This riveting sermon, Ezekiel 38 Gog Attacks Israel, delves into the book of Ezekiel to explore the Israelites’ fluctuating faith and God’s enduring sovereignty. The sermon scrutinizes often-misunderstood prophecies, such as the Valley of Dry Bones and the role of Gog, urging a rigorous and careful interpretation to avoid pitfalls like wrongly identifying the Antichrist.
Noting the growing geopolitical tensions, we need to support Israel. We are guided by prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that predict divine intervention against nations that oppose Israel. While acknowledging the uncertainty of these being end-time fulfillments, the sermon calls for proactive prayer for Israel and for the global acceptance of Jesus Christ.
Highlighting God’s universal outreach, the sermon mentions the “time of the Gentiles,” stressing that the Gospel’s call extends beyond the Jewish people. The sermon also clarifies key eschatological distinctions, like the separate events of the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ.
The overarching message is one of faith and endurance: despite differing views and challenging times, God’s sovereignty reigns supreme, and believers should steadfastly trust in His control.
SERMON:
Ezekiel 38 Gog Attacks Israel
We’re looking forward to going home to be with him. There’s nothing like home, is there? We think about the Wizard of Oz. Remember how Dorothy, after she was lost in Oz, that mysterious land? How did she get home? She clipped her heels three times and said, What?, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
There’s no place like home
There’s no place like home. But we talk about our home. It’s not magic. Like with Dorothy, our home is faith in Jesus Christ. Our home is rooted in Jesus because he said, I’m going to go away. But if I go away. Or when I go away to prepare a place for you, you will know that if I go away, I’ll prepare a place for you.
I will come back and receive you unto myself. So, one day, he’s going to return. He’s going to gather us together to be with him. We will be with him from that moment forward for all eternity. We will never be separated from him ever again. We’ll never be subject to the attacks of the enemy ever again.
Our bodies will shed this mortality and put on immortality. The corrupt will shed off, and we will put all the incorruptible. We will never be in the position of siing again. We’ll never be in the position of being sad ever again because he’s going to wipe away the tears from our eyes.
We have hope in Jesus that we can’t have it any other way. We have a hope in Jesus founded, rooted, and united in his blood. We have faith in Jesus, a hope in him, a promise by his everlasting Word that he will stand, and we will be with him. This old world is going to pass away one day.
Everybody’s promises will be broken one day. But Jesus Christ’s Word will always stand. Heaven and Earth will pass away. But His Word will always stand. His Word will always be accurate. There is nothing or nobody can stand against God’s Word. His Word will last forever. Yes. Amen. We will be with you forever and ever.
Are you homesick? Yes. Are you genuinely homesick? Are you living in such a way that you try to make heaven on Earth today? We caot make heaven on Earth in the way that this will be our everlasting place. However, we can bring a little bit of heaven here on Earth. Remember, Jesus said, when you pray like this, my, our heavenly father, or my heavenly father, holy is your name.
He even said that we should pray that your kingdom come. Let your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. So, we ought to pray that the authority of God reigns supreme on this Earth. That when we watch the news, we’re not discouraged by it. But we can say that even though that is happening, my God is still in control.
When politicians do evil things, we can still say my God is. When we hear the school-teachers proclaiming things contrary to the Word, we can still proclaim that my God is in control, when things go out of hand, when things are disappointing, when our neighbors, cousins, wives, brothers, sisters, and people around us stand against the truth.
We can stand up and proclaim that my God is still in control. We can agree with his Word and pray that your kingdom comes. Let your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. His authority should be in our life. We are lawless if we don’t have him as our authority. What does lawless mean?
Lawless is looking at yourself as your ultimate authority. If we put our faith in and trust in him, then we know he is our authority. When he is our authority, we will do what he desires. We will do what pleases him. We will search through his scripture to obey him. We will fall in love with this Word.
We will have a genuine desire to know more about him. Do you want to know more about Jesus? Do you want to? Do you genuinely want to know him more than getting his Word? Do you want to know him? He has revealed himself on every page, which tells more about his character. Every page shows us a deeper picture of his love.
