gog6

“I Am the Bright Morning Star;
I came to be your SceptureStar;
There is no other God, but Me,
An’ if you believe I’m He; Come,
Take up your Cross, An’ do the
Works of My Kingdom with Me”
Isaiah 44:6-8, SheepShed Sent Ministries

Part Six
Gog & Magog o   o   o Is Rosh Russia? Is Gog Antichrist?
Gog & Magog as seen through the eyes of Walid
Shoebat, a born-again Muslim believer in Messiah
Yeshua. Our Brother, Walid, has written a book entitled
“God’s War On Terror,” Islam, Prophecy And The Bible.
Since he confirms in his book, what I have been
referring to, as, “The Great Sea Prophecies,” relating to
the Middle East and the Islamic nations being, the Clay
of Daniel’s chapter’s 2 and 7 prophecies… I bought our
brother’s book to study and share some of his insights
with you. I do have a few questions, however; and, we
make comments, then you can weigh them for
yourselves. This book may be obtained through Jewish
Voice: www.jewishvoice.org or call: 1-800-424-0408 to
order.
The Key to Unlocking Symbolism
We need the key that unlocks the meaning behind the
allegorical words that helps us understand biblical
symbolism. A lazy student will simply interpret a poem
to say what he wants it to mean. But No! the poem
means what its author intended it to mean.
   The purpose of studying the Bible is to properly
understand the meaning of any passage as the author
intended it to be understood… The Bible is God’s Word
and He means for us to understand what He says, not
what we would like Him to say. Amen Lord Jesus! “To
you is given the Mystery of the Kingdom!”

We do not like to come away from the Bible with our
own ideas about the future, but rather we hope to learn
what God is telling us. “Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men
of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,” 2
Peter 1”20-21.
   The Bible is constant and does not change meaning
with ever altering wind. For the last 500 years the
prevailing wind within the Protestant Church has
suggested that the Antichrist will come out of the Roman
Catholic Church or
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that we are somehow moving toward a One-World-
Government. While there are
indeed satanic forces that would like to unite the world
for their own purposes, a close examination of the
Scriptures tells us that Satan will not succeed. This
theory of Antichrist controlling the whole world is
completely wrong … God intervened in the Tower of
Babel, during Satan’s first attempt for control of the
world. This story will repeat itself when Messiah
intervenes and comes down to stop the Antichrist from
establishing a One-World Government … an Islamic
Caliphate. He intervened in the Tower of Babel, and He
will intervene in Armageddon. (But nevertheless, they
will continue to try to do so until that “mo’ed” comes. (I
heard on yesterday’s news that “Russia if in favor for a
One World Currency.” However, other comments on the
panel also said, “It will never happen)!”
   We must allow the Bible to speak its own language, so
let us look at the main symbols and decipher the keys to
unlock the prophetic puzzle, pp. 288-229.

The Battle of Gog, Chief Prince of Magog
Literal References for Ezekiel 38 o The Controversy
Over Rosh
Chapter 60

“The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, set
your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief
prince (Rosh) of Meshech and Tubal;’ prophesy against
him and say: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I
am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and
bring you out with your whole army … Persia, Cush and
Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also
Gomer with all its troops … the many nations with you.
“Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes
gathered about you, and take command of them … In
future years you will invade a land that has recovered
from war, whose people were gathered from many
nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been
desolate. They had been brought out from the nations,
and now all of them live in safety. You and all your
troops and many nations with you will go up, advancing
like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land,”
Ezekiel 38:1-9. Emphasis are mine.

One of the most popular prophecies of the Bible that has
captured the attention of prophecy students is the
“Battle of Gog and Magog” that is found in Ezekiel 38.
The passage speaks of a coalition of nations that attack
Israel, who are led by the nation of “Magog.” Many
prophecy teachers claim that Magog is Russia which will
be destroyed alongside with the Islamic nations. This
must occur
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(first) in order to usher in the Battle of Armageddon and
the coming of Christ. But these two arguments are
unfounded and totally depend on pure conjecture.

So, is Russia the nation of the Antichrist? Or is the
Battle of Gog and Magog a separate battle distinct from
the Battle of Armageddon? Are Gog and the Antichrist
one and the same? Does Gog come from Russia?

