BBP: 5 The 10-nation Endtime Coalition & the Battle of Armageddon

Chapter 5

The 10-nation Endtime Coalition & the Battle of Armageddon

Ezekiel 38:1-6

Contents

A) Using participants in the Battle of Armageddon to identify the 10-nation Endtime Coalition

B) Identifying the potential countries predicted to be at the Battle of Armageddon

C) Biblical candidates for membership in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition based on their predicted presence at the Battle of Armageddon.

Primary Points

• The 10-nation Endtime Coalition is specifically mentioned as being present at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev 17:14).
• Ezekiel 38:1-6 tells us the ancient geographical locations of the nations present at the Battle of Armageddon.
• By identifying the modern nations within these ancient geographical locations, we have biblical data to help identify modern candidates that will be in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition.
• Magog refers to the ancient people group called the Scythians (cf. Col 3:11) and is located in Russia and several nations in its vicinity.
• Rosh, Meschech, Tubal, Gomer, and Togarmah are located in modern Russia, Turkey, and Armenia.
• Persia, Cush, and Put are located in modern Iran, Egypt, & Libya.
• Kings from the East (Rev 16:12) will probably include China & India, but could also be a specific reference to countries just east of the Euphrates like Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
• Because the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be at the Battle of Armageddon, these nations give us a list of possible modern candidates to identify the Coalition.

A) Using participants in the Battle of Armageddon to identify the 10-nation Endtime Coalition

As noted in the previous chapter (sec. B.4), the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be present at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev 17:14). It is true that all the rulers of the world will gather … for battle against the Lord at Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16 NLT). But Revelation 17 makes the point to tell us specifically that the Antichrist and his 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be at Armageddon:

They [the ten kings] will all agree to give him [the Antichrist] their power and authority. Together they [the Antichrist and his 10-nation Coalition] will go to war against the Lamb [Christ], but the Lamb will defeat them [at Armageddon] (Rev 17:13-14 NIV; cf. 16:16)

If all the rulers of the world will gather … for battle against the Lord at Armageddon, why does God specifically tell us the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be at the Battle of Armageddon? Because this may be intended to give us a biblical clue to identify what nations will be in the Coalition.

In one of the most famous passages in Scripture, God actually predicts and specifically names ancient geographical areas that will be present at the Battle of Armageddon. ^[1] In Ezekiel 38 we read:

And the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal… I will bring you out, and all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords…

Persia,  Cush ^[2] and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.

After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come … to the mountains of Israel (Ezek 38:1-6, 8 NASB; cf. 39:1-6)

As discussed later, Gog is another name for the future Antichrist. The armies of the nations named are referred to as your army, in the sense they will especially belong to Gog (Antichrist). Here we are reminded that in Revelation 17 it says together they [the Antichrist and his 10-nation Coalition] will go to war against the Lamb, at Armageddon (Rev 17:12-14; cf. 16:16). Here in Ezekiel we have a description of the Antichrist and several nations also united against Christ at the Battle of Armageddon.

Again, if all the rulers of the world will gather … for battle against the Lord at Armageddon (Rev 16:14, 16), why does God specifically tell us: 1) that together they [the Antichrist and his 10-nation Coalition] will go to war against the Lamb (17:14) at Armageddon, and 2) that Gog (Antichrist) and specifically the nations that belong to him above, will be at Armageddon? It would seem because these nations will be especially attached to Gog, even in his last desperate battle. And these nations especially belong to the Antichrist because they will include the ten horns and ten kings that are repeatedly (14 times) described in Scripture as being attached to the beast Antichrist.

Therefore, it is suggested that identifying the geographical areas specifically named in Scripture, which will be united with the Antichrist (Gog) at the Battle of Armageddon, will tell us geographical areas from which at least some of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will come from. Then, by identifying modern nations in those geographical areas, we can derive modern candidates that could be in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition. This will be discussed in what follows.

