Ezekiel 39:1, commentary and pictures

God sets Himself against Gog, the ruler called czar, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal and ruler of Magog, as the object of His displeasure. Those names point to the peoples and territory that became Russia, including Tartary and Siberia, and to Gog leading a great northern horde and confederacy sweeping down upon Palestine, though those who held the other view teach that they symbolize the ungodly forces of evil opposed to God and His people under Satan. The word belongs to the restoration promises of Ezekiel 36 to 48, offered to literal Israel on condition of repentance and obedience, so that if Israel had yielded God would have gathered them, cleansed them, dwelt among them and given victory over the northern foes. Because Israel failed and only a feeble remnant returned, the full literal details were never fulfilled and never will be, and what remains must be fulfilled in harmony with conditions on earth in part before Christ comes in the gathering for Armageddon with Russia from the north, and in fuller measure at His coming and after the thousand years in Revelation 20:7-9. In that last strife God destroys Gog and his host on the mountains of Israel with plague, hail, fire and brimstone and gives them to the fowls, while His true Israel receives the earth made new.

Name and Identity of Gog

The verse is a direct address against Gog, naming him ruler — the word itself meaning czar — chief prince of Meshech and Tubal and ruler of Magog, and placing him under divine opposition as the object of God's displeasure. The command to prophesy against him introduces the final scenes of his career, with restraint put upon him just before the final acts that lead to his ruin and the end of the world. In that address Gog is Russia, and the prophecy belongs to the closing years of world history.

Magog, Meshech, Tubal and Rosh are the peoples and territory that became Russia, including Tartary and Siberia, presented by descent and by country from the nations divided in the earth after the Flood. This gives the origin of the Russian Empire and the Russo-Eastern question, identifying Gog's land with the czar's Russia. The names Rosh, Meshech and Tubal are linked to Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk, with Russia especially named as Rosh in the Revised Version.

Gog is Russia leading a great horde and confederacy of many peoples gathered with him, the northern Scythian nations and the northern enemies of Israel sweeping down upon Palestine. The tribes and nations gathered under the czar form this prophetic alignment for Armageddon, a national judgment with division and aggregation of nations before Christ comes. Driven by Satan's ambition to rule over all others, these powerful northern forces would have attacked restored Israel after the return from Babylon.

Those who held the other teaching held that Gog, Meshech and Tubal do not identify modern Russia but symbolize the ungodly forces of evil opposed to God and His redeemed people under Satan's leadership. In that sense Gog represents the former oppressors gathered with Satan's hosts to make a final attempt to defeat God's purpose at the close of the thousand years, after the wicked are raised in the second resurrection and before their final doom. The names associated with the north are thus the enemies of God's people who come from the north in Old Testament prophecy.

Place in Ezekiel's Prophecy

Ezekiel 39:1 stands within the restoration prophecies of Ezekiel 36 to 48, and within the sanctuary vision of chapters 37 to 48, which chiefly bring consolation and promise after the seventy years of captivity in Babylon. It belongs to the conditional prophecies of that closing section of Ezekiel, given for the return from Babylon and to be fulfilled then if Israel yielded to God, obeyed, and truly repented. What God would have done is to bring back all His scattered people from the nations to the mountains of Israel, dwell among them with surpassing glory, build a new and far greater sanctuary, give victory over enemies, manifest His glory among His people in sight of the nations, deliver Israel from enemies, and raise them as pictured by the dry bones. Because Israel did not meet the conditions, did not truly repent, and only about forty thousand returned, the promised restoration was not realized in its fullness, and only a mere shadow of the temple was built instead of the wonderful structure shown to the prophet. The prophecy both does and does not picture the last days, since what remains to be fulfilled must be fulfilled in harmony with conditions on earth, in part before the second coming of Christ and in part in the last great battle on the other side of the thousand years, while some literal details of the chapter will never be fulfilled at all.

It is part of God's judgment against wicked nations that under Satan's control seek to destroy His people, in which He declares He will cut off all the enemies of His people and conquer their enemies near and far. That cutting off of enemies would have come with the resurrection of those gone down in death and the rebuilding of the glorious temple with its water of life and glory of God, so that Israel would have become a light to the world, but they refused to be ashamed. The line of events in Ezekiel 39:1-22 begins prior to those in Ezekiel 38:15-23 and ends farther down the stream of time, showing the final scenes of Gog's career with God declaring Himself against Gog as the object of His displeasure. That line includes restraints put upon Gog just before the final acts leading to his ruin and the end of the world.

Its setting requires Israel gathered into its land and dwelling safely amid prosperity, a condition that did not describe Palestine at the time discussed, so it cannot be literally fulfilled in the last days in that local setting. The threatened plagues, pestilence, hailstones, fire and brimstone upon the wicked who come against His people will occur, but their setting is found not in Ezekiel 38 and 39 but in Revelation 16-19. Combined armies like those described may sweep down and destroy lesser powers in near-future revolutions, but not in the setting of this prophecy.

