Introduction

Ezekiel 39 details the first of the three "Gog and Magog" wars. In this war, the Antichrist leads the Beast army into an attack on the New Israel at the start of the Millennial Reign in May 2027 (this battle is also mentioned in Rev 19:17-21, 14:14-20).

Discussion

1. The chiastic design of Ezekiel 39

We will use the NIV translation for this commentary. We have retranslated parts of the text.

2. A Commentary on Ezekiel 39

1a “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say:

This prophecy predicts the defeat of Gog and his army Magog when they attack the New Israel at the start of the Millennial Reign.

Who is Gog? Gog is a title given to the leader ("prince") of Satan's forces around the time of the Millennial Reign. In the case of this prophecy regarding the start of the Millennial Reign, it refers to the Antichrist (see also Rev 19:19-20).

Who is Magog? The Beast army of Rev 13 is the Magog of this war and it is called Magog because it is led and dominated by the Chinese. Magog originally referred to the Mongols who had occupied parts of China - southern China was called Mangi, and both Mongol and Mangi are apparently derived from Magog (Magog can refer to the land or the people). The Chinese, who are the descendants of Meshek and Tubal (and some of the other patriarchs listed in Genesis 10:2-5), inherited the Magog name when they took over this region. ( Note that in a similar way, the Greeks were called Javans and parts Greece were called Kittim, where both Javan and Kittim are the names of Chinese tribes that originally occupied Greece - see Dan 11:2,30, Ezekiel 27:13 in Hebrew.) Satan has set up China/"Magog" to be the world power of this time before the start of the Millennial Reign - China is the 7th king and the leading power of the 8th king, the Beast of Rev 17:10-11.

The attacks on Israel by Gog and Magog - Satan's physical army at the time of the Millennial Reign - are predicted to occur in 3 distinct periods and at 3 different locations:

• At the start of the Millennial Reign, in the mountains outside the New Israel (Eze. 39, Rev 19:17-21, 14:14-20) (May 2027).
• Some time during the early Millennial Reign, in the New Israel (Eze. 38).
• At the end of the Millennial Reign, at the New Jerusalem (Rev 20:7-9,16:14-16) (c. 2967AD).

Note that all three "Gog and Magog" wars occur on the "mountains of Israel", but "mountains" refers to a different aspect of the new Israel in each case. In all three battles, "Magog" refers to an international alliance led by the Chinese, but Gog will be a different person in each battle.

1b ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, the prince leading Meshek and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the sides of the north and send you against the mountains of Israel.

God will incite the Antichrist ("Gog") and the army of the Beast alliance (led by China/"Magog"/"Meshek and Tubal") into attacking the New Israel through its northern mountains from the north east ("sides of the north").

3 I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.

God will supernaturally defeat and destroy Magog on the mountains at the borders of the New Israel (the "bows" and "arrows" represent modern weaponry) (see Rev 19:17-21, 14:14-20). We believe that this great defeat will take place on a highway (the "way of travellers" - vs 11) that goes through a mountain pass ("valley" - vs 11) at the borders of the New Israel ("outside the city" - Rev 14:20) in May 2027 (see parse of Dan 12 [1]). This large enemy army will be killed in a short time, and so the bodies will lie out in the open, dishonourably unburied for a time, along a distance of 180 miles on this highway (Rev 14:20) - they will literally be carrion "in the open field"

We propose that this "highway of death" is the strategically important Karakoram highway between China and Kashmir, that runs along the great Indus River for a significant distance ("along the River" in vs 11 below) (the Indus can be considered to be in the same league as the Euphrates and the Nile, because it hosted one of the earliest great civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilisation, 3300-1300 BC). This storied highway, that traces a part of the ancient Silk Road, cuts across the Karakoram mountains at the Khunjerab pass; astoundingly, Khunjerab, in the local language, means "Stream of Blood" (see Rev. 14:20). The pass has an elevation of around 15,000ft, and so it is snowbound and closed to heavy vehicles from December to April.

6a I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands.

The wicked who remain behind in "Magog", those responsible for sending the army, and those in the other nations ("coastlands") that contributed to this assault in any way will also be destroyed by the figurative "fire" of punishment from God (see Rev 19:21, Isaiah 15:8,9, Isaiah 25:10-12).

6b Then they will know that I am the Lord. 7 I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.

