Seven Empires

EZEKIEL 38-39

In the sixth century BCE Ezekiel saw visions of the future as striking as those of Daniel or John. Ezekiel 38-39 foretold a massive invasion of Israel after "many days," in other words, the far future. There are Christian and Jewish commentators who agree this battle remains to be fulfilled. Some invaders come from the north of Israel, but include enemies from all around; Persia, Cush and Libya, with many other peoples. The army sweeps down on the regathered people of Israel who dwell in the Holy Land without fear. It is as if Israel believed it really was at "peace" with its neighbors. In spite of Israel's lack of precaution, the invaders suffer divine annihilation. Afterward, Israel recognizes the LORD as Savior. The origin of the northern force is of special importance because popular prophetic teaching says it is Russia. We will see it actually speaks of Turkey.

Ezekiel names the invaders;

Gog

Land of Magog

Meshech

Gomer

Tubal

Beth Togarmah

(Rosh?)

Persia

Cush

Put

And all your bands

And many peoples with you

Turkey, Not Russia
Popular Teachings About a Russian Invasion Considered Dubious

It is popularly taught that Rosh, Meshech and Tubal speak of Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk to prove a Russian invasion of Israel. Scholars, however, say such a connection is dubious. Rosh is never listed as a tribe in any other passage in the Hebrew Scriptures and it is doubtful here. Modern Hebrew does not spell Russia the same way, and, the Viking tribe of Rus came down from Scandinavia to lend its name to Russia, they did not migrate north from Asia Minor, which is where they should have originated in Ezekiel's day if this were true. Meshech and Tubal are listed with Javan (or Greece) earlier in Ezekiel chapter 27, telling us Ezekiel was speaking of areas known to him in the sixth century BCE, south of the Black Sea.

Uttermost Parts of the North in Ezekiel's Day

Those who postulate a Russian invasion also depend on the phrase "the uttermost parts of the north" to prove their notion. But once out of the three times it is found it is connected to one of the invaders, Beth Togarmah. Scholars locate Beth Togarmah in eastern Asia Minor, roughly corresponding to the Armenian district of Turkey. This means the uttermost parts of the north from Ezekiel's prophetic view do not extend farther north than Asia Minor. While there are many who believe Russia is indicated in this prophecy, such atlases as The Macmillan Bible Atlas, Oxford Bible Atlas, The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, and others, locate Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth Togarmah in Asia Minor, not Russia. This region, called Anatolia, Asia Minor or now Turkey, was the heart of the vast Islamic Ottoman Empire for many centuries.

We have already read of ancient ancestry for Muslims in and around Israel. It is the same story for Muslims of modern Turkey. Part One (maps 8-9) shows that just after Ezekiel wrote of this invasion of the far future Asia Minor was conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire. But the original people were not annihilated or driven out. According to page 67 of World Civilizations, Their History and Their Culture they remained.

"Although the Persian government had its defects, it was certainly superior to most of the others that had existed in the Near East. The Persian kings did not imitate the terrorism of the Assyrians. They levied tribute upon conquered peoples, but they generally allowed them to keep their own customs, religions, and laws. Indeed, it may be said that the chief significance of the Persian Empire lay in the fact that it resulted in a synthesis of Near-Eastern cultures, including those of Persia itself, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, the Syria-Palestine coast, and Egypt."

So the peoples of Asia Minor (Turkey) were not obliterated, they were amalgamated with other cultures. Their descendants had several different civilizations imposed on them by more powerful invaders. This is confirmed on page 61 of Turkey, An Introductory Geography.

"Modern Turkish scholars have paid a great deal of attention to the Hittite culture and to the Hittite empire as the earliest ancestor of the present Turkish state, though the extent to which there is any real continuity is questionable. The Turkish language and the Moslem religion were first brought to Asia Minor by the Seljuks some 2500 years after the demise of the Hittite empire. It does seem probable that the pre-existing Anatolian population was neither exterminated nor wholly replaced by the Turkic settlers and that the latter [Turkic settlers] were a relatively small ruling group whose language and religion were adopted piecemeal by the indigenous majority. Thus in one sense it could be said that elements of Hittite culture were carried on into the Seljuk and Ottoman periods and thence into modern Turkey. On the other hand, the Hittite culture had been overlain by centuries of Persian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine culture long before the arrival of the Seljuks."

On page 66 the book continues;

"As already stated, the Seljuk Turks brought the Turkish language and the Moslem religion to Anatolia [Asia Minor], but these nomadic invaders were themselves probably few in numbers. Their rule in Anatolia was imposed upon a numerically superior indigenous population which eventually adopted the speech and religion of its conquerors. In this process of cultural crossfertilisation, however, the majority of Turks abandoned nomadism and adopted aspects of Arabic, Persian and even Byzantine cultures, a process which gave rise to the unique amalgam of cultural traits which to this day distinguishes the Turk from the other peoples of the Middle East yet at the same time ensures that he has much in common with them."

In support of this view, an authoritative business magazine, Middle East Review 1985, says of modern Turkey,

"The culture of Turkey is Asiatic and Islamic, but it is to be found superimposed on the older classical and Christian culture of Anatolia."

So, as with the invaders of Psalm 83, and even the nation of Israel itself, there remains a legacy of the tribes in question. This prophecy may easily be fulfilled, even though there has been mixing from outside peoples and cultures.

As with the other prophecies, Ezekiel 38-39 gives direct descriptions of Islamic regions. Psalm 83 mentions an inner ring of invaders, Ezekiel describes an outer ring. In Revelation 16:12-16 the call goes out for allies in the final invasion of the battle of Armageddon, including the "kings of the east." These kings correspond to the biblical regions not under Roman rule in the days of Revelation (map 17), roughly the areas of eastern Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Persia of Ezekiel's day. All are Islamic today. While nothing forbids other nations of the world from (God forbid) joining this invasion, only Islamic nations are depicted in it. Israel will face severe punishment in this invasion. But at the height of the onslaught God will intervene massively and annihilate the invaders. Israel, and all surrounding nations, and in the end, all nations of the entire world, will recognize the greatness of God's glory in saving Israel from such a colossal invasion.
 

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