Every page shows us more about our Jesus, his sweetness, power, grace, and how his mercy endures forever. This Word will teach us of him. So, let’s go to the Word today. Locate, please, Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 38. Let’s go to the Lord in prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you. Thank you for this opportunity. We have to study your Word. Thank you for the Revelation of your comment and the promises in your Word. Thank you for choosing to bring us into your family. You are the vine, and you have grafted us in to be part of your family.
Thank you.
Ezekiel prophesied.
We know that our God is in control. We know that he has a plan. And what he has plaed will come to pass. Everything that God wants. Every decision and every desire of God will come to pass because he is sovereign. We’re going to read from Ezekiel chapter 38. Before we read, do you remember what happened in Ezekiel 36 and 37?
There’s a blessing given to Israel. Israel is the people of God. God gives a benefit. Through his prophet Ezekiel, God gives a blessing to Israel. Over and over again, they have this yo-yo faith. They won’t get firm in their faith and commitment to God so, they’ll fall away. Then, they’ll get strong in their commitment to God and fall away.
We can see the perfect example in the Book of Numbers and people’s relationship with Moses and God. They would obey for a while, and then they would go on and decline. Then they would start mumbling, complaining, and even saying Moses Did something evil and brought us out here to die.
We’d be better off back in Egypt. Remember, at one point, they even decided to overthrow the government of Moses and God. They said we will elect another leader who will take us back to Egypt They were going to select someone to take them back into slavery. How foolish is that? They go up and down in their faith.
They go up and down in their commitment to God. Sometimes, Christians do the same thing. Occasionally, we’ll be what we call on fire for God. But then we grow bored. The sermons just don’t speak to me anymore. The music just isn’t alive anymore. The Bible reading doesn’t feed me or entertain me anymore the way it once did.
Our faith grows weaker and weaker. Our interests, our entertainment for the things of God, grow shallow. But then we’ll get on fire again. We’ll get excited about Him again. Everything seems brighter. Everything seems fresher. We go up and down. We follow our emotions instead of remaining committed and rooted in our faith in him.
We ought to be excited about him and genuinely committed to him. Regardless of our emotions, regardless of our circumstances, he remains in control. Irrespective of our difficulty, he is still in control. Israel fell away from God and stopped being a nation because of their lack of commitment to God. Israel was torn apart, and they were no longer a nation.
There was still, biologically, Hebrews, but the nation of Israel was no more. Then God told Ezekiel to go to the valley and preach a sermon to some dry bones. God took him, didn’t just tell him. God physically took him there to a valley where he saw a multitude of skeletons. God told Ezekiel to speak to these bones and tell these bones that he will live.
I’ve heard Pentecostal and Charismatic preachers preach that to stir up excitement and tell you that you can live again. You can have excitement in God again. This church can be on fire again because God says you will live. God will put breath back into this congregation again.
And the principle there isn’t necessarily wrong. But if we think that’s what this passage means, we’re missing the point. This passage is not saying that we need to get excited about God. This passage does not tell us that this local congregation will thrive again. This passage tells us that God will keep his promises.
This passage is telling us that God knows what’s going to happen. God knows! God knows what will take place. God knows how to orchestrate life so that he will be done. God knows that the enemy comes against him and his people. But God knows how to work against them. This passage tells us that God is in control.
Ezekiel prophesied that the breath of God would come back into the dry bones, and they would live again. This is a promise that one day, Israel will be born again. That Israel would come back together again. And we saw this in 1948: Israel’s nation came to life again. As Isaiah questioned, can a nation be born in a day?
It was born in a day. Supernaturally, Israel suddenly became a nation all at once. People in the world didn’t expect it. People in the world were shocked. But Israel became a nation.
This prophecy is about that God would bring the nation of Israel back. So after that, God tells Ezekiel in chapter 38, let’s begin reading in verse one.
“Now, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set your face against God of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O God, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws and lead you out with all your armies, horses and horsemen, all splendidly clothed and great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords…”
The prophecy continues that there are others besides Tubal and Meshach that there are other nations that are going to gather together with God, and they’re going to come to attack Israel. God is going to force this to happen. It says that God will put hooks in the jaws. So, it’s the idea of a fish.
