Is This the War of Gog and Magog?
Author says potential nuclear showdown between Israel and Iran could set in motion the fulfillment of prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39
The looming nuclear showdown between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could set in motion the fulfillment of prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39—the mysterious “war of Gog and Magog.” So says New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg says.
These biblical predictions, the former political advisor to Netanyahu explains, refer to an end-time attack on Israel by a coalition of nations, including Russia and Iran.
In light of the growing ties between Iran and Russia, as well as U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s remarks that Israel may strike Iran’s nuclear facilities this spring or summer, Rosenberg says the prophetic scenario described by the prophet Ezekiel more than 2,600 years ago now “very much looks like it is coming to pass.”
Vladimir Putin, the first Russian leader in history to form close ties with Iran, was recently re-elected as president of the Russian Federation, a nation that has been supplying armaments and nuclear expertise to Iran. Putin assumed the presidency of Russia on May 7.
Given this confluence of events, military experts are assessing the potential fallout of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear-enrichment sites. A classified American war simulation released in March found an Israeli air blitz would lead to a wider regional war, potentially pulling the U.S. into the conflict.
Israeli officials, however, don’t believe a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities will result in an all-out war. Instead, they believe it could embolden Iranian citizens to overthrow Ahmadinejad—a leader who is driven by a Shia end-time theology that says the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah, the 12th Imam, is to destroy Israel and the U.S.
“The question for the Israeli leadership is, ‘Have we tried everything short of war to stop Iran?” says Rosenberg, author of Implosion: Can America Recover From its Economic & Spiritual Challenges in Time?, which releases this month.
“The stakes are, if Iran gets its nuclear weapons, it could do in six minutes what it took Adolph Hitler six years to do, and that’s to kill 6 million Jews.”
Though the Obama administration hopes economic sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union will pressure Iran to resolve the crisis diplomatically, Rosenberg says Netanyahu’s window of opportunity to strike is rapidly closing as Iran moves its nuclear facilities into hardened, underground bunkers.
During his campaign for re-election, Putin made pledges that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, promising pay raises to police, firefighters, teachers, solders and retirees. Rosenberg believes the only way Putin can make good on those promises is if the price of oil, which generates more than half of Russia’s tax revenues, were to go up significantly. Because instability drives oil prices, Rosenberg says there is an “economic dynamic to this calculation” and Putin could have a motive to “foment trouble in the Middle East.”
“[Putin] could tell the Israelis, ‘If you launch an attack on Iran it will be regarded as an attack on the Russian Federation,'” Rosenberg says. “It would be hard imagining [Netanyahu] moving forward with a direct and credible threat of a Russian retaliation.”
These developments seem to coincide with what the prophet Ezekiel predicted more than 2,600 years ago, Rosenberg says. In Ezekiel 38, the prophet wrote that “Gog”—interpreted as a Russian dictator—would lead a coalition of nations in an attack on Israel, prompting God’s supernatural intervention, Rosenberg says.
Bible scholars differ on whether this battle occurs before or at the end of the seven-year tribulation period, a time when the Antichrist oversees a global government. Some believe the “war of Gog and Magog” occurs before the Tribulation with the Battle of Armageddon occurring at the end.
“This will be a day of great judgment when God turns his supernatural fury against the enemies of Israel,” Rosenberg says. “It will also be a day of great spiritual awakening. More Muslims and Jews are going to come to faith in Jesus as the Messiah when this dramatic prophecy comes true.”
—Troy Anderson
“I never have believed that Jesus Christ would approve of abortions. That was one of the problems I had when I was president having to uphold Roe v. Wade, and I did everything I could to minimize the need for abortions. I think if the Democratic Party would adopt that policy that would be acceptable to a lot of people who are now estranged from our party because of the abortion issue.”
— President Jimmy Carter on The Laura Ingraham Show
