One of the more popular
topics among Christians today is the “end times.” With each significant news story, a
correlation between it and end times events prophesied in the Bible is sought. Because of recent military activities and
tensions in Russia and Israel, the end
times event prophesied in the Bible called “The War of Gog and Magog” is now a
red hot topic. Ezekiel 38/39 tells how Gog,
the powerful leader from the land of
Magog, will lead a confederacy of nations to invade Israel during the end times
and start a war of unprecedented size and devastation.
Many end times aficionados believe that Magog represents
Russia and that Russia will soon come to invade Israel. However, the ancient Assyrians had dealings
with Magog, and their Court records clearly identify Magog and it is not Russia. For decades Christians have been deceived and
have been unwittingly deceiving others about who is to be involved in the
prophesied invasion of Israel. Russia
has absolutely nothing to do with Magog and being the nation that will lead an
invasion of Israel.
While many may picture Russia as an “evil empire,” personal
opinions, traditional views, incomplete research, and current events cannot be
the basis of the identification of
Gog and Magog and the interpretation of Ezekiel 38/39. The correct identification and interpretation of Ezekiel 38/39 must be based on scripture, with
the aid of the archeological and historical context of these scriptures. (The scriptures of the Bible are set in a
context of ancient cultures, nations, and times.)
While everyone is entitled to their
own opinions, everyone is not entitled to their own set of facts. Although
opinions may abound, there is not one verifiable fact or any primary evidence
to support the belief that Magog represents Russia. II Peter 1:20 says “Knowing this first, that
no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” This is
consistent with II Timothy 2:15 which says, “Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word
of truth.” Any interpretation of Ezekiel
38/39 requires recognition of the historical truth and obedience to the word of
God which is truth.
The brief report below explains the great deception about
Russia and the War of Gog and Magog. Complete details about this topic and other end time events are available in my new book THE COMETS OF GOD.
Jeffrey Goodman, Ph.D.
An archeologist and a geologist,
Dr. Goodman has devoted over twenty- five years to the study of the Bible. He holds a geological engineering degree from
the Colorado School of Mines, a M.A. in anthropology from the University of
Arizona, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from California Coast University. He also earned a M.B.A. from Columbia
University Graduate School of Business.
He was accredited by the former Society of Professional
Archeologists. Goodman is a Messianic
Jew who was saved in 1987.
Russia and the War of
Gog and Magog
While most end
times Bible prophecy authors have argued that Russia's origins trace back to
the ancient nation of "Magog” described in Ezekiel 38-39, this is
simply not true. This myth that traces back to the mid 1800’s
is built on historical statements that were deliberately altered, and on the
assumption that the similarity of certain words could mean something else in
another language. Although ancient records
have been found that tell a different story about the identity of Magog and
about Russia’s origins, the “Russia is Magog” myth persists.
Assyrian Court Records
The popular identification of the nations of Ezekiel 38-39 is not
correct. Despite the traditional
viewpoint, professional archeologists know the identity of these nations from the Assyrian Royal Court records. The
reliable, clear and detailed records of Assyrian
Royal Court show they dealt directly
with each of these nations about 100 years before
Ezekiel wrote. These are the same records that
are referred to in Ezra 4:15, 19 and 5:17-6:7. These passages tell how the Jews of the fifth
century BC 538 BC–457 BC overcame opposition by the local Persian governor to
the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem by referring to these same Assyrian
cuneiform court records. They are also the same
records Bible scholars now use to provide independent verification and
edification of the Bible’s historical accounts from about 805 BC to 530 BC.
The Assyrian Royal Court records
provide direct evidence and represent an incontestable primary source on this
subject, since they were written during the time period in question by people
who were directly involved. Primary
sources have greater value than
secondary sources, which can include generalizations,
speculation and interpretations made long after the occurrence of the
events. On this particular subject, too
often what has been written about these countries constitutes secondary
evidence and is not based on facts. In some instances statements are
the product of mischief, bias or not studying all
of the available information.
The Assyrian Court records show dealings with Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and
Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:3-6), the nations that stretched across ancient Asia
Minor (modern Turkey) from west to east. From these records we also learn that
the ancient nation of Gomer (Ezekiel 38:6), an enemy of the Assyrians invaded
Asia Minor by coming down from an area around the northeast shore of the Black
Sea. Archeologists know that the
militant leader called “Gog” in Ezekiel 38/39 led a confederacy of these
nations against invading Gomer.
Who and what are Gog and Magog?
