Dr. Thomas Ice
Aftermany days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the landthat is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from manynations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but itspeople were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all ofthem. And you will go up, you willcome like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all yourtroops, and many peoples with you.
—Ezekiel38:8–9
Thefinal two of seven descriptive phrases in verse 8 will now be examined. These phrases provide a framework fordetermining when this invasion will take place.
Gathered From The Nations
Thesixth descriptive phrase of verse 8 says, "but its people were brought out fromthe nations." The disjunctive waw at the beginning of this construction indicates thatthis phrase stands in contrast and is related to the previous phrase: "whoseinhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israelwhich had been a continual waste." The subject "it" "is feminine in the Hebrew, can only refer to theland."[1] The sense is as follows: the land ofIsrael's people (i.e., the Jews). Such a sense provides a strong polemic that the people God believesbelong in the land of Israel are the Jews.
TheHebrew verb yasah is used over athousand times in the Old Testament and means to "come out" or "go forth."[2] However, in this instance it is in thehophal stem, which gives it a causative passive sense and means that the Jewishpeople "were brought out" from the nations by someone other thanthemselves. Who would that"someone" reference? The implicationcan only refer to God as the One who will cause the Jews to be brought back tothe land of Israel. The verb"brought out" in this instance serves to support the overall notion of God'ssovereign control over all nations—Israel and the Gentiles. The Gentiles were noted at thebeginning of verse 8 as they are "summoned" to invade Israel. Israel is emphasized in this phrasesince it is God who is in reality bringing them back to their Promised Land.
Thereare only three Hebrew words in this phrase and it literally says, "but it isbrought forth out of the peoples."[3] Reading this in context, as shouldalways be done with any passage, the "it" refers to the last half of thepreceding phrase "the mountains of Israel which had been a continualwaste." Thus, how can the land ofIsrael be brought back from the peoples or nations? This can only occur if the people are brought back to theland, which explains why most translators add "people" in an effort to clarifythe sense of the Hebrew.
Living Securely
The finalconstruct says, "and they are living securely, all of them." This phrase is also composed of threeHebrew words and completes this long sentence. The verb jasab isused over a thousand times in the Old Testament and has the general meaning of"sit, remain, or dwell."[4] Therefore, it is translated "living" inmany English translations since that is the nuance of what one does when theystay for a period of time on a certain piece of land, as opposed to one who isjust visiting.
The next Hebrewword is the noun betah that istranslated "securely." There hasbeen a lot of discussion about just what this word means in this context. The Hebrew lexicons tell us that thegeneral meaning is "security" or "confidence" and is similar to our Englishword "trust" in range of meaning.[5] It is often used in construct form withthe verb "to dwell," as is the case here and occurs 160 times in the HebrewBible.[6] It is used in Leviticus and Deuteronomyas a promise from the Lord that He will cause the nation to dwell securely inthe Land if they obey his law (Lev. 25:18, 19; 26:5; Deut. 12:10). This term is used throughout thehistorical and prophetic Old Testament books as a comment whether or not Israelis dwelling securely in the land. In fact, this phrase is used in Jeremiah 49:31 in a similar invasioncontext as we see in Ezekiel 38. It says: "'Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, which livessecurely,' declares the Lord. 'It has no gates or bars; they dwellalone.'" This is how it is used inEzekiel 38:8. "However, quiteoften this general meaning has a negative ring . . . to indicate a falsesecurity."[7] The context supports the false securityconnotation in this instance, because of the impending invasion. On the other hand, since Godmiraculously delivers the nation, maybe it is not misplaced after all.
Somehave tried to equate the notion of "living securely" with the "livingpeacefully." It is said that whatis described in this passage is a situation where Israel is at peace with alltheir neighbors and no one is a treat to them. This is not supported by the word betah or the context. "Nowhere in the entire text does it speak of Israel asliving in peace. Rather, Israel ismerely living in security, which means 'confidence,' regardless of whether itis during a state of war or peace," notes Arnold Fruchtenbaum. "There is nothing in the variousdescriptions of Israel given in this passage that is not true of Israel today."[8]
Thefinal Hebrew word is translated by the English phrase "all of them." To whom does this refer? It can only refer to all of thoseliving securely in the land of Israel. All of those who have returned to the mountains of Israel are dwellingin security. Charles Feinbergconcludes, "Finally, they were viewed as living securely, all of them, withoutfear of invasion or deportation."[9] This sets the stage for the comments inthe next verse where God again addresses God and his invading force.
