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RUSSIA AND AXIS OF EVIL TO ATTACK ISRAEL Russia is believed by many to be the “Gog” of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, a world power north of Israel that leads an attack on the inhabitants of the holy land. The prophecy at hand deals with an evil axis headed up by a prince named Gog in the land of Magog. Ezekiel 38:2-3 says, “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Gog is the prince, or the leader, and Magog is the land. The big question is what land? There are no countries named Magog today, and we know of no princes named Gog.This should come as no surprise to any student of Scripture. There was an empire in the Bible called Babylon, yet today we use the word Iraq. Persia was a country’s name in the Bible, yet this country is now called Iran. Likewise, the names Gog and Magog do not appear on modern maps, but these names have been well researched and it has been known for over a century that they have reference to Russia. The Scripture gives a pretty strong hint of this by telling us that this evil power is located north of Israel. Ezekiel 38:15 and 39:2 say that this invading enemy comes from “the north parts,” and 38:6 uses the term “north quarters.” As any world map will show, Russia is north of Israel. Before Russia became a Communist nation, and long before the Soviet Union became a world superpower, Bible scholars had Ezekiel’s Gog and Magog identified as Russia. One such scholar was C.I. Scofield. In his note on Ezekiel 38:2, in his 1909 reference Bible, Dr. Scofield offered the following comments: That the primary reference is to the northern (European) powers, headed up by Russia, all agree. The whole passage should be read in connection with Zec 12:1-4; 14:1-9; Mt 24:14-30; Re 14:14-20; 19:17-21, "gog" is the prince, "Magog," his land. The reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification. Russia and the northern powers have been the latest persecutors of dispersed Israel, and it is congruous both with divine justice and with the covenants (e.g. Cmt. on Ge 15:18 Cmt. on De 30:3 that destruction should fall at the climax of the last mad attempt to exterminate the remnant of Israel in Jerusalem . . . Commenting on “Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” (Ezk. 38:2), the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary (1871) saysThe Scythian Tauri in the Crimea were so called. The Araxes also was called "Rhos." The modern Russians may have hence assumed their name, as Moscow and Tobolsk from Meshech and Tubal, though their proper ancient name was Slavi, or Wends. HENGSTENBERG supports English Version, as "Rosh" is not found in the Bible. "Magog was Gog's original kingdom, though he acquired also Meshech and Tubal, so as to be called their chief prince." Some reference works speak of the name Scythians having been an earlier name for the people now known as Russians. In fact, the State Historical Museum in Moscow has on display numerous Scythian artifacts that were dug up by Russians in Russia. Interestingly enough, Encyclopedia Britannica says that a “Scythian” was a member of a nomadic people originally of Iranian stock who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia in the 8th and 7th centuries BC . In his 1918 book, The Prophet Ezekiel, Dr. Arno Gaebelein agreed that this prophecy concerns the people known today as Russians. J. Dwight Pentecost agreed (1958), as did the first century Jewish historian, Josephus (A.D. 93), Professor H. S. Osborne in his Biblical History (1890), and even French atheist Voltaire admitted that Magog was Russia in his Philosophical Dictionary. There really isn’t much debate over the identity of God and Magog. Some do suggest that Turkey is intended, which is Russia’s southern neighbor, but it seems more likely that Turkey might be part of the axis rather than the leader of it. Most agree that Russia will head up the coming invasion of Israel.