Conditional Promise to Israel

Ezekiel 39 belongs to the conditional prophecy running from chapter 36 to the end of the book under the old covenant with literal Israel, and to the sanctuary prophecy and vision of chapters 37 to 48. Its fulfillment depended on Israel's acceptance or rejection under the conditions stated in Jeremiah 18:7-10, for God warned Israel and promised that their enemies, including the kings of the North, would be subdued if Israel turned from wickedness. Israel did not meet the conditions, so the promised restoration was not fulfilled as described.

If Israel had yielded to God, obeyed, repented, turned from sin, been faithful and been ashamed of iniquities and ways, He would have conquered their enemies near and far and delivered them. He would have brought back all His scattered people from the nations to the mountains of Israel, cleansed them, made them great, caused the resurrection pictured by the dry bones of chapter 37 to take place, dwelt among them in overpowering and surpassing glory, and given them victory over Gog and the northern Scythian confederacy and foes coming down upon them with plagues. Then Israel would have built the marvelous, new and far greater sanctuary of chapters 40-48 with its water of life and glory of God, with the city named Jehovah Is There, and would have become a light to the world with His glory manifested among His people in the sight of the nations. In that sense the prophecy both does and does not picture the last days, for it would have been fulfilled in the past in deliverance from enemies and the building of the sanctuary if Israel had been faithful.

Because Israel did not truly repent and failed to meet God's requirements and conditions, with only about forty thousand returning from captivity after the seventy years in Babylon, the victory and restoration were only partial, feeble, fulfilled only in small part and in small part in its fullness, and the promises in their fullness were not realized. Only a mere shadow of the temple was built instead of the wonderful structure shown to the prophet, and Israel refused to be ashamed.

The full literal details as offered were never fulfilled and never will be literally fulfilled, and cannot be applied in all details to its own time or to later times. That includes the burning described in Ezekiel 39:9-15 of weapons such as bows, arrows, shields and bucklers that could be burned, and the literal sanctuary, which will never be built. What was promised concerning true Israel will be fulfilled in the future not through every detail given in Ezekiel 39 but through the realities described in later revelations, in the clearer unconditional terms stated in Revelation, while God's purposes toward wicked nations and true Israel remain the same though times and circumstances differ.

Timing of Future Fulfillment

What remains to be fulfilled must be fulfilled in harmony with conditions on earth, in part on this side of the second coming of Christ and in part in the last great battle on the other side of the thousand years. The prophecy both does and does not picture the last days, being a conditional mixed prophecy that cannot be applied in all its details to its own time or to later times. It would have been fulfilled in the past in deliverance from enemies and the building of the sanctuary if ancient Israel had been faithful, but because Israel did not meet the conditions of faith and obedience the original literal details as offered, including the burning described in Ezekiel 39:9-15, will not be fulfilled as offered at all. God's purposes toward wicked nations and true Israel remain the same though times and circumstances differ, and God's promises of a glorious future will still be fulfilled for His own people, but only in the clearer unconditional terms stated in Revelation where true Israel will receive the earth made new. It must be read in the fuller revelation of the gospel that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

As a national judgment with divisions of nations and aggregation of nations taking place before Christ comes, the verse does not describe the rising of Gog and Magog at the end of the thousand years. When all the dead of all ages come up then national boundaries and distinctions are completely eliminated, so that final rising cannot be this gathering of a great horde from the north sweeping down upon Israel in Palestine under a confederacy led by Magog.

The gathering under Gog is part of the general outline of Ezekiel 38-39 concerning the gathering for Armageddon. Russia, identified as Rosh and as Gog the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog, comes from the north with a mighty army to join the last-day battle in the land of Israel, where God overthrows the army on Israel's mountains through the plagues of His last-day judgments. Persia is associated with the great power of the north, and as these powers gather for the coming battle of Armageddon God's people are to be gathered from among the nations by the gospel, including in Persia and nearby regions. The same northern alignment is a mighty northern confederacy that will come against the king of the south, reinstate the Papacy, and attack with combined armies and navies in a future conflict involving the world. It is a final northern apostasy that will sweep into the Holy Land with great power and destruction.

Russia's rise is destined to play an important part in the closing work of world history, with Gog meaning ruler or czar pointing to the czar of Russia and Magog, Meshech and Tubal linked to the peoples and territory that became Russia including Tartary and Siberia. Ivan I is identified as the first ruler to unite the tribes and found modern Russia. Russia coming from the north with a mighty army is destroyed on the mountains of the Holy Land, a defeat that follows the Turks' departure from Europe and the end of the Ottoman Empire and precedes the gathering of heathen nations for a wider conflict. Japan is a means the Lord uses to turn Russia back and bring her forth in the present war over European conditions, and the prophecy belongs to present-day European conditions. In its contemporary setting it raises the prospect of Russia and other powers contending over China and beyond in an approaching great conflict among the nations.

