Gog and Magog are fairly well-known names within the context of Biblical end-time studies. However, there is much speculation as to who Gog and Magog actually are, as there is with many end-time conjectures. But in this case, there really need not be any confusion at all.

In Genesis 10 and 1 Chronicles 1, we first read that Magog is a son of Japheth, who was a direct son of Noah. We also find from Genesis 10 and a few passages in Ezekiel that these sons of Japheth are the forebears of the Gentile nations. Whereas the other two sons of Noah, Ham and Shem, were the progenitors of the Arab and African nations and the nation of Israel, respectively.

Later, in Ezekiel 38, Gog is mentioned as the land of Magog. And in Ezekiel 39 it speaks of them as those who dwell carelessly in the isles, or again, in the Gentile nations. So that establishes the association of Gog and Magog historically as the Gentile nations over against Israel (Shem) and their brother nations from Ham.

But then we don't find Gog and Magog specifically mentioned again until near the end of the book of Revelation, in Revelation 20:7-8:

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.

Allowing the Bible to define who Gog and Magog are, here, we see that they include all of the nations of the world in the four quarters of the earth. So Gog and Magog are not just a revived Roman empire, they are not Russia and China or some other mysterious nation. They include all of the unsaved peoples of the entire world as represented by the Gentile nations in the Old Testament -- those nations that were not a part of the nation of Israel which represented the kingdom of God. And here in Revelation 20 they are deceived by Satan into battle once the thousand years are expired near the end of time. Revelation 20:9-11 continues:

And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

We see from this that, as the Gospel age comes to a close, after the thousand years are expired, Satan is loosed for a time to deceive the nations into going to battle against the camp of the saints, the beloved city. And at that time, God will destroy Gog and Magog (again, the nations of the world) with fire from Heaven, cast Satan into the lake of fire and usher in the great white Throne judgment. It is clearly the end of time when the Gospel declaration has been fulfilled and the unsaved are prepared for judgment.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

This theme of God loosing Satan to bring the pagan world in battle against the camp of the saints, the beloved city, near the end of time -- to then be destroyed at Judgment Day -- is consistent throughout Scripture.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 gives us a clearer understanding of what is happening in Revelation 20. There we read that the day of Christ will not come until there is a falling away first, and the man of sin (who we will see is ultimately Satan, in and of Satan) takes his seat in the temple, showing himself to be God and to be worshiped as God in their midst. Verses 1-4 begin:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

And through this process, God sends them strong delusion so that those who loved not the Truth might believe this lie and be damned when Christ destroys them with the brightness of His coming. Verses 8-12 continue:

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

From this, we see that the man of sin comes according to the working of Satan with lying signs and wonders. So it is ultimately Satan who is at work behind the scenes here. And we see that Satan's method of usurping worship in the place of God is to thoroughly corrupt the fallen spiritual temple, those who claim to be of God but take pleasure in unrighteousness, through deception -- just as he deceives the nations after he is loosed for a season:

Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils... (1 Timothy 4:1)

But God will bring destruction upon him and them for this:

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

The Bible is replete with warnings that Satan comes into the congregations through false prophets, many of whom even rise from within. And this proliferates as we approach the end as Satan is loosed to deceive the nations of the earth, as God sends them strong delusion through this activity, unto their destruction.

What we just read in 2 Thessalonians 2 is a very precise fulfilment of what is written in Isaiah 14. There, Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon and a well-known type of Satan (see Babylon in Revelation), reveals his stated goal of being worshiped in the congregation of God as though he is God Himself. And God declares that he will instead be brought down to judgment. We know this is spoken against the king of Babylon beginning in Isaiah 14:4:

That you shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Then a few verses later, in verses 12-14, we read:

How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] are you cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Then we read in verses 15 and 19 of God's judgment upon him:

Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit....But you are cast out of your grave like an abominable branch, [and as] the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet.

The Bible is completely and absolutely consistent throughout, and there are many passages that speak to this same theme: the warfare that occurs between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan, with Christ being the Victor. Satan's goal in the meantime is to vanguish the kingdom of Christ by corrupting the church on the one hand, while we know that Christ has already gained the victory through His death at the cross and His resurrection to glory. Christ has vanquished death and Satan and has eternally redeemed His people. But this must still be worked out in time until Christ has drawn all of His people through the Gospel call. Then God prepares the world for judgment and executes that judgment.

