What Are Gog And Magog? One Of The Most Remarkable Predictions In The Bible

ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 offer one of the most remarkable but difficult to comprehend predictions in the bible these chapters foretell of a northern invasion of israel that will arrive like a storm and cover the land like a cloud israel will appear to be doomed yet god will intercede in this attack ezekiel chapter 38 verses 8-16 after many days you 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 you will ascend coming like a storm covering the land like a cloud you and all your troops and many peoples with you thus says the lord god on that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind and you will make an evil plan you will say i will go up against the 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 to take plunder

and to take booty to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited and against the people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell in the midst of the land sheba deton the merchants of tarshish and all their young lions will say to you have you come to take plunder have you gathered your army to take booty to carry away silver and gold to take away livestock and goods to take great plunder therefore son of man prophesy and say to gog thus says the lord god on that

day when my people israel dwell safely will you not know it then you will come from your place out of the far north you and many peoples with you all of them riding on horses a great company and a mighty army you will come up against my people israel like a cloud to cover the land so that the nations may know me when i am hallowed in you o gog before their eyes because we are told that the invasion of gog will take place in the latter years or days this prophecy could be fulfilled in

the first part of the tribulation this is because the antichrist will have a solution to the middle east dilemma and will sign a seven year peace deal with israel during the tribulation the jews will be able to rebuild their temple and live safely in their land at this time the invasion will thereafter take place god had promised to revive israel from the dead through the vision ezekiel received of the valley of dried bones as exiles in the foreign land of babylon the israelites had lost faith but god assured them that they would once again live

as a nation now the lord continued to convey the wonderful hope and future he has for the children of israel ezekiel chapter 37 verses 1-11 the hand of the lord came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the lord and set me down in the midst of the valley and it was full of bones then he caused me to pass by them all around and behold there were very many in the open valley and indeed they were very dry and he said to me son of man can these bones live so i

answered o lord god you know again he said to me prophesy to these bones and say to them o dry bones hear the word of the lord thus says the lord god to these bones surely i will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live i will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live then you shall know that i am the lord so i prophesied as i was commanded and as i prophesied there was a noise and suddenly a

rattling and the bones came together bone to bone indeed as i looked the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over but there was no breath in them also he said to me prophesy to the breath prophesy son of man and say to the breath thus says the lord god come from the four winds o breath and breathe on these slayin that they may live so i prophesied as he commanded me and breath came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet an exceedingly great army then he said

to me son of man these bones are the whole house of israel they indeed say our bones are dry our hope is lost and we ourselves are cut off number one god's intention chapter 38 introduces us to gog and magog the name gog refers to the leader of the land of magog we are merely told that these occurrences will take place in the later days the invasion of israel will come from the north according to god's word ezekiel chapter 39 verse 2 and i will turn you around and lead you on bringing you up from

the far north and bring you against the mountains of israel ezekiel chapter 38 verses 4 to 6 i will turn you around put hooks into your jaws and lead you out with all your army horses and horsemen all splendidly clothed a great company with bucklers and shields all of them handling swords persia ethiopia and libya are with them all of them with shield and helmet gomer and all its troops the house of togarmah from the far north and all its troops many people are with you gog will not act alone in this invasion but will

be aided by a coalition of nations many bible teachers believe gomer refers to germany whereas togarmah refers to turkey in terms of this coalition these countries will only believe they are in command the coalition's attack according to god is meant to loot and destroy israel this is not a recent concept even now many middle eastern countries openly oppose israel any country that is a friend of israel is viewed as a full by these countries ezekiel chapter 38 verses 19 to 23 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 so that the fish of the sea the birds of the heavens the beasts of the field all creeping things that creep on the earth and all men who were on the face of the earth shall shake at my presence the mountains shall be thrown down the steep places shall fall and every wall shall fall to the ground 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 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 thus i will magnify myself and sanctify myself and i will be known in the eyes of many nations then they shall know that i am the lord god informs us that he will allow this invasion so that the nations of the world would be compelled to realize who he is when he intervenes and exhibits his righteousness the lord expresses his rage at this

invasion the phrasing in verse 19 is reminiscent of an earthquake or maybe a nuclear bomb in verse 20 we observe the aftermath of the disaster natural calamities confusion and terror will be used by god to kill these invaders when he has done with gog and his coalition everyone will know that god is in power number two gog's annihilation ezekiel chapter 39 verses to 6 and you son of man prophesy against gog and say thus says the lord god behold i am against you o gog the prince of raj meshech and tubal i will turn you

around and lead you on bringing you up from the far north and bring you against the mountains of israel then i will knock the bow out of your left hand and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand you shall fall upon the mountains of israel you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you i will give you two birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured you shall fall on the open field for i have spoken says the lord god and i

will send fire on magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands then they shall know that i am the lord chapter 39 continues to inform us about the destruction of the alliance of countries with a focus on gog and his land of magog the lord began by emphasizing his opposition to gog he then displayed the coalition's total annihilation five sixths of god's invading army will be defeated their weapons will be powerless against the lord not only will the invading army be annihilated in israel but god will also send fire on gog's heartland