Because Israel failed the prophecy will have a greater fulfillment in connection with Christ's second coming and the end of the wicked. In its original setting it described northern enemies who would attack Israel after the restoration from Babylonian exile and use weapons such as bows, arrows, shields and bucklers that could be burned, but that restoration did not happen in the details described because Israel was not ashamed of its iniquities, so it was fulfilled only in small part and in its broad promise that God will finally punish those who seek to destroy His people. What would have been carried out in Israel's time if Israel had met the conditions will be fulfilled in the last days under different, broader, stronger and more glorious conditions. It will not be under the local conditions of Ezekiel's day with weapons burned, since no weapons will be burned and the last-day fires will consume sin and melt the earth, with Gog and Magog as powerful northern forces driven by Satan's ambition to rule over all others.

God's Judgment Against Gog

The last days will be days of bloody strife, distress and carnage among the nations of the earth. Gog is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, connected with the land of Magog and Rosh, and Rosh is Russia. Russia comes from the north quarters with a mighty army to join the last-day battle in the land of Israel. Gog and his host rush like a storm against the mountains of Israel and the mountains of the Holy Land, but God is set against him as leader of the enemies of God and destroys them at His presence amid fire and brimstone. He overthrows the army on Israel's mountains through the plagues of His last-day judgments and gives their carcasses to the fowls to feast upon. This defeat follows the Turks' departure from Europe and the end of the Ottoman Empire, and precedes the gathering of heathen nations for a wider conflict.

The threatened plagues, pestilence, hailstones, fire and brimstone upon the wicked who come against His own people will occur. Their setting is found not in Ezekiel 38 and 39 but in Revelation 16-19. The whole prophecy, with the rest of the last part of Ezekiel, must be read in the light of the fuller, clearer disclosures in Revelation. Combined armies like those described may sweep down and destroy lesser powers in near-future revolutions, but not in the setting of this prophecy.

The destruction against Gog will occur in a place other than Gehenna in the valley of Hinnom. It does not describe punishment in Gehenna, but a separate destruction elsewhere, distinct from the punishments that have been and will be inflicted in Gehenna.

The prophecy against Gog is part of a conditional mixed prophecy that cannot be applied in all its details to its own time or to later times. Gog and Magog represent the northern nations, which will be punished partly in this world and, ultimately, at the end of the thousand years. The promised details depended on ancient Israel's faith and obedience, and because Israel did not meet those conditions the original details, including the burning described in Ezekiel 39:9-15, will not be fulfilled as offered. God's promises of a glorious future will still be fulfilled for His own people, but only in the clearer unconditional terms stated in Revelation, in part on this side of the second coming of Christ and in part at the end of the thousand years. God's purposes toward wicked nations and true Israel remain the same, though times and circumstances differ, and true Israel will receive the earth made new.

Light From Other Scriptures

The prophecy is bound to Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:7-9, where former oppressors of God's people are gathered with Satan's hosts after the thousand years to assault the camp of the saints and the beloved city before receiving their final doom. Gog, Meshech and Tubal are names for the forces of evil opposed to God and His redeemed people, with Gog representing the ungodly forces under Satan's leadership making a final attempt to defeat God's purpose at the close of the thousand years, after the wicked are raised in the second resurrection and before their destruction. In that northern imagery the names do not identify modern Russia but symbolize the enemies of God's people who come from the north in Old Testament prophecy.

The whole prophecy with the rest of the last part of Ezekiel must be read in the fuller, clearer revelation of the gospel that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. There there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian or Scythian, and no theory that excludes God's gospel work to the world for all alike can stand. It is a conditional, mixed prophecy belonging to the sanctuary prophecy of Ezekiel 37 to 48, depending on Israel's acceptance or rejection under the conditions stated in Jeremiah 18:7-10, and it cannot be applied in all its details to its own time or to later times. That literal sanctuary will never be built, yet God's promises of a glorious future will still be fulfilled for His own people, but only in the clearer unconditional terms stated in Revelation, in part on this side of the second coming of Christ and in part at the end of the thousand years.

Had Israel remained faithful and occupied the land, the evil confederacy seeking to take Palestine and attack God's people would have invaded them there. Because God's people are now scattered, the same evil plan aims to secure the land and destroy them wherever they are. The prophecy associates Persia with the great power of the north and links these powers gathering for the coming battle of Armageddon, while God's people are to be gathered from among the nations by the gospel, including in Persia and nearby regions.

The prophecy reveals Russia and her international policy and her ultimate destiny, with part fulfilled but much yet to come to pass in the immediate and near future. It is given for warning about the cause and trend of events of worldwide import in a time of distress of nations with perplexity, and it must be applied before fulfillment, not only after. A forecast of Russia's destiny that depends on the Jews literally returning to Palestine is refuted and rejected as leading to errors and conflict with the third angel's message.