We will explain the main arguments:

  DOESN’T RUSSIA ARM MUSLIM NATIONS?
The most common argument for this assumption is that
Russia is supplying arms to Iran (Persia) and other
Muslim nations. But selling weapons does not amount to
primary evidence for anything Biblical. The United
States supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons. They also
gave weapons to Afghanistan during the Cold War in or
to defeat Communism. In doing so, they aided the
Mujahideen and indirectly created the Taliban. It was the
United States that forced Israel to allow elections for the
Arabs in Jerusalem … and now we have “Hamasistan” in
Gaza. The United States twisted Israel’s arm to pull out
of Lebanon and now we have Hezbollah practically
running that country. The United States, under Jimmy
Carter, gave the cold shoulder to the Shah of Iran and did
nothing when Khomeni and the Mujahideen-Khalq-Iran
took over. But do these destructive acts of ignorance tie
the U.S. into End-Times prophecy (of the Middle East)?
Yet in Joel Rosenberg’s runaway bestseller, Epicenter, it
is this type of evidence that is used as the primary
support for seeing Russia as the key player in the
coming “Gog and Magog” battle against Israel. But
circumstantial evidences cannot be used as substitutes
for solid Scriptural evidences. Circumstances change,
but God’s Word does not!

So do the above mention acts of the United States make
them the Biblical Gog or the land of the Antichrist? Well,
it certainly seems at times that the U.S. is under an
Antichrist spell. And Satan certainly wants nothing more
than to weaken the somewhat righteous nations that
stand with Israel and spread the Gospel
throughout the earth. But western mediocre minds of
American politicians would be no match for fourteen
centuries of Islamic deception. The Bible warned
Christians long ago to be wary of their enemy’s
pathological lies: “be as wise as serpents and as
innocent as doves,” Matthew 10:16.

The only one who knows Russia’s future is God. When
Russia stood with Nazi Germany, many concluded that
Hitler was the European Antichrist. They were
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wrong. As soon as Stalin was betrayed by Hitler, Russia
fought against Germany. If so many prophecy analysts
were wrong then, is there a chance that they are also
wrong again? During the Cold War, numerous prophecy
analysts focused on Communist Russia as a major
player in the End-Times. Of course she was. She was the
enemy of America and everyone knows that God is an
American, right? But then the superpower collapsed and
its Muslim parts created their own Commonwealth of
Independent States (C.I.S.). Few pay any attention to the
fact that they all are mentioned by their ancient names in
the Bible.

ISN’T “ROSH” RUSSIA?
The controversy has been brewing for years. Much of
the controversy revolves around the way that the word
“Rosh” in Ezekiel 38:2 is translated. Some Bibles
translate the word as a proper noun, “Rosh” and others
as “the chief prince.”
   Those who argue that Rosh is a proper noun almost
universally argue that it is referring to the modern nation
of Russia.
   Others object. Dr. Charles Ryrie, for example, takes
issue with the translation of Rosh as a proper noun. He
writes: “’The prince of Rosh’ is better translated as ‘the
chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.’”

While the NASB translates this verse as, “the prince of
Rosh” in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, a marginal note in 39:1
reads, “chief prince of Meshech.” Yet Meshech and
Tubal are not linked with a place called Rosh in any of its
other occurrences in the Bible. (See Gen 10:2; 1 Chron 1:
5; Isa 66:19, 8; Ezek 27:13; 32:26. So it is extremely
unlikely that in these two cases, Rosh would suddenly
take on an entirely different meaning from that used
elsewhere in the Old Testament.

In his book, Iran, The Coming Crisis, Bible prophecy
teacher Mark Hitchcok refers to Wilhelm Gesenius, one
of the most respected Hebrew scholars of modern times
to support the position that Rosh should be translated as
a proper noun. Hitchcock points out that the
Septuagint… a first century B.C. Greek Translation of the
Old Testament… also uses Rosh as a proper noun.

As impressive as a reference as Genesius is, it must be
remembered that he was a lexicographer and
grammarian, but not an authority on ancient history. Nor
do other greatly respected lexicograpers all agree with
Genesius. Another equally respected Hebrew Lexicon is
the Brown-Driver-Briggs (B-D-B) Lexicon. It is the work
of these three famous lexographers of the Hebrew
language. The B-D-B Lexicon indicates that there is no
identity known for the word “rosh” as a personal name.

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The far more reasonable translation of the Hebrew word
rosh in Ezekiel 38 is, “head of” or “chief.” The word Rosh
appears nearly 600 times in the Bible, and all but once, it
is interpreted as meaning “head, chief, top, best” or
something similar. Why, then, would we make an
exception here and translate it as a proper noun? The
word Rosh here is the Rosh that we find in the Rosh
Hashana… chief day of the year… the Jewish New Year.
   According to the Bible scholar Dr. Merrill F. Unger,
“Linguistic evidence for the equation [of Rosh with
Russia] is confessedly only presumptive.”
(However, SheepShed gives better evidence. The sons
of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal,
Meshech, and Tiras. Togarmah was one of Gomer’s
sons, and Tarshish and Kittim were sons of Javan. The
name “Rosh,” as a descendant, of either one of Noah’s
sons Japheth, Ham or Shem is not found listed in the
Family Tree of Genesis 10 … but, all the other sons are.
See lesson: The Beast That Was pp. 16-17, ShSd).
   So who then is right? Is Rosh a proper noun? Or does
it mean “chief?”

The Rosh people who lived north of the Black Sea in
ancient and medieval times were called the Rus / Ros/
Rox / Aorsi from very early times…from this mixture
with Slavs and with the Varangian Rus in the 9th century,
the Ros people of the area north of the Black Sea formed
the people known today as the Russians. And Rosh,
geographically, at the time of Ezekiel … were not placed
in Russia, states Clyde Billington a Hebrew scholar.
From a variety of sources it is known that a people
named the Ros or Rus lived in the same area near the
Black Sea where the Tauroi people lived. Geographically
north of the Black Sea would be the Ukraine.
Billington adds “early Byzantine Christian writers
identified the Rosh people of Ezekiel 38-39 with an early
group of people of southern Russia whom they called
the Ros.”
   While this may be true, the Byzantine era was
thousands of years after Ezekiel. Why must those who
support a Russian presence in Bible prophecy
jump forward nearly two thousands years to twist
Ezekiel’s words? At best,

Billington puts Rosh in the Ukraine, north of the Black
Sea or possibly in southern Russia, which would be the
Muslim regions of Georgia and Chechnya.
   In an article in the Grace Theological Journal, James
Price, a Bible scholar, identifies Rosh as “a well-known
land in antiquity on the banks of the Tigris river,
bordering on Elam and Ellipi,” in far western part of
modern Iran. (Madai, son of Japheth, are the Medes, who
merged with Shem’s descendant Elam, better known as
the land of Persia, who are the “breast and arms of
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silver,” the dual Empire of Nebuchadnezzar’s man-
image. See lesson “The Beast That Was” p. 17, ShSd).
So now Rosh is in Iran? One man’s argument might
sound good until they are examined by another’s.

(Magog, in Ezekiel’s day, was located in Asia Minor and
represent modern day Turkey. Japheth descendants
Javan, Kittim, Togarmah, Gomer and Magog began their
migrations in the land that is now called Turkey, Asia
Minor, (See lesson “The Beast That Was” p. 16, ShSd).

So if during Ezekiel’s day, Magog was located in Asia
Minor, then Magog comes to represent modern day
Turkey. This is the geographical method of identifying
the names listed. The history of this world is the story of
the intermingling and migration of every race tribe and
people. As such, the regional method, (as used when the
prophecy was given … as pertaining to God’s chosen
people Israel), is by far preferred and should be stuck
with.
   Now let’s examine the identity of the other nations
that will be involved in the Great Battle, (which
SheepShed addresses as “The Great Sea
[Mediterranean] Prophecies;” for they are linked to all
the nations that surround Israel of old and are still her
enemies today … and these are all Arabic Islamic
countries).

MAGOG
Magog encompasses Asia Minor. Tim Lahaye, author of
the best-selling Left Behind series, points to Josephus’
identification of Magog as “the land of the Scythians …
the ancient northern tribes who inhabited the territory
from Central Asia across the southern Steeps of modern
Russia.”
   Lahaye’s assessment of the Scythians is accurate, yet
it proves the point that if Magog is the Scythian territory,
then this land mass is in the southern region of the
former USSR, but not Russia proper. These Muslim
states split from Russia when Communism fell. (God, in
actuality, saw to it in order to fulfill His Word)!

