The so-called "Inner-Ring" nations of Psalm 83.

Or, according to the Psalm 83 'Theory', the missing nations of Ezekiel 38's Magog passage. Actually, these nations are neither missing OR silent, since Ezekiel 38:6-9 mentions twice the phrase "and many peoples (nations) with you."

Since all of the listed nations, except Magog (Russia), are Islamic nations, are we to expect the "many nations with you" to be France, Mexico, or perhaps China? No. They will surely be Islamic nations also--Israel's perpetual enemies, the immediate Arabic-Muslim nations which surround her, that is, the "many nations with you."

There is no need to list them specifically, since they are not the LEADER nations of the Ezekiel invasion, but rather the FOLLOWER nations. Remember, Ezekiel 38 lists a FEW significant (Leader) nations, but refers to MANY unnamed (Follower) nations.

Will Israel Secure
Pre-millennial Millennial Borders ?

Pre-millennial Millennial Borders sounds like an oxymoron, and it is. But that is exactly what the Psalm 83 theory proposes.
The Psalm 83 theory proposes that once Israel has captured the territories of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the others listed in that passage, all the way over to Iraq, it is only then that the outer parameter of Ezekiel 38’s Magog-Persian led nations can come down upon Israel’s expanded territory.
The goal of these Russian-Islamic invaders is to “take a spoil.” (Eze. 38:12) Supposedly that is the oil fields spread throughout the Mid East but now, according to this scenario, under Israel’s control.
 The instrument of this exceeding great conquest of the Mid East by Israel is the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), identified as the “exceeding great army” which emerges out of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:10.
The Israeli Defense Forces are then internationally glorified as the world’s premier military force. And Israel gains a pre-millennial version of its divinely-deeded Millennial Kingdom land. The theory goes on to say that it is only then that Israel is in a truly secure state, and consequently it is only then that Ezekiel’s Magog invasion can occur.

But this theory has serious problems, as follows;

1. Israel doesn't need to capture the Arab oil fields to become a target of Russian-Islamic forces looking for “spoil and plunder.” Israel has its own wealth, and is rapidly gaining more. But that is simply a diversion of the Magog invaders. The real goal is not supposed Israeli-confiscated Arab oil fields. The Russians and the Muslims want the same thing Satan wants: The Chosen People and The Promised Land.
(see Note 2 below)

2. The “exceeding great army” of Ezekiel 37:10 is not today’s Israeli Defense Forces. It is the army of Jews saved and empowered by the Lord when He appears in the sky who subdue, once and for all, those same Psalm 83 nations at the time of Armageddon.
(see Note 3 below)

3. The realization of Israel’s extended national boundaries, from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates (Gen. 15:18-21), doesn’t happen in a pre-millennial conquest of the Arab countries and their oil fields. The expanded boundaries of Israel  will come after the return of Christ, at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom. (Daniel 2:44; 7:26-17; Matthew 25:31-34)
(see Note 4 & 5 below)

4. The target of Ezekiel’s Magog invasion is not the supposed expanded territories of Israel comprised of the entire Mid East oil fields, but rather a very specific geographic identifier called “the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:2-4) The “mountains of Israel” territory is not the entire Mid East, but rather the spine of Israel proper, the mountain range connecting the whole country north to south.
(see Note 6 below)

5. Finally, Israel doesn’t have to capture the entire middle east to place itself in the secure position that is required before Magog can invade. Israel already perceives itself today as a people who are living “securely.” (more on this below)

Where are the Psalm 83 nations in the Russian-Islamic (Magog) Invasion of Israel?

The Psalm 83 theory was generated on the assumption that since the nations listed in Psalm 83 are not named among the nations in Ezekiel 38’s description of the latter-day Magog Invasion of Israel (Eze. 38:1-7), then Psalm 83 must represent an entirely different event. Theorists see a contradiction when the two prophecies—the Inner Ring nations of Psalm 83, and the Outer Ring nations of Ezekiel 38— are seen as the same event. (see Note 7 & 8 below, & maps, upper right) Yet, we will see Biblical evidence that makes a stand-alone Psalm 83 war untenable, and even un-Biblical.

As mentioned, some have proposed that Israel will use its IDF military superiority to hammer all of the surrounding Arab nations, capturing their oil fields and vast petrol-wealth, and actually expanding Israel’s borders in the process to gain the territory promised to them in the Millennial Kingdom, from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River. The prophetic basis claimed for this scenario is Psalm 83. 