Gog Goes Up
We see that theaction of verse 9 will take place when the conditions of verse 8 are all inplace. "Just when least expectedand without the slightest warning, the enemy will swoop down on the returnedexiles, as an unheralded storm."[10] The Hebrew verb "go up" is very commonand becomes idiomatic when used in a military context where one goes up tobattle or in reference to the land of Israel, one goes up, regardless of thedirection of one's movement.
A Cloudy Storm
A couple ofsimiles are used to describe how Gog's invasion will take place. The first one "will come like astorm." One Hebrew lexicon saidthat the use of "storm" in this passage "really means 'a storm that breaks outviolently and suddenly.'"[11] Thus, the Gog invasion of Israel willbe suddenly and unexpected like a thunderstorm that gathers quickly and thenunleashes its fury with an outburst that catches many unprepared.
The second similedescribes the extent and vastness of the size of the invading army. The Hebrew verb kassot is only used eleven times in the Hebrew Bible and has theconnotation of not just "to cover," but to cover some thing for the purpose ofconcealing it.[12] So we see that the Gog invading forceswill be so massive in number that their troops will cover the land socompletely that one will not be able to see the land upon which they move.
The final phraseof the verse says, "you and all your troops, and many peoples with you." "You" is a reference to Goghimself. Gog will be coming withall of his troops as described earlier in the chapter. Gog will not be alone, he will with himthe many different people groups as mentioned above as their alliance invadesGod's land of Israel. Rabbi Fischnotes that the same description is used in Jeremiah 4:13, which says, "Behold,he goes up like clouds, and his chariots like the whirlwind; His horses areswifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!" Fisch concludes that the Ezekiel passage is "a figure forthe strength and terrifying appearance of Gog's approaching armies."[13] "The land will be covered and smotheredby the vast multitude of Gog's followers, just as a cloud blankets a land belowit," says Feinberg. "Gog will seeto it that he has plenty of allies and enough mercenaries to carry through hissatanic scheme."[14] Israel may be caught off guard but notthe Lord God of Israel Who never sleeps nor slumbers. He is standing guard and will fight for Israel when thisgreat northern invasion suddenly breaks forth in history. After all, the Lord God of Israel isthe one who initiates these yet future events. Maranatha!
(ToBe Continued . . .)
ENDNOTES
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] (italics original) Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel:Hebrew Text & English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary (London: The Soncino Press, 1950), pp.254–55.
[2] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, TheHebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands:Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
[3] Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 254.
[4] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrewand English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London: Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
[5] Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition; and Koehler and Baumgartner,Hebrew Lexicon, electronicversion.
[6] From a search conducted by the computer program Accordance, version 7.4.2.
[7] G. Johannes Botterweck, & Helmer Ringgren,editors, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), p. 89.
[8] Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah:A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA: Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 117.
[9] Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
[10] Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
[11] Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic version.
[12] Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew Lexicon, electronic edition; and Koehler and Baumgartner,Hebrew Lexicon, electronicversion.
[13] Fisch, Ezekiel, p. 255.
[14] Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
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Ezekiel 38 & 39 (Part 12)
Dr. Thomas Ice
Aftermany days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the landthat is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from manynations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but itspeople were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all ofthem.
-Ezekiel38:8
Verse 8 is one ofthe longest verses in Ezekiel 38-39 and describes when this invasion of theland of Israel will take place. There are a total of seven descriptive phrases used in verse 8 to tellus when this event will occur. Wehave already examined the first three and have seen that the invasion will takeplace "after many days," "in the latter years," and when the land of Israel "isrestored from the sword." We mustkeep in mind that this event will unfold when all seven indicators are in placeat the same time.
Fulfilled In The Daysof Esther?
