End-Time Kings

There are multiple prophecies regarding the final kings on the earth before Armageddon:

Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38:2-6)

Fifth kingdom (Daniel 2:40-45)

King of the North (Daniel 11:44, 45)

Surrounding nations (Joel 3:11, 12)

unidentified nations (Amos 9:9-15)

All the nations (Zechariah 14:1-21)

Seventh king (Revelation 17:10-17)

Since all of those prophecies are about the same event our understanding of each prophecy must harmonize with each of the others.

Though Ezekiel alone names Gog and his land of Magog, Ezekiel also tells us that other prophets have also prophesied about that final battle led by Gog of Magog.

(Ezekiel 38:17) “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Are you (Gog) not the same one I spoke about in the former days through my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for many years that you would be brought against them?’

Here we will look at all the details of each of these prophecies and compare them to show how they correlate with each other, giving us a much more detailed look at what is to come than any individual prophet gave.

First let's look at who those end-time kings are prophesied to attack.

Who is attacked?

[Ezekiel 38:8-39:29] “‘“You will be given attention after many days. In the final part of the years you will invade the land whose people have been restored from the ravages of the sword, collected together out of many peoples onto the mountains of Israel, which had long been lying devastated. The inhabitants of this land were restored from the peoples, and all of them dwell in security. ⁹ You will come against them like a storm, and you will cover the land like clouds, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”’

¹⁰ “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘In that day thoughts will come into your heart, and you will devise an evil plan. ¹¹ You will say: “I will invade the land of unprotected settlements. I will come against those living in security, without disturbance, all of them living in settlements unprotected by walls, bars, or gates.” ¹² It will be to take much spoil and plunder, to attack the devastated places that are now inhabited and a people regathered from the nations, who are accumulating wealth and property, those who are living in the center of the earth.

¹³ “‘Sheʹba and Deʹdan, the merchants of Tarʹshish and all its warriors will say to you: “Are you invading to get much spoil and plunder? Have you assembled your armies to carry off silver and gold, to take wealth and property, to seize a very great spoil?”’

¹⁴ “So prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “On that day when my people Israel are dwelling in security, will you not know it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place, from the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly, a vast army. ¹⁶ Like clouds covering the land, you will come against my people Israel. In the final part of the days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I sanctify myself through you before their eyes, O Gog.”’

¹⁷ “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Are you not the same one I spoke about in the former days through my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for many years that you would be brought against them?’

¹⁸ “‘On that day, the day when Gog invades the land of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘my great rage will flare up. ¹⁹ In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, I will speak; and in that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ Because of me the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts of the field, all the reptiles that creep on the ground, and all humans on the surface of the earth will tremble, and the mountains will be thrown down, and the cliffs will fall, and every wall will collapse to the ground.’

²¹ “‘I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘Every man’s sword will be against his own brother. ²² I will bring my judgment against him with pestilence and bloodshed; and I will rain down a torrential downpour and hailstones and fire and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many peoples with him. ²³ And I will certainly magnify myself and sanctify myself and make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’

39 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and tell him, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “I am against you, Gog, head chieftain of Meʹshech and Tuʹbal. ² I will turn you around and lead you and make you come up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you in upon the mountains of Israel. ³ I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. ⁴ On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the peoples who will be with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of birds of prey and the wild beasts of the field.”’

⁵ “‘You will fall on the open field, for I myself have spoken,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

⁶ “‘And I will send fire against Maʹgog and against those who are inhabiting the islands in security, and they will have to know that I am Jehovah. ⁷ I will make my holy name known among my people Israel, and I will not allow my holy name to be profaned any longer; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.’

⁸ “‘Yes, this is coming, and it will be done,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘This is the day I have spoken about. ⁹ The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons—the bucklers and shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and lances. And they will use them to light fires for seven years. ¹⁰ They will not need to take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests because they will use the weapons to light fires.’

“‘They will take spoil from those who despoiled them and plunder from those who had been plundering them,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹¹ “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the sea, and it will block the path of those passing through. That is where they will bury Gog and all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹² The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ All the people of the land will work at burying them, and this will bring them fame in the day that I glorify myself,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

¹⁴ “‘Men will be assigned to pass through the land constantly and bury the bodies left remaining on the surface of the earth, in order to cleanse it. They will continue the search for seven months. ¹⁵ When those who pass through the land see a human bone, they will set up a marker beside it. Then those assigned to do the burying will bury it in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. ¹⁶ And there will also be a city there named Ha·moʹnah. And they will cleanse the land.’

¹⁷ “As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Say to every sort of bird and to all the wild beasts of the field, “Gather yourselves together and come. Gather all around my sacrifice that I am preparing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. You will eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You will eat the flesh of mighty ones and drink the blood of the chieftains of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Baʹshan. ¹⁹ You will gorge yourselves on fat and drink blood until you are drunk from the sacrifice that I prepare for you.”’

²⁰ “‘At my table you will be filled up with horses and charioteers, mighty ones and all sorts of warriors,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

²¹ “‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I have executed and the power that I have demonstrated among them. ²² From that day on the house of Israel will have to know that I am Jehovah their God. ²³ And the nations will have to know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their own error, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid my face from them.’

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will restore the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will zealously defend my holy name. ²⁶ After they have been humiliated for all their unfaithfulness toward me, they will dwell securely on their land, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the peoples and collect them together from the lands of their enemies, I will also sanctify myself among them before the eyes of many nations.’

²⁸ “‘They will have to know that I am Jehovah their God when I send them into exile among the nations and then gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. ²⁹ I will not hide my face from them any longer, for I will pour out my spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

(Joel 2:1-3:21)

2 “Blow a horn in Zion!

Shout a war cry in my holy mountain.

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

For the day of Jehovah is coming! It is near!

 ⁹ Into the city they rush, on the wall they run.

Onto the houses they climb, through the windows they enter like a thief.

¹⁵ Blow a horn in Zion!

Proclaim a fast; call for a solemn assembly.

²³ You sons of Zion, be joyful and rejoice in Jehovah your God;

For he will give you the autumn rain in the right amount,

And he will send upon you a downpour,

The autumn rain and the spring rain, as before.