B) Identifying the potential countries predicted to be at the Battle of Armageddon

B.1) Identifying Magog: Russia & surrounding countries

First, we can establish the location of Magog. Scholars agree that this refers to the ancient people group called the Scythians (pronounced sy’·thee·uhnz). ^[3] For example, the respected 1st century Jewish historian Josephus wrote: “Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who by the Greeks are called Scythians.” ^[4]

Remarkably, there is a NT reference to these people when the Apostle Paul writes: Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all (Col 3:11 NIV). One NT scholar notes: “The Scythians were from the little-known northern reaches of Asia, and were the extreme example of a barbarian, little better than savages.” ^[5] To the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, the Scythians were legendary in their cruelty. ^[6]

When Ezekiel wrote ca. 600 B.C., ^[7] the Scythians were a powerful and well-known group of raiders in the ancient world. For the Prophet Ezekiel, Magog was synonymous with the Scythians. ^[8] Many OT scholars also see Jeremiah’s and Zephaniah’s warnings of an “enemy from the north” as referring to the Scythians. ^[9]

Where was the land of Magog (Ezek 38:1) and the Scythians located? One resource notes: “In the seventh century B.C., the Scythians controlled large swaths of territory throughout Eurasia, from the Black Sea across Siberia to the borders of China.” ^[10] The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia lists the following modern countries as belonging to ancient Scythia (Magog): Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, ^[11] Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, ^[12] Afghanistan. ^[13] Therefore, Magog today is located in Russia and several nations in its vicinity.

Graphic: The Land of Magog (Scythia)

B.2) Identifying Rosh, Meschech & Tubal: Russia

The next 3 nations mentioned in Ezekiel’s prophecy of Armageddon are Rosh, Meshech and Tubal (38:2). Respected OT scholars Keil and Delitzsch note regarding Rosh:

Gog is still further described as the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. The Byzantine and Arabic writers frequently mention a people called “Rus” reckoned among the Scythian tribes, so that there is no reason to question the existence of a people known by the name of Rosh.” ^[14]

Accordingly, the name “Rus” remains in names like Russia and Belarus.

Meshech and Tubal have been traditionally recognized as also located in modern Russia. They may even be represented in modern Russian cities such as Moscow and Tobolsk. But some claim they are located in the modern nation of Turkey. It is probable that these ancient people groups migrated to both areas. ^[15]

B.3) Identifying Gomer and Togarmah: Russia & Armenia

Two other sons of Japheth (Gen 10:2) are mentioned in Ezekiel’s list of nations/peoples present at the Battle of Armageddon. These include Gomer and Togarmah (Ezek 38:6). The Roman historian Herodotus states that the descendants of Gomer were the Cimmerians who settled in what is today southern Russia. ^[16] Josephus equated Togarmah with the Phyrgians who lived in the modern-day nation of Armenia. ^[17]

So far then, we have rather repeated references to Russia and nations in the vicinity of Russia, predicted to be present at the Battle of Armageddon.

B.4) Identifying Persia, Cush, and Put: Iran, Egypt, & Libya

Ezekiel goes on to mention the countries of Persia,  Cush, and Put. ^[18] Persia primarily refers to what is today the country of Iran. Put is centered in the modern country of Libya, but could include several countries in Northern Africa. ^[19] Cush is more difficult to identify, but refers to the ancient area of Nubia which included areas of modern Egypt and Sudan. The common translation of “Ethiopia” has been proven inaccurate. ^[20]

Graphic: Location of “Cush” in Egypt & Sudan

Therefore, Ezekiel 38:5 adds several more modern countries that will be involved in the Battle of Armageddon including: Iran, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya.

B.5) Identifying “kings from the East” (Rev 16): China & India

Finally, Revelation mentions another group of people who attack Christ and Israel at the Battle of Armageddon. In chapter 16 we read:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East who will be gathered … together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (v. 12, 16 NIV).

The kings from the East seem to specifically refer to nations east of the great river Euphrates. Of course, this could refer to many countries. But surely it includes predicting that such ungodly and populous nations as China and India will be present at The Battle of Armageddon. Why would we doubt that the two most populous pagan nations in the world would be mentioned in prophetic Scripture as playing a part in such a battle against Christ? Especially when China and India are among the most hostile nations against Christianity in the world. The kings from the East could also be a specific reference to countries just east of the Euphrates like Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

C) Biblical candidates for membership in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition based on their predicted presence at the Battle of Armageddon

Let us begin to draw some conclusions from the above biblical data. First, the 10-nation Endtime Coalition will be present, and especially belong to, the Antichrist at the Battle of Armageddon. Secondly, the Scriptures specifically name ancient geographical areas that will be present at the Battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev 17:14; Ezek 38:1-8). It must be admitted that the biblical data above is not as precise as we would desire. For example, the kings from the East (Rev 16:12) is a very broad description. But these named geographical areas give us biblical candidates for the membership of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition. These candidates would include:

• Russia
• Russian “satellite” countries (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan)
• Armenia
• Iran
• Egypt
• Sudan
• Libya
• China
• India
• Pakistan
• Afghanistan

It is not claimed that all of these nations will be a part of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition. They are simply potential candidates based on their geographical location being specifically named in Scripture to be present at the Battle of Armageddon. However, this collection does also reflect the 6 other biblical attributes of the 10-nation Endtime Coalition discussed in the previous chapter (4). This will be demonstrated further in the next chapter (6).

1. It is widely accepted that the battle described in Ezekiel chapters 38-39 is the same as that described in Revelation 16:14, 16 and 19:19-20. OT scholar Daniel Block writes of the relationship between the Battle of Armageddon and Ezekiel chs. 38-38:

   The scene of the birds gathered for the great supper of God in [Rev] 19:17-21 is clearly borrowed from Ezekiel’s last frame (39:17-20). Although this passage [Rev 19] never mentions Gog by name, the beast certainly represents him… John’s use of Ezekiel’s oracle against Gog represents a remarkable adaptation of an OT tradition for a Christian theme. An event whose timing in the original prophecy is only vaguely set “in the latter days” is now identified as the penultimate event in human history. (The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25-48, NICOT [Eerdmans, 1998], 491-492).

   Likewise, Van Kampen adds regarding Ezekiel chapters 37-39:

   The sequence of events outlined from Ezekiel 37 to the end of the book demand that this passage can only relate to … end-time events, as it parallels much of what Christ revealed to John in the Book of Revelation…

   In chapter 38, the passage itself declares explicitly that the events described in the following chapters will take place “in the latter years” (v. 8) and “in the last days” (v. 16). Chapter 38-39 describe in detail … Antichrist’s initial assault upon Jerusalem (38:8-16), God’s Day of the Lord judgment upon the final beast empire of Satan (38:17-23), ending with the Battle of Armageddon (39:1-6)… The birds of Ezekiel 39:17-20 correspond to the birds in Revelation 19:17, 18, 21… The final destruction of Gog and his armies described in Ezekiel 39:1-4 corresponds remarkably to the final destruction of Antichrist and his armies described in Revelation 19:17-21. (127) ↑

2. For reasons shared below, the literal rendering of “Cush” is used here instead of the common translation of Ethiopia. ↑

3. In spite of significant scholarly evidence for the presence of Magog in ancient Scythia, Block oddly writes in his commentary on Ezekiel:

   The location of … Magog is uncertain [and] may turn out to be [an] artificial creation… It seems best to interpret Magog as a contraction of an original māt Gūgi, “land of Gog,” and to see here a reference to the country of Lydia in western Anatolia [Turkey] (434).

   Apparently, Block bases his view on E. M. Yamauchi (Foes from the Northern Frontier, Wipf and Stock, 2003). If so, both scholars seem quite wrong.

   Contrary to Block, the ancient location of Magog is quite certain. It is doubtful he has better information than Josephus who is quoted in this section. Likewise, K&D who were first-rate scholars, add:

   Magog is the name of a people mentioned in Genesis 10:2 as descended from Japheth, according to the early Jewish and traditional explanation, the great Scythian people.

