The Swords of Ezekiel: A Prophetic Fulfillment

By Tom McCall ThD and Ed Barrett MS

To those who have a fairly good background in the hard sciences:

Maybe Ezekiel really did mean horses and ancient armor……..
The Swords of Ezekiel accepts the plain teaching of the text that the Magog raiders wield weapons from the generation before the Gunpowder Revolution and use horses for transportation. Consequently, the narrative that emerges is a dramatic departure from the generally accepted modern weapons teaching of present-day scholars.

In this alternative understanding, the two chapters are complementary descriptions of the same series of events. i.e. One has details that the other does not have. The chronological narrative emerges when the two segments are properly aligned like a spline gear on a drive shaft. Thoroughly referenced, this is the book to read for a better understanding of the relationship between natural science, European history, legend as guide to history, art as secular prophet, archaeology outside the Near East and Bible prophecy. The primary motives for the raid are anti-Israel resentment, jealousy and near starvation levels of crop-failure hunger. The absence of modern weapons is explained as a combination of industrial collapse and an as-yet unobserved destabilization of nitrate-based propellants and explosives. The merchants of Tarshish are identified as the British Commonwealth based on cultural heritage, mineral resources, geography and geopolitics. The Swords of Ezekiel also suggests a location for these events on the prophetic timeline. Prompt access to the references is provided by a link at www.swordsofezekiel.com. N.B. Internet links are fluid and are not under the authors’ control.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: May 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9781489749581

Tom McCall ThD

The late Dr. Thomas S. McCall held Degrees from the University of Texas (B.A.), Talbot Theological Seminary (Th.M., B.D.), and Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.D.). He was widely known as a conservative biblical scholar. Ed Barrett is a retired Bachelor’s level Chemical Engineer with a Master's in Mineral Processing Engineering.

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Copyright © 2024 Tom McCall, ThD and Ed Barrett, MS

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4959-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4957-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-4958-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023919425

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 04/23/2024

FOREWORD

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It is my pleasure to recommend Swords of Ezekiel. I have watched the authors’ concept of Ezekiel’s vision materialize into reality in current events. They trace prophecies written millennia ago finding their fulfillment in armaments and environments that could only come to pass on today’s global landscape

The reader will be enlightened and better prepared to trust Biblical prophecy after reading this book

Carl Baugh

Founder and Director

Creation Evidence Museum

The Roman seeks after glory.

The Greek seeks after knowledge.

The Jew seeks after a sign.

Only in Christ do we find all three. (295)

CONTENTS

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A Question of Interpretation

A Proposed Time line: Concurrent events are presented showing time frames instead of dates

A Chronological Arrangement and Blending of Chapters 38 and 39

Ezekiel, Chapter 38: A Prophecy Against Gog & Company.

Ezekiel, Chapter 39: The Destruction of the Magog Raiders.

Ezekiel 38 & 39: God’s Motives and Indictments

An Ethnic Description of the Army of Gog & Company

The Weapons and Armor of Gog & Company

The Land of Israel: Ground Zero

Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish, and the Young Lions of Tarshish Speak

The People of Israel: Before and After

Events, Geopolitical, Religious, and Social Conditions Before the Invasion

Israel’s Friend, a Zionist Christian America Has Passed from the Scene

The Years Prior to the Gog and Magog Invasion

No More Walls (Ezekiel 38:11)

Israel Has Become Wealthy (Ezekiel 38:12-13)

Background Summary on the Implications of a Stable Economic System That Includes Precious Metals Money

Israel’s Wealth of Silver and Gold Attracts the Attention of Gog & Company

Other Wealth in Israel That Has Attracted the Attention of Gog & Company

Israel’s Agricultural Prosperity and a Favorable Climate Prediction

The Geopolitics and Grains of Eastern Europe

The Weather Patterns in Eastern Europe

Israel is Transformed by the Change in Weather Patterns

Horses and Starvation

Logistics

Fate of the Magog Raiders

Some Hints from the Hebrew Text Regarding Agricultural Conditions in Israel

The Fate of Fiat Currencies

A Medium of Exchange

The Great Technological Retreat and the World-Wide Collapse of a Technology-Based Society

Meltdown?

Modern Society Retreats to the Latter Half of the 1⁹th Century

A Short Review of the Chemistry and History of Nitrates and Nitrate Production

Connecting some of the dots

Nitrate-Based Propellants and Munitions as Fuels

The Identity of Tarshish, Sheba, and Dedan

Metallurgical considerations when evaluating possible identities of Tarshish

Jonah’s apparent destination going west from Joppa

Is Northwestern Spain the tin mining district associated with Tarshish?

