34 A Jewish Perspective of the War of Gog and Magog. At the conclusion of the “Chevlei Moshiach” (birth pangs of the Messiah) process there will be a great battle — the war of Gog and Magog. Armageddon = War of Gog and Magog The battle will take place at Mount Meggido. Ezekiel 38:18-20 - King Gog leads the nation Magog; who will gather the nations to rise up in war against Israel, in an attempt to destroy them. - HaShem will perform open miracles and wonders against those nations; to expose His strength, destroying them in a miraculous manner (Ezek. 38:22; 39:9). There are differing opinions as to when the battle will take place, either before or after the coming of Moshiach. Isaiah 43:18, 19 The trouble and grief of the war of Gog and Magog will surpass all the troubles we have witnessed in the past. - Former things ~ subjugation by the gentile nations. - Things of old — Exodus from Egypt. - New thing — War of Gog and Magog Psalm 118:11-14 ‘The war of Gog and Magog will take place in three stages i) The nations will surround Israel; but Israel will be victorious, The nation will try again; but once again Israel will be victorious. i) The third attempt will occur after Israel returns from exile. Chofetz Chaim (Israel Meir Kagan 1838-1933) also believed that the war of Gog and Magog will be split into three parts: i) World War I ii) The second part will be in another twenty-five to thirty years. (Indeed, World War II began exactly 25 years after the outbreak of World War I) iii) After that will be the third and final war, and then the Final Redemption. Ray Eliyahu of Vilna (1720-1797), believed that the war of Gog and Magog will last only twelve minutes. One third of the world will be destroyed, one third will be injured, and one third will be spared. ‘The Book of Daniel Study Notes ~ Written by: Pastor Andrew Ketel - © 2014 All Rights Reserved35 Psalm 18:10 Gog (12) and Magog (58) have a gematria (numeric value) of seventy which corresponds to the 70 nations (Midrash Tanchuma, Korach 12). This seems to imply that Gog will rule over 70 nations, and all of them will {join together against Israel (Ps, 118:10). On this great day [of redemption}, however, they will be saved from all of their ‘enemies for all times = therefore, it will be called Hashana Rabba, the great salvation. Moshiach will lead Israel in this war, against all the nations on the earth. Before this battle a king whose dictates are as harsh as those of Haman will cause Israel to repent and return to goodness (‘Sanhedrin 97b) Tt was to teach us our role at this time, which is “to depend on our Father in Heaven.” ‘The purpose of the war of Gog and Magog is two-fold: i) to make Israel realize her total dependence upon Adonai. ii) To convince the gentiles of Adonai’s existence and the truth that the Jewish people are His chosen nation (Zech. 14:1-9; Ezek. 38:14-16), Daniel 11:40 The war of Gog and Magog will begin with strife between the nation of Edom (Rome; the nations that believe in Christianity) ~ and the descendants of Yishmoel (the nations that accepted the Islamic religion). ‘These are the words of the Malbim (Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weiser 1809-1879) (Zecharya 12:2): “For in the End Days, the army of Gog and Magog, the nations of Edom, will gather together to take Jerusalem out of the hands of the Yishmoelim, and they will fight against them and they will kill each other.” The battle will take place around the time of the feast of Sukkot. In gematria the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letters of the words Migdalei HaTeomim (The Twin Towers) adds up to 589. Milchemes Gog and Magog (War of Gog and Magog) also adds up to 589 in gematria, with the additions of one to include the total word. The collapse of the Twin Towers stirred up the ‘The Book of Daniel Study Notes — Written by: Pastor Andrew Ketel -© 2014 All Rights Reserved36 struggle between Yishmoel and Edom on Hashana Rabbah on the Holiday of Sukkos, the day on which our tradition (Tur Arizal) says the war of Gog and Magog will begin. ‘The word Gog comes from the word gag/roof, denoting power, self-confidence, and protection that is available from within, without the need to cast eyes heavenward, ‘The war of Gog and Magog will be one of brazen rebellion. This rebellion will be based on man’s natural tendency for self-gratification and his abundant arrogance (Is. 2:17). Ezekiel 38:23 One of the final stages before the coming of Moshiach will be the war