   More recently, Ralph Alexander, Professor at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, writes: “The available data does argue for an identification of the most northern barbarian hordes (perhaps the Scythians) for ‘Magog’” (“A Fresh Look at Ezekiel 38 and 39, Journal of Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. 17.3 [1974], 161).

   It is unlikely that any scholar today can point to clear archeological or historical evidence the proves otherwise.

   Block’s claim that “Magog … may turn out to be [an] artificial creation” is pure speculation. Ezekiel was not making up a name of a people that did not exist. Alexander writes regarding the kind of “etymological” claims Block is making about Gog and Magog: “None of these proposals contains any significant support to warrant its acceptance … Further speculations are not justified on the basis of available etymological data” (Ibid.).

   Block is willing to quote the respected first century Jewish historian Josephus who wrote: “Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who by the Greeks are called Scythians” (Jewish Antiquities, 1.6.1.). This is the correct view. But Block completely dismisses Josephus. Why? Because an “A. van den Born assumes a scribal error” in Josephus’ statement about “Magogians” and claimed Josephus actually meant “the land of the Macedonians.” From this, van den Born “deduces Gog to be a pseudonym for Alexander the Great.” It is shoddy scholarship to dismiss Josephus with such obscure assumptions. Unfortunately, the NET notes agree with Block here. ↑

4. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 1.6.1. ↑

5. N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, TNTC (Eerdmans, 1999), 139. ↑

6. For Jewish testimony of the Scythian’s cruelty see references to them in 2 Maccabees 4:47 and 3 Maccabees 4:47. The Jewish historian Josephus said of them, “They are little better than wild beasts” (Against Apion, 2). H. Porter writes in the ISBE (1st ed.):

   The description of them given by Herodotus in book IV of his History represents a race of savages, inhabiting a region of rather indefinite boundaries, north of the Black and Caspian seas and the Caucasus Mountains (i.e. Russia and its satellite nations). They were nomads who neither plowed nor sowed (iv.19), moving about in wagons and carrying their dwellings with them (ibid. 46); they had the most filthy habits and never washed in water (ibid. 75); they drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle, and made napkins of the scalps and drinking bowls of the skulls of the slain (ibid. 64-65). ↑

7. Ezekiel claims he began receiving his visions in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin (1:2). R. K. Harrison places this at 596 B.C. (833). ↑

8. Accordingly, the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge notes Ezekiel’s view of the Scythians (Magogites):

   According to the general testimony of classical writers (Herodotus, Eschylus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Ovid, Arrian, including later St. Jerome) the Scythians were northern barbarians full of greed and fond of war, had immense troops of cavalry, wore efficient armor, and distinguished themselves as archers, just as is narrated of Magog [in Ezekiel 38-39].

   Likewise, M&S note regarding the Scythians:

   In the latter part of the 7th century B.C., they had become well known as a formidable power through the whole of Western Asia… The Scythians are described by classical writers as skillful in the use of the bow (Herod. i, 73; 4:132; Xenoph. Anab. iii, 4,15), and even as the inventors of the bow and arrow (Pliny, 7:57); they were especially famous as mounted bowmen (ἱπποτοξόται, Herod, 4:46; Thucyd. ii, 96); they also enjoyed an ill-fame for their cruel and rapacious habits (Herod. i, 106). ↑

9. OT scholar R.K. Harrison writes of Jeremiah’s and Zephaniah’s probable reference to the Scythians as “the enemy from the north”:

   During the period between the time of his call and the religious reformation of 621 B.C. Jeremiah was primarily concerned with … proclaiming imminent invasion from the north… Following Herodotus, many scholars associated them with the Scythians… In the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary it appears unwise to reject entirely the tradition of the Scythian invasion of Palestine as preserved by Herodotus. (Introduction to the Old Testament [Hendrickson, 1999], 803)

   Likewise, the Prophet Zephaniah also ministered during the reign of Josiah (1:1) at the same time Jeremiah was ministering. Therefore, Harrison adds:

   The majority of commentators [have dated] Zephaniah in terms of the Scythian raids, with which Jeremiah also was apparently concerned. This same majority of commentators have seen in the Scythian peril the background of [Zephaniah’s] prediction of woe. In view of the eschatalogical standpoint of the prophet it is probably true to assert that … the immediate threat to security in Judah may have been the Scythians. (Ibid., 940-41).

