A Future War

If you’re an ardent student of Bible prophecy you no doubt know about a war detailed in Ezekiel 38 called the War of Gog and Magog. In the details are nations that will come to destroy Israel. Here is the list from Scripture:

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. (Ezekiel 38:1-6, NKJV)

Some of the countries are more obvious than others. Where are they now? That needs to be determined and it’s not that hard to do. We know Russia is in the mix but who are the others? The web site, gotquestions.org fills in the blanks on those nations:

According to the Bible, there will come a time when Russia, in alliance with several other countries, will amass a huge army against Israel, with a view to plunder the Jews’ land. The nations aligned with Russia for this military endeavor are Persia (modern-day Iran), Put (modern-day Libya), Cush (modern-day Sudan), Gomer (part of modern-day Turkey), and Beth Togarmah (Armenia).

So we have Iran, Libya, Sudan, Turkey, and Armenia. Some believe Germany will be there by way of following the nations formed from the three sons of Noah. Those who hold to that point to Gomer as Germany and Turkey get in there because Togarmah is more than just Armenia. In any event, each of the nations have a reason to join together to attack Israel. One of these nations is Libya. Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi was many things, but one is that he maintained stability in the nation. When his government was toppled in 2011, that all changed. And like so many areas in the Middle East, Muslim-backed alliances moved in to fill the void. While they all have different political stripes with the Muslim Brotherhood leading the way, they are unified for the most part in their dislike and even hatred of Israel. Another nation is Sudan. Again, we need to assess the leadership in this African country that has seen more than its share of unrest. But one thing is clear and that they are at least 97% Muslim and this has been true for a very long time. It’s just a matter of which branch of Islam they follow. The other wildcard here is the many coup attempts in the nation of Sudan making any peace deal tenuous at best. And that is where we see one of the other countries in the future coalition, Iran who is connected to Sudan in current news.

Gaining A Foothold

We read in an article from The Media Line how Iran is trying to influence countries in Africa, specifically Sudan:

Verified field reports and satellite imagery indicate that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have completed their takeover of Darfur after capturing El Fasher, the last major city still under army control. Humanitarian monitors reported hundreds of patients, doctors and displaced families killed inside the Saudi Hospital as RSF fighters swept through the building. More than 36,000 people fled on foot within two days, while roughly 177,000 remain trapped without food or medicine. Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab identified newly dug mass graves and burn scars consistent with heavy fighting. UNICEF has called El Fasher “an epicenter of famine and disease.”

An Israeli diplomat sees more than a local struggle:

“What looks like a local conflict is actually part of a much larger struggle over the Red Sea’s control and African resources,” Ambassador Haim Koren, Israel’s former envoy to South Sudan, told The Media Line.

And this upheaval isn’t a new thing:

The massacres following El Fasher’s capture mark more than another episode of ethnic cleansing. They reveal a proxy war stretching from the Sahel to the Red Sea—a contest in which Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt vie for influence through Sudan’s armed factions. The killings in El Fasher are not without precedent—or warning. In December 2024, the American Jewish Committee’s Jacob Blaustein Institute, which co-founded the Save Darfur Coalition two decades ago, issued an urgent appeal warning that the atrocities were escalating toward genocide. The statement cited satellite evidence of RSF-led mass killings of Masalit and other non-Arab groups, describing the crisis as “a shameful reminder of the consequences of inadequately responding to risks of genocide.” The warning went largely unheeded. No emergency summit followed, and no meaningful pressure was placed on the RSF’s foreign sponsors. Instead, the pattern of targeted violence that began in western Darfur has spread eastward—consuming El Fasher and pushing millions of Sudanese further into flight.

A Missed Opportunity

While Israel is close to South Sudan, they had a chance to help in Sudan proper, but opened the door for Iran:

Sudan’s conflict pits two generals backed by rival foreign patrons against each other. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the regular army, relies on Egypt and Iran. Cairo’s support reflects Nile water interests and a desire to curb Islamist networks within the officer corps. Iran’s return, by contrast, is pragmatic. “When Burhan’s people asked Israel for weapons and were refused, they renewed ties with Tehran—literally one day after Oct. 7,” Koren said. Iranian-made drones soon appeared over Khartoum.

Russia is playing both sides and waiting out the struggle. Iran though has picked their side:

According to Koren, Iran’s renewed activity in Sudan—together with what he called its “Axis of Evil” partners Russia, China and North Korea, alongside proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah—transforms the conflict from a regional tragedy into a global threat. “When Iran is involved in Sudan with those partners, it becomes a bigger threat for Israel,” he said. “Therefore, the Israeli interest—like that of the United States and Europe—is to try to stabilize the situation by supporting humanitarian aid, mediation efforts and economic assistance.”

It looks more like a financial gambit, but it also is a matter of control:

Across the region, Sudan’s war has become another proxy contest in an already crowded strategic arena. But the true front line lies in the Red Sea basin, where Gulf capital, Iranian ambition and African instability collide. For Tehran, re-establishing a foothold in Sudan revives a weapons pipeline once severed by sanctions and creates a potential launch point within reach of Israel and the Suez corridor. Koren warned that the alignment of Iran with Russia, China and North Korea—and their use of regional proxies—extends far beyond Sudan. “What happens in the Horn and the Sahel no longer stays there,” he said. “It feeds directly into global security.”

But if we wondered how African nations would be involved in a major Middle Eastern war, now you can see the why unfolding. And it also explains how a prophet who lived in 593 BC could be so accurate in naming the coalition of nations who will align against Israel over 2,000 years after he lived. And it points to a God who knows the future about Israel and also knows your individual future:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer 29:11, NKJV)