The End Time Bible Commentary

This chapter describes the end-time war which begins with the invasion of Israel by Gog and his allies at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see also Zechariah 14), and ends with his defeat at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16-21 & 19:11-21). According to verses 18 - 23, at some stage in the battle God intervenes, unleashing a great earthquake and end-time plagues similar to those described in Revelation 16. Verse 20 says, "all people who live on the face of the earth will shake at my presence", indicating that the earthquake coincides with God becoming physically present on the earth at the second coming of Jesus.


Timing (v8)
Verse 8 describes the timing to which this prophecy relates, "After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely". This includes several time-indicators:
1) 'after many days' meant that relative to Ezekiel's day, it was a prophecy of the distant future.
2) 'in the latter years' is similar to the expression 'in the last days' (Genesis 49:1, Isaiah 2:2, Micah 4:1, Hosea 3:5, Acts 2:17, 2 Timothy 3:1, Hebrews 1:2, James 5:3, 2 Peter 3:3), and indicates that it is an end-time prophecy.
3) It will occur after the people of Israel have been restored to the land after a long exile. They will have returned from many nations and will be living securely in the land that had long been in ruins. This is surely a description of the State of Israel today. During the 20th century, the Jews were restored to Israel from all over the world. They re-established Israel as a sovereign nation in 1948, and today live securely. They have restored the land, and although they are surrounded by many enemies, they have a powerful army that enables them to live securely.

Verses 11-12 describe Gog's evil plan, "I will invade a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates - to loot and plunder, to attack the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the centre of the earth". This implies that Israel feels secure and is unsuspecting of an enemy attack. It implies the nation has been restored to prosperity. Verse 13 speaks of a great amount of spoils that Gog hopes to plunder from the land.


Gog is the Antichrist (v17)
In verse 17 God asks rhetorically (implying that he is), "Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days that I would bring you against them?". This indicates that Gog is not some isolated character, but one of whom the bible speaks repeatedly. Scripture gives him various different names and titles. Most often, Christians refer to him as the Antichrist, a title that is given to him by the Apostle John (1 John 2:18). He is called 'the Assyrian' by Isaiah (10:17, 14:25 and 30:31) and by Micah (5:5). One complication of Gog and Magog is that they are mentioned in Revelation 20:8 in relation to the rebellion at the end of the Millennium. Consequently, some Christian scholars identify the Gog and Magog war as distinct from Antichrist's war at the end of this present age. If you take that position, verse 17 gives you a problem because it begs the question, 'Where else is Gog described by the prophets?'. It is better to see the Gog and Magog war as having its main fulfilment at the end of this age, but having some kind of second fulfilment at the end of the Millennium. Perhaps at the end of the Millennium, Satan will follow a similar strategy, even though it failed the first time.

In verses 1 to 6, Ezekiel gives us clearer details about where the Antichrist comes from, and who his allies are, than anywhere else in the bible.


Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal (v2)
Verse 2 addresses the Antichrist as 'Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal'. And in verses 6 and 7 Ezekiel identifies his allies, saying, "Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. They are joined by Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you."

All the nation names that Ezekiel uses come from the list of nations in Genesis 10, where Moses lists the descendants of Noah. Genesis 10:2 says, "The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Askenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah."

In the 1st century AD, the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, in Antiquities, Book 1, Chapter 6.1, wrote "For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians. Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks; but from Javan, Ionia, and all the Grecians, are derived. Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes; and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians".

As names are transliterated between Hebrew, Greek, and English, spellings vary. But it is reasonable to make the following associations:

Meshech
Josephus refers to Meshech as Mosoch, which he identifies with the Roman province of Cappadocia. Cappadocia was a region in north-eastern Anatolia.

Tubal
Josephus refers to Tubal as Thobel, which he identifies with Iberia. In Graeco-Roman geography, Iberia referred to the south-Georgian kingdom of Kartli which stretched from north-eastern Anatolia into the Causasus region, near the southern-eastern corner of the Black Sea.

Alternatively, Tubal may refer to Tabal, which was located in south-east Anatolia and was part of the Assyrian Empire. Given that Isaiah and Micah both refer to the Antichrist as 'the Assyrian', this identification of Tubal may be preferable to that by Josephus.

So by describing the Antichrist as the chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal, Ezekiel identifies him as the ruler of eastern Anatolia, which is modern-day Turkey, and possibly of the southern Caucasus region bordering north-east Turkey.

In Ezekiel 27:13, when Ezekiel is prophesying against the city of Tyre in Lebanon, he says, "Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your clients; they exchanged slaves and bronze items for your merchandise." Javan, often translated 'Greece' in many bibles, was more correctly 'Ionia', the western coastal region of Anatolia that had been settled by the Greeks. The close association between Javan, Tubal and Meshech, and the fact that all three traded the same kind of merchandise with Tyre, support the conclusion that Meshech and Tubal were also regions within Anatolia.


Magog
When Ezekiel says that Gog is 'of the land of Magog', it would seem that he is describing his ethnicity. Josephus identifies Magog with the Scythians. The Scythians were an ancient Eastern Iranic equestrian nomadic people who had migrated westward during the 9th to 8th centuries BC from the Eurasian Steppe to the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and southern Russia. In the 7th century BC, the Scythians crossed the Caucasus Mountains and frequently raided West Asia.

By the 3rd century BC, these original Scythians, also known as the Pontic Scythians, had been conquered or assimilated by various nations, and disappeared as a distinct people-group. Thereafter, the term Scythian was used as a more general term to refer to the various nomadic peoples of the steppes. In other words, in the 1st century AD when Josephus identifies Magog with the Scythians, he is identifying them with the people of the Great Eurasian Steppe that spreads across West and Central Asia, as shown by the green highlight in the satellite image below.

Centuries later, the Turks would come from this same general area from which the Scythians had originated, to the north and east of the Caspian sea, and end up threatening Anatolia once more. In the 7th and 8th centuries AD, Muslim armies advanced into Central Asia and the Turks were conquered by Islam. Initially, during the Umayyad Islamic Caliphate, they were used as domestic servants by their Muslim overlords. During this period they widely converted to Islam, and during the period of the subsequent Abbasid Caliphate they were increasingly used as soldiers. In the 11th century as the Abbasid Caliphate declined, Turkish soldiers conquered its capital, Baghdad, and established their Seljuk Empire. In 1071, the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert gave the Turks an opening into eastern Anatolia. It was because of this Turkish threat that Alexios, the Byzantine Emperor, sought help from the latin Pope who then called for the First Crusade. Despite two centuries of western crusades against the Turks, they eventually continued their expansion into Anatolia, and in 1453, during the Ottoman Turkish dynasty, they conquered Constantinople. Since then, the whole of Anatolia has been under Turkish rule, and today we think of Anatolia simply as 'Turkey'.

In the 6th century BC when Ezekiel looked forward to the end times, he saw Antichrist as 'Gog of the land of Magog, chief ruler of Meshech and Tubal'. In other words, he saw him as 'a Scythian ruler of eastern Anatolia'. From our perspective today, this translates as 'a Turkish ruler of eastern Turkey'. Ezekiel's perspective of Antichrist as a Scythian or Turk is consistent with his statement in verse 4 that God will 'bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them fully armed, a great company with shields of different types, all of them armed with swords'. This is the kind of warfare that the Scythians, and later the Turks, were famous for.

Gog's Allies
Verses 5 and 6 say, "Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets. They are joined by Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you."

Persia corresponds with modern-day Iran. In Ezekiel's time it was initially the southern part of Iran, but then united with the Iranian kingdoms of Elam and Media to form the Persian Empire.