   Those who deny this (e.g. Thompson, Jeremiah, NICOT, K&D) seem to be especially motivated by critical scholars using the invasions of the Scythians to claim Jeremiah and Zephaniah wrote after these events and were not Prophets at all. But the dates of Scythian activities are not precise enough to make this determination. Some have in fact used them to prove that these Prophets accurately predicted the future. ↑

10. Bell-Fialkoff, Andrew Villen, ed., The Role of Migration in the History of the Eurasian Steppe (St. Martin’s Press, 2000), 190. ↑

11. Regarding the presence of modern-day Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in ancient Scythia we read:

    Beginning about 1000 B.C., large tribes collectively known as the Scythians also lived in the area of present-day Kyrgyzstan… From around 500 B.C. to A.D. 500, parts of Kyrgyzstan were inhabited by the Saka, a nomadic people linked with the Scythians… The Scythians established trade routes between Asia and Europe—the beginnings of the Silk Road—that went through present-day Kyrgyzstan.

    The ancient horsemen of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are often described as Sakas. Saka was the term used in Persian and Sanskrit sources for the Scythians, a large group of Eastern Iranian nomadic tribes on the Eurasian Steppe. https://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Kyrgyzstan/sub8_5a/entry-4744.html ↑

12. Regarding the presence of modern-day Tajikistan in ancient Scythia we read:

    Northern Tajikistan (the cities of Khujand and Panjakent) was part of Sogdia, a collection of city-states which was overrun by Scythians and Yuezhi nomadic tribes around 150 BC. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistan) ↑

13. “Scythia” in Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Denis Senor ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1990). ↑

14. K&D, Ezek 38:2. Likewise, the eminent German OT scholar Wilhelm Gesenius wrote: “Without much doubt Rosh designates the Russians, who are described by the Byzantine writers of the 10th century” (quoted in “Rosh” in M&S).

    Admittedly, many deny that Ezekiel intended to mention Rosh as a separate nation/people, as reflected in the NASB (and NKJV, NEB, JB). This is reflected in many translations that omit it from 38:2 and simply state Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal (e.g. NIV, NLT). Indeed, this is a very established meaning of the Hebrew word rōsh (cf. TWOT, 825).

    However, there is one compelling reason to interpret rōsh here as a proper name. Whoever Gog will be, it is obvious he will be a mighty ruler, leading all the armies at the Battle of Armageddon. This does not fit the common translation of Ezek 38:2 that would make Gog merely the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. Can we envision a man who only rules two territories to be the most powerful leader on the Earth at the Battle of Armageddon? Probably not. However, if we add Rosh to the territory he will rule, which includes Russia, then we have a ruler that better fits the military and political power predicted of Gog.

    There are other reasons for this interpretation as well. K&D long ago remarked, “The argument used in support of this explanation [Rosh is not a people group], namely, that there are no people of the name of Rosh mentioned either in the Old Testament or by Josephus, is a very weak one.” Indeed, the Arabic and Byzantine historians did write about them.

    Some reject Rosh as a nation/people because it is not listed in the “Table of Nations” as directly descending from Noah’s sons. But neither is Persia (Ezek 38:5) which is also a people group prophesied to be at the Battle of Armageddon.

    Additional evidence includes the fact that the Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the OT) translated Rosh as a proper name. It was Jerome’s Latin Vulgate that later altered this. Also, Rosh is mentioned the first time in Ezekiel 38:2, then repeated in 38:3 and 39:1. If Rosh were simply an adjective, it would probably be dropped in these two places because when titles are repeated in Hebrew, they are generally abbreviated (K&D).

