C. Russia Will Invade Israel on Horseback

C. Russia Will Invade Israel on Horseback
Persia – Ethiopia – Libya – Turkey – Germany
Horses...imagine! Ezekiel 38:4; Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:20 – Let’s go back to the context.
“...thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses,...” (Ezekiel 38:15
1. The Soviet government has been—for many, many, years—buying horses all over the world. In 1934 it was reported that Russia owned 70% of the horseflesh in the world. – At the close of a public meeting a man stated the following.
“I know that your statement about Russia’s horses is correct. I am a buyer of horses. At every important horse sale in this country the representatives of the Soviet government are present. They buy light and fast horses, which, they declare, are to pull the plows of Russia; but they are buying the wrong kind of horse for agricultural purposes.”
2. In 1968, a Jewish Christian evangelist was speaking on prophecy concerning Russia and its horses as stated in Ezekiel 38:4; Ezekiel 38:14-15; Ezekiel 39:20. He was interrupted by a man who wished to make a comment. Here was his comment:
“I was a missionary in South America. While studying at a hotel in Uruguay, I made the acquaintance of fellow guest who was a Russian. When I asked what he was doing in South America, he replied that he was buying horses for the Soviet government. I asked, ‘What kind of horses are you buying—heavy horses for agricultural work?’ ‘No,’ was the frank reply, ‘I am buying light and fast horses for military purposes."
3. We look in retrospect to the German/Russian-Polish campaign in September of 1939 when German Panzer and Russian tanks bogged down on the mud flats of Poland, while the Polish Cavalry trotted over the mud to victory. They charged the tanks, freeing trapped Polish forces, forcing a German unit off a hill, and broke through when Russians surrounded a town. In all, they fought 16 battles. One can easily see the superiority of horses over Army tanks in light of Ezekiel 38:22. (Of course, this was the beginning of World War II and the rest, as they say, is History.)
The Value of Horses and Mules In Modern Warfare

Left: Northern Alliance charges tanks in Afghanistan.
Right: Special Forces in Afghanistan. 2001/2002

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Picture (below) is from the article on "Horse Cavalry" in Afghanistan from AUSA's Army magazine: November 2002. “The first few months of the Afghanistan campaign, U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers thundered across the plains on horseback. U.S. Army Special Forces Soldier use horses and mules in Afghanistan today and have a Field manual on the subject, FM 31-27, Pack Animals In Support of Army Special Ops. Forces, 15 FEB 2000.”

"As events in Afghanistan have recently shown, there is a place in modern warfare for animal transport, for goods and personnel. Even years earlier, when we were providing the then new Stinger MANPADS to the Afghanis in their struggle with the Russians, we also provided Missouri Mules, complete with pack-saddles. The experiment was a success and the mules got the stingers to places where they were needed.
Horses, mules, and donkeys have played a much larger role in Guerrilla warfare than has been appreciated in the literature on the subject. More than one “A” team in Vietnam used Montagnard ponies for transport. The Rhodesians reactivated the Selous Scouts in their war, before being done in by politics and the Portuguese had uniform success with their anti-guerrilla light dragoons. The concept is not to play cavalry and charge, it is to use four hooves to outrun two feet."
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4. Ezekiel 38:22.
“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the manypeople that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”
a.  Hebrew “matar” – general rain.
b.  Hebrew “geshem” – from a root word “shataph” – shaw-taf – “to rain violently” overflowing to gush – drown – overflow – wash away.
c.  The first appearance of “rain” in this verse is a general rain. The second word “rain” describes that the general rain will turn into a violent rain, drowning everything.
Rivers, streams, ponds, & lakes will be over-flowing. God knows what He is going to do with the weather; so that armored tanks would be bogged down due to the mud caused by the rain.
One must remember, in looking at the terrain surrounding Jerusalem, there are deep valleys, steep hills & high mountains to cross to reach Jerusalem. (Please see the information on the terrain around Jerusalem in “D. Facts About the Topography of Jerusalem & Israel” on Page 203. ) Tanks & armored vehicles would be out of the question. They could also be picked up on radar. The only way to attack, for Russia & her allies, is by horseback. God designed it this way and foretold it in his word, the Bible, 2600 years ago in 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:”
Then, again in Ezekiel 38:15, He re-emphasizes that this army will come on horses. I think God knows the difference between horses and horsepower!
“And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, ALL OF THEM RIDING UPON HORSES, a great company, and a mighty army:”
5. Now may I call your attention back to Ezekiel 38:9.
Thou shalt ASCEND and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. (Ezekiel 38:9)
The Hebrew for “ascend” is “alah” – aw-law and has various meanings, fig. & lit. For example: (bring up – get up – ascend up – come up – lift yourself up – mount up, rise up, shoot forth, spring up.)
Many commentaries state that “ascend” is referring to helicopters and aircraft. I have to disagree as this proposal would be contradictory to the context of Scripture surrounding the text of Ezekiel 38-39. It also creates a great contradiction of the Scriptures themselves. The so-called contradiction used by atheists is that if this was referring to aircraft, then it would be impossible for it to take 7 years, as described in Ezekiel 39:9, to burn aircraft made of metal. “...and they (Israel) shall burn them with fire seven years.