³² And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved;

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, just as Jehovah has said,

The survivors whom Jehovah calls.”

3 “For look! in those days and in that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

 ² I will also gather together all the nations

And bring them down to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat.

I will enter into judgment with them there

In behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel,

For they scattered them among the nations,

And they divided up my land among themselves.

 ⁶ And the people of Judah and Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks,

In order to remove them far from their territory;

 ⁷ Here I am rousing them to come from the place where you sold them,

And I will bring your repayment on your heads.

 ⁸ I will sell your sons and daughters into the hand of the people of Judah,

And they will sell them to the men of Sheʹba, to a nation far away;

For Jehovah himself has spoken it.

¹² “Let the nations be roused and come up to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat;

For there I will sit in order to judge all the surrounding nations.

¹⁶ And Jehovah will roar out of Zion,

Out of Jerusalem he will raise his voice.

And heaven and earth will rock;

But Jehovah will be a refuge for his people,

A fortress for the people of Israel.

¹⁷ And you will have to know that I am Jehovah your God, residing in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will become a holy place,

And strangers will pass through her no more.

¹⁸ In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,

The hills will flow with milk,

And the streams of Judah will all flow with water.

Out of the house of Jehovah a spring will flow,

And it will irrigate the Valley of the Acacia Trees.

¹⁹ But Egypt will become desolate,

And Eʹdom will be a desolate wilderness,

Because of the violence done to the people of Judah,

In whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰ But Judah will always be inhabited,

And Jerusalem to generation after generation.

²¹ I will consider innocent their blood that I had not considered innocent;

And Jehovah will reside in Zion.”

(Amos 9:9) ‘For look! I am giving the command, And I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, Just as one shakes a sieve, And not a pebble falls to the ground.

(Zechariah 14:1-21) “Look! The day is coming, a day belonging to Jehovah, when the spoil from you will be divided in your midst. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for the war; and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women raped. And half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining ones of the people will not be cut off from the city.

³ “Jehovah will go out and war against those nations as when he fights in the day of a battle. ⁴ In that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half, from east to west, forming a very great valley; and half of the mountain will move to the north, and half of it to the south. ⁵ You will flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains will extend all the way to Aʹzel. You will have to flee, just as you fled because of the earthquake in the days of King Uz·ziʹah of Judah. And Jehovah my God will come, and all the holy ones will be with him.

⁶ “In that day there will be no precious light—things will be congealed. ⁷ And it will become one day that is known as belonging to Jehovah. It will not be day, nor will it be night; and at evening time there will be light. ⁸ In that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea. It will happen in summer and in winter. ⁹ And Jehovah will be King over all the earth. In that day Jehovah will be one, and his name one.

¹⁰ “The whole land will become like the Arʹa·bah, from Geʹba to Rimʹmon south of Jerusalem; and she will rise and be inhabited in her place, from the Gate of Benjamin all the way to the site of the First Gate, all the way to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Ha·nanʹel all the way to the winepresses of the king. ¹¹ And people will inhabit her; and there will never again be a curse of destruction, and Jerusalem will be inhabited in security.

¹² “And this is the scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples who wage war against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot away while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will rot away in their mouths.

¹³ “In that day confusion from Jehovah will be widespread among them; and each one will grab hold of the hand of his companion, and his hand will come against the hand of his companion. ¹⁴ Judah will also be involved in the war at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in vast quantity.

¹⁵ “And a scourge like that scourge will also come against the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and all the livestock that are in those camps.

¹⁶ “Everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. ¹⁷ But if anyone among the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, no rain will fall on them. ¹⁸ And if the family of Egypt does not come up and does not come in, they will have no rain. Instead, they will have the scourge with which Jehovah scourges the nations that do not come up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment for the sin of Egypt and the sin of all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the Festival of Booths.

²⁰ “In that day the words ‘Holiness belongs to Jehovah!’ will be written on the bells of the horses. And the cooking pots in the house of Jehovah will be like the bowls before the altar. ²¹ And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy and will belong to Jehovah of armies, and all those who are sacrificing will come in and use some of them for boiling. In that day there will no longer be a Caʹnaan·ite in the house of Jehovah of armies.”

Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, and Zechariah all tell us that it is Jerusalem, "the people of Israel", who are attacked. Is Jerusalem and Israel symbolic of something or someone else?

[it-2 Jerusalem p. 49] It can thus be seen that “Jerusalem” is used in a multiple sense, and the context must in each case be considered to gain correct understanding.

So what does the context tell us?

[Ezekiel 39:21-29] “‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I have executed and the power that I have demonstrated among them. ²² From that day on the house of Israel will have to know that I am Jehovah their God. ²³ And the nations will have to know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their own error, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid my face from them.’

²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will restore the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will zealously defend my holy name. ²⁶ After they have been humiliated for all their unfaithfulness toward me, they will dwell securely on their land, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the peoples and collect them together from the lands of their enemies, I will also sanctify myself among them before the eyes of many nations.’

²⁸ “‘They will have to know that I am Jehovah their God when I send them into exile among the nations and then gather them back to their land, not leaving any of them behind. ²⁹ I will not hide my face from them any longer, for I will pour out my spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

(Joel 2:12-3:21)

2 ¹² “Yet even now,” declares Jehovah, “return to me with all your hearts,

With fasting and weeping and wailing.

¹³ Rip apart your hearts, and not your garments,

And return to Jehovah your God,

For he is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in loyal love,

And he will reconsider the calamity.

3 “For look! in those days and in that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

 ² I will also gather together all the nations

And bring them down to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat.

I will enter into judgment with them there

In behalf of my people and my inheritance Israel,

For they scattered them among the nations,

And they divided up my land among themselves.

 ⁶ And the people of Judah and Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks,

In order to remove them far from their territory;

¹⁷ And you will have to know that I am Jehovah your God, residing in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will become a holy place,

And strangers will pass through her no more.

²¹ I will consider innocent their blood that I had not considered innocent;

And Jehovah will reside in Zion.”

