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The identity of גּוֹג֙ and מָּג֔וֹג in the visions of the prophet Ezekiel has been for centuries the target of much speculation and uncertainty. Scholars have proposed the most different positions concerning this mysterious character of Ezekiel’s prophecy and this lack of consensus indicates how difficult and delicate the task is.
In order to establish the identity of Gog, affirms Block, “we are dependent entirely on this oracle.”[1] There is no mention of Gog and as a historical character in the OT. Attempts have been made to associate Gog with Gyges, the king of Lydia. Given the association of Gog with Meshech, Tubal and other parts of the region of Anatolia (supposedly Magog), Alan Millard affirms that: “There is no reason to doubt, therefore, that Gog and Magog in Ezek 38-39 are the King Gyges of Lydia and his realm.”[2] On the other hand, this association does not seem to fit neither history nor the character of Gog in the oracle. The prophecy describes Gog and his associates as a threat to the restored people of Israel; on the other hand there is no historical proof that Gyges or any prince from the region of Lydia has ever made any attempt against Israel after its restoration from Babylonian captivity. It might be argued that the association of Gog with Gyges was only illustrative and not literal. But even so the association is still inadequate given that Gog and his horde is described as a massive invincible super-power while Gyges was utterly defeated by the Assyrians. The historical Gyges does not represent the fearful Gog. According to Iain Duguid, “Gog of Ezekiel transcends historical categories and takes on mythical proportions, rather like the figure of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie The Terminator.”[3]
Given the unique characteristics of Gog, Fairbairn seems to be right when he said that it is an “ideal name” and not a real person[4]. Block reinforces the old Scottish theologian affirming that the “combination of mystery and brutality made Gog and his confederates perfect symbols of the archetypal enemy, rising against God and his people.”[5] But who is this enemy? The answer lies in the redemptive-historical reading of the prophecy. Robertson wisely notes that “the names of the nations attacking Israel derive from the ancient table of nation in Genesis 10.”[6] Noah’s blessings to Shem and curses to Canaan were carrying over the enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent (Gen. 3:15), between the sons of Seth and the sons of Cain (Gen. 5) and between the sons of God and the sons of man (Gen. 6). Gog, therefore, represents the archenemy of God and his people, Satan, along with all his allies (Magog) doing what he has been doing since creation: assaulting God’s children.
There are other factors in the oracle which supports this biblical-theological reading. First, David is the king of the restored people, resurrected by God in Ezekiel 37, since David has been dead for quite some time when Ezekiel revealed this oracle to Israel, it is reasonable to assume that this new David is the Messiah. As Fairbairn says, “the new David, the all perfect and continually-abiding Shepherd, presides over them, and at once prevents the outbreaking of internal disorders, and shields them from the attacks of hostile neighbors.”[7] Therefore, while ultimately Gog’s war is against Yahweh, the oracle depicts the battle between Satan and the Messiah.
Second, the presence of elements of eschatological proportions (seven nations representing the totality of peoples of the earth, their scattered geographic location representing the whole world) forces the attentive reader to consider the redemptive-historical character of the prophecy. The gory description of the final battle and its unrealistic high number of dead soldiers along with the presence of a cataclysmic earthquake links this prophecy with others known passages in Scripture which are widely recognized as eschatological. The earthquake is found in Isaiah 29:6 and in Joel 3:16 and the great final battle engaged against an ideal enemy is found in Numbers 24:17-24, Isaiah 14:28-32, Joel 3 and Daniel 2:44-45. In fact, the prophecy itself issues a rhetorical question from Yahweh which demands an affirmative response (Ezek. 38:17) linking this conflict with Gog with the other prophecies from the past. Fairbairn writes: “It (the prophecy) appeared now only in a new form, but the thing in itself had been many times described by God’s servants.”[8]
Third, this eschatological battle finds its fulfillment in the Day of Judgment as revealed in Revelations 19-21. That John intended these chapters to depict the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy is clear from the similarities between the final vision of Ezekiel (chapters 37-48) and the celestial Jerusalem (chapters 20-21)[9]. The presence of Gog and Magog, the infinity number of nations (“as the sand of the sea”) associated with Gog, their destruction by fire before they can do any harm to the saints, all these elements follow the prophecy of Ezekiel and depicts it as being fulfilled here.
Given these reasons it seems extremely unwise to try to locate Gog and Magog in the history of human kind in any place else except in the return of Christ. Against fellow brothers who associated this super-villain with the Goths (Augustine), the Turks (Luther), or the communist Soviet empire (dispensationalists), we affirm that Gog and Magog are a figurative representation of Satan as his allies who strived against the Messiah and were utterly defeated and will be totally destroyed in the day when Yahweh will judge all.
Among many practical applications from this great battle, Christian should be encouraged by at least two. First, the absolute and sovereign control that Jehovah possess over the forces of darkness. It is God who raised them for He himself predicted their coming. It is God also who restring their attack and control them in all that they do. And it is God who finally brings them to complete destruction. All these things should bring Christians courage to fight their battles and dependence on God knowing that only in Him they can overcome the enemy of their souls. Second, it also give Christians great assurance that nothing can take away from them the harmonious fellowship and peaceful relationship they have now with Yahweh in Christ. With Paul, they can be sure that nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31-39). According to Christopher Wright: “the destruction of Gog as the final great enemy of Israel and Yahweh thus stands as ultimate reassurance to God’s people that their future is secure, No enemy will disturb the peach of god’s people in God’s earth ever again.”[10]
[1] Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, The New international commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 1997), 432.
[2] New International Dict of OT Theology & Exegesis. Pradis CD-ROM:Topical Dictionary/G/Gog and Magog.
[3] Iain M Duguid, Ezekiel, NIV application commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1999), 447.
[4] Patrick Fairbairn, Commentary on Ezekiel (Grand Rapids, Mich: Kregel Publications, 1989), 429-430.
[5] Block, The Book of Ezekiel, 436.
[6] O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Prophets (Phillipsburg, N.J: P & R Pub, 2004), 307.
[7] Fairbairn, Commentary on Ezekiel, 434.
[8] Ibid., 425N3.
[9] Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2007). 1145.
[10] Christopher J. H Wright, The Message of Ezekiel: A New Heart and a New Spirit, The Bible speaks today (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 317.
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