Ancient Scythia includes the regions of Asia Minor
(Turkey) and the several Central Asian states
(Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.).
The theory that Russia proper would always control the
southern Muslim states is and was a faulty conclusion.
The unexpected split seems not to have effected
Western analysts’ interpretation, however, of end-time
events, see map, page 255.
(Please note the Ring of nations rounding the
Mediterranean Sea).
   Josephus also points to the Scythians as Magog:
“Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him,
but who by the Greeks are called Scythians.”
   The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious
Knowledge, citing ancient
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Assyrian writings, places the location of Magog in the
landmass between ancient Armenia and Media … in
short, Magog is identified with Turkey and the southern
steppes of the former USSR … that entire region is
described in Ezekiel 38 as the “remote parts of the
north!” (The north of who? The north of Israel)!

Some argue that because the passage points to the
“farthest north,” it must be referring to Russia. But the
word “farthest” is not found in the Hebrew.

It makes better sense to conclude that Gog is a leader
from the land of Magog and the leader of Meshech and
Tubal, all of which are in Turkey! Magog is specifically
referred to as the region of “the land of Magog, chief
prince (head or leader) of Mesheck and Tubal,” Ezekiel
38:2. If we go with the translation that Gog is “prince of
Rosh, Meshech and Tubal” are we then to say that Gog
rules both Russia and Turkey?

The error of the Russian theory arose from the Scofield
Study Bible, which identifies Mesheck and Tubal with the
modern Russian cities of Moscow and Tobolsk. (I myself
was taught and believed that until I set my face to study
and to hear what the Spirit is showing us in these
changing times. It was also, the Scofield Study Bible that
brought Irving’s Plymouth Brethren ‘Rapture’ theory to
America. We are simply teaching what we have been
taught by their teachers who taught the same false
conclusions many times. But the Holy Sprit is correcting
our methods of walking, believing, and teaching in these
final days, SheepShed, believes. But Children, take
these lessons and search for yourselves.

Now, before, we continue on with chapter 60 of Walid
Shoebat’s War on Terror … I want to point out that he
believes that Gog is the Antichrist, that whenever he is
mentioned, the direction of his coming is always from
the north. Therefore, Antichrist can never come from the
European west; that there is not a single verse of
Scripture mentioning a European western invasion.

Yet, people cling to the theory of a western invasion
developed from allegories in Revelation and Daniel…
but, the prophet Joel says, “I will remove far off from
you the northern army,” Joel 2:20. “And the LORD shall
be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the
lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet
(Shofar) See Zechariah 9:14-16. (I told my grandson,
Beamer, one time … that, “if the United States went to
war against Israel, in the battle of Armageddon, he was
to refuse to fight in that war.” He was at that time about
eighteen, now he is married, has two little girls and has
accepted Christ. But
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nevertheless, there might be mercenaries fighting
against Israel in this Great War).

MESHECH
Meshech appears in Assyrian texts as Muski or Musku
from 1200 B.C. onwards. The people of Musku were
known to be aligned with Tubal. There is little doubt that
the frequent Biblical association of Meshech and Tubal
reflects the ancient political alliance in central Asia Minor
during Ezekiel’s day, Gen 10:2; Ezk 27:13; 32:36; 38:2-3;
39:1; 1 Chron 1:5.

GOMER
Another name to be corrected is “Gomer.” Some have
even gone so far as to claim that “Gomer” is referring to
Germany. (ShSd. made this mistake earlier, as well).
First, in order to make the root word for “Gomer” to work
with “Germany” one must reverse the ‘R’ and the ’M.’
Ezekiel wrote of GMR not GRM (Hebrew no vowels).
Such reversal is completely unwarranted. (Brother Walid
discusses this inversion in more detail … but we will not
go into it here).
   Gomer is in Turkey not Russia or Germany. This is the
land of ancient Kimmeria. Gomer, it seems to be almost
universally agreed upon among scholars “refers to the
Celtic Cimmerians of Crim-Tartary.” Gomer is well
known to the ancient world as Gimarrai of north central
Asia Minor (Cappadocia). So Gomer is Gimarra in
Cappadocia. Cappadocia is simply central Turkey, again,
another Islamic region. (Do you find it not strange that
the Apocalypse of John is addressed to the seven
churches in Asia Minor in the last day end-times)?

TOGARMAH
Beth Togarmah is also in Turkey. Togarmah or
Tilgarimmu was a city state in Eastern Anatolia (Asia
Minor, modern Turkey), more specifically, as Ryrie
states, “the southwestern part of Turkey near the Syrian
border!” Once more then we have another region that is
in present Turkey! (Turkey is one of the nations that
signed a treaty with the “Union (Club) for the
Mediterranean” with the EU … which was led by France.
But Turkey also filed an application to be accepted as a
member-state of the European Union).

