Gog and Magog
This study is not an easy one. The reason is when dealing with the topic of Gog and Magog, there are several opinions floating around. Then there’s the issue of this being a future event. Who are or were Gog and Magog? What are or were Gog and Magog? While these are important questions, we will not be going over them here.; at least, not in great detail. You’ve likely seen so far that these details are not the focus of this series, or, they are not the “heart of the matter”.
The passages we will be examining are Ezekiel 38-39. As always, I encourage you to read them for yourself, but we will examine a few key passages in relation to some others that share similar verbiage. Likewise, this teaching (and the series as a whole) looks at the point behind this prophecy. It’s not necessarily a matter of telling the future; it’s a matter of how it affects us and how we should respond to it.
NOTE: I highly recommend reading the entirety of the chapters presented in this teaching. I will not be quoting them in full here, so reading them is vital for context and for your own understanding.
Events Yet to Happen
I hold to these events being for a future occurrence because of a phrase we see in vs. 16:
“This will be in the acharit-hayamim…”
Ezekiel 38:16b
The Hebrew phrase acharit-hayamim means “the last days” or “end of days”. It could refer to the end of a certain time, like an era; however, contextually, this makes more sense being the literal end of all days. We see events such as a massive invasion as well as God Himself fighting on behalf of Israel with a giant earthquake that “the Nations” (the whole world) sees and knows it was God Himself.
“I will show my greatness and holiness, making myself known in the sight of many nations; then they will know that I am Yehovah.”
Ezekiel 38:23
If I were telling a story with an epic reveal, this would have been it. But I’m not trying to wow you with an expert narrative here; instead, I am trying to deliver a message with a point. Yehovah will make Himself known. Not other gods of Greek or Norse mythology, not the gods we make for ourselves – Yehovah will. While the prophecy here is “against Gog” (vs. 2), it also serves to show us that Yah is the One to serve, and we should be for Him before He is against us.
Where would you rather be in this scenario? The North (Magog), among the Goyim (the [foreign] Nations), or Israel? In my view, Israel is the place to be because Yah fights on their behalf.
Israel
Who or what Israel is has been a point of debate for some time. I’ll give a brief summary because it’s really not a difficult topic; only that people make it so.
Israel was the name taken on by Jacob who “wrestled with an angel” (Gen. 32) and showed his strength “to God and man and prevailed.” Israel, or Isra’el (Yisra’el) means “contends/struggles with God”. So, in the first instance, Israel was a man. This man had sons who would become the tribes of Israel and later would be the people chosen to establish the Nation of Israel. This Nation would, and still does, exist in a geographic location. It is the place that Yah had Avram walk (Genesis 12) to establish the promised land that Moshe and Joshua would lead the Hebrews to and where Yehovah set His Name forever – the Promised Land.
“But now I have chosen Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), so that my name can be there; and I have chosen David to be over my people Isra’el.”
2 Chronicles 6:6
Eventually, the idea came about that foreigners, or Goyim (Gentiles) could come into covenant with the Almighty, obey His Torah, and follow His Messiah and be “grafted in” to Israel. The idea is that even if you were born American, your identity in God is that of a native-born Israeli even without blood-relation. This idea is first set in the Torah (Lev. 19:34), shown in practice in the book of Ruth, and further reiterated in the writings of Paul/Sha’ul (Romans 11).
In summary – Israel is a person, a place, and a people.
Prophetic Parallels
Moving on, Joel 2 shows an interesting parallel between it and Ezekiel 38 which also establishes the entire point, again, for such a prophecy. In comparison, both Ezekiel 38 and Joel 2 talk about an invasion, clouds, the mountains, shaking, God’s Jealousy, etc. I believe this is the same event being spoken about by two different prophets. But Yah says something here:
“Yet even now,” says Yehovah,
Joel 2::12-14
“turn to me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping and lamenting.”
Tear your heart, not your garments;
and turn to Yehovah your God.
For he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in grace,
and willing to change his mind about disaster.
Who knows? He may turn, change his mind
and leave a blessing behind him,
[enough for] grain offerings and drink offerings
to present to Yehovah your God.
“Turn to me with all your heart” – that’s what it means to Teshuva/Repent. This is all about repentance! The very heart of the matter is turning our hearts back to Him. And, as He Himself says, He is willing to spare disaster to a people who does so.
If we remember in Ezekiel 38 that this attack comes from the North (Magog), take a look at what Joel 2 says shortly after this:
I will take the northerner away,
Joel 2:20
far away from you,
and drive him to a land
that is waste and barren;
with his vanguard toward the eastern sea
and his rearguard toward the western sea,
his stench and his rottenness will rise,
because he has done great things.”
