GOG, MAGOG, ERDOGAN and RELATED EVENTS (Prophets EZEKIEL and ZACHARIA) 

GOG, MAGOG, ERDOGAN and RELATED EVENTS (Prophets EZEKIEL and ZACHARIA) 

PART A (IDENTIFICATIONS) 

1. INTRODUCTION 

On January 2, 2012, I had a breakfast with a friend who is involved in ministry with Muslims. During our conversation, he said that Erdogan, then prime minister and now president of Turkey, is from the country of Georgia (Georgia is in the mountain region of the Caucuses at the east of the Black Sea). When he said that, I immediately thought of Gog and Magog. This started me on a journey that, with only a few days of research, helped me link Erdogan with Gog and Magog. 

Since then, I have studied the prophesies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 and Zachariah 12. I believe they correspond to events that will take place in the very near future, a significant time before the battle of Armageddon of Revelation. 

At the end of Ezekiel 39 God announces that He will not hide His face from the house of Israel but will pour His Spirit on them. The chapters that follow describe the building of the third temple and other incredible acts. 

2. STARTING POINT OF INVESTIGATION 

I began my research by looking at the personal life of Erdogan in Wikipedia. The first paragraph of his personal life included the following phrase posted in January 2012:  “When he visited Georgia in 2003, he allegedly said, ‘I am also Georgian too, my family is a Georgian family, migrated from Batumi to Rize in Turkey.’”  

This statement reveals that Erdogan’s family were Turks who were living in Georgia at the city of Batumi and later migrated to the Turkish city of Rize (long time ago). 

This phrase includes four key components: 

- I am (Erdogan, the leader of Turkey) 

-Georgian (I come from Georgia)

-Batumi 

-Rize

It is important to note that Wikipedia posted the above phrase about Erdogan’s personal life in January 2012, then removed it and later reinstated it. Then recently its formulation was changed. See in Note 1 a PDF copy of one of the original statements.

After reading Erdogan’s statement, immediately I compared that phrase with the following verses of Ezekiel: 

Ezekiel 38:2–3 
v2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 
v3 And say, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. [author’s emphasis]

Ezekiel 39:1 
v1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. 

It seemed clear to me that Erdogan could have been identifying himself with the Gog of Magog by quoting Ezekiel 38.2 about himself without knowing it. 

The question: Do the words Gog, Magog, Meschech and Tubal match with the above four words in Erdogan’s declaration? 

We will examine the meaning of these words in the section below.

Note 1
One of the original statements in Wikipedia about Erdogan’s personal life. ERDOGAN-Pers-Georgian.pdf

3.  MEANING OF KEY NAMES 

We must keep in mind that names in the Bible could mean names of persons or places depending on the context. In addition, some words of a generic nature can indicate something else (another location) depending on the author and the century when they were written. Gog and Magog are such words 

3.1 GOG AND MAGOG 

From the Abarim Publications of online Hebrew and New Testaments words, we find the following definition for Gog: 

grief into the neighbourhood (Isaiah 15:3, MATTHEW 10:27, LUKE 12:3), and possibly as a place of refuge (Joshua 2:6, Isaiah 22:1, MATTHEW 24:17) or lodging (1 Samuel 9:25- 26, 2 Samuel 16:22). 

The housetop seems to indicate a certain spiritual exposure. Someone on the housetop opens himself for something, preferable something soothing, or higher. Note that the ominous names Gog and Magog are derived from this root. 

We can see from this definition that Gog corresponds to top, roof top and when referring to a person, the head, the chief, leader, etc.

Looking at Magog by extrapolation, if it refers to a place, it could mean the country from the top (north or in the mountains). As this is a generic name, it depends the use in a relative context. For example, somebody based in Rome can say in some reference as north (higher), Milan, at another context the Alps, in another context Germany (the other side of the Alps) or even Scandinavia. 

Therefore, regarding the names of places in Ezekiel (sixth century B.C.), we need to look at maps of the ancient Hebrews of that time. The historian Josephus, who lived during the first century (six centuries after Ezekiel), referred to Magog as a place that could and does refer to locations further north of Ezekiel such Scythia (Ukraine, southern Russia). 

You will see below (Map 1) a map of the world as known to the Hebrews (according to the Mosaic account). 

Map 2 shows the geological map of the present country of Georgia. It can be found in the north part of the country in the Caucasus Mountain range and on the coast line at the port of Batumi. The old Hebrew map clearly indicates that the area of Georgia was referred to as Meschech (or Mesech) Gog Magog. As the Caucusus mountain range is the predominant feature that linked the whole country of Georgia and the port of Batumi, this could be the region of Meschech. The town of Rize on the northeast corner of Turkey on the coast of the Black Sea is located at the exact spot as Tubal (Thubal) on the Hebrew map 

Therefore, we can see a match of the four words from a geographical point of view. 

Remember, when he visited Georgia in 2003, Erdogan allegedly said, “I am also Georgian too, my family is a Georgian family, migrated from Batumi to Rize in Turkey." 

Are these four matching names a mere coincidence . . . or are they a revelation of identification for the present time? 

The leader, the Gog of Turkey 

Georgian (MAGOG) 

Batumi (Meshech) 

(Tubal)