God Will Sink His Hook
Has anybody ever gone fishing, or do you know the concept of fishing? The hook gets in the jaw of the fish. Once that hook has sunk, the fish can’t get away. You reel him in, you just pull him, you can leave that fish all over the lake. If that hook has sunk into the fish’s jaw, you can lead it all over the lake.
God will sink his hook into this Gob fellow’s jaw, and he will lead him where he wants him to go. Where does he want him to go? He wants him to go against God. Israel. What? Why would God lead him against Israel? Because Israel has once again not been faithful to God.
Over and over again throughout history, we see when Israel goes on a decline, when Israel refuses to be faithful to God, then God will bring enemies against Israel to remind her to turn their hearts back to God. This prophecy goes forward. Ezekiel 38 and 39 lead up to the promise that God and all of us with God will perish.
God will rain fire down out of heaven. God will set off earthquakes. God will even send great hail upon these armies and wipe them out. There will be so many people who die in these nations who follow the leadership of God. That the valley where they died, they will be buried there. It will take seven months for Israel to bury them.
And this valley will be called the multitude of God. God brings them in against Israel to place them in a position so that God will destroy them. So, don’t stand against Israel. If you stand against Israel, you’re standing against God. If you fight against Israel, you are fighting against God. If you do not bless Israel, you are in danger. You ought to bless Israel. You ought to pray for peace in Jerusalem. You ought to pray for Israel because Israel is God’s nation. Jerusalem is God’s holy city. So, we ought to pray for Jerusalem. We ought to pray for Israel. When we watch the news, some of the news reporters want to blame Israel.
You can read my Blog about this sermon here.
Some want to claim that the police went into a location and arrested some people, which caused the Muslims to get angry, and they started bombing Israel. We don’t know the whole story but know that God is in control. We do know that God fights for Israel. We do know that God loves Israel.
We do know that God has promised that he will protect Israel. Some people claim that this prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Is currently taking place right now that this group of people who are attacking Israel is a fulfillment of this prophecy. But if we look closely at this prophecy, we will doubt that this is what Ezekiel was referring to today.
Because there aren’t nine nations (at least not currently) attacking Israel. This could be a setup to fulfill Ezekiel’s prophecy, but we don’t know. There have been other wars against Israel, and it wasn’t the end.
What we see in the news might be a precursor or a pre-ruer for this prophecy. But then again, it may not be a precursor. Either way, we ought to pray for Israel either way. We ought to pray for peace in Jerusalem. The book of Psalms, chapter 112, tells us to pray for peace in Jerusalem.
We ought to pray for God’s peace to reign in Israel. We should pray for the people of Israel to come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior. We ought to pray for them. But not only Israel. Let’s pray for all people to come and know Christ. Let’s pray for our neighbors, brothers, sisters, and loved ones.
Even pray for our enemies. Pray for those Muslims who are deceived and worshiping the demon Allah. Pray that they will come to the knowledge of the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man must be saved. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
Let’s pray that they will come to know this truth. We can get involved in what God is doing by praying and praying that His will be done. When will this prophecy take place? Ezekiel 38 and 39. Some say it’s currently happening. A few people claim that it’s already happened in the past.
There’s an even smaller group that says it’s all allegory. We can’t expect to see it happen. It’s just allegorical.
If you think the Bible is allegorical, you need some therapy. This will happen at some point in the future. It is not currently happening today, but it will happen. When, though, will this be?
Will this war happen right before the rapture (the church is snatched out of this world? When the church leaves, then the Antichrist will come in. Some people believe this war in Ezekiel is the setup so that the Antichrist can come in and broker a peace deal between Gog and Israel. I’ve heard some preachers claim that. But if you read the text, that’s not what’s happening.
Gog is destroyed. He doesn’t come to peace with Israel. He dies. He dies because God leads him to his death. So, this is not a setup for the peace treaty that the Antichrist will sign with Israel. That’s not what the text teaches. Anybody who says that is what the text teaches is not reading the text carefully.
