sis K-D Greetings in Jesus' Name by Whose Blood we are Saved.AMEN.
this in many ways is a departure from the topic of the thread for a moment. Sis K.D. you mentioned Gog and Magog in Ezekiel and connected that with the Gog and Magog war at the end of the Millenial Reign as though they are the same conflict but a close examination of them reveals that they are 2 different conflicts which occur i believe on either end of the Millenium.
That Jesus will Rule with a Rod of Iron speaks not only of stricts adherence to the Law but also punishment for not following it but probably more than anything, it lets us know that man is hellbent on defying God by nature, so much so that even though Jesus lives on earth with us once more, at the end of that Millenial Period, men will still rise up against Him and His Followers in great numbers. That the enemy is not there to tempt anyone and yet men continue in defiance to some degree lets us know the depth of our depravity.
if we examine the circumstances preceding each conflict, we find that they are different altogether. in Ezekiel 38:
[b][color=0033FF]1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: 2 `Son of man, set thy face unto Gog, of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy concerning him, 3 and thou hast said: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, [/color][/b][u][b][color=0033FF]4 And I have turned thee back, And I have put hooks in thy jaws, And have brought thee out, and all thy force, Horses and horsemen, Clothed in perfection all of them, A numerous assembly, [with] buckler and shield, [/color][/b][/u]
in the underlined we see that it is God who has brought them out. contrast that with Revelation 20 which reads as follows concerning the forces which beseige Jerusalem:
[b][color=0033FF]7 And when the thousand years may be finished, the Adversary shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 and he shall go forth to lead the nations astray, that are in the four corners of the earth -- Gog and Magog -- to gather them together to war, of whom the number [is] as the sand of the sea;[/color][/b]
so here we have the enemy being the one to gather the force together, not only that but the coalition i believe is a much broader one than the one mentioned in Ezekiel 38:
[b][color=0033FF]Handling swords -- all of them. 5 Persia, Cush, and Phut, with them, All of them [with] shield and helmet. 6 Gomer and all its bands, The house of Togarmah of the sides of the north, And all its bands, many peoples with thee,[/color][/b]
this seems to be a more pointed coalition of Arabs mainly who inhabit lands close to Israel, not only that but i believe these are largly Muslims. Some are nations in northern Africa such as the Sudan, Lybia, Algeria out to Tunisia.
also the situation preceding each war is different: in Ezekiel it is as Follows:
[b][color=0033FF] 7 Be prepared, yea, prepare for thee, Thou and all thine assemblies who are assembled unto thee, And thou hast been to them for a guard. 8 After many days thou art appointed, In the latter end of the years thou comest in unto a land brought back from sword, [A people] gathered out of many peoples, Upon mountains of Israel, That have been for a perpetual waste, And it from the peoples hath been brought out, And dwelt safely have all of them. 9 And thou hast gone up -- as wasting thou comest in, As a cloud to cover the land art thou, Thou and all thy bands, and many peoples with thee.[/color][/b]
This Gathering is fulfilled in Ezekiel 36 and is of a kind which no man will be able to deny as being the handiwork of God for Israel will have David to rule over her, that is coming to Salvation in Jesus first and then being Ruled by this King who is discussed more in the later chapters and is quite interesting to read by the way!in this period there are sacrifices offered and the land is divided up and all kinds of interesting things, it is a situation which has yet to be fulfilled at present.
Now in the Revelation conflict, Gog and Magog 2, the situation is a bit different:
[b][color=0033FF]4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, and the souls of those who have been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God, and who did not bow before the beast, nor his image, and did not receive the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand, and they did live and reign with Christ the thousand years; 5 and the rest of the dead did not live again till the thousand years may be finished; this [is] the first rising again. 6 Happy and holy [is] he who is having part in the first rising again; over these the second death hath not authority, but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.[/color][/b]
however, it is the outcome of each conflict which is interesting. Gog and Magog 1 ends like this:
from Ezekiel 38:
[b][color=0033FF]21 And I have called against him, to all My mountains a sword, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, The sword of each is against his brother. 22 And I have been judged with him, With pestilence and with blood, And an overflowing rain and hailstones, Fire and brimstone I rain on him, and on his bands, And on many peoples who [are] with him. 23 And I have magnified Myself, and sanctified Myself, And I have been known before the eyes of many nations, And they have known that I [am] Jehovah![/color][/b]
and 39:
[b][color=0033FF]1 And thou, son of man, prophesy concerning Gog, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, 2 And have turned thee back, and enticed thee, And caused thee to come up from the sides of the north, And brought thee in against mountains of Israel, 3 And have smitten thy bow out of thy left hand, Yea, thine arrows out of thy right I cause to fall. 4 On mountains of Israel thou fallest, Thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples who [are] with thee, [/color][/b][u][b][color=0033FF]To ravenous fowl -- a bird of every wing, And [to] a beast of the field, I have given thee for food. 5 On the face of the field thou fallest, for I have spoken, [/color][/b][/u]
the KJV makes mention of 5 sixths of this horde being wiped out by various plagues and the sixth part remaining. i'm using the ylt.
