More questions…..Ezekiel
39:2
Your Question…..Can
you explain Ezekiel 39:2 to me? It talks about the Lord leaving
back a sixth of the people who come against Israel.
I have heard different thoughts on this. Is it the one-sixth that go
to battle and five-sixths are left back? I do not understand. Can you help
me out?
My Answer….. “I will
turn thee back…”
Dear beloved brother, if
you will notice, both Ezekiel 38:4 and 39:2
contain the same statement, “I will turn thee back…” I wondered
about the meaning of this statement for many years. What did the Lord mean?
When the Soviet Union [U.S.S.R.]
broke up in 1991, I became troubled as I watched those events unfold. I
have intensely studied Ezekiel 38 – 39 throughout my ministry,
and I know that these two chapters in God’s Word
are a detailed prophecy about the future invasion of Israel
by Russia and her confederated
allies. In 1991 I couldn’t understand how the prophecy of Ezekiel
38 – 39 could be fulfilled with the Soviet Union collapsing, the
Communists fleeing for cover, and their Communist Empire falling apart.
Ezekiel 38:1-7 clearly predicts a confederation of nations
coming together with Russia.
In 1991 the exact opposite was happening. The events taking place at that
time were troubling to me.
I prayed earnestly for the
Lord to give me greater insight into what was happening, and how it would
effect the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 – 39. One night I went
to bed with all of these things on my mind. In the wee hours of the night
I suddenly awakened with the statement, “I will turn thee back…” clearly
impressed on my mind. That very instant I knew the answer to my questions.
[See Job 33:15-16]. Of course! Even though the Soviet Union
was breaking up, the Communists were in disfavor and appeared to be finished,
and the whole world was rejoicing that Communism was no longer a threat
to humanity [Sic!], that very instant I knew it was all a deceptive
illusion. The Lord Himself plainly stated twice in the prophecy
of Ezekiel 38 – 39 that He will turn Russia
“back” [to Communism] again. It has now been
15 years since 1991, and what do we see taking place in Russia
today? Exactly what was prophesied!
Russia
now has a former hardcore Communist as their leader. Alexander Putin is
a Communist and a former agent of the dreaded Russian NKVD. He is cold,
calculating, ambitious, and utterly without mercy. When the Soviet Union
collapsed in 1991 a new Democratic government was established, and the Russian
people were granted freedoms and civil liberties that they had never previously
known under Communism. In just the past two years [2005 – 2006] many of
those civil liberties have been suspended, replaced again by the iron fist
of totalitarian Communism. Many political analysts who are carefully watching
developments in Russia believe
that it is just a matter of time until Russia
returns totally to a Communistic form of government, just as predicted
in God’s Word 2,600 years ago. Isn’t God’s Word amazing? Praise the
Lord!
“the
sixth part”
Keep these events in mind
as you read Ezekiel 39:2, “I will turn thee back, and leave but the
sixth part of thee…..”
I am well aware of what has
been traditionally taught about “the sixth part,” for I taught
it myself for many years. But traditional teaching and Biblical truth do
not always agree. Where they come into conflict, it is truth that must
prevail. True believers would not have it any other way.
Now what is the truth about “the sixth part”?
I suggest that
our readers obtain a map of the old Soviet Union [U.S.S.R.] prior to 1991.
Now compare it with a map of present day Russia.
It will be immediately obvious that in the breakup of the Soviet Union,
the white Russian rulers of “Meschech” [Moscow] and “Tubal”
[Tobolsk] lost political control over a great amount of territory.
In fact, approximately five-sixths of the territories, countries,
and satellite nations which had once been under the control of the U.S.S.R.
pulled out and became independent of Russia.
Present day Russia has been reduced
to approximately one-sixth of its former size. Since the breakup
of the Soviet Union, Russia has
been engaged in a continuous war to retain control over even what territory
she still governs. The “sixth part” in Ezekiel 39:2
is that portion of the former Communist empire left to Russia
after the breakup of the Soviet Union. God’s people living today have seen
this portion of Ezekiel 39:2 come to pass right before our
eyes, but lack of serious Bible study and the deception of traditional teaching
have hidden this truth from many. The “sixth part” in this
verse is not referring to those who survive the battle predicted
in Ezekiel 39:3-6. I will demonstrate and prove this statement
as we proceed in this study.
