Ezekiel 38:11 – 13 states: “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, 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. 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?”

Russia will invade Israel from the “north” in the “latter years” (Ezekiel 38:15,16) when the Jews are in their own land.

Students of the Bible have always expected this to happen. The key names in Ezekiel’s prophecy are first mentioned in Genesis 10 as sons of Japeth, the son of Noah. They are Gomer, Magog, Tubal, and Meshech (Genesis 10:1, 2). These key verses describe the repopulating of the earth after the Flood. It was customary in ancient times for the descendants of a man to adopt his name for their tribe. Using this system, scholars have furnished the following information:

1. Magog – his descendants are the Scythians or Tartars, whose descendants today are found in modern Russia. Scythians were called Magogites by the Greeks 2,000 years ago (Josephus, book one, chapter seven).

2. Tubal – his descendants peopled the region south and north of the Black Sea. Tobolsk (the “sk” being the Russian suffix) perpetuates the tribal name and is presently located southwest of Siberia.

3. Meshech – his descendants are northern nations mentioned in connection with Tubal and Magog. Meshech is the original name for Moscow.

4. Rosh – the word “chief” in Ezekiel 38:3 is “Rosh” in Hebew. “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the Rosh prince of Meshech and Tubal”. “Rosh” was the name of the tribe dwelling in the area of the Volga and it is the word for “Russia” today in some languages of the world. The name “Russia” was formed from the ancient name “Rosh”. It is clear that Ezekiel was delivering a warning to the Russian prince of Meshech and Tubal. Gog is the prince, Magog his land, the reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification.

Allies of Russia in that fierce conflict will be Persia (Iran and Iraq), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer (Eastern Germany and Slovakia), and Togarmah (Turkey). Daniel adds Egypt to the names of nations coming against Israel (Daniel 40-44).

The Russians will be pleased to cooperate with the others, knowing that when their military forces overrun the Middle East they will control all the wealth there, including Arab oil. Add to this the mineral wealth of the Dead Sea (two trillion dollars), as well as the wealth being generated in Israel through industry and agriculture. The Arabs will join the attack to take a prey, Israel, while Russia will be invading to take a spoil (Ezekiel 38:11,12).

The Jews will be dwelling securely. It seems likely this security (vs. 11) will come from enacting a treaty with the head of the Western Alliance, or the revived Roman Empire. It is intended to last for seven years (Daniel 9:27).

It appears that the Russian invasion will come about the middle of the Tribulation period, approximately three and one-half years after signing the treaty. This attack on Israel will be her greatest military blunder ever. Though brief, the conflict will be one of the most destructive in history. Their casualties will be so great that only one-sixth of the fighting force is left after the battle.

Two important developments will follow the defeat of the invaders of Israel:

1. Russia’s attack will give Antichrist an excuse for full occupation of Israel under the pretense of protection and will extend his power over the entire world.

2. The divine protection of Israel, prophesied by Ezekiel and proclaimed by the 144,000 evangelists, will turn many Jews to their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Russia will be driven back to Siberia (Ezekiel 39:1,2; Joel 2:20) where she will strengthen her forces and return to Israel once again. The scope and intensity of the offensive continues to increase until all nations become involved and are finally gathered together against Israel at Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2). At that point, the Battle of Armageddon takes place (Revelation 16:16).