Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
Behold, it is come, and it is done declares that the day God has spoken of has arrived at its appointed time and will surely be accomplished. In its setting it is the divine judgment upon the wicked nations who, under Satan, make a final assault from the north against God's people to destroy them and perish themselves. From Ezekiel 36 onward that promise was offered conditionally upon Israel's faithfulness and repentance at the restoration from Babylon, and because they returned only half-heartedly it received only a meager fulfillment and was never fulfilled literally in detail. What was conditional will be fulfilled in greater glory in the last days under the new covenant, in part as national judgment before the second coming and in part after the thousand years when Satan gathers all the wicked for final defeat. Gog is the ruler of the north, identified as Russia with Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, whose ambition for world dominion ends in the foretold ruin, and this final fulfillment must be read not in Ezekiel's ancient local details but in the clearer light of Revelation 16 to 19.
Wording and Immediate Setting
Behold, it is come, and it is done marks that the events God had spoken of have come to pass at the appointed time, with the certainty and arrival of the foretold day and its accomplishment. That day is the day whereof the Lord has spoken, belonging to the prophecy of Gog's final defeat and ruin in the end-time closing scenes. When the power seeking world dominion sets out to fulfill its ambition for the Gog and Magog conflict, close at hand and discernible through prophecy, it will meet the grave foretold for Gog and God's spoken judgment will be accomplished. The promises were first offered to Israel during the restoration from Babylonian captivity, and God would have fulfilled them then if the people had yielded, been faithful, and truly repented. Because Israel did not, what remained unfulfilled will occur in broader form, some before Christ's second coming and some in the final battle after the thousand years, with true Israel receiving the promised glory and immortal inheritance but not in all the specific details of Ezekiel 39:8-16, whose future fulfillment is described in later revelations.
In context the verse is part of prophecies of judgment against the wicked nations which, controlled by Satan, seek to destroy God's people. It belongs to the prophecy of a final assault by God's enemies from the north against the mountains of Israel. The invaders come like a storm and perish in a tempest of fire and brimstone at God's presence, with their bodies becoming food for the birds. That destruction is presented as part of bloody strife and carnage among nations in the last days.
It stands in Ezekiel 38 to 40, which shows God's love for His house, and in chapters 33 to 48, which give consolation and promise and prophesy restoration.
Its announced day demands the mountains of Israel inhabited by a people God calls His own gathered out from all nations, dwelling safely all together in villages without walls. It demands a people possessing cattle and goods and wealth, whose plenty stirs the combined northern powers to think an evil thought of sweeping down in peace to take great spoil. It demands invaders carrying wooden shields and bucklers and handstaves and spears that Israel can use for fuel, so it cannot be fulfilled literally in the last days but will be fulfilled toward the true Israel of God and not in its literal setting. Present Palestine lacks those conditions, being poor, unsafe, thinly peopled, under foreign control, and without tempting wealth, while modern armies do not carry wooden weapons.
The destruction of Ezekiel 39 is to occur in a place other than Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom. It shows that divine punishment by destruction is not confined to Gehenna. It does not prove that Gehenna is now a place where the wicked are being punished or ever will be a place where the wicked are kept alive forever in torment.
Conditional Offer to Israel
Ezekiel 39:8 belongs with the prophecy running from Ezekiel 36 onward, including the description of the sanctuary in Ezekiel 38-39, and all of it was conditional on Israel's faithfulness, obedience, wholehearted return to the Lord, true repentance and putting away wickedness. If Israel had yielded, obeyed, accepted God's terms and complied with the conditions during the restoration from Babylonian captivity, God would have subdued the kings of the north and all enemies, conquered for them, given the promised victory over the northern nations, and brought the promised events to pass in detail at the appointed time. Some of what then remained unfulfilled would occur before Christ's second coming, while other parts belong to the final battle after the thousand years.
The full restoration offered would have brought back all the scattered people to the mountains of Israel, given them victory over their enemies sweeping down from the north, and made Israel the joy of the whole earth. God would have dwelt among them with glory never before seen and manifested His glory among His people in the sight of the nations. He would have built a new and far greater and grander sanctuary with marvelous things wrought in the Holy Land.
