This week, we are studying Ezekiel 39, the second half of his famous oracle against the mysterious Gog from the land of Magog. Subscribe to Bible Fiber on Youtube or follow wherever you listen to your podcasts! Also, be sure to check out the Bible Fiber book on Amazon!
Israel’s only job
Throughout most of the Gog oracle, the emphasis has been on God’s direct intervention in defeating the invading armies. Whether it was God knocking the bow and arrows from the archers’ hands (39:3) or setting fire to Magog and the coastlands (39:6), the responsibility fell entirely on God to obliterate the hordes.
In the prophecy, the Israelites emerged only once the battle was already over. Their only task was to organize a cleanup operation. They began by collecting all the weaponry left behind by their defeated enemies. Ezekiel noted that they gathered enough shields, bows, arrows, and war clubs. However, instead of storing the weapons in their armory, they repurposed them for fuel. Gog’s captured weaponry would provide them with firewood for seven years (39:9). In other words, with the defeat of Gog and its allies, Israel entered into an era of total peace.
Ezekiel gave a new twist on the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah, which stated that in the Messianic age, people would turn their swords into plowshares (Isa. 2:4, Micah 4:3). The Israelites sensed that this was the last war. Ezekiel also notes the irony: “And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them” (39:10), as the hordes had initially invaded Israel, intending to plunder its cities and villages.
After Gog’s complete destruction, corpses covered the land of Israel. Deuteronomic law dictates that all the dead, even non-Israelites, must be buried (Deut. 21:22-23). Keeping to the law, Yahweh selected a site for the mass burial of Israel’s slain enemies and named it the Valley of Hamon-Gog (39:11).
The Israelites were rightfully concerned about the contaminating effects of so many corpses on their covenanted land. Ezekiel said all the people would take part in the burial effort, which would last seven months (39:12). Ezekiel states, “People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground” (39:14). After seven months, they appointed special inspectors to roam the land and mark any unburied bones, so nothing would be overlooked (39:15).
Grotesque banquet
In the next section, starting in verse 17, Yahweh issued a personal invitation to all the wild animals and scavenging birds, calling them to a grand banquet to feast on the corpses of those defeated in battle (39:17-20). The invitation is out of sequence and would make more sense coming before the mass burial and after the first mention of animals scavenging corpses (39:4). Nevertheless, Yahweh invited the creatures and birds to gather at the divine table and partake in a gruesome feast. Gluttonous animals “eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth” (39:18). This grisly scene brings home the chapter’s point that there is no honor in the death of God’s adversaries.
Display Yahweh’s Glory
The Gog oracle repeatedly emphasizes that the purpose of Yahweh’s victory over Gog was to reestablish Yahweh’s glory for both Israel and the nations. The oracle concludes with a broader look at God’s complete dealings with Israel, summarizing Ezekiel’s entire message thus far. Yahweh declares, “From that day forward, the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God” (39:22). Gog’s defeat marks the beginning of a new chapter in Israel’s relationship with Yahweh.
Through Israel’s supernatural rescue, she will reconsider her punishment and Babylonian exile, now recognizing them as consequences of her generational sin and rebellion (39:23). She will come to realize that the Lord is truly her God. The nations will understand that God did not allow Israel to be overrun by the Babylonians because of weakness. Rather, he permitted it from a position of strength. His holiness and commitment to the covenant required him to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness. That same holiness now allows him to rescue her during her restoration. Yahweh states, “When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations” (39:27).
In this new era, God will display both compassion for his people and zeal for his name (39:25). These two aspects are not mutually exclusive. The final restoration of Israel will be permanent and complete. God will pour out his spirit on Israel, just as he had once poured out his wrath.
Identifying Gog
The name Gog does not appear elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. Bible scholars spend their time looking for a historical figure outside the Bible that matches Ezekiel’s descriptions of Gog. Phonetically, the closest derivative to Gog in ancient Near Eastern history is King Gyges, also known as Gugu in Assyrian records. Gyges ruled the kingdom of Lydia in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) during the 7th century BCE. Since the Hebrew name “Gog” (גּוֹג) phonetically resembles the Assyrian “Gugu” and the Greek “Gyges,” some scholars suggest that Ezekiel may have used Gyges as a prototype for Gog. However, Gyges was a relatively minor king who lived before Ezekiel’s time. I can’t imagine that Ezekiel would give so much attention to a barely known distant king of Lydia.
