The Presentation of Ezekiel 38 in Evangelism

To many Seventh-day Ad­ventists the book of Ezekiel is just as enigmatic and diffi­cult as the books of Daniel and Revelation seem to be to other denominations.

ALGER F. JOHNS, Assistant Professor of OT Literature and Exegesis, Andrews University

To many Seventh-day Ad­ventists the book of Ezekiel is just as enigmatic and diffi­cult as the books of Daniel and Revelation seem to be to other denominations.

We have all seen evange­listic ads such as "Russia in Bible Prophecy" used by both Seventh-day Adventist evangelists and those of other denominations. Do the statements made in these evangelistic meetings have as firm a basis in Bible prophecy as, for example, the prophecy of Daniel 2?

It is good to be up to date in evangelism. In the early days of our movement the "sick man of the East," or Turkey, was one of the central points of interest among the public. Later, Japan seemed to occupy the interest of the crowds. And then, of course, Hitler came along, and world attention was focused upon him. With the present uni­versal interest in Russia many evangelists like to find a prophetic setting for that in­terest. But what is even more important than being up to date is to be doctrinally sound so far as Bible truth is concerned. May I recommend to every reader of this article that before reading further he take time again to read carefully the article "The Role of Israel in Old Testament Prophecy," in volume 4 of The SDA Bible Commentary, pages 25 to 38. This study will be based upon that article to a large extent. It is the best compilation in one place of the Bible texts and Spirit of Prophecy references dealing with that sub­ject.

A fitting introduction to a study of Ezekiel 38 is found in the last three verses of chapter 37: "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernade also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore" (verses 26­28).

This passage tells about God setting up His sanctuary in the midst of Israel forever. Significantly, there would even be heathen (nations, or Gentiles) who would be in existence and would witness the fulfillment of God's glorious purpose to Israel (which purpose is covered in chapters 35 and 36 of Ezekiel, as well as in chapter 37). In the light of the glorious destiny that Israel of old might have fulfilled, and considering the fact of the failure of Israel as a na­tion to fulfill its destiny, it is evident that verses 26 and 27 will only be fulfilled as outlined in Revelation 21 and 22. It is also apparent that verse 28, "the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore," would then parallel the wicked seeing the New Jerusa­lem, as outlined in Revelation 20, and would be followed by the attack of the wicked on the Holy City and upon God's holy people (Rev. 20:9). In this sense, then, there is a parallel between Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 20, just as the use of the names Gog and Magog in both passages would imply.

In the light of the principles discussed in the article "The Role of Israel in Old Testament Prophecy" it may be inferred that Ezekiel 38 and 39 would have been literally fulfilled at some paint in time after the Babylonian Exile, if only Israel had lived up to the conditions God had revealed to them. However, they failed, and the promised prosperity never mate­rialized. In logical sequence, then, there was no possibility of the picture presented in Ezekiel 38—a combination of heathen nations launching an onslaught against peaceful, prosperous Israel—ever being literally fulfilled, with all the details ex­actly as they might have been. However, in broader perspective, the struggle be­tween right and wrong will proceed along the same general line, and the final out­come, the triumph of good over evil, will be as certain as though Israel had lived up to its glorious heritage.

With that in mind let us next consider Ezekiel 38:1-3: "And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, 0 Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal."

The first question is, "Who is Gog?" The translation "chief prince" is not universal. Some versions read instead, "prince of Rosh," transliterating the Hebrew word ro'sh rather than translating it "chief." Some have sought to identify Gog with Gyges, king of Lydia, who flourished around 660 B.C., and who was called Gugu in the annals of Asshurbanipal.

This similarity of sound between the name Gog and the name Gugu is too slim an evidence to .base any prophetic interpre­tation upon. Even more flimsy is the iden­tification of Gog with Gagaia mentioned in the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, for the latter is a country and the former a person.

Gog very well may have been a title of the ruler of the Magogim, the inhabitants of Magog, or the land of Magog, as they would be called in the Hebrew (compare Pharaoh as a title for the ruler of Egypt, although many different personal names were borne by the different Pharaohs). Or Gog may have been an ideal name coined by Ezekiel from the word Magog, which, being a word with the prefix mem in He­brew, could well have meant "the place of Gog" (rather than, as some maintain, that the word "Magog" was coined from the name "Gog"). The name "Magog" was not coined, for it is found elsewhere in the Bible.