Because Israel returned only half-heartedly, mingled with other nations, failed to forsake sins and disobeyed, the promises received only a very small, meager and limited fulfillment. Only about forty thousand returned from captivity, with only the faintest shadow in the later prosperity after the restoration. The sanctuary realized was far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's, in the smaller temple erected by Zerubbabel. Instead of their northern enemies being destroyed before them, those enemies persecuted them, and Israel ultimately fell under Roman power, so the promised defeat, cleansing and restoration were not fulfilled then in detail or in original form.
The prophecy was therefore never literally fulfilled and will not now be literally fulfilled in its original local details or original form, but its promises concerning true Israel will be fulfilled without all the specific details of Ezekiel 39:8-16, with future fulfillment described in later revelations and understood through the unconditional prophecies in Revelation and in harmony with the new covenant and the fuller revelation of the gospel that Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. The sanctuary of chapters 37-48 will never be built, because Christ fulfilled the types represented by its sacrifices. Had Israel remained faithful they would have occupied Palestine when the invasion of the great confederacy came; because they did not, God's people are now scattered throughout the world, yet the evil plan still aims both to secure that territory and to destroy them.
Timing of Final Fulfillment
What was conditional and only partial will be fulfilled in greater glory in the last days under different, broader conditions in harmony with the new covenant, not by repeating details specific to ancient Israel. If Israel had obeyed and accepted God's terms and forsaken sins and returned to the Lord with all the heart in the restoration from Babylon, the enemies sweeping down from the north would have met the defeat described in Ezekiel 38-39 and Israel would have conquered, become the joy of the whole earth, and received marvelous things wrought in the Holy Land with a far greater and grander temple. Because Israel failed, that victory was only partial and received only a very small, meager fulfillment with only the faintest shadow in the prosperity after the restoration and the smaller temple erected by Zerubbabel, far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's. It will be fulfilled in greater glory at the second coming of Jesus Christ and events connected therewith, but without the local conditions of the prophet's day, with no literal burning of wooden bows, arrows, shields and bucklers and no cleansing of the land by human hands, because the fires of the last day will consume sin out of the world and melt the earth with fervent heat.
Part of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be fulfilled before the second coming of Christ but in the clearer terms stated in Revelation, and part at the end of the thousand years, and must be understood through the unconditional prophecies given in Revelation and not made in all its details a prophecy of those times or of later times. The day of which God spoke will still come and be done because all God's promises of a glorious future will be fulfilled for His own people, since the gospel contains a fuller revelation than had been given before, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The portion belonging before Christ comes is a national judgment with divisions and aggregation of nations led by Magog, with plagues falling on the invaders, pointing in general to God's final punishment of those who destroy His people at the second coming. God's purposes for wicked nations and true Israel remain the same despite changed times and circumstances: true Israel will receive the earth made new, and Gog and Magog, representing northern nations and great northern ambitious powers whose spirit is that of Satan and whose ambition is to rule in place of all others, will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The earlier national application belongs before Christ comes because national judgments take place before Christ comes, and when all the dead of all ages come up at the end of the thousand years national boundaries and distinctions will be completely eliminated. Some events that remained unfulfilled would occur before Christ's second coming, while others belong to the final battle after the thousand years. In that final application, Gog and Magog represent the wicked whom Satan gathers after the thousand years to attack God's people, and the prophecy points to their defeat and final judgment.
The general outline describes the gathering for Armageddon: tribes, nations, and peoples assemble for the final conflict. It is a great northern confederacy and apostasy invading the land once occupied by Israel, moving against opposing powers in a vast military campaign that sweeps over the Holy Land with great power and destruction. Had Israel remained faithful, they would have occupied Palestine when this invasion came; now God's people are scattered throughout the world, but the evil plan still aims both to secure that territory and to destroy them. Those holding this outline connect this confederacy with the northern king's attack and identify the Papacy as the power it will reinstate.
Developments among the nations are presented as signs that the prophesied day of conflict, identified with the approaching Armageddon and the coming Gog and Magog conflict, is near, close at hand and discernible through Bible prophecy. Part of it has been fulfilled, but much of it is yet to come to pass in the immediate and near future amid the present distress of nations with perplexity. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment, not only after, and concerns things of greatest importance deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others. The same prophetic setting also calls for God's people to be gathered from among the nations, making the spread of the gospel and missionary work in Persia and nearby regions urgent.
Russia and Northern Powers
The prophecy names Gog as the ruler of Russia, and names Rosh, Meshech and Tubal in connection with Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk as the land of the czar. Through those descendants of Noah it sets forth by name and by country the origin, international policy and ultimate destiny of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Eastern question with its American complications. Part of that revelation was already fulfilled, but much was still to come to pass in the immediate and near future.
Chapters 38 and 39 concern Russia, her international policy and her ultimate destiny, her important part in the closing work, her final defeat and ruin, and the end-time closing scenes. The day of which God had spoken marks those events as the day He had foretold, when the judgment He spoke will be accomplished. When Russia sets out to fulfill its ambition for world dominion for the Gog and Magog conflict, it will meet the grave foretold for Gog. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment and not only after, concerning things deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others, amid present distress of nations with perplexity.
Gog and Magog are great northern ambitious powers representing northern nations, whose spirit is that of Satan and whose ambition is to rule in place of all others. Had Israel met the conditions of faith and obedience, the northern nations represented by Gog and Magog would have been destroyed before them in detail in the restoration from Babylon. Because Israel failed, the promises received only a limited fulfillment, the northern enemies instead persecuted them, and Israel ultimately fell under Roman power. God's purposes nevertheless remain the same despite changed times, so true Israel will receive the earth made new, and Gog and Magog representing northern nations will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The prophecy has been applied to present-day conditions in European affairs as Russia being turned back by Japan and brought forth in the present war. It has been applied to Persia and the power from the north, with developments among the nations as signs that the prophesied day of conflict identified with approaching Armageddon is near. The same setting calls for God's people to be gathered from among the nations, making spread of the gospel and missionary work in Persia and nearby regions urgent. It has also been included in the prophecy of a future northern confederacy that will move against opposing powers in a vast military campaign, connected with the northern king's attack and identifying the Papacy as the power it will reinstate.
The prophecy may apply to the closing years of world history, but no overly definite application is given. It does not establish a forecast depending on the literal return of the Jews to Palestine, and that interpretation is rejected. The conflicting explanations of the prophecy make it prudent to wait for more light before declaring Russia's fate.
Scripture Connections and Caution
The future fulfillment of what was spoken will come to pass at the appointed time, but it is described in later revelations and must be understood through the unconditional prophecies given in Revelation in clearer terms, not pressed in all of Ezekiel's ancient details. The promises were first offered to Israel at the restoration from Babylonian captivity, and would have been fulfilled then if the people had yielded, truly repented and met the conditions; because they did not, receiving only a meager restoration with about 40,000 returning and a sanctuary far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's, the glorious future will still be fulfilled for God's own people but not in every specific detail of Ezekiel 39:8-16. Part of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be fulfilled before the second coming of Christ, and part at the end of the thousand years, and neither is to be made in all its details a prophecy of those times or of later times. The setting of its plagues of pestilence, hail, fire and brimstone is found in Revelation 16-19, whose fuller disclosures clarify the prophecies in Ezekiel's final chapters.
God's purposes for wicked nations and for true Israel remain the same despite changed times and circumstances, though what depended on ancient Israel's faith, obedience, repentance and putting away wickedness and being ashamed of iniquities will not now be fulfilled in its original form or in detail. True Israel, the faithful, will receive the promised glory and immortal inheritance, even the earth made new. What was promised concerning the subjection of the kings of the north and all enemies far and near remains only as a faint type of what will take place in the new heavens and new earth when God restores all things by His mighty power. Gog and Magog, representing northern nations, will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The reason the details cannot simply be transferred is that the gospel contains a fuller revelation than had been given before, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The last nineteen chapters of Ezekiel have been cited in support of the return of the Jews with the connected teachings on the reign of Christ and the inheritance of the saints. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment, not only after, concerning things of greatest importance deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others. Part of it has been fulfilled, but much is yet to come to pass in the immediate and near future amid the present distress of nations with perplexity.