Gog is a historical man who the Greeks called Gyges of Lydia. In Gyges of Lydia we have the leader the Assyrians called “Gugu, King of Ludu,” and “Gugu of Magugu,” who is referred to in the Bible as Gog of Magog. “Magog”
simply means “the land of Gog.” In Akkadian ma means land, so in Akkadian Ma- gugu
means “the land of Gugu,” which
becomes our Ma-gog. (Just as the Assyrian eponym for the land
of the leader called Zamua is rendered as Ma-zamua). Magog
is an eponym for the ancient nation of Lydia
that was in the westernmost part of Asia Minor. The Assyrians often referred to
a new land by the name of the first leader they learned of from this land. The
Assyrians dealt with Lydia through Meshech, who were subsequently defeated by Gomer, and thus the Assyrians
finally came to deal with Lydia directly. In the prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39 Gog
is being used as a “historical type” of the “antichrist” who is prophesied to
come during the end times, and Magog is being used as a “historical type” of
“the land of the antichrist.”
It has been mistakenly believed that the ancient nation of “Magog” in western Asia Minor was the ancient “tribal name” of the
“Scythians,” a group of Iranian speaking nomadic tribes from
Central Asia (north of Iran) that traveled across the Russian steppes, and came
to live in the territory north of the Black Sea. Then, in turn, and again in
error, it has been believed that the ancient Scythians were the progenitors of the modern Russians. In Foes from the Northern Frontier Dr. Edwin Yamauchi, a professor of history at Miami University in Ohio
emphatically explains that none
of the ancient nations referred to in Ezekiel 38-39 can possibly be related to modern
Russia. Further, Yamauchi says:
“Even if one were to transliterate
the Hebrew rosh as a proper name (as does the NAS) rather than translate
it as ‘chief’ (as does the KJV, NIV, and Hebrew Tanakh), it can have
nothing to do with modern ‘Russia.’ This
would be a gross anachronism for the modern name is based upon
the name Rus, which was brought
into the region of Kiev, north of the Black Sea, by the Vikings only in the Middle Ages.”
Daniel I. Block, a professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton,
Illinois in The Book of Ezekiel writes,
“The popular
identification of Tubal with Tubolsk in Russia (H. Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth
1970, p.53) is ludicrous . . . The popular identification
of Meshech with Moscow (of Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth
p.53) is absurd.
How did Russia become associated with Magog?
The erroneous belief that
Russia is Magog can be traced back to a small group of 18th and 19th century
theologians who wrote long before the primary evidence from the ancient
Assyrian records was discovered, translated and made available to the public. Instead, they based their assertions on
secondary sources, historical works written over 500 years after the time of Ezekiel, and to make matters worse some of these
sources had come to be purposefully altered. These altered references include
statements attributed to the first century AD Jewish historian Josephus, and
first century AD Roman historian Pliny.
In his book The Antiquity of the Jews Josephus says
that the Greeks called the “Magogites” the “Scythians” despite the fact that
the Greeks did not call the Magogites the Scythians. In this same passage there are other errors
in the identification of other ancient nations of Asia Minor. This passage shows
that the author did not understand that Ashkenaz
is the Hebrew word for the Scythians. (Interestingly, the Assyrian word for the Scythians, Ishkuza or Ashguza is similar to the Hebrew word for
the Scythians – Ashkenaz.) This passage also comes into conflict with what the
ancient Greek historian Herodotus who after living with each group wrote about
the Scythians and the Lydians in his book The
History. Since Josephus used
Herodotus’ book as a reference, one can only speculate how and why these
obviously wrong statements are in Josephus’ book. Were these
inaccurate statements the products of Josephus’ imagination, or were they the result of alterations to
the few copies of Josephus’ work that existed in medieval times? (Jews did not preserve the
writings of Josephus because they considered him to be a traitor.) Beginning in the 11th century these
surviving manuscripts were copied by Catholic monks, and obviously altered in some places to suit prevailing
beliefs. Ecclesiastical
acceptance of the erroneous connection between Magog and the Scythians traces back to Saint Jerome of the late fourth century
AD. Unfortunately, the oft quoted
statement that has Josephus connecting Magog with the Scythians is an act of document
forgery.
Similarly, the oft quoted statement that has the ancient Roman
historian Pliny in his work The Natural
History that connects Magog with the Scythians is another forgery. Nineteenth century Scottish Reverend John
Cumming is credited as being a leading promoter of the Bible interpretation
that calls for Russia invading Israel. In his book The Destiny of Nations Cumming quotes a passage from Pliny’s book
about Magog which he purposefully altered.
Reverend Cumming
on page 126 wrote: “Pliny says ‘Hierapolis taken by
the Scythians was
afterwards called Magog.’”
Pliny on page 439
actually wrote: “Bambyx (a part of Lydia) the other name of which is Hierapolis, but by
the Syrians called Magog.”