With this victory, it will be clear to the Israelites and those of other nations of the world that the God of Israel is a powerful God. God will rule the earth from this time and so His name will no longer be profaned as it had been done during Satan's reign. This victory over Satan, that marks the beginning of Christ's reign over the earth, is predicted in many prophecies (see for ex. Isaiah 14).

9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and carry away the weapons and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.

The people of the towns around this highway will scavenge from the Beast army's abandoned weapons and vehicles - the weapons of ancient war as listed in vs 9 represent modern military equipment. For 7 years, they will use the combustible parts of the equipment and the fuel in the vehicles to make fires (see also Isaiah 9:5). This is the humiliating end of this mighty army that had ruled the world and had plundered and looted the Israelites.

11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel along the River. It will cover the noses of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.

Gog, the Antichrist, and the soldiers of Magog, the Beast army, will be buried in a mass burial site in a mountain pass ("valley") (see also Isaiah 14:18-20). The people travelling on the highway that goes through this pass and also runs along a great river, will have to cover their noses from the stench of rotting corpses in this initially open burial site. The pass will be renamed "The valley of Hamon Gog", where "Hamon Gog" means "the Multitudes of Gog".

12 “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 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.
“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. 15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, 16 near a town called Hamonah. And so they will cleanse the land.’

After this mass death of the soldiers of the Beast army in May 2027, on account of the large number of bodies, all the people of that region will take part in the burial, not only the grave diggers (see also Rev 14:20). They will try to complete this burial in the 7 months that the pass is open (the pass is snowbound from around December to April). The Israelites will always remember this time (a "memorable day") when God miraculously destroyed the mighty Magog army that came against them.

In the 7 years after that, any remaining bodies will be marked, so that the professional gravediggers can find them. It is common in these snowy, remote, high altitude parts to find a body long after the person has died, even in times of peace. The pass will be renamed "The valley of Hamon Gog" and a nearby town will be renamed "Hamonah" (see vs 16) - both "Hamon" and "Hamonah" (the feminine) mean "multitudes".

This dwelling on grisly details serves to accentuate the ignominious death of Satan's people; it serves to warn against Satan worship and it represents the humiliation and torment that Satan's people must endure in the Lake of Fire in the spiritual realm. Note that the number "7" is repeated 3 times in this chapter (vs 9,12,14), probably to signify the complete end of Satan's power on earth.

17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.

Other nations of the world ("birds and wild animals") are invited to participate in this plunder of the wealthy ("fattened animals" of the kind Bashan was known for) of the Beast Empire ("eat the flesh..." represents the plunder of the empire) (cf. Rev 19:17,18). Based on the corresponding subunit B2 below, we believe the "birds" and "wild animals" in this subunit are the nations that are controlled by fallen angels (as in Dan 7 and Isaiah 11:6,7) (note however that the carrion creatures of vs 4 above are literal birds and animals).

Satan and his demons demand human blood sacrifices from their worshippers (the "murderers" of Rev 22:15) in exchange for wealth, power and fame; millions have been tortured and killed in ritual human sacrifices and also in mass sacrifices through manufactured wars, famines, pestilences etc.. This plunder is presented as a blood sacrifice of Satan's forces to indicate that this is a part of God's punishment for this evil (cf. Isaiah 34:6-7).

19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.

Israel will plunder the Beast Empire ("eat fat, horses and riders..." represents the plunder of the empire) and will become extraordinarily wealthy ("glutted", "drunk", "eat your fill") - note that Israel, God's nation, is a "human" nation that eats at a table, while the "beast" nations eat at the mountains. Satan's empires had previously plundered the Israelites and impoverished them, and this injustice is corrected at this time (see also Jer. 30:16,17).

21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them.

By miraculously defeating this mighty army, God displays his power and his righteous anger against Satan's forces to the people of the earth, and so the nations of the earth will acknowledge and worship the God of Israel (see also Ezekiel 38:23).

22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.

The nations of the earth will learn lessons from the history of Israel: the Israelites were punished with exile, tribulation and spiritual blindness for their unfaithfulness until this time of the start of the Millennial Reign (see Deuteronomy 31:17,18, Isaiah 29:9-10).

25 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 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. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

God will reunite the scattered Israelites into the New Israel, restore their fortunes and protect them. They will once again turn back to their God, and remain faithful to Him throughout the Millennial Reign (see Isaiah 60:4-5, Romans 11:26, Isaiah 29:22-24...).

References