|
Gog and Magog are biblical identities that are first introduced in the
book of Ezekiel.
Ezek 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land
of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him,
:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am
against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech
and Tubal: (NIV)
Christians usually develop an interest over the identity of 'Gog' due
to the following verses in the book of Revelation.
Rev 20:7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan
will be released from his prison
:8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are
in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to battle, whose number
is as the sand of the sea.
GOG & MAGOG RELATIONSHIP
Revelation 20:8 simply mentions 'Gog and Magog', but the book of
Ezekiel provides further information.
Ezek 38:2 ... Gog, of the land of Magog, ...
Gog is a leader of the people of the land of Magog!
The people of Magog, were the people of the second son of Japheth (the
son of Noah).
Gen 10:1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah:
Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
:2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai,
Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
'ROSH' OR 'CHIEF'
The NKJV, and a number of other translations, suggest 'Rosh' is one of
three entities along with Meshech and Tubal.
Ezek 38:2 ... the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, ...
:3 ... the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
39:1 ... the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
However, the NKJV also highlights (via a footnote) that the translation,
"chief", is also possible.
Ezek 38:2 ... the chief prince of Meshech, and Tubal, ...
This raises the question of whether the word 'rosh' is being intended
as a name or simply as a word meaning 'chief'.
The word 'rosh' is used as a name in Genesis.
Gen 46:21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher,
Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim,
Huppim, and Ard.
However, when Gentile nationalities are listed one never finds any
mention of 'Rosh'.
Since the name 'Rosh' is not used to define any Gentile nations in
Scripture it is reasonably apparent that the word is being used
merely to mean 'chief'.
It should be noted that in the Hebrew text of Ezek 38:2 the sequence
is "prince then chief" not "chief then prince".
So the rendering "
Ezek 38:2 ... Gog, the land of Magog, the prince, chief of
Meshech and Tubal, ...
would be more accurate.
MESHECH, TUBAL & OTHERS
The people of Tubal and Meshech were fifth and sixth sons of Japheth.
1Chr 1:5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai,
Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
They are described as 'uncircumcised'.
Ezek 32:26 There are Meshech and Tubal and all their
multitudes, with all their graves around it,
all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword,
though they caused their terror in the land of
the living.
The literal people of Tubal are described as living on the coastlands
far away.
Isa 66:19 ... and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off
who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. ...
These are described as traders.
Ezek 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders.
They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze
for your merchandise.
Apart from these, there were other descendants of Japheth mentioned in
chapter 38 of Ezekiel.
Ezek 38:6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah
from the far north and all its troops; many
people are with you.
Gomer was the first mentioned son of Japheth and Togarmah was a son
of Gomer.
Gen 10:3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and
Togarmah.
So we now have four of the seven sons of Japheth mentioned in connection
with Gog. These being - Gomer, Magog, Tubal and Meshech.
In addition we have mention of Persia, Ethiopia and Libya.
Ezek 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them,
all of them with shield and helmet;
Other translations show.
Ezek 38:5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them,
all with shields and helmets, (NIV)
Cush and Put were sons of Noah's son Ham.
Gen 10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put,
and Canaan.
So some descendants of Ham were also present amongst the descendants
of Japheth.
SEVEN SONS OF JAPHETH
We are aware that Noah had three sons.
Gen 10:1 Now this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah:
Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
1) We are aware the chosen line was the descendants of Shem.
2) From Noah's son Ham came Canaan - who was the father of the
Canaanites.
Gen 10:6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put,
and Canaan.
:15 Canaan begot ...
:18 ... Afterward the families of the Canaanites
were dispersed.
3} The third son Japheth attracts less biblical attention.
However, there is an interesting comment.
Gen 9:27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may
he dwell in the tents of Shem;
In these 3 sons of Noah, there is a subtle indication that they
may be typifying three entities within God's work.
- a 'chosen' group
- a 'cursed' group
- a greatly multiplied group.
In respect to Japheth it is interesting that he has seven sons.
Gen 10:2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai,
Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
Indicating that the group which is to be greatly multiplied is
a group of seven.
The notion of greatly multiplied is encapsulated in the promises
of God given to Abraham and Isaac. These promises were then passed
on to Jacob. The bulk of these were then passed on to Joseph's
younger son Ephraim. The tribe of Ephraim became the leading tribe
of the 10 tribed house of Israel.