Pliny’s statement has been misquoted by Cumming in a way that
makes it seem that Magog was related to the Scythians rather than the Lydians.
Unfortunately, this same misquote of Pliny has been carried forward in time and appears in Hal Lindsey’s book The Late Great Planet Earth (page 53). This alteration is easily verified by
going to a copy of Pliny’s book and seeing how key words were changed and
switched around. It is difficult to believe that none of the
many authors of books that discuss Ezekiel 38/39 and the war of Gog and Magog
have not discovered this sleight of hand and exposed the deception. (While many contemporary Evangelicals gave Cumming’s
books on prophecy favorable reviews, an article in the Westminster Review in 1855 about Cumming attacked him for his
“intellectual dishonesty, anti-Catholic bigotry, and moral and spiritual
perversion.”)
The correct identification of Magog with Lydia and not Scythia is consistent with the ancient texts of the Assyrians, who at various times were either the allies or the foes
of the Scythians, but had peaceful dealings with the Lydians, who they
also referred to as “Magog.” Within academia today, no professional archeologists, historians or serious Bible
researchers associate Magog with the Scythians or the Scythians with the
Russians. The truth is that modern
scholars have unequivocally documented that a group of Scandinavian Viking
traders called the Rus began the Russian state during the mid AD 800's, and
gave their name to Russia. Therefore
there is no historical or factual basis for any connection of Russia to Magog.
ANCIENT NATIONS OF EZEKIEL 38/39 Ezekiel 38/39 makes reference
to a group of ancient nations that are all found in Asia Minor: Magog (Lydia),
Meshech, Tubal, Togarmah and Gomer. The correct identification of these nations
comes from the “Royal Court Records of the Assyrians”; the primary source on
this subject. These same Assyrian Court records are referred to in the Bible
(Ezra 4:15, 19).
LYDIAN MIGRATION TO
ITALY An early Lydian dynasty experienced a prolonged famine which caused half
of the Lydian population to migrate to the west coast of Italy, just north of
Rome. The Romans called these Lydian migrants “Etruscans.” The Etruscans
settled in an area called Tuscany and they helped found the city of Rome and
jump start the Roman civilization. Hundreds of years after this migration, the
Lydian population in Asia Minor came to be ruled by a militant ruler whom the
Greeks called “Gyges of Lydia.” To the Assyrians this same leader was known as
“Gugu King of Ludu,” and “Gugu of Magugu.” Ezekiel referred to this same leader
as “Gog of Magog” where “Magog” means “the land of Gog.”
Why understanding Gog and Magog is important
As for comparing Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38/39 to Gog and Magog
of Revelation 20:7-10, two different wars are being referred to and the terms
Gog and Magog are not being used literally but being used as “historical
types.” As referred to in Ezekiel 38-39,
the historical Gog who was a “prince” of
the nations of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal, serve as “historical types” of
the “antichrist” and the multi-national confederacy over which the antichrist
is to rule during the tribulation period. The Bible uses the historical leader
Gog as a historical type of the antichrist to come in the exact same ways the
Bible uses the historical King David as a type of Jesus’ Second Coming (Ezekiel
34:23 and Ezekiel 37:22-24). Similarly, in
Matthew 11:14 (also see Malachi 4:5) and Matthew 17:10-13 (“if you will
receive it”) Jesus in effect says
that John is a historical type of Elijah. In other words, “Gog and Magog” (remember in
Akkadian “Magog” means “the land of Gog”) in their
most basic meaning, are taken to be types or references to any “antichrist” and
“the land of this antichrist;” just as I John 2:18, 22, 4:3, and II John 7 says “there are many antichrists.” Thus, Revelation 20 tells of a second and
separate battle involving another Gog and
Magog, that is, a different battle
involving another antichrist and the lands of
this antichrist that takes place around 1,000 years after the battle of
Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38/39. The Gog or antichrist
of Ezekiel 38 is involved with one war that is to occur before Jesus returns,
and the Gog or antichrist of Revelation 20 is involved with another war that is
to occur after Jesus returns and dwells with mankind for one thousand years.
The bottom line for what is said
in Ezekiel 38/39 is
that just as a real person called Gog led a confederacy of nations
around 660B.C., Ezekiel is using Gog as a historical type of the antichrist,
and Magog as a historical type of the nations the antichrist is to lead, for a
war that Ezekiel is prophesying to occur during the end times. This could be fulfilled by the appearance
of an antichrist and a confederacy of European nations representing a revived
Roman Empire. Ecclesiastes 1:9 and 3:15
teach that which is to be hath already been and that there is nothing new under
the sun. Has such an invasion of the Holy Land and effort to kill Jews by a
confederacy of European nations ever occurred before? Yes, deadly invasions of Israel have taken
place a number of times. These invasions are called the Crusades of the Middle
Ages. A confederacy of European
nations has invaded Israel before and according to scripture it seems that
these nations will do so again. While Russia’s anti- Israel actions regularly
appear in the news, it is interesting to note the ever growing anti-Israel
attitude and actions of the European Community.
