One of the reasons why the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy seems so cryptic a first glance is because it is written with ancenstral names for the nations involved instead of modern nations.  By using the ancestral names of places and regions instead of the name for a country, the current nations and peoples can be deciphered regardless of how national borders and names change over time.  Also, by using the ancestral names of the people involved, the modern country involved will change as the named people groups migrate from one area to another.

Below is a list of the weapons and equipment referred to in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy, and their modern equivalent can be discovered by using the original Hebrew words and definitions.

Hebrew Word	Meaning	KJV Word	Modern Equivalent
chereb	sword, knife, destroying weapon	sword	gun, weapon, knife
qesheth	a launcher used for arrows/darts	bow	missile launcher
chets	a sharp, piercing shaft, dart, arrow	arrow	missile
magen	a small shield, protection device	shield	armor
cuwc	a leaper, horse, or swift bird	horse	jet fighter, bomber
rekeb	a driven/pulled charging vehicle	chariot	tank, armored vehicle

The modern list of nations mentioned in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy can also be deciphered using a similar mechanism.

Ancestral Name	Settled In	Modern Nation
Magog	North of the Caucasus Mountains	Russia, Khazakstan
Rosh	Taurus Mountains near the Vulga River	Russia
Meshech	Moschian Mountains	Russia (area near Moscow)
Tubal	Eastern section of Black Sea	Georgia, Turkey
Persia (Elam)	East of Tigris / Euprates rivers, Persian Gulf	Iran
Ethiopia (Cush)	North / eastern Africa	Ethiopia, Niger, Sudan
Libya (Phut)	North Africa	Libya, Algeria
Gomer	Near Rhine and Danube rivers	East Germany, Poland, Czechoslavakia and other Slavic nations
Togarmah	Central Asia	Turkey / Armenia
Sheba and Dedan	Arabian penninsula	Saudi Arabia
Tarshish and her young lions	Far western isles/coastlands	Britain and her derivatives (United States, Austrailia, Canada)