What Cog is Gog?

The prophesy against Gog and Magog begs the question, "When will these things be?" For a summary of "these things" read yesterday's post and Ezekiel 38-39. A leader named Gog will invade Israel with a coalition army looking for precious metals and commodities. He will fully expect to wipe Israel off the map. But, he will only succeed in rousing God to Israel's defense. Gog will be the one caught by surprise and seriously outgunned. When the dust has all settled, God predicts, "The house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God" (39:22). God also declares, "I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel" (39:29).

From the perspective of the present, there are two key periods of future history. "The tribulation" will be an unprecedented time of earthly turmoil marked by famine, natural disasters, economic crises, and religious persecution. When Jesus returns to earth, his "second coming" will end the tribulation and begin "the millennium," a period of unprecedented world peace and prosperity. Within this framework, modern students of the Bible have proposed five possible locations for Gog's invasion and defeat. I have positioned each by number within the time-line represented above.

Why the broad range of opinions? All of these views struggle to deal with two key features of the prophesy against Gog. For one, Israel is said to be dwelling in peace and security at the time of the invasion. For two, God's defeat of Gog's coalition seems to be something of a "last battle," the extinction of Israel's enemies and the full realization of God's fellowship with Israel. So the scenario associated with each view must include Israel at peace before the invasion (the "dwelling in peace" test), God's dramatic intervention (the "decisive victory" test), and full enjoyment of God's blessings for Israel after the invasion (the "new day" test).

View one seems to inform the works of Joel Rosenberg and Tim LaHaye. I am not sure how peacefully Israel currently dwells in the land, but let's assume that view one meets the "dwelling in peace" test. I still have serious doubt that the beginning of the tribulation can be construed as a decisive victory or a new day (tests two and three). The tribulation will be the worst of times for Israel; many will be martyred, many more persecuted. In which case, I do not find view one particularly compelling. This does not annul the possibility that Russia and Iran could form an alliance in our day. It simply means that Ezekiel 38-39 is not the predictor of such an occurrence.

Of the fives views, I favor number 5. It well satisfies all three tests. Interestingly, in the book of Revelation there is a reference to an event that sounds strikingly similar to Ezekiel 38-39:

When the thousand years [millennium] are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them (Rev. 20:7-9).

From the dawn of human history, sin has created bad blood between brothers. Perhaps Gog's invasion will be the last chapter in this sad story that began with Cain and Abel. Noah had three sons, one of whom was Japheth. Japheth had seven sons including three named Magog, Tubal, and Meshech. In Ezekiel's prophecy, Gog is the leader of the three people groups bearing these precise names. Their grudge is against Israel, the people group descended from Jacob a descendant of Japheth's brother, Shem. At its root, Gog's invasion is an outworking of a rivalry between Japheth and Shem.

How much of this future rivalry did Noah see when he blessed these two sons: "Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem. ...May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. 9:26-27). When Gog decides to invade Israel and seize what belongs to a people dwelling in peace, the God of Shem and of Israel will say "enough is enough." When this happens, it will mark the end for Magog, Meshech, and Tubal, the people associated with three of Japheth's seven sons, and any who align with them to defy God, the Defender of Israel.

Comments

[Jeff]

What would be your thought for people who think 3 is the best place? 2 and 4 seem a little odd to me.

[Jim Fleming]

View 3, that Gog's invasion immediately precedes the return of Jesus does fairly well with tests 2 and 3. But to suggest that Israel is "dwelling securely" seems impossible to reconcile with what we know of the Tribulation. So, I don't find this view compelling for its abysmal failure on test 1.

[term papers writing]

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