Gather from every side to my sacrifice. Ezekiel 39:17-20

One of the last things I ever wanted to do was to overwhelm my readers. I truly wanted you to be inspired enough to dig into God's word and find these things for yourselves. Besides that, having sat under far too may manipulative sermons, where they tell you, you have to be a missionary and save the world. I have learned that being a missionary is not even close to my heart's desire, but teaching is. Another thing you should know about me is that I was not a good student when I was younger. Over time and by focusing on one class at a time, I was able to obtain honor status, but that took years. So, I can empathize with those who struggle to learn and absorb information. I edit my writings excessively, and since I am in honesty writing to myself, they excite me. In truth, I have often read the passage already, made pages of notes so that I can understand it, and then begun the process of relaying the things I see, to you. I hope you have the endurance and capability to do the same with my writings. I want us all to get better at understanding the nature and character of this amazing God we serve. He is our Father you know.

With that said, here is a short and yet continuing dive into Ezekiel 39.

Ezekiel 39:17 NASB "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.

Ezekiel 39:18-20 continues with the same descriptives, and I will leave you to read them on your own.

The phrase, son of man, is found throughout the Bible. Here in verse 17, the directive is being spoken to Ezekiel. Uppercase or lowercase seems to be irrelevant as the context and person being spoken to is key in understanding the verse in question. I point this out as Jesus Christ referred to himself as the Son of man, and the Father often referred to Jesus as the Son of man. (I only bring this up as some see this passage as the same event we see in Revelation 19. We will dive into that momentarily.)

The command to Ezekiel is to: “speak to every kind of bird and every beast of the field.” They are told to Assemble; come, and gather from every side, to what?

• “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.”

This passage sounds all too familiar.

Revelation 19:17-18 NASB 17) 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, 18) 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."

While there are similar properties, and, it sounds like this is marriage supper of the Lamb, is it the same event?

I do not believe so and here is why.

• Although both scenarios entail war, one is fought with Jesus as the Messiah, along with the saints; while the other employs fire of some form.
• One scenario transitions quickly into the millennial reign, while the other has specific timings involved.
• Revelation 19:20 depicts the judgment of the beast and the false prophet, while Ezekiel speaks nothing of these two.
• Revelation 19:21 describes the slaughter as exclusively with the sword as it comes from the mouth of Jesus. Ezekiel, on the other, while not speaking of hand to hand combat, focuses on fire alone.
• Revelation 19 conveys the image of combatants being the only ones who die, while Ezekiel subtly points out that Israelis are killed as well.

• In Revelation 19:15 the sentence includes Jesus saying, that He will rule them with a rod of iron. This idea of ruling is openly expressing the time when He returns and remains on the earth during the millennial reign. We do not see that in Ezekiel 39 as a part of the annihilation of Gog and his armies.
  Revelation 19:11 NASB And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. Revelation 19:20-21 NASB 20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21) And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
  Ezekiel 39:3-6 NASB "I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. 4) "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. 5) "You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken," declares the Lord GOD. 6) "And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.

I am going to touch on Ezekiel 39:21-22 because there are always critics. The critic would say, I am not thorough or just did not read far enough, for Ezekiel does speak to the millennial reign; and they are right it does, but Revelation 19 demonstrates one continuous flow into the 1000 year reign, while Ezekiel 38 and 39 have specific day lengths involved, such as the seven months before they search; and, then continuously burying bodies for seven months.

Whether this firestorm we see in Ezekiel happens before, during, or after the rapture is irrelevant, as we are still looking at 14 months. That is 14 months of relative calm in Israel, and the catching away of the church, to many, is the boundary between time frames.

Everything happening after the removal of the church is the time of God's wrath.

So, if I could use the two seven month periods within Ezekiel 38,39, then we are 14 months, or 420 days, according to the Jewish calendar, into the seven years of wrath. While the Antichrist may have come on the scene almost instantly, waving his contract of peace, and calling for many to sign it, the false prophet will not show his true colors until 1260 days into this time of wrath.

Add to this mix, the fact that God, immediately after the removal of the church, sends two prophets from heaven who stand in the streets of Jerusalem, doing what? Telling the Jewish community that the Messiah came already, and will come back again soon; they are also preaching that repentance is necessary by turning of the heart toward God; we are also aware that they perform mighty miracles, such as: stopping the rain, calling fire down from heaven (considering what may have already happened, this will be a heart-stopping event,) and, they will kill, with fire from their mouths, anyone who tries to harm them. (Try to picture that, as some sniper, from well over a mile away, attempts to kill them. Snipers tend to get you when you are not expecting it, and yet these guys know everything and stop it with fire.)

These two prophets stand in the streets 1260 days. This time frame overlaps the period of burials, and may well be an integrated part of those burials. At 1260 God decides it is time for the two prophets to come back to heaven and allows them to be killed. What a coincidence that they will be killed just as the false prophet steps into public view.

What have we accomplished here? We have pointed out that Ezekiel 39 and Revelation 19 while having almost precise wording, are two different events. One thing you should understand about the Revelation. While John and the other disciples may have been thought of as ignorant men, that spoke in somewhat common vernacular, they walked with the Son of God for three years, and, they were obedient to stay put and receive the Holy Spirit – the Paraclete that would teach you all things. In a sense, John too became a Rabbi; a Rabbi who knew the words of Ezekiel too well. Is it any wonder that the terminology would be the same, and so precise.

God, was and is trying to convey a message. In Ezekiel, He is describing events that are going to come. Those events include the Messiah sitting in judgment over the nations; whereas in the Revelation, the events are specific to the seven-year period, known as the time of wrath; because of that timing, the firestorm against Gog may have already occurred.

