In my church many agree with the pastor that a Rivived Roman Empire is on the horizon as final empire. I've been taught by those with a RRE point of view that the prophecy in Ezekiel 38 & 39 cannot be part of RRE equation and therefore a separate event which will occur sometime before Armageddon. So let us search the scriptures to see if these things are so. I am will provided my own commentary to certain verses I pray we might come to an agreement.
Ezekiel 38
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Here we see specific nations listed who will come against Israel all can be traced back in history to today. Some have the same names others have changed, such as Magog. But that can be traced to Turkey and possible the southern provinces of the former Soviet Union which are all now Islamic states like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. This I believe is talking about the formation of todays Israel in 1948. Reading literature about Israel I found that before it was given over to the Jews it was nothing more than unfertile desert waste land. Arabs or the U.N. didn't have any interst in such a land. It was also as we all know established after world war II
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? See commentary verse 8
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: Read about the fourth and final beast empire in Dainiel 7, 8 where the little horn comes from who pushes southward.
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; Here I believe God is speaking about 'the day of the Lord'. I just can't imagine what other it could be. Continue reading and tell me if this doesn't sound like that day is being described. Also compare other refernces to the day of the Lord Isa. 13:6, Isa. 13:9, Isa. 58:13, Jer. 46:10, Ezek. 13:5, Ezek. 30:3, Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:31, Joel 3:14, Amos 5:18, Amos 5:20, Obad. 15, Zeph. 1:7, Zeph. 1:14, Zech. 14:1, Mal. 4:5, Acts 2:20, 1Cor. 5:5, 2Cor. 1:14, 1Ths. 5:2, 2Ths. 2:2, 2Pet. 3:10
20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
23 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. What other day could this be. Is the RRE point of view telling us this is going to happen again when Rome arises? Egads man I think once is enough.
