God addresses "Gog" in Ezekiel 38 and 39 with respect to Israel's return to the Land of Israel at the end of this current age.
Careful study of Ezekiel's vision and other related Scriptures are necessary in order to identify Gog and his involvement over a very broad time frame.
This includes his connection to both the spirit world, human kings, and the human organizations contained within the dominions of the human kings.
There are some identifiers and other links to be considered which will lead to the realization that Gog is not human.
This entity has angelic characteristics which can be determined by studying the identifiers and the links.
Gog is identified by other Biblical prophets as being connected with different human rulers, in different geographical areas, at different times, over periods which exceed the limitations of human life span. [Ezekiel 38:17]
God's angelic creatures do not age and are the same as they were at their creation. This angelic trait allows for perpetual involvement over vast time periods. [Ezekiel 28:11-19] [Revelation 20:1-3]
God notes that Gog is a subject of many of the prophets, yet he is referred to as "Gog" in only one other place in Scripture in the Book of Revelation. This must mean that he is identified by different profiles. [Ezekiel 38:17]
All other references refer to him or his agents by some other name or title. For example, Daniel sees the prince that is to come (Abaddon) and the little horn (human king). Both of these entities will be empowered and directed by Satan.
Gog is described as the chief prince, in this case, of Mesheck and Tubal. The term "prince" is usually applied to an angelic ruler who rules over, influences, and operates through human kings (horns). [Ezekiel 38:2]
The term "chief prince" indicates that this prince is the ruler or leader of others of the same kind. I do not believe the Hebrew word "rosh" used for chief is in reference to Russia as some teach, but should be translated as chief or head prince.
The title of "prince" is revealed to Daniel in describing angelic activity related to the archangel Michael's battle against the opposing forces of the princes of Persia and of Grecia. [Daniel 10:13-20]
The title of prince is used by God when addressing the human king of Tyre. The message goes beyond the king to another entity who apparently has interaction and control over the king. [Ezekiel 28:11-19]
Isaiah contains references addressed to the prince of Babylon and to Lucifer. These are descriptions of Satan's existence as an angelic being and his connection with humanity. [Isaiah 14:12-17]
Another prince that "shall come" will be revealed at the end of this age during Israel's 70th week. Daniel contrasts this entity with Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince that was "cut off". [Daniel 9:26-27]
This prince will stand against (oppose) the Prince of Princes, who is Jesus. The result of the conflict will be the destruction of this prince (first beast of Revelation) in the lake of fire at Armageddon. [Revelation 19:20]
Other references to Satan and his agents in the visions of the prophets include the Assyrian, prince of Persia, prince of Grecia, king of the abyss, the destroyer, man of lawless, and son of perdition.
Satan plays the role of "chief prince" when his angelic agents are functional. He is the power behind them as they do his bidding in relation to the influence and control of human kings and their dominions. [Ezekiel 38:2]
I believe that Abaddon is Satan's (Gog's) agent for all seven heads (human dominions) as they are defined in Revelation 13 and 17. He is the beast from the abyss.
It is clearly stated that "the beast (Abaddon) has seven heads". Five have fallen (are historical) and the other two will exist in sequence during the 70th week. [Revelation 17:7-13]
Abaddon's connection with the seven human king "positions" is limited to influence and control. He is "of the seven" and is connected with all of them.
This limitation will change when God allows him to become the eighth king himself by an actual incarnation. This is the "lie" and strong delusion that God will send.
It will occur during the little horn's rule in the seventh king position. "Of the seven" can also be translated "of the seventh" which more specifically describes Abaddon's connection with the little horn. [Revelation 17:11]
He will then become the 8th king himself. This manifestation will be exceptionally unique to humans who experience his presence. [2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
The little horn will expand his sixth Middle Eastern dominion toward the south, the east, and toward Israel by forming alliances and by conquest. [Daniel 8:9]
He will be occupying the seventh king position of the seventh dominion when Abaddon becomes the eighth king himself by incarnating the little horn. [Revelation 17:11]
Abaddon will rule directly as king over most of the Middle East for a 42 month period (1,260 days) which will occur during the last half of the 70th week. [Daniel 11:36-44]
He will be destroyed by God in the lake of fire at the end of the next 30 day period, and Satan will be sent to the abyss for 1,000 years. [Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3]
Revelation 20 records Satan's future release after the 1,000 years and his attempt to deceive the nations once more.