To say that the Psalm 83 prophecy must be an entirely different event which must precede the Magog invasion because the Ezekiel and Psalm passages have a different listing of nations ignores this fact: The Bible, when describing an event, sometimes lists only the LEADER nations, and sometimes list only the FOLLOWER nations.
(see Note 9 below, & map 1,upper right)

It is probable that the Psalm 83 nations are those “many people with thee” FOLLOWER nations placed under the “guard” (Ezekiel 38:6-7) of the Magog-LEADER nations listed by Ezekiel. 
Since the LEADER nations in the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel are ALL Muslim nations, except for Russia, it stands to reason that the “many nations” with them are none other than Israel’s perpetual enemies listed in Psalm 83—ALL of whom are Arab-Muslim nations today.
In map 1 (upper right), Ezekiel list the key LEADER (Outer Ring) nations, and captures the Psalm 83 FOLLOWER (Inner Ring) nations in the phrase “and many peoples [nations] with you.” (Eze. 38:6)

Gog & Magog—The Primary Timing Question: Is Israel Living Securely Today?

The Bible says that "On that day when My people Israel are living securely,” the Russian-Islamic (Magog) forces will invade Israel. (Ezekiel 38:14-15) The prerequisite to the Magog invasion is that Israel will be “living securely.” When will that be? We don’t have to search OUTSIDE of the Bible to find out. We find the answer INSIDE the Bible. In the Bible's own inspired 4-part prophetic history of the Jews covering the time since their dispersion from the land in 70 AD to their future Millennial Kingdom under Christ.

1. The first part, summarized in Deuteronomy 28:64-68, begins with the 70 AD expulsion of the Jews from their land and continues through centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocausts of World War II.
(see Note 10)

2. The second part of Jewish history picks up with the return of the Jews to their land in 1948 until our current time.
 (see Note 11, page 8)

3. The third part foretells of the ultimate Jewish holocaust yet to come called Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble and known as the Great Tribulation.
(see Note 12, page 8)

4. Finally, the fourth part prophesies that Jewish history will culminate in the restoration of all Jews to their land under their everlasting King, Jesus Christ
(see Note 13, page 8).

In part one and part three, the Jews are in a radically unsecure state. In part two and part four, they are living “securely.” But part four is the everlasting kingdom of security. Therefore, part two, with Israel living “securely” today, is Ezekiel’s reference (38:8,14-15) and must serve as the springboard for the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel.
Note especially the phrase, “they shall [be] dwell[ing] safely” [38:14, after Israel is re-gathered to their land, they will be “living securely”]. The evidence shows that time to be now. Here is why. Take another look at the four parts of Israel’s prophetic history above. First, 1900 years of pure fright—fright prompted by constant terror and “death camps.” It is all capped by the infamous Holocaust.
Next, look at part three of their history (yet future), the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” the Great Tribulation (Jer. 30:7; Mat. 24:21-22). Sandwiched in-between is part two of Jewish history—their return to the land in 1948—continuing up until today. Now, it is no stretch of one’s imagination to say that there is no comparison between the security of today’s Israel to either the Holocaust, or the Great Tribulation! By comparison, Israel today is absolutely secure.
Prophecy teachers’ even assure their tour groups that Israel is a safe place to visit!
(see Note 14 below)

In 1948 Israel came out of nineteen centuries of extreme ‘unsecurity’! During the coming Tribulation they will return for a short time to an even more intense period of ‘unsecurity.’ But today Israel is sandwiched into a brief period— by comparison— of super-security!
Interestingly, the word used by Ezekiel 38:8 for “safely”  [“securely”], the Hebrew “betach,” is defined as “a place of refuge, security, safety.” (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary)  That is exactly what the State of Israel is for Jews worldwide since its inception in 1948. Today, Israel is a secure land of “refuge” from the nightmare of the previous 1900 years of Jewish suffering.
History verifies the fulfillment that Israel is living “securely” today, using the very words noted above; “refuge” and “secure.”
(see Note 15)
In light of both their previous history (Holocaust) and their future history (Tribulation), Israel today is far and away “secure.” Jews worldwide continue to migrate, right along with the tourist, to their “secure place.” Israel’s only other time of  living “securely” will be in their eternal kingdom when ““...the LORD will be king over all the earth...and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. “ (Zec. 14:9-11)

Summarizing the above, we find that after 70 AD, the Bible foretells TWO TIMES of security in Israel’s future, and Israel is in the first one NOW. And it is this time of Israel living “securely” that sets the stage for the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel. Therefore, the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel is an imminent event—it could happen any day!
 

