Major Israeli Rabbi: Gog and Magog War Will Begin (and end) Wednesday Morning
Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein, a prominent Orthodox rabbi in Israel, recently gave a lesson to his students in Ramat Elchanan, Bnei Brak, in which he said that the War of Gog and Magog would take place in its entirety in the three hours before dawn on Wednesday, the Jewish holiday of Hoshanna Rabba.
Rabbi Zilberstein discussed the miracles happening to Israel throughout the year-long war in his lecture. He noted that Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran have fired over 2,000 rockets into Israel with relatively few casualties.
The rabbi referred to a teaching by Rabbi Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro, a 15th-century Italian rabbi known as the Bartenura. In his commentary on the Mishnah (Megillah 3:5), Bartenura predicted when the revival of the dead would occur and when the War of Gog and Magog would begin. He based his interpretation of the revival of the dead on Ezekiel’s vision of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), which is read in synagogues on Passover. Bartenura explains that this corresponds to the dead’s actual resurrection, which will occur on Passover.
Bartenura writes that based on a later section of the Book of Ezekiel (38:18-39:16) the war of Gog and Magog will begin in Sukkot. This section is read in synagogues in Sukkoth.
“Therefore,” he said, “we must strive not to spoil things. In other words, everything depends on us, on each and every one of us. This is a time of special favor, and we must try not to spoil it, meaning to make every effort to fulfill Hashem’s will, each person according to their ability.”
It is to be remembered that the war began on the last day of Sukkot last year when Palestinian Hamas invaded Israel and massacred its citizens.
Rabbi Zilberstein then referred to a teaching by the 18th-century Jewish scholar Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, also known as the Vilna Gaon, brought by the 16th-century Tzfat Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital. They both taught that the War of Gog and Magog would take its entirety during the three hours before “Hanetz Hachama” (crack of dawn) of Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of the week-long holiday of Sukkot.
“Whoever wants to be saved should sit in the sukkah,” Rabbi Zilberstein taught. He based this on a verse in Psalms.
“He will shelter me in His pavilion (sukkah) on an evil day, grant me the protection of His tent, raise me high upon a rock.Now is my head high over my enemies roundabout; I sacrifice in His tent with shouts of joy, singing and chanting a hymn to Hashem. Psalms 27:5-6
Indeed, throughout the past week, Israel has been filled with the incongruous sight of Jews under the threat of rocket attack choosing to sit in flimsy sukkot rather than reinforced bomb shelters.
Rabbi Zilberstein noted that his brother-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, said these three hours are before sunrise on Hoshanah Rabbah.
Rabbi Elie Mischel, the Director of Education at Israel365, wrote about the end-of-days battle of Gog and Magog in his recently released book, The War Against the Bible: Ishmael, Esau and Israel at the End Times. Rabbi Mischel noted that, like the War of Gog and Magog, the war in the Middle East is reverberating around the globe.
“This is a war with global implications, pitting Jews and Christians, the people of the Bible, against Muslims and secular progressives, who reject the Bible and all that it stands for,” Rabbi Mischel wrote. Based on Jewish sources, Rabbi Mischel identifies the leader of the Gog and Magog coalition as Islamist Iran. He also identifies Iran as the fourth kingdom of Ishmael and Edom, described in the Book of Daniel as working together to persecute Israel at the end times.
“Gog and Magog’s motivations for attacking Israel are different from those of other nations that have attacked Israel throughout history…Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah are not afraid that Israel will conquer their lands, nor do they seek economic benefits from attacking Israel. Hamas’ attacks have only brought death and destruction upon the Gaza Strip. They are driven by pure hatred of Israel, seeking only to murder and destroy.”
“Gog and his allies believe they can uproot the people of Israel and send them, once again, into the darkness of exile.”
Rabbi Mischel predicts that the focus of the pre-Messiah war will shift, pitting the former allies Esau and Ishmael against each other.
“Not only will Gog and the people of Ishmael suffer for their sins, but so will Edom, the Western nations that support them,” Rabbi Mischel wrote. “Initially, the Edomites will join the Ishmaelites in an alliance against Israel. But ultimately, the Ishmaelites will turn on the Edomites, who will be forced to fight back. “
“The Western nations trying so hard to appease the Ishmaelites will inevitably have no choice but to battle the Islamic jihadists of Iran and their allies and proxies. When the Ishmaelites go too far and directly attack the West, the Edomites will be forced to declare war against them. This will lead to the great war between Ishmael and the West, when “every man’s sword will be against his brother.”
Many are concerned for the fate of Israelis as the hugely destructive War of Gog and Magog is described in prophecy as being fought inside Israel. In October 2015, Rabbi Shalom Berger, the spiritual leader of the Mishkoltz sect of Hasidic Judaism, gave a Torah lesson at the end of the holiday of Simchat Torah in which he made predictions regarding the imminent arrival of the Messiah.
“My heart tells me,” concluded the rabbi, “that God has mercy on the nation of Israel and, despite what the prophets have prophesied – that the Gog Magog War needs to be within Jerusalem. Nevertheless, God sweetened this and is currently making it in Syria. And the proof is that it is brought down in Sifri (Devarim 1) that the gates of Jerusalem are destined to reach until Damascus.”
“If that is the case, instead of the war being in Jerusalem with the inhabitants of Israel suffering from it, God widened Jerusalem so that it reaches as far as Damascus so that the great war will be there, as we saw when Russia entered with powerful forces into Syria.
“All that remains for us now is the task of being united among ourselves and to be careful to stay away from arguments and speaking slander because the Messiah is already here and hears everything…”
In Jewish tradition, there are two forms the final redemption can take: a redemption that is “Be’itah” – i.e., one that is set at a predetermined time. The Talmud (Tractate Avodah Zarah 9a) states that the world will last 6,000 years. The Messiah must come at the end of the 6,000 years, even if mankind has not prepared itself. The current (2023/2024) Hebrew year is 5785. By this calculation, the start of the 6000th year would occur at nightfall of 29 September 2239, and the end would occur at nightfall of 16 September 2240
The other form redemption can take is “Ahishena” – i.e., one that will come earlier than its set time. The Jews can bring redemption early based on the merits of performing God’s commandments.
The main differences between the two forms of Redemption are the time it will take and the amount of suffering the Jewish people and the world, in general, will endure until it occurs.
An “Ahishena” Redemption is a Redemption that comes suddenly, miraculously as the world has already reached its correct fulfillment and purpose.
A “Be’ita” Redemption is a Redemption that a long and arduous process precedes it, full of suffering and tests for the Jewish people and for the world in general, which concludes with the terrible death of about two-thirds of the world, in addition to those among the Jewish people who, according to God’s calculation, are not fit to be redeemed.
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