He is referred to as Gog again, and all of the nations involved are referred to symbolically as Magog. [Revelation 20:7-10]
God addresses Satan as Gog in Ezekiel and Revelation because of his early connections with the inhabitants of the Land of Magog shortly after the flood.
The focus of Bible prophecy presents the view of Satan's activities, specifically in the northern regions of the Middle East. [Ezekiel 38:15]
I believe this is because of the area's position in relation to Eden, Mount Ararat, and its northern interface with the Land of Israel.
The larger land areas of the early habitations of humans in the Middle East shortly after the flood are described in the Bible as the Land of Egypt, the Land of Canaan, the Land of Magog, and the Land of Shinar.
These lands formed a crescent shape from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf starting with the Land of Egypt and ending with the Land of Shinar in clockwise order.
The Land of Israel was developed later which replaced part of the Land of Canaan on the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean.
The area of the ancient Land of Magog today would include northeastern Syria, eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northwestern Iran, and possibly Armenia and Georgia.
It is currently inhabited by a mixed group of original ethnic tribal ancestry plus genetic lineage from the other land areas of the Middle East.
Members of Magog's descendants have also migrated to other parts of the earth over a long period of time.
The current populations located in the ancient Land of Magog are mainly Turkoman, Assyrian, Kurdish, Iranian (Medes and Persians), and Arab.
The predominant religion is Islam. This common theology may have significance with regard to end time events.
The core of the area in view is northeastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran. This area is in a state of change as a result of the USA invading Iraq.
This is most likely where Satan's antichrist (Abaddon incarnated in the little horn) will arise to power in the Middle East at the time of the end.
Why does God addressed Satan as Gog, connect him with the Land of Magog, and identify him as the chief prince of Mesheck and Tubal?
Why does God call him out of his place in the north to attack a regathered Israel in the Land of Israel at the end of this age?
God has allowed Satan to rule over this northern geographical area, from shortly after the flood and continuously through Greek rule.
The visions of the prophets indicate his presence in the same geographical area at the time of the end.
Included are the original Land of Magog, the Akkadian/Assyrian Empire, and the subsequent empires of neo-Babylon, Persia, and Grecia.
All of these human dominions were centered in the ancient Middle East with connections to the northern area of the Fertile Crescent. This same area will be Satan's base of operation at the time of the end.
He will come from his place out of the north, the ancient area of the Land of Magog, with the objective of seizing control of the Middle East and destroying the nation of Israel.
Satan's strategy for this event will include Abaddon, the false prophet who appears in the Land of Israel, and the little horn who will become the human manifestation of Abaddon.
The little horn will emerge from the same area as "king of the north" and he will expand his rule to include much of the Middle East.
He is seen as coming out of the northern division of Alexander's divided empire at the time of the end. He will then expand his control over most of the Middle East.[Daniel 8:9-12, 8:23-25]
One important identifier will be the location of his original base of operation at the time of the end, and not necessarily his ethnic origin.
He does not have to be a direct descendant of Magog, although this is a possibility, but he must appear in the area of the ancient Land of Magog.
Satan is the "chief prince", as indicated in one of his former relationships with the trading centers of Mesheck and Tubal. Magog's younger brothers were the founders of these two early prominent commercial centers of trade. [Ezekiel 27:13, 38:2]
Abaddon is the angelic "prince" who carries out Satan's bidding, and the little horn is the human ruler who will be incarnated by Abaddon at the time of the end. [Revelation 17:8-11]
A very important truth is revealed from these identifiers. Satan will attempt to mimic the relationship that God has with Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God and also the Son of Man. He is both God and human.
Satan aspires to replace God and will offer Abaddon as his christ (antichrist) who will appear to humans as being both a god and human. [2Thessalonians 2:3-12]
Abaddon's power as a fallen angel will be far greater than any ordinary human. His willingness and ability to destroy will not be matched. He will astonish humans who see him and they will believe his claim to be a god. [Daniel 8:23-25] [Revelation 13:2-8]
God addresses Satan as Gog in Ezekiel and Satan is called Gog in Revelation. The ancient Land of Magog in the Middle East has been and will be Satan's point of origin on the earth at the time of the end.
haven't had time to do this post justice, but wanted to add a quick note:
notice that in Revelation 20 Gog and Magog comes after the Millenial reign and is followed by the Heavenly Jerusalem that has no Temple.
while in Ezekiel Gog and Magog is followed by the final Jewish Temple.
this alone is enough to suggest that Gog and Magog in Revelation is a symbol rather than to be taken literally since it totally contradicts the eschatology of Ezekiel.
