Ezekiel 38:1-23
In ch. 38 and 39, there enters upon the scene a fearsome individual, already met with in prophecy under the name of the Assyrian. Here he bears the name of Gog; his rule includes Magog, the ancient land of the Scythians on the north of the Black Sea, a race considered in former times to be particularly barbaric (cf. Colossians 3:11). Gog is the prince of Rosh, of Meshech and of Tubal (see Genesis 10:2), names in which Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk, capital of Siberia, have been respectively recognised. At the head of a formidable coalition of Asiatic races, this chieftain, more terrible than Attila or any conqueror in history, will descend "like a storm" on the land of Israel to take possession of it. But God will intervene directly from heaven to wipe them out (v. 22), and furthermore these different nationalities and races will destroy one another (v. 21). It often takes so very little to change yesterday’s friends into relentless adversaries. It was in such a way that Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were once saved (2 Chronicles 20:23). Dear friends, can the One who will accomplish such deliverance be caught unawares by the dangers that threaten us? Let us allow Him always to act whenever we are attacked by the enemy.