Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, has already started to march his forces further into Syria. This sudden show of force comes after Donald Trump announced that all 2,000 American troops will withdraw from the country. Erdogan and his rising Ottoman Empire will take over the fight against ISIS.
“You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.’ Thus says the Lord God: ‘Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?’” (Eze 38:16-17).
Noah had a son named Japheth who had a son named Magog who settled Turkey or RUSSIA. Gog is a shortened version of Magog. Gog is the land that Magog ruled over.
Gomer, Meshech, Tubal and Magog all have ancient ties to one another.
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
“Son of man, set your face against 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, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you’” (Eze 38:2-6).
Jerome, a prominent church leader (345–420 A.D.), said the land of Magog was north of the Caucasus Mountains, near the Caspian Sea. Josephus, first-century author and historian, associated the name “Magog” with the Scythians. A major group of Scythians lived near the Black Sea. So, the land of Magog was located near the Black and Caspian Seas north of the Caucasus Mountains, which today would be today’s southern Russia.
Greek writers called the people of Meshech the “Moschoi,” and Assyrian’s referred to them as the “Muski.” They settled around modern-day Armenia. Armenia borders Russia, Iran and Turkey – three of the nations to attack Israel.
The people of Tubal were located in the central part of Turkey immediately west of Togarmah.
Remember, biblically, every location spoken comes from the standpoint of being in Jerusalem, not the West. When many people think of World War Three, they think of Armageddon, but there ARE other wars that precede this final battle before Christ returns.
“O ASSYRIAN, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few” (Isaiah 10:5-7).
The Assyrian is the Antichrist, while the Antichrist and Gog are different people.
The Gog war brings specific nations together against Israel (Eze 38:2-9), whereas the battle of Armageddon brings all nations of the earth together to do battle in Israel.
This invasion by Gog and her allies is to take spoil from Israel (Eze 38:12-13; 39:10). But Armageddon is to destroy Israel and unite in war against Christ (Rev 16:12).
There is also no mention of a peace deal with the Gog invasion, but the Antichrist violates a peace agreement leaving Israel betrayed (Dan 9:27).
The Gog nations apparently do not reach Jerusalem, as there is no mention of Jerusalem. Instead, the invading armies fall on the mountains and open fields of Israel. This would most likely be the Golan Heights that Israel recaptured from Syria during the 1967 war (Eze 39:4-5).
There is no mention of the end-time plagues and judgments before the invasion lead by Gog, but the battle of Armageddon will be preceded by several plagues and judgments.
The defeat of Gog’s invading armies will lead to a massive spiritual revival in Israel because the defeat could only come from God. But there is no mention of Christ (Eze 38:23; 39:21-22).
Armageddon, on the other hand, brings spiritual renewal of Israel under the New Covenant where Israel accepts Christ (Jer 31:31-34; Zech 12:10).
In Ezekiel 39:4 Gog will be killed in battle, while Revelation 19:20 says the Antichrist will be thrown alive into the Lake of Fire.
The nation of Israel must be returned to the God of their fathers before they will begin to recognize and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God uses Gog’s invasion to awaken His people.
Magog, Meshech, and Tubal are ancient people. They were also brothers. Togarmah is the son of Gomer. They are of the first families to resettle the world after Noah’s flood. They began to settle together in modern-day Turkey. Turkey plays a significant role in the last days according to the Bible.
Revelation Chapter 2, verse 12-13: “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is…”
Jesus tells us He knows where Satan’s seat is – in Pergamos, Turkey. This was referring to a massive altar that sat on a hill in Pergamum. The Greeks originally built the enormous structure in the 2nd century B.C. as a temple dedicated to Zeus. Interestingly, the altar was sent to Berlin in the 19th century. In 1934, Hitler ordered construction of the Tribune at Zeppelin Field in Nuremberg specifically for the purpose of his Nazi rallies. There are many false and pagan gods described in the Bible, but only one was openly referred to as Satan.
What is also interesting is, Turkey, after failing to convince Germany to return the altar, built an exact replica of the ancient altar on the same ancient site in Pergamum.
The seven spirits or churches are in Turkey, and five of the eight Gog nations were within Turkey. The Bible has continued to highlight Turkey for a reason.
The Bible emphasizes in Isaiah and Micah the future conflict between the Messiah and the Assyrian, who was a type of Antichrist. These prophecies also point us to the regions of the ancient Assyrian Empire, which held large portions of modern Turkey.
Turkey is located in the center of the Caucasus region, Middle East and the Balkans; this is undoubtedly the most unstable region in the world. Despite Turkey’s western ties since World War Two, her history is deeply rooted in an anti-Christian and anti-Jewish spirit. That spirit has again surfaced under Erdogan’s leadership.
Muslims feel Islam must be re-established where it was wounded. Her wound came in 1924 with the fall of the Ottoman Empire, in Turkey.
The KJV describes the Antichrist as “Stout” in Daniel 7:20.
“And of the ten horns that were on his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.”
