Rev 20:7-10 What and Who is Gog and Magog?, Part 3

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

We have established that the moniker, ‘Gog and Magog’ signify “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

While Revelation 20:8 is very clear, it is still incumbent upon anyone who is instructed as to the kingdom of heaven to understand and “bring forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Mat 13:51  Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 13:52  Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

I would not be a good “scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven” if I fail to ‘bring forth out of my treasures things new and old.’ I have shown you what the New Testament reveals about the part which ‘Gog and Magog” play in what the Lord is doing with His creatures, but we all need the foundational ‘second witness’ of the Old Testament if we truly want to know the mind of God concerning any subject.

In this study we will discuss verses 11-15 concerning the great white throne/lake of fire/second death. But the first part of this study will be concerned with who is cast into that lake of fire and brimstone at the great white throne judgment as this is witnessed to in the Old Testament.

In the case of ‘Gog and Magog’, that witness in our ‘old’ treasures is found in Ezekiel 38-39. John’s prophecy here in Revelation 20 is what brought me to see how the Lord wraps up the work He is doing to bring death to its much needed end:

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Satan is not “the last enemy.” “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” When death is destroyed Satan himself will be reconciled to God:

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [Including the devil]
Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself [including the devil]; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Gog and Magog have long been the symbol used by the holy spirit to signify the self-righteous, rebellious, carnal mind in “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” who will, at the appointed time, attempt to rebel against and overthrow “the Lord and His Christ.”

Here is Ezekiel 38 which demonstrates how crucial these two chapters are to the revelation of how the Lord will bring eonian times to an end:

Eze 38:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 38:2  Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
Eze 38:5  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Eze 38:6  Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Eze 38:7  Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

Just like Joseph’s brothers, “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” will think in their own self-righteousness, that they have devised a plan to rebel and encamp against the saints (Rev 20:9). The truth is that the Lord “put hooks in [their] mouths” and “made them to err from His ways and hardened their hearts from His fear” (Isa 63:17).

Continuing with Ezekiel 38:

Eze 38:8  After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years [The “short season which follows the thousand-year reign of “our Lord and His Christ”] thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel [The ‘Israel’ of Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 6:15-16 and Ephesians 2:11-22], which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
Eze 38:9  Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. [“Encamp against the saints”,  “Compass the camp of the saints about”, (Rev 20:9)]
Eze 38:10  Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
Eze 38:11  And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Eze 38:12  To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
Eze 38:13  Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Eze 38:14  Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
Eze 38:15  And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Eze 38:16  And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
Eze 38:17  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
Eze 38:18  And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
Eze 38:19  For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Eze 38:20  So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Eze 38:21  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
Eze 38:22  And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Eze 38:23  Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations [In the white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death], and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 39 adds to our knowledge of what the Lord is doing:

Eze 39:6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel [“The Israel of God”]; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. [Does this sound like a nation which has rejected and crucified its own Savior? No, of course not. “My people Israel” is “the Israel of God”, those who “worship God in spirit and in Truth.”]

When we are given the victory over the beast and his image, number, mark and name, it is not and it will not be by our choice but by the fact that “I will not let them pollute my holy name any more…” The Lord drags us to Himself just as He drags Gog to do His dirty work.

Natural, physical Israel is part of all those who have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Physical Israel is also part of “all both small and great rich and poor” who are caused to receive the mark of the beast:

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man [Greek: ‘anthropos’, mankind]; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

It is those who “will not be permitted to pollute our Lord’s name” in this present time who will  “dwell [comfortably] in the devouring fire” (Isa 33:14-15). That “devouring fire” is the work of grace known as the lake of fire. They are also called “the cities of Israel.” It is these who are known as ‘the cities of Israel’ who “shall set on fire, and burn the weapons” of false doctrines and lies known as the “weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears” believed by those of all flesh who followed Satan’s lies. These are known in scripture as Gog and Magog.

Eze 39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamongog.

According to Revelation, the destruction of Gog and Magog follows the thousand-year reign of those who are overcomers in this life. That millennial period is what is called the judging of the nations of this world by the overcomers of the first resurrection (1Co 6:2, Rev 2:25-27, 11:15). So this is all symbolism for the destruction of death and hades. “Hamongog” means “the multitude of Gog” and is once again the Biblical symbol for the flesh of all men of all time who are to be judged in the fire of the lake of fire, known as the second death.

This is the smell of death which will be endured by those overcomers, “the house of Israel”, who are given to dispose of death and hades.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Here is the only symbolic hint we have of how long the process of the destruction of Gog and Magog will take. It is the symbol of “seven months”, and it is said to be done by “all the people of the land”, and it is called “a day of renown”.

Eze 39:12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury [them]; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. [When we glorify our Lord “it shall be to them a renown…”]
Eze 39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
Eze 39:15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:16 And also the name of the city [shall be] Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

These verses explain just how thorough the destruction of Gog and Magog will be, and just how thorough will be the resurrection from the dead of all who have ever lived. The degree of the destruction of all flesh is the same degree to which life will be given to “all in Adam.” That is the degree to which “the land is cleansed” so that not one body fails to be buried. Being burned up and being buried are not different ways of disposing of the multitudes of Gog and Magog, they are merely different symbols signifying the destruction of all flesh of all time.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end [harvest of souls], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

As long as sinful flesh and blood babies in Adam are being procreated on this earth, death cannot be destroyed. By means of a first resurrection, in which the overcomers of the ages will be prepared to become the saviors of all men of all ages, and by means of a millennium followed by a second rebellion, followed by a second resurrection and a lake of fire, we are made to understand that our Lord will bring all flesh to its necessary destruction and end.

It is in the first Adam that all men partake of the corruptible flesh which is “Gog and Magog”. It is through the destruction of that same corruptible flesh that life is given to “all in Adam”.

Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Eze 39:19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. [“The supper of the Great God”, (Rev 19:17-19) the same words]
Eze 39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

These beasts and fowls are all the false doctrines with which the Lord’s elect will judge Gog and Magog “out of [their] own mouths”, (Luk 19:22)]. The very false doctrines which were used to seduce them into following Satan will torment them, just as Joseph’s brothers’ fear of his revenge tormented them for 17 years. Just as we are all guilty of the death and crucifixion of our Lord and of drinking His blood and eating His flesh, until we were granted undeserved repentance, so must all Gog and Magog live by every word of God. This whole plan is all being worked by the Great Potter, who is “seeking an occasion” for the destruction of all flesh, and the destruction of death via the “lake of fire… raising of the dead from the sea, from death and from hades”, to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.

This brings us to the verses with which this study is concerned:

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.
Rev 20:15 And if any was not found written in the book of life [Joh 5:28-29], he was cast into the lake of fire. (ASV)

Why must most men be cast into the lake of fire? Why must Gog and Magog be destroyed at “the supper of the great God”? The last verses of Ezekiel 39 give us our answer:

Eze 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the [physical, natural, unrepentant] house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
Eze 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel [“When Sodom returns to her former estate” Eze 16:55], and will be jealous for my holy name;
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there [“All in Adam”].
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

God will especially have His elect to know that they are no exception to the “one event” which is “common to all men”. These are His words to the whole house of Israel:

Jer 25:17 Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:
Jer 25:18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as [it is] this day;

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

That “one event” is the judgment of God upon the unrighteousness and ungodliness of all men.”

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

“Judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Pe 4:17), but in the end, it must also come to all men, to Gog and Magog. All men must drink of the same cup of “the wrath of God against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men…”

Jer 25:28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

It is all done for our sakes. It is all done for the sake of “the Israel of God.” It is first done to us so that we can be used as the channel for their salvation:

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Gog and Magog are made unbelievers for our sakes. It is through their unbelief that you and I are God’s believing elect. We are not saved for our own sakes any more that Gog and Magog are unbelievers by their own choice. It is all of God, and it is all for His purpose of saving all mankind.

Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

“The mount of Esau” is just that part of Gog and Magog which is closest to the Lord’s ‘Israel’, and the destruction of Gog and Magog is part of “all things” which are being done “of Him, and through Him, and to Him (Rom 11:36), that He might have mercy upon all” (Rom 11:32).

These two chapters, Ezekiel 38 and 39, are the foundation on which Revelation 19 and 20 stand. The details of these two chapters give us a much deeper understanding of who it is who “abuses” this world, [and] “compasses the camp of the saints about” in every generation since Adam and Eve, in which the seed of the serpent expresses his enmity against the seed of the woman.

Gog is called “the land of Magog”:

Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

“Gog and Magog” of Revelation 20 are the Biblical symbols which signify all of “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

“The number… as the sand of the sea” is Biblical and spiritual language for “the world”; the whole world. These are the words used by the holy spirit to tell us who would become “Abraham’s seed.”

Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore: and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Gen 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Paul tells us this means the whole world.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

So the holy spirit tells us in Revelation 20 that “the nations in the four quarters of the earth [are] Gog and Magog”, and Daniel tells us these nations must all be destroyed and then replaced by “the stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands.”

Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

Gog and Magog have long ago signified the occasion He is seeking  to judge this world with the fire of His own Words:

Eze 38:17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

So we find “Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” as the leader of the “many peoples” of this earth here in Ezekiel.

Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

This same symbol is expressed in this way in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ:

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Here is how God is dealing with these “many people… the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”, both within us at this time and to the end of the ages. This is the fate of all flesh, only after it has been brought with hooks in its mouth, to face its own corruptible condition.

Eze 39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of [annihilate] thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

The words “and leave but a sixth part of thee” is all translated from the one primitive Hebrew root word which actually means “to annihilate.” Here is what Mr. Strong has to say about this word:

H8338
sha sha’
shaw- shaw’
A primitive root; apparently to annihilate. (Translated by confusion with H8341.): – leave but the sixth part [by confusion with H8341].

It was by confusion with the Hebrew word ‘shashah’ which is very similar, except for the first letter.

H8341
sha sha h
shaw- shaw’

A denominative from H8337; to sixth or divide into sixths: – give the sixth part.

So the root word that should have been translated ‘annihilate thee’ was instead translated ‘and leave but a sixth part of thee.’ However, the sum of God’s Word makes clear that all flesh will one day be annihilated, and through that annihilation of all flesh, all who have ever lived in bodies of flesh, will be given spiritual bodies which will never again “compass about the camp of the saints”.

Here is more of what it means to bring all flesh to its well deserved end.

Eze 39:3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Eze 39:4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Eze 39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

The bow and arrows of the adversary are his words and doctrines. Both will be destroyed in the heat of the light of the Truth which will then, over time, be made known to all things in heaven and in the earth. The only hints to how long the lake of fire will last are right here in this 39th chapter of Ezekiel, which we will cover as we come to those verses.

If Satan and his angels are in the lake of fire, then who are these ravenous birds of every sort and these beasts of the field which will devour Gog and Magog? Here is Christ’s own answer to that question.

Psa 18:26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

Luk 19:22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

So the “ravenous birds of every sort, and the beasts of the field” which will be the instruments of the destruction of Gog and Magog, will be their own false doctrines. It will be the lies which Gog and Magog believe when they relinquish the flesh which will torment them until those very doctrines are burned up and destroyed within “all flesh”, of which Gog and Magog are the Biblical symbol.

Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

“The mountains of Israel” are “the camp of the saints… and the beloved city.” These are Biblical symbols for signifying God’s elect, in whom His Words dwell, and who will judge both this world now within, later in the millennium, and finally angels, “the devil and his angels” in the lake of fire.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

The ’Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38-39 is the same ‘Gog and Magog’ of Revelation 20. The two accounts complement each other with Revelation clarifying that “the nations in the four quarters of the earth are to be destroyed by the signified “fire… from heaven”, followed by the judgment of all who have ever lived at the great white throne judgment/lake of fire/ second death.

In our final study of Revelation 20:7-10 we will discover when “all Israel shall be saved”.

Ezekiel 39:1–29 Prophesy Against Gog, Part 2

[Study Aired December 9, 2024]

Introduction

Our study Today is a continuation of the study last week, where we turned our attention to Gog, who is described as a leader  of a great army, whose kingdom is called Magog, whom the Lord is going to use to attack the people of Israel who had come back to their land from captivity and are living peacefully and unsuspectingly at the time. In that study, we came to the conclusion that Gog represents Satan, who will deceive the whole world as he gathers them together to battle the Lord and His elect. However, a fire shall come from God out of heaven to destroy all humanity. That is when death shall be destroyed.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Today’s study focuses on how the Lord shall destroy the weapons of Gog and His army as they fall on the mountain of the Lord. It also shows us the Lord’s promise to show mercy to His elect as He gathers them together from the nations to pour out His spirit on them and restores unto them the joy of their salvation.

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

The Lord is Against Gog

Eze 39:1  Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 
Eze 39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 

As indicated in the previous study, Gog represents Satan, whom the Lord has fashioned as the waster to destroy. 

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 

Gog, being the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, is significant. Meshech means drawing out and Tubal signifies thou shall be brought. The devil’s role is to draw out or bring out sin in our lives. As we can remember, before the devil showed up, Adam and Eve did not know their state as a sinful being. That is what it means to be naked and not know it. However, the devil coming to the scene exposed their nakedness.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 
Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 
Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

In verse 1, the Lord is telling us that He is against the adversary, the devil. Being against the devil means our Lord opposes or resists the devil. As the Lord’s representatives here on earth, we are therefore called to resist the devil and we can only do it when we first submit to Christ our Lord. 

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

In verse 2, we are told that the Lord will turn Gog around and lead him. He will bring him from the far north and have him attack the mountains of Israel. The Lord turning Gog around and leading him signify that the Lord controls all that the devil does. As we are aware, in this world, we go through an experience of evil orchestrated by the devil. However, all that the devil does is in accordance with the counsel of the Lord’s will. The fact that the devil is caused to attack the Lord’s elect, represented here as the mountains of Israel, means that we are in a spiritual warfare against the devil and his cohorts in this life. This is described as follows:

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

The ultimate onslaught of the devil against us and our Lord is when Satan is released from his prison after a symbolic thousand-year reign of the Lord and His elect, to deceive the people of the whole world to attack us and our Lord. This will cause the Lord to destroy all flesh or human beings living with His fire from heaven. That is how death shall be destroyed.

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Eze 39:3  And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 
Eze 39:4  Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Eze 39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 

The bow with the arrows represent the false doctrines spewed by the adversary.  

Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

Isa 7:24  With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

Verse 3 is therefore telling us that the false doctrines of the enemy, the devil, shall cease. In verse 4, we are told that the devil shall fall upon the mountains of Israel together with his bands and people with him. The mountain of Israel in this case represent the lake of fire where the carnality of the devil and the people whom the devil has deceived shall be destroyed. 

Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

This is the supper of our great king Jesus where the devil, together with all who have been deceived by him, shall be judged resulting in the destruction of anything related to the flesh or the carnality that is in man and the devil. As indicated in verse 5, being in this lake of fire is like being in an open field where there is no shelter from the fowls of the air who destroy everything of the flesh. 

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.   

Eze 32:4  Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 

Eze 39:6  And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 
Eze 39:7  So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 

The fire being sent by the Lord in verse 6 is the Lord’s judgment of the old man. Magog here represents the people of this world who have lived carelessly and do not care about the Lord. They shall be judged by the Lord, and it is through this judgment in the lake of fire that they shall come to know the Lord. In verse 7, we are reminded that it is through the Lord’s judgment of our old man that His holy name shall be made known to us, His elect. The judgment of the Lord ensures that we do not pollute His holy name anymore. Verse 7 also makes us aware that all the heathen shall be saved as they come to know the Lord. 