THE LITTERAL EVIDENCE
But beyond so much of the geographic weight of this
prophecy falling on Turkey, the Bible also ties this
coalition to modern day Turkey in a very direct way.
Zechariah 9:13 confirms that the final end-time battle will
be between Israel and Yavan/Ionia (often translated as
Greece) which is in Turkey today: “I will bend
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Judah as I bend My bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will
rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece
[Yavan. Ionia], and make you like a warrior’s sword.”
According to Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible
Commentary: Javan….the Ionians or Greeks: for the
Ionians of Asia Minor were the first Greeks with whom
the Asiatic peoples came in contact with.

The key element of this passage is the reference to the
sons of Zion (that is the Jews) fighting against the sons
of Greece (Yavan, Ionia) … which is in Asia Minor or
modern Turkey.

One cannot separate Zechariah 9 from Ezekiel 38. In both
passages, the Messiah is present. The casting of the
Ezekiel 38 alliance into hell is mentioned in Ezekiel 30
where the literal name Lydia is associated with several
of the nations in the Ezekiel 38 coalition: “Cush and Put,
Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and the people of the
covenant (league) land will fall by the sword along with
Egypt.” Ezekiel 30:5 Lydia undisputedly refers to the
western region of Turkey. See also Jeremiah 46:9. Why
do we have Meshech, Tubal, Beth-Togarmah and Gomer
included, yet Russia, the supposed leader of this
coalition missing? These nations are “in league” or in
“covenant” and allied with Egypt!

In fact, the prior chapter 29 also identifies Turkey with
Mesheck: “Javan (Iornia, Turkey), Tubal and Meshech,
they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of
men and vessels of brass in the market, Ezekiel 29:13.

I have much doubt that Russia would lead any Islamic
invasion of Israel and threaten its own existence. When
the Gog and Magog invasion occurs, the primary player
will be Turkey which I have argued for years, states
Shoebat. I first predicted that it would turn toward
fundamental Islam which it increasingly has particularly
over the past few years. I had concluded these things
during the days when the world viewed Turkey only as a
secular and moderate Muslim nation. Sadly many still do.

The emphasis on a Turkish ruler being called “The
Assyrian” would validate our Turkey argument because
the Assyrian Empire and Turkey significantly overlap.
But Russia and Assyria are two entirely different
geographic locations
that never overlap.

OTTOMAN EMPIRE
(The Ottoman Empire also known by its contemporaries
as the Turkish Empire
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or Turkey (Ottoman State), was an empire that lasted
from 1299-1923. It was succeeded by the Republic of
Turkey. At the height of its power (16th - 17th century), it
spanned three continents, controlling much of
Southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Constantinople, changed to Istanbul, as its capital city.
The Ottoman Empire was, in many respects, an Islamic
successor to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire. It
ruled over the land of Israel, city of Jerusalem and the
Holy Temple Mount as one of the Gentile nations whose
“time” to rule over Jerusalem is running out! The
Ottoman Empire has always seen itself as a ruler again,
ShSd.).

GOG
Gog or “Gygez” was a real historic person from Turkey.
This perhaps is the name preserved in Scripture as
“Gog.” Ezekiel 38:2, “Gog” is the reference used in the
past to refer to “Gugu” of Lydia in Turkey. All these
countries: Persia-Iran; Cush-Sudan, Somalia; Put or Phut-
modern day Libya, the region west of Egypt; Algeria,
Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania are Islamic.

EZEKIEL 38 IS ARMAGEDDON
CHAPTER 61
THE SIGNIGICANCE OF SEPARTING THIS BATTLE

Many prophecy teachers in the West teach that the
invading coalition of nations described in Ezekiel 38-39 is
not the army of Antichrist, but of another army entirely
led by some other evil world leader who is destroyed
prior to Christ’s coming to defeat Antichrist.

The reason for this view is simply because Ezekiel 38-
39, which clearly describes a Muslim coalition of nations
does not support their European Antichrist paradigm. For
this reason they are focused to find a way to divorce the
battle of Gog and Magog from the main event when
Christ returns to the earth for the showdown with
Antichrist. Most western prophecy teachers claim that
Islam will be defeated and out of the scene before
Antichrist emerges from Europe as a world leader.

EZEKIEL 38 IS INDEED ARMAGEDDON FOR SEVERAL
REASONS:
1.        ISRAEL MUST BE PURE
“I will make know My holy name among My people
Israel. I will no longer let My holy name be profound, and
the nations will know that I Jehovah am the Holy One in
Israel.” “It is coming! It will surely take place, declares
Jehovah
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the Sovereign. This is the day I have spoken of,” Ezekiel
38:23-39:7-8. (And Israel must be at peace and restful
without walls).

2.        THE GENTILES WILL KNOW GOD
God Himself says that after the defeat of Gog and his
armies, all of the Gentile nations as well as Israel will be
convicted of their unbelief and will know that He
(Jehovah) is God: “And so I will show My greatness and
My holiness, and I will make Myself known in the sight of
many nations. Then they will know that I am Jehovah. ‘I
will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety
in the coastlands (of the Mediterranean in context [?])
and they will know that I am Jehovah (LORD) …”
   The heathen will finally “know Me” … “And you (Gog)
shall 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 you against My land, that the heathen may know
Me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their
eyes,” Ezekiel 38:16.

How could these be “heathen?” All these nations in
Ezekiel 38 are Muslim nations. Why would the Bible call
people who claim to believe Abraham and Jesus as
heathen? When I read the text as a Muslim, I realized
that I must be on the wrong side. Worshipping Allah
according to the Bible cannot be the same as
worshipping Jehovah God. I had to make a choice …
Allah or Christ. I chose Christ. This event happens, “in
the latter days,” a war between Israel and these
“heathen.” Muslims call us Kuffar (heathen, infidels), for
we do not believe in Allah. From their perspective, we
are unbelievers … we reject Allah and Muhammad. I
need to fight just a little while longer in the hope that this
battle will come and go, (unless we have a pre-
tribulation Rapture). (This does not say that Brother
Walid believes in a pre-Trib rapture, although he may).
But after this Battle, God’s name will never again be
profaned.
    After the war of Gog and Magog there will be no more
blasphemy, no more, “There is no god but Allah and
Muhammad is his messenger.” The only creed will be
“There is no God but Jehovah and Jesus is His Son.”

3.        CHRIST THE MESSIAH IS PRESENT
In both battles…Gog and Armageddon…Christ is present
with the greatest
earthquake: “And all the men that are upon the face of
the earth shall shake
at My presence,” Ezekiel 38:20.
   Who is present? God is present…in the flesh. This is
indeed the last battle, with Jesus scoring a great victory
on behalf of His people against their enemies. If one
doubts that Messiah is on earth, the text in verse 7
should
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leave no doubt, “And the heathen shall know that I am
Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel,” 39:7. Did you see that?
The Holy One is in Israel.
   Other parts of Scripture use the phrase “the Holy One
of Israel,” but here the Messiah is actually present on the
earth in the land of Israel.
   This “in” is crucial. It’s like DNA evidence in a court of
law. No serious Bible student can doubt the fact that this
event is anything other than the Messiah fighting the
Antichrist.
   Not only is Christ present, but the destruction of both
Gog and the Antichrist is accompanied by an earthquake
of unparalleled proportions, Ezekiel 38:19-20.
   The Book of Revelation also tells that this event
occurs when the Antichrist’s armies are gathered
together against Israel: “Then they gather the kings
together to the place that in the Hebrew tongue is called
Armageddon…And there was a great earthquake, such
as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an
earthquake, and so great…and the cities of the nations
fell (because the city of Babylon was judged, she split
into three parts)…And every island fled away, and the
mountains (nations ?) were not found,” Revelation 16:18-
20.

Both descriptions tell us that mountains are “thrown
down.” In other words, no nations are left. (He is
referring to mountains as kingdoms). Only one kingdom
remains…the Kingdom of Messiah, (Hebrews 12:28).

Zechariah describes the same event from his own
prophetic perspective: “I will gather all the nations
against Jerusalem to battle. Then Jehovah will go forth
and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a
day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount
of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and
the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to
west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain
will move toward the north and the other half toward the
south,” Zech 14:1-4.
   Zechariah 14 gives both accounts…the final victory of
Jehovah-God and the great earthquake. Ezekiel 38:19-20
does as well.

The war of Ezekiel 38 is massive. Everything about the
events, indicate that this war is no mere opening act for
the Great Tribulation. It is the magnificent capstone of
that period and will have a decisive effect on all nations
worldwide. If the war of God and Magog occurs just prior
to Christ’s coming and is a separate event from
Armageddon, then do we have two separate
battles for Messiah, one to fight Gog and the other to
fight Antichrist? How
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many comings are there? (Or is the Gog and Magog
battle at the end of the Millennium Reign… when Satan
is loosed for a period of time to deceive the nations
again.”(So far, there is no mention of the “Two Prophets.”

SHEEPSHED COMMENTARY
There are several verses of scripture which come to
mind that bothers me, they are: “Now when the
thousand years have expired, Satan will be released
from his prison and 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. They went up on the breadth of
the earth and surround the camp of the saints and the
beloved city (Jerusalem). And fire came down from God
out of heaven and devoured them. The devil who
deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone where the beast and false prophet are. And
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever,”
Revelation 20:7-10.

How could Gog be the Antichrist when he and the false
prophet have been cast into the lake of fire forever at the
close of the battle of Armageddon? The above scripture
seems more likely to fulfill this prophecy in some
measure. Another thing too, is the name Antichrist,
which is given, to what the Bible calls the “beast,” or
“man of sin,” or the “lawless one,” the son of perdition.
John says “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you
have heard that (the… is omitted from the original)
Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They
went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had
been of us, they would have continued with us; but they
went out that they might be made manifest (made
known), that none of them were of us. But you have the
anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
(namely “Jesus”),” 1 John 2:18-20.

There are many, even today, who have left the faith and
the Anointing of the Lord Jesus Messiah’s kingdom; the
Anointing is the Holy Spirit within. They are allowing
homosexual ministers into the clergy; preaching: “there
is no lake of fire (second death); no everlasting hell; and
that everyone will be saved in the end; after all ‘Jesus
died for the whole world, didn’t He?’” It is the same
Apostle John, who wrote the Apocalypse, the Revelation
Scroll, who wrote the first letter mentioned above
relating to antichrists, which are many. The “man of sin”
in the Apocalypse John called, “the ‘beast’ that was,” in
chapter 17:7-8 and chapter 13:1-2 seq. Read these again
for the firs time. The name Antichrist, given to the
‘beast,’ is of someone else’s origin, if we are
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reading the scriptures correctly, don’t you think?
Another thing to notice is
that Israel is dwelling in safety and is at peace when
Gog, chief prince of
Magog comes down like a cloud and covers the land.
These quotations may seem trivial…but they do raise
some questions, don’t they? We notice there is a
“beast” that rises out of the Sea which looks like a bear,
a lion, and a leopard with ten horns and seven heads.
And another “beast” that rises out of the earth having
two horns like a lamb…this lamb symbolizes a “religion”
which will be anti (against) Christ, Messiah Yeshua! A
false preaching gospel!

This beast’s mouth will speak great things and
blasphemies and authority is given to him for forty two
months. He will blaspheme God’s name, His tabernacle
(the Body of Messiah where He dwells by the Spirit), and
those who dwell in heaven. He will be granted to make
war with the saints and overcome them…and authority
he will have over every tribe, tongue, and nation! All
who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names
are not written in the BOOK OF LIFE of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world,” Revelation 13:4-9…”
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

It appears to me, that the confusion of the Millennial
Reign of Messiah’s Kingdom and the Tribulation lies in
the fact that it is not mentioned in the letters precisely,
which the Apostles wrote to the saints in different cities;
at least in most of them. The epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians, chapter 15, may show us some insight to
this division. It seems that the Apostles speak of “the
Day of the Lord” as the final judgment at His Second
Coming…then follows “the World to Come; the New
Heaven and New Earth.”

Then again, the Lord Jesus does not mention by name,
the battle of Gog and Magog, only that there will wars
and rumors of wars and kingdom against kingdom. But
He does mention the Tribulation period as being a war!
For immediately after the war of those days, Jesus
comes bringing the wrath of God.

It is only in the Revelation of John, which the Lord Jesus
gave him, that visions behind the Curtain, unveils the
secrets of Daniel, Joel, Zechariah and the other ancient
prophecies relating to Israel, Jerusalem and other
unfolding world-events…that pertain to the first
Resurrection and Millennial Reign. I wonder if the “Day
of the Lord” could include the 1000 year reign…as a day
is with the Lord a 1000 years, or the Word that says, “In
that Day?” One

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thing for sure that I see, is, “the Book of Revelation is set
in the Middle East,” and reach’s into a worldwide
economy.