Behold, it is come, and it is done declares that the day God has spoken of has arrived at its appointed time and will surely be accomplished. In its setting it is the divine judgment upon the wicked nations who, under Satan, make a final assault from the north against God's people to destroy them and perish themselves. From Ezekiel 36 onward that promise was offered conditionally upon Israel's faithfulness and repentance at the restoration from Babylon, and because they returned only half-heartedly it received only a meager fulfillment and was never fulfilled literally in detail. What was conditional will be fulfilled in greater glory in the last days under the new covenant, in part as national judgment before the second coming and in part after the thousand years when Satan gathers all the wicked for final defeat. Gog is the ruler of the north, identified as Russia with Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, whose ambition for world dominion ends in the foretold ruin, and this final fulfillment must be read not in Ezekiel's ancient local details but in the clearer light of Revelation 16 to 19.
Wording and Immediate Setting
Behold, it is come, and it is done marks that the events God had spoken of have come to pass at the appointed time, with the certainty and arrival of the foretold day and its accomplishment. That day is the day whereof the Lord has spoken, belonging to the prophecy of Gog's final defeat and ruin in the end-time closing scenes. When the power seeking world dominion sets out to fulfill its ambition for the Gog and Magog conflict, close at hand and discernible through prophecy, it will meet the grave foretold for Gog and God's spoken judgment will be accomplished. The promises were first offered to Israel during the restoration from Babylonian captivity, and God would have fulfilled them then if the people had yielded, been faithful, and truly repented. Because Israel did not, what remained unfulfilled will occur in broader form, some before Christ's second coming and some in the final battle after the thousand years, with true Israel receiving the promised glory and immortal inheritance but not in all the specific details of Ezekiel 39:8-16, whose future fulfillment is described in later revelations.
In context the verse is part of prophecies of judgment against the wicked nations which, controlled by Satan, seek to destroy God's people. It belongs to the prophecy of a final assault by God's enemies from the north against the mountains of Israel. The invaders come like a storm and perish in a tempest of fire and brimstone at God's presence, with their bodies becoming food for the birds. That destruction is presented as part of bloody strife and carnage among nations in the last days.
It stands in Ezekiel 38 to 40, which shows God's love for His house, and in chapters 33 to 48, which give consolation and promise and prophesy restoration.
Its announced day demands the mountains of Israel inhabited by a people God calls His own gathered out from all nations, dwelling safely all together in villages without walls. It demands a people possessing cattle and goods and wealth, whose plenty stirs the combined northern powers to think an evil thought of sweeping down in peace to take great spoil. It demands invaders carrying wooden shields and bucklers and handstaves and spears that Israel can use for fuel, so it cannot be fulfilled literally in the last days but will be fulfilled toward the true Israel of God and not in its literal setting. Present Palestine lacks those conditions, being poor, unsafe, thinly peopled, under foreign control, and without tempting wealth, while modern armies do not carry wooden weapons.
The destruction of Ezekiel 39 is to occur in a place other than Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom. It shows that divine punishment by destruction is not confined to Gehenna. It does not prove that Gehenna is now a place where the wicked are being punished or ever will be a place where the wicked are kept alive forever in torment.
Conditional Offer to Israel
Ezekiel 39:8 belongs with the prophecy running from Ezekiel 36 onward, including the description of the sanctuary in Ezekiel 38-39, and all of it was conditional on Israel's faithfulness, obedience, wholehearted return to the Lord, true repentance and putting away wickedness. If Israel had yielded, obeyed, accepted God's terms and complied with the conditions during the restoration from Babylonian captivity, God would have subdued the kings of the north and all enemies, conquered for them, given the promised victory over the northern nations, and brought the promised events to pass in detail at the appointed time. Some of what then remained unfulfilled would occur before Christ's second coming, while other parts belong to the final battle after the thousand years.
The full restoration offered would have brought back all the scattered people to the mountains of Israel, given them victory over their enemies sweeping down from the north, and made Israel the joy of the whole earth. God would have dwelt among them with glory never before seen and manifested His glory among His people in the sight of the nations. He would have built a new and far greater and grander sanctuary with marvelous things wrought in the Holy Land.
