The Parousia - God's sovereign prophetic plan for the nations part 2

The Parousia
An In-Depth Study on the Second Coming of Christ

The Parousia
God’s Sovereign Prophetic Plan for the Nations
Part 2

―This sentence is by the decree of the
angelic watchers And the decision is a
command of the holy ones, In order that
the living may know That the Most High
is ruler over the realm of mankind, And
bestows it on whom He wishes And sets
over it the lowliest of men.‖
(Daniel 4:17)

Sovereign
One who is in a position of authority to command others

The Nations in Prophecy

1. Israel: the people and nation chosen by God to deliver
the Messiah (the human Word) and the Bible (the
written Word)
2. Gentile Nations: non-Jews both beloved (the Church)
and hated, and used by God for His purposes

Russia, Iran, Africa, and Turkey in Prophecy

―I don‘t understand it, and I can‘t explain
it, but the Bible says it, and therefore I
believe it.‖
C. I. Scofield
Responding to critics in 1909 who said his study Bible was wrong in
interpreting Ezekiel 38-39 to be a future Russian invasion of a re-
established Israel

The Invasion of Gog and Magog
―And the word of the Lord came to me saying, ―Son of man, set your face
toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him and say, ‗Thus says the Lord God, ―Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. ―I will turn you about and put
hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and
horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield,
all of them wielding swords; Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with
shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote
parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you. ―Be prepared, and
prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and
be a guard for them. ―After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years
you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants
have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been
a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are
living securely, all of them. ―You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be
like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with
you.‖ ‖ (Ezekiel 38:1–9)

Exegesis of Ezekiel 38:1-9

• ―The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and
Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. ‖ (Genesis 10:2)
• Magog is identified by Josephus as the land of the Scythians, the region north
and north-east of the Black Sea and east of the Caspian Sea – now occupied
by three members of the commonwealth of independent states: Russian, the
Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Rosh is the area of modern Iran.
• The Great Wall of China was originally called The Wall of Magog by the
Arabs (to protect the Chinese from invading Russians)
• Meshech and Tubal – the area of modern Turkey.
• Meschech was the founder of the Moschi a barbarous people - modern Turkey
• Rosh was the designation for the tribes then north of Taurus Mountains – it may
be the first historical trace of the Russ or Russian nation.
• ―Gog‖ – likely the symbolic leader of the Northern force


• ―Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer
with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its
troops—many peoples with you. ‖ (Ezekiel 38:5–6). Persia = Iran. Ethiopia =
Africa. Put = third son of Ham = Libya, as well as Algeria, Tunisia, and
Morocco. All Northern Africa. Gomer = eldest son of Japheth = East
Germany and the Slovak countries (Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and
Austria to the west, Poland to the north). Beth-togarmah = Armenia and
Southern Russia.
• ―I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out…‖ –
God brings the Northern force against Israel. Turns them around for the battle.
• ―in the latter years you will come‖ – synonymous with the end time


• ―in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from
the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations
to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its
people were brought out from the nations, and they are living
securely, all of them…‖
• The attack happens after Israel has been restored from its global
dispersion among the nations
• Israel is ―living securely‖ – so they must be experiencing peace from
their enemies

―‗Thus says the Lord God, ―It will come about on that day, that thoughts will
come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, and you will say, ‗I will go up
against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that
live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to
capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places
which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the
nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.‘
―Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to
you, ‗Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to
seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to
capture great spoil?‘ ‖ ‘ ―Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog,
‗Thus says the Lord God, ―On that day when My people Israel are living
securely, will you not know it? ―You will come from your place out of the remote
parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a
great assembly and a mighty army; and you will come up against My people Israel
like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring
you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified
through you before their eyes, O Gog.‖ ‖ (Ezekiel 38:10–16)


• ―I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at
rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates…‖
– Israel‘s land does not have a wall separating her from her enemies. Today,
Israel‘s west bank barrier is in place
• ―to capture spoil and to seize plunder‖ – the Northern force comes to steal riches
from Israel
• ―against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle
and goods, who live at the center of the world…‖ – Another reference to Israel‘s
regathering. Israel must have riches that attracts the Northern force
• ―On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it?‖ –
Another reference to Israel living in peace, which is not the case today

―From all which I should infer, the coming restoration
of Israel will at first be gradual and pacific; a
restoration permitted, if not assisted and
encouraged or protected. They will return to
occupy the whole land, both cities and villages; they
will be settled there, become prosperous and
increasing in wealth, before this great confederacy
of northern people will be formed against them.‖
– Walter Chamberlain
The National Resources and Conversion of Israel
(London, 1854)

―You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north,
you and many peoples with you . . . and you will come up against My
people Israel like a cloud to cover the land.‖ (Ezekiel 38:15–16)

―This king of the North I conceive to be
the autocrat of Russia . . . that Russia
occupies a place, and a very momentous
place, in the prophetic word has been
admitted by almost all expositors.‖
– Dr. John Cumming, 1864.

―Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is
coming; Surely it is near . . . But I will remove the northern army far
from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its
vanguard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western
sea. And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has
done great things.‖ ‖ (Joel 2:20)


• ―It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land,
so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before
their eyes, O Gog‖ – Another reference to the end time.
• Again God says that He is the one bringing the attack – notes His
sovereignty over everything
• Note the purpose: ―so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified
through you before their eyes, O Gog‖. After this battle is won by God,
the nations will know God and recognize Him. Helps us know the
approximate timing of the attack – the world will acknowledge God after it
is over

―‗Thus says the Lord God, ―Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days
through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for
many years that I would bring you against them? ―It will come about on that day,
when Gog comes against the land of Israel,‖ declares the Lord God, ―that My
fury will mount up in My anger. ―In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that
on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ―The fish
of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things
that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake
at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will
collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. ―I will call for a sword against him on
all My mountains,‖ declares the Lord God. ―Every man‘s sword will be against his
brother. ―With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I
will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a
torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. ―I will magnify Myself, sanctify
Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know
that I am the Lord.‖ ‘ ‖
(Ezekiel 38:17–23)

―The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the
beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep
on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of
the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains
also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will
collapse and every wall will fall to the ground.‖

ַ ָּ‫ – פ‬Hebrew term means ―face‖ – the enemies will see the
‫נ‬
face of God


―In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great
earthquake in the land of Israel. ―The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of
the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of
the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep
pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground…‖

―Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the
temple from the throne, saying, ―It is done.‖ And there were flashes of lightning and sounds
and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man
came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was
split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.‖ (Revelation 16:17–19)

More help as to when Gog and Magog will come against Israel…

―‗Thus says the Lord God, ―Are you the one of whom I spoke in former
days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those
days for many years that I would bring you against them?‖

―Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the
soldiers draw near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords And your
pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ―I am a mighty man.‖ Hasten and come,
all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O Lord,
Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of
Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the
sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats
overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and
moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The Lord roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble. But
the Lord is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then
you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So
Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more. ‖
(Joel 3:9–17)

Also helps in determining general timing of the war/attack…


• ―Every man‘s sword will be against his brother. . .‖ – God will turn
the Northern armies on themselves
• ―With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him;
and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who
are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone.‖ –
God supernaturally destroys the Northern armies
• ―I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in
the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.‖ –
Again, the nations will recognize God. Helps pinpoint the attack;
such will not be the case before the Great Tribulation

――And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‗Thus says the
Lord God, ―Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech
and Tubal; and I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the
remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
―I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from
your right hand. ―You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your
troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every
kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. ―You will fall on the open
field; for it is I who have spoken,‖ declares the Lord God. ―And I will send
fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they
will know that I am the Lord. ―My holy name I will make known in the midst
of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore.
And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
―Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,‖ declares the Lord God. ―That
is the day of which I have spoken. ‖
(Ezekiel 39:1–8)

―At the end time the king of the South will collide with him [the Antichrist], and the king of
the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will
enter countries, overflow them and pass through. ―He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and
many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the
foremost of the sons of Ammon. ―Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries,
and the land of Egypt will not escape. ―But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of
gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will
follow at his heels. ―But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will
go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. ―He will pitch the tents of his royal
pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and
no one will help him. ‖ (Daniel 11:40–45)


• ―I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the
north and bring you against the mountains of Israel‖ – another statement showing
God‘s sovereignty
• ―You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples
who are with you‖ – the army is destroyed on the mountains of Israel
• ―And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety;
and they will know that I am the Lord.‖ – some have said the coastlands refer to
countries such as America
• ―I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I
am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.‖ – This war is something that God uses to
stop blasphemies against Him and to remind the nations who He is

――Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the
weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs
and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them. ―They will not take
wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, for they will make fires
with the weapons; and they will take the spoil of those who despoiled them and
seize the plunder of those who plundered them,‖ declares the Lord God. ―On
that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who
pass by east of the sea, and it will block off those who would pass by. So they will
bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the valley of Hamon-gog.
―For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the
land. ―Even all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown
on the day that I glorify Myself,‖ declares the Lord God. ―They will set apart
men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing
through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At
the end of seven months they will make a search. ―As those who pass through the
land pass through and anyone sees a man‘s bone, then he will set up a marker by it
until the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. ―And even the name of
the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.‖ ‘ ‖ (Ezekiel 39:9–16)


―and for seven years they will make fires of them. ―They will not take
wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, for they will
make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoil of those who
despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them‖ –
This could not happen at the start of or even in the middle of the
Great Tribulation because Israel would be unable to perform these
tasks.

