Bulletins - Grantsdale Community Church

Introduction
Imagine waking up to find that a vast, heavily armed army is marching toward your homeland. Your nation is outnumbered and defenseless. The shadow of annihilation falls across every household.
What do you do?
Where do you turn?
This is precisely the scenario God unfolds for the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 38. Ezekiel’s preaching to Jewish exiles in Babylon who were just annihilated by military invasion. They already felt crushed by their circumstances. Now God pulls back the curtain on a future apocalyptic invasion.
But, this prophetic message wasn’t designed to frighten God's people. Instead it was designed to anchor them in their faith before the storm arrives. God says: I know it’s coming. I’ve planned for it. And I will handle it.
It’s the same message for us today. The threat we face may not be a military force. It might be a medical diagnosis, a financial collapse, an attack on our reputation, a spiritual assault, or a cultural shift bent on destroying everything we hold dear.
Whatever form our "Gog" takes, Ezekiel 38 has a message for us. However, we aren’t reading this passage as detached historians.
We are reading it as people who live on the other side of the cross and empty tomb. We have the advantage of reading the OT through the lens of the NT.
The God who speaks in Ezekiel 38 is the same God who came in flesh, bore our deepest threat on a Roman cross, and rose on the third day. Every truth in this text shines brighter when we hold it up to the light of Christ.
Proposition
Because God is the sovereign Lord over all His creation, His people should not be paralyzed by threats, for He has already determined the outcome. And in Jesus Christ, that outcome has been decisively sealed.
We’re going to look at how we can fearlessly face our threats by taking three steps to deepen our faith.
1. Realize God is in Charge
2. Don’t Let Threat the Overwhelm You
3. Trust God Will Deal with the Threat
The first step is that we MUST realize God is in charge.
Realize God Is in Charge
(Ezekiel 38:1-13, CSB)
In chapter 38 Ezekiel describes an overwhelming threat. But what’s more amazing than the threat, is who orchestrates it. We’re going to start in verses 1-3.
Ezekiel 38:1–3 CSB
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, face Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him 3 and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
This is the word of the Lord. God isn’t reporting some breaking news and scrambling to find a resolution. He is the one who brought the revelation.
He speaks to Gog before Gog ever has a single thought about marching against Israel. And He opens with a declaration of assured victory:
"Look, I am against you." Not, "I will try to stop you." Not, "I hope things turn out okay for my people." He is against Gog personally, sovereignly, completely.
In verses 1-6 God names the enemy, not just before they act, but before they even know they’re the enemy. And He does so very specifically.
Gog, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, Beth-togarmah. These are not vague, nameless forces of darkness. They are identified, enumerated, and known to God in full detail.
Verse 9 captures the enormous scale of the situation well:
Ezekiel 38:9 CSB
9 You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
A massive force and yet, God has already named every soldier in the overwhelming future threat.
When we face a threat, it can feel like a nameless, shapeless fog we can’t completely see. But God knows its name. He sees it entirely. There is nothing lurking in the shadows of our lives that is hidden from His sight.
Verse 4 contains one of the most powerful images in this entire chapter:
Ezekiel 38:4 CSB
4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders, who are all splendidly dressed, a huge assembly armed with large and small shields, all of them brandishing swords.
The Hebrew word translated hooks here is best described as, a nose ring, an implement put in a captive, implying they are a controlled animal.
You put a ring in the nose and attach reins to it.
God isn’t waiting for Gog to act so He can react. He is fully in control. Even our most terrifying threats are on a leash held by God Himself.
You see, God’s sovereignty doesn’t allow evil to run loose in His creation. Evil operates within limits He has set, for purposes He has ordained, toward outcomes He has already determined.
Look at verse 10,
Ezekiel 38:10 CSB
10 “ ‘This is what the Lord God says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
God knows our thoughts and even the enemies thoughts before we even have them. And Satan’s evil thoughts are set within God’s limitations.
So, when we assess the threats before us, don’t begin with the strength of the enemy. Begin with the strength of God. Realize, first and foremost, that God is in charge.
Otherwise we give the threat a throne it was never meant to occupy. You see, the battle is already before God and the outcome is already determined.
The God who holds the hooks in Gog's jaws is the same God who, in the fullness of time, became flesh and entered the battle Himself.
In Ezekiel, God directs the enemy from His throne. In the Gospels, the incarnate God steps onto the battlefield in the person of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament is explicit about what happened when Christ engaged the enemy. Colossians 2:15 says,
Colossians 2:15 CSB
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.
The word translated "disarmed" brings an image of a victorious general stripping the weapons from a defeated army. At the cross, evil is defeated, Jesus stripped the weapons and armor from all enemies that stand against God's people.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (CSB) states it even more plainly:
Hebrews 2:14–15 CSB
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
The sovereign God who held the hook also came to hold the nail, and in doing so broke the power of death itself.
I’m going to go a bit deeper here. When you realize, not just that, God is in charge, but He has turned that charge over to the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to whom "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given" (Matthew 28:18).
