Ezekiel 38:1

 Ezekiel 38:1 says, And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 

Verse two adds, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,  Ezekiel was once more to prophesy against one of the enemies of Israel.  Matthew Henry says this was a powerful enemy of the people of Israel, even if history of Israel doesn’t reach until this time.  It was after they returned from captivity and after God made the Messianic promises of peace and prosperity for them but was to let them know that this was not a promise for that time.  This likely refers to the latter days shortly before the return of Jesus Christ.  As followers of Christ, we are promised everlasting spiritual peace with God, but this does not mean that we will always have peace in this lifetime.  The opposite may be true.  

Verse three continues, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:  God’s prophesy to these enemies of Israel, His chosen people, was that He was against them, which meant that they would never be victorious forever.  No matter what enemies we may face before the return of Jesus Christ, they will never be victorious forever.  God has already assured us the victory.  

Verse four states, And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: God said that He was going to completely defeat this enemy.  God gave the people of Israel assurance of victory even before they knew who the enemy was, just as He will ultimately defeat all the enemies of His people one day.   We just have to live by faith in this promise. 

Verse five adds, Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:  God then specified some of the other nations that were going to join with this enemy of Israel in an attempt to destroy her.  There will be many nations aligned against God’s people today, but they will never have the ultimate victory.   

Verse six continues, Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.  This is just a continuation of the list of people who would be at war with God’s people.  We should be prepared for many nations who do not believe in God to be at war with us as Christians today, but we should also live by faith in knowing that we have the everlasting victory spiritually, no matter what may happen in this lifetime.   

Verse seven concludes, Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.  God warned the people of Israel, His chosen people who lived by their covenant relationship with Him, to be prepared for this coming battle.  As followers of Christ, we should always be prepared for a spiritual battle against the world today.