*Question : Please explain Gog & Magog mentioned in Revelation 20:8*
*Answer* : This prophecy is frequently cited by premillennialists to support their end-times theories. They ignore the context of Ezekiel with its prophecies against nations of its time. They ignore that person and place is fixed in the prophecy.
The prophecy is against a person named Gog who lives in the land of Magog - Ezekiel 38:2-9
Gog is a prince, or ruler. Commentators consistently state that Gog is a title, much like Pharaoh, and not the name of a particular person.
Their conclusion is not based on evidence, but reasoning that Gog is the root of Magog (which can be read “land of Gog”) and the lack of finding a ruler named Gog in history.
Ezekiel 38:17 says that Gog was spoken of in prophecies before, but Gog is only mentioned here and in Revelation.
This means Gog was mentioned before, but under a different name. Magog contains the cities of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal are mentioned earlier in Ezekiel 36:26
Rosh is suspected to be the old name for Russia
Another alternative is that “rosh” is the Hebrew word for “chief,” which would alter the translation to “chief prince” of Meshech and Tubal.
Meshech is the old name for Moscow
Tubal is the old name for Cappadocia, the area now known as Georgia.
Magog was a descendent of Japheth, along with Tubal and Meschech - Gen 10:2
God states that He has hooks in their mouths. In other words, he has them under His control - II Kings 19:28; Ezekiel 29:4.
Regrettably, extensive efforts are made to find Armageddon, Gog & Magog not only in Revelation but in Ezekiel 38-39. Gog and Magog are identified as Russia, and the battle in Ezekiel is said to be the one in Revelation 19. Really? The armies of Ezekiel 38 ride horses and carry swords (Ezekiel 38:4). If the battle is literal why isn’t the weaponry? How can we say “this is a literal battle, but the weapons will be tanks and machine guns?” Notice that in Ezekiel 39:9-10 the prophet specifically says that when the battle ends Israel will burn their enemies’ weapons as firewood.
This cannot be modern weaponry, one cannot burn an AK-47! To further confound premillenial uses of these chapters, Gog and Magog are dead and buried in Ezekiel’s battle (Ezekiel 39:11-12).
Premillenialists are happy to parallel this to Revelation 19’s battle and make it all one and the same conflict, the battle of Armageddon. But has anyone noticed that in Revelation 20:8 Gog and Magog appear (note: for the first time in Revelation)? How can Gog and Magog materialize in Revelation 20 if they were already killed in the battle of Armageddon described in Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 19?
Someone is mixed up and it is those who are trying to force Ezekiel’s message into John’s book. Ezekiel’s visions and prophecies were for the people of his day, the captives in Babylon. He gives them a reassuring message of God’s power and ability to re-establish them in their home land, and to protect them from attack when they get there. To pick up those symbols and jam them into Revelation, a book written to give confidence and hope to Christians in the first century, makes a giant mess.
Revelation 19’s battle is not Ezekiel’s battle, and Ezekiel is not talking about Revelation’s battle of Armageddon. These are two separate events, two separate visions, given to two entirely different peoples in entirely different circumstances. Premillenial ideas just prove to be a “Bible blender” that confuses and contradicts scripture.
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