(Amos 9:9-15) ‘For look! I am giving the command, And I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, Just as one shakes a sieve, And not a pebble falls to the ground. ¹⁰ They will die by the sword, all the sinners of my people, Those who are saying, “The calamity will not come near us or reach us.”’ ¹¹ ‘In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, I will repair the breaches, And I will restore its ruins; I will rebuild it as in the days of long ago, ¹² So that they may take possession of what is remaining of Eʹdom, And all the nations on whom my name has been called,’ declares Jehovah, who is doing this. ¹³ ‘Look! The days are coming,’ declares Jehovah, ‘When the plowman will overtake the harvester, And the treader of grapes, the one carrying seed; And the mountains will drip with sweet wine, And all the hills will flow with it. ¹⁴ I will gather back the captives of my people Israel, And they will rebuild the desolated cities and inhabit them; They will plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.’ ¹⁵ ‘I will plant them on their land, And they will never again be uprooted From their land that I have given them,’ says Jehovah your God.”

The context in the end-time prophecies describes the Israelites as unfaithful, unclean, committed transgressions, were put to shame, profaned Jehovah's name, and were removed from their homeland and scattered among the nations. Their blood is not considered innocent by Jehovah and He will have to make His holy name known to them. But if they return to Jehovah and show regret for their sinful ways and call on the name of Jehovah they will survive that day and He "will consider innocent their blood that [He] had not considered innocent". All of that describes Israel today.

Why are the people who have committed such sins, and who also rejected and nailed His Son to the stake, saved by Jehovah?

Why saved by Jehovah?

[w12 8/15 p. 8 par. 6] Help us, O Jehovah our God, for we are relying on you, and in your name we have come against this crowd. O Jehovah, you are our God. Do not let mortal man prevail against you.” (2 Chron. 14:11) That was like saying: ‘The Ethiopian invasion is an attack on you, Jehovah. Do not allow your name to be dishonored by permitting weak humans to overthrow those who bear your name.’

[it-2 467 par. 4] Israel’s failure as God’s name people to live up to his righteous commands constituted a profanation or defilement of God’s name. (Eze 43:8; Am 2:7) Since the Israelites’ unfaithfulness resulted in God’s punishing them, this also gave opportunity for his name to be spoken of disrespectfully by other nations. (Compare Ps 74:10, 18; Isa 52:5.) Failing to recognize that the chastisement came from Jehovah, these nations wrongly attributed the calamities that befell Israel to the inability of Jehovah to protect his people. To clear his name of such reproach, Jehovah acted for the sake of his name and restored a remnant of Israel to their land.—Eze 36:22-24.

The world in general thinks Israel is God's land and the Jews His people. It is referred to as the "Holy Land", and people commonly think of the Jews as "God's chosen people". If Israel was destroyed people would think that the God of the Jews, the God of the Bible, is a false or powerless God. If God is to "sanctify" His name in the eyes of the world He must save those whom the world think are His people.

If Israel and the Jews were attacked and destroyed the world would "know" that the God of the Jews (the God of the Bible) has failed them and is weak, or is no God at all.

I think that today most people don't even "know" that Jehovah is the name of God. To most people Jehovah is the name associated with "that cult" Jehovah's Witnesses. And as for those Jews who may know that Jehovah is God's name (though they refrain from using it), they don't "know" Him as the Father of Jesus and the God of true Christianity.

The world, and Israel, will be made to know what and who Jehovah really is, even if they already know His name.

(Ezekiel 20:9) But I acted for the sake of my name so that it would not be profaned before the nations among whom they were living. For I made myself known to them before these nations when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.

(Ezekiel 20:14) I acted for the sake of my own name so that it would not be profaned before the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.

(Ezekiel 20:41) Because of the pleasing aroma, I will take pleasure in you when I bring you out from the peoples and collect you together from the lands to which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified among you before the eyes of the nations.’

(Ezekiel 38:16) Like clouds covering the land, you will come against my people Israel. In the final part of the days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I sanctify myself through you before their eyes, O Gog.”’

(Ezekiel 36:22, 23) “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Not for your sakes am I acting, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you have gone.”’ 23 ‘I will certainly sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you profaned among them; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘when I am sanctified among you before their eyes.

(Ezekiel 38:23) And I will certainly magnify myself and sanctify myself and make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’

(Ezekiel 39:6, 7) “‘And I will send fire against Maʹgog and against those who are inhabiting the islands in security, and they will have to know that I am Jehovah. ⁷ I will make my holy name known among my people Israel, and I will not allow my holy name to be profaned any longer; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.’

(Ezekiel 39:13) All the people of the land will work at burying them, and this will bring them fame in the day that I glorify myself,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

(Ezekiel 39:21-27) “‘I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I have executed and the power that I have demonstrated among them. ²² From that day on the house of Israel will have to know that I am Jehovah their God. ²³ And the nations will have to know that the house of Israel went into exile because of their own error, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ²⁴ I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and I hid my face from them.’ ²⁵ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will restore the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will zealously defend my holy name. ²⁶ After they have been humiliated for all their unfaithfulness toward me, they will dwell securely on their land, with no one to make them afraid. ²⁷ When I bring them back from the peoples and collect them together from the lands of their enemies, I will also sanctify myself among them before the eyes of many nations.’

(Joel 2:17)  Between the porch and the altar Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep and say: ‘Do feel pity, O Jehovah, for your people; Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, Letting the nations rule over them. Why should the peoples say, “Where is their God?”’

(Joel 2:27) And you will have to know that I am in the midst of Israel And that I am Jehovah your God—there is no other! My people will never again be put to shame.

(Joel 3:17) And you will have to know that I am Jehovah your God, residing in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will become a holy place,

(Joshua 7:9) When the Caʹnaan·ites and all the inhabitants of the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe out our very name from the earth, and what will you do about your great name?”

(1 Samuel 12:22) For the sake of his great name, Jehovah will not abandon his people, for Jehovah has taken it upon himself to make you his people.

(Psalm 83:12) For they said: “Let us take possession of the land where God dwells.”

(Psalm 79:9) Help us, O God of our salvation, For the sake of your glorious name; Rescue us and forgive our sins for the sake of your name.