A False Security

This raises the question, why would Magog attack Israel if they are actually secure in their armed forces? The answer we glean from Scripture is that there are three perspectives on what it means to be secure—

1. The perspective of Israel.   (see Note 16)

2. That of their enemy Magog (Russia)— (see Note 17 below )

3. And that of the Lord. (see Note 18, below)

Obviously, in Ezekiel 38, Israel believes that they are living “securely.” But from Magog’s perspective, that security can be breached, or else they wouldn’t risk an attack. And from the Lord’s perspective, any security apart from trust in Him is a false security. Israel’s confidence in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) apart from the Lord is a false security, and no one, including Israel’s superb defense forces, will receive the glory that is due to God alone, for “my glory will I not give to another.” (Isaiah 42:8)

Israel’s trust in itself and its IDF gives rise to a false security that the nation is self-secure  behind “walls” and “barred gates.”
(see Note 19, below)
However, then “shall things come into thy mind,” and as a result  the Russian-Islamic coalition will have a different perspective—Israel will be ripe for an invasion because Russia “shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.” (Eze. 38:11) As to why Israel will find itself in this predicament, parallel phrases in the Bible (note below the bold print) about “safely,” “security,” “walled villages,” and “bars and gates” give us the answer.

1. Israel dwells ALONE among hateful neighbors in the Mid East. The Babylonians attacked a “secure” Arabian people precisely because they were isolated, alone without allies (no “gates nor bars,” Jer. 49:30-31). Israel did the same to the city of Laish in the days of the Judges because they also were living in an isolated false security, without allies to help them. (Jud. 18:7)

2. Israel is COMPLACENT about its security. Jeremiah’s indictment of the complacent, “at ease [safe and secure]” women of Jerusalem came as a warning about false security as Jerusalem faced Babylon.(Isa. 32:9)

3. Israel is PRIDEFUL and SELF-SUFFICIENT. God is not in the equation. Babylon trusted in its self-security in the same way. (Isa. 47:8; “dwells securely”) So did the 8th-century Assyrian super-city of Nineveh (Zep. 2:15)

4. Israel is ARROGANT about its own strength. With that same attitude (“who feel secure” and say “by our own strength”, Amos 6:1, 8, 13) in the eighth century BC, Israel fell to the Assyrians.

5. From our Ezekiel 38 passage on the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel, we find a remarkable similarity in the  phrasing of the “security” conditions in the first four above.
“…but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely [are living securely] all of them… And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates…”  (Eze. 38:8, 11)
However, God will use the Russian-Islamic invasion of Israel to raise up a remnant of believing Jews who "shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.“ (Eze. 39:22) These will be the 144000 Jewish “first fruits” of salvation (Rev. 7:1-8; 14:4) They will testify to the rest of Israel during much of the Tribulation period. After God miraculously destroys Magog, Israel will begin a transition to an everlasting trust in the Lord, and by the end of the Tribulation that follows, “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom. 11:26) and Israel’s false walls of security will then be changed to this,
 “Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls … 'For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” (Zec. 2:4-5)

NOTES:

Note 1
The 2 Great Wars

Bible prophecy emphasizes Magog and Armageddon, but mentions “nation against nation,” “kings of the north & south,”  and other wars. Chronologically, Magog begins the End Time 7-year period, and Armageddon climaxes it. The other “wars” link Magog and Armageddon into one long process—Magog gives rise to World War 3, including various Mideast wars, the Antichrist ascends to global power, & then heads to Armageddon.

Note 2
The Real Goal—Not Spoil

Israel has the wealth. And it is growing
On Mar 29, 2013, Fox News reported, “Recent discoveries of massive offshore natural gas deposits [in Israel, offshore].” 1
On Jul 3, 2012 National Geographic reported, “New Natural Gas Wealth Means Historic Change for Israel.” 2
However, the “spoil and plunder” (Eze. 38:12) is not the real motive of the Magog-Islamic invasion of Israel, but is rather a pretext. The Magog-Islamic forces work for Satan. Satan’s plan has never been to get the goods. He already has them. Satan’s goal is to get the people and the land. And the text itself infers this. In the very context of the “spoil” passage, we read this,
'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought… to turn thine hand upon the desolate places [the land] that are now inhabited, and upon the people”
(Ezekiel 38:10-12)
Then, to confirm that the real goal of the invasion is to wipe out God’s chosen people from their God-given land, God Himself makes it clear what the real target is,
“...And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land”
(Ezekiel 38:16)
As wealthy as Israel is, or will ever get, the real goal of the invading Russian-Islamic coalition is to wipe out the people and take the land.
1. www.foxnews.com/.../with-natural-gas-discoveries-Israel
2. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/07/120703-israel-new-natural-gas/‎

Note 3
Who Is the “exceeding great army”?

