Hooks into thy jaws
To lead out
Ezekiel 38:4
By Craig C. White
Ezekiel chapter 38 describes a multi nation invasion into Israel. Ezekiel says that this invasion will be led by the primary governor of Turkey. I’m going to tell you right now that this Turkish ruler is the Antichrist. In Ezekiel chapter 38 God says that he will “put hooks into the jaws” of the invading armies to turn them back. Most people read these verses and conclude that God will use some political event to draw these armies into Israel. Bible students wring their hands as they try to guess what the “hook” might be. I think that we might not understand what Ezekiel is telling us.
Ezekiel 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
Notice that there are three separate declarations made at the beginning of this verse. 1. And I will turn thee back. 2. And put hooks into thy jaws. 3. And I will bring thee forth. It is a little difficult to understand in the English translation but none of these statements mean that God is going to bring these armies into the land of Israel. Instead they are saying that God is going to bring these armies out of Israel.
The first declaration in Ezekiel 38:4 is easy to understand. God will turn the invading armies back from where they came. In the second declaration the notion of “putting hooks into thy jaws” could be said as “putting a ring in your nose (or cheek)”. God will lead these invading armies out of Israel just like a farmer would lead a bull by a ring in its nose. The third declaration in Ezekiel 38:4 confuses us. It sounds as if God is leading theses armies forward. The Hebrew term that is translated as “bring thee forth” doesn’t mean “to bring forward” or “to bring into”. Instead the term “bring thee forth” means “to bring out” or “to get out” or “to carry out” or “to get away” or “to lead out” or “to pull out” or “to pluck out”. I hope that you can see that “bring thee forth” doesn’t mean to bring into but instead it means to bring out of.
The saying to put a hook into the jaw (or cheek) and to bring forth is used in other passages in the Bible. It always means that God will remove an army from the land of Israel or that God will remove a nation from its own land. It never means that God will lead an army into the land of Israel. It is a declaration of removal and not a depiction of entrance.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah compares the Antichrist to the ancient Assyrian Kings. The Ezekiel chapter 38 invasion into Israel is similar to the ancient Assyrian invasions described by Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 37 God leads the Assyrian army out of the land of Israel just like a farmer leads a bull by the ring in its nose. In the following verse God is speaking about Sennacherib king of Assyria.
Isaiah 37:29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Notice that God is turning the king of Assyria back in the way that he came from.
We can stop speculating about what sort of hook that God will use to bring an invading army into Israel. Yet we can begin to understand how God will remove this invading army out of Israel. In Isaiah God killed most of the Assyrian army as they slept. That was enough to turn them around and send them back to their hometown. Notice that in Isaiah 37:37, Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire.
Isaiah 37:36-37 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.
So God will use a hook to remove the invading army described in Ezekiel chapter 38. But how will he do it? Ezekiel tells us how. God will use a great earthquake. He will cause the invaders to fight each other. God will make the invaders sick. God will make it rain and hail on them, and God will fight them with fire and brimstone.
Ezekiel 38:21-22 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
We shouldn’t try to identify the hook that God will use to bring an army into Israel. Instead we should understand that God will fight against the invading armies causing them to retreat back to where they came from. In Ezekiel chapter 38 it is important to see that God will fight to save Israel.
Leviticus 26:12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
God promised to take care of Israel forever. Throughout their history Israel has suffered at the hands of other nations. In the near future the nation of Israel will once again suffer but in the end God will save them and finally secure their land forever.
High Time to Awake 
That is quite different from so many of us thinking that Turkey would be leading a mass of armies into Syria, decimate Damascus, and then having some sort of “hook in their jaw” caused by God, and from there roll over into the mountains of Israel to endeavor to attack Jerusalem, but not succeed because God in Eze. 38:21-22 does them all in. The hook is what God uses to lead the armies out of Israel then. My question is then how do all these armies get into Israel in the first place in order to have to be led out by a “hook in the jaw” by God? Are they there because Israel finally allows the UN to guard their country? There has to be a reason for all these countries, including Iran, to be in Israel. Thanks again, Craig.
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Hi Nancy. Turkey will invade Israel for the same reason that the Assyrian kings did. They all think that they are greater than the God of Israel and they think that they can subdue Israel. That won’t happen when Turkey leads the invasion into northern Israel as described in Ezekiel chapter 38 but Turkey along with the armies of Israel’s enemies will subdue Jerusalem a few years latter.
Isaiah 36:13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria
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Craig,
In 2 Kings 19:20-22 it speaks of the grizzly practice the Assyrians used of placing fish hooks, or rings in the noses and lips of their captives in order to parade them before the King. The northern kingdom of Israel was warned by the prophets that this could and did happen when the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom. When the northern kingdom captives were led to Babylon their treatment was not as harsh as that received by the Assyrian invaders. Perhaps this is why God said on the northern kingdom He would have no mercy, but on Judah He would have compassion. A hook can have a double meaning of drawing someone against their will, or judgement.
David
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Hooks in the Jaws is the same thing as putting a bit in the mouth of a horse. In the book of Isaiah God put a bit into Assyrian King Sennacherib to lead him away from Jerusalem. The Assyrian Army was camped just outside of Jerusalem. While the Assyrian Army slept God killed most of them. In the morning King Sennacherib turned around and went home to Nineveh.
When God says that he will put hooks into the jaws of an army it means that he will lead them back the way they came, or he will cause them to retreat.
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I don’t understand how Turkey will keep it’s power after the horrific loss they will face at the end of the Ezekiel war.
Wouldn’t Erdogan need to rebuild his armies to have any power for the New World Order?
Thank you for time.
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Hi Derek. Ezekiel chapter 38 says that God will cause the Turkish led invaders to retreat when they enter Israel. Ezekiel chapter 39 describes a separate Turkish led invasion into Israel. Ezekiel chapter 39 describes the battle of Armageddon that happens at the end of the Tribulation.
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Of course, that makes sense. I agree with most of what you are presenting. Thank you for all your hard work. You are in my prayers.
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Thanks Derek. Keep the faith.
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I have a theory and let me know what you think: I think Erdogans war in Syria (Jeremiah 49) will be entirely fulfilled by 2023. The 2023 turkish election is the key behind my theory. Erdogan may use it as an excuse to declare Turkeys version of martial law and cancel federal elections. Another key to my theory is the failing Lira. Erdogan keeps cutting rates like he is trying to sabotage the economy. A war and a collapsed economy would give him all the conditions he needs to usher in an absolute authoritarian rule. ( I think the coup of 2016 was organized by Erdogan). Also Erdogan has a lot of strikingly similar characteristics with Hitler (a type of antichrist) both physical and political, but I won’t name them all here because it would be too long. He just seems more patient and calculating… which means he is more dangerous!
Keep up the good work! I pray everyday, desperate for Jesus to usher in the Kingdom!
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Taking over Syria would be a feather in Erdogan’s cap among his supporters at home and abroad. It would help to win the next election. Erdogan is eliminating dissenters in Turkey. He is making it harder and harder for anyone else to win an election. I think that you are right about the timeline of the Syrian war. I think that Turkey will conquer Damascus before 2023.
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