The First Invasion
Many of God’s people are
not aware that the coming Russian invasion of Israel
will actually be the second time that Russia
has invaded Israel.
Russia’s
first invasion of Israel took place
in the days of Joshua some 3,450 years ago. The first invasion is described
in detail in Joshua 11:1-15. In this historical account there
was a confederation of armies involved, just as there will be in the future
second invasion. In Joshua 11:2 specific reference is made
to “the kings that were on the north of the mountains,”
as being a part of the confederation. The reference to “the
mountains” in this passage is referring to the Caucasus Mountains
which separate the nations of the Middle East from southern Russia.
Look at a map of the area and check this out for yourself. Also notice
the reference to the assembled armies as being like “the sand that
is upon the sea shore in multitude,” Joshua 11:4. Compare
Ezekiel 38:9, 38:15-16, and Revelation 20:8. Fascinating!
The reference in Joshua
11:2 to “the kings that were on the north of
the mountains” refers to the white Russian descendants of Magog,
Meschech, and Tubal [Genesis 10:2] who migrated to the north
side of the Caucasus Mountains after the flood, where they established two
cities, Meschech [Moscow] and Tubal [Tobolsk]. It was from these two cities that they began their territorial expansion. This
fact is confirmed by Josephus as well as other historians.
Verse 5 in
this passage specifically states that “all these kings were
met together…..to fight against Israel.”
It was this confederation of nations, which included the ancient
Russians, that first invaded Israel
some 3,450 years ago. The results of that first invasion are detailed for
us in Joshua 11:6-15. All of those confederated armies
were totally destroyed by Israel.
See verses 6, 8, 11, 12, and 14. “…there was not any
left to breathe,” 11:11.
This first invasion of Israel
by “the kingdoms of the north” is a type of
the second invasion that is yet to come as set forth in Ezekiel 38
– 39.
The news of
the total destruction of the invading armies must have been devastating
to the wives, children, and elderly that were back in the Russian homeland
awaiting the return of their men. This event must have been told and retold
to the descendants of the fallen Russian soldiers over the following years
and centuries, with “seething” anger, bitterness, and hatred
towards the Jewish people. I make this statement in the light of the prophecies
of Jeremiah.
The “seething
pot”
In Jeremiah 1:13-16
the Lord gave Jeremiah a vision of “a seething [boiling]
pot.” The location [open face] of the boiling pot was “toward
the north.” The Lord then told Jeremiah, “Out of the north
an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land [erets…earth].”
We now know that Communism,
the most evil, diabolical, anti-God religion that has ever existed,
came into existence when Communism was organized into a political party
in 1914. By 1917 the bloody Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government,
seized the reins of power, and devoured the entire nation. Then they began
to export their wicked Communist ideology [atheistic religion] to the other
nations of the world. In the years since, every human being on earth has
been affected by their “damnable heresies” [2 Peter
2:1-2] in one way or another, just as God’s Word prophesied
in Jeremiah 1:14 some 2,600 years ago.
When the Lord gave this vision
to Jeremiah, the “pot” was already “seething” [boiling].
This suggests that all through the centuries the white Russian people have
been “seething” with bitterness, anger, and hatred towards
the Jewish people, remembering that the Jews had
humiliated the Russian people by slaughtering their invading armies in the
days of Joshua, now some 3,450 years ago. Such a centuries
long hatred of the Jews will give the Russians a handy excuse to
invade Israel yet again. Read
Ezekiel 38:10-13.
In Jeremiah
1:15 the Lord says, “For, lo, I will call all the families
of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come,
and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of
Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all
the cities of Judah.” I urge our readers to compare Ezekiel
38:4, 38:17, and 39:2. The Lord will “call”
and Russia and her allies
will respond.
The Angry Bear
For many centuries
the bear has been recognized throughout the world as the symbol
of Russia. In Ezekiel 38
– 39 the inspired prophecies foretold the breakup of the Soviet
Union, with Russia losing five-sixths
of its former dominion. What effect has this loss had on the wicked Communist
leaders of Russia? What effect
will it continue to have on them and the Russian people as Russia
[and her allies] invade Israel
in the future?
