All the nations will see my judgment. Ezekiel 39:21-24

In my last post, I skirted past Ezekiel 39:18-20. I did that because they were more of a repetition of verse 17, and they were almost word for word what Revelation 19 conveys when it says that Jesus comes as the Warrior King (Messiah,) that Israel has longed for. The Messiah calls out, come to the feast, speaking to the meat-eating birds and beasts that they should gorge themselves on the flesh of kings, mighty men, and all others who chose to fight with God.

In this post, we will continue with Ezekiel 39:21.

Ezekiel 39:21 NASB "And I will set My glory among the nations, and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.

• And I will set My glory among the nations
  Set is the Hebrew word nâthan and means to give, used with great latitude of application (put, make, etc.): - add, apply, appoint, ascribe, assign, X avenge, X be ([healed]), bestow, bring (forth, hither), cast, cause, charge, come, commit.
  So when I associate appropriate word choices with the context certain words stand out; such as: apply, ascribe, bestow, cast, and, cause. Why would these words be important? Because the nations, in general, have not honored God's glory, recognized it, or cared that it even existed. Sadly, Israel similarly treated the Father.
• And I will set My glory among the nations
  Glory, in this case, is the Hebrew word kabod and means abundance, honor, glory. Other words available to us are riches and splendor.
  While I honestly cannot exclude God from setting his riches among the nations, but they why would He do that? Fortunes have not turned anyone to Christ. Jesus said to the disciples; it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom. The disciples were stunned by this statement and asked why. To this Jesus replied, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter. While Jesus statement opens the door to chance, it is obvious to see that riches are little more than a hindrance.
  Now, to set one's honor, God's honor, among the nations would be to show them who He is – His nature and character. One aspect of His nature is that He does not lie.
• And I will set My glory among the nations;
  The phrase, among the nations, is only one Hebrew word gôy and means a foreign nation; hence a Gentile. To the Jews it meant heathens. Now, if God did set his honor and splendor among the nations, what might be the result? Having seen what God can, and does do, many will turn their hearts toward Him. We have evidence for this, and we find it in Revelation 7:9.
  “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;”
  Note where they are from – every nation, tribe, people, and tongues. Apparently, God's plan worked.
• “and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.”
  Again, the emphasis is on the nations, as they see God's judgment, which He has laid on them. Who then, is them? It seems like a legitimate question, seeing as Gog, is the one having fire reigned down upon them. Ah, but if you were paying attention as we worked our way through chapter 38 and now 39, then you would have realized that Israel takes a tremendous and deadly beating in all this, especially if this fire is nuclear.
  Another question we should be prompted to ask is, why is Israel being judged so harshly? This type of question is precisely one of the reasons that I want to teach Bible study. The direct and implied answer, found throughout the Bible, tells us that Israel rejected God. That is the short answer, but it will suffice for the moment.

Ezekiel 39:22 NASB "And the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward.

So, not only do the nations learn that Jehovah is God, but Israel seems to acquire the full understanding that Jesus is the Lord God. Ask yourself a question, why does it take such extremes to get out attention?

Prompted by horrific events, we have been driven to ask some hard questions. Well, here comes the answers.

Ezekiel 39:23-24 NASB "The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24) "According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them."'"

The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because:

They acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them

What then happened to them as God hid His face?

To put it bluntly, this attack, led by Gog, will cause many in Israel to die. This statement will cause some grief, because the readers, like Israel, think they are safe and protected. In a previous post on Ezekiel 38, I mentioned Dr. David Reagan who said this battle with Gog could not happen anytime soon because Israel is anything but safe. Maybe, the safety is all in their heads.

• I gave them into the hand of their adversaries.”
  Psalm 83 speaks of ten nations gathered against Israel. Ezekiel 39:6 tells us that God will send fire against those living securely in the coastlands. You should be asking, which coastal nations is He talking about? Since we know that Libya and Ethiopia are two of them, what might be the common factor here? Islam. If Islam is the commonality then what other Mediterranean coastal nations could be affected? Spain, Algiers, Somalia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, France, Italy, and Greece. Are there others? How far do you wish to speculate? Most of these are committed Islamic nations, while others are being taken over. I suppose the point here is, that in many cases these nations are allied with Gog and his armies, in their fight against God.
• All of them fell by the sword.
  Apparently, not all fell by the sword, but many certainly did.
  • According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them.
    Ezekiel 39:24 is where we find this, but look at the same verse from another translation.
    “Yes, I treated them as their uncleanness and crimes deserved; and I hid my face from them.” CJB
    While the majority use the word uncleanness, the International Standard version conveys that, It was because of their defilement. I believe I can understand the depth of this perversion as I read through the Old Testament, but what do I know of the Modern day Israel? Very little. As far as perversion goes, Israel has their gay rights parades, just as America, or most any other nation. While that could be the problem, God always seemed to be focused on Israel's idolatry, and, in a sense, adultery – the pursuit of other lovers.
    Consider that Balaam (the prophet for hire,) told Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab that he could take Israel down by introducing women from the nations, as they would bring in their gods and Israel would fall prey. Well, they did.
• I hid My face from them.
  
  

Hid is the Hebrew word sâthar meaning to hide (by covering), literally or figuratively: - be absent, keep close, conceal, hide (self).

Attempt to explain to me how the God that has engraved our faces on the palms of His hands can hide his face from His people? The answer lies in scripture itself.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18 NASB 16) The LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. 17) "Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, 'Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?' 18) "But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.

They had not been out of Egypt for very long when they pressured Aaron to make the idol Molech. Pressure may be too intense a word considering that Aaron may have actively gone along with the idea.

How do I know it was the idol Molech? In Acts 7 Stephen is brought before

 the Jewish council; his life is on the line. With his life in jeopardy, what does Stephen say to these learned men? He gives them a history lesson, which none of them disputed. In that lesson, Stephen brings out something that seems to be avoided in our Bible reading.

Acts 7:43 CJB No, you carried the tent of Molekh and the star of your god Reifan, the idols you made so that you could worship them. Therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Bavel' (Babylon.)

Do your homework and find out how people worshiped before Molekh; it will disgust you.

As for my own life, I spent a good deal of time running from God. Religion teaches that it is your sin that keeps God from you. However, I can tell you, that no matter how dark it got, I always knew God was right there. I, on the other hand, was too embarrassed by my actions to think he would speak or listen to me.

Why would He have been any different with Israel? All they had to do was turn to Him with their whole heart, just as we should.

There are some odd verses in Ezekiel 39.

Since there is the possibility that the fire sent upon Gog and Magog is nuclear, can we determine that? Yes, we can come up with an answer. For example: If we focus initially on the fire aspect

Ezekiel 39:6 NASB "And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety, and they will know that I am the LORD.

First off, why would I ask that? Well, as you read Ezekiel 38, 39 there are some peculiar things are being talked about, and one of them has to do with burying the dead.

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.

Why seven months? I don't have the answer.

I looked up the guidelines for dealing with irradiated bodies, and there are no long waiting period mandates such an extended seven-month wait. https://www.remm.nlm.gov/deceased.htm

Ezekiel 39:15 NASB "As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a man's bone, then he will set up a marker by it until the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-Gog.

Are they setting up markers because the average citizen is not equipped to touch a contaminated body? I would suspect disease or general disgust might play a role in this avoidance. For the Jew, it is a cleanliness issue.

Ezekiel 39:12 NASB "For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

This statement may not be so extreme, as the Jewish laws speak about cleansing the land by burial, and, how that it is unbecoming not to bury the enemies bodies as well, and the inference is that a large number of fighters will die in Israel on that day.

I will add that the late Dr. Chuck Missler, when he spoke about these peculiarities, would say, I am merely suggesting. In his expositions on Ezekiel's prophecies, he made it clear that his background in the defense industry prompted imagery associated with the after-effects of a nuclear strike. Since God is the inventor of atomic fission, then it cannot be ruled out. As Dr. Missler used to say, I will leave it up to you to make the decision. The answer we come to does not negate or nullify God's abilities to eliminate adversaries in any way. I will also tell you that once again, I have been reminded of the prophecy made by a 90-year-old Norwegian woman, who spoke about what I think is Ezekiel 38,39; and this strange fire that precludes people from touching the bodies for seven months. In her prophecy, she says explicitly that it will be a nuclear weapon and that many places will be affected, in including the United States.

If there is one thing we know about nuclear weapons, they are not selective about whom they kill. Everybody within range gets the effect, and it lasts for years.

If you look in a concordance, the word fire is the Hebrew word ’ēš. According to the Word Study Dictionary, ’ēš is a common feminine noun meaning fire. The word is used in various ways: "It refers to any fire that breaks out and burns up something, whether people, things, or animals. in the passage, the reference is to a non-specified fire.” So, it could include lightning, and we have seen that as God responded to the prayers of Samuel and sent lightning storms and earthquakes to destroy the Philistines as they were attacking Israel.

1 Samuel 7:10 “but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them...”

If you have a spare moment, search for the power and effects of lightning, for you don't get thunder without lightning. What other example have we seen in scripture where a fire of some form, obliterates many towns and all who lived in them? The answer, Sodom, and Gomorrah, where it rained sulfur and brimstone.

Deuteronomy 29:23 KJV And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 

The story, with Lot included, can be found in Genesis 19.

There are other odd verses in Ezekiel's prophecy, that should attract our attention.

Ezekiel 39:2 KJV And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

As far as I can tell, the KJV is the only one that speaks of a sixth part of the enemies troops being untouched. Look up the word sixth in the Hebrew, and you get this from Strong's concordance.

shâshâ' - A primitive root; apparently to annihilate. (Translated by confusion with H8341.): - leave but the sixth part [by confusion with H8341]. So, here is H8341 to enlighten you. shâshâh - A denominative from H8337; to sixth or divide into sixths: - give the sixth part.

Note a difference, however subtle, between the two words where the second has an added letter. What then are we amateurs to do with such a dilemma? Consult the Word Study Dictionary, which tells us that the word shâshâ' can, and does, convey two meanings.

1. A verb meaning to drive; to drag along. It means to urge someone, to provide an impetus for moving on. It is used figuratively of God's moving Gog toward Israel and destruction.
(Ezekiel 39:2).

II. A verb indicating to leave a sixth part. It means to take or leave behind only one-sixth of something (Ezekiel 39:2, KJV).

I am going to lean upon the WSD in this case, and allow for God to, not only annihilate but still leave a handful of survivors. In doing this God shows His mercy, while leaving a few for the final battle, some one-thousand years later.

While I probably covered this in the previous post, it is worth talking about once again.

Ezekiel 39:6 NET. I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the LORD.

• "and those who live securely in the coastlands.”

For most, the immediate reaction is, about whom is Ezekiel/God, talking?

To understand this, you have to apply some logic to the scenario. Gog, a descendant of Reuben, almost a thousand years before Ezekiel's prophecy, moves north, along with his lousy attitude and settles in regions that have been associated with Russia and now Turkey. Wikipedia validates this assertion and adds to this mix names, such as the Scythians, and the Cossack's. Today, this area, “the Black Sea Region (Turkish: Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey.”  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_Region

As we have pursued an understanding of who Gog is, we have seen that others will be drawn into this fight. For example:

Ezekiel 38:5 NET. Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Put (Libya) are with them, all of them with shields and helmets.

Look at a map of the Mediterranean region, particularly along the Northern African coast. What do you find there? Spain; Morocco; Algeria; Tunisia; Libya; Ethiopia; Sudan; Somalia; Eritrea; Egypt; Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Go north, and you find Persia/Iran – one of the most vocal in their hatred of Israel, and Pakistan.

