The America Mystery – The Mystery of Ezekiel 38 & 39 | Jonathan Cahn Sermon

America is often described as “blessed,” and some people believe that blessing is connected to two things: supporting Israel and the Jewish people, and trying to follow God.

That raises a question: is it significant that the text mentions seven years? In end-times prophecy, there is a well-known seven-year period often called the Tribulation, which ends with the Lord’s return.

So how should this seven-year timeline be understood?

• Does it happen entirely before the Tribulation begins?

• Does it overlap with the Tribulation?

• Or could it be the Tribulation itself?

Since Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezekiel 38–39) is understood to occur before Armageddon—and Armageddon comes at the end—some ask whether the events of Ezekiel 38–39 could be what triggers the start of that seven-year period.

Before going further, it helps to look at another major theme in the prophecy: God says He will reveal Himself to the nations through these events. In Ezekiel 38:16, the message is that Gog will come against God’s people “like a cloud,” and God will bring this about so that the nations will know Him when He shows Himself holy.

This is similar to the story of Pharaoh: Pharaoh already opposed God, yet God allowed Pharaoh’s resistance to harden further—until Pharaoh pursued Israel to the Red Sea. Then God intervened dramatically, and His power became undeniable.

A similar idea appears in Ezekiel 38:23: God says He will prove Himself great, show Himself holy, and make Himself known in the sight of many nations—so they will know He is the Lord.

The prophecy also emphasizes what Israel will learn. In Ezekiel 39:7, God says He will make His holy name known among His people Israel, and He will no longer allow His name to be profaned. The nations will also know that He is the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

Some interpret this as pointing to a spiritual awakening in Israel—possibly even recognition of the name Yeshua (Jesus)—while others see it more broadly as Israel returning to reverence for the God of Israel. Either way, the message is clear: this event would be a profound wake-up call for both Israel and the world.

The passage continues with the theme of global recognition: God will place His glory among the nations, and they will see His judgment and His hand at work. Israel, too, will know the Lord as their God “from that day onward.” The prophecy speaks of exile as a consequence of sin, and then of restoration: God promises to restore Jacob’s fortunes, have mercy on Israel, and remove fear as they live securely in their land.

In this view, the event brings everything together:

• The nations recognize the reality of God.

• Israel recognizes the reality of the God of Israel.

It is described as the kind of unmistakable intervention the modern world rarely sees—something comparable to the Red Sea, the sun standing still, or the dramatic signs found in the biblical narrative. If something like this happened, the speaker suggests it could radically reshape belief in Israel and beyond—so powerfully that widespread atheism or secular indifference would be difficult to maintain.

The passage ends by saying this picture seems to align with the current era: Israel has returned to the land, yet has not fully known God in the way the prophecy describes.