Britannia: Land of Tin?

Tarshish in the Old Testament

The geopolitics of Israel’s Abraham Peace Accords and the Merchants of Tarshish, Sheba and Dedan

The Raiders Converge at or on the Mountains of Israel – North of Jerusalem

The Magog Raiders Muster at Akko and Beer Sheva (Beersheba)?

The Seduction, The Initiation, The In-Dwelling and the March to Destruction

The Magog Raiders Are Consumed

Graves Registration Has a Very Large Task Ahead of Them

Changing Times

An Earthquake Apparently Large Enough to Affect the Entire World

The Calendar of Holidays and Religious Observances Changes

The Magog Raiders are Pillaged

God Assumes the Leading Role

Placing the Swords of Ezekiel into Alignment with the Other Events on the Prophetic Timeline of Daniel and Revelation

In the aftermath of the Gog-Magog War, several events must take place

What’s Next? A Summary Scenario Based on the Analysis Given Above

Notes

References

Author Biographies

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A QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION

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Starting as early as the 15th century, the Renaissance was an era of questioning authority, searching for answers through observation and experimentation, a revival of interest in the achievements of classical Greece and Rome. For example: Filippo Brunelleschi’s 15th century dome over Santa Maria Del Fiore at Florence in the mid-15th century. Even the teachings of the Church were challenged. An important dispute from this era was between the observational science of astronomy and the apparent teaching of Scripture and Ptolemy.

Among those best remembered for their contributions to astronomy are Copernicus (1473 – 1543) and Galileo (1564-1642). Their observations became the basis for the heliocentric (Sun-centered) Solar System. One of the reasons that the Church initially rejected this teaching can be found in Ecclesiastes 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The geographer and Almagest star chart author, Claudius Ptolemy also taught (ca. 150 AD) that the Sun goes around the Earth – i.e. the geocentric model of the Solar System. (379)

Moreover, in the past, additional Bible quotes have been used to support a geocentric model of the Solar System and/or the universe: Isaiah 40:22, Job 26:7, Psalm 104:5 and Genesis 1:14–18. This is in spite of the fact that the notion of a geocentric solar system is not directly mentioned in any of the above texts. (399)

Note that Fagan (374) points out that Europeans followed the cod west across the North Atlantic as the Medieval Warm Period transitioned to the early years of the Little Ice Age of the 14th century and 15th century: The surviving accounts from that era indicate that Europeans traveled as far west as Newfoundland before Columbus sailed for the New World in 1492, meaning that there was already an observation that the teaching by some of a flat earth and a geocentric solar system had to be either modified or replaced. Delno C. West and August Kling (402) Noted that evidence of lands to the west of Europe could be found washed-up on the shores of Western Europe on a fairly regular basis. Likewise, the stories that became reliable accounts of lands far to the west across the Atlantic. N.B. To those searching for the first stirrings of Christian Zionism, this reference is good place to start. Columbus intended to use the wealth from a new trade route to the Far East to finance a final crusade that would usher in the Second Coming of Christ. Ed. (402). Copernicus is credited with rejecting the geocentric model based on his observations. The dissent of Copernicus set the heliocentric restoration in motion (428).

The dispute is further confounded by Ecclesiastes 1:6—The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. Ecclesiastes 1:7—All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. (370) Modern science has confirmed two of these three verses 1:5, 6 & 7. The problem became one of how to separate a figure of speech that anthropomorphizes the Sun from descriptions that are observationally valid.

And as if that was not enough, the same kind of issue arises with the paths of the seas as described in Psalms 8:8—The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. (370) Matthew Maury confirmed then published the practical application of this teaching. His 1847 book, Wind and Current Chart of the North Atlantic, significantly shortened sea voyages (375).

Matthew Maury is credited with reducing typical travel time from New York to San Francisco by 48 days and similarly reducing the typical travel time from Britain to Australia by 31 days.

(Further reading can be also found at reference 371.)