The details of the battle of Ezekiel 38/39 and the battle of Armageddon which
refer to one in the same battle involving the antichrist will be discussed at
another time.
*******
In these downloads, you can
study (II Timothy 2:15) what the ancient records have to say about Gog and
Magog for yourself, and you can also learn how the Church has been deceived
about these identifications for a very long time.
Christian Archeologist Exonerates Russia in the End Times
TUCSON,
Az., Sept. 28, 2011 /Christian
Newswire/ -- Christian archeologist Dr. Jeffrey Goodman in his book
"THE COMETS OF GOD" pokes a big hole in the theory long held by most
evangelical Christians that Russia will be one of the bad guys during the end
times. Based on misconceptions about Russia's origins, many evangelicals
believe Russia is to be the evil empire of Ezekiel 38-39 that is to attack
Israel during the end times. Goodman says this error about Russia has the
potential to create an international misunderstanding that could provoke
unwarranted political action.
Most
end times Bible prophecy authors wrongly believe that Russia's origins trace
back to the ancient nation of "Magog" of western Asia Minor, and that
Magog was the ancient "tribal name" of the "Scythians." The
"Scythians," were a group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia that
traveled across the Russian steppes, and came to live in the territory north of
the Black Sea. The erroneous belief that Russia is Magog from Ezekiel 38/39 can
be traced back to a small group of 18th and 19th century theologians who based
their assertions on historical references that had been purposefully altered.
These altered references include statements attributed to the Jewish historian
Josephus, and the Roman historian Pliny. Within academia today, no professional
archeologists or historians or serious Bible researchers associate Magog with
the Scythians or the Scythians with the Russians. The truth is that modern
scholars have unequivocally documented that a group of Scandinavian Viking
traders called the Rus began the Russian state during the mid AD 800's, and
gave their name to Russia.
So
if Russia is not Magog of end times Bible prophecy, who is? Dr. Goodman says
archeologists and historians know the correct identity of the nations of
Ezekiel 38-39 based on the dealings these ancient nations had with the Assyrian
Royal Court. Records of the ancient Assyrian Royal Court talk about these
ancient nations the same way that the Bible does. Based on the Assyrian
records, archeologists recognize the Bible's Gog as a historical militant king
who indeed led a multinational force that included the nations of Meshech and
Tubal, as called for in Ezekiel 38-39. Gog of Magog means "Gog of the land
of Gog" and the Assyrian records identify this land as Lydia of western
Asia Minor. To the Greeks Gog was known as Gyges of Lydia.
Goodman
says that since Gog, Lydia (Magog) and their confederates no longer exist,
Ezekiel 38-39 uses them as "historical types" of those who are to be
involved in the end times battle described in Ezekiel 38-39. As King David is
used as a type of the Messiah, Gog is used as a type of the antichrist. The
Bible says this battle is to take place in the mountains (Ezekiel 38:8, 21 and
Ezekiel 39:2, 4, 17) where God fights for Israel and reveals Himself to Israel.
Moreover, the Bible's books of Daniel and Revelation both indicate that a
revived Roman Empire (in essence) will be involved in such a battle.
Dr.
Goodman explains that there is a connection between ancient Lydia and ancient
Rome. Historians know migrants from Lydia called the Etruscans took control of
the population of central Italy and put them on the fast track to becoming the
powerful Roman Empire. The Etruscans were responsible for the urbanization of
Rome, as well as its army and its economic advancement. The Penguin Dictionary
of Archeology says "the influence of the Etruscans on Roman civilization
was enormous." In the Fifth century BC the famed Greek historian Herodotus
told how the Etruscans came to Italy as a result of a migration from Lydia.
From fancy pottery to oriental style burial tombs, the culture of Lydia was
lifted and replanted in Tuscany, north of the city of Rome. As Gog's
descendents became the Kings of Lydia, their Etruscan cousins became the
monarchs or Kings of Rome, and they even used the word "Etruria" as a
synonym for Italy.
The
historical record shows a clear connection between Magog (an eponym for Lydia)
and what the Bible says will be the final expression of Roman Empire, since an
Etruscan last sat on the throne of Rome before it became a Republic, and the
Etruscan right to rule traces back to Lydia.
For
details and illustrations please go to FREE DOWNLOADS at www.thecometsofgod.com and
see "Russia is Not Magog" and "Armageddon, Magog and the War of
Ezekiel 38/39."
