There is growing worry, especially among Israeli news sources, about Israel’s future. One primary reason for the angst is Turkey’s dramatically growing desire and efforts to establish hegemony over the entire region. This, they fear is happening while America’s desire to withdraw from the region as “sheriff” threatens to leave Israel to defend itself without US military help.
Turkey, of course, is included, we believe, within the prophesied Gog-Magog assault given by the prophet Ezekiel.
Here is God’s Word on the initiation of that future assault on God’s chosen nation, Israel.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. (Ezekiel 38:1–7)
The term “the house of Togarmah of the north quarters” speaks of the ancient geographical region now occupied by modern-day Turkey.
That nation today is often front and center in news from the Middle East. Under the leadership of a man considered by many to be a voracious dictator, Turkey is indeed seen as flexing its military and hegemonic muscles while strutting upon the end-times stage.
One story frames the situation well, I think:
Israel is closely monitoring a series of regional military and geopolitical developments this week that analysts say could reshape the balance of power in the Middle East, particularly as Turkey expands its influence and the United States signals growing fatigue with military involvement in the region.
The long-standing goal of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to establish his country as the leading Islamist political, cultural and military power in the Middle East as a stepping stone toward resurrecting the Ottoman Empire has been well documented.
This week, some progress appeared to be made toward that goal when the EFES-2026 Combined Joint Live-Fire Field Exercise took place along the Aegean coast near İzmir, involving large land, naval and air forces from the Turkish military alongside contingents from 50 other countries, including Syria and Libya…
Ankara’s growing influence, not only in the Middle East but also in Europe and Africa, is viewed in Israel as an increasingly worrying development.
Students of Biblical prophecy have also noted the prominent mention of ancient regions corresponding to modern-day Turkey, Persia (modern-day Iran) and Libya in the coalition of nations that come against Israel, described in the prophecies of Ezekiel chapters 38-39…
”The U.S. doesn’t want to be in the Middle East anymore, while Iran and Turkey both want to be the new sheriff in town,” said a U.S. CENTCOM intelligence analyst who spoke to ALL ISRAEL NEWS on condition of anonymity.
“They might be willing to share it, or they might compete with each other, while Egypt, Saudi and the rest make a deal with one or the other. Israel might be all alone soon. You better figure something out real fast!” (“Israel Watching Regional Military Shifts with Growing Concern,” All Israel News Staff, May 24, 2026)
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan exhibits all the attributes given most dictators of the world throughout history. He is an avid anti-Israel Muslim and will easily fit within the Gog-Magog coalition if he is the one to lead Togarmah in the deadly assault on God’s chosen nation and people.
Turkey has joined with the other Gog-Magog coalition members in several ways over recent years. Russia (Rosh) and Iran (Persia), along with Turkey, seem to be the three prime movers and shakers that will lead the deadly attack.
Only it won’t be deadly for Israel. It will be extremely deadly to that Gog-Magog force!
Here is God’s description of that evil coalition’s fate:
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:1–5)
This assault will be world-rending because God Himself will unleash supreme power and authority over Satan’s wickedness. All but one-sixth of the forces will be destroyed.
Because this will be an event, probably with nuclear fire, falling upon many nations and their coastlands, I believe this Gog-Magog attack will take place after the Rapture, not before.
Jesus, as I’ve written many times, promises that things will be business as usual at the moment He next catastrophically intervenes (in the Rapture of the Church; see Luke 17:28–30). Therefore, things will not “be business as usual” when God deals with those who would destroy His nation and people.
Again, even as chaotic as our world is now, things are still “business as usual,” with people buying, selling, planting, building, and moving through all the other activities of life. There has been no truly world-rending catastrophe.
But that catastrophe is coming…for believer in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, however, it will not be catastrophe, but the most glorious moment possible when the Rapture occurs.
Here is how to go to be with Jesus when He shouts, “Come up here!”:
That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)
Some have prophesied that this great northern power that invades Israel presumably near what is the Golan(Trump) heights will be Turkey, not Russia.
I read an article several years ago saying(paraphrasing), “Its’s NOT Russia that will invade Israel, it’s Turkey”. The author went on to explain how he arrived at this synopsis and emphatically decried how bible scholars for years have gotten it all wrong concerning the Ezekiel prophecy.
Turkey at one time had great power wielding when its Ottoman empire ruled before it went kaput over a hundred years ago. Today it no longer has much geo-political clout, nor is its military fearsome in the minds of its enemies.
The country the Bible speaks of unto Israel’s uttermost northern parts can only be Rosh (Russia). If you draw a vertical line from Jerusalem north to Moscow, it very nearly bisects this grid on a map.
The “hook” the Lord puts in the Gog-Magog coalition I believe is economic in nature. They have invaded to Israel to gain much ‘booty and spoil’. Israel now has oil, gas, and other precious stuff. Not to mention their intellectual property of which I have no doubt is bountiful as the Bible tells us He will increase Israel’s bounty in these the last of the Last Days! I agree with Terry that almost certainly this calamity for Israel’s enemies happens after the Rapture of the Church. But again according to biblical scholars the war is over almost as soon as it begins(24-48 hours) as the Lord miraculously delivers Israel from certain annihilation due to the swiftness of its completion thereby convincing many in Israel and the entire world it was the Hand of the Lord that intervened on their behalf!! PTL!
I read an article where the author explains how biblical scholars down through the years have it all wrong concerning the invading forces in the Gog-Magog invasion of Israel. The author emphatically stated how it will be Turkey which leads this invasion because the country lies north(and a little west)of Israel. He decried, “Its Not Russia, its Turkey”, and went on to expound his premise and the reasoning behind it. Needless to say, I had never heard this before as the Bible clearly states this invading force will be led by a band of invaders from the uttermost northern parts. If you draw a vertical line on a map from Jerusalem northward it nearly bisects an intersecting horizontal line near Moscow(Rosh) whom the Bible clearly identifies as the leader of this invader. Turkey simply doesn’t fit the bill, as it were, describing it as the leader of this invasion.
And only until recently has Turkey become increasingly hostile towards Israel as once it was a vacation hot-spot for Israelis who frequented its many beautiful locales. So it was very hard to imagine Turkey being allied in the Ezekiel prophecy to make any sense on a timeline where we were prophetically speaking. I agree with Terry in that this battle which some Biblical scholars believe will be incredibly short(24-48 hours) will happen after the Rapture of the Church, not before! I believe this also is the battle(war) where it is prophesied that it will take Israel 7 months to bury the dead even with the various birds and animals feasting on the carrion of rotting corpses-in the Valley of Hamon-Gog. But, it is believed because the Ezekiel war is so short, and miraculous, it will be acknowledged as this battle belonging to the Lord as victor–not anything Israel did to accomplish this feat!