39 goes on:
[b][color=0033FF]8 Lo, it hath come, and it hath been done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, It [is] the day of which I spake. 9 And gone out have the inhabitants of cities of Israel, And they have burned and kindled [a fire], With armour, and shield, and buckler, With bow, and with arrows, And with hand-staves, and with javelins, And they have caused a fire to burn with them seven years, 10 And they do not take wood out of the field, Nor do they hew out of the forests, For with armour they cause the fire to burn, And they have spoiled their spoilers, And they have plundered their plunderers, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 11 And it hath come to pass, in that day, I give to Gog a place there -- a grave in Israel, the valley of those passing by, east of the sea, and it is stopping those passing by, and they have buried there Gog, and all his multitude, and have cried, O valley of the multitude of Gog! 12 And the house of Israel have buried them -- in order to cleanse the land -- seven months. 13 Yea, all the people of the land have buried them, and it hath been to them for a name -- the day of My being honoured -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 14 And men for continual employment they separate, passing on through the land, burying with those passing by those who are left on the face of the earth, to cleanse it: at the end of seven months they search. 15 And those passing by have passed through the land, and seen a bone of man, and one hath constructed near it a sign till those burying have buried it in the valley of the multitude of Gog. 16 And also the name of the city [is] The multitude; and they have cleansed the land. 17 And thou, son of man, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Say to the bird -- every wing, and to every beast of the field: Be assembled and come in, Be gathered from round about, For My sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrifice on mountains of Israel, And ye have eaten flesh, and drunk blood. 18 Flesh of the mighty ye do eat, And blood of princes of the earth ye drink, Of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, Of calves, fatlings of Bashan -- all of them. 19 And ye have eaten fat to satiety, And ye have drunk blood -- to drunkenness, Of My sacrifice that I sacrificed for you. 20 And ye have been satisfied at My table with horse and rider, Mighty man, and every man of war, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 21 And I have given My honour among nations, And seen have all the nations My Judgment that I have done, And My hand that I have laid on them. 22 And known have the house of Israel that I [am] Jehovah their God, From that day and henceforth. [/color][/b]
however Revelation 20 says:
[b][color=0033FF]7 And when the thousand years may be finished, the Adversary shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 and he shall go forth to lead the nations astray, that are in the four corners of the earth -- Gog and Magog -- to gather them together to war, of whom the number [is] as the sand of the sea; 9 and they did go up over the breadth of the land, and did surround the camp of the saints, and the beloved city, and there came down fire from God out of the heaven, and devoured them; 10 and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages.[/color][/b]
there is only 1 way in which God deals with Gog and MAgog here, fire...not only fire but a fire which devours them completey so nothing is left to clean up and thereafter the devil is cast into the lake of fire after which John sees this in Rev 21:
[b][color=0033FF]1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth did pass away, and the sea is not any more; 2 and I, John, saw the holy city -- new Jerusalem -- coming down from God out of the heaven, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband; 3 and I heard a great voice out of the heaven, saying, `Lo, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be with them -- their God, 4 and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the death shall not be any more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain, because the first things did go away.[/color][/b]
there is no mention of this momentous occurrence in Ezekiel but if we read on in Ezekiel we see something of the life as it will be in those days for Israel, the temple, the Prince Ruling etc. however John saw something different:
[b][color=0033FF]9 And there came unto me one of the seven messengers, who have the seven vials that are full of the seven last plagues, and he spake with me, saying, `Come, I will shew thee the bride of the Lamb -- the wife,' 10 and he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and did shew to me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, and her light [is] like a stone most precious, as a jasper stone clear as crystal, 12 having also a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve messengers, and names written thereon, which are [those] of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel, 13 at the east three gates, at the north three gates, at the south three gates, at the west three gates; 14 and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who is speaking with me had a golden reed, that he may measure the city, and its gates, and its wall; 16 and the city lieth square, and the length of it is as great as the breadth; and he did measure the city with the reed -- furlongs twelve thousand; the length, and the breadth, and the height, of it are equal; 17 and he measured its wall, an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, that is, of the messenger; 18 and the building of its wall was jasper, and the city [is] pure gold -- like to pure glass; 19 and the foundations of the wall of the city with every precious stone have been adorned; the first foundation jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls, each several one of the gates was of one pearl; and the broad-place of the city [is] pure gold -- as transparent glass.[/color][/b][u][b][color=0033FF]22 And a sanctuary I did not see in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is its sanctuary, and the Lamb, [/color][/b][/u]
that is different to the description of Jerusalem as it is after Gog and Magog in terms of dimensions, and most strikingly i believe, there is no temple in this Jerusalem yet there is one after Gog and Magog 1.
So then Gog and Magog 1 is a separate conflict to the one in Revelation 20. it has been suggested that this may be the battle for Jerusalem for which the enemy will gather his forces at Armageddon. This may well be so since there is a cry by the angel of God for the beasts and birds of the air to come and feast on the flesh and blood of men. however these are slayed by the Sword which proceeds from the Mouth of Christ rather than plagues mentioned in Ezekiel. Then again there is a 7 month cleanup after Gog and MAgog 1 which isn't mentioned after Armageddon. Also there is a Ruler in Jerusalem installed in Ezekiel 36, David and if Gog and Magog 1 is viewed as armageddon, there is a point during that king's reign which antichrist defiles the temple...there is no mention of that in Ezekiel but rather that Israel is at peace after being restored. so perhaps it may be that the temple is rebuilt, Jews was to do that now even without being Saved, and after the desecration, Israel may come to Salvation upon being chased out into the world again by antichrist midway through the trib after being misled. Upon finding safty with the Believers in the world they see Jesus and are returned to the land at His Return and He Rules from Jerusalem. This would make Gog and Magog 1 sometime early in the Millenial Reign which doesn't bother me any given that He Rules with a Rod of Iron and the nature of men is to rebel. The Judgment is swift also.
the above is something to consider and something i pray God gives me more clarity on through those He opens these things up to.
you also said:
well, Christ does after the Millenium give all back to God who Rules Forever and Ever but it won't be with a Rod of Iron since those who are in Heaven will be Conformed to His Son's Image!
Grace and Peace are ours in Jesus.AMEN.