――As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‗Speak to every kind of bird
and to every beast of the field, ―Assemble and come, gather from every side to
My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the
mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. ―You will eat the flesh
of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they
were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. ―So you will eat
fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice
which I have sacrificed for you. ―You will be glutted at My table with horses and
charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,‖ declares the Lord God.
―And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My
judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. ―And the
house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward.
―The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity
because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I
gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
―According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt
with them, and I hid My face from them.‖ ‘ ‖ ‖ (Ezekiel 39:17–24)

――As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‗Speak to every kind
of bird and to every beast of the field, ―Assemble and come, gather from
every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great
sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink
blood. ―You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the
princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all
of them fatlings of Bashan. ―So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and
drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed
for you. ―You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with
mighty men and all the men of war,‖ declares the Lord God.‖

―Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ―Come, assemble for
the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the
flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses
and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and
slaves, and small and great.‖ ‖ (Revelation 19:17–18)


• ―And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from
that day onward.‖ – this event will mark the time that Israel will
recognize God and not look to any other. This makes it hard to
believe that, once this event is over, Israel would put their trust in the
Antichrist
• ――The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for
their iniquity‖ – the Gentiles will also gain knowledge of God‘s
dealing with Israel and its dispersion among the world

―Therefore thus says the Lord God, ―Now I will restore the
fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and
I will be jealous for My holy name. ―They will forget their disgrace
and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when
they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.
―When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the
lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the
sight of the many nations. ―Then they will know that I am the Lord
their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and
then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of
them there any longer. ―I will not hide My face from them any longer,
for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,‖
declares the Lord God. ‖
(Ezekiel 39:25–29)

――For behold, in those days and at that time, When
I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I
will gather all the nations And bring them down to
the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into
judgment with them there On behalf of My people
and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have
scattered among the nations; And they have
divided up My land. ‖
(Joel 3:1–2)


• ―Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of
Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.‖ – After Gog and Magog are
defeated, Israel is blessed by God
• ―They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated
against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them
afraid‖ – After the battle, Israel lives securely and no one will make them afraid
• ―When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their
enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations‖ –
God‘s regathering of Israel will be acknowledged by the nations
• ―I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit
on the house of Israel‖ – God reveals Himself to Israel and pours His Spirit out
on them

When will the War of Gog and Magog Occur?

1. 3.5 years before the start of Daniel‘s 70th week
2. Right before the start of Daniel‘s 70th week
3. In the middle of the Tribulation
4. At the end of the Tribulation
5. After the Tribulation but before the Millennial reign of Christ
6. At the end of the Millennium

Points to Remember from Ezekiel 38-39
1. Israel has been re-gathered as a nation
2. Israel is living in peace and as an ‗unwalled‘ city
3. Israel is commissioned to bury the dead of the war
for 7 months
4. Israel burns the weapons of the North for 7 years
5. Statements made about the Northern kingdom
are also found in Joel, Daniel, and Revelation
and all reference the Day of the Lord and/or the
end of Daniel‘s 70th week
6. References in Ezekiel closely parallel those in
Revelation where the bowl judgments, and
Armageddon are discussed.
7. The enemies see God‘s face
8. All the nations cities fall (i.e. their ―walls‖)
9. At the end of the war, Israel turns to God, lives in
peace forever, and His Spirit is poured out on
Israel
10. The Gentiles acknowledge God‘s providence of
Israel and God‘s name is no longer blasphemed

What About Revelation 20:7-9?

―When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from
his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the
four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the
seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire
came down from heaven and devoured them. ‖
(Revelation 20:7–9)

What About Revelation 20:7-9?

• Same words used for the enemy, but in Ezekiel they come from the uttermost
North and not the 4 corners of the world.
• Israel in Ezekiel is described as not knowing God before the battle whereas they
certainly do in Revelation after the Millennium has begun.
• Various judgments are found in Ezekiel (earthquakes, hail, armies turning on each
other) whereas in Revelation, there is simply fire from God falling on the armies.
• Ezekiel 40-48 describe Israel in the Millennium so the sequence is out of order.
• Finally, the mountains are where Gog falls in Ezekiel; in Revelation it‘s the plain
of the earth.

A Suggested Timeline
Rapture of the Church occurs; ―restrainer‖ is removed

World is thrown into panic; Europe Union is dominant power

Antichrist assumes control of European Union

Antichrist signs peace treaty with Israel; 70th week begins

Israel lives in peace for 3.5 years; walls are taken down

Abomination of desolation occurs; Great Tribulation begins

God‘s judgments in Revelation occur (war, etc.)

Final battle occurs, with Gog/Magog being involved; Christ returns

Israel lives in peace with Christ through the Millennium

Final battle occurs at end of Millennium ; eternity begins

Concluding Thoughts

―I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all
your army, horses and horsemen . . . . It shall come about in the last days that I will
bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified
through you before their eyes, O Gog.‖
(Ezekiel 38:4, 16)

―For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ―FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I
RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU,
AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.‖ So then He has mercy on
whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. ‖ (Romans 9:17–18)

These verses show the sovereignty of God over the nations and their actions. God
is firmly in control and causes what He wills.

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