(Psalm 25:11) For the sake of your name, O Jehovah, Forgive my error, though it is great.

(Psalm 31:3) For you are my crag and my stronghold; For the sake of your name, you will lead me and guide me.

(Psalm 106:8) But he saved them for the sake of his name, To make his mightiness known.

(Psalm 109:21) But you, Jehovah the Sovereign Lord, Act in my behalf for the sake of your name. Rescue me, because your loyal love is good.

(Psalm 143:11) For the sake of your name, O Jehovah, preserve me alive. In your righteousness, rescue me from distress.

(Jeremiah 14:7) Although our own errors testify against us, O Jehovah, act for the sake of your name. For our acts of unfaithfulness are many, And it is against you that we have sinned.

(Jeremiah 14:21) For the sake of your name, do not reject us; Do not despise your glorious throne. Remember, and do not break your covenant with us.

(Daniel 9:19) O Jehovah, do hear. O Jehovah, do forgive. O Jehovah, do pay attention and act! Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, for your own name has been called upon your city and upon your people.”

(Matthew 6:9) “You must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.

Jehovah doesn't step in to prove to the world that Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) are God's true people, as JW's believe will happen. It's not about their vindication. His actions are not for their name's sake, but are for His name's sake.

As the many scripture quotes show, Jehovah maneuvers the nations to attack Israel to cleanse her and so that He can then step in and save the repentant Jews, thus sanctifying His holy name by saving those that the world believe to be His chosen people.

So if this is the case, then it is not JW's who need to be rescued at the last moment from certain destruction, but the Jews.

Gog MWB - just imageThe image to the right was at the bottom of page 6 of the August 2017 JW Meeting Workbook showing military attack helicopters, battle tanks, and combat troops sent to 'attack Jehovah's people'. Do you think it best envisions an attack on Kingdom Halls and the homes of JW publishers, or an attack on Israel who has its own military attack helicopters, battle tanks, and combat troops to fight back with? Russia is going after Jehovah's Witnesses today, not with weapons of war, but with dishonest lawyers and crooked judges.

But is Israel really going to be forgiven and welcomed back by Jehovah?

With the unrepentant wicked removed from Israel, those who change their ways and call on Jehovah will be welcomed back. Paul describes this for us in Romans.

Root

(Romans 11:13-24) Now I speak to you who are people of the nations. Seeing that I am an apostle to the nations, I glorify my ministry ¹⁴ to see if I may in some way incite my own people to jealousy and save some from among them. ¹⁵ For if their being cast away means reconciliation for the world, what will the acceptance of them mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶ Further, if the part of the dough taken as firstfruits is holy, the entire batch is also holy; and if the root is holy, the branches are also ¹⁷ However, if some of the branches were broken off and you, although being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became a sharer of the richness of the olive’s root, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If, though, you are arrogant toward them, remember that it is not you who bears the root, but the root bears you. ¹⁹ You will say, then: “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true! For their lack of faith, they were broken off, but you are standing by faith. Do not be haughty, but be in fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² Consider, therefore, God’s kindness and severity. There is severity toward those who fell, but toward you there is God’s kindness, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise, you too will be lopped off. ²³ And they also, if they do not remain in their lack of faith, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them back in. ²⁴ For if you were cut out of the olive tree that is wild by nature and were grafted contrary to nature into the garden olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree!

So repentant Israel, God's original chosen people (root), will regain Jehovah's approval. The olive tree was not destroyed or replaced. The gentiles were added to the tree, they did not replace it. Repentant Israelites will be saved and "grafted back into their own olive tree."

(Joel 2:32) And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, just as Jehovah has said, The survivors whom Jehovah calls.”

(Acts 2:21) And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”’

(Romans 10:13) For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”

It does not say 'everyone who had called on the name of Jehovah' prior to that day, but everyone who will call on it in that day.

The widow of Zarephath and her son

Does what happened with the widow of Zarephath and her son parallel what happened to Jacob (Israel) and his family? Is the account also prophetical as to what will happen to Israel in the end?

(Obadiah 20) To the exiles of this rampart, To the people of Israel will belong the land of the Caʹnaan·ites as far as Zarʹe·phath. And the exiles of Jerusalem, who were in Se·pharʹad, will possess the cities of the Negʹeb.

[it-2 p. 1219] Zarephath later marked an extremity of former Canaanite territory foretold to become the possession of Israelite exiles.

[it-2 p. 1219] (Zarʹe·phath) [possibly from a root meaning “refine”]. A Phoenician town ‘belonging to’ or apparently dependent upon Sidon in Elijah’s day.

[it-2 p. 940] Religiously, the Sidonians were depraved.

Israel today is completely surrounded by and infiltrated by Muslims who are also religiously depraved.

(1 Kings 17:12) At this she said: “As surely as Jehovah your God is living, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the large jar and a little oil in the small jar. Now I am gathering a few pieces of wood, and I will go in and make something for me and my son. After we have eaten, we will die.”

An extensive famine effected Jacob and his household. (Ge 42:1, 2)

Today Israel is in a state of spiritual famine in that Jehovah has hidden His face from them. (Eze 39:23, 24)

(1 Kings 17:16) The large jar of flour did not run out, and the small jar of oil did not run dry, according to Jehovah’s word that he had spoken through E·liʹjah.

Jacob and his household were provided an unending amount of food until the famine was over. (Ge 47:12)

(1 Kings 17:17) After these things, the son of the woman who owned the house fell sick, and his sickness became so severe that he stopped breathing.

The sons of Israel have became dead to Jehovah, until they call upon His name and get saved. (Ac 2:21)

(1 Kings 17:18) At this she said to E·liʹjah: “What do you have against me, O man of the true God? Have you come to remind me of my guilt and to put my son to death?”

Jacob lied and stole his brother's blessing from his father. (Ge 27:18-29)

The many sins of the nation of Israel are recorded in the Bible showing their guilt. Till this very day Israel is still rejecting God's son.

(1 Kings 17:24) At that the woman said to E·liʹjah: “Now I know that you truly are a man of God and that Jehovah’s word in your mouth is truth.”

