Ezekiel 38:16

16 and thou shalt come up against my people of Israel as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be at the end of the days, and I will bring thee upon my land, that the Gentiles may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 38:16

And thou shall come up against my people of Israel
Which is repeated for the certainty of it; and not for his comfort, but his ruin; not to the terror of Israel, but for the glory of God: as a cloud to cover the land;
the land of Israel, so great should be his army; (See Gill on Ezekiel 38:9), it shall be in the latter days;
of the Gospel state, or kingdom of the Messiah, when the Jews shall be converted, and are returned to their own land, ( Hosea 3:5 ) : and I will bring thee against my land;
not to possess it, nor to hurt it, or to any injury to the people of it: but that the Heathen may know me;
the Pagan kingdoms of China, and others; who by God's judgments on the Turks will come to the knowledge of the true God, and acknowledge him, and will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, ( Revelation 11:15 ) ( 16:12 ) : when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes;
that is, when God shall appear to be a holy and just God, in inflicting deserved punishment on the enemies of his people; when his omniscience and omnipotence, his power and faithfulness, and other perfections of his will be displayed, in fulfilling those prophecies concerning Gog or the Turks; infidels will be convinced of the truth of divine revelation; of the God of Israel being the true God; of Jesus being the Messiah; and of the Christian religion being of God, and shall profess the same. The, Targum is,

``that the people may know the vengeance of my power, when I shall be sanctified in thee, who shall see thy vengeance, O Gog.''

Ezekiel 38:16 In-Context

14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog: Thus hath the Lord GOD said: In that time when my people of Israel shall dwell securely, shalt thou not know it?

15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

16 and thou shalt come up against my people of Israel as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be at the end of the days, and I will bring thee upon my land, that the Gentiles may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Art thou not he of whom I have spoken in days past by my slaves the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those times that I would have to bring thee upon them?

18 And it shall come to pass in that time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, said the Lord GOD, that my fury shall rise up in my anger.