Preterist GaryDeMar proposes a bizarre interpretation of when the invasion of Gog would betake place. He contends that thebattle described in Ezekiel 38-39 has already been fulfilled through the eventsof Esther 9 in about 473 b.c. inthe days of Queen Esther of Persia.[1] DeMar states that the parallels betweenthe battles in Ezekiel 38-39 and Esther are "unmistakable."[2] There are a multitude of problems withsuch a view, the least of which is not the seven phrases provided in Ezekiel38:8. It is not the couple ofsimilarities that are determinative when comparing the prophecy with Esther butthe multitude of differences that render DeMar's view as impossible. The only possible motive for advocatingsuch a view appears to be DeMar's obsessive desire to avoid any future prophecyrelating to the nation of Israel. Such an obsession blinds him to the clear meaning of the text.
Here are a few ofthe more apparent and problematic inconsistencies.
Ezekiel 38-39 Esther9The land of Israel isinvaded (38:16) by multiple armies. The enemies fall on the mountains of Israel (39:4). Gog, the leader of the invasion, isburied in Israel (39:11).
The Jews bury the deadbodies over a period of seven months to cleanse the land of Israel (39:12).
The invaders aredestroyed by a massive earthquake in the land of Israel, infighting, plagues,and fire from heaven (38:19-22). God destroys the enemies supernaturally.
Invaders are from asfar west as ancient Put (modern Libya) (Ezek. 38:5) and as far north asMagog, the land of the Scythians.
God even sends fireupon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands (39:6).
Jews are attacked incities throughout the Persian empire (127 provinces, 9:30) by apparent gangsof people, not armies, and defend themselves (9:2). The enemies die throughout the Persian empire.
No need to cleanse theland because the dead bodies aren't in Israel.
Attackers are killedby the Jewish people themselves, assisted by local government leaders(9:3-5).
The Persian empire didnot include these areas. It onlyextended as far west as Cush (modern Sudan) (Esther 8:9) and a far north asthe bottom part of the Black and Caspian Seas.
There is nothing evenclose to this in Esther 9.
One importantquestion we might ask at this point is the following: If Ezekiel 38-39 wasliterally fulfilled in the events of Esther 9, why did this escape the noticeof everyone in Esther's day? Whyisn't there any mention in Esther of this great fulfillment of Ezekiel'sprophecy? The answer is quiteclear. Esther 9 did not fulfillEzekiel 38-39. In fact, animportant Jewish holiday developed out of the Esther event called Purim(9:20-32). This is a joyous annualholiday to celebrate God's deliverance from the hand of Israel's enemies. Purim's celebration includes the publicreading of the book of Esther, but no tradition has developed or even beenheard of in which the Jews read Ezekiel 38-39 in connection with thisobservance. If Ezekiel 38-39 hadbeen a fulfillment of Esther, then no doubt a tradition of reading that passagewould have arisen in conjunction with the celebration.
Further, whyaren't there any Jewish scholars down through history that have recognized thisfulfillment? The consensus ofJewish commentators has always seen the Gog prophecy as an end of days event. In fact, this battle is the focus oftheir view of end-times prophecy that will be fulfilled right before the comingof Messiah. Contemporary RabbiRafael Eisenberg summarizes Jewish tradition on the battle of Ezekiel's Gog asfollows:
Our prophets and sages haveforetold that prior to the arrival of the Messiah, the Wicked Empire, Rome(which as we have already shown, is modern Russia), will regain its formergreatness. In those pre-Messianicdays, Russia will expand over and conquer the entire globe, and her ruler, "whowill be as wicked as Haman," will arise and lead the nations of the world toJerusalem in order to exterminate Yisrael. . . . At that time, the overt miracles which will bring about thegreat retribution against Yisrael's enemies and the final destruction of theWicked Empire, will convince the world that God, alone, is the Judge and Rulerof the Universe.[3]
Another simplereason we can know that this invasion is still future is because nothing evenremotely similar to the events in Ezekiel 38-39 have ever occurred in thepast. Just think about it! When has Israel ever been invaded byall these nations listed in Ezekiel 38:1-6? Or when did God ever destroy an invading army like this withfire and brimstone from heaven, plagues, earthquakes, and infighting among theinvaders (Ezek. 38:19-22)?