The Merriam’s dictionary definition of the word stout is:
Strong of character: such as BRAVE, BOLD, FIRM, DETERMINED. Also: OBSTINATE, UNCOMPROMISING, FORCEFUL; also violent.
Recep Erdogan became prime minister of Turkey in 2003, and in 2014 became its president. He is a devout Muslim. He has stirred up many people across the Middle East with his fierce animosity towards Israel. He has a strong and commanding presence and wants to be considered the Islamic superpower in the Middle East.
Erdogan has taken a strong hold of many Muslims, and he is pushing for Islamic pride and unity among Arab nations. His commanding presence has even had some Muslims refer to him as “god” and to also worship him.
While most Middle Eastern leaders are being besieged, exiled or even killed, Turkey’s President Erdogan is popular, and that popularity is gaining. He is under no threat of losing his power. In fact, the Bible tells us he will gain power.
Ezekiel tells us that Russia, in alliance with Turkey and Iran, will gather a massive army against Israel, to plunder the land.
When these nations move against Israel, a few other nations like Sheba and Dedan (Saudi Arabia), the merchants of Tarshish (from UK) with all the young lions thereof (would include US) will ask what this coalition is doing. They are supposed to be stabilizing Syria, but they will suddenly head to Israel – most likely to the contested Golan Heights (Ezekiel 38:13).
During the 1967 war, in addition to the Golan Heights, Jerusalem was also recaptured by the IDF. For the first time in almost 2,000 years, the Jewish people were in control of the Temple Mount. Instead of immediately removing any remnants of pagan gods, they not only left the mosques and blasphemies, they gave Jordan control of it.
God said on this mountain in Jerusalem, He will place His name.
Deuteronomy 12:3 “And you shall overthrow their altars, and break their stone idols, and burn their idol poles with fire; and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.”
“Then the angel of the Lord came to Gilgal to Bochim, and said: I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you (Judges 2:1-3).
The Jewish people were warned by God not to allow pagan worship near them. DESTROY FALSE GODS AND THEIR ALTARS. They didn’t do that. Now, fifty years later, Jerusalem is still being disputed; temples (mosques) remain on God’s mountain, and the Jews are not even allowed to pray on their own ancient Temple Mount.
Everything God has warned the Jewish people not to do, they have ignored.
As Israel continues to be surrounded by her enemies, Trump’s peace plan is about to be revealed any day. Meanwhile, Erdogan is vowing to launch a new invasion into the Kurdish region of Syria, which borders Turkey. He’s already been killing the Kurds on a smaller, quieter scale, and nobody has said anything!
Jeremiah 49:23 “Against Damascus. Hama and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet.”
Hamah and Arpad are modern-day Tel Rifaat. In the 48 hours following Pres. Trump’s decision to let Erdogan control Syria, militants have started shelling areas near Tel Rifaat which is supposed to be a de-escalation zone. The residents are in fear of the coming Turkish military. Turkey being in control of Syria has made many fainthearted indeed.
A Turkish journalist, Hamza Tekin, recently said: “Turkey has now entered the stage of final preparations or the final touch, as it is called, of the military operation. There is a final resolution of launching the operation […]. We might be left with a few hours or days; at any moment, the military operation might start.”
“Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts. ‘I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad” (Jer 49:26-27).
The Bible tells us Damascus will be destroyed in one night, in one hour. Not only will Damascus cease from being a city, even the palaces are destroyed. This would be Bashar Al Assad’s Presidential palace in Damascus.
Turkey, Russia and Iran have been meeting together a lot over the last year. They are planning a new Syria, with a new “constitution” of sorts. They are discussing how to bring “peace and safety” to the Mediterranean. The media tells the narrative that Erdogan wants Assad removed from power, but does he really? It seems that has changed.
In 2017, Erdogan attended a summit in Russia where he sat down with Assad’s two primary allies, Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani. They reportedly discussed a solution for the Syrian conflict.
When he was asked if Ankara was ready to work with the Assad regime against the Kurdish-ruled north Syria, he said:
“In politics, the doors are open until the very last moment… What may happen tomorrow is tied to the circumstances then.”
When asked about the possibility of reestablishing relations with Damascus, he said: “It is not right to rule out anything on this issue.”
Turkey and Iran are united on the Kurds and have met several times over the YPG and PKK, while Netanyahu has accused Turkey of massacring the Kurdish people. Russia has had a friendly relationship with the Kurdish people, making it plausible they will turn to Russia for help after the U.S. withdrawal.
Out of chaos and war come peaceful negotiations. In comes the Trump peace plan. Erdogan will be drawn to accept this deal. What this peace plan brings is a lie from Erdogan’s lips. He, along with other Islamic leaders, will acknowledge or confirm that the Jews have a historical right to Jerusalem through ancient biblical ties.
The Bible says the Antichrist will confirm a covenant with many, not just Israel.
Erdogan is on a mission to rebuild the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over Jerusalem politically and religiously for four centuries. Erdogan wants Jerusalem, and he’s telling us he’s going to take it. He is also telling us he is going to slaughter the Kurds, and NOBODY is listening or they simply don’t care.
