Two Signs of Gog-Magog Coming

by Michael G. Mickey

(11-9-06)

In the 38th and 39th chapters of the book of Ezekiel we're told of a battle that will occur in the prophetic future involving the following nations who will come against Israel in a massive invasion attempt:

Magog - Most agree this is a reference to Russia.
Meshech - Most associate this with modern day Turkey, ancient Anatolia, but some say it refers to the Moscow area.
Tubal - Most associate this with modern day Turkey, ancient Anatolia.
Persia - modern Iran
Ethiopia
Libya
Gomer - eastern Europe or Turkey
Togarmah - southeastern Europe or Turkey

Can we see, based on the list of nations above and news in our world today concerning them, that this prophecy's fulfillment may very well be in view? Absolutely! In this commentary, I want to address evidence to this effect concerning Russia and Turkey alone, although there are others I could write about as well, particularly Iran.

Russia's Gog-Magog posturing

Middle East Newsline is reporting that Western analysts are presently surprised by Russia's rebound in the global arms market, particularly in the Middle East. As we look at Bible prophecy, is it any surprise that we see Russia suddenly arming its future Gog-Magog allies for a fight? Absolutely not as this is all part of the stage being set for prophetic fulfillment to occur, potentially in the not-too-distant future!

Is Turkey and the EU about to part ways in Turkey's EU membership bid?

If you haven't been following this ongoing saga closely, it has been high drama! As we look at the nations NATO member Turkey appears to be allied with at the time of the Gog-Magog battle, it's interesting that Turkey seems so interested in aligning itself with the revived Roman empire we today call the European Union. It is for that reason that I have long held the position that something is going to take place to sever the EU and Turkey's interest in one another. Is that shaping up? Consider the following list of news stories and issues and decide for yourself:

On November 3rd, EUBusiness.com reported that "the architect of Turkey's recent economic recovery told the European Union to change the way it talks to the country or risk destroying the relationship."
Also on November 3rd, as seen in a BBC report, Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan accused the EU of placing new obstacles on Turkey's bid to enter the bloc.
On November 6th, as reported by the EU Observer, German chancellor Angela Merkel issued "a stark warning to Turkey saying there will be no "business as usual" in Ankara's EU membership talks if it continues to be defiant on the Cyprus issue." (If you're unfamiliar with the "Cyprus issue" referred to by Merkel, Wikipedia has a pretty good history of that contentious issue.)
On November 7th, EUBusiness.com noted that more than two thirds of Turks were saying "membership talks with the European Union should be suspended if the bloc maintains demands for Ankara to give ground in a trade row over Cyprus."
On November 7th, according to the EU Observer, the European Commission raised concerns that "freedom of speech in Turkey is not guaranteed" and that "the military still plays a "significant" political role and non-Muslim religious communities face discrimination."
On November 8th, according to EUBusiness.com, the "European Commission issued a critical report on Turkey", "stopping short of suspending EU membership talks now but telling Ankara to make progress on Cyprus within five weeks."
On November 8th, according to EUBusiness.com, Cyprus indicated "it was satisfied with a European Commission report warning Turkey of unspecified damage to its EU entry bid if Ankara refused to meet its obligations toward the divided island."
On November 8th, according to the EU Observer, Brussels' efforts to keep the Turkey EU talks on track by not recommending whether to freeze negotiations over the Cyprus issue sparked further speculation on what a possible "train crash" in Ankara's accession process could look like.
Today, November 9th, EUBusiness.com is reporting that Cyprus seriously doubts that Turkey will meet a mid-December EU deadline to honour trade obligations to the divided island.
Also, on today's date, EUBusiness.com is reporting that the "European Commission is set to recommend a partial suspension of Turkey's EU membership talks", "as there is little likelihood that Ankara will move swiftly on the key issue of Cyprus following a highly critical report."

While it may be early to state that Turkey's EU entry bid is about to result in what the EU Observer described as a "train crash", as I look at the news in comparison to Bible prophecy, a "train crash" seems to be in the making, whether it occurs in the near or somewhat distant future.

Conclusions

In this commentary, we've seen evidence that Russia is becoming more and more involved in the arming of its future Gog-Magog allies. Not only that, we've seen that a future Gog-Magog ally, namely Turkey, may be on the verge of having a diplomatic "train crash" that may very well result in Turkey looking for friends more conducive to its core beliefs and values, namely the nations listed in Ezekiel 38 as shown above.

What does all this tell us? Things seem to be proceeding precisely as scripted in the prophetic Word of God! Does that surprise me? Not even one teensy tiny bit!

UPDATE (ADDED 11-12-06): EU foreign ministers to tackle Turkey problem (Turkey can expect little encouragement in its EU bid)

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