Dear Doves,I decided to dust off and update an old post that seems to be relevant in the light of the current saber rattling with Iran (aka Persia). Simply, there could be some indications that the Gog Magog War of Ezekiel 38 and 39 could occur on a future Purim.
In the book of Esther, the Jews were delivered from a planned genocide contrived by an evil man named Haman. Purim is a holiday that celebrates this deliverance. One day in the future, the Jews will once again be delivered from a planned genocide conceived by Gog resulting in the Gog Magog War. It will be a spiritual turning point for the Jews. They will see the reality of God. “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 38:23.
Haman and Hamon Gog
Years ago, I read an internet article that connected Purim to the Gog Magog War. According to Ezekiel 39: 11, the bodies of the forces that invade Israel during that war will be buried at a place called the Valley of Hamon Gog . I don’t remember the name of the person who wrote the article, but he thought that the word Hamon could be a pun for Haman. Which would be especially fitting if this war occurs on Purim. Later, in Ezekiel 39:19, when birds and wild animals are told to get drunk on the blood of the invaders he compared this to the fact that people are encouraged to get drunk on Purim.
I do not know what this coming Purim may hold for us or for Israel or if some future Purim will be a prophetic indicator for the timing of the Gog Magog War. One positive thing that will come out of this War will be that Israel and others will see proof the existence of the God of Israel and the accuracy of Scripture. Their eyes will be opened. God will turn a major calamity into a blessing.
Secular Jews will see the accuracy of their Scriptures. It may make them receptive to the Lord.
Persia and Antisemitism
Iran is formerly known as Persia. It is the setting for the book of Esther. The villain of the story is named Haman. He was an Agagite – which has a sound-alike syllable to the name Gog. He planned for the genocide if the Jewish people through the drawing of lots to determine the date. There is a strong spirit of antisemitism in the political rhetoric of modern Iran. And there appears to be a military build up of forces in the Middle East. War seems to be on the horizon.
Same Players
The setting of the book of Esther is in Persia or modern day Iran. Coincidentally, the participants of the Gog-Magog War include Iran and other countries of the Persian Empire.
Quote from internet article "The Purim Connection" ("Notes on Revelation" from juchre.org): "Keep in mind that the Persian Empire in Esther’s day (around 484 B.C.) comprised all of Asia Minor, which includes modern day Turkey, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It also stretched over towards to Egypt and Libya. Interesting that many of these same countries will be allied with Gog when he attacks Israel (see Ezekiel 38:3-6)."Seven months and Seven years
According to Ezekiel 39:12, it will take seven months to bury the bodies from the Gog Magog War. Significantly, seven months from Purim (Adar 14th and 15th) are the fall festivals. According to Ezekiel 39:9, it will take seven years to use the enemies’ weapons for fuel. Is it a coincidence that the Tribulation in going to be seven years long? This may show that this war will precede the Tribulation.
Jesus, Purim, and John 5
Some scholars believe that Jesus observed Purim in John 5:1: "Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews."
Quote from The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, Chapter 17 by Alfred Edersheim: "Purim was never more than a popular festival. As such it was kept with great merriment and rejoicing, when friends and relations were wont to send presents to each other. There seems little doubt that this was the “feast of the Jews,” to which the Saviour went up to Jerusalem (John 5:1), when He healed the impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda. For no other feast could have intervened between December (John 4:35) and the Passover (John 6:4), except that of the “Dedication of the Temple,” and that is specially designated as such (John 10:22), and not simply as a feast of the Jews.”
Quote from "Jesus Celebrated Purim" by Gordon Franz (from ldolphin.org): "Most people are unaware of this, but Jesus celebrated the feast of Purim! In John 5, the Lord Jesus is up in Jerusalem for an unnamed feast. Scholars have debated whether the feast was Passover, Purim, Succoth or even Pentecost (Bowman 1971). Some have objected to Purim because it is a "minor" feast and not one of the three "major" pilgrimage festivals (Deut. 16:16). That argument is irrelevant because Jesus also celebrated another "minor" holiday, Hanukkah (John 10:22; Franz 1998:25, 26). Chronologically, the only feast that makes sense is Purim in AD 28. The feast of John 5 fell on a Sabbath (5:9). The only feast day to fall on a Sabbath between AD 25 and AD 35 was Purim of AD 28 (Faulstich 1986). The Spirit of God intentionally left out the name of the feast because the Lord’s name was deliberately left out of the Book of Esther. In John 5, Jesus healed a man who had an infirmity for 38 years near the Pools of Bethesda (John 5:1-9). It is also the first time in His public ministry that He declared that "God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (5:18). He also said that He was the "Son of God" (5:25) and the "Son of Man" (5:27).
If the events of John 5 occurred on Purim, then the passage takes on exciting prophetic overtones.
Jesus heals a man who has been an invalid for 38 years. This increment of 38 years connects us to the wilderness experience of the Israelites. According to Deuteronomy 2:14, the Israelites were in the wilderness for 38 years, from the point that they rebelled against the command to enter Canaan. It was only after this period of time that the Israelites were able to go into the Promised Land.
Jesus asks the invalid man if he wants to get well. He then tells him to get up and walk. Later, Jesus tells the Jews that he also has the power to raise the dead. "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself." John 5:25-26. So, Jesus may have actually preached a message about the resurrection/Rapture on Purim!!
In Ezekiel 37, the chapter that directly precedes the passages about the Gog-Magog War, we find the prophecy of the dry bones. We see that Israel will be re-gathered physically before God breathes spiritual life into her. Consequently, modern-day Israel is like the invalid in John 5, “unable to get up and walk.” She is waiting to receive the breath of life. "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet “a vast army." Ezekiel 37:10.
So will Jesus revive Israel and resurrect the Church on a future Purim?Name of God Hidden and Revealed
The book of Esther is known for being the only book of the Bible that does not have the name of God in it. So, in a figurative sense, God is hidden.
Purim, then, could be a fitting time for God to reveal Himself to His Chosen People.
Presently, God has hidden His face from the secular Jews. But this situation is temporary. God’s purpose behind the Gog-Magog War is to make His presence known to the world and, most importantly, to Israel. "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God .... I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord." Ezekiel 39:21-22, 29.
God will also make His name known as a result of the Gog-Magog War. "I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel." Ezekiel 39:7.
It is interesting that in John 5, and possibly at Purim, Jesus revealed his true identity to the Jews:
"Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." John 5:17-18.
Significantly, Jesus also connects Himself to the name of God: "I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him." John 5:43.
Earthquake Resurrection
Okay, if you’re familiar with my previous posts, you know that I have bought into the earthquake resurrection theory posited by David Lowe in his book Earthquake Resurrection.
Since the Rapture is a resurrection event, it may be accompanied by a massive earthquake. This is because Scripture connects earthquakes to other resurrection events: For example, with Jesus in Matthew 27:50-51, with some Old Testament Saints in Matthew 27:52, and with the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11:11-13. If this pattern holds true, then the Rapture of the Church should result in an earthquake of catastrophic proportions, theoretically because of the energy needed to resurrect a large number of people (dead and alive).
Consequently, it is possible that one of the prophesized earthquakes in the Bible could be the very earthquake that will accompany the Rapture. So, although we are not given the exact timing of the Rapture, we may have been given clues from references to the earthquake which could accompany it.
Significantly, the Gog-Magog War includes a massive earthquake at the end of it (see Ezekiel 38:19-20). Although it begins in Israel, it will have a global impact. If this earthquake is also the Rapture earthquake, then the timing of the Gog-Magog War becomes very relevant to us.Maranatha.
– Lisa Taylor