A friend of mine with many skill sets recently stepped out in faith and made efforts to buy a ranch in Idaho (USA). While the houses where I live are small with no land and sell for $500,000, this ranch was a mere $250,000. They made appropriate arrangements, packed their house into a trailer, and then watched as things started to fall apart at the last minute. Money problems, escrow problems, and changes in the attitudes from some. He asked for prayer, and quickly. I wrote him back and said something to this effect.

I had climbed a few rock faces, when I was younger, but only within safe limits. Why just safe limits; because I was not brave enough to risk my life (effectively everything,) for the joy of seeing what was on the other side. Sometimes faith is just like climbing that a high rock face, only we are asked to push our limitations beyond our comfort zone. While you are climbing in places you have never been, pushing your limits and boundaries, occasionally risking your life, it is scary. But afterward, standing at the top looking at the beauty you would have missed, it is exhilarating. Faith is like that. What the Word of God presents to us, is a climb that challenges everything we know. There are inherent dangers, and God knows that; but He keeps trying to remind us that in reaching the top of the ascent there is a great reward, and a life spent with Him in glory, even if our lives down here on earth comes to an end.

All this stuff we surround ourselves with keeps us comfortable in our fear. I long for the life with Him, and I long to go out as a warrior. If writing makes me a warrior, then so be it; hopefully, you will join me.

As Joel Richardson says frequently, I could be wrong about the way I have conveyed prophetic events and their timing. I already know that I conflict with how Joel sees Revelation 19, but it is not my goal to confuse and mislead you. I try to convey these events I see in a way that is logical and makes sense given the context. I implore you to read and study; it is the only preventative for being deceived. 

Assemble and come together, from everyside to my sacrifice. Eze 39:17-20

 As I talked previously about Ezekiel's prophecy against Gog and his armies; and how they will be killed on the mountains of Israel; I explained how Israel gathers Gog's weapons for use as firewood for the next seven years. The time frame involved seemed so obvious to me, as this all happens moments before the rapture of the church and the Antichrist persona steps onto the stage.

• "On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel... So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, (Ezekiel 39:11 NASB)
• "For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them to cleanse the land .. (Ezekiel 39:12-13 NASB)

An obvious factor that we tend to ignore in our group Bible studies is that Israel will still be filled with a level of violence during these burials. Think about what goes on there in Israel on a daily basis: rock throwing, stabbings, car rammings, and, an occasional bomb, but this is almost daily.

And yet, at some crucial moment, when the world thinks they need peace, a man will step forward and say, I have everything in control; let us have peace, and he will enact a seven-year peace treaty with many.

Daniel 9:27 NASB "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

How could you have any of these things happen unless it fits into a little crack of time just moments before God pours out His wrath upon the earth?

As clear as the previous verses in Ezekiel seemed to me, Ezekiel 39:17-20 has clouded my mind once again. Let me show you why.

Ezekiel 39:17-20 NASB "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. 18) "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. 19) "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. 20) "You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war," declares the Lord GOD.

The entire passage speaks of flesh eating birds being gathered to God's great sacrifice. He includes mighty men and the blood of princes, and, “you will be glutted at My table.” This is just a recap, but immediately my mind said, I know this scenario, or at least I think I do.

Let me point something out you may have missed.

So, while the citizens of Israel may be making note of where bodies are, seven months later, someone will make a search.

Ezekiel 39:14 NASB "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.

This time of burial, although affected by extenuating circumstances, is going on for quite some time.

What happens in the mean time? (We are notorious for assuming that everything gets put on hold while the scenario painted for us happens.) The scavengers come out. Birds like Condors; Vultures; Ravens; Sea Gulls, and the like. But aren't they around somewhere, close by, even when you don't want them?

Why does something like flesh eating birds create a point of confusion about the end times? Because what we see in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is remarkably similar to what many call the wedding supper of the Lamb. I am telling you this because I have sat under false teachers and their teachings that do no more than cloud your mind and make you hate prophecy and the prophetic books of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel, to name a few. In my momentary confusion, I thought, I have advocated two distinct wars, at two distinct times, but then I see this aspect that sounds just like the “great supper of the lamb”, which made think I too have taught falsely. It was not until I looked the scenario in Revelation 19 that it all became clear again. These wars are completely different, at different times, and yet have many similar properties. Keep your heads clear. The answers are there in the scriptures themselves.

You find this “great supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19.

Revelation 19:17-18 NASB 17) 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, 18) 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."

You might think at first glance they are talking about the same thing. The man who leads the Monday morning Bible study has intertwined these two events on several occasions. It is not simply a mistake on his part since he has been shown, from the Word of God, how and why they are different events. (His lack of concern and unwillingness to adjust himself to align with the Word of God, make him a false teacher.)

Why then is Revelation 19 so different from Ezekiel 39?

• In Ezekiel 39 it is Gog and his armies amassed against Israel specifically, and they are killed by brimstone, hail, lightning, and floods.

• In Revelation 19 Jesus, at the end of the time of wrath, has come riding across the skies upon a white horse. (This, by the way, is the only passage in the book Revelation that Islam believes, and that is because they believe that this is their savior, not ours.)
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war.
Revelation 19:14, 15 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

This time they are not amassed against Israel, they are gathered to fight against the King of Kings.

Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

There is no Gog listed in this war, but there are the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies.

Quick question. Who is this beast? He is the same person that proffered the peace treaty seven years before. We do not know his identity as yet, but I can guarantee you he is here.

One more thing. When does the war of Revelation 19 take place? When Jesus comes back to earth as the Messiah; the King of Kings; after the seven years of wrath has come to an end.

So yes, there are multiple wars, both major and minor, with ongoing skirmishes constantly.