of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38:1-10, 15-16, 21-23) Objective of the war, then, is “so that the nations will know Adonai,” (Similar to the ten plagues in Egypt — Ex. 5:2; 7:5), Ezekiel 39:9-12 The nature of the war of Gog maybe nuclear (Zechariah 14:2, 3-6, 12-13, 16, 17). Before the war of Gog and Magog a prophet will arise to set Israel straight and prepare their hearts (repentance). At the End of Days, the prophet Eliyahu will reveal himself to the Jewish people before the war of Gog and Magog. At the end of that war, Moshiach will reveal himself. He is the one who will build the Temple and gather in the castaways of Israel. “The footsteps of Moshiach” is the time preceding the coming of Moshiach (Is 52:7). In the period directly preceding the messianic era, “insolence will increase.” Disrespect, rudeness, and brazenness will become prominent, pervasive features of society. jachi 3:23 - 24 Eliyahu HaNavi (the prophet) will come to the Jewish people before the war; rior to Moshiach’s arrival. ‘The Book of Daniel Study Notes — Wri by: Pastor Andrew Ketel - © 2014 All Rights Reserved37 Reasons for Eliyahu’s HaNavi coming: i) He will urge the Jewish nation to repent. ii) He will begin the process of bring peace to the world i) He will clarify halakhic uncertainties. iv) He will anoint the Moshiach as king, Moshiach ben Yosef or/and Moshiach ben David Moshiach ben Yosef will lead the Jewish nation in the wars that accompany the birth pangs of the Moshiach, including the War of Gog and Magog. it is an accepted tradition among the [Jewish] nation that Moshiach ben Yosef will precede Moshiach ben David Moshiach ben Yosef task is ... solely to fight the wars of God and take vengeance ‘on their oppressors (Abarbanel, Yeshuos Mechicho 1:4). ‘The sages explain that the descendants of Esav, meaning Rome and its cultural descendants, in whose exile we now live, will be defeated only by a descendant of Yosef. Moshiach ben David will assume the task of our spiritual redemption. ‘The era of Moshiach ben Yosef will be a time of great peril and persecution for the Jewish nation, culminating in the death of Moshiach ben Yosef during the battle against Gog and Magog. “They will look toward Me because of those whom they have stabbed; they will mourn him as one morns an only child” (Zechariah 12:10). Why is there aeulogy? There was a disagreement between Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis. One said [the prophecy refers to the eulogy that will take place] upon Moshiach ben Yosef's death. (Sukkah 52a) They also said that the catalyst for this will be the rise of a man who is a descendant of Yosef in Har HaGalil. He will gather the remnants of the [Jewish] nation and turn [his attention] to the Holy Temple, since Edom has taken hold of ut. He will live there for a while, and afterward a man named Armelius will fight them and conquer the city, kill and take captives, and the ‘man from Yosef will be slain. The nation will be beset by great troubles at that time, the harshest of which will be the breakdown of relations between the Jewish people and all the nations [to the point that the nations] will banish them to the desert... (Rav Sa'adyah Gaon (882-941), Emunos V'Deos 8:5) ‘The Book of Danie! Study Notes — Written by: Pastor Andrew Ketel -© 2014 All Rights Reserved38 A Brief Overall Summary: It is somewhat difficult to present a coherent summary of the opinions that explain details of the war... but we can present several fact that reflect the majority opinion in this matter. i) The war of Gog and Magog will occur either after or during the ingathering of the exiles ii) Gog and Magog is a collective of nations who will attack Eretz Yisrael with the intention of looting and destroying the Jewish people i) Sometime before the war Eretz Yisrael will be conquered by Edom, the spiritual and cultural descendants of Rome. The Arab nations, Gog and Magog among them, will then attempt to wrestle control of Eretz Yisrael from Edom, and war will ensue. liography: Brand, Hershel. On Eagles’ Wings: Moshiach, Redemption and the World to Come, Southfield, MI: Targum Press, Ine., 2002. Mandelbaum, Alexander Aryeh. Redemption Unfolding: The Last Exile, the Final Redemption and Our Role in These Fateful Times. Jerusalem, Israel: Feldheim Publishers, 2005. Weitzman, Rabbi Yechiel. Zhe /shmaelite Exile. Jerusalem, Israel: Jerusalem Publications, 2006. ‘The Book of Daniel Study Notes ~ Written by: Pastor Andrew Ketel - © 2014 All Rights Reserved