In 1966 I visited Rutgers University and attended an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship meeting at the invitation of a friend from my high school church youth group. I was a freshman in college. The faculty sponsor was Edwin Yamauchi, who went on to become a noted ancient Near East and biblical scholar. Soon after, I read a journal article by him arguing that Ezekiel 38 and 39 — describing last wars against Israel — was not about Russia, but that the names pointed to tribes and areas of what is today’s northern Turkey. His linguistic and geographical arguments were persuasive, though some of these tribes could have migrated into southern Russia.
The Final Battle as an Islamic War
Recently, the idea has been put forth that the final battle leading to the return of Yeshua is an Islamic-led war, with Turkey featuring prominently. This fits Yamauchi’s research. Two authors, Joel Richardson and Walid Shoebat, argue for this and note that the biblical descriptions emphasize the surrounding nations. Richardson wrote The Islamic Antichrist. While neither author is conclusively dogmatic about end times details, these books offer a probable scenario. See our book Israel, the Church and the Last Days.
George Otis Jr. and the Last of the Giants
For the past several months, a book by George Otis Jr. — The Last of the Giants — kept coming to mind. It was written over 35 years ago. I referenced another of his books on spiritual warfare, The Twilight Labyrinth, in my own book Powers of Light and Darkness (subtitle: Angels, Demons and Spiritual Warfare: What the Bible Really Teaches). It had been many years since I’d read Last of the Giants, but my memory was that it dealt primarily with Islam and tracked closely with the thesis of Richardson and Shoebat. With the ongoing war against Iran and its proxies, and living here in Israel, I wanted to revisit it. My question: after 35 years, was it still relevant — or had it joined the long list of books on the last days that missed the mark?
I was quite amazed on several points. Otis wrote before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and predicted that the collapse would give rise to a fascist Russia — something we are watching unfold today. He also predicted that the dissolution would greatly strengthen Islam, particularly because several of the former Soviet republics would be Islamic. So while Communism and fascist dictatorships were giants in their time, the last of the giants is the demonic realm behind radical Islam. Otis points especially to the 10/40 window, stretching from North Africa across the Middle East through Pakistan, India, and Southeast Asia. These are the territories of the great unreached people groups — mostly Islamic nations, with the exceptions of India and parts of Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand).
The Challenge to Reach the People of the Islamic Nations
Otis presents the challenge of reaching these people groups through focused prayer and engagement. He does not call for commanding principalities or princes of darkness — rather, it is about focused intercession and discernment of the power of darkness over territories. He expects a great harvest and calls for supernatural ministry to reach these peoples. He is also clear that these same nations will engage in the last war against Israel.
I was quite pleased that Otis’s book has stood the test of time. Our connected ministries have been sensing that the salvation of Israel will be deeply connected to the witness of former Muslims, and especially Arabs. A few weeks ago, the Jerusalem Post featured an article by a former Muslim who had been part of Iran’s terror network and participated in hangings. His supernatural vision of Yeshua — and the full weight of his testimony — was compelling. May we see many more such testimonies widely reported in the Jewish press.