As the war between Israel and Hamas completes its first month, Biblical scholars are pointing to the war as a possible completion of a prophecy in the book of Ezekiel. Nearly a week after Hamas paratroopers attacked and killed concertgoers on October 7th, Harvest Church’s Greg Laurie speculated on the event’s connection with Biblical prophecy. “Interesting how it always comes back to Jerusalem. The Bible predicted, thousands of years ago, that the end-time events would revolve around Jerusalem. Not San Francisco. Not Los Angeles. Not Moscow. Not Paris,” he wrote. He added that Israel “will play a key role in the events of the last days.” He then turned his attention to Ezekiel chapters 37 and 38. “Specifically, in Ezekiel 37 and 38, the Bible speaks of the regathering of Israel, and then it speaks of a large force from her north attacking her. That force is identified as Magog.” Speculating on who the “Magog” is, Laurie said, “no one can say with absolute certainty.”

Citing that many Biblical scholars identify Russia as Magog, he said one of Magog’s allies was Persia, which is modern-day Iran. There has been speculation that Iran had some part in assisting with the attack, with Hamas soldiers having trained in Iran prior to the October 7th attack. Although Russia has not yet been involved with the war in Israel, Laurie did not rule out the possibility that it could be drawn in after forming ties with Iran in recent years. “But if you get up in the morning and read this headline, ‘Russia Attacks Israel,’ fasten your seatbelt because you’re seeing Bible prophecy fulfilled in your lifetime before your very eyes,” he wrote. 

Steven Khoury, pastor of The First Baptist Church in Bethlehem, recently spoke with CBN Digital and voiced similar concerns. After sharing the hardships his region is facing with food and water deprivation, he noted that the ties between Russia and Hamas seemed to have grown stronger. “A lot of people don’t know this — Hamas leaders just left … Moscow. They were meeting in Moscow. What were they talking about? We know they weren’t just having a drink to stay warm from the cold weather; they were talking about things,” he said. Reuters reported that a delegation from Hamas arrived in Moscow on October 26th, reportedly to discuss the release of foreign hostages. “Could what’s going on right now [be the beginnings that] spark Ezekiel 36, 37, 38, 39? I think it’s very possible because I think most wars are going to be led through proxies,” speculated Khoury. He did remain open to the possibility that things might die down.

The Israel Bible further speculated on the connections between the Israel-Hamas War and the prophecy of Magog. “Moreover, the sages say that the war of Gog and Magog will begin in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, specifically the last day of the holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) known as Hoshana Rabbah. The current war began on the following day,” the organization noted. It also pointed out how prophecy pointed toward the battle leading towards the messianic era, which would most likely correspond to the Second Coming of Christ to Christians. It concluded that the best thing for people to do now is to support Israel. “The current conflict, with its echoes of the biblical narrative, invites both reflection and action. While it might not correspond exactly with Ezekiel’s vision, it certainly illustrates how the battle of Gog and Magog can manifest in today’s world. And it reminds us that by supporting Israel, standing up and speaking out against evil and promoting recognition of God, we can help win the battle and pave the way toward peace and the Messianic era.”