The answer? Never. That's because Ezekiel is describing an invasion that isstill future even in our day. Nowwe will investigate the final four indicators of verse 8.
GatheredFrom Many Nations
Thefourth phrase says, "whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations tothe mountains of Israel." Thephrase "whose inhabitants have been gathered" is a rendering of the singleHebrew verb for "gather." Thisverb is the common word for collecting something like agricultural products atharvest time. "Gather" is used inthis passage as a pual[4]participle, which implies by ellipsis in this context that the ones gatheredare the "inhabitants" of the mountains of Israel. The implication of the pual participle in this context isthat God is the One who has gathered the inhabitants back to the land ofIsrael. From where has He gatheredthem?
Godhas gathered them from many nations. The word translated "nations" is simply the common Hebrew word am that is used almost 3,000 times[5]in the Old Testament and simply means "people, peoples, nation, or nations."[6] This gathering is not from just a fewnations, but said to be from "many" nations. "This cannot refer to the Babylonian captivity but toworldwide dispersion,"[7]notes Charles Feinberg. C. F. Keilagrees and says, "gathered out of many peoples, points also beyond theBabylonian captivity to the dispersion of Israel in all the world, which didnot take place till the second destruction of Jerusalem."[8] These returnees will come "to themountains of Israel." Jerusalem isa city set within the mountains of Israel. Thus, since 1967 the modern state of Israel has been incontrol of the old city known as Jerusalem.
AContinual Waste
Thefifth phrase says, "which had been a continual waste." What had been a continual waste? This phrase speaks of the land ofIsrael which had been a continual waste." The Hebrew noun for "waste" is used 50 times in the Old Testament,[9]primarily in the prophets to speak of the ruins of Jerusalem, Israel andsometimes Egypt as a result of God's judgment. The adverbial participle "continual" modifies the noun"waste," and speaks "of going on without interruption, continuously."[10] Rabbi Fisch says that "continual" "heresignifies 'for a long time,' meaning the period of the exile."[11] But which exile? Does it refer to the 70 year Babylonianexile or the almost 2,000 year global exile that much of modern Jewry is stillexperiencing? Feinberg says, "Thishad in view a period of time longer than that of the seventy year in Babylon."[12] Keil also notes that "continual" inthis text "denotes a much long devastation of the land than the Chaldeandevastation was."[13]
(ToBe Continued . . .)
ENDNOTES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A BiblicalConsideration of The Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), pp. 12-15.
[2] DeMar, End Times Fiction, p. 13.
[3] Rafael Eisenberg, A Matter of Return: APenetrating Analysis of Yisrael's Afflictions and Their Alternatives (Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1980), p. 155,as cited in Randall Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy: A Definitive Lookat Its Past, Present, and Future(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2005), p. 459. For an overview of Jewish beliefs about the Gog's invasionof Israel in Ezekiel 38-39 see Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy, pp. 458-61.
[4] The pual verb stem in Hebrew denotes an intensivepassive form of a verb.
[5] Based upon a search conducted by the computerprogram Accordance, version7.4.2.
[6] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, TheHebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands:Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
[7] Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
[8] C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on theOld Testament, trans. JamesMartin (Reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 164.
[9] Based upon a search conducted by the computerprogram Accordance, version7.4.2.
[10] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrewand English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London: Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
[11] Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text &English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary (London: The Soncino Press, 1950), p. 254.
[12] Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
[13] Keil, Ezekiel, p. 164.
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Aftermany days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the landthat is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from manynations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but itspeople were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all ofthem.
-Ezekiel38:8
Verse 8 is one ofthe longest verses in Ezekiel 38-39 and describes when this invasion of theland of Israel will take place. There are a total of seven descriptive phrases used in verse 8 to tellus when this event will occur. Wehave already examined the first three and have seen that the invasion will takeplace "after many days," "in the latter years," and when the land of Israel "isrestored from the sword." We mustkeep in mind that this event will unfold when all seven indicators are in placeat the same time.
