment of a Bible prophecy mandates
that the episode meets the prophetic description of the event entirely and
exactly. There can be no overlooking even the slightest detail given. The
growing tendency among eschatologists to recognize that current Mideast events
are stage setting for the coming Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 wars is to be
commended. However, newspaper exegesis can often cause us to overlook
significant prophetic details and should be avoided.
Perhaps Ezekiel 38
will come soon and precede Psalm 83, but from the numerous points made above it
is a doubtful. There are ten members listed in Psalm 83 not listed in Ezekiel
38. These ten represent Israel’s most observable modern day enemies since
becoming a nation in 1948. They should be considered carefully before elevating
the Ezekiel 38–39 Gog of Magog invasion to an imminent
event.
