Ezekiel 38:8-9 – “A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.”
There is a lot of speculation about who “Gog of Magog” (also sometimes referred to as “Gog and Magog”) is. There was some historical connection with Alexander the Great, who supposedly defeated “Gog and Magog.” According to the 1st century historian Josephus they represented the Scythians. You can read more about it here.
In our highlighted verses we see that these prophecies, unlike some of the others from Ezekiel that refer directly to enemy nations at that time, are about the “distant future.” It’s possible that there are some connections with the end times as well. If you ever wondered why America makes a big deal about Israel, this is one of many prophetic words about Israel having a protected land that they all come back to after being dispersed. Even though the concept of “God’s people” changed with Jesus, many in America want to stay on the safe side of the end times prophecies that have some pretty big threats for enemies of Israel.
Here’s your freedom for today:
God is unlike any other leader.
Over and over in Ezekiel, we see that God is defeating a whole lot of evil dictators and general bad guys. He wants to flex to the world, proving that he alone deserves the title “God.” The end of this chapter, we see that God wants to display his greatness and holiness. He is set apart from every other leader, ruler, and god this world has ever known. It’s important to pause and consider God’s holiness, and what it means for your life and for your freedom. The rulers he aims to destroy aim to destroy you. God’s goodness is unlike anything else. His power is unlike anything else. The combination of goodness and power means freedom for you. It means an end to oppression and injustice and suffering. It means that what you see around you in the world today isn’t the end of the story. Freedom will get the last word.