    In more modern times, the eminent OT scholar D. J. Wiseman, Professor of Assyriology at the University of London noted that some translations omit the proper name Rosh, “However, the name of a northern people or country (as is Meshech and Tubal) is more probable” (New Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed., J. I. Packer, D. J. Wiseman eds. [Intervarsity, 1999], 1029; see also supporting entries in Wycliffe Bible Dictionary [Hendrickson, 1998, and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [Eerdmans, 1939]; G. A. Cooke, The Book of Ezekiel, who argues that the grammar of the Hebrew Bible supports the translation of Rosh as a proper noun denoting a geographical location).

    Accordingly, it seems Block errs in denying that Rosh was a people group related to the Scythians. He admits that ancient “Byzantine and Arabic writings” (435) describe this very thing, but rejects it mostly because there is not a conjunction in the Hebrew text before Meshech. However, even he admits it is possible this means nothing. ↑

15. Dr. Derek Walker writes regarding the location of Tubal and Meshech:

    Tubal and Meshech are mentioned together in Ezekiel 38:2. They were the 5th and 6th sons of Japheth, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:2). Some believe these people intermarried and became known as Magog, the dominant tribe. There are two main theories for their location: (1) RUSSIA and (2) TURKEY. Whichever it is does not change the overall picture as both are identified by the other names in Ezekiel.

    (1) Regarding Meshech and Tubal, some assign a Russian identification, connecting these 2 nations with the modern Russian cities of Moscow and Tobolsk. Meshech – Moscow, and Tubal – Tobolsk. The first view became well known through the Scofield Study Bible: “That the primary reference is to the Northern powers headed by Russia, all agree. The reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification.” Thus the name Moscow derives from the tribal name Meshech, and Tobolsk, the name of the principal state, from Tubal. This view is partly based on the similarity of sound in these names and their close proximity to Rosh (Russia). If this is so, the names Meshech and Tubal, point directly to Russia, being identified with Moscow, the capital of modern Russia, and Tobolsk in Asiatic Russia… L. Sale-Harrison corroborated this identification on linguistic grounds.

    Ethnologists, historians who track the migrations of people, tell us after the Flood, the Japhethites migrated from Asia Minor to the north, beyond the Caspian and Black Seas. They settled in the area of Rosh that we know today as Russia. Wilhelm Gesenius, the world class Hebrew scholar, whose Hebrew Lexicon has never been surpassed, said Gog is undoubtedly the Russians. He also identified Meshech as Moscow, the capital of modern Russia. Tubal he identified as Tobolsk, the earliest province in Asiatic Russia to be colonised, and also the name of the city in which Peter the Great built the old fortress after the pattern of the Kremlin in Moscow. “Meshech was founder of the Moschi, a barbarous people, who dwelt in the Moschian mountains.” He went on to say that the Greek name “Moschi”, derived from the Hebrew ‘Meshech’, is the source of the name for the city of MOSCOW. In discussing Tubal he said, “Tubal is the son of Rapheth, founder of the Tibereni, a people dwelling on the Black Sea to the west of the Moschi.” His conclusion was these people make up the modern Russian people.

    ‘Meshech’ the 6th son of Japheth, settled in the NE portion of Asia Minor. His posterity extended from the shores of the Black Sea along to the south of the Caucasus. He was the father of the Rossi and Moschi, who dispersed their colonies over a vast portion of Russian territory. And their names are preserved in the names of Russians and Muscovites to this day. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament renders the term: “Meshech” by the words “Mosch” and “Rosch”; while “Moscovy” was a common name for Russia, and the city of Moscow is one of her principal cities. ‘Tubal’ or ‘Tobal’ settled beyond the Caspian and Black Seas in the eastern possessions of Russia, embracing a very large portion of these dominions. The name of this patriarch is still preserved in the river Tobal, which waters an immense tract of Russian territory; and the City of Tobalski in Russia is still a monument to him.