Gog and Magog is a symbol in my opinion for the general deterioration of the world at the end of the Church Age. it is happening right now.
some say it is associated with Zionist Israel and the New World Order.
obama's name was found encoded in Ezekiel 39 that speaks about Gog as Head of Tuval. obama's handler is Rahm Emanuel, an Israeli Zionist militant.
draw your own conclusions.
Gog and Magog =
1. wall street banksters robbing us of our jobs and life savings.
2. judeocon warmongers baiting america into wars for zionist israel.
3. hollywood perversion and pseudo liberalism
Many people have different views of all this, but I think your post is interesting. :thumbsup:
It's interesting to me that the family has chosen to call themselves 'Emanuel" which, as we know, means God with us. What did they have in mind when they changed their name?
Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents.[4] His father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, a Jerusalem-born pediatrician, was a member of the Irgun, a militant Zionist group that operated in the British mandate of Palestine between 1931 and 1948.[5][6] His mother, Marsha Smulevitz, was the daughter of a Chicago union organizer.[1] She worked in the civil rights movement and owned, briefly, a local rock and roll club.[5] She is now a psychiatric social worker.[5] The two met in Chicago in the 1950s.[1] Emanuel's older brother Ezekiel J. Emanuel is an oncologist and bioethicist, and his brother Ari Emanuel a Hollywood talent agent.[7] He has an adopted sister, Shoshanna, 14 years his junior.[5][7]
Emanuel's first name, Rahm (רם) means high or lofty in Hebrew, and is the namesake of one Rahamim (surname unknown), which means mercy in Hebrew. ref name="Kuttler"/>[8] The surname Emanuel (עמנואל), adopted by the family in honor of his father's brother Emanuel Auerbach, killed by Arabs in Jerusalem, means God is with us. Sources conflict as to whether the family changed its name from Auerbach in 1933 or 1938.[
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel
What if?....it encompasses the WHOLE EARTH!!
what if there are seven 'princes' over the seven continents! and the eighth is the NWO?
what if these seven that control 'the prince of this world's government' have many others under them...that oversee individual nations?
what if? in one scripture there is a temple and in one there isn't....is because one will be taken and one will be left behind?
two men asleep in a bed..one will be taken and the other left behind, two women working the hand mill, one will be taken and one will be left behind
just pondering some 'what if's'
Sheila
interesting to note is that GW Bush's nickname with his skulls & bones cronies is "Magog"
Quote from: Yeshua-Song on December 10, 2009, 10:03:52 PM
haven't had time to do this post justice, but wanted to add a quick note:
notice that in Revelation 20 Gog and Magog comes after the Millenial reign and is followed by the Heavenly Jerusalem that has no Temple.
while in Ezekiel Gog and Magog is followed by the final Jewish Temple.
this alone is enough to suggest that Gog and Magog in Revelation is a symbol rather than to be taken literally since it totally contradicts the eschatology of Ezekiel.
Gog and Magog is a symbol in my opinion for the general deterioration of the world at the end of the Church Age.
Ezekiel's prophecy of the invasion of Gog and Magog is briefly interpreted by John in Rev. 20:8-9, where they are identified as people of all parts of the world, who compass the saints about. John says that these invaders are deceived by Satan, so that would identify Gog as Satan. This prophecy applies to the entire history of Christendom since the first century.
Ezekiel said they are armed with bucklers, spears, bows and arrows, and swords, which are weapons that are obsolete in modern times, but the scriptures explain these symbols.
Psalm 64:3
Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:See also Eph. 6:11-17 which describes the armour of a Christian, and also this passage describes the warfare that Christians are involved in.
Eph. 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.This scripture is relevant to understanding Ezek. 38-39.
Notice that the hordes of Gog and Magog come against the mountains of Israel [Ezek. 38:8] which I suggest represent the promises of God to the saints, as mountains were the most prominent parts of the promised land, the territory promised to Abraham and his seed, and so are symbolic of the major covenants and revelations of God in scripture. The hordes of Gog and Magog misinterpret the scriptures, and claim the promises for themselves, or apply them to unbelieving Jews, and try to dominate the saints. Probably, the leaders of most denominations would fit this.
