Unholy Alliance – The Road to Armageddon?

Is the scene being set for the Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39?

While at last a ceasefire has been tentatively agreed between America and Iran in the Middle East, there have been strong claims and counter claims of that ceasefire being broken by each side, while Israel has continued to attack Lebanon (bombing 100-plus targets and killing hundreds in the space of 10 brief minutes on Thursday).

As the world continues to be rocked by the gloomy implications of this major international war, with dire warnings of fuel and fertiliser shortages potentially causing extreme hardship, near-future apocalyptic images being conjured up are no longer confined to the fringes of society.

Could we even be seeing the beginnings of the final climactic battle predicted in the Bible?

Ezekiel 38 describes a war in which a conglomerate of nations attacks Israel, culminating in disaster for the attackers through God’s dramatic intervention, which will make His name be glorified both in Israel and the world. If combined with the prophecy in Zechariah 12-14 (assuming they are speaking of the same event), Jesus will return at this moment. Revelation 16:12-21 and 20:7-10 seem to speak of the same moment in time.

Amillennialist perspective

There are many different interpretations of the apocalyptic imagery used in Ezekiel, as well as in Zechariah and in Revelation as a whole. There are, in particular, huge variations of understanding in how the thousand years of Revelation 20 will play out. Some biblical analysts assume that most of the events outlined in the closing book of the New Testament are yet to come in a seven-year period (with or without rapture), leading to a thousand years of peace, followed by the Armageddon Gog/Magog war. If this is your understanding, then you are likely to disagree with most of this article.

Could we even be seeing the beginnings of the final climactic battle predicted in the Bible?

However, if we assume an entirely different interpretation, then suddenly, we can appreciate that the nations attacking Israel in the biblical prophecy may well correlate to a deepening alliance between nations today in the various conflicts occurring around the globe.

So, let us assume that all the scenarios in Revelation are overlapping, and that they have, in the main, been outworked over the last two thousand years. There is good reason to follow this line of thinking, if we allow for the apocalyptic language to be considered as a broad brushstroke painting that needs to be viewed as a whole, without each detail necessarily taken completely literally. In other words, it’s helpful to consider all of the images described as having a significant and important meaning, but viewed rather as the apostle John’s bold attempt to put down in words his otherworldly visions which appeared as a vast and hard-to-understand panorama throughout time.

Through books such as Tom Holland’s Dominion, we can now grasp just how much the influence of Christianity has been transformative in the world, totally upending what is seen as acceptable, from what came before. Yet at the same time, a battle between good and evil has continued throughout time – and people still choose their own way and turn away from God.

The view of amillennialists is that this entire period has been the ‘thousand years’ – that of the Kingdom of God advancing little by little throughout the world, through the actions of people transformed by the Spirit. In addition, it can be argued that many of the trumpet judgements, plagues and bowls of wrath - and even the beasts - have, in fact, in this scenario, already taken place over history. Some of these themes have been covered in previous Prophecy Today articles, where we discussed various approaches to eschatology.

Many of the trumpet judgements, plagues and bowls of wrath - and even the beasts - have, in fact, in this scenario, already taken place.

The prophesied alliance of nations against Israel

So, with all those assumptions in mind, let us look at the Gog/Magog nations of Ezekiel 38 - which are referred to as the book of Revelation approaches its majestic conclusion – while also considering what is going on today.

The alliance covers a swathe of nations denoted as Magog, Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush and Put, Gomer and Beth Togarmah (Gog is generally considered to be a person). Not all of these ancient regions are easy to pinpoint today, and there is a high level of uncertainty about some of them.

Nonetheless, the location of Persia is clear, being synonymous with modern day Iran. Cush is likely to be Sudan, and Put is probably Libya. Magog is almost impossible to tie down; nonetheless, Gog of Magog is described as the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and these regions are widely thought to cover Russia. Beth Togarmah – “from the far north” – and Gomer most likely cover Turkey (or possibly Armenia).

A convergence of interests

But how does all this relate to today’s politics? Even just ten years ago, an alliance between Western-leaning Turkey, Russia, hyper-Islamist Iran and Sudan seemed thoroughly unlikely. Whilst not enemies, they had nothing to draw them together. The invasion of Ukraine, and the war following the October 7^th pogrom in the Holy Land has changed all that.

With both Russia and Iran being sanctioned by Western countries, they have become more and more reliant on each other economically, as well as on China.

