We know from Ezekiel 38 that Israel will be at peace when that conflict begins. I am wondering if there will have been another prior conflict in which Israel won new territory.
Well now that I don't have people disagreeing with me just for the sake of disagreeing, I can now talk about something I do agree very much with Bill Salus on and answer your question above.
Bill Salus came out with a book back around 2008 titled Isralistine. In his book, he wrote about a war prior to Ezekiel 38 in which countries that share a common border immediately surrounding Israel will invade the Jewish state but will ultimately be defeated. It wasn't a popular theory and Bill received a lot of criticism. In his reply, Bill writes a new book: Psalm 83 in response to his critics as you can see in this video.
First off, I want to commend Bill on his book and theory in Isralistine. He is absolutely correct, biblically correct. Because his theory actually is in the bible as I will show below.
There is a coming war involving Israel with her neighbors, countries sharing an immediately common border. It's in the bible, but it's not in Psalm 83, that's the wrong scripture. It's evidence when you look at the coalition of countries listed in Psalm 83. It doesn't match who Israel is currently fighting and who are her allies. So basically Bill's got it right in his first book Isralistine, but unsuccessfully tied in his theory to the correct scripture in his second book Psalm 83.
The correct bible scripture prophesying a war between Israel and her surrounding neighbors just before the 7 year tribulation begins is found in
Psalm 118 and Isaiah 26. And both are parallel scriptures as both speaks of a war involving Israel just before the start of the tribulation, being surrounded from all sides.
Psalm 118:5-28 NKJV
5 I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes.
10
All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
11
They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
12
They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.
19
Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord.
20
This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.
21
I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
22
The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord, And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
From verses 10-12, it speaks of a prophecy in which Israel is involve in a war against enemies from all sides. This prophecy about a coming war is consistent with the news we are seeing today. We are at that time right now when Israel is on the brink of war with it's immediate surrounding neighboring countries: Hezbollah from the northwest, Assad's regime from the northeast, Hamas from the west at the Gaza, the Palestinians from the east, and currently Israel and Egypt are in an alliance secretly fighting ISIS in the Sinai peninsula in the south. And you can see it happening in the news today.
In 2019, Israel Faces Dangers on Many Fronts
https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/01/02/in-2019-israel-faces-dangers-on-many-fronts/
MILITARY AFFAIRS: CAN ISRAEL HANDLE A MULTI-FRONT WAR?
Military Affairs: Can Israel handle a multi-front war?
Official: Israel army preparing for war on six fronts
Official: Israel army preparing for war on six fronts
Israel to escalate efforts against Iran on all fronts - TV7 Israel News 21 12 18
Further escalation on all fronts - This Week in 60s 16.3.19
This will be Israel's final war before the tribulation in which she will eliminate her enemies in the immediate surround countries that shares a common border with her. This war is a prelude to Ezekiel 38 that will occur in the tribulation when Gog and his army will invade at a time when Israel is living in peace dwelling securely.
From verses 19-22, Israel begins construction on the 3rd Temple. This will happen sometimes either during the war or immediately after the war and during the coming Israel-Palestinian Peace Treaty.
When the construction begins, nobody in the world will miss witnessing this major event. It will be like May 14, 1948 when the world saw a nation born in one day. It'll be all over the news, an event no one will miss.
This prophecy about a coming temple is consistent with the news we are seeing.
If the articles below are accurate and Israel retain sovereignty over the Temple Mount, nothing will stop them from building a 3rd temple, immediately.
Israel would retain sovereignty over the Old City and its immediate environs, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, but it would be administered together with the Palestinians, Jordanians and perhaps other countries.
Trump peace plan: Divide Jerusalem, Palestinian state on 85-90% of W.Bank
There's also the possibility the construction of the 3rd temple will precede the finalization of the peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. I don't know the correct chronology, but these events will be happening in the near future.
Netanyahu to UN: Construction of Third Temple Will not be an Obstacle to Peace with Palestinians
Netanyahu to UN: Construction of Third Temple Will not be an Obstacle to Peace with Palestinians - The Mideast Beast
In verse 26, Jesus returns coming for the church.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The church gets rapture and the 7 year tribulation begins here.
The construction of the Temple precedes the return of Christ. When you see the temple under construction, then you know it's as imminent as it gets.
The Psalm 118 prophecy of Israel's next war with her bordering neighbors is also confirmed in Isaiah 26. It reveals Israel at war and will be victorious and will expand her borders in all directions - a war on all fronts (Isaiah 26:12-18). After the war, Jesus comes to rapture the church (Isaiah 26:19) follow by Daniel's 70th week (Isaiah 26:21).
Isaiah 26:12-21 NKJV
12
Lord, You will establish peace for us, For You have also done all our works in us.
13
O Lord our God, masters besides You Have had dominion over us; But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14
They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to perish.
15
You have increased the nation, O Lord, You have increased the nation; You are glorified; You have expanded all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, in trouble they have visited You, They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As a woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her pangs, When she draws near the time of her delivery, So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19
Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.
21
For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.
In summary, both Psalm 118 and Isaiah 26 are prophecies revealing Israel at war with her neighboring countries just before the start of the tribulation. Israel will then be at peace for 3.5 years during the first half. Israel's final war will be in the middle of the tribulation when Gog and her allies invades in Ezekiel 38.
Psalm 118 / Isaiah 26 is a prelude war between Israel and Iran setting the stage for Ezekiel 38, the second and final battle between Israel and Iran.