Глава 38

Ezek.38:1–2. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Gog, and against the land of Magog, Prince Ros, Mosoch and Fovel. Gog and Magog are Scythian peoples; Mosochus are said to be Cappadocians, and Fovels are Iberians. But “Ros” in Hebrew means: head. And Akila translated the word: “Ros”: “the head of Mosoch.” Ezek.38:3–4. And say to them: this says Adonai the Lord: Behold, I am against you Gog and Magog, against the prince of Ros, Mosoch and Fovel, and I will turn you around, and I will put a bridle in your jaws, and I will gather you and all your strength, the horses and cavalry are covered in all the armor, the cathedral is many, helmets, and swords, and shields of all these things. The Prophet, in what he said, revealed to us the power of Divine effectiveness and the fact that nothing like this happens without God’s will, but God organizes good events or allows sorrowful things to happen because of previously committed sins. Therefore, in what is said: “I will put a bridle in your jaws, and I will gather you,” we do not mean a sensual bridle that is placed, but God’s wave, which guides Gog and Magog and with him all those whose generations the Prophet lists. For he says: Ezek.38:5. The Persians, and the Murians, and the Lidians, and the Lebanons, And Foot is with them. This is one of the sons of Ham, the ancestor of the western Libyans. I own all these helmets and shields. They all had helmets and shields, both round and light. Ezek.38:6. Gomer, and all those around him (this is what he calls the Galatians), the house of Forgaman (by this he means the Phrygians) from the end of the north and all his supports, and the many nations with him. “Supports” refers to the subjects who support and elevate the kingdom. Ezek.38:7. Get ready, get ready yourself, and all your host gathered with you, and you will be with Me in the first watch. Ezek.38:8. From many days you have prepared yourself, and in the last summer you will come to the land, brought down by the sword, gathered from the tongues of many, to the land of Israel, which was very desolate. Upon returning from Babylon, as other teachers of the Church say, these peoples took up arms against Judea: and this interpretation is in accordance with the prophecy, for the Prophet says: “come to a land brought down by the sword,” that is, delivered from enemies and freed from captivity, and adds: “gathered from the tongue into the land of Israel, which was very desolate.” They say that during the war of Zerubbabel these nations were destroyed, and the spoils of war were used to build the church of God, because the Jews, poor people and captives, did not have an abundance of money. Probably the neighbors, jealous of the welfare of the Jews, hired these nations against them. And that they hindered the construction of the church, deceiving either the leaders of the regions or the kings of Persia, the writing of Ezra testifies to this. The Prophet adds to this: And these things departed from the tongue and they will dwell in peace. From this it is clear that the invasion of these peoples took place soon after their return from captivity, for God says: “And these people departed from the tongue, and they will dwell in peace.” Ezek.38:9. And you will rise like rain, and you will come like a storm and like clouds, covering the earth, and you will fall, and all those around you, and many nations with you. Expecting one thing, you will endure another, hoping for victory, you will be given over to death. Then he describes how he reasons with himself. Ezek.38:10–12. Thoughts will arise in your heart, and you will think evil thoughts, and you will say: I will go up to a rejected land, I will come to a people who are silent in silence, living on a land on which there is no fence, no doors, no ropes, to bring captivity into captivity and take their gain: turn my hand on the desolate land that is already inhabited, on the tongue gathered from the many tongues that created the attraction of estates living at the navel of the earth. And all this informs us about what happened after the captivity, when the cities of Judah, according to prophecy, had neither walls, nor doors, nor locks, which is why the above-mentioned peoples dared to take up arms. The people of Israel, upon their return, became glorious, as if returned by the power of God. And just as the exodus from Egypt brought him great fame, so the return from Babylon made them famous and turned the eyes of everyone on them, which is why these nations dared to take up arms against them. And let no one consider the prophecies incredible, taking into account the distance between the Scythian peoples and Judea, but let him think that in our times this people occupied the entire east and, having taken very many into slavery, withdrew. The prophet says that in his army there were Phrygians, Galatians, Iberians, Persians and Ethiopians, not as his subjects, but as having joined him for various reasons, and some united and took up arms voluntarily, while others were taken prisoner and forced to fight together. To this the word of God adds a touching appeal to this people on behalf of other nations, for it says: Ezek.38:13. Sava and Dedan, the Persian merchants, and all their weights say to you: food for captivity, you are coming to take captivity, and you have gathered your people, take silver and gold, take away the attractions and possessions, the hedgehog captivity is great. Sheba, as I already said, is an Ethiopian and Indian people, and Dedan is in the neighborhood of Idumea. But there is another Ethiopian Tarshish, this is Carhidon. All these nations, says the Prophet, looking at your uprising, will know that out of love for self-interest you undertook this campaign. Ezek.38:14–16. For