Sometime in the future, a war will break out. In today’s world, that would seem a normal activity, as there are always conflicts brewing somewhere. But this war will be different because it was foretold more than 2,500 years ago by the Jewish prophet Ezekiel and is referred to as the Battle of Gog and Magog.

According to the book of Ezekiel, Israel will be invaded by a confederation of nations that includes Russia, Iran, Libya, Turkey, and others. (See “The Invaders“) The big question is: Why?

Why will these nations invade? What does Israel have that these nations will covet? For years, sound Bible teachers speculated that Russia’s motivation would be its desire for a warm-water seaport it could use year-round for exporting and importing goods. Russia’s ports are often frozen due to the region’s extremely frigid temperatures.

Many Bible scholars pointed to this motivation when Russia invaded Afghanistan in 1979; and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did so as well in a CIA report dated January 2, 1980:

The Soviet military movement into Afghanistan positions USSR armed forces little more [than] 400 kilometersby air from the Indian Ocean, and it revives speculation concerning the century-old Russian quest for a warm-water port.

Other Bible teachers suggested Russia and its allies might want the minerals found in the Dead Sea. However, those minerals hardly seem significant enough to provoke an invasion of the magnitude described in Ezekiel.

The Bible says these hordes come “to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out [their] hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.” What does Israel have that these nations will want?

Under the Sea?

The answer may lie about a mile underneath the Mediterranean Sea.

The Tamar, Leviathan, and Karish natural gas fields located off Israel’s shores contain such massive amounts of natural gas that Israel could become a major exporter to Europe. Tamar began pumping in 2013, Leviathan in 2019, and Karish in 2022.

In 2022, the European Union (EU) signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel that “eventually could see significant quantities of Israeli natural gas shipped to Europe via Egypt,” wrote political analyst Soeren Kern.2 He added,

The EU is desperately trying to reduce its dependence on Russia, which supplied around 40 percent of the bloc’s gas imports in 2021. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the European Commission, the EU’s administrative arm, proposed reducing imports of Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of this year [2022].

Dr. Karolina Zielinska, a senior fellow in the Israel-Europe project, said, “Mediterranean gas has already enabled Israel to become self-sufficient . . . with regard to electricity generation: plans have been made to phase out the coal used for this purpose by 2025.”

Already, others are claiming the natural gas belongs to them. The terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon is putting roadblocks in Israel’s way. Zielinska said Hezbollah, “which to a large degree acts as an executor of Iran’s will and tightens ties with Russia, is continuing to step up its rhetoric and actions. As a consequence, it is becoming the biggest threat to the implementation of the plan to export Israeli gas to Europe.”

In light of these developments, it seems reasonable that natural gas could become a bone of contention, making it worthwhile for Russia (Magog), Iran (Persia), and their allies to invade Israel in hopes of seizing the gas fields as “plunder” and “booty.”

Possible Land Grab?

Clearly, the invaders will come from what today constitutes much of the Muslim world. Iran has been working with Russia for years to develop nuclear power and a nuclear bomb.

These nations’ intense hatred for the State of Israel is legendary. The Islamic religion maintains that any land once possessed by Islam belongs to Muslims in perpetuity, no matter who preceded or followed the Islamic presence. They see all of Israel as belonging to them forever.

It could be that Russia’s allies join the fray, hoping to redeem the land for their god, Allah.

Continued Antisemitism?

The international hatred and vilification of Israel and the Jewish people continues to grow exponentially despite all the Jews and the State of Israel do to make the world a better place.Israel has pioneered historic medical and technological advances over the years and continues to be a world leader in providing humanitarian aid whenever and wherever a cataclysmic event occurs.

Be it an earthquake, hurricane, or 12 young members of a soccer team trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand, Israel frequently arrives first with boots on the ground. The tiny Jewish nation sends supplies, doctors, and technology to help in a crisis.

But does the world say thank you? No. Is the world grateful? Never. Instead, Israel is vilified by the United Nations; and Jewish people everywhere are hated, hounded, attacked, and killed randomly simply because they are Jewish.

The 20th century included pogroms and the Holocaust of World War II; and today, Holocaust denial grows despite all the education and facts available that tell the truth. Furthermore, since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have increased an unprecedented 337% in the United States alone.

So, the attack by Gog and Magog may also be motivated by antisemitism, as many nations unjustifiably follow in Hamas’s wake and gather to destroy Israel.

Power Play?

Often the desire of ungodly leaders lost in sin involves power and world domination.

It is possible the Gog–Magog invasion is part of Satan’s power-mad strategy to usurp God. God has promised that Israel will exist forever. The Jewish people are “the apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:8), and Jerusalem is “the city of the great King” (Ps. 48:2).

Clearly, these truths fly in the face of Satan’s plan to become God himself. When Satan rebelled against God, he brazenly declared, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14).

But the Almighty will have the last laugh: “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. . . . I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:4, 6).

Satan’s power grab will fail. Satan will fail. Israel’s enemies will fail. Satan eventually will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternity (Rev. 20:10); and the Lord will triumph.

The Jewish people “shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid” (Ezek. 34:28). God will plant them in the land He promised them, the land of Israel, where they finally will dwell in peace (39:25–28).

Tom Simcox is the Church Ministries training coordinator and a Bible teacher for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and Word of Life Bible Institute.