In this passage in Ezekiel there are indi­cations that Gog was a human being, not Satan. This is indicated by the use of the term "prince" (verses 2 and 3). The He­brew word here used for "prince" is nasT. In this connection compare chapter 28 of Ezekiel, where in the first part of the chap­ter the human ruler of Tyre is called the "prince" of Tyre; while in the latter part of the chapter the real ruler of Tyre, the one behind the scenes, is called the "king" of Tyre, referring to Satan himself. The same thing is found in Isaiah 14:4, where the "king" of Babylon is used in reference to Satan himself. So Gog is a "prince," a human being.

Now, although Gog is the leader and his people (or his nation or country), the land of Magog, is the leading nation of the confederacy pictured in Ezekiel 38, it is true that many other nations would be involved in the assault against Israel. Quite a few of them are from the north, but not entirely, for Edom, Ethiopia (or Cush), and Libya are south of Palestine. In Ezekiel 27 all these nations of the confederacy are listed as customers of the great commer­cial city of Tyre, with the exception of three. The exceptions are Magog, Ethiopia (Hebrew, Kiish), and Garner (Gomer may well be identical with Gammad in Ezekiel 27:11, the difference in spelling entirely due to the well-known and frequent con­fusion in Hebrew script between the letter d and the letter r).

But even more interesting than the fact that these nations were in existence and contemporary with ancient Tyre, as listed in Ezekiel 27, is the fact that of the eleven nations mentioned in chapter 38, and with only the exception of Persia, they are all sons, grandsons, or great-grandsons of Ham and Japheth, according to Genesis 10, and none of them are descendants of Shem, the patriarch. A list of the nations or countries mentioned in Ezekiel 38 is as follows:

  1. Magog—a son of Japheth
  2. Meshech—also a son of Japheth
  3. Tubal—also a son of Japheth
  4. Persia—this is the one exception
  5. Ethiopia (Hebrew, K iish)—a son of Ham
  6. Libya (Hebrew, Pt)—a son of Ham
  7. Gomer—a son of Japheth
  8. Togarmah—a grandson of Japheth (son of Gamer)
  9. Sheba—great-grandson of Ham (son of Raamah, grandson of Kush)
  10. Dedan—great-grandson of Ham (son of Raamah, grandson of Kush)
  11. Tarshish—grandson of Japheth (son of Javan).

The next question is the crux of the study. How shall Ezekiel 38:2 be trans­lated? Is Rosh really Russia? Is Meshech Moscow? Is Tubal Tobolsk, as so many say? It must be admitted that "Russia" sounds like the Hebrew word ro'sh, but that is not enough evidence for valid Biblical ex­egesis, and it is certainly not enough for an evangelist to get up and present it in mes­sages to the public—if that same evangelist wants the people to accept the system of Bible truth that is presented to them. Just because these two words sound alike doesn't indicate that they are identical. For example, consider the name "Javan" mentioned in Ezekiel 27; some might iden­tify "Javan" with the "Javanese," the in­habitants of Java, and, of course, one can easily see how absurd that would be. Iden­tification because of mere coincidence of sound is often absurd in the light of true philological study.

Let us first examine closely the identity of Meshech and Tubal, and then go to the question of Rosh. As indicated pre­viously, Meshech was a son of Japheth. He and his descendants are frequently men­tioned in connection with the descendants of Tubal, another son of Japheth (Eze. 32: 26; 39:1, etc.). The people of Meshech are said to have been traders in the slave markets of Tyre, and also dealers in ves­sels of bronze (chapter 27:13). In another reference they are closely coupled with the people of Kedar (Ps. 120:5). They were thus unquestionably an actual people con­temporary with Ezekiel.

In the Accadian they are called the "Mushku- and are first mentioned in the records of Tiglath-pileser I (1113-1074 B.C.). During this period of their early history as a nation they were situated in northern Mesopotamia. Later they moved to Phrygia in Asia Minor. After ruling over northern Anatolia for a time the Mushku lost this area to the Cimmerians. Among the Greeks they were known as Moschoi, and because in sound this Greek name so closely resembles "Moscow," some have confused the two.

The other son of Japheth, Tubal, was the ancestor of the Tibarenoi mentioned by Herodotus. This people is called Tabal in the Accadian language. They are also first mentioned in the twelfth century B.C. in the Assyrian records, coupled with the Mushku and the Kashku. Later they moved to southern Cappadocia. Greek authors of the classical period came in contact with them after they had been pushed into Ar­menia. Isaiah mentions them along with Javan, the Ionians, or Greeks (Isa. 66:19). And, of course, it has already been noted that Ezekiel mentions them with both Javan and Meshech (Eze. 27:13).

ALGER F. JOHNS, Assistant Professor of OT Literature and Exegesis, Andrews University

August 1962

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