Israel will be made to know that Jehovah is the true God when He steps in and saves them from certain destruction. (Eze 39:7)

[it-2 Widow p. 1182] Figurative Use. Cities, when cast off and desolated, are symbolically likened to widows. (La 1:1; compare Jer 51:5.)

Perhaps the widow of Zarephath represents the city of Jerusalem (Israel), and her son's death and resurrection represents the returning of the repentant "sons of Israel" to God and their spiritual resurrection.

The attack

How do the scriptures describe that final attack by the earthly forces?

(Ezekiel 38:9) You will come against them like a storm, and you will cover the land like clouds, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”’

(Ezekiel 38:16) Like clouds covering the land, you will come against my people Israel. In the final part of the days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me when I sanctify myself through you before their eyes, O Gog.”

(Daniel 11:44, 45) “But reports out of the east and out of the north will disturb him, and he will go out in a great rage to annihilate and to devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵ And he will plant his royal tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.

(Zechariah 14:2) I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for the war; and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women raped. And half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining ones of the people will not be cut off from the city.

(Revelation 16:16) And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon.

(Revelation 19:19) And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse and against his army.

We have covered who is attacked and why, now let's cover who does the attacking.

Gog of Magog

(Ezekiel 38:2-6) “Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Maʹgog, the head chieftain of Meʹshech and Tuʹbal, and prophesy against him. ³ Say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am against you, O Gog, head chieftain of Meʹshech and Tuʹbal. ⁴ I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in splendor, a vast assembly with large shields and bucklers, all of them wielding swords; ⁵ Persia, E·thi·oʹpi·a, and Put are with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; ⁶ Goʹmer and all its troops, the house of To·garʹmah from the remotest parts of the north, along with all its troops—many peoples are with you.

Most secular historians point to Turkey as the location of Gog of Magog. But the vast majority of so-called Biblical scholars who have a predisposed religious ideal swaying their research point to Russia as the modern day Gog of Magog because the Hebrew word translated as "chieftain" is "rosh" which sort-of sounds like the first half of Russia; Meshech sort-of sounds like Moscow (the capital city of Russia); and Tubal sort-of sounds like Tobolsk (a town in Russia which has less than 100,000 residents). And pointing to Russia fits in with their narrative of what the modern description of "the remotest parts of the north" is. They also point to the words of Josephus to back up their claim:

[it-2 Magog p. 295] From the time of the Jewish historian Josephus, it has been suggested that “the land of Magog” related to the Scythian tribes found in NE Europe and Central Asia. ...the term “Scythian” was used rather flexibly to embrace generally the nomadic tribes N of the Caucasus (the region between the Black and Caspian Seas).

The term Caucasian is derived from "Caucasus". The land of Magog is considered to be Russia by many because Josephus said that the descendants of Magog (Caucasians) moved into the region of modern day Russia. But Josephus lived in the first century C.E., over 600 years after the book of Ezekiel was written. Using his writings is selecting a single point in history to identify those nations today. If you were to follow the spread of Caucasians up to modern times they moved throughout Europe, across the oceans, and to many parts of the world. So if you identify who Gog of Magog is by where Caucasians live today, then Gog would be found around the globe.

(Ezekiel 38:15) You will come from your place, from the remotest parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly, a vast army.

Ezekiel 38:5, 6 tells us that there are other nations that are from "the remotest parts of the north", not just Gog. Ezekiel 38:15 backs that up saying that there are many peoples, a great assembly, and a vast army who are "with" Gog in "the remotest parts of the north". So if Gog is located in Russia then all of the other listed nations must be in Russia as well. But other nations do not reside in Russia.

Surrounding nations

(Joel 2:20) I will drive the northerner far away from you;

(Joel 3:4) Also, what do you have against me, O Tyre and Siʹdon and all the regions of Phi·lisʹti·a?

(Joel 3:11, 12) Come and help, all you surrounding nations, assemble together!’” To that place, O Jehovah, bring down your powerful ones. ¹² “Let the nations be roused and come up to the Valley of Je·hoshʹa·phat; For there I will sit in order to judge all the surrounding nations.

Joel points out that it is the nations that surround Israel who combine forces to attack Israel. Russia is not a surrounding nation to Israel. Tyre and Sidon were located in the area today called Lebanon, the small country bordering Israel to its north. Philistia was a narrow strip of land along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea including the area today known as the Gaza Strip.

King of the North

(Daniel 11:44, 45) “But reports out of the east and out of the north will disturb him (king of the north), and he will go out in a great rage to annihilate and to devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵ And he will plant his royal tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.

Daniel tells us that reports from even farther north will disturb the king of the north. Though the reports may originate with Jehovah they would not come in the form of a booming voice from the sky. Jehovah would use earthly agents to pass those reports on. There are no nations north of Russia that they could receive those reports from. Also, would today's Muslim nations of Eze 38:2-6 follow the lead of an infidel, a non-Muslim leader (Russia), as they combine their forces for what they will no doubt consider to be a sacred religious war on Israel, their long time enemy as set out in their Quran and Hadith? And how could Gog of the land of Maʹgog be the head chieftain of Meʹshech and Tuʹbal who live in what today is Turkey if he (Gog) resides far away from them in Russia?

The way i see it there are two ways to identify the nations listed at Ezekiel 38:2-6, either by where their descendants have migrated to today, or where those nations were at the time of Ezekiel's writing. Choosing their location at the time of Josephus is not logical or scripturally based. Cherry-picking that time in history to identify those nations because of their location at that particular time would only be done to back up a particular narrative. It would be as if you drove from New York to California and your place of residence was identified as Iowa because you drove through that state during your trip. Identifying them by where they are currently does not work either as we see with the wide distribution of Caucasians today. It seems to me that just leaves their identification to be determined by their location in the time of Ezekiel.

remotest parts of the north

What would have been considered "the remotest parts of the north" in Ezekiel's day? In the time of Ezekiel the Phoenicians and the Syrians occupied the land just north of Israel. But north of them were the northernmost kingdoms at the time—Gog, Meʹshech, Tuʹbal, Gomer, and Togarmah—which occupied the area that is today called Turkey. Of the other nations listed at Ezekiel 38:2-6, Persia is today in the area of Iran; Put is in the area today called Libya; and Ethiopia is in the area today called Sudan (not in modern Ethiopia). The northernmost kingdoms in Ezekiel's day occupied Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) since the Magogians had not moved up through the Caucasus yet. The black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the east-west Caucasus Mountain range spanning the area between them were natural barriers to the north. (The Caucasus Mountain range includes the tallest mountains in Europe with some of the peaks being much higher than Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps. The range has permanent snow capped peaks and several glaciers.)

So if Asia Minor (Turkey) is "the remotest parts of the north" then today they could get reports from their north. Russia today has been meddling heavily in the area north of Israel, in Syria. And Russian and Turkey relations have been expanding of late. If you do a search for "Russia Turkey relations" you will find a multitude of news articles documenting their increasing ties.

Even Turkish and Iranian ties are growing, so "reports out of the east" that could sway the actions of the Turkish government would be of no surprise either. Or even if their ties sour, Iran is still a major actor in the region so "reports" of its actions could cause a reaction by the Turkish government.

What about the planting of his royal tents?

(Daniel 11:45) And he will plant his royal tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration; and he will come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.

[dp p. 282 par. 25] In Daniel’s time the grand sea was the Mediterranean and the holy mountain was Zion, once the site of God’s temple.

[it-2 p. 1236] Originally the Jebusite stronghold that came to be called “the City of David.” (1Ki 8:1; 1Ch 11:5) After capturing Mount Zion, David established his royal residence there. (2Sa 5:6, 7, 9; see DAVID, CITY OF.) Alluding to David’s ruling from Zion as God’s anointed one are Jehovah’s words: “I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.” (Ps 2:6) Zion became a mountain especially holy to Jehovah when David had the sacred Ark transferred there. (2Sa 6:17) Later, the designation “Zion” embraced the temple area on Mount Moriah (where the Ark was moved during Solomon’s reign) and the term was, in fact, applied to the entire city of Jerusalem.

The "grand sea" is the Mediterranean Sea and "the holy mountain of Decoration" refers to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

So if it is Israel that is to be attacked and then saved by Jehovah for His name's sake, then it is Israel that the King of the North and all those with him must go up against. Then, as Jeremiah tells us, Jehovah's judgment will spread to the rest of the world. (Jeremiah 25:29-33)

Interesting Facts

Rev 1:11 - The 7 congregations in Revelation were all in Turkey

Rev 2:13 - Satan's throne is in Pergamum, which is in Turkey

Rev 9:14 - The four angels bound until their set hour to kill a third of the people "are bound at the great river Euphraʹtes." That river begins and has about 1/3 of its length in Turkey before it travels south though Syria and Iraq and then empties into the Persian Gulf. (The US invaded Iraq in 2003; war in Syria broke out in 2011; both nations have had continuous conflict ever since. If conflict is moving up the Euphrates river than Turkey's hour is next.)

Ge 8:4 - Mt Ararat, where Noah's ark came to rest, is in far eastern Turkey.

Ge 10:2 - Four of Noah's grandsons (Goʹmer, Maʹgog, Tuʹbal, and Meʹshech), the same ones spoken of in Ezekiel 38:2-6, took up residence and became four nations west of Mt Ararat, in Turkey.

Fifth kingdom

(Daniel 2:40-45) “As for the fourth kingdom (Roman empire), it will be strong like iron. For just as iron crushes and pulverizes everything else, yes, like iron that shatters, it will crush and shatter all of these. ⁴¹ “And just as you saw the feet and the toes (fifth kingdom that follows Rome) to be partly of clay of a potter and partly of iron, the kingdom will be divided, but some of the hardness of iron will be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with soft clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile. ⁴³ Just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay, they will be mixed with the people; but they will not stick together, one to the other, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as you saw that out of the mountain a stone was cut not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the copper, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The Grand God has made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

The people of the fifth and final kingdom in Daniel's prophecy will be mixed and will not stick together. Some will be hard and crushing like iron, while others will be fragile (brittle).

The map on the following page shows the different religions within Turkey. There you will see that Turkey is occupied by two main religious groups. The majority of which is Sunni Muslim (about 80%), with Shia Muslim making up most of the rest, and other religions making up about one percent of the population.

In case you are unaware, Muslims believe that the day of judgment will not come until they either kill or bring under submission all infidels. And Muslims not only consider non-Muslims to be infidels, but also the other Muslims who are practicing Islam incorrectly (in their opinion) which is why Sunni and Shia Muslims fight each other. (Sura 5:33; 9:5; 47:4-9; Quran 9:29; Sahih Muslim 129)

As you probably already know, and as can be seen by their unending conflicts across the middle east, different Muslim sects do not believe that the other sects practice true Islam. They will temporarily cooperate with each other for a common goal, but once that goal is achieved they are once again enemies. An old Bedouin saying among them goes something like this: "I against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world."

Even without the differing religious beliefs, conflict is a way of life for many of them. Add in their different and impassioned religious beliefs and you have a situation that could easily be described as iron and clay that will not stick together, although it does come together temporarily to form the two feet on the statue.

The conflict between Islam and the rest of humanity is well summed up in Genesis 16:12.

(Genesis 16:12) He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him, and he will dwell opposite all his brothers.”

Being called "a wild donkey of a man" well describes the Arab Bedouin lifestyle that Ishmael and his descendants lived throughout history, including many today. (Isa 13:20) Wild donkeys are only found in deserts and savannahs in northern Africa from Morocco to Somalia, in the Arabian Peninsula and in the Middle East.  They are very social and usually live in a group called a herd. The herd is usually lead by one male and consists of several females. Some larger herds have been found that include several males. As long as the additional males are submissive to the dominant male everything goes smoothly. Donkeys don’t seem to form strong bonds, however. In the wild herds often break up and reform with new members on a regular basis. Sometimes donkeys are trained to protect other livestock from predators. They will stomp any animal they feel is a threat.