Because Israel returned only half-heartedly, mingled with other nations, failed to forsake sins and disobeyed, the promises received only a very small, meager and limited fulfillment. Only about forty thousand returned from captivity, with only the faintest shadow in the later prosperity after the restoration. The sanctuary realized was far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's, in the smaller temple erected by Zerubbabel. Instead of their northern enemies being destroyed before them, those enemies persecuted them, and Israel ultimately fell under Roman power, so the promised defeat, cleansing and restoration were not fulfilled then in detail or in original form.
The prophecy was therefore never literally fulfilled and will not now be literally fulfilled in its original local details or original form, but its promises concerning true Israel will be fulfilled without all the specific details of Ezekiel 39:8-16, with future fulfillment described in later revelations and understood through the unconditional prophecies in Revelation and in harmony with the new covenant and the fuller revelation of the gospel that Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. The sanctuary of chapters 37-48 will never be built, because Christ fulfilled the types represented by its sacrifices. Had Israel remained faithful they would have occupied Palestine when the invasion of the great confederacy came; because they did not, God's people are now scattered throughout the world, yet the evil plan still aims both to secure that territory and to destroy them.
Timing of Final Fulfillment
What was conditional and only partial will be fulfilled in greater glory in the last days under different, broader conditions in harmony with the new covenant, not by repeating details specific to ancient Israel. If Israel had obeyed and accepted God's terms and forsaken sins and returned to the Lord with all the heart in the restoration from Babylon, the enemies sweeping down from the north would have met the defeat described in Ezekiel 38-39 and Israel would have conquered, become the joy of the whole earth, and received marvelous things wrought in the Holy Land with a far greater and grander temple. Because Israel failed, that victory was only partial and received only a very small, meager fulfillment with only the faintest shadow in the prosperity after the restoration and the smaller temple erected by Zerubbabel, far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's. It will be fulfilled in greater glory at the second coming of Jesus Christ and events connected therewith, but without the local conditions of the prophet's day, with no literal burning of wooden bows, arrows, shields and bucklers and no cleansing of the land by human hands, because the fires of the last day will consume sin out of the world and melt the earth with fervent heat.
Part of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be fulfilled before the second coming of Christ but in the clearer terms stated in Revelation, and part at the end of the thousand years, and must be understood through the unconditional prophecies given in Revelation and not made in all its details a prophecy of those times or of later times. The day of which God spoke will still come and be done because all God's promises of a glorious future will be fulfilled for His own people, since the gospel contains a fuller revelation than had been given before, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The portion belonging before Christ comes is a national judgment with divisions and aggregation of nations led by Magog, with plagues falling on the invaders, pointing in general to God's final punishment of those who destroy His people at the second coming. God's purposes for wicked nations and true Israel remain the same despite changed times and circumstances: true Israel will receive the earth made new, and Gog and Magog, representing northern nations and great northern ambitious powers whose spirit is that of Satan and whose ambition is to rule in place of all others, will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The earlier national application belongs before Christ comes because national judgments take place before Christ comes, and when all the dead of all ages come up at the end of the thousand years national boundaries and distinctions will be completely eliminated. Some events that remained unfulfilled would occur before Christ's second coming, while others belong to the final battle after the thousand years. In that final application, Gog and Magog represent the wicked whom Satan gathers after the thousand years to attack God's people, and the prophecy points to their defeat and final judgment.
The general outline describes the gathering for Armageddon: tribes, nations, and peoples assemble for the final conflict. It is a great northern confederacy and apostasy invading the land once occupied by Israel, moving against opposing powers in a vast military campaign that sweeps over the Holy Land with great power and destruction. Had Israel remained faithful, they would have occupied Palestine when this invasion came; now God's people are scattered throughout the world, but the evil plan still aims both to secure that territory and to destroy them. Those holding this outline connect this confederacy with the northern king's attack and identify the Papacy as the power it will reinstate.
Developments among the nations are presented as signs that the prophesied day of conflict, identified with the approaching Armageddon and the coming Gog and Magog conflict, is near, close at hand and discernible through Bible prophecy. Part of it has been fulfilled, but much of it is yet to come to pass in the immediate and near future amid the present distress of nations with perplexity. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment, not only after, and concerns things of greatest importance deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others. The same prophetic setting also calls for God's people to be gathered from among the nations, making the spread of the gospel and missionary work in Persia and nearby regions urgent.