Ethiopia is actually 'Cush' in the Hebrew text but rendered as Ethiopia in many English translations. This is based on the assumption that Cush refers to the ancient Kingdom of Kush, located in ancient Nubia, corresponding today to southern Egypt and northern Sudan. The ancient Greeks referred to this region as Aethiopia. Another possibility is that Cush refers to the Arabian Peninsula. According to Genesis 10, Cush was the eldest son of Ham, and grandson of Noah. Cush's sons spread out over a wide area including Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Upper Egypt. In Numbers 12:1, Moses' wife is referred to as a 'Cushite woman'. Assuming this is a reference to his wife Zipporah, who was from Midian in north-western Arabia, then Cush could refer to Arabia. But bible scholars generally assume that biblical Cush equates with modern-day Sudan.

Put was another son of Ham, and Cush's brother (Genesis 10:6). Put is understood by Josephus to be the ancestor of the Libyans.

Gomer is understood to be the Hebrew name for the ancestor of the Cimmerians. According to Herodotus, the Cimmerians originally lived in the region of the Caucasus, but migrated south into Anatolia in the 7th century BC to escape Scythian advances into their territory. The Cimmerians conquered Phrygia in central Anatolia in 696 BC. They later conquered Lydia in western Anatolia in 652 BC but were subsequently driven out of there in 619 BC. So in Ezekiel's time, Gomer corresponded to Phrygia. Later, in the 3rd century BC, Phrygia was settled by Celtic Galls who drove out many of the Phrygians, so in Roman times this region was referred to as Galatia. Consequently, Josephus associates Gomer with Galatia.

Beth Togarmah and the Remote Parts of the North (vs 6 & 15)
According to Genesis 10:3, Togarmah was the son of Gomer. As already stated, the tribe of Gomer is identified with the Cimmerians, who originated in the Caucasus region before migrating south into Anatolia. Describing some of Gog's allies, verse 6 says, "They are joined by Gomer with all its troops, and by Beth Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples are with you". The close association between Gomer and Togarmah reflects the same in Genesis 10:3. Togarmah is identified with what the Hittites called Tegarama, and what the Assyrians called Til-Garimmu. Although scholars are in general agreement that it was located in Anatolia, its precise location is a matter of debate. Respected Assyriologist, Oliver Gurney, placed it in Southeast Anatolia. Beth Togarmah is also closely associated with this same general region in Ezekiel 27:14. 'Beth Togarmah' simply means 'House of Togarmah', denoting a seat of royal or divine power.

The phrase 'the remote parts of the north' is a translation of the Hebrew words 'yerekah zaphon'. Although zaphon means north, it is also the name of Mount Zaphon which rises above the Mediterranean coastline just north of the Turkish-Syrian border. This is the same general area identified by Oliver Gurney as the location of Tegarama / Til-Garimmu. According to Canaanite mythology, Mount Zaphon was considered to be the seat of Baal-Zaphon, the Lord of the North, and the other Canaanite gods, just as Mount Olympus was considered by the Greeks to be the seat of Zeus and the Greek gods. Psalm 48:2-3 says of Mount Zion in Jerusalem, "It is lofty and pleasing to look at, a source of joy to the whole earth. Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon (Hebrew: 'yerekah zaphon'); it is the city of the great king. God is in its fortresses; he reveals himself as its defender". The comparison made here between Mount Zion and Mount Zaphon reflects the fact that just as the temple on Mount Zion was considered by Israel to be God's earthly seat, so also Mount Zaphon was considered by Baal worshippers to be the seat of Baal. In the Hellenistic period, Mount Zaphon was known as Mount Kasios to the Greeks and had a shrine to Zeus-Kasios at its summit (Zeus is effectively the Greek equivalent of Baal). Today the summit lies on the Turkish side of the border and is known as Mount Kilic, but its southern slopes on the Syrian side are known as Mount Aqraa.