Here, co-author Dr. Tom McCall and I faced the same kind of question regarding interpretation of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Our choice was whether to accept the teaching as is or to apply the present-day understanding of Revelation, Chapter 9, to Ezekiel 38 and 39:

Drawn from the text of Revelation 9:7 to 9:10:

⁷And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ⁸And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ⁹And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions… (372) (Here, the underlined literary device is simile. Simile is derived from the Latin word similis (meaning "similar) (372)

In contrast, Ezekiel uses simile only three times; twice in 38:9 and again in the same context in 38:16. Ezekiel 38:9 describes the Magog raiders as ascending and coming like a storm and like a cloud to cover the land; the latter phrase being repeated in verse 16 with the use of as. More can be found below about the possible context implications of this simile later. Contrast Ezekiel again, with the beasts found in Daniel’s Chapter 7 menagerie: They are presented in Daniel’s vision exhibiting the characteristics of the great world powers relevant to the redemption of Israel and their relation to the End of Days. However, Daniel’s beasts were presented as a vision, a metaphor, and not a physical reality. In Chapters 38 and 39, Ezekiel’s description of the Magog raiders is more like that of an eyewitness; as if the curtain that separated the times of Ezekiel and the End of Days has been drawn back. The stage, the players, the props, costumes, armor, transportation and choreography are all called out by name…..

The risk in accepting Ezekiel’s vision at face value is that the weapons of war, the army, and the cavalry he describes are those that passed from warfare beginning with the Gunpowder Revolution (423) at (around) the turn of the 14th century and the replacement of horses by modern mechanized armor towards the middle of the 20th century. For example; one of the last cavalry charges dates back to the end of October 1917 when the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade successfully charged and overran the Ottoman Turk defenders and their German allies at Beersheva (Israel). This is the victory that enabled Field Marshall Viscount Edmund Allenby to enter Jerusalem without firing a shot as the Ottoman Turks had already abandoned the city of Jerusalem prior to the arrival of the British Army. Extensive review of Field Marshall Allenby’s Middle East campaign can be found in reference 109.

Among the last surviving remnants of cavalry in the modern era are privately funded reenactor associations (U.S. Cavalry and Buffalo Soldiers) in America. The purview for caisson duty at Arlington National Cemetery is the Third Infantry Regiment, United States Army. (Commonly known as the Old Guard.) There are also the Fundación Real Escuela Andaluza Del Arte Ecuestre; at Cadiz, the Household Cavalry Regiment; at Knightsbridge Barracks, London, and especially, the Spanish Riding School; Spanische Hofreitschule at Vienna. This last one was rescued in the closing days of WW II, courtesy of General Patton, American Colonel Hank Reed, American Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker’s XX Corps, and Austrian Colonel Alois Podhajsky.

Honorable mention goes to present-day Dr. Hidan Csaba and the Falcon Valley Archery Academy at Esztergom, Hungary. Falcon Valley teaches a revival of the horseback archery of the 5th century Huns. Once again, relegated to the status of a relic, it seems very unlikely if not impossible that the cavalry of Ezekiel would be real (109, 216, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, and 422 - perhaps a hint regarding the identity of Gomer & Co.).

Here, the risk lies in finding a plausible explanation for why a future-day army would resort to weapons and transportation that is generations to even centuries out-of-date. Moreover, there is a second risk of repeating the errors of the past in light of the centuries’ worth of bad consequences not to mention bad publicity for both Catholics and Protestants that came from defending Ptolemy’s teaching of a geocentric Earth and a (too) literal understanding of Ecclesiastes 1:5. The only one to receive an even worse drubbing on account of a failed criticism of the Biblical text was the serpent in Genesis 3.

In the past, prophecy scholars and authors started out with an evaluation of the text searching for insights from the text itself; the textual critics. Then, they would compare their understanding - frequently a good understanding - with the current state of geopolitical affairs, cultural trends, and earthquake counts.

Here, Tom and I decided, based to a large extent on the nearly complete absence of simile in the Ezekiel texts and on verse 39:20, to start with examining the natural sciences and comparing observed trends and current affairs in geopolitics with the consequences consistent with a literal understanding of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Our face-value analysis is a dramatic departure from the accepted present-day weapons understanding of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Ezekiel 39:20—Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. (https://biblehub.com/kjv/ezekiel/39.htm.) The birds are eating horses, not mechanized armor. To us, this was a hint that the accepted modern weapons narrative needs to answer at least three questions: Where do the horses come from? Where do the horses find pasture and water? Where is the mechanized infantry?

God’s narrative is speaking to Gog & Company in a personal but future tense through Ezekiel. Thus, the text takes on a life of its own; an excited utterance (348). Near as