Ezekiel 37 gives a very clear sequence of the restoration to life of the “dry bones” & Israel’s “exceeding great army.”
First, there is the vision of Israel as a vast valley of “dry bones,” which is the graveyard of the nations into which Israel was dispersed for 1900 years. (37:1-2)
Next comes the reassembling of the bones into flesh covered bodies, physically alive (37:7-8), but still spiritually dead, and interpreted by the passage itself as “the whole house of Israel” returned to their homeland. (37:11-12)
Finally, the salvation of Israel occurs, when the “breath [of] my spirit” (37:9-14), is imparted to Israel by God. Only at that point—at the second coming of Christ (Rom. 11:26; Zec. 12:10) —does Israel become the “exceeding great army”

Two passages record
—what happens next—

1. Zechariah 12:6-10— "In that day ...[Israel] shall devour all the people round about [the final destruction of the Psalm 83 nations], on the right hand and on the left .... In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them [the “exceeding great army” of Ezekiel 37:10]

2. Isaiah 11:11-15—When the Lord gathers the Jews “from the four corners of the earth” at His Second Coming, “they [the “exceeding great army” of Ezekiel 37:10] will swoop down on the slopes of [Philistia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Egypt, Assyria, the Psalm 83 nations]. For the timing of Isaiah 11:11-15 .
(see Sidebar 4, page 4)
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is not the “exceeding great army” of Ezekiel.

Note 4
When will Israel “swoop down” and capture the Psalm 83 nations?

In Isaiah 11:11-15 Israel “swoops down” and captures the Psalm 83 nations. The passage says that this occurs when the Jews return a “second time” to the land of Israel. Is this “second” return the one of 1948? If so, Israel could conquer the Mid East nations at any time, as the Psalm 83 theory proposes. But the passage is actually describing events when Jesus returns at the end of the Great Tribulation.
Quoting Fruchtenbaum, we read that “the regathering spoken of in this passage is the one in faith in preparation for the Millennial Kingdom. This regathering in faith is specifically stated to be a second international regathering...the first international regathering is the one which would be in preparation for judgment [1948 to the Tribulation]...The second regathering will be...in preparation for blessing.” 1
Therefore, the events of Isaiah 11, including the conquest of the Psalm 83 nations, take place at the time of the Second Coming of Christ in preparation for the Millennial Kingdom.
1. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Israelology: The Missing Link In Systematic Theology, Ariel Ministries, 1996, p. 718.

Note 5
When will Israel get the Psalm 83 lands?

In Genesis 15:18-21God promised that His Chosen People Israel would one day possess all of the land extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River. This is the land which today encompasses the lands of the Psalm 83 nations.
The possession of this ‘Promised Land’ has a clear chronological fulfillment in Scripture, as Fruchtenbaum says, “Following the regeneration of Israel [at the Second Coming of Christ], God will fully carry out the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant concerning the Land...for the first time in Israel’s history, she will possess all of the Promised Land.”1 No, Israel will not march out and conquer the Psalm 83 nations (Israel’s Promised Land) before the time prescribed in Biblical prophecy.
1. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps Of The Messiah, Ariel Ministries, 2003, p. 431, 438.

Note 6
Which ‘Israel’ Does Magog Attack?

The Psalm 83 theory says that Israel will conquer & occupy the entire Middle East BEFORE Magog invades Israel. (Eze. 38-39) If that were the case, Magog would have to attack an Israel whose boundaries span the Mediterranean Sea to Iraq. But Ezekiel says that these Russian-Islamic nations will attack “the mountains of Israel” (39:2,9,17). This term is used by Ezekiel 17 times as a specific geographic designator to identify  the physical land of Israel as it exists today. The Ezekiel Magog attack knows nothing of Israel’s supposed occupation of Psalm 83 lands.

Note 7
The Psalm 83 Event

God is implored in this prayerful Psalm to judge certain long standing enemies of Israel in the war-like manner by which He judged other ancient foes. The nations involved, with their modern place-names, are: Edom, Moab, Gebal & Ammon {Jordan}; Ishmaelites &  Hagrites [Saudi Arabia]; Amalek [Egypt]; Philistia [Gaza, Palestine]; Tyre [Lebanon]; Assyria [Syria, Iraq]; Children of Lot [scattered thru Mideast]. The prayer is prophetic because it is embedded in an end-timeframe (many turn to the Lord, v. 16), &  their defeat is “forever” (v. 17), & the implication is that the prayer will be answered in the future, a prophecy as yet unfulfilled.