Fulfilled In The Daysof Esther?
Preterist GaryDeMar proposes a bizarre interpretation of when the invasion of Gog would betake place. He contends that thebattle described in Ezekiel 38-39 has already been fulfilled through the eventsof Esther 9 in about 473 b.c. inthe days of Queen Esther of Persia.[1] DeMar states that the parallels betweenthe battles in Ezekiel 38-39 and Esther are "unmistakable."[2] There are a multitude of problems withsuch a view, the least of which is not the seven phrases provided in Ezekiel38:8. It is not the couple ofsimilarities that are determinative when comparing the prophecy with Esther butthe multitude of differences that render DeMar's view as impossible. The only possible motive for advocatingsuch a view appears to be DeMar's obsessive desire to avoid any future prophecyrelating to the nation of Israel. Such an obsession blinds him to the clear meaning of the text.
Here are a few ofthe more apparent and problematic inconsistencies.
Ezekiel 38-39 Esther9The land of Israel isinvaded (38:16) by multiple armies. The enemies fall on the mountains of Israel (39:4). Gog, the leader of the invasion, isburied in Israel (39:11).
The Jews bury the deadbodies over a period of seven months to cleanse the land of Israel (39:12).
The invaders aredestroyed by a massive earthquake in the land of Israel, infighting, plagues,and fire from heaven (38:19-22). God destroys the enemies supernaturally.
Invaders are from asfar west as ancient Put (modern Libya) (Ezek. 38:5) and as far north asMagog, the land of the Scythians.
God even sends fireupon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands (39:6).
Jews are attacked incities throughout the Persian empire (127 provinces, 9:30) by apparent gangsof people, not armies, and defend themselves (9:2). The enemies die throughout the Persian empire.
No need to cleanse theland because the dead bodies aren't in Israel.
Attackers are killedby the Jewish people themselves, assisted by local government leaders(9:3-5).
The Persian empire didnot include these areas. It onlyextended as far west as Cush (modern Sudan) (Esther 8:9) and a far north asthe bottom part of the Black and Caspian Seas.
There is nothing evenclose to this in Esther 9.
One importantquestion we might ask at this point is the following: If Ezekiel 38-39 wasliterally fulfilled in the events of Esther 9, why did this escape the noticeof everyone in Esther's day? Whyisn't there any mention in Esther of this great fulfillment of Ezekiel'sprophecy? The answer is quiteclear. Esther 9 did not fulfillEzekiel 38-39. In fact, animportant Jewish holiday developed out of the Esther event called Purim(9:20-32). This is a joyous annualholiday to celebrate God's deliverance from the hand of Israel's enemies. Purim's celebration includes the publicreading of the book of Esther, but no tradition has developed or even beenheard of in which the Jews read Ezekiel 38-39 in connection with thisobservance. If Ezekiel 38-39 hadbeen a fulfillment of Esther, then no doubt a tradition of reading that passagewould have arisen in conjunction with the celebration.
Further, whyaren't there any Jewish scholars down through history that have recognized thisfulfillment? The consensus ofJewish commentators has always seen the Gog prophecy as an end of days event. In fact, this battle is the focus oftheir view of end-times prophecy that will be fulfilled right before the comingof Messiah. Contemporary RabbiRafael Eisenberg summarizes Jewish tradition on the battle of Ezekiel's Gog asfollows:
Our prophets and sages haveforetold that prior to the arrival of the Messiah, the Wicked Empire, Rome(which as we have already shown, is modern Russia), will regain its formergreatness. In those pre-Messianicdays, Russia will expand over and conquer the entire globe, and her ruler, "whowill be as wicked as Haman," will arise and lead the nations of the world toJerusalem in order to exterminate Yisrael. . . . At that time, the overt miracles which will bring about thegreat retribution against Yisrael's enemies and the final destruction of theWicked Empire, will convince the world that God, alone, is the Judge and Rulerof the Universe.[3]
Another simplereason we can know that this invasion is still future is because nothing evenremotely similar to the events in Ezekiel 38-39 have ever occurred in thepast. Just think about it! When has Israel ever been invaded byall these nations listed in Ezekiel 38:1-6? Or when did God ever destroy an invading army like this withfire and brimstone from heaven, plagues, earthquakes, and infighting among theinvaders (Ezek. 38:19-22)?