of magog it will also be destroyed ezekiel chapter 39 verses 7-15 so i will make my holy name known in the midst of my people israel and i will not let them profane my holy name anymore then the nations shall know that i am the lord the holy one in israel surely it is coming and it shall be done says the lord god this is the day of which i have spoken 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 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 the burial of gog it will come to pass in that day that i will give gog a burial place there in israel the valley of those who pass by east to the sea and it will obstruct travelers because there

they will bury gog and all his multitude therefore they will call it the valley of haemon gog for seven months the house of israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land indeed all the people of the land will be burying and they will gain renown for it on the day that i am glorified says the lord god they will set apart men regularly employed with the help of a search party to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground in order to cleanse it at the end of seven

months they will make a search the search party will pass through the land and when anyone sees a man's bone he shall set up a marker by it till the buriers have buried it in the valley of haman gog israel will have adequate fuel for the next seven years thanks to the weapons seven months will be required for israel to bury the dead special teams will be tasked with finding and burying any remaining diseased bodies ezekiel chapter 39 verses 16-18 the name of the city will also be hamona thus they shall cleanse the land a

triumphant festival and as for you son of man thus says the lord god speak to every sort of bird into every beast of the field assemble yourselves and come gather together from all sides to my sacrificial meal which i am sacrificing for you a great sacrificial meal on the mountains of israel that you may eat flesh and drink blood you shall eat the flesh of the mighty drink the blood of the princes of the earth of rams and lambs of goats and bulls all of them fatlings abation the lord made a prediction comparable to one

contained in revelations chapter 19 verses 17 and 18. we know these are distinct events because revelation refers to the battle of armageddon it is also not the identical situation in revelation chapter 20 verses 8 and 9. when gog and magog collect their troops from the four corners of the earth in ezekiel the armies are gathered from the north the revelation gog and magog appear after the millennium the one in ezekiel is before the millennium they are separate seeds with similar descriptions revelation chapter 19 verses 17 to 18 then i saw an angel standing in the

sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven come and gather together for the supper of the great god that you may eat the flesh of kings the flesh of captains the flesh of mighty men the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all people free and slave both small and great revelation chapter 20 verses 8 to 9. 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 they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city and fire came down from god out of heaven and devoured them ezekiel chapter 39 verses 19-29 you shall eat fat till you are full and drink blood till you are drunk at my sacrificial meal which i am sacrificing for you you should be filled at my table with horses and riders with mighty men and with all the men of war says the lord

god israel restored to the land i will set my glory among the nations all the nations shall see my judgment which i have executed and my hand which i have laid on them so the house of israel shall know that i am the lord their god from that day forward the gentiles shall know that the house of israel went into captivity for their iniquity because they were unfaithful to me therefore i hid my face from them i gave them into the hand of their enemies and they all fell by the sword according to their uncleanness

and according to their transgressions i have dealt with them and hidden my face from them therefore thus says the lord god now i will bring back the captives of jacob and have mercy on the whole house of israel and i will be jealous for my holy name after they have borne their shame and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to me when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid when i have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies lands and i am

hallowed in them in the sight of many nations then they shall know that i am the lord their god who sent them into captivity among the nations but also brought them back to their land and left none of them captive any longer and i will not hide my face from them anymore for i shall have poured out my spirit on the house of israel says the lord god i will set my glory among the nations god stated once more and he revealed what he will undoubtedly do for israel the bible makes it abundantly plain what

god's plan for the nation of israel is indeed the holy spirit reveals israel's past present and destiny via the apostle paul the invasion of ezekiel 38 and 39 is linked to this prophecy of what will happen to the country of israel in the latter times after israel rejected and crucified the lord jesus christ god's prophetic clock stopped ticking romans chapter 9 verse 11. for the children not yet being born nor having done any good or evil that the purpose of god according to election might stand not of works but of him who calls romans chapter

11 verse 25 for i do not desire brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part has happened to israel until the fullness of the gentiles has come in ezekiel chapter 39 verse 29 and i will not hide my face from them anymore for i shall have poured out my spirit on the house of israel says the lord god we are already living in what the bible refers to as the times of the gentiles but in the end israel's clock will be reset

god is saying that the country of israel will be saved at the end of time god according to ezekiel would pour out his spirit on the family of israel zechariah describes it as the spirit of grace and supplication when israel recognizes jesus god will perform a spiritual work in their hearts luke chapter 21 verse 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations and jerusalem will be trampled by gentiles until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled romans chapter 11 verse 26 and so all israel

will be saved as it is written the deliverer will come out of zion and he will turn away ungodliness from jacob zechariah chapter 12 verse 10 and i will pour on the house of david and on the inhabitants of jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication then they will look on me whom they pierced yes they will mourn for him as one who mourns for his own son and grief for him as one grieves for a firstborn zechariah chapter 13 verse 1 in that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of david and

for the inhabitants of jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness today israel does not see its future but we do let us remember to pray for the peace of jerusalem let us also remember the witness to our jewish friends because romans chapter 10 verses 12 and 13 still apply to jews today psalm chapter 122 verse 6 pray for the peace of jerusalem may they prosper who love you romans chapter 10 verses 12 and 13 for there is no distinction between jew and greek for the same lord over all is rich to all who call upon him

for whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved