Lesson 2: Identifying the Nations – Gog and Magog

Lesson 2 Overview

Ezekiel 38: A Study of Gog and Magog with Dr. Andy Woods

This lesson continues the “who” question, identifying the remaining nations in the coalition that Ezekiel says will invade Israel in the last days. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.

Review: Magog and Rosh

Dr. Woods recaps the first two names. Magog is Central Asia, and Rosh is Russia. He reinforces the case for Rosh being Russia three ways: it is a proper name (a place, not a title), the scholar Gesenius identified it as Russia back in 1842, and the prophecy repeatedly describes the invasion coming from the “remote parts of the north” (Ezekiel 38:6, 38:15, and 39:2). Since Israel is the center of the world from God’s perspective (Ezekiel 5:5 calls it the navel of the earth), going due north from Israel leads to Russia.

Meshech and Tubal: Turkey, Not Russia

The old Scofield Study Bible identifies Meshech as Moscow and Tubal as the Siberian city of Tobolsk, making them Russia. Dr. Woods disagrees. He points to Ezekiel 27:13, which shows Tyre (modern Lebanon) in a trading relationship with Meshech and Tubal, which would be implausible if they were as far away as Russia. Instead, Herodotus places them southeast of the Black Sea, BDB places Meshech there in the Persian era, and Josephus identifies Meshech with Cappadocia (the region Peter addressed in 1 Peter 1:1). All of these point to modern-day Turkey.

Persia: Iran

Dr. Woods calls Persia the easiest name to identify because it has a clear historical “paper trail.” Persia was the chest and arms of silver in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) and the bear of Daniel 7, and it conquered Babylon in 539 BC (Daniel 5). At that time Persia was one of the “good guys,” releasing Israel to return home in three waves (Ezra 1 to 6, Ezra 7 to 10, and Nehemiah). God even named the Persian king Cyrus roughly 150 to 200 years in advance (Isaiah 44:28 to 45:1). Persia was renamed Iran in 1935, and after the 1979 revolution toppled the Shah it became the Islamic Republic of Iran. So Ezekiel’s Persia is modern Iran. Dr. Woods also notes that the Bible describes a “prince of Persia,” an evil spirit over the nation (Daniel 10:13 and 20), while clarifying that he is describing the government and ideology, not the Iranian people.

Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah

Continuing the list, Dr. Woods identifies:

  • Cush as Sudan. Josephus and many translations render it “Ethiopia,” but he notes (citing Ryrie and the Wycliffe encyclopedia) that ancient Cush covered more than modern Ethiopia and corresponds to modern-day Sudan.
  • Put as Libya, following BDB and Josephus.
  • Gomer as Galatia, which Josephus locates in modern-day Turkey.
  • Beth-togarmah (meaning “house of Togarmah”) as Phrygia, which Josephus and Paul’s travels in Acts 16:6 place in modern-day Turkey.

He highlights that four of Ezekiel’s names (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah) all point to Turkey, and argues that this repetition shows Turkey is highly significant in the prophecy.

The Protesters: Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish

The final names in Ezekiel 38:13 are not attacking nations but nations that object without acting. Dr. Woods identifies Sheba and Dedan as Saudi Arabia (with some placing Dedan in nearby Yemen), and Tarshish, the place Jonah fled to, as Spain, following Ryrie, BDB, and Gesenius. Citing prophecy teacher Mark Hitchcock on the phrase “young lions,” he suggests Tarshish likely represents a broader group of Western powers, probably including Europe. These nations lodge only a weak protest against the invasion rather than opposing it militarily.

The Coalition So Far

Putting it together, the invading coalition includes Russia (Rosh), Central Asia (Magog), Turkey (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah), Iran (Persia), Sudan (Cush), and Libya (Put). Saudi Arabia (Sheba and Dedan) and the Western powers (Tarshish) only voice a protest.