Isaiah 14:13-14 also makes a direct link between Mount Zaphon and the Antichrist. The Antichrist, whom Isaiah portrays as the 'king of Babylon' in that chapter, brags "I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon (Hebrew: 'yerekah zaphon'). I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!" Since the Antichrist expresses such an ambition relating to the 'remote slopes of Zaphon' in Isaiah 14, it is reasonable to understand that 'yerekah zaphon' means the same thing in the description of his invasion of Israel here in Ezekiel 38-39. And Ezekiel's reference not just to Togarmah but to 'Beth Togarmah' is a strong indicator that he is referring to the seat of Baal on Mount Zaphon. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Beth Togarmah is the region of south-east Turkey and north-west Syria around Mount Zaphon.

The Hebrew phrase 'yerekah zaphon' occurs three times in Ezekiel 38-39. In each occurrence if we translate it as 'the peaks of Zaphon' instead of 'remote parts of the north' we get:

38:6 "They are joined by Gomer with all its troops, and by the House of Togarmah from the peaks of Zaphon with all its troops – many peoples are with you".

38:14-15 "…On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice and come from your place, from the peaks of Zaphon, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army".

39:2 "I will turn you around and drag you along; I will lead you up from the peaks of Zaphon and bring you against the mountains of Israel".

This seems a better fit to me than 'from the remote parts of the north', especially comparing 39:2 and Psalm 48:2.

Mount Zaphon is directly north of Israel, and so if Gog invades from the direction of Mount Zaphon, he will invade from the north through Syria or Lebanon. In ancient times, both Assyria and Babylon were seen as the enemies of the north (e.g. Jeremiah 47:2, Zechariah 2:6) since their armies approached via the Fertile Crescent and invaded Israel from the north. Similarly, Antichrist will be Israel's end-time enemy from the north.

What about Russia?
Verse 2 describes Gog literally as "the prince, the chief of Meshech and Tubal" (see NET bible notes). Both 'prince' and 'chief' are nouns. 'Chief' is a translation of the Hebrew word 'rosh' which means chief or head. According to the NET bible notes, 'rosh' should be treated as a common noun in apposition to 'prince'. In other words, they are two different nouns describing the same thing, namely the prince who is also the chief. However, in the 3rd century BC, when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into the Greek Septuagint, the translators treated the word 'rosh' in verse 2 as a proper noun. So they translated verse 2 to mean 'Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal'. This is most likely an error, but it is one of several reasons that many prophecy scholars have identified Gog and Magog with Russia. Reasons include:
1) the similarity in sound between Rosh and Russia
2) the association by Josephus of Magog with the Scythians, who originated in the Eurasian Steppe, in an area that today spreads across southern Russia and Kazakhstan (formerly part of the USSR).
3) the Cold War between the West and Russia, with Western perceptions of Russia as 'the bad guy' who might invade Israel.
4) translation of 'yerekah zaphon' as 'the far north' instead of 'the slopes of Zaphon'.

All of these are weak reasons for identifying Magog with Russia in an end time context. Rather, Ezekiel gives us multiple reasons to associate end time Magog with modern-day Turkey.

If Vladimir Putin is still President of Russia when Antichrist is revealed, it is not unlikely that Putin will be supportive of his totalitarian regime. In today's world, totalitarian regimes tend to support each other in their opposition to the democratic western world who represent the opposite end of the political spectrum. But it is a mistake to associate 'Magog', 'rosh', or 'yerekah zaphon' with Moscow.

The map below shows the Roman provinces of Asia Minor / Anatolia / modern-day Turkey in the 1st century AD. So far, it appears that Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Beth Togarmah refer approximately to the regions shown below, and that in an end time context 'the land of Magog' may be understood to be 'the land of the Turks' which today is all of modern-day Turkey.

