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At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what any of us believes about the war of Gog, prince of the land of Magog (Revelation 20:8). What matters is what is recorded in Revelation 20:8 and Ezekiel 38:8, 16. What the Lord says in those two texts is what matters. The spin we may put on these Scriptures and the spiritual worldview we may embrace doesn’t even come close to the weight of what the Lord claims is true. What our God tells us cannot be twisted by anyone, as a lawyer might do when twisting the words of one man for the benefit of the man the lawyer defends (John 10:35; Isaiah 8:20). Truth is what the Lord says it is, is not necessarily what man claims it is.
The Scriptures clearly tell us that the War of Gog of the land of Magog takes place in the latter days (Revelation 20:8; Ezekiel 38:8, 16). The prophet Joel tells us that there would be signs in the heavens, as the Lord poured out his Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28-31), and when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Jesus’ disciples on Pentecost, just after Jesus was crucified in the first century AD, Peter referred to the prophet Joel, saying:
“…it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams… and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke…” (Acts 2:17, 19).
Therefore, the Scriptures clearly make the link of the coming of the Holy Spirit with the War of Gog of the land of Magog (Revelation 20:8; Ezekiel 38:8, 16). Both events occur in the last days. Clearly, the coming of the Holy Spirit occurred before the millennial period described in Revelation 20, and, clearly, the War of Gog of the land of Magog occurred after that same millennial period (Revelation 20:7-8). If sola-scriptura is important at all in our theology (John 10:35), we must conclude that the millennial period couldn’t possibly last for a literal thousand years. The thousand years must have a spiritual connotation, not a literal one.
Moreover, Jesus, himself, is recorded as saying that the prophets under the Old Covenant had a heart’s desire to see Jesus’ day but were unable (Luke 10:24). Moreover, during the early years of the Church’s ministry, Peter told his listeners that Moses, Samuel and all the prophets who had ever spoken under the Old Covenant spoke of Jesus and the very days in which the Apostles preached (Acts 3:22-24). In his letter to the believers in the province of Asia, Peter reiterated the words of Jesus in Luke 10:24, saying the prophets of old diligently sought to understand the words they preached, because it was told them that they preached, not to their own generation but to that of the first century AD (1Peter 1:10-12).
It is extremely important to understand the context of Peter’s remarks. All of the prophets under the Old Covenant prophesied not only of Jesus days as recorded in the Gospels, but the fulfillment of those days at his return (Acts 3:19-21). It makes no sense at all to say that Moses prophesied of the coming of a Prophet like himself, and that the people must listen to him or bear the consequences of total destruction (Acts 3:22-23), if the destruction of the unbeliever didn’t occur in the generation in which the Lord lived and was rejected, namely the first century AD. This means the Lord had to have returned in the person of Titus and the Roman armies to fight against the unbelievers in the War of Gog, of the land of Magog.
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Patricia Watkins
May 6, 2020 at 11:44
Hi Eddie,
We are in agreement that the war of Gog and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit both occurred “*IN* the last days” or the “latter days”. Pentecost was indeed the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy about the “last days”, (just after Christ’s final ascension in AD 33), and Gog did come against Israel during the same “latter days”, at the end of the AD 70 era.
But I am at a loss to see where you are getting scriptural proof that the Holy Spirit at Pentecost being poured out was an event that happened BEFORE the millennium. How do you extract from scripture’s stated time limit of “IN the last days” an understanding that this Holy Spirit’s pouring out at Pentecost was BEFORE the millennium? This is adding to the information that scripture give us. Using your added information to prove that the millennium cannot possibly last a literal thousand years is not really based on scripture.
Rev. 20’s millennium “expired” with the “FIRST Resurrection”, when the relatively small “remnant of the dead” came to life again at the same time that the Devil / Satan was loosed, as Rev. 20:5 & 7 tell us. This “remnant of the dead” was the Matthew 27:52-53 saints coming to life again with Christ, the “FIRST-fruits from the dead”, on the same day that the Devil / Satan was cast out of heaven unto the earth, in order to deceive the nations again.
As for Gog’s war against Israel, Ezekiel 38:21 tells us without doubt that this was to be a CIVIL WAR, when “every man’s sword shall be against HIS BROTHER” in those “last days”. This was Israelites making war against Israelites. Which was the case with various Zealot factions warring against each other, and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem during the AD 66-70 period of Great Tribulation.
We actually have the identity of Gog given to us long before Ezekiel wrote about Gog and the land of Magog. Gog is mentioned in Balaam’s prophecy in the LXX version. Numbers 24:7-9 in the LXX tells us that God led “Gog” out of Egypt, and that the kingdom of Gog would be exalted. Blessed would be those who blessed Gog, and cursed would be those who cursed Gog. This makes total sense if Ezekiel 38:21 foretold of Gog being engaged in a CIVIL WAR against the land of Israel, with every man’s sword against his brother.
“Gog” became the moniker of the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, who would come to steal and plunder cities in the “midst of the land” (of Israel). This was fulfilled by the Zealot Simon bar Giora (literally “son of the proselyte” of Israel) and his huge army of 40,000. Simon the Zealot and his multitudinous army came and camped against Jerusalem’s gates in AD 69, waiting to come in and take power over the city. By the end of AD 70, Simon’s vast army fell in death on the mountains of Israel by Titus’ invading troops, just as Ezekiel 39 had foretold how Gog’s army would be destroyed. This disaster had been predicted “IN OLD TIME by my servants the prophets of Israel” (probably dated from the years after Balaam’s prophecy, according to Ez. 38:17).
Christ also foretold of this same growing civil unrest, as Luke 12:51-53 tells us. The civil unrest caused by the Zealots’ nationalistic fervor was simmering in Christ’s days. As He told His disciples, “FROM HENCEFORTH there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three…”. This “house divided” would not be able to stand, as proved by the various Zealot factions warring against each other and their own nation; thereby weakening the nation from within, so that it could not withstand the final Roman attack in AD 70.
Eddie
May 6, 2020 at 19:28
Greetings Patricia, and thank you for your comment, especially showing me my obviously unclear statement.
If I know what I mean, often, I cannot see how unclear I express myself, until someone else brings my words to my attention, telling my how they understand them. Clearly, at least in another blog study, I have the millennium beginning even before Christ’s public ministry and over two decades before the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The words in question are: “Clearly, the coming of the Holy Spirit occurred before the millennial period described in Revelation 20…” What I had in mind was the Holy Spirit came long before the great persecution of Revelation 20:4 “…I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” But, the coming of Gog occurred after that period as mentioned in Revelation 20:7-9. In fact, the coming of Gog, although a part of the last days, occurred after the millennium or the, so-called, 1000 year period. My point, obviously, is if both the coming of the Holy Spirit and the coming of Gog occur in the last day, and both have a relationship to the persecution of those who were slain for their testimony concerning Christ, then the millennium couldn’t possibly last for a literal 1000 years.
Concerning the “civil war”… you place a lot of emphasis on Josephus in your interpretation of the Apocalypse. I, too, believe Josephus is important for the study of the New Covenant text, whether the Apocalypse or elsewhere. However, I don’t place the emphasis on him that you do. For example, I understand Ezekiel 38:21 in the context of Ezekiel 38:11 “unwalled villages” — in other words, defenseless people, namely those who followed Christ in the first century AD. Literal Jerusalem in the first century AD was a walled city, a military city.
Concerning Luke 12:50-51, I understand this text to mean division concerning Christ–some embrace him, while others reject him–often among family members. I don’t use this as in interpretation of Josephus’ description of the Jews’ war with Rome (66-70 AD).
Lord bless you, Patricia, and thanks again for reading my studies.