God may not always take us from the storm, but he will always see us through it.
Sermon Title: THE WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG
Sermon Text: EZEKIEL 38
Sermon Series: LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
EZEKIEL 38:1-9 ESV
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes--many peoples are with you. 7 “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, …which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. 9 You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.
We must know our escathology as much as any other part of the theological spectrum.
EZEKIEL 36:24-28 ESV
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I. Who are involved?
EZEKIEL 38:1-6 ESV
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 4 And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. 5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes--many peoples are with you.
We must always separate the people from the official policy of their government or their religion.
EZEKIEL 38:5 ESV
5 Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet;
EZEKIEL 38:6 ESV
6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes--many peoples are with you.
EZEKIEL 38:2-3 ESV
2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
EZEKIEL 38:15 ESV
15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.
EZEKIEL 39:2 ESV
2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel.
II. What Will Happen?
A. International Observation
EZEKIEL 38:13 ESV
13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’
B. Supernatural Intervention
EZEKIEL 38:18-23 ESV
18 But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger.
19 For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
20 The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence.
…And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.
21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
22 With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur.
EZEKIEL 39:11-13 ESV
11 “On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD.
EZEKIEL 39:23 ESV
23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
EZEKIEL 39:7 ESV
7 “And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
EZEKIEL 39:22 ESV
22 The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward.
III. When Will It Happen?
EZEKIEL 38:10-12 ESV
10 “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.
EZEKIEL 38:15-16 ESV
15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. 16 You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
EZEKIEL 38:11 ESV
11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’
GOD IS FAITHFUL TO KEEP HIS PROMISES
God may not always take us from the storm, but he will always see us through it.
HISTORY IS GOING SOMEWHERE
When God is missing, anything is superficial whatever it is.
“An uncertain future leaves us stranded in an unhappy present with nothing to do but wait.”
Daniel Gilbert (psychologist)
EZEKIEL 38:23 ESV
23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.