Almost Heaven
Well-known
HaRav Shlomo Aviner is Head of Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim.
Question:
Is our current war the War of Gog and Magog foretold by the prophets?
Answer:
There are three approaches:
A. We are exempt from the War of Gog and Magog because we have already suffered immensely throughout the exiles, especially in the Holocaust.
B. The War of Gog and Magog still awaits us, but we do not know what it is or who it involves. This approach follows the words of the Rambam in Hilkhot Melachim, Chapter 12, that all matters concerning the days of the Mashiach will remain unknown until they actually occur.
C. Our present war is the War of Gog and Magog, meaning the War of Independence which in truth has continued until this very day. It is all one and the same war.
These ideas are explained at length in HaTekufah HaGedolah by Rabbi Menachem Kasher.
One might claim that the War of Gog and Magog is only a metaphor. But the Rambam writes explicitly in Hilkhot Melachim (Laws of Kings), Chapter 12, that in the days of the Mashiach there will indeed be a War of Gog and Magog.
Who are Gog and Magog?
“Gog” is the king of the people of “Magog.” The Gemara (Sukkah 52a) states that Mashiach ben Yosef will be killed in the War of Gog and Magog, but we do not know much about this war, nor about Gog himself
Before the establishment of Medinat Yisrael, the British caused us tremendous hardship and did not allow us to immigrate or build a state. The King of Britain was named George, and people in the Yishuv joked that he was “Gog” (in Yemenite pronunciation: “Jog”). Afterwards some said that Stalin was Gog, because he was born in Georgia, and so on… Of course, such ideas belong only at a Purim table.
Rather, “Gog king of Magog” is not a specific individual-it is a title.
In any case, the War of Gog and Magog is described in Ezekiel, Chapter 38 as a war in which all the nations of the world rise up against us, and with God’s help we are victorious. Rabbi Yitzchak Karo writes explicitly on the Tanach that the War of Gog and Magog arises because we have established a kingdom for ourselves. In other words:
The War of Gog and Magog comes in order to destroy the State of Israel.
Therefore, it is clear that the present (ongoing) war is the War of Gog and Magog.
www.israelnationalnews.com
Question:
Is our current war the War of Gog and Magog foretold by the prophets?
Answer:
There are three approaches:
A. We are exempt from the War of Gog and Magog because we have already suffered immensely throughout the exiles, especially in the Holocaust.
B. The War of Gog and Magog still awaits us, but we do not know what it is or who it involves. This approach follows the words of the Rambam in Hilkhot Melachim, Chapter 12, that all matters concerning the days of the Mashiach will remain unknown until they actually occur.
C. Our present war is the War of Gog and Magog, meaning the War of Independence which in truth has continued until this very day. It is all one and the same war.
These ideas are explained at length in HaTekufah HaGedolah by Rabbi Menachem Kasher.
One might claim that the War of Gog and Magog is only a metaphor. But the Rambam writes explicitly in Hilkhot Melachim (Laws of Kings), Chapter 12, that in the days of the Mashiach there will indeed be a War of Gog and Magog.
Who are Gog and Magog?
“Gog” is the king of the people of “Magog.” The Gemara (Sukkah 52a) states that Mashiach ben Yosef will be killed in the War of Gog and Magog, but we do not know much about this war, nor about Gog himself
Before the establishment of Medinat Yisrael, the British caused us tremendous hardship and did not allow us to immigrate or build a state. The King of Britain was named George, and people in the Yishuv joked that he was “Gog” (in Yemenite pronunciation: “Jog”). Afterwards some said that Stalin was Gog, because he was born in Georgia, and so on… Of course, such ideas belong only at a Purim table.
Rather, “Gog king of Magog” is not a specific individual-it is a title.
In any case, the War of Gog and Magog is described in Ezekiel, Chapter 38 as a war in which all the nations of the world rise up against us, and with God’s help we are victorious. Rabbi Yitzchak Karo writes explicitly on the Tanach that the War of Gog and Magog arises because we have established a kingdom for ourselves. In other words:
The War of Gog and Magog comes in order to destroy the State of Israel.
Therefore, it is clear that the present (ongoing) war is the War of Gog and Magog.
The War of Gog and Magog
The War of Gog and Magog is described in Ezekiel, Chapter 38, as a war in which all the nations of the world rise up against us, and with God’s help we are victorious.
www.israelnationalnews.com