These are people who seek material things, such as silver and gold, and desire to "take a spoil." [Ezek. 38:13] This is called "an evil thought" in verse 10.
They all ride horses, verse 15. Horses represent people with no understanding, Psa. 32:9. And this certainly fits much of Christendom, does it not?
And the armies of Gog and Magog come against the prophets of Israel.
Ezek. 38:17
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?No military invasion would fulfill this, as the prophets of Israel are Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zechariah, etc. And the prophets are said to be the church's foundation, along with the apostles. The invaders assault the prophets by misinterpreting them. The dispensationalists and preterists of our time would fulfill this. They apply the prophecies intended for the church to Jews, either in a future 7 year tribulation, or in the first century!
And Ezekiel says they fight each other; "every man's sword shall be against his brother." [Ezek. 38:21] This certainly fits the dispensationalists and preterists, and the "swords" that they use to fight against each other are their interpretations of the scriptures.
Quote from: Yeshua-Song on December 10, 2009, 10:03:52 PM
it is happening right now.
Yes indeed, the saints have been compassed about by the hordes of Gog and Magog during most of the church's history! The burning of their weapons, their bitter words, provides us with fuel. [Ezek. 39:10]
And we are still burying corpses of slain heresies, like that of Hymenaeus and Philetus. [2 Tim. 2:17-18] Their stench "stops the noses of the passengers." [Ezek. 39:11]
Doug
Rev 21;22
And I DID NOT SEE a temple in the city,BECAUSE....
The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and the LAMB.....
ARE IT'S TEMPLE!!!
REV 12;19 THEN GOD'S TEMPLE[BODY] IN HEAVEN WAS
OPENED, AND
WITHIN HIS TEMPLE......WAS SEEN
THE ARK OF HIS COVENANT
[the WORD OF GOD, BREAD OF LIFE FROM HEAVEN
WAS KEPT IN THE ARK.]..the true word of God...
nOTE ALSO...
THE ARK WAS CARRIED INTO WAR....THIS IS A SPIRITUAL WARFARE AGAINST THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS...
SEVEN ANGELIC TRUMPETS PROCLAIM TRUE WORDS AND
JUDGEMENTS OF GOD....GOD GOES TO WAR FROM HEAVEN
AGAINST THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS IN BEHALF OF THE
KINGDOM OF LIGHT
THE TRUE HEAVENLY ARK IS REALLY A CHARIOT CAPABLE OF
MOVING LIKE LIGHTENING ON IT'S OWN[EZEKIEL 1;18-20]
V 12 WHERE EVER THE SPIRIT WOULD GO,THEY WOULD GO
WITHOUT TURNING AS THEY WENT
FIRE MOVED BACK AND FORTH AMONG THE CREATURES, IT
WAS BRIGHT AND LIGHTENING FLASHED OUT OF IT
CH 6 A PROPHECY AGAINST THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL
THIS IS WHAT THE SOVEREIGN LORD SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS AND HILLS, TO THE RAVINES AND VALLEYS
I AM ABOUT TO BRING A SWORD AGAINST YOU
I WILL DESTROY YOUR HIGH PLACES
CH 7 THE END HAS COME
CH 8 IDOLATRY IN THE TEMPLE
CH 9 IDOLATERS KILLED
CH 10 THE GLORY DEPARTS FROM THE TEMPLE
CH 11 JUDGEMENT ON ISRAEL'S LEADERS......
..
PROMISED RETURN OF ISRAEL
CH 36 A PROPHECY TO THE MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL
V8 BUT YOU O'MOUNTAINS OF ISRAEL WILL PRODUCE
BRANCHES AND FRUIT FOR MY PEOPLE ISRAEL
FOR THEY WILL SOON COME HOME
CH 37 THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES
CH 38 A PROPHECY AGAINST GOG
CH 40 A NEW TEMPLE AREA
CH 42 ROOMS FOR THE PREISTS
CH 43 THE GLORY RETURNS TO THE TEMPLE
CH 45 DIVISIONS OF THE LAND
CH 47 THE RIVER FROM THE TEMPLE
CH 48;30 THE GATES OF THE CITY
V 35 AND THE NAME OF THE CITY FROM THAT TIME ON WILL
BE 'THE LORD IS THERE'[RV 21;22]