The answer to these questions
is found in Hosea 13:8. In the context in which this verse
occurs, the Lord is speaking to and about Israel
when He says, “I will meet them as a bear that
is bereaved of her whelps…” Compare 2 Samuel
17:8 and Proverbs 17:12. The wicked Communist leaders
in Russia today are enraged over
the loss of their former territories, just as a mother bear becomes enraged
over the loss of her cubs. At the time that Russia
invades Israel, they will take
out their anger and frustration on the Jewish people “as a bear…..bereaved
of her whelps.” Who would want to come face to face
with a mother bear enraged over the loss of her cubs? Especially
an enraged mother bear still remembering her wounds from a previous encounter?
This will be the exact situation when Russia
invades Israel for the second
time as predicted in Ezekiel 38 – 39. May God have mercy
on Israel when that time comes!
An Order of Events
Ezekiel 39:2 sets
forth a clearly worded chronological order of events. Study this verse
carefully.
First, the Lord declares
for the second time, “…..I will turn thee back,…”
This refers to Russia being
turned back to Communism again.
Second, the Lord states that
He will leave to them only “the sixth part” of their former
dominion. Turning them “back” and leaving to them only a
“sixth part” of their former territory is not referring
to their defeat in Israel, but
rather to events that precede their invasion of Israel.
God’s people [those truly saved] living today have seen the first two parts
of this verse fulfilled [or being fulfilled] right before our eyes over
the past 15 years.
Third, the wording of the
verse makes it clear that it is after the Lord has turned Russia
“back” [to Communism] and has left to them only a “sixth
part” of their former empire, that He “will cause thee to
come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of
Israel.” Read the verse for yourself. There is a chronological
order set forth here. This third portion of the verse refers to the coming
invasion that is yet to occur during the Tribulation. And what will the
results of that invasion be…?
Total Destruction
The Scriptures clearly
state that the Russian armies and the armies of all the nations confederated
with her are to be totally destroyed in Israel.
Ezekiel 39:4 says, “Thou shalt fall upon the mountains
of Israel,
thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee….”
Ezekiel 39:11 also states, “And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in
Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall
stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and
all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.”
These verses
make it quite plain that the invading Russian army and her allies are going
to be totally destroyed in Israel.
The Lord isn’t going to spare a “sixth part” of them. They
will be wiped out completely. Just as it was in their first invasion of
Israel in the days of Joshua, so
it is going to be in this second invasion, “they left them none remaining,”
Joshua 11:8, and, “neither left they any to breathe,” Joshua
11:14. This is plain enough for anyone who wants to believe what
the Scriptures actually and literally say and teach.
Then…..
After the Russian army and
her allies are destroyed “on the mountains of Israel,”
what is going to happen to the wives, children, and elderly back
in Russia who are
waiting for their men to come home again? Does God’s Word tell us? It
does…..
Notice that even as the Russian
armies and their allies are being destroyed “on the mountains of Israel”
[Ezekiel 39:3-5], we are told in Ezekiel 39:6
that “fire” is raining down on “Magog.” Magog
is the southern part of Russia
north of the Caucasus Mountains. It appears that while the Russian army
is being destroyed in Israel, “fire”
will be falling on the southern part of Russia.
The Russian people [in panic and fear] will abandon the cities and villages
of southern Russia and will flee
into the mountains of far northern Siberia.
Why do I make this claim?
Because Joel 2:20 specifically states, “But I will remove
far off from you the northern army [note the italics],
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward
the east sea [the Bering], and his hinder part toward the
utmost sea [the Arctic], and his stink shall come up, and his ill
savor shall come up, because he hath done great things.” I asked
our readers to note the italics in this verse, because the Hebrew text does
not actually say “army.” Rather, the verse simply refers to the
“the northern” [people ?] being
driven into far northern Siberia. That location is apparently where the
white Russian people will live during the thousand year [Millennial] reign
of Christ.