Note 8
The Ezekiel 38-39 Magog-Islamic Invasion of Israel

A massive military coalition led by a leader titled “Gog” from “the land of Magog” will launch an end-time invasion of Israel supposedly to “capture spoil.” Russia is Magog (including Rosh, Mesheck & Tubal). Other named nations include Persia [Iran]; Ethiopia; Put [Libya]; Gomer & Beth-togarmah [Georgia-Turkey area]; “and many peoples” [many other nations]. God will directly abort the invasion “on the mountains of Israel.” (39:1-5)

Note 9
THE INNER-RING NATIONS & THE WAR OF ARMAGEDDON

In passages clearly set contextually at the End Time, the time of Armageddon., we see;

1. Joel’s account of the War of Armageddon refers to “all the nations” in chapter 3, but there it makes specific reference only to these INNER RING nations—Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Egypt, Edom.

2. Isaiah 11 (see Sidebar 5) lists only INNER RING nations Philistia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Egypt & Assyria. 

3. Zechariah 14, while making reference to “all the nations,” specifically names only INNER RING “surrounding nations” & Egypt

These passages leave out the LEADER nations (as does Psalm 83). No mention is made of the Antichrist, the ten kings, or the “kings of the east.” (Revelation 17:12; 16:12) Yet the LEADER nations are clearly implied by the phrase “all the nations.”
Likewise, the “missing” FOLLOWER nations of Ezekiel’s Magog-listing are not missing at all—they are also implied by the phrase “many peoples [same exact words translated “many nations” in 38:8] with you.” (Eze. 38:6)

Note 10
RADICAL UN-SECURITY
(70 AD to 1948)

Deuteronomy 28 sums up part one of Jewish history since 70 AD. It is a graphic prophecy of the entire 70 AD—1945-48 span of Jewish persecution.
"And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other…And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart …” (Deuteronomy 28:64-68)
Nineteen centuries of Jewish suffering culminated in the Holocaust during the Second World War where 6 million Jews disappeared in the Nazi death camps; 
“…neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest... thy life shall hang in doubt before thee... and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life,”
...all of which couldn’t be more graphic in describing Jewish RADICAL UN-SECURITY  throughout that period.

Note 11

GOD-given SECURITY
(1948 through Magog)

Part two of post-AD 70 prophetic history saw God bring the Jews back to the land of Israel. Ezekiel 38, our Magog passage, prophesied of that miraculous event, which was fulfilled in 1948, describing Israel as,
“...the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. (Eze.38:8)
The important point at this stage is that when God Himself brought the Jews back to their land, He also gave them a nation, and He also gave them security—through four miraculous wars! (1948, ’56, ’67, ’73) This brought “confidence” (Hebrew, “batach”) But Israel still has not recognized her God (Messiah Jesus, John 5:23), or given Him glory.
Therefore, God will permit the Magog (Russian-Islamic) Invasion into Israel so that Israel will recognize that God IS their Security!  (Eze. 39:7, 22)

Note 12

RADICALLY UNSECURE
(The Great Tribulation)

Part three of Jewish prophetic history shows many Jews will wake up to their need for ’God-Security’ after Magog, but most won’t. Thus Israel will enter the RADICALLY UNSECURE Tribulation, by far the worst ever! (Jer. 30:7; Mat. 24:21)

Note 13
SECURE FOREVERMORE
(The Millennium into Eternity)

Part four of Jewish prophetic history says that when Jesus Christ returns, “...the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one...and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. “ (Zec. 14:9-11)

—SECURITY NEVER ENDING—

Note 14

Questions about Israel’s
security today? Ask Your Tour-Leader!

Many claim Israel is not secure today. But ask any Christian tour leader to Israel what he tells his group about “tour safety in Israel” today. I’ve heard them, and I myself have said the same on a tour I led to Israel in 2004—”Today the streets of Israel are safer than the streets of Chicago and New York!” And it’s true!
 The same couldn’t be said about a “tour” to visit the Jews in the 1945 Nazi death camps, or at any time in the preceding 1900 years! Nor could the same be said about a “tour” to Israel during the future Tribulation. But it can be said today! In fact, every Christian tour leader proclaims that today Israel is secure, terrorists and the 1948, ‘56, ‘67 and ‘73 wars notwithstanding. Those wars actually enhanced Israel’s security.
If Israel is not secure, neither is the tour group.