Although Gog invades Israel from the North, Ezekiel's inclusion of Iran, Sudan and Lybia as his allies implies that the invasion will actually come from all directions, north, east, south and west, as illustrated in the map below:

It is likely that Ezekiel's list is merely a sample of Gog's allies, in order to demonstrate the multi-directional nature of the invasion. In verse 9, Ezekiel says of Gog, "You will advance; you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you". Psalm 83 also describes what appears to be an end-time attempt to wipe Israel off the map. Most likely this is the same invasion that Ezekiel describes. The Psalmist focusses on the involvement of Israel's immediate neighbours, whereas Ezekiel 38 zooms out and focusses on the wider picture.

Why does Ezekiel call the Antichrist 'Gog'
It is most likely that Gog is the Hebrew form of the name Gyges. The kingdom of Lydia in western Anatolia was ruled by a King Gyges from about 687 to 652 BC. King Assurbanipal of Assyria referred to him as King Gugu of Luddi, and it is likely that Gog is the Hebrew equivalent of Gugu. It is also possible that Magog may be a Hebrew contraction of Mat-Gugu, meaning 'Land of Gugu' in Assyrian. This contraction might have seemed appropriate, given Magog's association with Meshech and Tubal in Genesis 10. In that case, it is possible that Magog should be identified with the western half of Turkey rather than Turkey as a whole. At its greatest extent, during the reign of Gyges, Lydia covered all of Anatolia west of the River Halys. So in Ezekiel's time, Lydia looked like this:

However, my preference is to assume that Josephus was correct in identifying Magog with the Scythians, and by implication with the Turks, such that in an end-time context Magog represents Turkey as a whole.

An obvious question to ask is whether President Erdogan, the current president of Turkey, might be the Antichrist? It is too soon to be sure, but of all current world leaders, he is surely the most likely candidate. Hugh Fitzgerald's blog post, 'Why Turkey Should Be Expelled From NATO' certainly gives one reasons to wonder. Erdogan is already recognised as the new Caliph of Islam by some Turkish Islamists. See the article 'Caliphate is Erdogan's' on Ahval News, 4 March 2019.

Ultimately Antichrist will reveal himself when he:
1) signs an international peace treaty (Daniel 9:27)
2) breaks it after three and a half years (Daniel 9:27)
3) invades Israel, conquers Jerusalem, and sets up the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15)
4) takes his seat in the Jerusalem temple, declaring himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

Until the above events are fulfilled, any identification of the Antichrist is mere speculation.


The Significance of King Gyges
If Gog is the Hebrew equivalent of the name Gyges, it begs the obvious question, 'Why does the bible name the Antichrist after Gyges?'


1) Gyges as a king of Turkey
Antichrist is named after Gyges in order to identify him as a ruler of Turkey.


2) Gyges as a historical figure

The above painting by William Etty, 1830, depicts the story of Gyges' rise to power according to the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC) in Book 1 of 'The History of Herodotus'. According to this account, Gyges was the bodyguard to King Candaules of Lydia. Candaules wanted to show off his wife's stunning beauty to Gyges and allowed him to spy on Nyssia as she undressed in front of her husband. When Nyssia noticed Gyges spying on her, she realised her husband must have known that he was there. She was outraged and demanded that Gyges either be executed, or that he kill Candaules for allowing such infringement of her privacy. Gyges chose the latter and assassinated Candaules. He then seized the throne and took Nyssia as his own wife. There are alternative versions to this story, but what is clear is that Gyges assassinated Candaules and seized the throne.

According to Herodotus, the Lydians were enraged that their king had been murdered, and took up arms. However, civil war was averted when Gyges was confirmed as king by the Oracle of Delphi, and the Lydians accepted that his rule was the will of the gods. Once established on the throne, Gyges then greatly honoured the Oracle of Delphi with huge gifts of gold and silver. He ruled Lydia for 38 years, but apart from establishing his rule over the cities of Lydia, Herodotus says he performed no noble deeds during his reign.