Muslims believe that it was Ishmael whom Abraham was instructed to offer up as a sacrifice. And that it was his descendants that were the chosen ones. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, claimed to be a direct descendant of Ishmael, and Muslims view themselves as both the physical and the spiritual descendants of Ishmael. At Daniel 2:42 the Hebrew word tebar that is translated as fragile has the definition of brittle. And though there are two major sects of Islam that make up 99 percent of the population of Turkey, within those two sects there are at least 10 different sub-sects as well, showing that the religion of Islam in Turkey truly is brittle and fractured.

King of the North

The account of the conflict between the kings of the north and south begins at Daniel 11:5 with the Egyptian king of the south going up against the Syrian king of the north. The next few verses describe conflicts between these two kings until verse 18 when a "commander" comes on the scene and ends the king of the north's conquests.

The Daniel's Prophecy book identifies that "commander" as a Roman commander, followed by subsequent Roman commanders. Here are those verses in Daniel chapter 11 with identifying information according to the Daniel's Prophecy book:

(Daniel 11:18-26) He (king of the north) will turn his face back to the coastlands and will capture many. And a commander (Rome) will make the reproach from him cease for himself (Rome), so that his (king of the north) reproach will not be. He (Rome) will make it turn back on that one. ¹⁹ Then he (king of the north) will turn his face back to the fortresses of his own land, and he will stumble and fall, and he will not be found.

²⁰ “And there will stand up in his (king of the north) position one (Rome/Caesar Augustus) who causes an exactor to pass through the splendid kingdom, but in a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in warfare.

²¹ “And there will stand up in his (Rome/Caesar Augustus) position a despised one (Rome/Tiberius Caesar), and they will not give him the majesty of the kingdom; and he will come in during a time of security and take hold of the kingdom by means of smoothness. ²² And the arms of the flood will be swept away on account of him, and they will be broken; as will be the Leader of the covenant. ²³ And because of their alliance with him, he will carry on deception and rise up and become mighty by means of a little nation. ²⁴ During a time of security he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and their fathers have not done. Plunder and spoil and goods he will distribute among them; and against fortified places he will plot his schemes, but only for a time.

²⁵ “And he (Rome/king of the north/a later successor to Tiberius Caesar) will muster his power and his heart against the king of the south with a large army, and the king of the south will prepare himself for the war with an exceedingly large and mighty army. And he (Rome/king of the north) will not stand, because they will plot schemes against him. ²⁶ And those eating his delicacies will bring his downfall.

“As for his (Rome/king of the north) army, it will be swept away, and many will fall down slain.

History of the Roman empire

In 330 C. E. Constantine, the first "Christian" emperor of Rome, decided to move the capital of Rome to a more centralized location to better be able to rule the empire. He had a new city built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantion. That new city came to be called Constantinople after the Roman emperor. Later, the Roman empire's western provinces declined and were conquered by barbarians while the eastern regions of the empire remained intact and thriving.

[dp p. 243 par. 23] In January 1449, Constantine XI became the last emperor of the east. Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II took Constantinople on May 29, 1453, ending the Eastern Roman Empire.

Although that quote references the "Eastern Roman Empire" specifically, the western regions of the Roman empire had been long conquered. The western regions of the Roman empire fell in 476, almost a thousand years before Constantinople fell. Though the city of Rome was retaken by the Romans in 540 it lost it again in 751. The Roman empire never again occupied any of its western provinces.

The western part of the Roman empire had been weakened by two dozen civil wars, several rebellions, economic problems, oppressive taxation, and much in-fighting. The Germanic barbarian tribes that invaded that part of the Roman empire and brought it to its end were the Celts, Visigoths, Huns, Marcomanni, Alamanni, Franks, Angles, and Saxons to name a few.

Though the term "Germanic" may make you think that they were from Germany, the barbarians were actually from all across the region covered by Europe today. It wasn't even until 1815, over 12 centuries after the western Roman empire fell due to wars with the Germanic barbarians, that 39 Germanic tribes that were in the area where Germany is today formed a loose association to coordinate their economies. Then in 1871 the German empire was officially created and the country of Germany came into existence.

The term "Germanic" refers to the branch of the Indo-European language family that includes English, German, Dutch, Frisian, the Scandinavian languages, and Gothic. They are who conquered the western regions of the Roman empire, not Germans. And even if some of the barbarians that conquered the western Roman empire came from the region where Germany is today, they were not based there. They were not some army sent to plunder from a foreign land, or a nation expanding its borders. The barbarians were nomadic tribes and moved as communities. Those that did the conquering moved in to the conquered area with their tribe and took it as their own.

Centuries after the western regions of the Roman empire fell the Ottoman empire rose up and pushed the Romans out of Asia-Minor. Then expanding westward they took most of the remaining Roman empire that existed. Finally in 1453 the Ottoman empire captured the Roman capital Constantinople and renamed the city Istanbul, thus ending the long rule of the Roman empire. 100 years after the fall of the Roman empire scholars and historians wanted to distinguish the ancient pagan Roman empire that ruled from Rome, from the medieval Christian Roman empire that ruled from Constantinople, so they renamed the latter group Byzantines, after the ancient city that Constantinople was built upon. So it wasn't until 100 years after the fall of the Roman empire that the name "Byzantine Empire" was used. Throughout all of its existence the citizens of the Roman empire called themselves Romans whether they lived in the western regions or the eastern. (Acts 22:25-29)

The empire of the Ottoman Turks continued to expand until it held even more territory than the Roman empire ever did, becoming the largest empire to ever exist. But then it was slowly pushed back over time to its current boarders in 1922. Then in 1923 it officially changed its name to "The Republic of Turkey".

The Roman empire had spread all around the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and when it was shrinking because other entities took the land from it in areas such as the regions in northern Africa, those entities were not given the title of "king of the north". When the Roman empire shrank because it lost some territory i do not think it forfeited its crown merely because it was reduced in size. It makes more sense that it was when it came to its end that it no longer held the crown, and that was at the hands of the Ottomans.