Considering again Revelation 20 where Gog and Magog are in league with Satan to destroy the camp of the saints, we find another parallel to this in Revelation 17. There, the kings of the earth agree with the beast to fulfill his will. These kings are the spiritual rulers of Gog and Magog that we read about in Revelation 20, the nations of the world who are deceived by Satan for a season. And notice here that God puts it into their hearts to agree with the beast, that is, to follow Satan:

And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast....For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (Revelation 17:12-13, 17)

So on the one hand we read that Satan deceives the nations (Gog and Magog) once he is loosed from the pit, while on the other we read God Himself puts into the hearts of their kings to agree and to give their kingdom to the beast. It's the same event in different language. God specifically uses Satan, the beast, to fulfill His Word and His will in so doing. And again in this passage, as with Revelation 20, God uses the language of a battle. In this case they make war against the Lamb Himself, but are, as we've already seen elsewhere, overcome by Him:

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)

In Revelation 17, the beast and the kings of the earth war against Christ Himself, the Lamb. It doesn't say there that they surround His camp as it does in Revelation 20. But in reality they can only war against Christ by warring against Christians and against the proclamation of the Gospel. The camp of the saints, spiritually speaking, is the home of the body of Christ. And since Satan has been cast out of heaven, he can only attack those who represent Christ here on earth, as we see in Revelation 12:

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.[And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

Verses 12-13 continue:

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man [child]....And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

So while Satan, for a time, is used of God to bring the nations against the camp of the saints, and to temporarily succeed, very soon thereafter Christ and the true elect who are in Christ will overcome as the victors.

Returning to Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39, those chapters are actually an Old Testament parallel to what we read in Revelation 20:7-11. They record the same event even further in advance to Revelation 20 but in different language. There, God declares that He will bring Gog, the land of Magog, against the mountains of Israel for their carelessness in the latter days, and then He will bring all the land of Gog under judgment for that action. He first records this in Ezekiel 38:1-13 (which you can read on your own), but then restates it in another way beginning in Ezekiel 38:14. There we read:

Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: In that day when my people of Israel dwell safely, shalt you not know [it]?

God is saying here, "Gog, you will be fully aware when My people Israel are dwelling safely and carelessly in their land." And in the verses that follow, "And you will grievously attack them, though it is actually I Myself who will bring you against them in the latter days." Verses 15-16 continue:

And you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And you shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

That is, God will be glorified (in the eyes of His eternal church and in the Heavens) as He brings the land of Gog and Magog against the mountains of Israel for their spiritual carelessness -- for dwelling at ease in Zion, so to speak -- then brings judgment upon all the land of Gog (the unsaved nations of the world).

Verse 19-22 sadly continue to describe this judgment upon them:

For in my jealousy [and] in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that [are] upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that [are] with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Notice that this great shaking and these judgments are "in the land of Israel" where Gog has come. And the sword is against him "throughout all my mountains." This is as God brings the land of Gog against Israel, then subsequently brings judgment upon Gog, as we read in the next chapter, Ezekiel 39. We read in Ezekiel 39:1,4-6 that God will destroy them upon the mountains of Israel, then, in turn, destroy the land of Magog (the isles) by fire:

Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:....You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you, and all your bands, and the people that [are] with you: I will give you unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], says the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.

You see how God "will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles." This is parallel to Revelation 20:9, where God declares, "and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them [Gog and Magog]." Further, in the next 2 verses (verses 7-8 of Ezekiel 39), we see that this is at the very end of time, at Judgment Day and into eternity where there will never again be the corruptions and pollutions of Satan and of the world within the congregation of the saints:

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. Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken. (Ezekiel 39:7-8)

So we must understand that Israel, and the mountains of Israel, being severely attacked by Gog in Ezekiel 38 is, spiritually speaking, the same as the camp of the saints and the beloved city in Revelation 20. This is at the end of the world, at the end of the New Testament church age after the Gospel has been proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations, then the end will come. This comports with what God declares in the New Testament that the true Israel, the true Jews, the true temple and the true camp in the wilderness of this world, is comprised of those who are circumcized in heart and possess the faith of Abraham -- which has its covenant fulfilment in Jesus Christ:

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. (Romans 9:6-8)

But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Galatians 4:26)

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)

But just as with the nation of Israel during the Old Testament, the visible representation of the Kingdom of God on earth during the New Testament is the visible church, which is normally a mixture of those who are saved and those who are unsaved and subject to gross apostasy. And as we approach the end, many of the congregations are overrun by the unsaved -- those who are of Satan, who are of Gog and Magog -- who enter in to corrupt the Truth into worldy lies and fables. We see this practically as they veer from Truth and become more worldly and accepting of sin and delusion. But then, as we've already seen, God will destroy them:

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

In fact, God warns churches that He will remove the Gospel light of their candlestick if they do not remain faithful and adhere to the Truth:

Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent. (Revelation 2:5)

What we've read in these passages requires some time for Satan to be loosed and to deceive the nations in the whole earth, to bring them against the camp of the saints in a final push against Christ. God speaks of it earlier in Revelation 20:3 as a "little season" after the thousand years are expired:

And he [Christ] laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:2-3)

But it must be long enough to fulfill God's plan to bring judgment upon the world for sin. Worldly delusions increase in intensity over time, like a woman in travail, in preparation for Judgment Day. It is not just a few weeks, months or necessarily years from our perspective. Yet it is a brief season from God's overall perspective in His plan to declare the Gospel to the world throughout the New Testament period and to prepare the world for judgment at the close of the age.

12.10.2023