What is it in this story that might make Gyges an appropriate name for the Antichrist? I think there are 2 things:
i) In Daniel 7, in his vision of the fourth beast, Daniel prophesies the rise of the end-time empire. It first arises as a coalition of ten rulers, depicted as ten horns. After that, the Antichrist who is depicted as an eleventh horn, arises as its ruler and deposes three of the original ten rulers. I understand this end-time empire to be a coalition of Sunni Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia which is depicted in Isaiah 21 and in Revelation 17-18 as Mystery Babylon. If the Antichrist rises to power over this coalition and deposes three of its rulers, it is likely this action would lead to outrage and civil war within the Muslim world. However, if the Islamic authorities in Saudi Arabia confirm the Antichrist as the new Caliph of Islam, just as the Oracle of Delphi confirmed Gyges as the new king of Lydia, the Antichrist may be confirmed and accepted as Caliph by the Muslim world.

ii) Daniel 11:38-39 says of the Antichrist, "What he will honour is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honour with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities. He will attack mighty fortresses, aided by a foreign deity. To those who recognise him he will grant considerable honour. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price". I understand this to mean that Antichrist will honour Allah, the Islamic authorities will recognise him as Caliph, he will embark on a new Islamic Jihad, and he will greatly honour those who confirm and recognise him, just as Gyges greatly honoured the Oracle of Delphi.

Later on, I believe Antichrist will betray Saudi Arabia. Isaiah 21 describes the Antichrist as a traitor, and portrays an Iranian invasion of Arabia. Isaiah figuratively refers to Arabia as Babylon, but all the specific places that he mentions in the prophecy were located in Arabia. Revelation 17 describes Arabia as the Great Prostitute. Although she will initially confirm Antichrist, Revelation 17:16 says, "The ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire".


3) Gyges in Greek Mythology
Although Gyges was a king of western Turkey in the 7th century BC, the name Gyges goes much further back than that. It is a name that has significance in Greek mythology. To understand why Greek mythology might be significant to Ezekiel's prophecies of the Antichrist, you have to consider several biblical passages that connect Old Testament Israel to Greek mythology, or to the more localised Canaanite version of it.

2 Kings 23 describes the reforms that King Josiah of Judah made in the year 623 BC, after Hilkiah the Priest rediscovered the books of Moses. Verse 5 says, "He eliminated the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)" And verse 11 continues, "He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god". These verses reveal that as far back as the 7th century BC, the people of Judah were worshipping Greek gods as part of their pagan religious mix. According to Greek mythology, Helios the Sun god rides his chariots across the sky each day, and Selene the Moon god rides her chariots across the sky each night. In addition, the prophet Jeremiah made frequent references to their worship of the Queen of Heaven, who was the Greek goddess Hera (e.g. Jeremiah 7:18).

About a century earlier, Isaiah prophesied that Satan would end up in hell after incarnating himself as a man (the Antichrist) and attempting to exalt himself. Isaiah 14:13-16 says, "You said to yourself, “I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon. I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!” But you were brought down to Sheol, to the remote slopes of the Pit. Those who see you stare at you, they look at you carefully, thinking: “Is this the man who shook the earth, the one who made kingdoms tremble?" As already described above, the phrase 'the remote slopes of Zaphon' is a reference to Mount Zaphon. It was the Canaanite equivalent of Mount Olympus, and considered to be the assembly of Baal and the Canaanite gods. Baal was the Canaanite equivalent of Zeus.

Given that Greek and Canaanite mythology had been part of Israel's religious mix for centuries, it should not surprise us that biblical prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel allude to it, and freely borrow words and figures of speech from it. This does not mean the bible affirms Greek mythology. But it does mean that an understanding of Greek mythology is necessary for understanding certain biblical passages. 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry is an excellent retelling of Greek myths in modern English for anyone who wishes to delve deeper. But here is a very basic summary of some of the key points:

In the beginning, there was formless Chaos. Out of Chaos sprang Erebus (the darkness) and Nyx (the night). Erebus and Nyx coupled to produce Hemera (the day) and Aether (light). Out of Chaos also sprang Gaia (the Earth) and Tartarus (the depths and caves beneath the earth). Gaia then spontaneously gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Ouranos (the Sky). Together, Darkness, Night, Day, Light, Earth, Tartarus, the Sea and the Sky were the primordial deities, the first order of creation. Gaia and Ouranos (Earth and Sky) then reproduced, giving birth to the twelve children known as the Titans, including Kronos (Time). With the birth of Kronos, time began, stories developed, and the gods developed personalities. Gaia and Ouranos also gave birth to the three Cyclopes and the three Hecatoncheires. These and the twelve Titans represent the second order of creation. When the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were born, Ouranos took an instant dislike to them and forced them back into Gaia's womb, causing her terrible pain. In time, Gaia sought relief and revenge. She convinced her son Kronos that he should kill his father Ouranos, and gave him a scythe with which to do so. In his sweep of the scythe, Kronos failed to kill Ouranos, but castrated him and defeated him. Having overthrown Ouranos, Kronos now wrested dominion from each of his siblings to become overall ruler of the universe. With another sweep of his scythe he cut open Gaia's side and delivered her of the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. He then confined Ouranos to Tartarus and assigned the Hecatoncheires as the guardians of its gates. First however, Ouranos cursed Kronos saying, "May your children destroy you as you have destroyed me".

In time, Kronos married his sister Rhea and they gave birth to children. Afraid of his father's curse, Kronos swallowed each of them whole the moment they were born. Wise to this, before their sixth child Zeus was born, Rhea wrapped a smooth stone in swaddling cloths like a baby and tricked Kronos into thinking she had given birth. Kronos swallowed the stone whole, none the wiser. Rhea then gave birth to Zeus, who survived and grew to adulthood. Later, Rhea gave Kronos a potion that made him vomit up all the children he had swallowed, and they were effectively reborn. In time, Zeus and his siblings rose up against their father, starting a ten-year war known as the Titanomachy. Eventually, with help from the Hecatoncheires whom he brought up from Tartarus, Zeus defeated the Titans. One of these Hecatoncheires was called Gyges, the long-limbed one. Establishing his seat of power on Mount Olympus, Zeus became the new ruler of the universe. His siblings and their offspring ruled with him as the Olympian gods, and Zeus' brother Hades became ruler of the underworld. Zeus married his sister Hera, who was worshipped by some Old Testament Israelites as the Queen of Heaven (e.g. Jeremiah 7:18).

The bible alludes to both Zeus and Kronos as pictures of Satan. In Revelation 2:13, Jesus referred to the Pergamum Altar of Zeus as Satan's throne. In Revelation 12:4, Satan is pictured as a dragon, seeking to devour Israel's child as soon it is born. In that passage, the birth of the child represents the return of Jesus as Israel's Messiah. Just as Kronos sought to devour his children out of fear of the prophecy, so also is Satan afraid that Messiah will fulfil the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 and crush his head. As part of his plan, Satan brings a beast up from the Abyss (Revelation 13:1). This beast represents both an empire and its king. Its king (the Antichrist) is called Gog after Gyges the Hecatoncheire (Ezekiel 38:2). Satan hopes that just as Gyges helped Zeus defeat Kronos, so Gog will help Satan defeat Jesus.

In 168 BC, the Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, desecrated the Jewish temple and set up a statue of Zeus. He declared himself to be the earthly incarnation of Zeus and forced the Jews to sacrifice pigs to him on the temple altar. Four hundred years earlier, Daniel had prophesied this event in Daniel 11:31, referring to the statue of Zeus as the 'abomination that causes desolation'.

As already stated, Isaiah 14:13-14 describes Satan's dream of rising above the stars of El (the God of the Bible) and setting his throne on the slopes of Mount Zaphon.