For the Roman empire to lose its title of "king of the north" to the country of Germany (as JW's claim) simply because several unconnected "Germanic" barbarian tribes took over the different western parts of that empire, that would mean that there would have been a span of twelve centuries without a king of the north since the western Roman empire fell in 476 and yet Germany didn't became a country until 1871. But the Roman empire existed until 1453 when the Ottoman empire finally took its capital and last remaining stronghold. If the title "king of the north" is to be handed off to conquerors, as it did for all previous kings of the north, the title would go to the Ottomans who conquered and put an end to the Roman empire over 400 years before the country of Germany even came into existence.

Were the terms north and south symbolic at the time of Daniel's writing? No. Then why would they be symbolic today? When and why did the kings north and south of Israel change to symbolize kings in other parts of the world without them being conquered by those other nations and not holding land north and south of Israel, the eventual target of those kings?

All the nations

(Zechariah 14:1-3) “Look! The day is coming, a day belonging to Jehovah, when the spoil from you will be divided in your midst. ² I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for the war; and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women raped. And half of the city will go into exile, but the remaining ones of the people will not be cut off from the city. ³  “Jehovah will go out and war against those nations as when he fights in the day of a battle.

Although Zechariah says "all the nations" i don't think he is referring to all nations worldwide. At Zechariah 12:9 it says "And in that day I will be certain to annihilate all the nations that come against Jerusalem." And again in verse 16 Zechariah specifically refers just to "all the nations that come against Jerusalem." Verse 14 refers to "all the surrounding nations". So "all the nations" seems to be referring only to the surrounding nations that attack Jerusalem.

turn you around

(Ezekiel 38:4) I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in splendor, a vast assembly with large shields and bucklers, all of them wielding swords;

"Turn you around" indicates a change in direction will occur. Today the nations surrounding Israel are busy fighting each other. There are dozens of armed Muslim groups fighting each other in Syria alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armed_groups_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

Perhaps the change in direction is Jehovah causing them to unite and change their attack from each other to Israel instead. That would certainly fit in with the old Bedouin saying: "I against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I and my brothers and my cousins against the world."

hooks in your jaws

Perhaps the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem is part of the bait for the hook to draw their attack. Perhaps the long promised embassy move never happened before because it didn't align with Jehovah's timetable. A few other countries have also followed the lead of the USA to move their embassies. Those moves have surely angered a lot of the surrounding Muslim nations.

Perhaps the Israeli government will make some public claim that the surrounding Islamic nations who wish for their demise can do nothing about it, adding to the bait on that hook. (1Th 5:3) Perhaps that will be the final straw for the surrounding Muslim nations. (see my article "Peace and Security v2")

Seventh King

(Revelation 17:10-17) And there are seven kings: Five have fallen, one is (Roman empire), and the other has not yet arrived; but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while. ¹¹ And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction. ¹² “The ten horns that you saw mean ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings for one hour with the wild beast. ¹³ These have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast. ¹⁴ These will battle with the Lamb, but because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them. Also, those with him who are called and chosen and faithful will do so.” ¹⁵ He said to me: “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw and the wild beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her devastated and naked, and they will eat up her flesh and completely burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought, yes, to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished.

The words "the other" tell us that there will only be one more king after the Roman empire which was the sixth king.

The Daniel's Prophecy book says that the USSR held the crown after Germany. Did the USSR join up with Germany and share the crown, then later Germany dropped off the scene leaving the USSR with the crown? No.

[dp p. 266 par. 21] Even though Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Demarcation, Hitler proceeded to invade Soviet territory on June 22, 1941. This action brought the Soviet Union to the side of Britain. The Soviet army put up strong resistance despite spectacular early advances of the German forces. On December 6, 1941, the German army actually suffered defeat at Moscow. The following day, Germany’s ally Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Learning of this, Hitler told his aides: “Now it is impossible for us to lose the war.” On December 11 he rashly declared war on the United States. But he underestimated the strength of both the Soviet Union and the United States. With the Soviet army attacking from the east and British and American forces closing in from the west, the tide soon turned against Hitler. German forces began losing territory after territory. Following Hitler’s suicide, Germany surrendered to the Allies, on May 7, 1945.

Since the USSR was part of the group of allies that conquered Germany, how did the USSR gain the title King of the north? If it gained the crown because it had a hand in conquering Germany then the other countries that also helped conquer Germany would have the same claim to the crown. According to the Daniel's Prophecy book the USSR gained the title "king of the north" because it stood up "in strong opposition to the Anglo-American alliance" which was considered to be the king of the south. (dp p. 270 par. 2)

Current JW teaching is that Germany became the king of the north after the Roman empire, and the USSR became the king of the north after Germany, and that neither Germany nor the disbanded USSR hold that title now. The latest JW teaching is that Russia is the new king of the north, replacing the USSR. That makes Russia the ninth king of the north, and then the wild beast would be the tenth. But Revelation 17:10, 11 tells us that there will only be seven kings, and then the wild beast makes an eighth king.

Now if the Ottoman empire, the conqueror of the Roman empire, took Rome's crown and became the seventh king of the north, than the numbers work because that seventh king is still in power, still north of Israel, and if current conditions in the world are any indication, could easily be the one to lead the "surrounding nations" in the final attack on Israel.

As a quick reminder, here is the JW official list of the kings starting with the Roman Empire being number six per Revelation 17:10, 11.

6) Roman Empire (not conquered by Germany)

7) Germany (conquered, in part, by the USSR)

8) USSR (disbanded)

9) Russia and its allies (today)

10) UN (Wild Beast)

Here is that list with the 7th king being the nation that conquered the Roman Empire:

6) Roman Empire (conquered by the Ottoman Turks)

7) Ottoman Empire (which is Turkey and is still in power today north of Israel)

8) UN (Wild Beast)

Remember: Revelation 17:10, 11 tells us that there will only be seven kings, and then the wild beast (UN) makes an eighth king.

Turkey is not your average country. If you do a search for Turkey's importance on the world scene you will find it to be very influential for political, religious, geographical, economic, cultural, and military reasons. Turkey is a controlling force in the region and is the only majority-Muslim country in NATO, giving it an important role in global stability.

Satan chose well for his base of operations. (Rev 2:13)

So what do you think of this hypothesis?

:^)

Dave

da.getmyip@gmail.com

Last edited 10-17-2023 (date created 03-02-2018)