From a spiritual perspective the 10 tribed house of Israel has
manifested into the seven churches of Christianity.
(The 3 tribed house of Judah (Judah, Levi and Benjamin) spiritually
still being connected to Judaism. It is interesting to note that
Judaism seems to represent the cursed group, because they are
under the requirements of the Old Covenant Law.)
The 'chosen' faith group may in the end-time arise from either
Christianity and/or Judaism and manifest itself by embodying God's
prophesied witness.
REVELATION CHAPTER 20 - GOG & MAGOG
The book of Revelation is presented in symbols. This symbolic
representation even extends to time periods. So while readers
often like to envisage a literal 1,000 year period - this is
not truly what is being taught.
Rev 20:7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan
will be released from his prison
:8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are
in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to battle, whose number
is as the sand of the sea.
:9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved
city. And fire came down from God out of heaven
and devoured them.
[ NB: Chapter 20 of Revelation mentions "thousand
years" a total of six times! This suggests
this prophetic text is actually referencing
more than one symbolic period of time. ]
What we are being presented with in these verses is the demise of
the end-time Great Tribulation ruler.
Notice the reference, "whose number is as the sand of the sea".
So Gog the chief leader of the people of the land of Magog and
chief of Meshech and Tubal (Gomer and Togarmah also mentioned)
will symbolize the people of Japheth.
He will become a leader of a people, who would be a great multitude.
He will come against the "camp of the saints and the beloved city".
20:9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved
city. And fire came down from God out of heaven
and devoured them.
He will come against "New Jerusalem"!
At that time this Prince and his great multitude will fall!
MULTITUDES OF GOG FALL
The texts of Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39 focus primarily upon the demise
of Gog.
Ezek 38:19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath
I have spoken: 'Surely in that day there shall
be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,
:20 ... The mountains shall be thrown down, the
steep places shall fall, and every wall shall
fall to the ground.'
:21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout
all My mountains," says the Lord God. "Every
man's sword will be against his brother.
:22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence
and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his
troops, and on the many peoples who are with
him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire,
and brimstone.
It is highlighted that a great multitude will perish alongside Gog.
Ezek 39:11 ... because there they will bury Gog and
all his multitude. Therefore they will call
it the Valley of Hamon Gog.
:15 ... Valley of Hamon Gog.
:16 The name of the city will also be Hamonah.
...
[ Valley of Hamon Gog = 'Valley of the
Multitude of Gog'
Hamonah = 'Multitude' ]
In Ezekiel 38:21,22 (quoted above), two factors connected to the
demise of Gog's army.
- Every man's sword will be against his brother.
Recall, in the time of Gideon there was a great defeat of
the army of the Midianites and Amalekites in the valley
of Jezreel.
At that time God placed fear into the hearts of the army
from the East - who were as numerous as locusts - and
caused very man's sword to be against his companion
(Judg 7:22).
A smaller scale spiritual equivalent to this can be
glimpsed when Paul creates great dissension between
the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Acts 23:1-10.
- God will send flooding rain, great hailstones, fire
and brimstone.
On a spiritual level such would equate to teaching they can
not withstand. In like manner to the way Christ spoke to those
of the Sadducees, Pharisees and Scribes who challenged Him.
(Also keep in mind that Ezekiel references an organised
subsequent cleansing of traces of Gog's army. Occurring
during a mentioned spans of 7 years and also 7 months,
Ezek 39:9-16.)
WHY DOES GOG APPEAR ON THE SCENE?
The two chapters of Ezekiel do not fully explain why God causes Gog
to arise on the scene.
Those who believe in a literal 1,000 year period consider Gog appears
on the scene as a part of a final test. A final sifting of those alive
(and/or raised from death) many years into future.
However, there is in Ezekiel another indication.
Ezek 38:17 Thus says the Lord God: "Are you he of whom I
have spoken in former days by My servants the
prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years
in those days that I would bring you against
them?"
In end-time Scripture there are many prophecies of God, which discuss
God bringing a Destroyer against Jerusalem and Judah to punish those
who refuse to repent. This is not an end-time which is a thousand years
into the distant future, but an end-time event expected in the near
future.