Other Bible scholars have proposed that Gog is a cryptic reference to Babylon. Certainly, during Ezekiel’s day, Babylon dominated the world stage. As the force responsible for Judah’s exile and Jerusalem’s destruction, Babylon epitomized opposition to God’s people. The description of Gog coming from “the far north” (38:15) also is fitting, since Babylon was to the north of Israel. Ezekiel may have used cryptic language for Babylon as a way of shielding himself from punishment. The Babylonians were his overlords and they would have not taken kindly to a prophet in exile predicting the empire’s coming demise.
Throughout Christian history, prophecy enthusiasts have equated Gog with whatever modern godless nation came up against Israel or the Jewish people. This interpretation has varied over time and context. After the sacking of Rome in the fifth century, Augustine claimed the Goths represented Gog. During the Crusades, Peter the Hermit interpreted the rise of Islam and its military campaigns against Christian territories as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies about Gog. Martin Luther believed the Turkish Empire represented Gog because of its menacing nature and its location in Anatolia. During the Cold War, Hal Lindsay popularized the idea that Gog and her allies were an alliance of Soviet states, with Russia as the primary aggressor against Israel.
In more modern interpretations of the Gog oracle, the prophecy represents a coalition of nations following Iran’s orders. This association is less of a stretch since Persia is in Ezekiel’s list of aggressor nations. Still, Bible readers should be cautious and avoid studying the Bible with a newspaper in one hand and the prophecies in the other. Given Israel’s recent experiences after October 7, it’s tempting to read the Gog oracle with the Jewish state’s current seven-front war in mind.
I have little to say about predictions that find contemporary equivalents of Gog. Sadly, Israel has many enemies today and in the past. All I can say is that Israel has not arrived yet at a time of peace and plenty.
The primary thrust of Ezekiel’s message is not to illuminate our modern geopolitical landscape. Instead, Ezekiel promises that one day, Israel and all of humanity will recognize Yahweh. Gog is only important as the tool God uses to reveal himself through Gog’s defeat.
Revelation 19 and 20
In Jewish tradition, Ezekiel 38-39 describe events expected to be fulfilled by the Messiah. In Christian tradition, Gog is associated with the second coming of Jesus and his ultimate defeat of Satan.
The book of Revelation provides a divinely inspired commentary on Ezekiel’s Gog oracle. In typical Revelation fashion, John of Patmos reworks the Gog oracle to present a more cosmic drama. In Revelation, Gog is Satan, God’s premier enemy. If Gog is Satan, rather than an earthly power, Gog’s overthrow is akin to the collapse of all forces against God, which John calls the “beast and its armies” (Rev. 19:17-20).
Echoing Ezekiel’s animal banquet, Revelation describes the aftermath of the battle of Armageddon, where an angel calls the birds to gather for the “great supper of God” to eat the flesh of kings, commanders, and mighty men. It is Christ who has victory over the forces of evil. The connection between the Ezekiel banquet and the Revelation banquet lies in their use of a symbolic feast to illustrate divine judgment and victory. Both depict a dramatic scene of destruction for those who oppose God and the inevitable triumph of divine justice.
While Ezekiel’s prophecy focuses on the historical defeat of specific enemies of Israel, John expands this theme to encompass a universal and final confrontation between good and evil. By doing so, he transforms the oracle into a grander narrative of the end times. Gog represents the ultimate cosmic battle and final judgment, where divine justice prevails on a global scale. Although Ezekiel referred to Gog as a national leader from Magog, Revelation refers to Gog and Magog together as two entities, which is why you often hear “Gog and Magog” instead of “Gog from Magog.” Christians generally follow the Revelation version.
Ezekiel listed seven specific allies who join Gog. John describes the entire world joining Gog in an attack on Israel, “the nations at the four corners of the earth” (Rev. 20:8). Satan is the acting commander of the attacking army. Satan desires to destroy anything God loves. For Revelation, Gog is the culmination of the cosmic battle between God and Satan. It is the chance for Jesus Christ, in his Second Coming, to deliver the final blow to Satan and his partners. Jesus, through his saving works on the cross and his miraculous resurrection, overcame the powers of darkness.
The apostle Paul explained the purpose of Christ’s death in this same language: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” John the Apostle also stated it directly: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Jesus did not die on the cross merely to appease God’s wrath; that explanation is too transactional. The purpose was so much bigger. His sacrifice was a victory over sin and the evil forces that enslaved humanity. By breaking the power of darkness, Jesus provided a way for humanity to be reconciled to God.
Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge. Next week we are starting Ezekiel 40 and the prophet’s vision of a new temple!
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Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai