With the travelers corpses still lying on the ground. Ezekiel 39:14-16

As I began to take on this section, I was reminded how far too many times that Bible teachings, in general, have been fraught with tradition, a lack of logic, and bereft of truth. This is what I grew up on. I am not trying to shove some new doctrine down your throats, this should be fairly obvious as I point out the multiple meanings of some word and how a different word fits the context better than what has been the standard religious choice for years.

A brief example of what I am talking about comes out of pulpit rants about Paul's thorn in the flesh. I have heard this called a physical ailment; bad eyes, and a multitude of other things. While few have ever mentioned the strong possibility that Paul was an angry man with a hair trigger. We see evidence of that anger in his interactions with Barnabas concerning John Mark; a young man who later became valuable to Paul. Passages concerning John Mark are below. And then, there was Paul, confronting Peter face to face over an event that had happened quite probably over 15 years prior, and Paul only received the information second hand (Gal 2:11-13).

So, if I was going to understand who Paul was, and what he was talking about, then I have to consider his education and usage of words. In Acts 23:6 Paul tells us that he too was a Pharisee; the book of Acts (8:1-3,) in speaking about the death of Stephen says that, Saul approved of his murder, and that Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers. Acts 12: 25 Tells of the association of Saul/Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark; and how in a relatively short period of time any good feelings they had quickly dissipated as Paul and Barnabas parted company over what Paul perceives as John Mark's irresponsible actions. This story is detailed in Acts 15:36-39 there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another. Paul informed us in 2 Corinthians 12:7 of his understanding of why his thorn keeps hanging on, when he said, “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, ...!” This verse is where this insipid teaching on Paul's thorn in the flesh comes from.

Paul, the Pharisee, was exquisitely skilled in the law and the prophets, and therefore able to stand his ground against anyone who contended with him when it came to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when speaking to Jews, he used vernacular that they were accustomed to, and “thorn in the flesh” was one of those subjects. Even in its original form, the phrase had a context. So let's examine that for a moment.

Numbers 33:55 NASB 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live.

The inhabitants of the land of Canaan, were, in this case, what would become the thorns if not taken care of appropriately. Is it possible that the thorns in our life could then be thought of as problems, just as these inhabitants were? Certainly. So, it is easy to see that Paul also had a problem that lingered. If it was anger, as I suspect it was, then it was the very thing that kept him humble. In my own life, anger seems to be my reminder that God is in control, not me.

So, what do I know of Paul so far: That Saul, the Pharisee, was willing to kill for something he thought was a kingdom duty. I also can ascertain that Paul was an orator that knew what he was talking about, and he had a temper.

With that in mind, let's pursue the next section of Ezekiel, and do it with a non-traditional mind.

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.

Set apart is the word bâdal and means to divide (in various senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select. The word bâdal is used twice in the passage to convey the idea that decision-makers will separate and distinguish among the people those that will specifically take care of the bodies.

Once again, I bring up Dr. Chuck Missler, an engineer who felt strongly that the fire and the effects are nuclear. Dr. Missler, however, would leave you with the urging, you decide as to how you will perceive and deal with this event.

• "for the continual duty of going through the land and burying with the travelers the corpses still lying out on the ground." Here I use the Complete Jewish Bible version as it translates this passage with an added clarity.
  Take note of how it says, "and burying with the travelers the corpses still lying on the ground. As you can imagine, 'a nuclear type weapon, is not particularly selective. In other words, it does not merely kill the enemy; it kills everything within range.
  As I remember, there is a circumference of total devastation, and then varying degrees of prolonged death the farther away you get.

Something odd about this, as this burial place is called the travelers' valley. There is a logical reason for this as it is heavily used for movement in and out of the southern regions of Israel. This is not the valley of Armageddon, that we are accustomed to hearing about. The travelers, in this case, could be mixed with non-combatants. Telling us that there are dead civilians, here in the South East, leaves the door open for us to understand that there was an attack with many fronts. And, this is exactly what we see in Psalm 83.

• The usage of the phrase, “ in order to cleanse it,” puts the designated cleaners into another category altogether.
  This is talking about Jewish ceremonial cleansing. I will leave you to read the whole of the passage from Numbers; but, take note of how Israel sees these dead bodies.
  Numbers 19:11-15 BBE 13) Anyone touching the body of a dead man without making himself clean in this way, makes the House of the Lord unclean; and that man will be cut off from Israel:

Following the law and keeping yourself from not being cut-off from Israel would be a vital thing, especially in the midst of all this chaos.

Ezekiel 39:15 BBE And while they go through the land, if anyone sees a man's bone, he is to put up a sign by the place till those who are doing the work have put it in the earth in the valley of Hamon-Gog.

“special crews will be appointed to give a proper burial to the bodies of the dead enemies in order for the land to be cleansed. The land would have been defiled by unburied corpses. Those who would come in contact with the corpses out in the open would become ceremonially unclean (according to Num_19:14-16). There will be so many bodies that all kinds of birds will be called in order to help dispose of them (Eze_39:17-20)” LASB

This last statement, “There will be so many bodies that all kinds of birds will be called in order to help dispose of them,” shows up in verse 17, but we also find this same wording in Revelation 19:17-18. The context of the passages in Revelation, is in part, an invitation to the wedding supper of the Lamb. There is a particular gore to that scenario, which I find very unappealing. I was also told recently, that a certain Bible teacher that I admire, claims that what we see coming in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is the exact same battle we see in Revelation 19. Either I did not understand what my friend said, or this teacher is wrong, because, in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we do not Jesus coming as the Messiah, as we do in the Revelation.

"the name of the city will be Hamonah."

What city are we talking about, and does it really matter? Probably not, but then we, as students of the Bible, should see nothing as insignificant. 

Ezekiel 39:16 NASB "And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land."'

hămônâh Hebrew word meaning multitude. Considering the numbers of people now dead, it makes sense.

It is anybody's guess as to which city Ezekiel is speaking of.

I am including a map of the area so you can begin to get a feel for where this Valley of the Travelers would be. The roads come in from the South East and pass above and slightly right of the Dead Sea.

I would not presume this area to be the only place one would find dead bodies after this onslaught, and, as I might have said, nuclear weapons are not very selective. Gog's armies will cause many to die and so will God's retaliation.

As a friend of mine pointed out to me after a recent post, that God is in control. Perhaps it is time we learned that.

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.