This is not a setup for the Antichrist to make a deal with Israel
This is not a setup for the Antichrist to make a deal with Israel. This war may be a setup for a more profound war with Israel. But this (current war) is not happening for the rapture to occur so that this Gog fellow can broker a deal with the Antichrist or with Israel. Still, this might be a bit of the story we get in Revelation, where we see the tribulation period.
We see there are a lot of similarities between this and what we see in Revelation. After the rapture, after the church is gone, there will be a tribulation period here on this Earth. The tribulation period, Jesus says, is a time worse than any other time in history—the time when the wars will be greater than ever.
The persecution against God’s people will be greater than ever. We may, this could be a smaller story of the larger story we see in Revelation about the tribulation period. Some things are very similar. We see that there will be signs in the skies. In Revelation in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, we hear Jesus explain there will be signs.
There will be signs in the skies. We see in Revelation there will be signs in the skies. We see that there will be hail, great hail falling on God and his armies. In Revelation, hailstones dropped —a hundred pounds each, raining down. We see a great earthquake happen here in Ezekiel.
The earthquake is so strong it splits the nation and levels mountains. We see in Revelation that the mouth and when the earthquake takes place, the mountains will go flat. We see close similarities. So, it is possible, and I’m not saying it definitely is. I’m simply saying it is possible. Ezekiel 38 and 39 is a small story about the tribulation period.
We don’t know. Scholars debate a lot about this. These two chapters. What is it? When will it happen? Nobody knows for sure, but we can know that God is in control. We can understand that God knows what He is doing. It is doubtless that our God knows what He’s doing. That God will hold all things together.
We do know, as He promises in Ezekiel and He promises in Revelation, that all the nations of the world will proclaim that He is God. We know that every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee will bow before Him. We know! Not everyone who says Lord will enter the kingdom (Matthew 7:21).
Lift your eyes to Jesus
But we also know that those who believe in Jesus Christ will be with him forever. So, let’s put our faith in. Locate, please, Luke chapter 21.
In Luke chapter 21, Jesus predicts that the temple will be destroyed—the current temple at his time, the Sackett Temple. Ezekiel is prophesying when you look at Ezekiel chapter 40. He starts prophesying about a third temple. The third temple has not yet been built. But Jesus says the temple will be destroyed.
He is speaking about the current temple of his time, which is the second temple. And that temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Jesus continues telling the story about things that will happen. Something will happen: Jerusalem will be at war. He says that when you hear that enemies surround Jerusalem, her desolation is very close.
What does it mean? What does that mean? Does it mean that it’s going to be completely wiped out? No, it means that There will be only a remnant left, only a remnant. Based on the Word desolation, 10 percent will probably be left there in Israel, and only a few will be left.
The destruction will come against Israel when you hear this, don’t panic, Jesus says, because there will be wars and rumors of battles or wars happening and people plaing for even more wars coming against Jerusalem. Jesus says here in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, when you see these things happening, don’t panic, but lift your eyes and look to God because your Redeemer draws nigh.
He is your Redeemer, so lift your eyes. Don’t lift your eyes to the muse and worry but lift your eyes to Him. Don’t look at these people in war and be afraid of them. Lift your eyes to Jesus and trust him because he is in control. They caot stop Jesus. They can never erase his blood.
They caot stop the plan of God
They caot stop the plan of God as much as they try, as much as they desire, as they try to destroy God’s Word. They can never wipe it off of this Earth. They caot take you out of God’s hand. There is nothing on this planet. There is nothing above this planet or underneath this planet. They can remove you from the hand of God.
Because the blood of Jesus has sealed you, the Holy Ghost of God has sealed you. You are hidden in with Christ and in the Father God. You caot be taken out of his hand. Hold on to your faith. Keep your eyes on him. Don’t panic because of the things in the news. But let this encourage you that Jesus is still in control.
Be encouraged to know that our God knows what he’s doing. Jesus proves here that he knew from his perspective of that time in the first century that Israel would be surrounded by enemies in the future. Then, he explains that Gentiles will come in and trample across Israel. Jesus says that this is not the end happening immediately.
Some people believe that now, right now, is the end of time. This is not the end of time. This is the last days we are leading up to the rapture. It may take place at any moment. The rapture (the catching away of the saints) that Paul talks about in 2nd Thessalonians and Jesus talks about here, and we see it take place in Revelation when John is told, “Come up here.” We see these smaller pictures of what will happen in the future.
This is God’s promise that we will not endure the wrath. We will not because we are not created for anger. We will not bear the wrath of Satan. We will not endure his wrath, but we will be protected from the wrath. We see here in Luke chapter 21 that the end will only come after the fulfillment of the Gentile.
What does that mean? Is that saying that when the last Gentile walks across the land of Israel? I’ve heard some people claim that’s what he means. When the last Gentile visitor walks across the land of Israel and leaves the country, and the only people left on the physical location of land, everybody there has the bloodline of Abraham, then the end will come.
I don’t believe that’s what he means. Because from the teachings of Paul, we hear that he has been called to be a missionary or an apostle to the Gentiles. Paul teaches the New Testament. He leads the faith through the New Testament, guiding us, Gentiles, on how to come into the family of God. The time of the Gentiles, the fulfillment of the Gentiles, is the preaching of the Gospel.
Proclaim the Gospel
As we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as we travel this world, as we tell on YouTube, through social media, and the news, through our mouths, lifestyles, local pulpits, wherever we go, and whatever we do, we ought to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God.
We proclaim His Gospel. This is the time of the Gentiles to preach that Jesus is the only way to salvation. People come into faith in Jesus when the Gentile is fulfilled, when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled, when the Gospel has been shared, and the people come to know Christ as their Savior.
When that, whatever that number is, nobody knows that number, whatever the number is that God wants to be saved. Then, it is fulfilled when that last person is saved in the time of the Gentiles. Then the end will come. The future starts a seven-year process, which is the tribulation period. It will take seven years for the end to occur.
That seven years will be three and a half years of seeming peace, but it will be false. Then the Antichrist will step into the Holy of Holies and proclaim that he is God and the whole world better worship him, regardless of his religion. Some people claim that he is a Muslim. Some people claim that he’s a Catholic. Some people claim that he’s some other religion. We don’t know.
Rapture
But we do know that he stands against Christ. He wants to proclaim that he is the Savior of the world instead of Christ. But he caot survive because Christ promises at the end of Revelation that when he returns, we get to return with him in the second coming of Christ. Understand the rapture and the second coming of Christ are two separate events.
The rapture, we gather with him in the air. The second coming, we come back with him to physically be on this Earth. When Christ physically comes back to this Earth. As we see in Acts, as he’s taken away, in this same maer, he will return and land his feet on the Mount of Olives. When he stands there, he will fight against the Antichrist, and with the breath of his mouth, the Antichrist will be destroyed.
So, as powerful as this individual is, He’s got the whole world afraid of him. He controls all the finances of the planet. Jesus is going to step into the Earth and destroy the Antichrist. He thinks he’s powerful, but our God is significantly more. Our Jesus is so much more than the Antichrist is.
So, let’s not be afraid of those who stand against God. Let’s not be fearful of those who stand against God’s people. When persecution comes to America, let’s stand firm on God’s Word and his promises. When the Muslims rise up and start killing Christians here in America, keep your eyes on Jesus.
Keep your faith in him. Keep your heart committed to him because he will win. When we’re on his side, we will win with him. We are on the wiing side. So let’s not fear what man can do to this body, but only fear God, who can destroy both the body and the soul. So regardless of what happens In the Middle East, irrespective of what happens in America, let’s keep our eyes on God and always remember to pray that your kingdom comes and let your will be done on Earth as it is.
We may never know some things about the Bible, but we can surely understand this one thing. God is in control. Yes, God is in control, so keep your faith in him. When you face that persecution, Keep your trust in Him. When you are discouraged, keep your faith in Him. When you’re bored, keep your faith in Him.
When you’re sad, when your circumstances feel out of control, keep your faith in Him, and remember to pray. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Because when we pray this, we align our hearts and desire to receive his plan.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your Word. Thank you for your powerful work. You (by your blood) have brought us into your plan.
Give us the strength, the clarity of mind, and the eagerness to know you. We will dig into your Word. Give us a hunger and a thirst for your Word, for your righteousness. Lord, we ask you this in Jesus’ name.
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