Read it real slow and focus on the word "Captivity" then do a word search in Ezekiel who was a prophet of Israel during the 70 year Babylonial Captivity, your focus is on the battle seen in Ezekiel 39
As scripture clearly teaches below, the war was fought at the time surrounding the 70 years of captivity in Babylon "Long Ago"!
Israel went into the 70 year captivity, the Lord's brought them out of the 70 year captivity, the war was fought with wooden weapons of warfare "Long Ago" the horse is really dead now "Next"! We Disagree
Ezekiel 39:7 & 23-25KJV
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
I think the focus on the word 'captivity' is missing the larger point of the passage. The question isn't whether Ezekiel mentions captivity. The question is which captivity fits the context and sequence of Ezekiel 39?
The key is the order of events.
Ezekiel 39:21-22
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
Verse 22 follows God's judgment on Gog and his multitude in verses 1-20. The phrase 'from that day and forward' marks a decisive turning point that begins after God destroys Gog.
That simply did not happen after the Babylonian captivity.
Following the return from Babylon, Israel was still under Gentile domination, later rejected her Messiah, and eventually Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome in AD 70. It cannot reasonably be said that, from the return out of Babylon, 'the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.'
Then notice what comes next.
Ezekiel 39:23-24
And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity...
The text does not say "the Babylonian captivity. It simply explains why Israel went into captivity and why God hid His face from them.
Since verses 21-22 have not yet occurred, I see no reason to force verses 23-24 back into the sixth century BC. The passage naturally continues the same future sequence.
This is why I think Luke 21:24 is highly relevant.
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Jesus is clearly not speaking of the 70-year Babylonian captivity. He describes a worldwide dispersion following the destruction of Jerusalem, one that continues until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
That captivity fits the context of Ezekiel 39 much better because it precedes Israel's final restoration. Plus we need to factor in the following as well, the verse below.
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
So my position is not based on the word 'captivity' by itself. It is based on the sequence of the chapter.
1) God judges Gog.
2) From that day forward Israel knows the LORD.
3) The nations understand why Israel had gone into captivity.
4) God restores Israel.
Since the judgment of Gog and the permanent change described in verse 22 did not occur after the Babylonian exile, I don't believe Ezekiel 39 can be exhausted by events surrounding the return from Babylon. The context points beyond that earlier captivity to the later dispersion Jesus describes in Luke 21:24, which precedes Israel's final restoration.