Gog of Magog
Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him…
- Ezekiel 38:2
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you've probably noticed everyone’s favorite end time’s villain, Gog of Magog, is trending once again. But where exactly is the land of Magog, and what role does Gog play in Biblical prophecy? All this and more in this week's installment of the Practical Prophecy Newsletter.
Antichrist: Code Name Gog
In Ezekiel 38 & 39, we find the prophecy of Gog, more commonly referred to as the antichrist. While some see Gog as an individual who appears on the world stage prior to the final man of sin, the Scriptures make it clear he can be no one else.
As a result of Gog's defeat, the name of God will never be profaned again.1
As a result of Gog's defeat, all Israel will know the Lord from that day forward2
As a result of Gog's defeat, all
the nations will know that God is Lord3
The Hebrew prophets all spoke of Gog4
The Lord physically comes to earth to defeat Gog5
The Day of the Lord language is used throughout the passage6
The Gog Squad
Ezekiel names eight players on Gog's roster of nations that invade Israel in the last days, and all except one (Persia) are listed in the table of nations found in Genesis 10.7 These geographic areas are Magog, Meschech, Tubal, Beth-Togarmah, Gomer, Persia, Cush, and Put. They best correspond to the areas shown below.8
Magog / Meschech / Tubal / Gomer / Beth-Togarmah
While most scholars recognize that these areas correspond to Asia minor (modern day Turkey), there is some disagreement over where to locate Magog. Some attempt to place it in the Caucus region and/or Russia, but the oldest and most reliable Bible atlases locate it within the borders of Asia minor.9
It must also be noted that Gog is called the chief prince (i.e. political leader) of Meschech and Tubal, which are almost universally recognized as being located in Asia minor. If Gog is a political ruler over these two regions, then it logically follows that Magog, Gog's land, would also be located in the same region.
Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
- Ezekiel 38:3
Ezekiel's assessment of the antichrist's homeland is also in agreement with another exile prophet, Daniel. Daniel places the rise of the little horn within the borders of the historical Seleucid empire, whose most enduring capital, Antioch, can still be found within the borders of modern day Turkey.10
Persia
It should come as no surprise that the region of Persia, known today as the Islamic Republic of Iran, would team up with Gog in an apocalyptic assault on the nation of Israel. Formed in 1979, the Islamic Republic lists Ja'afari Shia Islam as the official state religion.
Judgement Day will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews. The Jews will hide behind the stones and the trees, and the stones and the trees will say, oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew hiding behind me — come and kill him. - Islamic Hadith (prophecy)
Also known as Shia “Twelver” Islam, this particular offshoot frames the regime as an apocalyptic entity that exists for the sole purpose of annihilating the Jewish state and uniting the world under the banner of Islam.11
Cush
The region of Cush, located just south of Egypt, is now known as Sudan. Some Bibles will translate Cush as Ethiopia, but this is an error. The region came to be known as Nubia, and later Aithiopia by the Greeks. Abyssinia was the region just southeast of Cush, corresponding to modern day Ethiopia. Over time, the regions became blurred.
The prophet Isaiah refers to Cush as a land the river divides, a clear indication that the area of modern day Sudan is in mind.12 In 1967, eight Arab heads of state signed the Khartoum resolutions in the nation's capital, establishing the three no's of the Arab world: No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel.
Put
Put corresponds to the north African nation of Libya. After the assassination of strongman Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, Libya split into two factions. The GNC, a jihadist organization, is backed by Turkey and Qatar while the LNA, an opposition group, is backed by Egypt and the UAE.
He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape… and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.
- Daniel 11:42-43
Not surprisingly, the prophet Daniel echoes Ezekiel's prediction, prophesying that Libya and Sudan will align themselves with the antichrist for his age ending assault on Jerusalem… after the conquest of Egypt.13
Soviet Gog-gles?
Over the past century, a novel view of Ezekiel's prophecy has emerged which sees Gog coming from Russia, said to be the land of Magog. This is a great example of “newspaper exegesis.” This idea was birthed from a Western-centric worldview, being influenced by the rise of the Soviet Union.
Adding to the confusion is the NASB's translation of Rosh as a proper noun, making it a ninth nation on Ezekiel's roster. However, all of the other major translations understand rosh (chief) to be an adjective modifying the noun nasi (prince). Author Travis Snow does a fantastic of job debunking this error in his book The Passover King.
Gog/Magog: A Curtain Call
Another popular (yet erroneous) view is that Gog and Magog are two separate nations. This is because of a passage in Revelation that describes an event that occurs after the Millennium.
When the thousand years 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.
- Revelation 20:7-8
This could simply be highlighting that the nations of Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Sudan surround Israel like the four points of a compass (i.e. four corners), or it could just be a general term used for the nations under Satan's influence at that time, as Gog is synonymous with the antichrist.
Either way, as this event occurs 1,000 years after the invasion of Ezekiel 38, it would be an interpretive error to reverse engineer the passage back into Ezekiel, who uses specific place names to describe the nations involved.
Ezekiel 39:7, Daniel 7:25, 8:25, & 11:36, 2nd Thessalonians 2:4
Ezekiel 39:7, 22, & 29
Ezekiel 38:23, 39:7, 16, 21, & 23
Ezekiel 38:17
Ezekiel 38:20
Ezekiel 38:19-23, 39:4-6, 17-20, Revelation 16:17-21, & 19:17-19
Genesis 10:2-6
Map used with permission of Joel Richardson, taken from his book Mid-East Beast
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, The Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Atlas of the Bible, Holman Bible Atlas
Daniel 8:9, 21-23
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelver_Shi%E2%80%99ism#Terminology
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twelver-Shia
Isaiah 18:1-7
Daniel 11:40-45