Russia and Northern Powers
The prophecy names Gog as the ruler of Russia, and names Rosh, Meshech and Tubal in connection with Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk as the land of the czar. Through those descendants of Noah it sets forth by name and by country the origin, international policy and ultimate destiny of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Eastern question with its American complications. Part of that revelation was already fulfilled, but much was still to come to pass in the immediate and near future.
Chapters 38 and 39 concern Russia, her international policy and her ultimate destiny, her important part in the closing work, her final defeat and ruin, and the end-time closing scenes. The day of which God had spoken marks those events as the day He had foretold, when the judgment He spoke will be accomplished. When Russia sets out to fulfill its ambition for world dominion for the Gog and Magog conflict, it will meet the grave foretold for Gog. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment and not only after, concerning things deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others, amid present distress of nations with perplexity.
Gog and Magog are great northern ambitious powers representing northern nations, whose spirit is that of Satan and whose ambition is to rule in place of all others. Had Israel met the conditions of faith and obedience, the northern nations represented by Gog and Magog would have been destroyed before them in detail in the restoration from Babylon. Because Israel failed, the promises received only a limited fulfillment, the northern enemies instead persecuted them, and Israel ultimately fell under Roman power. God's purposes nevertheless remain the same despite changed times, so true Israel will receive the earth made new, and Gog and Magog representing northern nations will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The prophecy has been applied to present-day conditions in European affairs as Russia being turned back by Japan and brought forth in the present war. It has been applied to Persia and the power from the north, with developments among the nations as signs that the prophesied day of conflict identified with approaching Armageddon is near. The same setting calls for God's people to be gathered from among the nations, making spread of the gospel and missionary work in Persia and nearby regions urgent. It has also been included in the prophecy of a future northern confederacy that will move against opposing powers in a vast military campaign, connected with the northern king's attack and identifying the Papacy as the power it will reinstate.
The prophecy may apply to the closing years of world history, but no overly definite application is given. It does not establish a forecast depending on the literal return of the Jews to Palestine, and that interpretation is rejected. The conflicting explanations of the prophecy make it prudent to wait for more light before declaring Russia's fate.
Scripture Connections and Caution
The future fulfillment of what was spoken will come to pass at the appointed time, but it is described in later revelations and must be understood through the unconditional prophecies given in Revelation in clearer terms, not pressed in all of Ezekiel's ancient details. The promises were first offered to Israel at the restoration from Babylonian captivity, and would have been fulfilled then if the people had yielded, truly repented and met the conditions; because they did not, receiving only a meager restoration with about 40,000 returning and a sanctuary far inferior to Solomon's and to Ezekiel's, the glorious future will still be fulfilled for God's own people but not in every specific detail of Ezekiel 39:8-16. Part of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be fulfilled before the second coming of Christ, and part at the end of the thousand years, and neither is to be made in all its details a prophecy of those times or of later times. The setting of its plagues of pestilence, hail, fire and brimstone is found in Revelation 16-19, whose fuller disclosures clarify the prophecies in Ezekiel's final chapters.
God's purposes for wicked nations and for true Israel remain the same despite changed times and circumstances, though what depended on ancient Israel's faith, obedience, repentance and putting away wickedness and being ashamed of iniquities will not now be fulfilled in its original form or in detail. True Israel, the faithful, will receive the promised glory and immortal inheritance, even the earth made new. What was promised concerning the subjection of the kings of the north and all enemies far and near remains only as a faint type of what will take place in the new heavens and new earth when God restores all things by His mighty power. Gog and Magog, representing northern nations, will be punished partly in this world before and when Christ comes and finally at the end of the thousand years.
The reason the details cannot simply be transferred is that the gospel contains a fuller revelation than had been given before, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The last nineteen chapters of Ezekiel have been cited in support of the return of the Jews with the connected teachings on the reign of Christ and the inheritance of the saints. The prophecy is given as a warning to be applied before fulfillment, not only after, concerning things of greatest importance deciding eternal salvation to some and everlasting destruction to others. Part of it has been fulfilled, but much is yet to come to pass in the immediate and near future amid the present distress of nations with perplexity.