I think in order to help us keep our minds in perspective
as we study these scriptures … we should quote
portions of the Apostles writings pertaining to the end-
time events. According to the Apostle Paul the saints are
in tribulation by the “man of sin” and his coalition. The
believers were enduring patiently
in their faith in Messiah, in all their persecutions and
tribulations which was plain evidence of the righteous
judgment of God, that they would be counted worthy of
the kingdom of God, for which they were suffering …
since it is a righteous thing for God to repay with
tribulation those who trouble [or are bringing tribulation
on] you.

Notice: there are two different tribulations spoken of
here…One from “those who are persecuting you … and
one that Christ brings repaying on those who are
persecuting His people [you]. Paul is referring to the end-
time Tribulation,
Which he himself thought to be living through when
Christ was to return.

This must be the Great Tribulation spoken of by the
prophets, because, Paul goes on to explain that at the
time this tribulation of the “Lawless One” and “God’s
revenge” will takes place, “the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire
taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and
on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Notice too, one who hears is obligated to obey
that message of Christ.

“These (who are persecuting you), shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes,
in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired
among all those who believe … “ 2 Thessalonians 1:4-12.
This is the time when God will manifest His sons in
glorified bodies! Until then we sons, are to manifest His
Son Jesus in our bodies! SELAH!

Then in chapter 2 Paul goes on to explain about the
Great Apostasy that must take place first (1 John 2) and
the ‘man of sin’ must be revealed before the Lord’s
return. Paul explains this because the believers thought
they were already in the period of the DAY OF LORD’S
WRATH AT HIS COMING! However, before the Lord could
come the ‘man of sin’ must come first and seat himself
as God… in the temple of God, working and performing
many lying signs and
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wonders; “whom the Lord will consume with the breath
of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness (glory) of
His coming,” 2 Thes 2:1-12. The Body of Messiah
experiences the tribulations of the Lawless One, but, not
the Day of vengeance of Messiah, for when He comes,
He is glorified in His saints. It is the time when the saints
receive a Kingdom that cannot be shaken! A warning is
given to hear His voice … and not to be like in the days
of old when the Israelites refused to lesson to His voice
… so that they would be able to escape God’s wrath,
when, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but
also the heavens,” “Yet once more,” indicates the
removal of those things that are being shaken, as of
things that are made, that the things which cannot be
shaken may remain…” Hebrew 12:25-29, “For our God is
a consuming fire.”

Again in the Lord’s parables, He commands the reapers
(angels) at the time of the Harvest: “First gather the
tares and tie them in bundles to burn them, but
gather the wheat into My barn,” Matthew 13:30.

Hebrew Book of 3 Enoch
Viewing the Curtain of the Divine Majesty in heaven’s
Holy of Holies…
Rabbi Ishmael says: “And I saw all the fights and wars
that Gog and Magog will fight in the days of Messiah, and
all that the Holy One, blessed be He, will do with them in
the time to come. And all the leaders of the generations
and all the works of the generations both of Israel and in
the nations of the world, both what is done and what will
be done hereafter to all generations until the end of time,
all were graven on the Curtain of the Divine Majesty. And
I saw all these things with my own eyes; and after I had
seen it, I opened my mouth in praise of the Divine
Majesty saying: ‘for the King’s word has power and who
may say to Him: What are You doing?’ Whoso keeps the
commandments shall know no evil thing!’ And I said: ‘O
Lord, how manifold are Your works!’” Chapter xlv:5-6.

The foot notes read: that Gog and Magog play a role of a
“collective anti-Messiah.” The war with Gog and Magog
was speculated upon already in the pre-Hadrianic
Tannaitic times. We can with some certainty maintain
that the belief current in the Pre-Hadrianic times was that
the King Messiah of David, supported by the presence of
the Divine Glory (the Shekina), would wage war against
and overcome the enemies of Israel i.e. Gog and Magog,
but in the post-Hadrianic times, indicates that these
people have always been at war with Israel in one way
or another. Until another lesson on Gog and Magog:
May the Spirit of God rest upon you! Shalom, SheepShed
of Sent Ministries.

SheepShed Publications

Lessons

Gog and Magog Part Six