Iran, of course, has long been seeking the destruction of Israel. But Russia has had no particular interest in doing so, though it sought for a long time to prop up Assad’s regime in Syria to the north, as Putin has for long aspired to increase Russia’s geo-political influence. 

But Russia has become increasingly reliant on Iran’s weapons and technology. As well as its ‘meat-grinder’ assault on Ukraine using sheer force of manpower to expand, it has relied on Iran’s Shahed drones to inflict damage across Ukraine. With both Russia and Iran being sanctioned by Western countries, they have become more and more reliant on each other economically, as well as on China.

There are currently three major wars raging – Russia/Ukraine, Iran/Israel-US, and, frequently forgotten, in the African nation of Sudan (Cush). Russia has long been involved here – previously giving support to the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Yet in 2024, Russia effectively switched sides, supporting instead the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), which more closely aligned its foreign policy to that of Iran.

The SAF has become increasingly influenced by Islamist forces, something that the RSF has become more and more concerned about. Before its fall, Sudan’s transitional government had pursued peace and cooperation with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The agreement was never ratified, and Sudan’s civil war put an end to that rapprochement, one that was opposed by much of the population.  

In addition, also in Africa, Russia has military bases in Libya, another unstable country probably mentioned in the Ezekiel 38 list of nations (Put).

It is also interesting that Israel’s immediate Arab neighbours are not listed in Ezekiel 38. 

Russia, of course, is expending massive numbers of its men and munitions in Ukraine - yet is clearly also able to act elsewhere. Now there is clear evidence that Russia is supplying Iran with drones, as well as other supplies, having modified and improved the original design that Iran had supplied to Russia, following its experience in Ukraine.

Turkey is not currently involved directly in any of the wars, and is presently a NATO member. But it is clear that under Erdogan, the country has taken a more Islamist turn, and for economic and other reasons is ‘playing the field’ in terms of international alliances.

It is also interesting that Israel’s immediate Arab neighbours are not listed in Ezekiel 38. Israel’s Gulf neighbours are angered and threatened by Iran, and some have even been in favour of the US/Israeli strikes upon it. Iran’s proxies, terrorist groups based in Israel’s neighbouring countries, have, of course, long been fighting the Jewish state: Hamas in Gaza; Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, has been a problem in what is essentially an ongoing war since October 23; while the Houthis in Yemen have begun direct attacks now, too. But these are not representative of those countries. 

Other possible signs

Curiously, the sixth bowl of God’s wrath in Revelation 16:12-14, seemingly talking of this scenario, refers to the Euphrates river (primarily located in Iraq) drying up – which it is currently beginning to do. Neighbouring Iran is itself facing severe water shortages, which are adding to the unrest, and this was one of the reasons the Iranian populace demonstrated in such numbers at the turn of the year. This, then would indeed be acting as a catalyst (‘preparing the way’, as Revelation describes it) for the war.

And the same biblical passage speaks of three evil spirits coming from the dragon, beast and false prophet – which look like frogs. Intriguingly, the shape of frogs correlates somewhat to the shape of the Shahed drones being used in this conflict. Is this merely a far-fetched coincidence?

Might we possibly be going to see a further development in the months or years to come that leads to Armageddon? 

It might just be the apostle John’s attempt to describe something that was so far removed from his personal first-century experience. If they came from the outworkings of the three enemies of God’s purposes - the dragon, the false prophet and the beast - in their alliance on earth, then it’s at least a possibility that these could be the explanation for one of the curious little details in Revelation. That said, it’s the bigger picture that we have to focus on.

Summing up

So, with all these emerging alliances in mind, as Iran appears, on the surface at least, to be holding out incredibly well against the superior air power of the US and Israel, might we possibly be going to see a further development in the months or years to come that leads to Armageddon? Will Iran use its influence with Russia to draw it and its allies into attacking Israel with forces on the ground, as well as with drones? If the regime survives this war, its hatred of Israel will only have increased. 

Whilst we should naturally be cautious of the type of speculation that I have been embarking on here, treating it with proper scepticism while seeking spiritual wisdom on the matter – it might be unwise to rule it out entirely. If what I’m suggesting has any resemblance to reality, we may well be seeing the return of Christ and the fulfilment of His Kingdom sooner rather than later.

(top image with thanks to www.seekthegospeltruth.com)