Isn't the Gog/Magog battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 the same one that John wrote about in Revelation 20:7-9?


Email Received:

I am confused about your take on the Gog/Magog battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39. To me, it looks this is a separate "final" battle that takes place at the end of the Millennium -- 1,000 years after the battle that occurs at Jesus' 2nd Advent. Isn't that what John says in Revelation 20:7-9? What am I missing here?


Ted's Response:

I know there are some who think that Ezekiel 38/39 will take place after the Millennium (Revelation 20:8) simply because Gog is mentioned in both places. However, if Gog is a demonic spirit, which I think he is, then he will inhabit two different men 1,000 years apart.

Different fates await both of these men. The first "Gog" man, along with the hordes of Magog following him, will be killed by the sword (Ezekiel 38:21) and will fall on the mountains of Israel, their bodies will be eaten by birds and animals, and it will take seven months to bury them there (39:4,11,12). On the other hand, the second "Gog" man and those rebels with him a thousand years later will be destroyed, on the spot, by fire coming down out of heaven (Revelation 20:8).

Also, the armies of the first Gog will be only from a select number of nations in a localized region (Ezekiel 38:2-6). But the second Gog will gather a gigantic multitude of people from all over the earth to make his attack (Revelation 20:8).

Furthermore, we are in agreement that Revelation 19:11-21 depicts Jesus' second advent back to earth and events associated with it. Note that His garments will be bloodied (19:13) and He will be treading the winepress (19:15) just as in another description of this event (Isaiah 63:1-3). There will be blood everywhere even before the Antichrist/beast and his armies gather to make war on Jesus, the Rider on a white horse (Revelation 19:19). That is because Jesus will have trampled another army (Gog and his hordes) in the winepress of His wrath before He destroys the Antichrist and his armies (30 days later).

There is another parallel here. John saw birds gathered to eat the flesh of many following their destruction. Note the similarity between Ezekiel 39:4,17,18,20 (referring to the fate of Gog and his hordes) and Revelation 19:17,18, which looks to be the identical event. Later (I believe after 30 days), the birds also will eat the flesh of the slaughtered armies of the Antichrist (19:21).

At the return to earth of God/Jesus, when He destroys the first leader Gog and his hordes, He will gather the descendants of Jacob (that is, Israelites dispersed among the nations of the world) back to Israel (Ezekiel 39:25), and at that time the people will know that He is their Lord and God (39:28)—see more at dispersion and regathering.

At the end of the Millennium, though, Jesus will have been ruling and reigning for 1,000 years, and Israel will have known Him as Lord that entire time. My conclusion is that a demonic entity, Gog, will possess two different men a millennia apart—see Gog, the King?

So Gog will come against Israel (Ezekiel 38:16,18, 39:2), near the end of the final 7 years, and cause a great deal of destruction. Jesus will return and make war on all of the Gog/Magog hordes devastating Israel, in the great winepress of God's wrath (Revelation 19:11-15). Then the Antichrist and the ten kings will declare war specifically against Jesus, the Lamb of God; but He will destroy all of them as well (Psalm 2:3,9,12; Revelation 17:12-14, 19:19-21). More details about all of this can be found in my Final Battles commentary. See also When does the Gog/Magog battle, described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, occur?


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