Mission Venture Ministries

We would like to start by stating that since God has only given us some eschatological clues of His future plans regarding the timing of the Gog and Magog war; we are using the passages that are available, to present our point of view.

As a result, this study should never be one that divides the brethren since God is the only one that knows the final outcome of this battle and the time when all these things will take place.

Introduction

About 2,600 years ago Ezekiel unveiled the prophecy the Lord God had given him concerning the future of the nation of Israel.

Recorded in the Book of Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37, the prophet revealed that God would fulfill His promise to re-gather the Jewish people “gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24). The Lord had dispersed them, and now would bring them back to the land promised to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 17:7; 1 Chronicles 16:17-18; Psalm 105:8-11).

In Ezekiel 37 we see the prophecies of the dry bones coming back to life. Israel did indeed become a nation again on May 14, 1948, after nearly 1900 years since the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D and scattered the Jewish people across the earth.

As we read chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel, history shows the Gog-Magog war is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled. And as we study we learn that this war takes place with a massive federation of nations descended from Noah’s sons Japheth and Ham (Genesis 10:2-7), invading Israel.

The nations are from the territories of ancient Rosh, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Put, Gomer and Beth-togarmah (house of Togarmah). Their leader is called “Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.” (Ezekiel 38:2-5); while some translations, translate it as “Gog, the chief prince (or ruler) of Meshech and Tubal.”

The battlefield is on the “mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate” (Ezekiel 38:8). The purpose of the invasion is to “plunder and loot” and destroy the people of Israel (Ezekiel 38:12, Ezekiel 38:16).

The end result of this invasion will shock the world. The invading nations are being maneuvered by God, pulled out of their lands as with “hooks in (their) jaws” (Ezekiel 38:4), so that those nations can accomplish what God wants them to do and feel His “fury and anger (Ezekiel 38:18).

God draws these specific nations to the “mountains of Israel” to “execute judgment upon him (Gog) with plague and bloodshed… torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him” (Ezekiel 38:22).

God’s purpose is to, “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” (Ezekiel 38:23).

Through this battle, God declares Himself to the world that He is personally defending Israel.

Who is Gog?

Ezekiel 38:2-3 gives the prophetic name of the leader of this federation of nations: “Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.” Whether Gog is a real name like in 1 Chronicles 5:4 or a title remains to be seen. 

Who are the Nations involved?

Ezekiel 38:1-6 gives the ancient names of the territories that involve the invading nations in the Gog-Magog war: Rosh, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Put, Gomer and Beth-togarmah.

• Rosh = In Hebrew described as – Head, Chief, Top and due to the text, leader in command of Russia (You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north – Ezekiel 38:15)
• Magog = Central Asia and Russia
• Meshech = Turkey, ancient cities of Muschki and Musku in Cilicia and Cappadocia.
• Tubal = Turkey, ancient city of Tubalu in Cappadocia
• Persia = Iran
• Ethiopia = Sudan, ancient Cush, south of Egypt.
• Put = Somalia
• Gomer = Some believe it is Germany others believe it is part of the northwestern of Turkey. Only history will tell.
• Beth-togarmah = Armenia, east of Turkey

As we notice, absent from this list of Middle Eastern nations are those surrounding modern-day Israel, such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Gaza, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Ezekiel 38:13 describes these nations as just observing, for many of them are described as “Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?”

Why these nations are not also actively involved in the Gog-Magog war is not revealed by Scripture.

Who is Rosh?

Ezekiel 39:1-2 claims Rosh to be “from the remotest parts of the north.” No other nation exists more directly north and is more remote than modern-day Russia.

When will this war occur?

The timing is clearly spelled out in Ezekiel’s account as events that must happen to set the stage for the war.

1) The first general timing clue is Ezekiel’s use of the terms “latter years” (Ezekiel 38:8) and “last days” (Ezekiel 38:16).

As prophesied in Ezekiel, the Gog-Magog war must happen in the prophetic scheme of the end times as it relates to the nation of Israel.

We need to understand that never in the history of the Middle East have the nations described in the coalition been united in an attack against Israel.

And, in no time in history has Israel named a valley Hamon-gog (Ezekiel 39:11), nor had a town called Hamonah (Ezekiel 39:16), where the Jews buried the invaders; which only leaves a future timing for this to occur.

2) The second evidence is given in Ezekiel 36 and 37, referring to the re-gathering of the Jewish people back into their homeland. “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:24).

As we already stated, Israel did indeed become a nation once again on May 14, 1948, after nearly 1900 years since the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D and scattered the Jewish people across the world.

3) Third we see the economic bountifulness that Israel now has with its revitalized land and newly discovered gas deposits. Israel also has a vast amount of minerals that are worth a fortune in the Dead Sea. Therefore the question in Ezekiel 38:13, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?”

4) The fourth point can be viewed in different ways where Ezekiel 38:11-12 states that, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’ 

From a Jewish point of view this is how it could be viewed: 

• I will go up against the land of unwalled villages – this is a good description of the current kibbutzim.
• I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely – nowhere in the text does it say that Israel will be living in peace. Rather, Israel is merely living in security, which means “protected” (due to its great military powers, air force, etc.), regardless of whether it is during a state of war or peace. 

From this point of view, the invasion can occur at any time, including some time before the Tribulation.

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After much biblical research and analyzing what other theologians had to say, here is what we believe: 

The Gog-Magog war will happen at least 3 ½ years before the Tribulation and the Rapture will occur either before the Gog-Magog war but certainly before the Tribulation.

The rapture does not start the tribulation, but it is the signing of the peace treaty between the Antichrist and Israel (Daniel 9:27) that begins the tribulation.