Fitting Justice
Such will indeed be fitting
justice. For centuries the wicked rulers of Russia
have banished and imprisoned those who opposed them by sending them to Siberia.
Siberia, even today, continues to be the location of many prisons and labor
camps. During the Millennial Kingdom, the wives, children, and descendants
of those wicked, Christ hating, Russian rulers will live in that vast, barren,
frozen wilderness. How fitting! God’s “law of reproduction” set
forth in Genesis 1, Galatians 6:7-8, and Revelation
22:12 is still in force, and no man nor no nation has ever been able to cheat it. Be warned!
Take heed!
The Third and
Final Invasion
One would think that
after spending a thousand years in the harshness, desolation, and bitter
cold of northern Siberia, the white Russian people would be a repentant
people, eager to submit to and serve the Lord. Alas! Not so!
In Revelation 20:3
and 20:7-9, we are told that after the thousand
years “Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.” When Satan
is set free for “a little season,” where does he go? He goes
straight to the people who live “in the four quarters of the earth,
Gog and Magog,” 20:8. The Greek word translated as “quarters”
in this verse is the word, “gonia.” This word literally
means, “angle; corner; the four extreme limits
of the earth.” See Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, page 123, Strong’s No. 1137.
In other words, Satan will
go directly to the people living at the extreme top of the habitable earth;
the place where the four “corners” of the earth meet together. He will go to far northern Siberia to “Gog
and Magog.” It was these descendants of Magog, Meschech, and Tubal,
who in the past, received, tolerated, and lived under Godless Communism,
and who obviously will not repent even during the glorious Millennial reign of Christ. These people will still be wide
open to Satanic deception [20:10]. They will willingly follow
Satan in a third and final invasion of the land of Israel [verse
9]. But it will be their worst and final mistake.
Verse 8 states
that Satan gathers “them together to battle,” but there is
no indication in these verses that a real battle ever takes place. Rather,
the Scripture simply states that “fire came down from God out of heaven,
and devoured them,” [verse 9]. Our readers might
also consider the truths set forth in Isaiah 2:4 and Micah
4:3, noting carefully the time element indicated by the context.
The descendants of Magog, Meschech, and Tubal, will cease to exist as a
race of people. They will be annihilated from off the face of the earth.
Thus will end the rebellious white Russian race forever.
End of their story!
Conclusion
By God’s grace, I have pointed
out that God’s people living today have seen the breakup of the Soviet Union,
with modern Russia retaining only “a sixth part” of her former
dominion. God’s people living today are also seeing Russia
speedily turning “back” to Communism, just as predicted in God’s
Word many centuries ago.
Folks, both of these events
set forth in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 – 39 are predicted
to occur just shortly before [3 ½ years ?]
Russia and her allies invade Israel.
Is this not then another indication that we are living at the very end of
this present dispensation, and that the Lord’s coming to rapture His
people to glory could take place at any moment now? Think about
it! Are you ready…really ready… for the Lord’s return?
May God grant His grace to
every reader is my prayer.
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Writer’s Note…..I
want to make it very clear to every reader that I have no personal bias
or prejudice against the white Russian people, and in writing this study
I have no desire to offend any of them. In fact, some of the sweetest and
most dedicated Christians that I have ever known have been of the white
Russian race. I joyfully look forward to our eternal fellowship together
in glory.
It is just a sad truth that
some of the most wicked and rebellious rulers in human history have come
out of this race of people [God alone knows why]. These wicked rulers
have been a curse to the Russian people for centuries, taking the people
ever farther away from God. It is a sad fact of human history that a people
[any people] seldom rise above their rulers. In writing this study I have
only attempted to set forth the truths that God’s Word plainly teaches about
those of the white Russian race who continue to obstinately rail against
God, rejecting the truth of His Word and His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
No offense was or is intended
towards any dear white Russian brother or sister in Christ. God forbid!
I have nothing in my heart but love for my brothers and sisters in Christ
[John 13:35], regardless of their race or color. May God
add His blessings to this study.
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Pastor F. M. Riley
Last Call Gospel Ministry
3900 Clark Lane # 178
Columbia, MO 65202
Email fmrglbd5@aol.com