He wants all of Islam to unify and fight for Jerusalem, and sees it as his role to lead the Islamic battle for this purpose. He can’t have Mecca so He will take Jerusalem by force. Turkey is becoming the magnet to many Muslim nations and wants nothing more than to place an ally in power in Syria. Turkey is also the bridge between The Middle East and Europe.
Trump needs Erdogan’s help in managing the Black Sea to contain Russia’s expanding hold on the region. Everyone sees Russia as the only major threat, completely ignoring Erdogan, and especially ignoring Bible prophecy.
The recent development puts the Kurds in a position of being alone in Syria without U.S. participation. Israel has especially grown concerned with President Trump’s sudden withdrawal in Syria.
The three major nations that invade Israel (Russia, Turkey and Iran) are on the Israeli border, without the U.S. Will the Gog war of Ezekiel be what brings the cries for peace and safety in Israel?
The Kurds are the modern descendants of the ancient Medes. They are an Indo-European people that aligned with the Persians (Iran) during their successful military campaign to overthrow ancient Babylon. This established them as a world power in the 6th century BC. The Persians, who joined the Medes mid-campaign, ended up becoming the superpower in their coalition. Together, the Medes and the Persians reigned for over 200 years until Alexander the Great defeated them.
Turkey views Kurdish forces allied with both the U.S. and Israel as terrorists. Military experts have said that the Turkish military will engage the Kurds – not if, but when, and they will turn to Iran with Trump’s withdrawal. God said what is has already been.
The possibility of a free Kurdistan nation isn’t popular among non-Kurds. Turkey has fought with its own Kurdish population in a decades-long conflict that has resulted in 30,000 to 40,000 Kurds being killed since 1984. The Syrian regime repressed any Kurdish rights in the area, and Saddam Hussein slaughtered tens of thousands of Kurds in the country’s north. He gassed them, leading to babies being born with deformities years later.
Israel is the only nation that has openly endorsed a free Kurdistan nation. With the U.S. present in Syria, Turkey was held at bay. Now there is nothing to stop him from moving through Syria and towards Israel.
Christians in the Middle East share a bond with the Kurds, as they are both minorities. This doesn’t mean they always agree politically, but both being persecuted in the region has led to a relationship of sorts.
In 2016 Peter Galbraith, US diplomat, said, “The Kurdish areas have its own government that functions well, has its own military, it has a source of revenue, and the population almost unanimously supports independence… so it’s a door that needs to be walked through.”
In response to Erdogan’s latest threats to invade the Kurdish region of Syria, the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) denounced it with a statement that read: “President Erdoğan and his government should abandon this irrational stance which will lead to destruction and suffering in the region. We urge the national and international public to show alertness towards such threats and not to remain silent.”
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” (2 Thes 2:3-4).
The little horn spoken of by Daniel will come “up among them,” meaning from the 10 horns that were the kingdoms of Western Europe (Daniel 7:8).
In Daniel 7:4 the Bible says he will be DIFFERENT from the other nations. Turkey is certainly different than the other nations, being that they are all European nations, while Turkey has been fighting for membership.
In Daniel 7:8 we are told that he will uproot three Kingdoms. Many fear a slaughter of Christians and Kurdish people is coming, with Erdogan leading the way. In Daniel 7:21 we read that the Antichrist will in fact kill those that don’t worship the beast. Great and small, free and bond, rich and poor.
The Bible tells us he would emerge from the Roman Empire, which will be the fourth kingdom (Daniel 7:7-8).
Modern-day Turkey was in fact a part of the Roman Empire. Remember, the soldiers from the 10th Roman legion were of Turkish and Syrian descent.
The Bible goes on to say that God’s people, the saints, would “be given into his hand” for “a time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25).
With all of the uncertainty in the Middle East right now, one thing is certain. God knows what He is doing. He is in control, and the hooks have been placed into the Jaws of Gog.
Within days of the US announcing its withdrawal from Syria, Israel launched attacks on Iranian facilities in Damascus (just after two suspicious Iranian cargo planes took off from there). After the Israeli airstrikes, Russia accused Israel of a “gross violation of Syria’s sovereignty. They also accused Israel of jeopardizing civilian flights.
Where Israeli-Russian ties have warmed over the last couple of years, they have suddenly hit freezing mode. Russia is set to meet with the leader of Hamas, and Israel is furiously objecting, to which Russia has shrugged. The relationship began to cool after Israel was blamed for a Russian military plane accidentally getting shot down by Syria while engaging Israeli military jet fighters. 2,500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel gave us these prophecies, and today, we are watching them come to fruition.
President Trump’s “sudden” withdrawal may not be as sudden as some think, and it very likely has everything to do with his coming peace proposal. But with his withdrawal, the three leading nations of the Gog invasion are going to feel emboldened. Through their arrogance, God will use them to bring Israel back to Him, paving the way for the return of His Son, Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 5:3-5 “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.”
Vanessa P