The Coming Battle Of Gog Of Magog Ezekiel 38-39

Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 are perhaps the most important prediction of war for our time, as a careful study of this passage indicates that this major battle has not yet occurred. In addition, the alignment of nations that are mentioned in these chapters is certainly clear and understandable in the present day.

Ezekiel predicts that a coalition of nations surrounding Israel will rise up and ascend "like a cloud to cover the land" (38:9), entering Israel on the northern mountains bordering Lebanon and Syria, called the Bashan (39:18), and east of the (Dead) Sea (39:11), to "take a spoil" (38:13). However, this coalition of Israel's enemies will be utterly defeated by divine intervention. Scholars refer to this situation as "the Battle of Gog of Magog," and other, more contemporary commentators often call it "World War III."

Three common questions often arise when examining these two chapters:

1. Who is Gog (38:2)?

2. What does his being called a "chief prince" mean (38:2)?

3. Which countries comprise the coalition nations, including the enemies from the north (38:6), who will engage in the battle?

The name Gog appears in Ezekiel nine times in seven verses (38:2-3, 14, 16, 18; 39:1, 11), and God foretold the former prophets about him (38:17). This name is first mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:4 as a descendent of Reuben, Jacob's first son. Numerous theories exist about the meaning of Gog, especially the name itself. In ancient cuneiform tablets, the chief warrior of the Scythians is called "Gaagi," which some think is linked with the name Gog. These warriors drank from human skulls, used human skin to hold water, and even used human skins for napkins. They were totally evil, dangerous warriors. Among the ancient Sumerians who lived in the land of Mesopotamia, the inhabitants had a word, Gug, which meant "darkness!" Thus, a form of the word Gog could refer to a spirit of darkness directing the minds of Israel's enemies, as these enemies "think an evil thought" (Ezek. 38:10) when they plot a coalition attack. It has also been noted that among the Eastern European nations, including Russia, the surname Gog can be a family name, as thousands of families with the last name Gog live in that region of the world

More likely, Gog is not a man but is the name of a strong "principality" spirit (see Eph. 6:12) that directs this massive army through supernatural power. This theory that Gog is a spirit and not just a man can be undergirded when realizing that this war, according to most scholars, occurs in the last days-after Israel is restored as a nation and dwelling safely (Ezek. 38:8, 11). Yet the same name, Gog, appears again at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, after Satan is loosed for a season (see Rev. 20:7-9). Thus, this Gog is identified by name twice, with at least a thousand years between the two prophetic wars. John's vision indicates a final battle with Satan, Gog, and Magog at the end of Christ's millennial reign:

"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. 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." (Rev. 20:7-9)

Notice the differences between the Gog battle mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39 and the Gog war mentioned in Revelation 20:7-9:

The Ezekiel 38-39 War                                                       The Revelation War

Gog is the chief prince                                                          Satan himself directs the battle

It occurs on the mountains of Israel                                     It occurs at the city of Jerusalem

To take a spoil of cattle, gold, and goods                             To conquer the saints and Christ in Jerusalem

It takes seven years to burn the weapons                           A judgement in heaven follows this final war (v. 10-15)

An Islamic coalition surrounds Israel                                   The nations come from the four corners of earth

The best interpretation is that Gog is a strong demonic spirit ruling over and rising up from the nations north of Israel. Note that Ezekiel calls Gog the "chief prince" of Meshech and Tubal (38:2). In Ephesians 2:2, Paul identifies Satan as the "prince of the power of the air!" In Daniel 10:13, a "prince" of Persia hinders Daniel's answer to a prayer, and later this same prince is joined by another strong spirit identified as the "prince of Grecia" (Dan. 10:20). This was a cosmic conflict whose heavenly warfare impacted the rise and fall of leaders in Babylon and Greece.

Gog would be classified as one of the strong prince spirits from the north, as he is called a "chief prince." Because the word chief (Ezek. 38:2) in Hebrew is ro'sh, some scholars have attempted to link the word ro'sh to Russia, interpreting the word as a prophetic reference to Russia's coming down from the north against Israel. However, ro'sh is the common Hebrew word translated as head about 276 times in the Old Testament. In the case of Gog as a chief prince, this refers to Gog's leadership and control over the coalition of nations as the "head" of the invaders; it is not a reference to Russia, at least according to the actual Hebraic meaning of the word.

In Ephesians 6:12, the "principalities" are the highest-ranking spirits working under Satan's direct supervision in his kingdom. Gog appears to be one of those spirits directing an assault against Israel. When Christ returns to rule on earth, Gog will be bound in the abyss with Satan and his other spirit rebels during the thousand-year reign, later to be loosed at the end of the thousand years with Satan, directing a second assault to undermine the plan and the people of God. The two wars of Ezekiel 38-39 and the war mentioned in Revelation 20:7-9 are clearly different and occur at two different times, under entirely different circumstances.