Ezekiel 38:1

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

The opening word of the Lord marks the beginning of a prophecy that belongs to the latter years. It introduces a call to be prepared and to stand as a guard over an assembled company. It also announces a visitation that comes after many days.

That visitation enters a land recovered from war and whose people have been gathered out of many peoples and led out from the nations. It is directed against the mountains of Israel, long desolate, where the gathered ones are to dwell in safety, every one of them. This gathering foretold at the opening of the prophecy is now underway in foreign countries. It is advancing in a remarkable manner in the present time.