Eze. 38:9

9 Thou shalt ascend [`alah] and come [bow'] like a storm [show'], thou shalt be like a cloud [`anan] to cover [kacah] the land ['erets], thou, and all thy bands ['aggaph], and many [rab] people [`am] with thee. KJV-Interlinear

9 And you will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you. NASB

Of all of the enemies of Israel throughout history, the nations to the north, at the end of the Tribulation, are going to be the absolute worst. One would have thought that the Arabs, or Muslims, would have been their number one enemy, given their history for the last several centuries. Certainly since the early 600 s A.D. when Islam was first invented.

But, the antagonism and violent history between the Jews and the Muslims have only amounted to a historical nuisance. The Jewish history has seen far worse enemies during the course of our current dispensation.

Gog, the leader of the northern power whom we identify as Russia, and his allies of the north, whom we identify as the Soviet block of countries, are going to be the real bad guys in Israel s history.

But, that is not all. Here in this single verse we see that Gog is very sneaky. How so? Well the words teach us a great deal.

When the final attack comes against the Middle East, we have already seen in our passage, that the North will ally itself with the Arab states, from Iran to the east, to Ethiopia to the south, to Libya to the west. This alliance will be put together in absolute secrecy.

The anti-christ already has a treaty with Israel. Israel is a wealthy nation. And, pretty soon we will see the true reasons for the attack against Israel. It is not simply an anti-Jewish purpose that these nations enter into the plan to attack Israel. At least not as far as the power of the north is concerned.

Satan also has his hand in all of this, and it is Satan s plan to wipe out all of humanity. So while plans are being made and alliances are being arranged, secondary plans are also being made and betrayals are also in the works.

The battle will begin with the nations of the south (the Arab states), pushing against Israel. We have studied this in detail in Daniel. This pushing action is a sissy push. It is described using feminine terminology, so it implies that the Arabs do not attack with too great a vigor. Such is their ability throughout history. Great armies have never, and never will, come out of the Arab countries.

The Arab countries are to set up a defense perimeter for the northern power. Guarding against any possible counter attack from the three major directions on the compass (east, south, and west).

The Arab countries probably believe all of this.

But here, we see the real plan from the north. Like a sudden storm. And, this suddenness is something which takes virtually everyone by surprise, especially the Arab nations.

Like a sudden storm, the northern power will sweep down out of the north, will branch out to the east (into Iran), blast through Israel to the South (into the heart of Africa), and blast to the west (Libya) across northern Africa. This tactic will not be expected.

And, again as we have already studied in Daniel, the Arab states will lay down like a helpless female, taken totally by surprise, blasted naked of any and all protection, laying spread eagle on her backside, hopeless and helpless as the power from the north has his way with her before he kills her. This will be the absolute end of Islam.

The many troops and many peoples with he army of the north, are references to the various nations who will join in the attack for the north, with the north. They will be well armed, well equipped, but not well supplied. How so?

Again, the words describe the events. Like a storm is a reference to a sudden storm. Storms that are not anticipated, generally blow up quickly but have no long lasting effect. They blast through and then they fizzle out. The North knows its limitations. It has very little in the way of supplies. Its only possibility for success is to conduct an all out invasion quickly and to seize absolute control over the region, and then re-supply itself from whatever resources it captures.

Presumably then it negotiates with the rest of the world. That negotiation will never happen.

Remember that during the prior six years of the Tribulation, the world has been devastated economically. Agriculture is down, manufacturing is down, resources are few and far between, disasters are happening all of the time, shipping and transportation are all but obliterated, and people across the planet have been dying off from disease, disasters, starvation, and social breakdown, at an alarming rate.

Literally half of the world s population has died. But despite all of these handicaps, the powers that be, have still managed to organize formidable armies.

Still, resources are extremely limited, and the success of the campaign, which the north launched, will depend on absolute surprise, flawless execution, and overwhelming force. All of these it will achieve at least initially.

Just as the anti-christ, for his own benefit, will use Israel as a piece of property, so too the power of the north will use the Arab states as his expendable pieces of property. And in all of this, Satan is using all of humanity as his expendable property, in his fight against God.

Despite all of the intrigue and deceptions of human history, even your personal history, whatever it might be, only one person truly controls history and He is Jesus Christ.

Now is the time to post a prayer.