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 

1Ti 4:9  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. 
1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 

Verse 8 is assuring us that what the Lord has said regarding the salvation of all men shall come to pass.

Num 23:19  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

Eze 39:9  And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. 

As indicated in previous studies, cities represent churches. There are basically two cities in the Bible – Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her children, that is Babylon, or the New Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn. The cities of Israel in this case represent the New Jerusalem which is the assembly of the Lord’s elect. 

Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Verses 9 and 10 are telling us that the people who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth to set fire and burn all the tools of the devil and his cohorts for a period of seven years. The shields or bucklers, bows and arrows, the hand staves and the spears all refer to the false doctrines of the devil and his false messengers. Burning these weapons of the enemy with fire means that it is through the truth of the word of the Lord that these weapons of the devil are destroyed. It is instructive to note that this destruction of the weapons of the enemy takes seven years. What this implies is that this destruction of the enemy’s weapons is accomplished over the complete period of our lives here on earth after we have come into the church of the Lord’s elect.

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

In verse 9, we are informed that we shall take no wood out of the field and shall not cut down any wood in the forest because all the woods have been burnt together with the weapons of the devil. Wood, hay and stubble signify our works resulting from the lies of our father the devil at a certain stage of our walk with Christ. What this means is that our works of wood, hay and stubble shall be destroyed by the fire of the Lord’s words such that the devil shall not have anything in us, just as the devil did not have anything in our Lord Jesus.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 
1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Joh 14:30  Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 

The Burying of the Gog and His Companions

Eze 39:11  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. 
Eze 39:12  And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 
Eze 39:13  Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 

To understand what we are being told here in these verses, we need to know that our old man or flesh is influenced by the devil or Gog. 

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

From the verse above, we can see that the destruction of the beast (our flesh or the old man) in our lives also destroys the influence of the devil or the dragon in our lives. When the devil cannot influence us through our flesh, then we can say that the devil is technically dead to us. In verse 11, the dying of Gog and his army therefore represents the death of our flesh or old man. 

It is worth noting that in verse 12, we are told that the burying of Gog and his army shall take a period of seven months. This seven month is the complete period starting from the time we entered the New Jerusalem or the body of Christ until we give our last breath. During this period, we die daily to the flesh, and therefore we are burying the dead during this period. In verse 12, we are also told that this burying of the dead is what cleanses our land. We must remember that the land represents our bodies, and therefore as we die daily, we are becoming cleansed.  

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

In verse 13, we are told that all the people of the land shall bury Gog and his army. The people of the land refers to the people of this world who are not part of the elect or the house of Israel. Verse 13 therefore implies that all humanity shall overcome the flesh during the lake of fire age. It is through the death of our old man or flesh that the Lord is glorified.  

Eze 39:14  And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 
Eze 39:15  And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 
Eze 39:16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 

In verse 14 we are informed that people shall be chosen to go through the land to ensure that people are buried and therefore make the land clean. This is another way of saying that the Lord has given to the body His apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to help us understand the evil experience (judgment) the Lord is taking us through to put to death our flesh. 

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 

In verse 15, we are told that when those chosen to pass through the land to bury the dead see a man’s bone, they mark it and ensure that it is buried. As indicated in previous studies, bones signify our flesh. 

Gen 2:23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be named woman because she was taken from man.” 

Verse 15 is therefore telling us that when we see any fleshly act, we are to put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh. It is through this that we cleanse our bodies as we offer them as living sacrifice to the Lord. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

The Supper of the Great God

Eze 39:17  And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 
Eze 39:18  Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 
Eze 39:19  And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 
Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. 

In these verses, the Lord is showing us what we go through as our flesh becomes meat to the fowls of the air. It is called the supper of the great God in the Book of Revelation. This is what the fowls in verse 17 mean.  

Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 

Mat 13:19  When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

The fowls in verse 17 refer to the devil or the wicked one. When we were in the physical churches of this world, we did not understand the word of the Lord and therefore the devil comes and takes away that which we hear from us. This is how the fowls eat our flesh. The beast of the field in verse 17 signifies our old man or flesh. When we are dominated by our flesh, then the beast of the field is feeding on our flesh. This will happen to all humanity.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

The Lord’s Judgment

Eze 39:21  And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 
Eze 39:22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward. 
Eze 39:23  And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 
Eze 39:24  According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 

Here in verse 21, we are being shown that the glory of the Lord is revealed through His judgment. In Exodus 24:17, we see that the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire. This devouring fire is His judgment, and therefore verse 21 is telling us that the people of the world shall see the Lord’s glory only when they are judged.   

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

It is through the Lord’s judgment that the house of Israel, which represents the Lord’s elect, shall know who the Lord is. This glory that will be set among the heathen or the people of the world will open their eyes to see that the Lord’s people had to experience the Lord’s judgment first because they went astray from Him. As a result, the Lord hid His face from us and gave us into the hands of the enemies as we went astray through false doctrines represented in verse 23 by all falling by the sword.  In verse 24, we are informed that our judgment is according to our uncleanness and the transgressions we have done. During the judgment of the Lord in our lives, it is as if our Lord has departed from us, that is, hid His face from us.

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 
Isa 54:8  In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.  

The Lord will Restore Israel

Eze 39:25  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 
Eze 39:26  After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 

The Lord bringing again the captivity of Jacob means that the Lord will deliver His elect from Babylon or the physical churches of this world where we have been enslaved to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. 

Psa 126:1  A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 
Psa 126:2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. 
Psa 126:3  The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 
Psa 126:4  Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. 
Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 
Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Here in verse 25, we are told that our deliverance from Babylon is because of the Lord’s mercy toward us. This mercy which we are receiving now as the Lord’s elect is because of the unbelief of our brothers and sisters in Babylon. In the fullness of time, the mercy we are receiving shall be extended to all humanity. 

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

In verse 25, the Lord has promised that this mercy we are receiving entails  being jealous for His holy name. Being jealous means that the Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries. This means that anything that opposes the work of the Lord in our lives shall be destroyed. 

Nah 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

As verse 26 indicates, the Lord is assuring us that we shall dwell safely in the New Jerusalem or the assembly of His people such that none can make us afraid. The Lord is also telling us that we shall forget our shame of playing the harlot when we trespassed against the Lord during our time in Babylon or the physical churches of this world. We can see from verse 26 that it is by dwelling in the land that we are safe and therefore are not afraid. This implies that our assembly is where the Lord’s protection is. In other words, our protection is in the city of the living God or the New Jerusalem which is the secret place of the most high where we abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 
Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 
Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 
Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 
Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 

Eze 39:27  When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 
Eze 39:28  Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them anymore there. 
Eze 39:29  Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. 

Verse 27 is telling us what the Lord is doing in our lives. That is, He is gathering His elect from the nations of this world and sanctifying them in the sight of the people of this world. Our coming together is therefore not man’s work but the Lord that is bringing us to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 

As shown in verse 28, it is this gathering together that we are given to know the Lord. Our gathering together is what is opening our eyes to see that we must of necessity be taken captive in Babylon, before the Lord comes with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to deliver us from captivity and to show us the truth of His word. The Lord is not leaving any of His elect out as He gathers us together for such a time as this. It is not because we were doing what pleases the Lord but that He has chosen us in Him before the world began. 

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

It is reassuring to note that the Lord is saying that He will not hide His face from us again in verse 29. The Lord has also poured upon us His spirit so that we are endued with power to live a life that is pleasing to Him. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  

May His name be praised for His wonderful work towards us. Amen!!

Ezekiel 38:1-23 Prophesy Against Gog

[Study Aired December 2, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

In Today’s study, we turn our attention to Gog, who is described as a leader of a great army, whose kingdom is called Magog, whom the Lord is going to use to attack the people of Israel who had come back to their land from captivity and are living peacefully and unsuspectingly at the time.

Apart from the fact that Magog appears as grandson of Noah, there are limited references to Gog and Magog in the Bible. They appear only in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 and Revelation chapter 20. In order for us to understand Today’s study and the subsequent one, we need to know what Gog represents spiritually. From the Book of Ezekiel, we can deduce that Gog and his kingdom Magog represents a formidable challenge to the Lord’s elect (the people of Israel) after they have come back from captivity and are living without walls in Israel.

Eze 38:10  Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
Eze 38:11  And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Eze 38:12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

In the Book of Revelation chapter 20, Gog and Magog again poses a threat to the reign of the Lord’s elect over the kingdoms of this world.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

As we have learnt in the study of the word of the Lord, there is past, present and future application of the word of the Lord. The present reality of the word of the Lord is the “is” part of the word of the Lord and the future application is the “will be” part of the word. Since Jesus Christ represents the word of the Lord, “Jesus today” is the “is” part and “Jesus forever” is the future application part.

Rev 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.  

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

With this in mind, let’s see how the study of Ezekiel chapter 38 today applies to us now. In this chapter and chapter 39, there is no mention of Satan. However, in the Book of Revelation, we are given additional information that it is Satan who will deceive the people of the world to engage the Lord and His elect in a battle. In other words, the chief prince, Gog, represents Satan. In today’s and the next study, there are references in the two chapters (38 and 39) which confirm this assertion that Satan represents Gog, who uses the people of this world (many nations) as His great army to fight the Lord’s elect. The Lord calls this invasion of Gog and his great army against the Lord’s elect, a great shaking in the land of the people of Israel.

Eze 38:19  For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 

This great shaking is the Lord’s judgement of our old man or flesh using Satan or the devil as His instrument that blows the coals in the fire.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Here in this study, we shall see the Lord using the tools of His four sore judgements – every man’s sword being against his brother, and pestilence to destroy the old man or flesh within us. This destruction implies the ruin of the influence of the devil or Gog in our lives.

Eze 38:21  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
Eze 38:22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Ezekiel chapter 38 comes right after the Lord had brought to life the dry bones and is gathering us, His elect from the four corners of the earth. Today’s study therefore shows us the present danger – the devil (Gog), who can derail our restful life in Christ. As the Lord’s elect, we need to be watchful of the devices of the devil.

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Our protection is therefore to put on the full armor of the Lord, so that we can be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

We also need to know the future application of Today’s study which is consistent with that of Revelation chapter 20. After the symbolic thousand year reign with Christ over the kingdoms of this world, all humanity shall be deceived by the devil to rebel against the Lord and His elect, which will cause the Lord to destroy all flesh or human beings living at that time by His fire from heaven. That is how death shall be destroyed.

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Having this understanding that Gog represents the devil and Magog, the people of this world whom Satan has blinded and therefore uses them against the Lord’s elect, our study today becomes easier to understand.

Eze 38:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 38:2  Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 
Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: 

As indicated in previous studies, the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel signifies our Lord Jesus coming with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to His elect. It is in this coming that we are gradually given the keys of the kingdom of the Lord to understand its mysteries.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

In verse 2, we are introduced to Gog as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, ruling over the land of Magog. Gog means ‘mountain’. In other words, Gog signifies a formidable opposition that the Lord has raised against His elect. Magog means ‘the land of Gog’ or ‘the kingdom of Gog’. The Jewish historian Josephus recognized Magog as the Scythians, known for their destructive warfare. In the subsequent verses, the army of Gog encompasses several nations. In the Book of Revelation, we can easily infer that the leader who is playing the role of Gog to gather together the armies of the whole world (the kingdom of Magog) against the Lord and His elect, is Satan. Gog is therefore a symbol of Satan, whom the Lord has fashioned as the waster to destroy.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Gog, being the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal is significant. Meshech means ‘drawing out’ and Tubal signifies ‘thou shall be brought’. The devil’s role is to draw out or bring out sin in our lives. As we can remember, before the devil showed up, Adam and Eve did not know their state as sinful beings. That is what it means to be naked and not know it. However, the devil coming to the scene exposed their nakedness.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Gen 3:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10  And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

In verse 3, the Lord is telling us that He is against the adversary, the devil. Being against the devil means our Lord opposes or resists the devil. As the Lord’s representatives here on earth, we are therefore called to resist the devil and we can only do it when we first submit to Christ our Lord.

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 
Eze 38:5  Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 
Eze 38:6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. 

Turning Gog back and putting hooks into Gog’s jaws in verse 4 signify that  the Lord controls all that the devil does. As we are aware, in this world, we go through an experience of evil orchestrated by the devil. However, all that the devil does is in accordance with the counsel of the Lord’s will. The fact that the devil comes with an army of horses and horsemen, clothed with all sorts of armor implies that we, His elect are in a spiritual warfare against the devil and his cohorts. This is described as follows:

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

It is instructive to note that in verse 4 this great army of Gog or the devil are all capable of handling the sword. The sword here refers to the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition. This great army is Satan’s messengers of false apostles parading as angels of light.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

In the Book of Revelation, this great army represents the locusts that come out of the bottomless pit.

Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

The countries mentioned who are part of the army included Persia, Ethiopia, Libya and Gomer. These four countries represent a significant portion of the world at that time and as we are aware, the number four symbolizes the whole of the issue at stake. Therefore, these countries represent the whole of the world and as we can see, later in the Book of Revelation, the army of Gog comes from the people of the whole world.

Eze 38:7  Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 
Eze 38:8  After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 
Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. 

It is instructive to note that the devil and his cohorts have been prepared for us, the Lord’s elect as shown in verse 7. As we come out of the churches of this world, or Babylon, and become part of the church of the firstborn or the Jerusalem above which is symbolized here in verse 8 as the mountains of Israel, that is when the Lord calls the evil one and his cohorts to service in verse 8, to be used as instruments of His judgement of our old man or flesh. The story of Job, a symbol of the Lord’s elect shows us how the Lord uses the devil (Gog) to administer His judgement of our flesh with the view of destroying it.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

The handing over of the man in the church in Corinth to the devil after sleeping with his father’s wife affirms how the Lord uses the devil for the destruction of our flesh.

1Co 5:1  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
1Co 5:2  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Verse 9 tells us that the coming of the evil one in our lives as an instrument of judgement is like a storm or a cloud that covers our land, representing our bodies. In the Book of Psalms, the Lord had vividly shown us what we go through when He raises a storm, through the agency of Gog or the devil.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

When the devil comes with his cohorts as a cloud over our land, we barely can see the sun which is Christ during this period. Our Lord Jesus also went through this experience of the devil as a cloud covering Him when He said why had the Lord forsaken Him.

Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

In all of this evil experience that we go through, we are assured by the Lord that we shall come out victorious and that no weapon formed or fashioned against us shall prosper.

Isa 54:17  No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Eze 38:10  Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: 
Eze 38:11  And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 

Verses 10 and 11 are saying that a time shall come that ideas will enter Gog’s head and will make wicked plans of attacking the Lord’s elect who are at rest in the Lord after their exit from Babylon. We know from the word of the Lord that our thought process and what we settle on to execute in our lives all originates from the Lord. This also applies to Satan or Gog. As indicated in Ezekiel 38:4, it is the Lord that drags Satan to attack the Lord’s elect for the destruction of our flesh.

Pro 16:1  The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Eze 38:12  To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 
Eze 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? 

In verses 12 and 13, we are told that the aim of the Lord dragging the devil to attack us is to take a spoil or prey. This spoil or prey is our old man or flesh which is the result of the Lord’s judgement.

1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

In verse 13, it is stated that Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish shall all conclude that Gog and his army have come to the people of Israel to take a spoil or prey. Sheba means ‘complete’, Dedan signifies ‘low country’ and Tarshish refers to ‘jasper’. What these names suggest is that we were like a low country (Dedan) that had been overrun by the Philistines which represents our flesh and as we mature spiritually or become complete in Him (Sheba), we come to see through the word of the Lord (jasper) that the judgement of our flesh is through the agency of the devil and that it is for the purpose of taking a prey or spoil of our flesh.

2Ch 28:18  The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.

Eze 38:14  Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? 
Eze 38:15  And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 
Eze 38:16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 

In verse 14, a rhetorical question was asked of Gog if he recognizes that the people of Israel are dwelling in safety. The answer of course is that the devil (Gog) knows when we are dwelling in safety. In the Book of Jeremiah, we are told what it means to dwell in safety, as follows:

Jer 32:37  Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
Jer 32:38  And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
Jer 32:39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

From these verses, we can see that dwelling in safety means being delivered from captivity (Babylon) and brought together to Jerusalem where we are given one heart as we all follow one way.  In other words, we have been delivered from the physical churches of this world or Babylon and brought together from every tribe and kindred to become the New Jerusalem. It is in the church of the firstborn that we dwell in safety.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

In verse 15, we are made aware that it is as we come to the New Jerusalem that the Lord drags the devil (Gog) to gather his forces from the north to attack us, His elect. It is instructive that the army of Gog comes from the north which means judgement. What this implies is that it is when we have come to the New Jerusalem that our judgement begins. As mentioned earlier and in verse 16, this army of Gog from the north comes against us like a cloud that covers our land or bodies. That is to say that during this period of our trials, we barely see Christ working all things according to the counsel of His will. However, the Lord has shown us in verse 16 that it is through our trials that He is sanctified. The Lord’s sanctification is our sanctification.

Jer 1:14  Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
Jer 1:15  For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set everyone his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
Jer 1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.  

Jer 10:22  The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals. (ASV)

Eze 38:17  Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring thee against them? 

Verse 17 affirms to us that Gog is the old serpent who had been prophesied in old time by the servants of the Lord that he shall come against the Lord’s people or elect. That is why the devil is called an old serpent. Right in the beginning of the Lord’s creation, when the serpent deceived Eve we are warned by the Lord of the impending attacks of the devil against the Lord’s people.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Eze 38:18  And it shall come to pass in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. 
Eze 38:19  For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 
Eze 38:20  so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

These verses show us that Gog, who signifies the devil, is the instrument that the Lord uses to judge our old man. Statements such as the Lord’s wrath coming up into his nostrils, the jealousy and the fire of the Lord’s wrath, and the great shaking in the land of Israel on that day, all signify the judgement of our old man, or flesh, through the agency of the devil or Satan.

Isa 54:16  Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

2Ki 22:13  Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

2Ch 12:12  And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

In verse 20, we are shown what the wrath of the Lord or His judgement accomplishes. The fishes of the sea denote our lives dominated by our flesh, the birds of the heavens signifies the influence of the evil one on our hearts and mind, and the beasts of the field is our flesh. The creeping things upon the earth represent the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and tradition which we imbibe or eat to defile ourselves.

Lev 11:41  And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

Lev 11:43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

The statement that all men upon the face of the earth shall shake at the presence of the Lord means that all men shall be judged. Concerning the Lord’s elect, our judgement is meted out to us in this age. The rest of humanity shall be judged in the lake of fire age. At the end of the Lord’s judgement, all our mountains, the steep places and every wall that separates us from the Lord shall be destroyed.

Eze 38:21  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 
Eze 38:22  And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 
Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

The whole of the Lord’s tools for judging us are the sword, famine, pestilence and noisome beast.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

In verses 21 and 22, we are shown some of the tools that the Lord uses to judge us and they are the sword and pestilence. The overflowing rain, hailstones, fire and brimstones that the Lord will rain on the devil and all his cohorts all relates to the truth of the Lord’s words which destroys the works and devices of the adversary in our lives.

Isa 28:17  Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

In verse 23, we are shown the effects of the Lord’s judgement. The Lord shall be magnified and sanctified in our lives. The Lord’s sanctification is our sanctification. As the Lord is magnified and sanctified in us, we shall come to know Him intimately.

May the Lord continue His work of sanctification in us. Amen!!

Hi Mike,

Is it a metaphor or will there truly be a physical “battle of Armageddon”? Or, is it a spiritual battle we each as Individuals of Christ’s creation and each individual faces Armageddon in their lives from generations to generations, etc?

Thanks Mike and Sandi for all you do and explaining this in more simple terms.

G____

Hi G____,

Thank you for your question. It is always so good to hear from you.

You asked: “Is it a metaphor or will there truly be a physical “battle of Armageddon”?

The short answer is that Jerusalem, Babylon and Armageddon are all physical locations with a spiritual meaning and a spiritual application, which is no more associated with the physical realm than “the Lamb of God” is associated with a physical lamb.

There is always a present, inward and spiritual meaning to any word of scripture, and yet, for that word to mean anything to us as physical beings, there must also be an outward, dispensational application. So there must be a physical application before any word can be used in a spiritual sense.

That is why we are told this very basic doctrine:

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Jerusalem is a physical city. But spiritually ‘Jerusalem’ is also a Biblical symbol for the people of God, who are also symbolized as “the bride of Christ” in these verses:

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

‘Babylon’ is also a physical city. But spiritually ‘Babylon’ is called “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

So it is with ‘Armageddon’. There is a physical location called Armageddon in the ‘valley of Megiddo’ in the physical nation of Israel. But just like the cities of Jerusalem and Babylon, spiritually Armageddon symbolizes the greatest battle any of us will ever fight. It is the symbol for the final battle against all the “nations” within us which come up against “the kingdom of God… within [us]” (Luk 17:20-21). All these ‘nations’ are the Biblical symbol for all the false doctrines of our old man which are all “gathered together” against all the truths of “the doctrine of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

The word ‘Armageddon’ appears only one time in all of scripture and that is in:

Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

“The dragon… the beast… and the false prophet” are all within us in the form of all the false doctrines we have all believed, and are yet in the process of fighting.

Notice that verse 13 informs us this is the sixth of the seven last plagues which are poured out upon “the earth”, the kingdom of our old man.

Now look at what we are told of these “seven last plagues”:

Rev 15:7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Since we are the temple (1Co 3:16), and since we are also told:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

It becomes very clear to those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear the things of the spirit (Mat 13:9-15) that ‘Armageddon’ is primarily the spiritual symbol of the final battle which is at this very moment taking place within the lives of the Lord’s elect who are at this moment in the process of entering into and becoming the temple of God.

I hope this answers your question: “Is [Armageddon] a metaphor or will there truly be a physical “battle of Armageddon?”

‘Armageddon’ is primarily the symbol for this battle we are now waging, the last great spiritual battle of the kingdom of our old man against the kingdom of our new man, “the kingdom of God… within [us]”:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

All the false doctrines of all the churches and religions of this world, symbolized by the number…:

Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

That is 200 million false doctrines which come up against the Truths of the Word of God attempting to rob us of our “crown of life” by getting us to believe any of these hundreds of millions of lies.

Yes, there is a physical ‘Armageddon’ in the physical nation of ‘Israel’. The physical ‘Armageddon’ is used as the final battle against the Lord and His Christ, because it was known for the many battles which took place in that “valley of Megiddo”. But physical ‘Armageddon’ is but the symbol for the battle taking place within us as the Lord’s elect, as well as the final battle when the nations of this world will be made to rise up against “the camp of the saints” who will have been ruling the entire earth with Christ during the thousand year reign of Christ and His Christ:

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped 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.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The “compassing of the saints” by “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” is the final application of the symbolism of ‘the battle of Armageddon’. It will be a world wide event involving all “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”. The purpose for releasing Satan after the thousand years is simply to provide the Lord with the “occasion” He is seeking (Jdg 14:3-4) to destroy death by the destruction of all physical life when that “fire [comes] down from God out of heaven and devours [the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth]”.

This same event is prophesied in Ezekiel 38. “The nations in the four quarters of the earth” are symbolized by “Gog and Magog” which are mentioned both in Ezekiel 38 and in Revelation 20.

I hope all of this has answered your question. If you still have questions, feel free to get back to me.

YbitC, Mike

Audio Links

The Overview of the Plan of God – Part 11

“And I Will Turn Thee Back, and Put Hooks Into Thy Jaws”

Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

Introduction

Here is how we concluded our last study o the overview of the plan of God:

“It is those in whom Christ dwells while yet in this age, who are “the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, and who therefore alone possess “the double portion… right of the firstborn”.

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

I hope this has demonstrated from the scriptures that the judging of this world is not the right of any but the firstborn, firstfruits unto God and the Lamb (Rev 14:4)

We will stop at this point for today, and, Lord willing, in our next study, we will demonstrate with the Old Testament types what is the rebellious spiritual condition of those who inhabit this earth during the millennium and the “little season” which follows the millennium.”

Continuing with our overview of the plan of God, I want to remind you that we have demonstrated that the destruction of Gog and Magog of Revelation 20 verses 7-9 is the destruction of all the nations of this world. Contrary to what is widely taught in the churches of this world, the destruction of ‘Gog and Magog’ is not the destruction of a minority of mankind. Rather it is the destruction of all of “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth”. What that means is that after the “little season” of rebellion that follows the millennium, God will  destroy all flesh, and thereby He will “destroy… death”:

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

How is it possible for “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” to attempt to revolt against “the camp of the saints” after being converted by, and ruled by God’s elect for over a thousand years? If indeed it were the purpose of God to convert the nations during the thousand year reign of God’s elect over the nations of this world, then Christ and His elect failed miserably. But if, on the other hand the very purpose of the thousand-year reign was to gradually build up resentment against the rule of God’s elect, for the very purpose of turning them over to Satan, so Satan could convince mankind to revolt against the elect of God, thereby giving God the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, then verses 7-9 of Revelation 20 reveal to us that Christ and His elect were very successful at what they were given to do.

What these three verses tell us is that at the end of the millennium there will not be even one converted person. The millennium will have the same end product of the leading of Israel out of Egypt, and the forty years of rebelling against Christ’s leadership as “the cloud” that led them during that entire time. Not one soul was converted, and they all had to die in the wilderness. In type it was only the “new man”, the young, who entered into the promised land. The millennium will produce the same thing Christ’s calling and leading his disciples for three and one half years produced. Not one soul was converted, but it did give Christ the occasion He was seeking against the old man within His disciples. That old man was dethroned on the day of Pentecost, where Christ did, at His own predestined time, convert the hearts and minds of His disciples, through His Father’s omnipresent spirit, coming to dwell within those who were predestined to be judged in this age. What Revelation 20:7-9 reveals is that there will be no converted people during the time of the millennium simply because bringing men to salvation is the very opposite of the purpose for the millennium and the last great day.

Here is the Old Testament type of this little season that follows the last great day. It was a terrifying day for Joseph’s brothers, and out of this terrifying experience came the peace they had been seeking all along. That peace could not come until the ‘old man’, typified by the death of Jacob, renamed Israel, had died:

Gen 50:15  And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16  And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17  So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Gen 50:18  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

Joseph’s brothers were being ruled by him from the time they came down into Egypt to live in the land of Goshen, but they were not at one with him. Rather they spent the next 17 years fearing for their lives. That torment did not end until their “old man”, typified by their father Israel, died, and only then were they delivered from that life of torment and fear for their lives. Contrary to the false doctrines we have all been taught, God’s elect are no more interested in converting the people who live through the time of the millennium, then Christ was attempting to convert Israel while He led them about in the wilderness for forty years after bringing them out of Egypt. Instead of converting that generation God Himself caused them all to die in the wilderness:

Num 26:65  For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Instead of bringing the holy spirit to all men during the thousand-year reign of God’s elect, the very purpose for these last two steps in God’s work with “the first man Adam” is to give mankind a thousand years to progressively build up great resentment to being ruled by a rod of iron, and then to turn Satan loose upon such a willingly rebellious populace. It is all done for the very purpose of providing God with the “occasion” He is seeking to destroy all flesh, and through that destruction of all flesh He will destroy death. God always gives Himself a good reason, what the scriptures call an “occasion”, to do what He has predestined to be done. This principle is found throughout the scriptures. “The sins of the Amorites [being] fulfilled” is one example, but it is best stated in the story of Samson where we read:

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

“The Philistines” typify our flesh, which has dominion over us all until Christ comes into our hearts. The time of the millennium was never intended to be a time of repentance and conversion. Rather the millennium is designed to be a time when Satan is imprisoned and is not permitted to deceive the nations. The elect of God rule the entire earth during this time with the very same “rod of iron” with which God ruled Israel for forty years in the wilderness. This no-nonsense time of being ruled with a rod of iron is immediately followed by the “little season”, a short period which is predestined to be a time when the nations are given over to Satan to the point that they will rebel against the elect of God, and will “compass the camp of the saints”, convinced by the adversary that they can destroy their immortal rulers. It is at that very moment that “the iniquity of [mankind will be] full” and “fire [will come] down from God out of heaven” and will devour them, bringing all flesh, and therefore all death, to its merciful end.

Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

This cataclysmic event is immediately followed by the second resurrection which is also called the “great white throne… judgment”

There are only two resurrections mentioned in all scripture, and all men of all time are in one of those two resurrections. The first resurrection is that of the “firstborn” (Heb 12:23), and the second resurrection is for all others. [I want to thank our brother, Larry Groenewald, for pointing out in our discussions of his (Genesis Study #75 – 12/11/14) that the double portion goes only to the firstborn, and that the spiritual application of that double portion is to both rule this earth in this physical realm with Christ during the millennium, and then to judge angels in the lake of fire, in the spiritual realm, following the destruction of all flesh.] The apostle Paul was referring to the right of the double portion which is given only to the firstborn when he told the Corinthians this:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels?  how much more things that pertain to this life?

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Now there are indeed many degrees of glory within both of these resurrections (1Co 15:35-44), but rulership with Christ over this physical world and the judging of angels in the spiritual realm are promised only to those who are part of that “blessed and holy… first resurrection”. That is the double portion of the Lord’s firstborn, firstfruits, and it is theirs only:

Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The “second death” is the lake of fire, so no one who is cast into the lake of fire is in the purview of the promise given here in Revelation 20:6 and in Revelation 2:11.

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Those who are “hurt of the second death” will not be given to rule the nations during the millennium. Only those who are overcomers before the millennium, symbolized by the 144,000, will be given the honor of being in that “blessed and holy… first resurrection” to rule the nations with Christ:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

“It is appointed unto [all] men once to die”, followed by judgment.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

The fact that we are told “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” proves that the death being spoken of in Hebrews 9:27 is death to sin, and the process of “dying daily” is now taking place only within those who “first trusted in Christ” and who now, in this age, have Christ living within them.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

That is a legitimate question, and it deserves a Biblical answer, and we have given that Biblical answer by showing that the lake of fire and the work accomplished therein is the answer to that question.

What Hebrews 9:27 and 1 Peter 4:17 tell us is that the death with which the scriptures concern themselves is with our “dying daily” to the sins of our old man. Those who die first to sin are the first to be judged as “the house of God”. “The second death” has to do with those who are not the first to die daily to the sins of their old man in this life. The second death is given that name because it is speaking of those who are the second group to die to sin, and the second judgment, the “great white throne… judgment”, will follow that “second death”. ‘The second death’ has nothing to do with anyone dying twice. “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). It has only to do with the order in which one dies to the sins of his old man. The first resurrection is the resurrection of those in this age who are the ‘first to trust in Christ, and ‘die daily… as a living sacrifice… crucified with Christ, nevertheless [a]live’. (Eph 1:12, 1Co 15:31, Rom 12:1, Gal 2:20)

What is the spiritual purpose for the millennium?

Now it certainly is not reading into the scriptures to say that being given “power over the nations” is speaking outwardly of the period of the millennium, when the firstfruits, also called the firstborn, are given “to rule the nations with a rod of iron”. Yes, “power over the nations” has an inward and present application, which must always be primary to us. But in this Biblical overview of the plan of God, we are focused on the dispensational application of the power given to “Him that overcometh”. Those who overcome the wicked one in this age will rule over the nations of this world, and we are also focusing upon what we are told of the spiritual condition of those who are populating this earth during the millennium. Are we anywhere told that the spirit will be dragging them to God? Where are we ever told that “All those who are born during the Millennium… will still have to freely repent and believe the Gospel, personally choosing Christ as Savior and Lord“? The answer is that we are not told anything of the kind.

The fact is that even the sacrifices which are commanded to be offered during the feast of tabernacles point to the diminishing appreciation of the rule of God’s elect during the thousand years of their rule with a rod of iron. Notice what are the offerings that are commanded to be offered during the feast of tabernacles:

Num 29:12  And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:
Num 29:13  And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:
Num 29:14  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,
Num 29:15  And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:
Num 29:16  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:17  And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
Num 29:18  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:19  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.
Num 29:20  And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;
Num 29:21  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:22  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:23  And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:24  Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:25  And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:26  And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:
Num 29:27  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:28  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:29  And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:30  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:31  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.
Num 29:32  And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:
Num 29:33  And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:
Num 29:34  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.

In the Old Testament, physical wealth symbolizes spiritual wealth as this description of Abraham reveals:

Gen 13:1  And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

Not just everyone in Israel was wealthy enough or capable of offering a bullock to God. Those who could do so were usually the leaders of the people. What the diminishing numbers of the offering of the bullocks tells us is that the leaders of the people who are alive during the symbolic one thousand years of the rule of the nations of this world by the elect saints of God, are becoming progressively less appreciative of that rule with a rod of iron. This time of being ruled by God’s elect will be carried out in a no-nonsense manner, just as God used Moses and Aaron to rule over Israel for forty years. That forty years symbolized the time of trials which Israel endured as they demonstrated how little they appreciated the rule of God over that nation with a rod of iron.

Here are just two examples of how God dealt with the rebellions of Israel during this forty years of being ruled with a rod of iron under God, through Moses and Aaron, as types of God’s elect rulers of this world:

Exo 32:4  And he [Aaron] received them [golden ear rings] at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Exo 32:5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.
Exo 32:6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exo 32:7  And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
Exo 32:8  They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt [typifying the ways of man versus the ways of God].
Exo 32:9  And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: [typifying all people “in the four quarters of the earth”]
Exo 32:10  Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. [This is what God will do after the “little season” of rebellion which follows the millennium]

Those were trying times for Israel, and they grew progressively more rebellious as this time of trial continued. Our next example makes clear that it was the whole “camp of Israel”, symbolizing “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” who rose up against Moses and Aaron, who were the symbols of “the camp of the saints” at the end of the millennium.

Num 16:1  Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2  And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3  And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
Num 16:4  And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
Num 16:5  And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.

“All the congregation” is repeated lest we think there was even one exception:

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 16:21  Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
Num 16:22  And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
Num 16:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:24  Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
Num 16:25  And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
Num 16:26  And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
Num 16:27  So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children.
Num 16:28  And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
Num 16:29  If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me.
Num 16:30  But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Num 16:31  And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
Num 16:32  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
Num 16:33  They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
Num 16:34  And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Num 16:35  And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.

Then it is repeated for the third time that “all the congregation of the children of Israel” were in rebellion against the leaders of God. And this is after the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and company:

Num 16:41  But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD.
Num 16:42  And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared.
Num 16:43  And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 16:44  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 16:45  Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
Num 16:46  And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.
Num 16:47  And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.
Num 16:48  And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed.
Num 16:49  Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, beside them that died about the matter of Korah.
Num 16:50  And Aaron returned unto Moses unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

These two examples serve to tell us the meaning of:

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Mic 4:3  And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

In the Old Testament these promises are made to Christ, but in the New Testament we discover that they are also extended to the overcomers who are the Christ of Christ:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

That time of being ruled with “a rod of iron” becomes less and less appreciated, as the diminishing number of bullocks offered during the seven days of the feast of tabernacles indicates. The physical leaders of those days, just like the “two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown”, became weary of the rulers who God had placed over them in the person of Moses and Aaron.

It is also instructive to take note that the number of bullocks offered over those seven days are 70 in total, indicating the completion of what God is doing in the flesh of mankind at that time.

We will stop at this point for this week, but it should now be crystal clear that “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” is not a symbol for a minority of mankind, but it is rather symbolic of “all the congregation” of “the nations in the four quarters of the earth”, and that the millennium is not intended to be a time of great revival, but is rather a time in which the rebellion of mankind against the rulership of God will come to its zenith and will thereby furnish God with the “occasion” which He will be seeking at that time to destroy all flesh so as to “destroy… death” (1Co 15:26). Mankind has no choice in the matter of the destruction of all flesh because God tells us:

Eze 38:2  Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
Eze 38:3  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4  And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

This is what inspired John to write this and to add the explanation of the symbolism of Gog and Magog:

Rev 20:7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

There is yet one more step to be taken in the overview of the plan of God for all mankind, and there is yet one more commandment of God which Israel was to observe which reveals the all-in-all goal which God has as the outcome of His dealings with the flesh of all of mankind.

In our next study we will show that many of the prophecies which the churches of Babylon apply to the millennium have been misapplied to that period of time, and are in reality to be applied to the kingdom of God which is even now within God’s elect, and to the time that follows the millennium. This is the time when God will be all in all.

1Co 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

In our next study we will show that many of the prophecies which we have misapplied to the millennium are in reality to be applied to God’s elect and to the time that follows their time of rulership over the nations of this earth, the goal of God’s plan, the “all in all”.

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Introduction

In our studies on chapters 19-20 of this revelation of Jesus Christ who Saul of Tarsus persecuted (Act 22:8), we saw that the supper of the great God, which we must all “read, hear, and keep” (Rev 1:3), brings us all to “the marriage supper of the Lamb”, which is also read, heard and kept by us all “in our own order”.

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Rev 1:3 Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [ is] at hand.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

In our studies in Rev 19-20 we have seen that the “horses and them that ride them” comprise the flesh which is offered to the fowls of heaven at the supper of the great God. In both Ezekiel and Revelation we are told these horses and those who ride them are the men and horses of “Gog and Magog” as the spiritual symbol of “the flesh of all men”.

Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

The flesh being offered to the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven is “the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great”. This is the same flesh of “all men that are upon the face of the earth” in these verses of Eze 38:

Eze 38:18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, [that] my fury shall come up in my face.
Eze 38:19 For in my jealousy [and] in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
Eze 38:20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

The flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” and “all men that are upon the face of the earth” is the same wording used to describe all who worship the beast and his image and who receive the number of his name. Even the saints are overcome by this beast.

Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The point is that this supper includes the flesh of the saints as a part of “all men… both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond”.

Here now is the last verse of Rev 13:

Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has a mind calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of mankind, and its number is six hundred sixty- six.”

This is the number which signifies all of mankind from birth. You and I cannot take these words out of this prophecy and put them only onto others. It is our flesh which must be the first flesh to be given to the fowls of the heaven at the supper of the great God. Until that part of this prophecy is accomplished and the seven vials of the seven angels is accomplished within us, we will not partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb. But by the grace of God, our flesh will be consumed and destroyed by the devil, and we will be found worthy to partake of that marriage supper, which is the first resurrection. All of this must first be accomplished in all to whom it is given to overcome their flesh and to rule with Christ a symbolic thousand years.

Our study today will show us that Gog and Magog are the spiritual sign and symbol of “the flesh of all men”. We will see this to be the case by discovering that the events described in Rev 19-20 are first revealed to us in Ezekiel 38-39, where Gog and Magog are in this chapter, the symbol of “all the men that are upon the face of the earth”.

Our study today will only be on Eze 38.

“The supper of the great God” revealed in Ezekiel 38-39

Eze 38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

The only place in scripture that the names Gog and Magog are found together is here in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Rev 20. They are not mentioned together before these two chapters in Ezekiel even though, as we will see below, these names are used as the symbol of all preceding prophecies against the seed of the serpent:

Eze 38:17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

“Many years” are all the years that the seed of the woman has been strugglin against the seed of the serpent, both in type and shadow, in the Old Testament and in spiritual reality in the New Testament.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [ places].

Rev 12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Rev 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
Rev 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.

This is the war ” spoken [of] in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee [Gog and Magog] against them”.

Eze 38:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts [of armour, even] a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

The false doctrine of mankind having a free will is refuted when we see that Gog and Magog are the spiritual, Biblical symbol of “the flesh of all men”. It is “the flesh of all men” which God plainly tells us He will “ put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company [with] bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

It is our flesh which is the hooks in our jaws” which drags us to do all the things we don’t even want to do. This is demonstrated for us in the story of Joseph and his brothers, and it is plainly stated as such in Rom 7.

Gen 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [ be] earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

While Joseph twice causes his brothers to give an accounting of what they had done to him, “You sold me into Egypt”, he does not hold them accountable or responsible. Instead he reveals to them and to us, that “It was not you but God that sent me here”.

comes the holy spirit through the apostle Paul to reiterate this incredible truth concerning “the flesh of all men” to us all in Rom 7.

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do i t, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

So it is “the flesh of all men… [in whom] no good thing dwells”. Therefore, it is “the flesh of all men” which must be destroyed by “the fowls that fly in the heavens. So Gog and Magog are simply the spiritual, Biblical sign and symbol of “the nations in the four quarters of the earth… the flesh of all men… [in whom] dwells no good thing”.

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [ is] as the sand of the sea

Here is how the holy spirit inspired Ezekiel to make this point concerning who are “the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog”.

Eze 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
Eze 38:6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: [ and] many people with thee.
Eze 38:7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

That is the meaning of “Gog and Magog”. Here now is the function of Gog and Magog in our lives as well as in the dispensational sense.

Eze 38:8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
Eze 38:9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.

Here is how this time of great trial and of attempting to destroy the seed of the woman is described in the book of Revelation:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

“You shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your bands, and many people with you”. The fact that we are told that all of Gog and Magog handle swords, tells us that these are those who all believe and repeat the lies told against Christ’s words, and against those who live by Christ’s words. We are told that those lies are appreciated and believed by “many people with you” when we are part of Gog and Magog, and we are believing those lies which “cover the land [ and] darken the Sun and the air”.

Eze 38:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
Eze 38:11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Eze 38:12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

These “unwalled villages”, and these people who “dwell safely, all of them without walls… upon the desolate places that are now inhabited” are “the people who are gathered out of the nations”. They are God’s elect; they are “the camp of the saints” against whom the seed of the serpent has always been encamped.

Act 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Eze 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Eze 38:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know [it]?
Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
Eze 38:16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

“It shall be in the latter days”. These are not the lies which cause us all to “leave our first love” as “carnal babes in Christ”. These are the trials we endure in our ‘Garden of Gethsemane” experience “in the latter days”. Gog and Magog are the symbol of this event which is also the symbol of the “judgment which is now on the house of God” (1Pe 4:17):

Act 4:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

It is “God’s hand and counsel” which which puts “hooks in the jaws” of Gog and Magog, the Biblical and spiritual symbol of “all flesh”, which causes “the kings of the earth… and the rulers to gather to gather against the Lord and against His Christ”.

Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

“You shall come from your place out of the north parts, you and many people with you” tells us that these fiery trials reveal that “judgment is now upon the house of God”, and “the day of our redemption is nearer than when we believed”.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy [ are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Our Armageddon is the day in which we gather with all that is in our fleshly arsenal to do battle with the Truth. We are destroyed in that battle, to become those who handle the truth, the words and doctrines of our “new man” and our new Father. With these we are now fighting against the doctrines of our old “father the devil”, and we are now that angel in the sun inviting the fowls of the heaven to come to the supper of the great God. Here are the Words of our Lord which are then in our mouths:

Eze 38:17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
Eze 38:18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
Eze 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

Who is “the land of Israel” against whom God has “of old time” prophesied to bring Gog and Magog”? Are any of these prophecies to be understood as being made against the modern Christ- rejecting state of Israel? Or are all of these prophecies to be understood as being made against the seed of the serpent in all ages, and his seed bruises the heel of the seed of the woman, of all ages. Who, once again, is “the Israel of God”?

Before we go on, let’s remember who it is being spoken of here.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gal 6:16 All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

Eph 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us];
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

The “Israel” of this prophecy is “the true Israel” and the true Jew of the spirit and of scripture.

Here is that “fury and wrath of God” of Eze 38:18-19 which we must all endure before we can “enter into the temple of God in heaven… which temple we are”… if indeed we are that temple and if we are granted to enter therein. Here is that “great shakinng in the land of Israel, we will all endure if we are counted worthy to do so.

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [ thou] only [ art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
Rev 15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
Rev 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

If it is true that we all “must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, that all things are ours, that we must keep the things written therein and that all things come alike to all”, then it is also true that “no man will be able to enter into the temple till” the supper of the great God and the battle of Armageddon and the destruction of Gog and Magog by the fowls that fly in the heavens has also all been fulfilled.

Eze 38:20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

“The fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, are one and all the Biblical, spiritual symbols of the heaven themselves which must yet be cleansed, and they are all the spiritual, and Biblical signs and types of “the flesh of all men [in which] is no good thing”. These are all one and the same thing as “the nations that are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog”. Here is this very same event as it is described to us in the opening of the sixth seal:

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

So let us take careful note of what is said to be “the day of His wrath”:

Job 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

Pro 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Eze 38:19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

Zep 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

So “the day of destruction of the wicked” is “the day of wrath”. The destruction “the flesh of all men in the destruction of Gog and Magog”… “in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath” is also “in that day”. The wrath of the Lamb in Rev 6 is that day, and the seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God” is the day of God’s wrath against the wickedness of all flesh. “The dream is one, and there is only one day of God’s wrath, which is “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of man”.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Here now are the last two verses of this chapter. Here is the purpose for the day of God’s wrath:

Eze 38:22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that [are] with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

The natural man will wonder if the rain and hail might not put out the fire and brimstone, but the man of the spirit knows that the rain and the hailstones, the fire and the brimstone, are one and all the Biblical symbols of the Word of God, and the rain and the hailstones only serve to magnify the heat and the devouring fire that is the Word of God. This is the very same “fire” we find throughout the Word of God. It is God’s own fiery words which torment us all at our own appointed time, and burn up and burn out all that will burn.

1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

So Gog and Magog are the spiritual and Biblical symbols of the flesh of all men. In our study next week we will see how the destruction of Gog and Magog is revealed in Ezekiel 39, to demonstrate for us the destruction of death in the lake of fire. Here is Ezekiel 39:

Eze 39:1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am] against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
Eze 39:2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
Eze 39:3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
Eze 39:4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that [is] with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and [to] the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Eze 39:5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken.
Eze 39:9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Eze 39:10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down [any] out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:11 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the [noses] of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call [it] The valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury [them]; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
Eze 39:15 And the passengers [that] pass through the land, when [any] seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
Eze 39:16 And also the name of the city [shall be] Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Eze 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, [even] a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.
Eze 39:18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Eze 39:19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Eze 39:20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 39:21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
Eze 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and forward.
Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
Eze 39:24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.