- The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and putting Yeshua to the test, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:1-3)
As wars and rumors of war shake the planet, we are bombarded with battle statistics and facts about roiling riots. Yet at the same time we find it hard to grasp what really is going on. We know more but we understand less. Are there any keys to making sense of fast-moving developments and catastrophic changes? Here are two helpful keys:
- one, a focus on God’s priority people Israel (Romans 1:16) – the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). God sees world events through how the world treats the Jewish people, and through His own heart and strategies for the sons and daughters of Jacob
- two, the Bible – the word of God – is our radar and our torch. As Isaiah the prophet says, “To the Teaching [the Mosaic covenant] and to the testimonial witness-book [the Bible]! If they do not speak in accordance with this word, it is because they have no dawn [i.e. no future]” (Isaiah 8:20).
With these two cardinal points in mind, let’s look at some bracing Middle East developments. Turkey is in the news. What does the Bible say about that country – its historical roots, its crucial economic role during the time of David and Solomon, and its upcoming destiny in the prophetic scriptures?
All in the family tree – Meshech and Tubal
- “Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth … The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah … From these the people of the coastlands of the nations were separated into their land, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations” (Genesis 10:1-5).
Some of these tribes and people mentioned in the first book of the Bible will be remembered in the future, as they take their part in the prophetic fulfilment of the Messianic kingdom: “And I will put a sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations” (Isaiah 66:19).
All in the family tree – Meshech, Tubal and Bet Togarmah
In Ezekiel 27:1-15 the prophet Ezekiel refers to some of these nations when he takes up a mournful dirge over the Lebanese mercantile giant, the Phoenician port of Tyre. Luxury goods and their points of origin are described in his prophetic song as being traded on the docks and open-air markets of Lebanon’s Tyre:
- juniper wood from Mount Hermon’s Senir, cedars from Lebanon, oaks of Bashan on the Golan, and boxwood from Cyprus
- colorfully embroidered linen from Egypt, and violet and purple cloth from Elishah [ancient Cyprus]
- sailors and shipbuilders from the Lebanese cities of Sidon and Jebal [Byblos/Jebeil north of Beirut], and from Syrian (Aramean) city of Arvad [near Tripoli, Lebanon]
- mercenary special forces from Persia [Iran], Lud [Turkish Anatolia/Lydia], Put [Libya] and the Gammadim from Tyre
- overflowing currencies of silver, iron, tin and lead ingots paid by Tarshish (Turkish Tarsus or Kue in Cilicia Pedias – the city where Paul the Apostle was born) for the goods on sale in Tyre’s emporium
- slaves and bronze vessels from Javan [Greece], and Tubal [Tabal] and Meshech [Mushki; though possibly Moschia/Meskheti in Georgia bordering Armenia] both in Anatolia, Turkey
- horses, mules and war horse from Bet Togarmah (central or southeast Anatolia, Turkey; Known as Tegarama or Til-Garimmu)
- assorted trade items (including ivory tusks and ebony) from the Hamite Dedanim (Genesis 10:6-7; an oasis city in Medina Province, Saudi Arabia named al-ʿUlā ), including saddle blankets (Ezekiel 27:20)
The Land of King Solomon’s horses
Turkey played a significant economic role during the reign of King Solomon. The Turkish province of Kue (also Khuwe or Khwe or Cilicia) was situated on an important trade route, connecting Turkey and Syria to Babylonia. Kue/Cilicia became a Roman province in 103 B.C., and was governed by Cicero the Roman orator in 51 B.C. Shaul (Paul) the Apostle was born in Kue/Cilicia, known to many today as Tarsus.
Kue was famous in Solomon’s day as a source for high-quality horses. King Solomon established an import-export business of these horses, purchasing them from Turkey and Egypt, as the Chronicler recounts:
- “Solomon amassed chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king made silver and gold as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamores in the lowland. Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue; the king’s traders acquired them from Kue for a price. They imported chariots from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver apiece, horses for 150 apiece, and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram” (2 Chronicles 1:14-17)
As Moses wrote down the words of Sefer Devarim, the Scroll of Deuteronomy, he cautioned the coming Jewish kings not to get caught up in the materialism of possessions – not to make the ownership of magnificent steeds into something idolatrous: “[The king] is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since YHVH has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way’” (Deuteronomy 17:16). Solomon son of David did not cleave to this commandment, nor follow the principles laid down in the next verse: “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:17). Would that our spiritual, political and military leaders submit themselves to God’s guidelines in our day as well.
All in the family tree of Flavius Josephus
Joseph ben Matityahu (better known as Flavius Josephus) was a Jewish general who fought against Rome’s Vespasian Caesar in the ‘Great Revolt’ (66 A.D. and following). In his magnum opus Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus explains where the tribal lands of Genesis 10 were then located, including Gomer (the Cimmerians), Magog, Meshech and Togarmah, in his Book I, Chapter 6. These peoples all hailed either from Anatolian Turkey near Cappadocia, or from the Scythian southern coast of the Black Sea (between Ukraine, Armenia. Georgia and Media/Iran).
- For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians [Turkey], but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians . . . The Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians [Turkey] . . . And so many were the countries that had the children of Japheth for their inhabitants . . . And Thrugramma the Thrugrammeans, who, as the Greeks resolved, were named Phrygians [central / northern Turkey].
These Scythians were part of the varied ethnic groups who were nomads, originally inhabiting the steppes of modern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Uyghuristan, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine. They moved westward and southward, settling around the Black Sea in what is today Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.
Who’s who in Turkey
Based on archeological finds, epigraphic evidence and historical documents, here are the locations of the five nations listed in Ezekiel 38:2, 6:
- Gomer – Galatia (Turkey)
- Magog – Scythia –> Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine
- Tubal – Anatolian Turkey and Georgia/Armenia/Iran
- Meshech – Cappadocia (Turkey)
- Togarmah – central Anatolia (Turkey)
These nations formed a belt or swath across the Turkish regions of western and central Asia. They can be located in our day with a high degree of probability in the following modern countries:
- central and eastern Turkey
- Armenia
- Georgia
- the western ‘Stans’ (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
- western Iran
- southern Russia
- Ukraine
The Campaign of Gog of the land of Magog
Ezekiel the prophet speaks of a Last Days war, commonly called ‘the War of Gog and Magog.’ The actual Hebrew wording in Ezekiel 38:2 says more literally “Set your face toward Gog – the Land of Magog – the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophecy against him.” Gog is located in the Land of Magog, the region known as the Land of the Scythians. That region finds its epicenter in the lands of Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine.
- Now the word of YHVH came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘This is what ADONAI YHVH says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Bet Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples with you. Be ready, and be prepared, you and all your contingents that are assembled around you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual place of ruins; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them” (Ezekiel 38:1-8)
The background and context of this Scripture uncover an important point: the strategic and military roots of this sobering war will be based in a geographical area that runs eastward from Turkey through to the ‘Stans’ (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and up to southern Russia and Ukraine. The major unrest taking place in our day in both Syria and Turkey are a prophetic call to intercessors across the globe – to focus in on God’s heart and strategies for these countries, their leaders and also for Israel, the apple of God’s eye!
The remote sides of the North
YHVH the God of Israel prophesies to ‘Gog from the Land of Magog’ and tells him:
- “So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords . . . from the remote parts of the north with all its troops – many peoples with you” (Ezekiel 38:4-6)
- You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding horses, a large assembly and a mighty army; and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I show Myself holy through you before their eyes, Gog (Ezekiel 38:15-16)
- “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you around, lead you on a rope, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand” (Ezekiel 39:1-3)
The Hebrew phrase ‘the north’ can have various shades of meaning. It can mean ‘directly north of Jerusalem.’ But it can also mean ‘north and east’ of Jerusalem – as in Ezekiel 26:7, where Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon comes against Tyre of Lebanon – both sites are north of Jerusalem, though Babylon is quite to the east as well. In Isaiah 41:25, Cyrus is referred to as coming from the North; he came from Persia/Iran (which is to the east of Jerusalem), but in order to arrive in the land of the Jews, he had to march northward – up into Aram/Syria – from which point he then headed south to Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 1:14 and 10:22, the destructive evil of Babylon would come “out of the north.” In Jeremiah 16:15, YHVH will bring “the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He has banished them.”
So Ezekiel’s prophesy indicates that the army of Gog will come against Israel, arriving from the north – through Syria, through Turkey, and perhaps even through Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.
Ezekiel also declares that Sheba and Dedan (the descendants of Keturah through Jokshan, tribes presently found in Saudi Arabia) will be part of the military force invading Israel with intent to pillage, in the days of the War of Gog and Magog:
- “And you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish [one of at least three ports known by that name; this one is probably the one located in the Gulf States region] with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’” (Ezekiel 38:11-13).
God is in charge of the charge
In Ezekiel 38 YHVH reveals one aspect of His multifaceted ways in dealing with the nations; the prophet declares that God’s Last Days’ judgments will fall on that consortium of nations who trouble the nation and land of Israel:
- “This is what ADONAI YHVH says: I am against you, Gog” (Ezekiel 38:3)
- “This is what ADONAI YHVH says: It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan” (Ezekiel 38:10)
Yet God is sovereignly pro-active in this whole process, leading these troublers of Israel into judgment:
- “It shall come about in the last days that I shall bring you against My land” (Ezekiel 38:16)
- “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?” (Ezekiel 38:17)
- “It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares YHVH God, that My fury will mount up in My anger” (Ezekiel 38:18)
- “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone” (Ezekiel 38:22)
God is not absent from this process nor is He unaware of what is happening. Au contraire – He is much involved!
The key phrases in this divine scenario are found in verse three, “ I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army,” as well as in verse eight, “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword.” When the set time comes for God to trigger His plans for judgment on the Israel-hating nations, He activates His hooks, lances them into the jaws of His enemies, and pulls those nations down into the Middle East to trouble the people of Israel – the apple of His eye. Even the greatest super-power will be caught by the hooks of God, whether he was expecting it or not. Unauthorized and anti-biblical pressure on Israel, according to the Scriptures, brings both God’s wrath (Jeremiah 30:16) and God’s curse (Genesis 12:3) on anti-Semites everywhere.
How shall we then pray?
- Pray for revelation and courage to be given to Israel’s leaders in political, intelligence and military spheres – to understand and counteract strategies against Israel, the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8) – as Turkish-supported Islamic State/al Qa’eda armies gather at our borders.
- Pray that enemy strategies (Gog and Magog strategies) against the Jewish people and their state, against Middle East Christians and other minorities – will be confounded, and that a great harvest would take place in all of these areas!
- Pray for the protection of Israeli and Jewish people from the assaults of jihadi terror organizations and Western fellow-travelers
- Pray for the return of the Jewish people to both the Land and the Messiah of Israel
- Pray for the physical rescue of the approximately 44 to 50 living Israeli hostages (including babies) kidnapped by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and PFLP/PLO. At this moment some of these hostages are being tortured, raped and starved (this based on testimonies of recently released hostages). Sadly, over 100 of all Israeli hostages are dead; Hamas is holding on to their corpses as cold storage bargaining chips
- Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth
Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.
In Messiah Yeshua,
Avner Boskey
Donations can be sent to:
FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES
BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA
Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal or credit card) through: https://www.davidstent.org/
