May 4, 2016
Listen not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord (Jeremiah 23:16).
There are plenty of speculations and controversies among scholars about the War of Gog and Magog, especially regarding when such a war will come about.
Some say that the war has begun with World Wars I and II. Others insist that the war of Gog was instigated by Russia's military involvement in Syria and therefore it will be fought in Syrian territory, not in the Land of Israel. This belief, however, is in direct contradiction to what the Prophet Ezekiel said (Ezekiel 39:4, 9-16).
Yet, there are modern-day 'prophets' who predicted that this war is connected to the Blood Moon Tetrad seen amid the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles) which occurred in 2015, at the end of Jubilee year. These 'prophets' are even using mystical Kabbalah to prove their point. Among the other versions of the pending Gog war, they recounted recent wars Israel has fought since 1948 and include future war(s) as mentioned in Psalm 83.
None of the predictions of those renown 'prophets' have come to pass.
Even worse, they have greatly misled readers and believers. Their ultimate failure lies in the fact that the Lord has not sent them and they do not speak a word in His name (Jeremiah 23:16).
Elsewhere, we read:
Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing. Their visions are false and their divinations a lie (Ezekiel 13:3, 6).
It is amazing how those 'prophets', in predicting the timing of the Gog's war, disregard the words of the true prophet Ezekiel as well as the opinion of the sage, Maimonides, the greatest authority of Rabbinical Law and Tradition who said that,
The plain meaning of the words of the prophets seems to indicate that the war of Gog and Magog will take place at the beginning of the Messianic Era (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhos Melakhim 12:2).
What does he mean by 'The Messianic Era'? It means that the Messiah has already been revealed and ushered the world into the Messianic Era. Without God sending the individual called 'the Messiah,' there would not be the 'Messianic Era'. It is as simple as this.
Remember that Maimonides taught that the War of Gog and Magog will start shortly after the Messiah's arrival.
Does this statement contradict the words of the prophet? No, it does not. That is what the prophecy says:
After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land [of Israel] (Ezekiel 38:8).
In his description of the situation, Ezekiel clearly indicates that in the time of Gog's attack, the House of Jacob, which include the Jews and the Ten Tribes, reunited under the leadership of the Messiah, will come to the Holy land from forceful exile out of many nations and will build a prosperous economy and dwell in safety.
Gog will attack God's people when they are most vulnerable:
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 (Ezekiel 38:11).
These are all important conditions of Gog's attack. Gog will attack Israel only when Israel meets these conditions, that is, be at rest and safety, 'having neither bars nor gates.'
Does one have any doubt that such a description of Israel's safety and well being points to the Messianic Time?
There is another important message in the 11th-century CEÂ Midrash Vayosha (or Wa-Yosha), confirming the events of the Gog and Magog War:
And when the days of the Messiah arrive, Gog and Magog will come up against the Lord of Israel, because they will hear that Israel is without a king and sits in safety.Â
Is Israel truly living in security and safety?
Far from it!
The neighboring Arab-Muslim states have continued threatening Israel's existence and aiming for its destruction since the tiny country was born. Israel literally imprisons itself behind walls and fences. By no means has Israel dwelt in safety; it has become a defensive fortress among 'evil neighbors' (Jeremiah 12:14-17).
It is only after the IDF defeat hostile nations who plot to annihilate Israel as stated in Psalms 83:5-9, that the Israelites will achieve security spoken by Ezekiel (38:8, 11-12). That is why the names of the Arab-Muslim nations of Semitic stock are not mentioned among the participants of Gog's invasion (Ezekiel 38:3, 5-6).
Since the Messiah has not yet come, the House of Israel has not reunited and not lived in safety, and the Messianic Era has not begun, how is it remotely possible that the Gog and Magog War has already started?
Ignoring the plain words of God's true prophets and even twisting the meaning of the prophecy is no less than sacrilege.