The Sovereign Lord over Gog is the same Lord before whom every knee will bow, Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:10-11). If we are truly in Christ and His Spirit is in us, then we have no reason to let any threat overwhelm us.
Do Not Let the Threat Overwhelm You
(Ezekiel 38:14-20, CSB)
In verses 14-20, the scene shifts from before the invasion to its actual arrival. God speaks to Gog as though addressing him in the moment of his great march:
Ezekiel 38:14–15 CSB
14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘This is what the Lord God says: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know this 15 and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north—you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses—a huge assembly, a powerful army?
Ezekiel 38:16 CSB
16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight.
This is the moment of maximum human terror. The cloud is covering the land. The armies are on the move. Everything that fear feeds on is present:
Overwhelming numbers, strategic surprise, a defenseless people. It’s a completely hopeless situation.
But God has a purpose for allowing these overwhelming threats. Look at the end of verse 16:
"I will bring you against my land so that the nations may know me, when I demonstrate my holiness through you in their sight."
God has permitted this threat for a declared purpose, His own glory and the revelation of His holiness to the nations.
The threat can only go so far. It is permitted within God’s purpose. And when something is granted a purpose by God, it is simultaneously robbed of its power to be the final word.
Fear, at its core, is a hopeless, terrifying feeling that evil will have the last word. But God has a purpose on every threat that opposes His people, He completely strips it of that power.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone in your head before you actually have the conversation?
When is that most common?
Generally, when it’s a confrontational conversation, right?
We play out what we’re going to say, how they will respond, and how we will give our rebuttal.
How often do those conversations go exactly how we planned it in our head? If we’re honest they never go as planned.
Verse 17 is a similar example of God doing the same thing, except He announced it through His prophets.
Ezekiel 38:17 CSB
17 “ ‘This is what the Lord God says: Are you the one I spoke about in former times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who for years prophesied in those times that I would bring you against them?
God’s saying, “I have been announcing this moment for generations.” God had the conversation millenniums before the controversy happened.
This is another layer of comfort and confidence, because when God has the conversation in His head, announced through the prophets, the actual conversation and actions go exactly how God says it will go.
Any trial you might be facing right now did not catch God off guard. He was not surprised when the doctor read your results.
He wasn’t blindsided when the relationship fractured. He wasn’t caught sleeping when the culture shifted beneath our feet.
He spoke of it before it happened. He has prepared a response and predetermined the outcome that predates our panic.
Verses 19-20 what happens when God responds:
Ezekiel 38:19–20 CSB
19 I swear in my zeal and fiery wrath: On that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, every creature that crawls on the ground, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before me. The mountains will be demolished, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.
When creation trembles, it is because the Creator has arrived. Notice God says, “every human being on the face of the earth will tremble before me." The trembling is universal, it reaches every corner of creation. Everything shakes at the presence of God.
Don’t let the threat overwhelm you. It might be loud, but God is louder. It might be large, but God is larger. It moves fast, but God is already at its destination.
The threat may shake our circumstances, but God wants to shake our dependency on everything that’s not Him.
He wants you cling to the only thing that remains unmovable, Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:28 echoes this:
Hebrews 12:28 CSB
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,
The unshakeable kingdom is the answer to every shaking threat, because we serve the One who faced and overcame the cloud.
Ezekiel 38 describes a cloud of armies threatening to blot out God's people. The Gospels reveal the ultimate cloud that threatened humanity, not armies, but sin, condemnation, and death itself.
And Jesus Christ intentionally walked directly into it.
In Luke 22:42, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus looked at the cloud marching against Him and said,
Luke 22:42 CSB
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
The threat was real. The cup was bitter. The darkness was total. Matthew 27:45 records,
Matthew 27:45 CSB
45 From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land.
Everything about the crucifixion says the enemy has won. But just as God declared His purpose in Ezekiel 38:16, "so that the nations may know me,” the cross was not a tragedy without purpose.
It was the appointed moment of greatest darkness in history that produced the greatest light.
Isaiah 53:10 CSB
10 Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely.
The permitted suffering had a ceiling. And on the third day, the ceiling was revealed: an empty tomb and a risen Savior. God’s purpose is our assurance and should prevent our threat from overwhelming us.
Jesus stood in our place and overcame the ultimate threat and the Father's purpose prevailed.
Look at Romans 8:28,
Romans 8:28 CSB
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
If He can redeem the cross, He can redeem our crisis.
Ezekiel says the earth will tremble before God's presence, and Hebrews says we are receiving an unshakeable kingdom.
That kingdom is the kingdom of Christ, inaugurated at His resurrection and consummated at His return. We stand in that kingdom today and nothing can shake its foundation.
Because the foundation is the One who shakes all of His creation. So we can trust God will deal with the threat.
Trust God Will Deal With the Threat
(Ezekiel 38:21-23)
We come now to the climax of the chapter. In just three verses, God dismantles the most formidable military coalition ever assembled:
Ezekiel 38:21 CSB
21 I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains—this is the declaration of the Lord God—and every man’s sword will be against his brother.
Ezekiel 38:22 CSB
22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him.
Ezekiel 38:23 CSB
23 I will display my greatness and holiness, and will reveal myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
Notice the first-person language cascading through these verses: I will call... I will execute... I will pour out... I will display... I will reveal.
God is personally, actively, and decisively engaged in the destruction of every threat to His people.
God says, “I will pour out torrential rain,” not a drizzle, not moderate weather, but torrential. God uses nature as His arsenal. Rain, hailstones, fire, burning sulfur.
Everything in creation is at His command. Every element of the universe responds to His voice. The threat has brought overwhelming resources to the field. But God’s resources are unlimited.
God’s ultimate purpose is not simply the survival of Israel. It is the revelation of His character.
God does not rescue His people merely because He is merciful. He rescues His people because His name is at stake. God’s mercy and grace are shown when He rescues the very people who tarnished His name.
When God’s name is at stake, nothing can stop the outcome. The world watching won’t walk away in awe of Israel's military strategy. Instead, they will walk away knowing that the Lord is God.
When God deals with the threats in our life, it bears witness to our neighbors, our families, and the world around us. That He is real, He is sovereign, and He fights for those who are His.
Our deliverance is not just personal. It is a testimony of our faith. You see, faith is not believing God can, but believing that God will.
Trusting God will deal with the threat isn’t passive resignation. It’s active confidence. It’s standing firm, praying, obeying and serving, while leaving the outcome to God.
Psalm 46:10 says,
Psalm 46:10 CSB
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”
The command "stop your fighting" isn’t addressed to someone at rest. It’s addressed to someone in the middle of war and upheaval.
God says: “Stop trying to control what only I can control. Know that I am God. Leave the outcome to Me.”
Romans 8:31 asks the question,
Romans 8:31 CSB
31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Ezekiel 38 answers answers it with, Not Gog. Not a coalition of many nations. Not sickness, ruin, loss, or death itself. A few verses later, Rom 8:37 declares:
Romans 8:37 CSB
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
The Threat Has Already Been Dealt With
The staggering good news for every believer and all the world: Ezekiel’s final series of 'I will' declarations has already been spoken, not from the clouds over Israel, but from a cross outside Jerusalem and an empty tomb three days later.
The divine "I will" statements find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Where Ezekiel hears "I will execute judgment," John 5:22 tells us "the Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son."
Where Ezekiel hears "I will display my greatness and holiness," John 1:14 announces: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Where Ezekiel hears "they will know that I am the Lord," Philippians 2:11 looks forward to the day when "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."
However, the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, is not a vast army, not cancer nor death, it is the wrath of God against our sin.
And that threat has been fully and finally dealt with by Jesus Christ. Romans 5:9 declares:
Romans 5:9 CSB
9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.
The sword of God's judgment was taken up by Jesus Christ on the cross once for all who believe.
That’s why we can trust God will deal with the threat in our lives. Not only because He is sovereign, but because He has already proven it.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the down payment and guarantee of every promise. The God who raised Christ from the dead will not abandon us in our valley.
Conclusion
Ezekiel 38 is one of the most dramatic chapters in all of prophecy. A massive, terrifying army assembles against God's people.
Does God lose His composure?
Does He scramble for a plan?
No, He names the enemy. He holds the hooks. He has a purpose. He declares the outcome. And He receives the glory.
One OT prophecy covers from the hooks in the jaws to the nails in the hands. From the cloud over Israel to the darkness over Calvary. From "I will reveal myself" to "It is finished!”
The wrath was satisfied and the victory was secured. What remains for us is not to win the battle, but to stand in the victory that has already been won.
Sin came. Death came. Hell did its worst. And on the third morning, the world was given the best news ever, Jesus Christ is risen. He Conquered every grave.
May we walk out of this place today not just with lighter burdens, but with a bigger God. The One whose greatness and holiness have been made known through Jesus Christ on the cross.
- - Ezekiel 38:1–3ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:9ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:4ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:10ESV
- - Colossians 2:15ESV
- - Hebrews 2:14–15ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:14–15ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:16ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:17ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:19–20ESV
- - Hebrews 12:28ESV
- - Luke 22:42ESV
- - Matthew 27:45ESV
- - Isaiah 53:10ESV
- - Romans 8:28ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:21ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:22ESV
- - Ezekiel 38:23ESV
- - Psalm 46:10ESV
- - Romans 8:31ESV
- - Romans 8:37ESV
- - Romans 5:9ESV

Realize God Is in Charge

Do Not Let the Threat Overwhelm You

Trust God Will Deal With the Threat

Ezekiel 38:1–3ESV

Ezekiel 38:9ESV

Ezekiel 38:4ESV

Ezekiel 38:10ESV

Colossians 2:15ESV

Hebrews 2:14–15ESV

Ezekiel 38:14–15ESV

Ezekiel 38:16ESV

Ezekiel 38:17ESV

Ezekiel 38:19–20ESV

Hebrews 12:28ESV

Luke 22:42ESV

Matthew 27:45ESV

Isaiah 53:10ESV

Romans 8:28ESV

Ezekiel 38:21ESV

Ezekiel 38:22ESV

Ezekiel 38:23ESV

Psalm 46:10ESV

Romans 8:31ESV

Romans 8:37ESV

Romans 5:9ESV