You need to understand that the Scythians, an offshoot of Magog, had just about everyone integrated into their social unit and mentality, notably the Persians. The Persians were the Assyrians that Jonah knew of, and was the backbone of the Babylonian society, where we find Nebuchadnezzar.

Just because we do not see their names listed in Ezekiel 38:5 does not mean they won't be in the fight.

Why can I say that? Because all these nations now have a common thread, Islam. Keep in mind, that in the Northern African nations they may go by Boko Haran, but they are, none-the-less, guided by the Quran (which teaches a deep hatred of Israel and the Jews.)

What's the point of bringing up all these names? Because of Ezekiel 39:6 

 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the LORD. NET.

Perhaps another translation can help you understand.

Ezekiel 39:6 CEV I will set fire to the land of Magog and to those nations along the seacoast that think they are so secure, and they will know that I am the LORD.

These people think they are secure. What does that mean? This country I live in still has the slogan on its money, that says, In God We Trust. While there may be a few of us left that feebly trust in God, the majority do not, and our governments are following some dark leadership that none of us knowingly ask for, at least I don't think so. We have no faith in anything anymore. Oh, people will say they do, but in truth, they don't even trust themselves; and yet, we tragically think we are safe and secure. How secure can you be, when our own government has been telling us how vulnerable we are to an EMP attack?

The terminology, coastlands or seacoast, opens the door to Spain; Britain; Ireland, and the U.S, to name a few. Again, why? Because, as Finis Dake, the late prophecy teacher tells us in his scripture notes, this is a group of people who have an intense hatred for Israel. Does Spain, Britain, Ireland, and Greece, come across as nationalities that have an intense hatred for Israel? Perhaps, on initial examination, NO, but then they, like far too many others, have let these “immigrants” into their nations; and now, the immigrants are taking over as they are crying about changing the laws to Sharia laws just for their benefit. (Sharia law, by the way, allows them to commit vicious crimes. And, these same laws exclude outsiders, so don't think for a second you can with such improprieties, as they will be permitted to do.)

A friend of mine recently challenged a Muslim about his motives for coming to America. The Muslim man, responded, we did not come here because of what you offer, we came to change this country to our standards.

This doctrine of hatred of Israel and the Jews seems to be a key to understanding, not just Ezekiel's prophetic words, but others, such as Daniel, or the Revelation.

Another example, as a side note.

We understand from Daniel and the Revelation, that, at some point, it will be mandatory that you take a mark, worship the beast, and, worship his image. Few focus on the fact there are three parts to this treasonous act before God, that seals your fate in the lake of fire. You need to understand that this has nothing to do with SIN, but has everything to do with your decision to follow some other god to his demise. Hell, was created for Satan and his followers, the fallen angels; however, he is taking the deceived with him.

This mark is already an Islamic practice applied to conquered peoples. There is nothing about this act that guarantees your safety and security and should be thought of as nothing less than some form of payment for protection, much like gangs enforce.

Islam, also demands that you vocalize your allegiance to Allah. Again, this carries no guarantees that you will not be tortured and killed. So, in pledging your allegiance to Allah, you are worshiping the beast.

The third aspect, worshiping the image of the beast, is a puzzlement. Why? Since Allah was spelled out for Mohammad, under the threat of death, by a very angry fallen angel, has anyone ever seen Allah? Of course not, because there is no Allah. There is merely the deception of a fallen angel, who probably had the name Allah ascribed to him. Since we have nothing as a pattern, then the image can be of anything; however, the false prophet will make the image speak. One of the first instances of a life-sized “doll” that could talk and move was at Disneyland, in the early 60's, in the form of the American President Abraham Lincoln. Techniques and engineering have vastly improved since then, and it could easily be a holographic image. 

God, on-the-other-hand, has shown himself to man on many occasions. Jesus told those listening, “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus is God, and He walked among us. He redeemed us and purchased our salvation by submitting Himself to death on the cross. He died and rose again, just as said, and then, sat on a beach and ate fish with the disciples. This Jesus we serve is the soon coming Jewish King that will rule the world, and I follow Him.