The northerner. Who takes them away? Yehovah does. Why? Because the people repented. When you read vs. 16-17, we see the people do exactly that. This passage is also why I believe we will see the Temple rebuilt. The actions of the priests cannot be performed unless there is a Temple.
Nonetheless, the whether these are the same events or two separate ones makes no real difference. The entire point here is that we repent and turn back towards the Almighty.
Further Warnings
We see these sorts of warnings in various other places throughout Scripture. When you see similar verbiage, such as “peace and safety”, it’s a queue to perk up and pay attention.
“When people are saying, ‘Everything is so peaceful and secure,’ then destruction will suddenly come upon them…”
1 Thessalonians 5:3
But we also continue to see similar prophecies in books such as Zechariah and Hosea. While Hosea 5 talks about invaders coming in, Zechariah 5 talks about what I believe to be a nuclear missile attack against people who steal (plunderers) and swear by the name of Yah falsely (Read Zech. 5-6 for more context). This is also another parallel to Ezekiel 39 that further says:
“I will also send fire against Magog and against those living securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am Yehovah.”
Ezekiel 39:6
Timeline of Events
In all honesty, the timeline of events is a great mystery to me. When I read the books of the Prophets as well as prophecies in the B’rit Chadesha (New Testament/Renewed Covenant), things are solid yet confusing.
On the one hand, you can clearly see that one day there will be great tribulation followed by the reign of Messiah. But on the other, the intimate details of these events can be interpreted in many ways. The prevailing opinions are that there will not be another Temple because Yah is the Temple or that the people are the Temple because 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says our bodies are “a Temple of the Holy Spirit”. But this conflicts with Zechariah 6 which says that the coming Messiah (The Tsemach/Sprout) will “rebuild the Temple”. But, will that be before or after the events of Gog and Magog? Isaiah 63 talks about someone (whom I believe to be Messiah) who destroys “the peoples” and his clothes are stained with blood.
Perhaps (completely speculative) there will be four Temples; the third made by man, then a fourth made by Messiah. Perhaps further, the timeline of events is that at the end, Messiah will return, rebuild the Temple, consecrate Yah’s people, then there will be an attack from the north and Messiah will act against them in the manner described in Isaiah 63. The Truth is, I don’t know. One day, we will know everything because we will see it happen, but until then, any future prophetic interpretation is pure speculation.
The Heart of the Matter
The heart of the matter, however, is not for us to know exactly what the timeline of events is or every detail. Sure, it’s good to be watchful for when the day of Yehovah comes (or to see the warning signs), but we weren’t told to go into all the world to preach how everything will end. The heart of the matter is that we change our hearts and turn toward Yah. Likewise, we go out into all the world preaching the Good News (Mark 16:15); that though we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, He has provided a sacrifice on our behalf so that our punishment will not be eternal damnation in death, but instead, we shall have eternal life through Him. He has offered us a way of salvation, and it is our choice to receive it or reject it.
That’s the entire point. Even Solomon concluded in his final writings in Ecclesiastes 12:
“Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot (Commands); this is what being human is all about.”
Ecc. 12:14
In the end, it’s all about Yah. It’s all about living for Him, obeying Him, loving Him, and fearing Him. Our Father’s heart is the love we share in unity with one another. He desires us, and as I’ve pointed out in other teachings, the point to obeying His Torah (or, His Commands) is to love Yah and to love others. If we love, we obey; if we obey, we do not sin (1 John 3:4).
While there may be more to this series, I think even now you should understand that the entire point of each prophecy is not to tell your future or how things will happen. The entire point is to see that God is God and there is no other. We were created by Him and have greatly offended Him, but He is slow to anger and not willing that any of us should perish.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some people think of slowness; on the contrary, he is patient with you; for it is not his purpose that anyone should be destroyed, but that everyone should turn from his sins.
2 Peter 3:9
I will leave you with a few passages. Again, there may be more to this series, but this is the very heart of the matter, the very point, the essence, the crux; however you view it, the reason behind it all is that we are all unified in love with our Creator and with one another.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved.
John 3:16-17
“Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)!”
Acts 2:38
“Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased; so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Yeshua. He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets. For Moshe himself said (Deut. 18:15-16), ‘Yehovah will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You are to listen to everything he tells you. Everyone who fails to listen to that prophet will be removed from the people and destroyed.’”
Acts 3:19-23
Selah and shalom.
For more on this series, you may check out the Special Messages and Teachings section.