By Alex Polyak
Whenever conflict picks up in the middle east, dispensationalists inevitably start talking about the battle of Gog and Magog, which is mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39 (Revelation 20). Ezekiel prophesied that Israel would be attacked by her neighbors, however, God would miraculously destroy Israel’s enemies. Dispensationalists say this prophecy still has to be fulfilled and speculate that Gog and Magog refer to modern day Russia, Iran, and Turkey (and various other nations).
Are dispensationalists right about this? The biblical evidence is a resounding “No.”
To start with, this prophecy cannot possibly be about a modern war with jet planes, tanks, and missiles because Ezekiel describes this battle as one fought on horseback (Ezek. 38:4, 15; 39:20), using swords and shields (38:4), bows and arrows, and clubs and spears (39:9). This battle happened long ago!
Ezekiel also notes that after this war, the weapons used against Israel would be burned for fuel for seven years (Ezek. 39:9)—which implies they are made of wood. But modern weapons are made of metal—not wood—and cannot be burned for fuel.
Moreover, Ezekiel said the reason for this battle was to plunder Israel’s cattle and gold: “Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?” (Ezek. 38:13). Now ask yourself a question: Is modern day Russia (and friends) really going to go to war with Israel and carry away her cattle and gold? Obviously not. This battle happened long ago!
Had Ezekiel wanted to describe a modern-day battle involving jet planes, helicopters, and missiles, he would not have described a battle with horses, bows, and arrows. Rather, Ezekiel would have used descriptions similar to the ones he used to describe God’s throne room, such as glowing metal (Ezek. 1:4, 27, NIV), creatures that sparkle like burnished bronze (v. 7), the color of awesome crystal (v. 22), gleaming like flashes of lightning (vv. 13–14), burning coals of fire (v. 13), wheels within wheels flying in unison and making abrupt turns (vv. 19–21), as loud as the roar of rushing waters (v. 24).
The Last Days
Another reason we can be confident the battle of Gog and Magog happened long ago is because Ezekiel said it would happen “in the latter days” (Ezek. 38:16-18). And when were the “latter days,” the “last days”? In the first century, during the time of Jesus and the apostles. Here are some passages proving this:
AD 57: “Now all these things happened to them [the Israelites in Moses’ day] as examples, and they were written for our admonition [Christians in the first century], upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11).
AD 62: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son [Jesus]” (Heb. 1:1–2).
AD 62: “But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26).
AD 63: “[Jesus] was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:20).
AD 64: “The end of all things is near” (1 Pet. 4:7).
Can there be any doubt that Jesus and the apostles were living in the “last days” / “the end”? In fact, by the time the later New Testament epistles were written, it was no longer even the “last days.” By this time, it was “the last hour of the last day”:
AD 65: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18, italics mine). Note: antichrists were people in the first century who denied Jesus was the Messiah (1 John 2:22-23, 4:2-3; 2 John 7).
As these passages show, the “last days” were in the first century. And what do the “last days” refer to? Contrary to church culture, the “last days” does not refer to the last days of planet earth. Rather, it refers to the last days of the Old Covenant age, which ended in the first century. In fact, the writer of Hebrews said in around AD 60 that the Old Covenant age was about to vanish away:
AD 62: “In that He [God] says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first [covenant] obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13).
The “last days” refers to the last days of the Old Covenant age, which were in the first century. So this is when the Battle of Gog and Magog must have happened too, per Ezekiel.
The New Covenant
Another reason we can be sure the Battle of Gog and Magog happened in the first century is because Ezekiel said it would happen in approximately the same time period that God established the New Covenant. Ezekiel said God would “make a covenant of peace with them [Israel]; it will be an everlasting covenant” (Ezek. 37:26). This refers to the New Covenant, which was established in the first century:
“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will…” (Heb. 13:20-21; see also Heb. 8:13).
The Outpouring of the Spirit
Ezekiel also said the battle of Gog and Magog would happen in the same time period that God poured out his Spirit on his people. “And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God” (Ezek. 39:29).
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness” (Ezek. 36:26-29).
While there may have been a near-term fulfillment of parts of this prophecy when Israel returned to their land after the Babylonian Captivity, the ultimate fulfillment happened in the first century. We can be confident of this because of what Peter said on Pentecost:
“This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:16-18).
God poured out his Spirit in the first century. Therefore, this is when the battle of Gog and Magog must have happened too, per Ezekiel.
Salvation
Ezekiel also said the battle of Gog and Magog would happen when God saved his people from their sins:
“I [God] will give you [Israel] a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness” (Ezek. 36:26-29).
Jesus brought salvation in the first century!
The Identity of Gog and Magog
Since the battle of Gog and Magog happened in the first century, who was Gog and Magog? Answer: Fleshly Israel. These were the people who tried to destroy the Christian church, which the writer of Hebrews calls the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22-24).
By the first century, Israel was a melting pot of nations. There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). And many of these Jews—fleshly Israel—opposed Jesus and the church and tried to destroy them:
“Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ” (Acts 4:26).
Fleshly Israel (Gog and Magog) attacked the city of God (the church). However, God saved the church by destroying fleshly Israel. In fact, according to the first century historian Josephus, 1.1 million Jews were killed, and another 97,000 were taken into slavery. The physical city of Jerusalem and temple were laid waste. This was the destruction of Gog and Magog.