The Time Setting of the Ezekiel 38-39 Prophecy
by Rod Reynolds
As with many other Biblical subjects, there is a lot of disagreement and confusion among commentators about the precise meaning of the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39, concerning the attack of Gog of the land of Magog upon Israel. Some contend it was fulfilled in ancient times. We can readily reject that view because the time setting is "in the latter years," (38:8), and the "latter days" (38:16), with Israel having been regathered out of captivity (38:8, 12, 14; 39:25-29). No historical events have even come close to fulfilling this prophecy.
Others agree that it has not been fulfilled as yet, but disagree about when it will be fulfilled. Some commentators (e.g., Gesenius, Companion Bible, The New Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, Unger's Bible Handbook, Halley's Bible Handbook) view this prophecy as having a separate fulfillment from the prophecy of Revelation 20:7-10, occurring at a different time and under different circumstances. Represented among these is the view that the Ezekiel prophecy pictures an event that occurs in connection with the process of completing the restoration of Israel. Others (e.g., Irwin's Commentary) view Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20:7-10 as describing the same event.
A careful review of the details reveals that the events prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 will occur early in the Millennium, just a few years, at most, after Christ's return. Revelation 20:7-10 describes a similar but separate prophecy which will be fulfilled after the Millennium. This view of Ezekiel 38-39 has been taught in the Church of God in the past, and is reflected in comments in the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course Lessons 3 and 37, in an article written by Mr. Herbert Armstrong in 1956 entitled "Will Russia Attack America?," and in the article "What's Ahead for Russia?" in Tomorrow's World magazine (May-June, 2000, p.29).
There are some similarities between Ezekiel 38-39 and Revelation 20:7-10; primarily a reference to "Gog" and "Magog" in the context of a horde of peoples who attempt an attack on a people God protects. However, there are also some notable differences which show us clearly that these are two different prophetic events occurring at different times. Some of these differences are discussed below:
The attack of Ezekiel 38-39 is upon a people who have been brought out of captivity to inhabit the waste places of their former habitation in Palestine, and are in the process of "acquiring cattle and goods" under God's blessing (38:12; also 38:8; 39:27-28). The attack is upon a land of "unwalled villages" (38:11). This indicates a relatively sparse and scattered population, with cities that have not been fully rebuilt. In another prophecy of Israel's restoration, we find that in due time "the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited" (Ezekiel 36:35). No doubt it will take awhile to accomplish this, and the attack will apparently occur before the cities have been fully populated, rebuilt, and fortified. These circumstances indicate a time early in the Millennium, after Christ has begun restoring Israel, but before the nation is fully established.
In Ezekiel 38-39 Gog is a leader among the Russian peoples coming out of the far north (38:15; 39:2), albeit allied with a number of other nations. However, Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8 are a horde coming from the "four corners of the earth." Gog is evidently used as a type of those who oppose God and attack his city in the latter prophecy. In Revelation the horde is consumed with fire. In Ezekiel also fire is used as a weapon against the invaders (38:22; 39:6), but the fire does not consume most of them. Instead, their corpses will lie on the ground to be devoured by birds and the beasts of the field (39:4-5; 17-20), and what remains will be buried (39:11-16). In the Ezekiel prophecy, God also uses earthquakes, disease, floods, hail and brimstone (probably from eruptions accompanying the earthquakes), to fight the host (38:19-22). In addition, God says that he will "call for a sword against Gog" and "every man's sword will be against his brother" (38:21). "Brother" is from the Hebrew 'ach which also means relative, kinsman, or member of the same tribe. The word is translated "comrades" in the New Revised Standard Version. God will cause confusion among the invaders, is the message, and they will fight against each other, just as when God intervened for Israel at the time of Gideon (Judges 7:22) and during the reign of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:15-30).
The weaponry used by the massive invasion army will, for the most part, be relatively primitive, including many wooden implements. Given the destruction that will have preceded the attack, as well as the massiveness of the army (38:9), this is not surprising. Much of the world's industrial capacity and modern weaponry will have been destroyed in the wars preceding Christ's return. The nations involved in the attack are nations that are today relatively impoverished, and will be even more so at that time. While there will be weapons of iron and steel, including spears, the number of wooden implements of war will be so great that Israel will be supplied with wood for heat for a period of seven years after the battle (39:9-10). This war will occur before the nations have learned to live at peace, and before the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah and the conditions that will prevail throughout most of the Millennium, when the peoples of the earth will "beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4, NRSV).
The outcome of the events in Ezekiel, and the reason God allows the attack, is to confirm his holiness in the sight of the nations, and in the sight of Israel, so that there is no doubt that he alone is God (Ezekiel 38:16, 23; 39:6-7, 21-23, 28). This scenario fits only the early period of the Millennium, when the true God will still be relatively unknown to many of the nations of the world, and even physical Israel will be barely acquainted with him. As time goes on, we find that "Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:3). In time the whole world will know the true God and his ways, and "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). This battle will help shape the world and prepare it for the fulfillment of these prophecies.
On the other hand, the attack in Revelation occurs after a thousand years of God's rule, when all will have known who is the true God for many generations. It will come as a result of openness to deception despite that knowledge, through spiritual lethargy and weakness. It apparently will be the final test for the generations that have survived through the Millennial period, not having contended with Satan's deceptive powers. That God would give them such a test is in keeping with the principle that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and that he searches the heart, and tests the mind (Jeremiah 17:10).
Finally, the emphasis throughout the Ezekiel prophecy under discussion is that Israel is a people having been gathered out of captivity. This perfectly fits the time during the early Millennium (Isaiah 11:11-12; 54:7-8; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:1-12; Ezekiel 11:14-20; et al.). Such emphasis would not seem as fitting for Israel after the Millennium, when most will have never known captivity, and will have been born in the land. The Ezekiel prophecy concludes with the full restoration of Israel in their own land as God's people. It is not speaking of the second resurrection, because it speaks of gathering Israel from their enemies lands (39:27), not bringing them up from the grave, which is a different prophecy.
All things considered, there seems little room for doubt as to the time setting for the fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39.
Copyright © 2001 by Rod Reynolds. Permission granted to copy without alteration for personal use, provided this notice is included. Commercial use of this material without the express written permission of the author is prohibited.