A posting was submitted by my friend Kelly in regards to the scroll that was presented to President Bush during his visit to Israel last week. I would just like to add my comments to this, for a number of people have emailed me about it, and I think it would be a good idea to clarify our understanding of this Scripture.

In the scroll the Sanhedrin, the New Jewish Congress and the Holy Temple and Temple Mount Movements call on President Bush not to support the division of God's land. They urge the President to be remembered as King Cyrus of Persia, who supported the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple, and not as King Nebuchadnezzar who was responsible for its destruction. In their letter, the three Jewish organizations address President Bush as the "Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal", the title given to the leader who is prophesied to launch an attack on Israel during an Arab invasion of the land. This took me by surprise, for the traditional understanding of this title is, that it would belong to the leader of either a Russian or Islamic confederacy north of Israel. I have been informed that some prophecy experts feel that these Jewish Rabbis are correct in their identification of the US President as Gog. There is no doubt that Rabbis know an awful lot about Torah. But one thing we must remember is, many of these Rabbis do not believe Yeshua is the Messiah. I'm not even sure if they understand that their rebuilt Jewish Temple will subsequently be defiled by the Antichrist. They may understand a lot about Torah, but they do not have the spirit of prophecy in them, which is the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:10). And so when it comes to interpreting the Scriptures, I believe we must rely solely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not depend on either Islam or Judaism for our understanding of the end times.

Genesis 10:2
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 

As we can see, the names mentioned in the prophecy of Ezekiel are all descendents of the line of Japheth, who gave rise to the European races. Four of these names are identified as nations that are prophesied to come against Israel in Ezekiel 38, Gomer, Magog, Tubal and Meshech. These four individuals settled in the region of the Caspian and Black Sea.

Quote: "[1] Gomer - Progenitor of the ancient Cimerians and Cimbri, from whom are descended the Celtic family. [2] Magog - From Magog are descended the ancient Scythians, or Tartars, whose descendants predominate in the modern Russia. Ezek 38:2 39:6 Rev 20:8. [3] Madai - Progenitor of the ancient Medes. [4] Javan - Progenitor of those who peopled Greece, Syria, etc. [5] Tubal - Tubal's descendants peopled the region south of the black Sea, from whence they spread north and south. It is probable that Tobolsk perpetuates the tribal name. A branch of this race peopled Spain. [6] Meshech - Progenitor of a race mentioned in connection with Tubal, Magog, and other northern nations. Broadly speaking, Russia, excluding the conquests of Peter the Great and his successors, is the modern land of Magog, Tubal, and Meshech. [7] Tiras - Progenitor of the Thracians.

So as we can see, this passage closely identifies modern-day Turkey and possibly Russia with the alliance that will come against Israel in the latter days. The names that are not mentioned in Ezekiel's prophecy are Javan, Madai and Tiras, two of which represent modern-day Greece. Personally I feel that some poetic licence has been used by these right-wing Jewish organizations in their identification of President Bush as the "Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal". I can't see the United States being identified in this passage, and so I believe we should stick to the traditional understanding of this prophecy in relation to the title of "Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal".

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