EZEKIEL 38:16 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 0
“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, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.”
Gog will come against Israel like a cloud covering the land, and in those days God will bring Gog against the land of Israel so that the nations may know his power when Gog is sanctified through judgment. The cloud imagery repeats from verse 9, emphasizing the overwhelming scale and the mimicry of divine presence. The phrase 'God will bring Gog against the land' reiterates the divine orchestration of the invasion; Gog appears to act autonomously, but God brings him forward to serve divine purposes. The explicit statement of purpose ('so that the nations may know') establishes that God allows the invasion specifically for its revelatory effect; the judgment of Gog becomes the means by which all nations recognize God's power. The phrase 'when he is sanctified through judgment' uses the concept of sanctification paradoxically; judgment against Gog establishes God's holiness and the inviolability of the covenant. This verse culminates the oracle's explanation of the theological purpose of Gog's invasion.
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