    (2) Another line of study reveals that Meschech and Tubal are the ancient Moschi/Mushki and Tubalu/Tibareni peoples who dwelled in the area around, primarily south of, the Black and Caspian Seas in Ezekiel’s day… Today these regions are in Turkey, possibly including parts of southern Russia and northern Iran. Meshech was located near what was known as Phrygia, in central and western Asia Minor, while Tubal was located in eastern Asia Minor. So Meshech and Tubal form portions of modern Turkey.

    However later migrations north into Russia mean that this view is also consistent with the first theory. (Underlining added).

    Herodotus, the 5th century BC Greek philosopher, mentioned Meshech and Tubal. He identified them with a people named the Sarmatians and Mushovites who lived at that time in the ancient province of Pontus in northern Asia Minor, SE of the Black Sea [Histories IV], again pointing to modern Turkey. 

    Josephus said that the people of his day known as the Moschevi and Thobelites were founded by Meshech and Tubal respectively [Antiquities I.6].

    Assyrian texts & monuments locate Meshech (Mushku) and Tubal (Tabal) in Anatolia (W. Turkey), the areas that became known as Phyygia and Cappadocia.

    Later migrations north from Turkey to Russia could mean that both identifications are valid, and indeed both Turkey and Russia are directly to the north of Israel (as required by Ezekiel 38:6, 15, 39:2).

    https://www.oxfordbiblechurch.co.uk/index.php/books/the-imminent-invasion-of-israel/542-appendix-6-where-is-meshech-and-tubal?tmpl=component

    As one studies resources and commentaries on this issue, there seems to be a bias against finding these ancient people groups in Russia. Perhaps scholars are tempted to do this because of abuses they perceived that have happened in modern and popular Christian literature on the Endtimes. Russia is a very big topic in modern discussions on the Endtimes. Many scholars seem motivated to diminish the importance of the topic in the Church today. ↑

16. K&D write: “Gomer is most probably the tribe of the Cimmerians, who dwelt, according to Herodotus, on the Maeotis, in the Taurian Chersonesus.” Wikipedia notes: “Tauric Chersonese [is] a name often applied to the whole of the southern Crimea” (“Chersonesus” online at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chersonesus). ↑

17. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, i.6.1. ↑

18. There is a possible distinction in the Ezekiel text between the armies and people groups referred to as your [Gog’s] whole army (v. 4) and those of Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah … with all its troops (v. 6). Perhaps these latter groups are not attached to Gog like Magog, Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Likewise, the text says the armies of Persia, Cush and Put will be with them (v. 5) which may also communicate something less than these nations belonging to Gog.

    This may explain why Egypt (Cush), Libya (Put), and Armenia (Togarmah) may not be in the 10-nation Endtime Coalition. ↑

19. K&D add to the definition of Put:

    Put denotes the Libyans in the wider sense of the term (old Egypt. Phet; Copt. Phaiat), who were spread over Northern Africa as far as Mauritania [a modern country in northwest Africa], where even in the time of Jerome a river with the neighboring district still bore the name of Phut. (Gen 10:10) ↑

20. Waltke says of Cush: “Possible identifications are Nubia and Northern Sudan” (Genesis, 168). OT scholar William S. Lasor goes into more detail:

    Cush most frequently refers to an African region, and has often been identified as Ethiopia and is often so translated in English versions. This leads to [an] erroneous interpretation that modern Ethiopia (Abyssinia) is meant… According to Ezek 29:10 the southern border of Egypt was its common boundary with Cush. Hence, there can be no doubt that Nubia, and not Abyssinia is meant. This was located by Ezekiel at Syrene (modern Aswan, Egypt). Isaiah 18:1 also indicates that Cush was on the Nile. (ISBE, “Cush” I.838-839)

    The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the location of Nubia as follows:

    Nubia, ancient region in northeastern Africa, extending approximately from the Nile River valley (near the first cataract in Upper Egypt) eastward to the shores of the Red Sea, southward to about Khartoum (in what is now Sudan), and westward to the Libyan Desert. (online at https://www.britannica.com/Upper-Egypt).

    Thus, the map provided in this section seems accurate. ↑