Placing the Gog-Magog war at 3 ½  year before the start of the tribulation period, would give Israel the full seven years to burn the weapons from the battle before being forced to flee into the desert during the middle of the tribulation also called “The Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:15-16).

1) With the world in chaos from a Pre-Tribulation Rapture, this could be the time that Russia and its Muslim coalition are drawn to attack Israel.

2) After Gog and his troops fall on the mountains of Israel and are buried in the valley of Hamon-gog; the Muslim world would be in ruins and their faith in Allah shattered from their defeat. The Muslim world would no longer be an impediment for the Jews to rebuild the Temple which the Antichrist will later desecrate (Daniel 9:27 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

3) With the world in chaos due to the rapture and the Islamic world in ruins from the Gog-Magog war, the remaining world would be clamoring for a savior, anyone that would bring some normalcy back to the world. The Antichrist would be ready for this moment by making a peace treaty with Israel and easily conquering the lands of the once Middle-Eastern Muslim countries, and the Roman Empire could be revived once more.

4) With the Church removed in a pre-tribulation rapture, those left behind would integrate well into the apostate one-world religion that the False Prophet promotes (Revelation 13:11-15). The only true monotheistic religions left to reject the Antichrist would be Judaism and the growing number of Jesus believers that now recognize the truth of what the Bible had been teaching all along; and which the Antichrist seriously persecutes during the second half of the Tribulation. 

5) If the Gog-Magog war happened closer to the mid-point of the tribulation, the question is raised as to why God would rescue Israel so dramatically from the Gog-Magog nations only to hand Israel immediately over to the intense persecution by the Antichrist.

6) The tremendous persecution of the Jews during the second half of the Tribulation would not grant them the freedom to bury the invaders dead bodies for seven months (Ezekiel 39:12) or create a new town named Hamonah (Ezekiel 39:16) unless the Gog-Magog war occurred earlier. 

Other Points of View

Some theologians believe that the Gog-Magog war and the final battle of Armageddon are one and the same.

And these are their reasons:

A) Both the Gog-Magog war (Ezekiel 38-39) and the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:19) are described as taking place in “latter years” (Ezekiel 38:8) and in the “last days” (Ezekiel 38:16).

B) Ezekiel 39:4, 17-20 and Revelation 19:17-18 both describe dead invaders being eaten by birds and wild animals.

However if we take a closer look there are many differences between these two events:

1) The participants in these two battles do not match.

The Gog-Magog war involves the specific nations against Israel (Ezekiel 38:1-6).

The references to Armageddon include the nations of the entire earth against Israel (Zechariah 12:3; 14:2-4; Revelation 19:19-21). 

2) The locations described for the two battles are different.

Ezekiel 38:8 describes the Gog-Magog war taking place on the “mountains of Israel.”

Armageddon takes place in a valley; the Valley of Jezreel by the plain of Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:22; Zechariah 12:11).

Today, the Jezreel Valley is a green, fertile plain and because of its location in the same valley as Megiddo, Jezreel is considered to be a likely spot for the future battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). In fact, the Valley of Megiddo is also called the Valley of Jezreel.

3) The account of the defeat of the invaders has similarities but does not match.

The Gog-Magog invaders are defeated by God who uses “torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur” (Ezekiel 38:22). As well as in-fighting: “I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother” (Ezekiel 38:21).

The invading nations at Armageddon are defeated by Jesus who uses “a sharp sword” coming from His mouth, meaning mere words are spoken (Revelation 19:15).

4) The leaders of the invasions are not the same.

Gog is the prince and ruler of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 38:3).

The invading leader at Armageddon is the Beast or Antichrist who controls the whole earth. 

5) The armies find themselves fighting two different opponents.

The Gog-Magog invaders look to conquer a peacefully unsuspecting Israel (Ezekiel 38:11).

The Armageddon invaders and their armies assembled to make war against Him (Jesus) who sat on the horse and against His army (Revelation 19:19).

Final points of view

While similarities exist between the Gog-Magog war and the Armageddon battle of the great day of God, the Almighty (Revelation 16:14); their differences far outweigh their similarities.

Also, placing the Gog-Magog war at the end of the Tribulation violates the first prerequisite that Israel is living in peace, a condition which would be impossible under the intense persecution by the Antichrist and Israel’s subsequent flight into the desert at the start of the great tribulation which takes place during the last 3 ½ years before Jesus returns.

Therefore, placing the timing before the tribulation, but not at the middle, of the tribulation gives Israel the seven months to bury the dead and the seven years to burn the weapons. 

CONCLUSION

Placing the timing of the Gog-Magog war before the beginning of the seven years of tribulation best fulfills these prerequisites, and in our view makes the most logical sense to us.

This is how we see the timeline most likely playing out:

• The rapture of the church removes the One that is holding back the man of sin. (The Holy Spirit of God is the only Person with sufficient (supernatural) power to do this – (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7).
• The Gog-Magog war destroys the Russian and Muslim influence in the Middle East.
• The Antichrist comes on the scene, makes a peace covenant with Israel to complete the Revived Roman Empire.
• Israel spends the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation continuing to burn the weapons.
• Jesus returns at the end of the seven years of tribulation to defeat His enemies at Armageddon resulting in Israel acknowledging that Jesus is God’s Son.
• Jesus gathers the people from all over the world for the sheep/goat judgment, which results in only believers entering the Millennial Kingdom.

Only time will tell when the Gog-Magog war will truly take place. But, we believe that the players are already in place and the scene is just about set for this epic battle to be waged in the not-too-distant future.

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