Who are Gog and Magog?

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Query:

Revelation 20:7-9

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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.  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.

Gog and Magog   Who are they?

Answer:

The words in John’s vision quoted above are based on the words of an Old Testament prophet.

Under the family name of a northeastern nation descended from the second son of Japheth (Magog, Genesis 10:2), the Son of God told him of the events that would surround His third advent and the Lake of Fire. 

Why use Gog and Magog?

The history of the world as recorded in the Bible is mainly the story of Europe and the Middle East, so they are used as representative rebels, but in principle the rebellion was the same in all parts of the world. 

After the Flood two of the sons of Noah spread their families out around the world, with Ham going southwest into Canaan, then Egypt and Africa, and eventually into Asia and the Pacific.  Japheth headed north into Turkey, and from there moved into Europe and Russia.  Other branches of his descendants went eastwards across into Persia (today’s Iran) and India.  It was Shem and his descendants who stayed where God had brought them, in what we today would call the Middle East. 

It is written of them; “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son [Ham] had done to him.  [He had seen him helpless and exposed, but did nothing for him, verse 22.]  And he [Noah] said, ‘Cursed be Canaan [Ham]; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers [and sisters]’.  And he [also] said, ‘Blessed be the LORD God of Shem [this son had looked after his father respectfully]; and Canaan shall be his servant [follower].  God shall [also] enlarge Japheth [Europe], and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem [Israel]; and Canaan [Ham] shall be his [Japheth’s] servant [also]’.”  Genesis 9:24-27. 

In this chapter “Gog” means Satan, and “the nations” with him represent those varied humans who have chosen to follow him.  The scene is set around the city of New Jerusalem which has been brought down from heaven and placed on the earth after the thousand year holy-day in heaven.  That event is mentioned in the New Testament.  “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 [great expanses of] sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, the Tabernacle of God [Christ] is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God’.”  Revelation 21:1-3.

Let’s see what Ezekiel was told about the events which will happen at that time:

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Ezekiel 38:

1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, [in] the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal [more sons of Japheth], and prophesy against him, 3 and say,

Thus says the LORD GOD;

Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

4 and I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws [as men do to prisoners of war], and I will bring you forth [to judgment], and all your 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:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them [these latter two were populated by the sons of Ham]; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters [from the European area], and all his bands: and many people with you.

7 Be you prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company that are assembled to you, and be you a guard [protector] to them [if you can].

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The Son of God has repeatedly warned Satan since his initial rebellion that his way leads to death (separation from life), but because he and his angels think they are above death, they have ignored Him and carried on with the controversy.  In this message we are being told that one day Satan will lead all of his followers in a last great stand.

Speaking directly to the devil, God then said;

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Ezekiel 38:

8 After many days you shall be visited [with judgment]: in the latter [last] years you shall 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 [sinful]: but [at that time] it is brought forth out of the nations [resurrected], and they shall dwell safely, all of them.  

9 You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you.

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“After many days” means after the thousand year period during which Satan and his angels are left in this world without a single live human to tempt.  John wrote: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit (this represents a dead world), 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 [after they are resurrected] he must be loosed a little season” [a short period of time]. Revelation 20:1-3.

However, the lonely years of Satan and his angels will be spent in blaming each other and devising a plan to handle the people of the second resurrection which they know is going to happen. (They have read the Bible too!)  Satan’s master plan will be to pretend that he is the saviour who has resurrected them and that the One in the city is an impostor whom God wants them to destroy.    

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Ezekiel 38:

10 Thus says the LORD GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall [other] things come into your mind, and you shall think an evil thought. 

11 And you shall 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, 12 to take a spoil, and to take a prey”; [you will want] to turn your 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.

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Although the city sits some distance from his headquarters, Satan and his people can plainly see the saints of God moving about in the area around the city walls.  The gates are open (Isaiah 60:11) and as the people of God build houses and cultivate the soil outside the city (Isaiah 65:21-22), he convinces his followers that there is plenty of loot to be had if they conquer it! 

So they prepare for war, making weapons and training the multitudes in the arts of war, which will take some time. 

Consider these words:

God says to us, “But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create [new] Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  There shall be no more there an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the [rebel] child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed [doomed to destruction].  And they [My people] shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands”.  Isaiah 65:18-22.

This gives us the thought that the period of preparation and training will be one hundred years long, which will give ample opportunity for the youngest resurrected sinners (the rebel babies whom God knows will not change) to reach ages of accountability and choose their fate freely.

Then God continued in His message to Ezekiel;

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Ezekiel 38:

13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof [the resurrected saints], shall say to you, “Are you come to take a spoil?  Have you gathered your company to take a prey?  To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”

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Sheba and Dedan were nations established in what we would call Saudi Arabia today, to the south of Israel.  Tarshish was most likely the city in Spain which marked the westernmost distance of the Mediterranean.  With these pictures the LORD shows the extent of His followers – they have come from all the world.  (“And I say to you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 8:11.)  The thought from God’s people is; “Are you really going to try and attack God and His city?  Don’t you know you can’t win?”

This is not a real conversation, for there is no connection between loyal follower and rebel, but God is showing us their thoughts. 

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Ezekiel 38:

14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the LORD GOD; In that day when My people of Israel dwells safely, shall you [Gog] not know it? [You know you have lost!] 

15 And [yet] you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16 and you shall 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 you against My land, that the heathen [the rejecters] may know Me [and My character], when I shall be sanctified in [revealed by] you, O Gog, before their eyes.  

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Although the LORD speaks as though He will cause this attack, it is really the spirit of rebellion and hate which makes the rejecters consider it.  We are given a clearer picture in The Revelation.

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison [by the second resurrection], and shall go out to deceive the nations which are [now] 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.  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed [surrounded] the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city . . .”  Revelation 20:7-9.

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Ezekiel 38:

17 Thus says the LORD GOD; Are you 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 you against them?

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The Son of God now speaks and denies Satan’s claim that he is the redeemer.  He states that he is the one against whom the world has been constantly been warned.  Thus all the attackers are faced with a choice – to believe the One in the city or the one standing among them.  Because they are filled with the spirit of rebellion, the lust to kill, and the desire of booty, they choose the way of war as the Jews chose Barabbas over Christ.  Of that time it is written:

“And they cried out all at once, saying, ‘Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas’ [by interpretation, “the son of the father”]:  (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)  Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spoke again to them.  But they cried, saying, ‘Crucify him, crucify Him’.  And he said to them the third time, ‘Why, what evil has He done? I have found no cause of death in Him: I will therefore chastise Him, and let Him go’.  And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified.  And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.  And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required”.  Luke 23:18-24.

In the same way, every single individual who will be prepared to attack new Jerusalem will choose in the clear light of understanding what they are doing.

Now the Son of God takes the blame for what will happen to them:

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Ezekiel 38:

18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the LORD GOD, that My fury shall come up in My face [My power will be uncontrollable].

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; 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 earth will shake violently]. 

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Paul warned his readers that we will all meet on that day.

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Hebrews 12:

18 For you are not come to the mount that might be touched [Mount Sinai in Moses’ time], and that burned with fire, nor to blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (for they could not endure that which was commanded, “And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart”: 21 and so terrible [awesome] was the sight, that Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake”.)

22 But you are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [now on earth], and to an innumerable company of angels, 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, 24 and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.

25 See that you refuse not Him that speaks. 

For if they escaped not who refused Him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaks from heaven:

26 whose voice then shook the earth: but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven”.

27 And this word, “Yet [only] once more”, signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain [thus the remaking of the whole earth begins].

28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 for our God is a consuming fire. 

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As the people realise that they have been deceived by Satan through their religious leaders, they will turn against them and kill them in their fury.  Unfaithful priests, pastors, and other religious leaders have prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy.  Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception.  The multitudes are filled with fury.  “We are lost!” they cry, “and you are the cause of our ruin;” and they turn upon the false shepherds.

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Ezekiel 38:

21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, says the LORD GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.

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.

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 [of truth].

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The verse in The Revelation continues: “and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”. 

Then it is written:  “And I saw a great WHITE throne [the seat of pure justice without mercy], and Him that sat on it [the Son of God], from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great [the rejecters and the loyal ones], stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  [This is the last portion of the judgment as shown in Matthew 25.]  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them [this had occurred in the second resurrection]: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death [from which there is no remedy].  And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” [the molten surface of the earth].  Revelation 20:11-15.  See also 2 Peter 3:10-13.

And in another place, speaking of the new Jerusalem, the LORD says, “And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against [attacked the new] Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour”.   Zechariah 14:11-13.

As we have seen before, the effect of moving into the area near to the physical presence of God is like walking into an electrical energy field.  In this case God’s life force will conflict with the sin in the rejecters and they will literally fall apart while visiting their anger against each other. 

Lateral thought:

Sin is like a cancer.  By this I mean that the state of rebellion encourages sinful emotions such as anger, lust, envy etc. that result in the appearance of rogue cells in the human body.  They cluster around the DNA helixes and interfere with the correct workings of the normal cells of the body.  This causes malfunctions of the codes in the DNA and abnormalities begin to occur in the organs of the body.  This is what we rightly call “dis-ease”, for the life is no longer “at ease” with Life.  Carried to an extreme they cause painful deaths 

When the rebels enter God’s presence with anger and the lust for blood in their minds, this process is accelerated and their DNA strings begin to unravel.  That’s why God says; “their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth”!  This is a literal result of coming close to the God of Life without His protection.  There is nothing He can do about it because they are exercising their free choice, and He must respect that decision even though it means that they are killing themselves.  At that point every living creature in the universe will see the justice and mercy of God interacting.  After the armies perish, rebellion will never be thought of by anyone ever again.       

Ezekiel 39:

In this chapter Gog and his companions are said to be going to attack Jerusalem from the north and fail miserably in the attempt, an event which we have already covered.  But a time is given here in which the weapons which they abandoned or lost, are to be gathered and burnt, and another time is mentioned for the period in which the host of dead bodies would require burial.

But there is nothing recorded in history which describes this event as a literal happening!  This is strange, for such a experience could not possibly have been forgotten!  So we are faced with the thought that it applies solely to Satan and his multitudes in their attack just before the Lake of Fire.  But if this is the case, then the burning of weapons and burial of bodies must have a spiritual meaning which is not at first apparent.

However, let’s go on and see what the Spirit can show us.  As we read we should remember that these thoughts are my conclusions and may not be right.  If anyone has a better explanation of God’s words then I would like to hear it.

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Ezekiel 39:

1 Therefore, you son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say,

Thus says the LORD GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal [representing the rebels]: 2 and I will turn you back, and leave but the sixth part of you [strike you with six plagues, margin], and will cause you to come up from the north parts, and will bring you upon the mountains of Israel: 3 and I will smite your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand.

4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you, and all your bands, and the people that is with you: I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.  5 You shall [also] fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, says the LORD GOD. 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly [confidently] in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

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We have already read that Satan considers one of his groups as the “the king of the north”, with himself as its leader, so it is no surprise that he is said to come from the north.  But here the Son of God also says that they will receive six plagues, one of which Zechariah tells us is the dissolving of their bodies.  That would naturally make it the last.  It is possible that tensions, rivalries and ethnic cleansings among them could account for the others.  We cannot expect totally wicked people to quietly go about a work of war preparation without something of the sort building up, and in this case, there could be much controversy and bloodshed amongst them even as they attempt to attack the city.  And God has said of them that they would fight each other, “every one on the hand of his neighbour”.  Zechariah 14:13.

Remember this story?  “And they [God’s people] rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa [to meet an invading army]: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall you be established; believe His prophets, so shall you prosper’ . . .  And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.  For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another [each other].  And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked to the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped”.   2 Chronicles 20:20-24.  And, unlike Gog and Magog, they still had some of the Spirit’s power working with them!

He goes on to describe the bodies in the last days as being eaten by vultures and birds of prey as well as wild animals, and this could well happen before the last plague.  There are other creatures alive on the earth among the rebels during this period, just as there will be in the first resurrection, for God loves all His creatures, not just humans, and resurrects them too. 

We are told about the righteous animals when God says,  “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear shall feed [together]; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox [there are no meat eaters anymore].  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp [a snake], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den [another snake].  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth [and all its creatures] shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea”.  Isaiah 11:6-9.

There will naturally be rebellious animals in the second resurrection and the survivors of them are also to be affected like the rebellious human army.  “And [apostate] Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague [decomposing while alive]”.  Zechariah 14:14-15.  Such feasting as God has described in our reading is not what we would expect in the Lake of Fire, so it must occur elsewhere in an earlier time. 

His mention of the “isles” is a Biblical term for those who do not live in the mainland area of the east, and refers all the rest of the world.

As well as those who die by human hand, there are those whose early deaths in the Fire make sense, because although they are undoubtedly rebels, most of the people of this world have not been as evil as the arch rebel and his angels, so their complement of sin “cells” would burn up quickly, as we discussed in last week’s reading.

However, a significant number will still get near the environs of the city.   

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Ezekiel 39:

7 So will I make My holy name [character] 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.

8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, says the LORD GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken [so often in the past.  It is the day that God dreads!].  

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As these events transpire, both loyal and rebellious will see that it is not God doing this, but the perverse natures of the rebels forcing themselves on to self-destruction.  God has made plain that whosoever will, may come “into the bond of the covenant”.  Ezekiel 20:37.  In the creation it was His purpose that the earth should be inhabited by beings whose existence would be a blessing to themselves and to one another, and an honour to their Creator.  All who will may identify themselves with this purpose.  Of them it is spoken, “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise”.  Isaiah 43:21.

Then comes another puzzling statement:

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Ezekiel 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: 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, says the LORD GOD.

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We have read that the whole earth is eventually taken up by the Lake of Fire, and out of the dissolution of its surface comes the new world.  “The day of the LORD will come as a thief in the night [unexpectedly for those of the second resurrection]; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation [conduct] and godliness, looking for and hasting to [hurrying on] the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”  2 Peter 3:10-12.

The text seems to suggest that the people of God will use the weapons as fuel for warming their houses and thereby save the forests, but in the lives of the everlasting righteous there is no need of fire for warmth.  Nor would they consider cutting down the trees and causing death to them.  Maybe this is meant to be symbolic, because we would expect that the armies of the last days would have modern weapons such as rifles and machine guns as well as bows and arrows and spears. 

So what can these words mean?

My best explanation at this time is that it is an attempt by the Son of God to explain to the lost and disobedient generation of Ezekiel’s time the extent of the calamity which will close this world’s history.  They had lived through times and experiences like these and so understood them.  And that’s how we should read it.  Like the blood coming up to the horses’ bridles, it is a picture.  Revelation 14:20.

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Ezekiel 39:

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give to Gog a place there of graves in Israel [a mass burial ground, called], “The Valley of the Passengers” on the east of the sea: and it [the smell of decomposing bodies] shall stop the noses of the passengers [travellers]: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude [in a mass grave]: and they shall call it “The Valley of Hamongog” [Gog’s mob].

12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 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, says the LORD GOD. [They’ll never forget that time!]  

14 And [then] they shall sever out men of continual employment [full-time grave diggers], passing through the land to bury with the passengers [travellers] those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they [start their] search.  15 And the passengers [travellers] that pass through the land, when any sees a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. 16 And also the name of the city shall be “Hamonah” [multitude].  Thus shall they cleanse the land.

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In this picture it written that it will take a lengthy period to bury every one of the easily seen corpses, and all the people will be needed to help in that work.  But after the “seven months” only full-time workers will be required to carry on the task with the aid of passers-by who will mark the bones for them as they notice them.  These full-time employees will live in their own “city” while attending to this job, for they would be “unclean”.

As noticed before, there is no historical record of an event like this.  Neither is it likely to occur in the land of righteousness where death has no place.  Of that time it is written, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God’.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”. Revelation 21:3-4.

But as a picture it is one way in which we can begin to understand the magnitude of God’s loss.  Not only has He lost most of the humans who have ever lived, but also one third of the innumerable angels whom He created as the perfect number to inhabit the planet heaven.  How can we measure such a catastrophe?  Only in overwhelming human terms. 

So there will not be any real “weapons” or “bones” left to burn or bury before or after the cleansing of the earth.  They will all have been converted back into the soil from which they came.  This is explained to us in the last verses of the Old Testament.  There it is written, “For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [Satan the root, his followers the branches.]  But to you that fear [respect] My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall [well cared for].  And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts”.   Malachi 4:1-3.

Now God refers back to the beginning of the battle time:

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Ezekiel 39:

17 And, you son of man, thus says the LORD GOD; Speak to 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 you may eat flesh, and drink blood.

[This is the flip side of the Son of God’s eternal sacrifice –

the deaths of the ones He cannot save,]

18 “You shall eat the flesh of the mighty [heroes], and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, [as if they were] of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan [the most bountiful part of Israel]. 19 And you shall eat fat till you be full, and drink blood till you be drunken, of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

 [What a sacrifice!  What a loss!  How our Father shudders at the thought of this day!]

20 “Thus you shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war”, says the LORD GOD [sadly].  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.  22 So the house of Israel [also] shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.  

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To underline the horror of this “day” the LORD tells us of the many carrion eating birds and animals which will be required to cleanse the land of the corpses killed in the bitter in-fighting caused by the jealousy and hate which will be endemic among those of the second resurrection.  God says that when they see the bodies of their friends and acquaintances, “The heathen (the rebels) shall see My judgments”, which means that they will begin to understand what sin has done.

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Ezekiel 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. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done to them, and hid My face from them [for a while].

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Then it will be that everyone in the universe will know that we, both Christian and rebel, caused most of our own problems, and that the Son of God did everything that He could to lighten our loads.  But they will also understand that in the end He was beaten by the freewill of so many of His creatures. Then it will be seen that He has had no favourites.  Those who are redeemed are those who listened and accepted His offer of redemption, but apart from that they have never been treated in any way different from the others.  When they listened and obeyed, they were protected.  When they were disobedient they were disciplined by their behaviour, and by Satan who then had a door of opportunity. 

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Ezekiel 39:

25 Therefore thus says 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 [character]. 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.  

[“Eventually the memory will fade, the memory of their shame over their betrayals of me when they lived securely in their own land, safe and unafraid”. Ezek 39:26 (The Message translation.)]

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; 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 to their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

29 Neither will I hide My face any more from them: for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the LORD GOD.

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Let’s finish with two quotes from my library:

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Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by the Father and the Son in man's behalf.  The hour has come when Christ occupies His rightful position and is glorified above principalities and powers and every name that is named.  It was for the joy that was set before Him -- that He might bring many sons unto glory -- that He endured the cross and despised the shame.  And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory.  He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every face reflecting the likeness of their King.  He beholds in them the result of the travail of His soul, and He is satisfied.  Then, in a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares: “Behold the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal ages.” And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.  

And;

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ.  As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase.  The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character.  As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.  

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13. 

The great controversy is ended.  Sin and sinners are no more.  The entire universe is clean.  One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation.  From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space.  From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.

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Conclusion:

There is a “flip side” to the sacrifice the Son of God has made for us.  Most of us only think of the salvation face, but there is also the losing part.  When the great controversy is over He will have lost one third of His angelic host and a much greater percentage of His human family.  Gog and Magog are the symbols of that loss.  What a sad day that will be!

Ezekiel 40:

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the [first] month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten [586-14=572BC], in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me there. 2 In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame [ruins] of a city on the south. 3 And He brought me there, and, behold, there was a man [an angel], whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate [of the ruined temple].

4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you; for to the intent that I might show them to you are you brought hither: declare all that you see to the house of Israel”.

 Ezekiel was going to be shown the layout of a NEW temple?  Why?