Over the past century the world has witnessed some amazing events take place in the Middle East. In 1948 Israel became a nation after 2000 years of dispersion; in 1967 it occupied Jerusalem; in 1973 the Yom Kippur war (Egypt's attack on Israel) was followed by world inflation as the Arabs commenced using oil as a weapon; and then, in 1979, following dramatic moves initiated by President Sadat of Egypt, a peace-treaty was signed by Egypt and Israel that has brought the two nations together after contesting four bitterly fought wars.

What is to be the outcome of these events? Bible prophecy has the answer. The importance of these events cannot be over-emphasized; Bible prophecy shows that they are of the utmost significance in the destiny of men and nations. The future of the Middle East looms large in the predictions of the Bible. It was that stretch of country to which God made reference when he told Abraham nearly four thousand years ago: "Look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever" (Genesis 13:14-15). Throughout Scripture God uses names which are today not commonly used to refer to the nations and regions in prophecy. Since the time of writing, a particular country in question may have changed dramatically, but God intentionally used these names to refer to geographic regions so that we today would have some way in which to trace back in history where these nations are situated today. Therefore, the names would be relevant not only to those to whom God was originally dealing with when Scripture was penned but also to everyone today. Some of the names used in Scripture therefore, require some disiphering. The following nations have been mentioned by the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 38 and will have some involvement in the battles in the time of the end. We'll endevour to demonstrate their involvement in the battles and how we can be sure that the names used in Scripture relate to these countries.

1. Tarshish - The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Countries
2. Rosh, Meshech & Tubal - Russia
3. Magog - Central Europe
4. Gomer - France
5. Israel - Irsael
6. Sheba & Dedan - Saudi Arabia
7. Persia - Iran
8. Egypt - Egypt
9. Ethiopia - Ethiopia
10. Libya - Libya
11. Togarmah - Turkey

It's likely that readers will find the identification of nations quite inconceivable at first sight and it would therefore be neglectful not to provide good reason for the alignment of these nations with the Biblical insight given by Ezekiel. Please select the links for further information.