An end-time which encompasses the prophesied Great Tribulation.
So what this means is that Gog is another symbolic entity which
represents the end-time Destroyer.
However, unlike many prophecies, this Ezekiel prophecy does not focus
upon judgment on the wayward unrepentant end-time Jerusalem (symbolic
Old Jerusalem), but rather upon the later defence of 'New Jerusalem'
at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation.
BROUGHT BACK FROM THE SWORD
Gog attacks those who had been brought back from the sword. Brought
to the mountains of Israel which had long been desolate. Those who
were living in unwalled villages.
Ezek 38:8 After many days you {Gog} will be visited.
In the latter years you will come into the
land of those brought back from the sword
and gathered from many people on the mountains
of Israel, which had long been desolate; they
were brought out of the nations, and now all
of them dwell safely.
:11 You will say, 'I will go up against a land
of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful
people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling
without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'"
Historically the 10 tribes of the House of Israel were removed from
their land by the Assyrians. By this time they had become followers
of pagan beliefs and so God had decided to remove them from the
Promised Land. He had cast these tribes amongst the nations where
they dispersed.
With the coming of Christianity God acted to bring these descendants
of Jacob back into the fold. Symbolically returning many of them to
the Promised Land through Christian conversion. So the mountains of
Israel (House of Israel) which had long been desolate were again
symbolically occupied.
In the end-time there is a need to do a witness work in Judaism
(symbolic House of Judah), but when the Abomination of Desolation
is manifest these servants of God and their converts are instructed
to flee Judaism and find temporary residence in the mountains
(denominations) of Christianity.
Matt 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of
desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place" (whoever reads,
let him understand),
:16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains."
During the course of the Great Tribulation the 'chosen' of God
- who happen to be tabernacling in Christianity - become evident.
Isa 1:8 So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in
a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
as a besieged city.
:9 Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very
small remnant, we would have become like Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.
Matt 24:2 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh
would be saved; but for the elect's sake those
days will be shortened.
TRACES OF GOG'S ARMY REMOVED
Unexpectedly, even after Gog and his army have been defeated, we
encounter two symbolic periods of time.
Ezek 39:9 "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel
will go out and set on fire and burn the
weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the
bows and arrows, the javelins and spears;
and they will make fires with them for
seven years.
:10 They will not take wood from the field nor
cut down any from the forests, because they
will make fires with the weapons; and they
will plunder those who plundered them, and
pillage those who pillaged them," says the
Lord God.
:12 For seven months the house of Israel will be
burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
:14 "They will set apart men regularly employed,
... in order to cleanse it. At the end of
seven months they will make a search.
A period symbolic period of 7 years and a symbolic period of 7 months
(or 7 New Moons).
Logically, one might have thought that the defeat of Gog's army would
immediately trigger a new era in God's plan. Yet focus is instead
placed upon 'clean up' duties.
This subsequent 'clean up' is somewhat reflected in the Flood account
- even though the 150 days of drying was completed 16/12/600 there
still remained 2 weeks of drying of the ground before they could leave
the ark. Refer,
|
| Genesis Flood Chronology - 600th of Noah |
|
Also, it accounts for why the 3.5 appointed days of Daniel 12:7 have
the enemy defeated at noonday. (Therefore suggesting some remaining
events would be needed; to complete the prophetic significance of that
last appointed day.) Refer,
|
| The 3.5 Times of Daniel 12:7 |
|
In practice, for a symbolic/spiritual war, the 'tidy up' would involve
the removal of written and video material which reinforced false
teaching and the identification and shaming of religious teachers who
wished to continue to propagate the religious lies of the past.
Further investigation is needed to identify the actual periods being
inferred by '7 years' and '7 months'; but after these periods a
completely new era in God's work would be expected to begin.
GOG AND MAGOG SUMMARY
The great end-time battle between the multitudes of Gog and the
'elect' of God. It predicts the unity of the armies of Gog will
fracture and the resulting divisions will turn upon each other.
The 'valley of decision' event is describing the closing of the
end-time Great Tribulation.
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the
valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
It will be a religiously cataclysmic event and result in the demise
of many existing Christian authorities. It will set the scene for
the establishment of the prophesied Kingdom of God.
| |
----------------------------------------------------------