Putting all this together, you end up with Satan's dream that Gog the Antichrist will one day help him overthrow El (the God of the Bible). Then Satan can rule as supreme god of the Universe. In the process, Antichrist will once again desecrate the Jerusalem temple, setting up a new 'abomination of desolation' (Matthew 24:15), only this time it will not be a statue of Zeus. The bible's depiction of Zeus or Baal as Satan reflects the idea that all false gods are ultimately different guises of Satan. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:20, "I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God". By the 7th century AD, Zeus worship was going out of fashion, so with the help of a self-proclaimed prophet from Arabia, Satan came up with a new guise. He now masquerades as Allah, the god who calls himself 'the Greatest of Deceivers' (Quran 3:54). Like Gyges, the long-limbed hundred-handed Hecatoncheire, the Antichrist will have a long reach into all the nations of the world. And like Gyges, the king of western Turkey in the 7th century BC, Antichrist will also be a ruler of Turkey, 'the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal'. Jihadist fighters will join his armies from all nations of the world to help him fight Jesus, the great son of El.


How Long Will the Invasion Last?
Verse 10 says, "On that day thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan". Verses 18 and 19 refer to the 'day' when Gog invades Israel, when God's rage mounts up in response, and when there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. If you interpret this 'day' as a literal 24-hour day, this chapter gives the impression that Antichrist's invasion will be a failure and he will immediately be defeated. However, in verse 14, Ezekiel says, "On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice". It is clear that 'day' is referring to a period of time, not a literal 24-hour day. I believe that Antichrist will successfully conquer Jerusalem, as described in Zechariah 14, and will set up the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15). This event marks the beginning of the 'Day of the Lord' (Zechariah 14:1), or the 'day of vengeance of our God' (Isaiah 61:2). It is equivalent to the period of Great Tribulation which lasts for three and a half years (Daniel 7:25, 12:7, Revelation 12:14), or 42 months (Revelation 11:2, 13:5) or 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3 and 12:6).

According to Zechariah 14:2, when Jerusalem falls to the Antichrist, half will remain in the city, and half will go into exile. Many will escape to a desert safe place when Jesus divides the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:5 and Revelation 12:6). Ezekiel 38:17 - 39:20 describes the defeat of Antichrist and his armies, but this happens in the battle of Armageddon at the end of the Great Tribulation. As in Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 39:21-29 makes it clear that Israel will be driven into exile once again by Antichrist's invasion, and will need to once again be restored to the land at the end of the Great Tribulation.


Sheba, Dedan and Tarshish (v10-13)
Verses 10 to 12 describe the day when Antichrist will come up with an evil plan to invade and plunder Israel. At this planning stage, verse 13 portrays Sheba (Yemen), Dedan (located in Saudi Arabia) and Tarshish (an unidentified Mediterranean seafaring nation) questioning Antichrist's plan and intentions. Ezekiel does not tell us whether they will join his invasion force. Because Iran is one of Antichrist's allies, I suspect he will exclude Saudi Arabia, and that all three of these nations will be outside observers rather than direct participants.


God's plan
In verses 14 to 23, God reveals that it is actually his plan to bring Gog and his vast army against Israel. Gog's plan is to loot and plunder Israel, but God's plan is to magnify himself in the sight of the nations by destroying Gog and his armies, so that all the nations know God is the Lord. God will rise up in fury (v18) and intervene on the earth against Gog. All people and animals on the face of the earth will shake at God's presence on the earth (v20). A massive earthquake will occur (v19-20), and God will call for a sword to attack Gog (v21). Every man's sword will be against his brother, implying that Gog's armies will destroy each other. And God will rain down plagues of hail, fire and brimstone on Gog and his armies (v22). These correspond with the bowl judgments of Revelation 16, especially the seventh and last bowl that releases a massive earthquake, together with gigantic hailstones, and brings final judgment upon Mystery Babylon (Revelation 16:17-21). At the end of it all, God will be magnified as God before all nations (v23). He will make himself known to Israel and to all nations (Ezekiel 39:7 and 22).




Further Reading
'Gog and Magog, Islam and Christian Missions' by Joel Richardson, 17 Aug 2018