The answer? Never. That's because Ezekiel is describing an invasion that isstill future even in our day. Nowwe will investigate the final four indicators of verse 8.
GatheredFrom Many Nations
Thefourth phrase says, "whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations tothe mountains of Israel." Thephrase "whose inhabitants have been gathered" is a rendering of the singleHebrew verb for "gather." Thisverb is the common word for collecting something like agricultural products atharvest time. "Gather" is used inthis passage as a pual[4]participle, which implies by ellipsis in this context that the ones gatheredare the "inhabitants" of the mountains of Israel. The implication of the pual participle in this context isthat God is the One who has gathered the inhabitants back to the land ofIsrael. From where has He gatheredthem?
Godhas gathered them from many nations. The word translated "nations" is simply the common Hebrew word am that is used almost 3,000 times[5]in the Old Testament and simply means "people, peoples, nation, or nations."[6] This gathering is not from just a fewnations, but said to be from "many" nations. "This cannot refer to the Babylonian captivity but toworldwide dispersion,"[7]notes Charles Feinberg. C. F. Keilagrees and says, "gathered out of many peoples, points also beyond theBabylonian captivity to the dispersion of Israel in all the world, which didnot take place till the second destruction of Jerusalem."[8] These returnees will come "to themountains of Israel." Jerusalem isa city set within the mountains of Israel. Thus, since 1967 the modern state of Israel has been incontrol of the old city known as Jerusalem.
AContinual Waste
Thefifth phrase says, "which had been a continual waste." What had been a continual waste? This phrase speaks of the land ofIsrael which had been a continual waste." The Hebrew noun for "waste" is used 50 times in the Old Testament,[9]primarily in the prophets to speak of the ruins of Jerusalem, Israel andsometimes Egypt as a result of God's judgment. The adverbial participle "continual" modifies the noun"waste," and speaks "of going on without interruption, continuously."[10] Rabbi Fisch says that "continual" "heresignifies 'for a long time,' meaning the period of the exile."[11] But which exile? Does it refer to the 70 year Babylonianexile or the almost 2,000 year global exile that much of modern Jewry is stillexperiencing? Feinberg says, "Thishad in view a period of time longer than that of the seventy year in Babylon."[12] Keil also notes that "continual" inthis text "denotes a much long devastation of the land than the Chaldeandevastation was."[13]
(ToBe Continued . . .)
ENDNOTES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A BiblicalConsideration of The Left Behind Theology (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001), pp. 12-15.
[2] DeMar, End Times Fiction, p. 13.
[3] Rafael Eisenberg, A Matter of Return: APenetrating Analysis of Yisrael's Afflictions and Their Alternatives (Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1980), p. 155,as cited in Randall Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy: A Definitive Lookat Its Past, Present, and Future(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2005), p. 459. For an overview of Jewish beliefs about the Gog's invasionof Israel in Ezekiel 38-39 see Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy, pp. 458-61.
[4] The pual verb stem in Hebrew denotes an intensivepassive form of a verb.
[5] Based upon a search conducted by the computerprogram Accordance, version7.4.2.
[6] Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, TheHebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic version (Leiden, The Netherlands:Koninklijke Brill, 2000).
[7] Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 222.
[8] C. F. Keil, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on theOld Testament, trans. JamesMartin (Reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), p. 164.
[9] Based upon a search conducted by the computerprogram Accordance, version7.4.2.
[10] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs, Hebrewand English Lexicon of the Old Testament (London: Oxford, 1907), electronic edition.
[11] Rabbi Dr. S. Fisch, Ezekiel: Hebrew Text &English Translation With An Introduction and Commentary (London: The Soncino Press, 1950), p. 254.
[12] Feinberg, Ezekiel, p. 222.
[13] Keil, Ezekiel, p. 164.
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