more details on Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, and PutRoshSome versions of the Bible translate the Hebrew word “rosh” in Other versions of the Bible translate “rosh” as an adjective. The argument here is that in the Masoretic text, the words “chief prince” carry the accents Tiphha and Zaqeph-gadol. The Tiphha appears under the resh of the Hebrew word “rosh”; the Zaqeph-gadol appears on top of the sin of the Hebrew word “nish.” The Tiphha to the right, underneath the initial consonant of the world “rosh,” or chief, is prepositive and does not mark the tone syllable. The world “nish” or prince has the accent Zaqeph-gadol, which is disjunctive and indicates a pause. So This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, the prince, [pause] chief of Meshech and Tubal.rather than: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.Here “rosh” is translated head or chief as it is 423 other times in the Old Testament. In short, those who believe “rosh” should be translated as a proper noun may find the interpretation that Russia will be a part of this coalition more reasonable. Those who believe “rosh” should be an adjective here need to be concerned only with the identies of Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and TubalMeshech and Tubal, in In 539 B.C., the Persians conquered the city of Babylon. A map of the ancient Persian Empire will show that it was centered in the nation known today as Iran. In fact, Iran was called Persia until 1935, when it was changed to Iran and then to the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, during the Iranian Revolution. It is no secret that Iran is an archenemy of Israel and the West, as well as a supporter of the Palestinians. They are actively working to get other Arab countries to change camps in their cooperation with the U.S. and Israel. The ancient kingdom of Cush in Ezekiel’s time was the land just south of Egypt on the Nile River. Today this land is occupied by Sudan. Sudan is home to the National Islamic Front, is ruled by an Islamic military dictatorship, is a strong supporter of Iraq, was home to Osama bin Ladin from 1991 to 1996, and harbors countless Islamic terrorist groups. Sudan easily would fit into the coalition, as it already has a close alliance with Iran, trading military supplies for docking rights on the Red Sea shipping routes. The possibility that four of the names mentioned in Ezekiel are now in Turkey makes a reasonable argument for Turkey’s being a part of the end-time invasion of Israel. Current circumstances in that country also lend this view some credibility. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Turkey has been gaining inroads into Central Asia (Magog). It also is linked to Central Asia, both ethnically and linguistically, and has a growing number of political parties that support opposition to Israel, establishment of a Turkish Islamic Republic, and the worldwide rule of Islam. Put and other nationsAncient Put was the land just west of Egypt, or what is today Libya. Libya is another sponsor of terrorism, and it openly refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. When the coalition against Israel is formed, it is easy to understand how Libya could join. All the nations listed so far are somewhat distant to Israel. Return to Gog and Magog in Final Battles |