Note 15

History Recognizes Israel Today as a “Haven of Refuge”

“The world was shocked that such barbarism could take place in the 20th century” and so the world demanded a place of refuge for the surviving Jews— a national homeland— a return to the land of Israel.1  

The world’s response was that “a Jewish national homeland was finally brought into being by a horrified, conscience-stricken international community which viewed Israel as a necessary refuge for Jews throughout the world.” 2

“Having their own country was …a practical answer to the problem of having a secure place to go to.” 3  

Max Dimont, the great historian of the Jews, acknowledges that “the State of Israel today is a citadel of Judaism, a haven of refuge.”  4

John Walvoord writes, “being scattered to the ends of the earth has persisted until the twentieth century, and with it has come untold sufferings to the people of Israel climaxing in the terrible scourge of Hitler who murdered some six million of the people of Israel.” 5 
Notice that Walvoord says that this first period of Jewish ‘unsecurity’ was climaxed by the Holocaust.
Today, Israel is a secure place of refuge for the Jews.
1. G. & L. Klaperman, The Story Of The Jewish People, Behrman House, N. Y., 1958, p. 229.
2. From Time Immemorial, Joan Peters, ,1984, p. 80. 
3. G. & L. Klaperman, The Story Of The Jewish People, 1958, p. 241.
4. Jews, God And History, Max I. Dimont, 962, p. 418.
5. Israel In Prophecy, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1962, p. 107

NOTE 16
Israel Trusts in Self-Security

That Israel trust in its own security is evident in this simple statement by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the ever-present “peace” negotiations,
“We want peace, but not at the price of security” 1
Netanyahu believes that “peace” and “security” are not one and the same. He is right. The Ezekiel 38 prediction of Israel’s condition at the time of the Russian-Islamic invasion is not one of peace, but one of security.
Netanyahu obviously believes that Israel is presently secure by virtue of its military power. The source of  that security? Netanyahu continued by making an admiring reference to a statement Israeli patriot Theodore Herzl said a century earlier.  On June 11, 1901, Herzl said, “Do not rely on the help of foreigners nor on that of benefactors …A people that wants to stand upright must put all its trust in itself alone.” Israel’s perspective on living “securely” is the same one they had when they were driven out of the land 2000 years ago, which is summed up in Ezekiel 33:26:" Ye stand upon your sword…shall ye possess the land?” Israel’s security since 1948 has been provided by God. Yet Israel persists in trusting in Self-Security.
 1. www.jpost.com; April 19, 2010.

NOTE 17
Russia can breach Israel’s Self-Security—And Knows It!

The second perspective on Israel’s “security” is that of the Russian-Islamic arch enemy. They see Israel’s security-”walls” wide open for a breach, for then “shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought, And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages…”  (Eze. 38:10-11). 
If the Russian-Islamic invaders really believed that the IDF was an impenetrable wall of defense, with unbreachable “gates” of security, then of course they wouldn’t attack in the first place! But the prophecy says that then “shall things come into thy mind” and they will view Israel as “dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.”  (for “walls & gates” see Sidebar 19, page 12)

NOTE 18
God will use both the Magog and Armageddon Wars to lead Israel to True Security

The third perspective on Israel’s security is the Lord’s—the only one that matters. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zec.4:6)
Regarding the belief that Israel (and many Christians) have that Israel is secure behind the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the Bible declares something else,
 “There is no king saved by the multitude of an host [a mighty army]: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.”
(Psa. 33:16)
“For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.”
(Psa. 44:6)
 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
(Psa. 20:7)
 Israel’s security since 1948 has been provided by God, as proven by Israel’s victories in the miraculous wars of 1948, ’56, ’67 & 73.
Still, Israel & the world continue to give the glory to the IDF. But Israel’s persistent trust in self-security will come to an end only after God leads them through the 2 great wars of the last days—Magog and Armageddon.

Note 19

WALLS & GATES

Ezekiel 38:11 says that when the Magog (Russian-Islamic) Invasion occurs, Israel will be “dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.”  Though often used literally, this expression is figurative here, meaning “vulnerable” because verse 20 says that when Magog attacks,  “every wall shall fall to the ground.” For a wall to “fall to the ground,” it has to be a literal wall. Yet, to be “without walls,” at the same place at the same time, is not possible unless the expression “without walls” is figurative.
Magog will attack Israel’s “unwalled” Self-Security, unaware of Israel’s God-Security!