this cause the prophets, O son of man, and the prophets of Gog: This saith the Lord Adonai: Will it not be in that day, when my people Israel live in peace, that thou shalt understand and arise? And you came from your place from the end of the north, you and the nations were many with you: all the cavalry on their horses, the council was great and the strength was great, and you came up against My people Israel, like a cloud covering the earth: in the last days it will be, that is, upon the return of Israel, for he said this above: “When my people Israel live in peace, you will understand and rise.” Similar to this is what the blessed Moses said: “I will show them what will happen at the last of the days: for there is a corrupt generation” (Deut. 32:20), and “the last of the days” does not mean the end, but the time in which their dispersion occurred. And I will bring you to My land, so that all the nations will lead Me away, when I am sanctified in you before them, O Gog! Now the peoples do not need Gog to teach everyone the knowledge of God, because they have received this knowledge from the Lord Christ. But in ancient times, before the Lord became man, such miracles were needed. Thus, when Sennacherib destroyed many thousands of soldiers in Judea, by this miracle the people came to know the God of all. Why does blessed David cry out: “God is known in Judah: His name is great in Israel” (Ps. 75:1). And in the destruction of these nations in Judea, everyone, recognizing the power of the God of all, moved their lips to sing. That is why God says: “Let all the nations lead me away when I am sanctified in you,” that is, when I become glorified by making My power obvious. Ezek.38:17. This is what Adonai, the Lord, says to Gog: You are, as was spoken of in the first days, by the hand of my servant the prophet of Israel, who prophesied in those days and years that he would bring you against him. Joel, Hosea, Micah and other prophets foretold about these nations. Hosea says: “And I will make a covenant with them in that day with the wild animals, and with the birds of the air, and with the creeping things of the earth, and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the war from the earth, and I will make you dwell in hope” (Hos. 2:18); and Joel says: “Behold, in these days, and in the time that I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, and I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will reason with them concerning My people, and concerning My inheritance Israel” (Joel 3:12). And Micaiah says this: “Be sick and be of good courage, daughter of Zion, as she who is in labor: before now you have come out of the city, and have settled in the land, and come to Babylon: from there the Lord your God will deliver you from the hand of your enemy. And now many nations are gathered against you, saying: Let us rejoice, and let our eyes look upon Zion. These, however, did not understand the thoughts of the Lord, and did not understand His counsel, as if they were gathered together like sheaves of humus. Arise and wear them out, daughters of Zion, for I will make your horns of iron, and your nails I will make copper, and you will thin out many people, and you will present their multitude to the Lord, and their strength to the Lord of all the earth” (Mic. 4:10-13). And Zechariah says: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying: “Not in great power, nor in strength, but in My Soul,” says the Lord Almighty. Who are you, the great mountain before the face of Zerubbabel, who will correct him” (Zech. 4:6, 7)? From this it is clear that after the return of the Jews from captivity, these nations took up arms against them and were crushed by the hand of God. Ezek.38:18. And it will come to pass in that day when Gog comes to the land of Israel, says Adonai the Lord, My wrath will arise in My wrath. Ezek.38:19. and My zeal is in the fires of My wrath: I say unto you, In that day there shall be a great coward in the land of Israel. God calls the greatness of the event “coward,” because everything is acceptable with fear—both the sensation of an earthquake and information about great miracles. But it is not incredible that there were earthquakes as punishment for the wicked and bestial. We will understand the words: “rage, anger, zeal from anger” in a divine way, for they are used in a human form to mean punishment. God says that from the fear of events, not only people, but also fish, birds, reptiles, and beasts will be shaken, that “the mountains will be torn apart,” “walls” will be destroyed (Ezek. 38:20). From which it is clear that God called a real earthquake a “coward,” for this coward not only the verbal, but also the dumb, brings fear and uproots mountains, so that the valleys are filled with broken debris, destroys walls, and turns cities into ruins, in short, the teacher of this is experience. Ezek.38:21. And I will call upon all My mountains the fear of swords, says Adonai the Lord: After the previous earthquake, God says, I will bring upon them the fear and fear of enemies, so that they will run away, will not recognize each other, and will begin to kill each other. For he expressed this by saying: a man's sword shall be against his brother. Ezek.38:22. And I will judge him with death and blood, Not only will they be destroyed by one another, but I will also smite them from above. flooding rain and hailstones, and I will rain fire and brimstone, and on all things with him Ezek.38:23. And I will be magnified, and glorified, and sanctified, and I will be known before many nations, and they will know that I am the Lord. When they are given over to destruction, those who did not know Me until then will know My power and worship My dominion.