Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Is an Attack on Israel Imminent according Prophecy? Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39

Is an Attack on Israel Imminent according Prophecy? Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39

Last updated on: June 26, 2021 at 9:45 pm by B. J. Oropeza

Is an Attack on Israel Imminent according Prophecy? Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 2021-06-26T21:45:23-07:00 B. J. Oropeza

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The very recent missile exchange between Hamas and Israel has prompted renewed interest in biblical prophecy, as did the pandemic, which I wrote about last year. One popular speaker recently declared that Gog and Magog, prophesied about in Ezekiel 38-39, will attack Israel, whether in this current conflict or another. Who is this ominous force north of Israel, and will this prediction soon come to pass?

Gog and Magog: Past Predictions about Russia

Actually, Gog and Magog predictions are nothing new. A generation ago Ronald Reagan once said at a dinner speech in California that “Biblical scholars have been saying for generations that Gog must be Russia. What other powerful nation is to the north of Israel? None.”[1]

Russia is often named as the prophetic Gog and Magog that will attack Israel and be destroyed by God according to Ezekiel 38-39. Although the Bible never actually says this end-time enemy is Russia, dogmatism runs rampant. In the past, provoking titles such as The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel, by Thomas S. McCall and Zola Levitt, and Russia Will Attack Israel, by Ray Comfort, made the speculation seem like indisputable fact.

Author of the famous Left Behind series, Tim LaHaye, once wrote that “Russia is unquestionably the nation identified in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39.”[2] William Goetz, author of the bestseller Apocalypse Next, claimed that Russia’s attack on Israel “is not a question of if, but when.”[3] Some even ventured to establish exactly “when” this would all take place: 1983 and 1999 were suggested.[4] We can now look back at those dates knowing that no such predictions took place.

After the communist Soviet Union disbanded, things seemed to simmer down. More recently Muslim nations were rumored as Gog and Magog. And now, an alliance with certain Islamic nations and Russia seems to be picking up steam, as a number of searches on the web reveal. Russia has become the enemy once again for many Americans due to hackers sabotaging our pipeline, among other events during the past several years, real or imagined. It seems that almost any nation or group of nations that rises to power and is hostile towards Israel (or America) can become suspect for being identified as, or associated with, Gog and Magog. What is the true identity of Gog and Magog and their cohorts?

Problems with Russia and its Cohorts as Gog and Magog

Let’s first examine why Russia is not Gog and Magog. Ezekiel 38:2 names the main minions of Gog and Magog as Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. These do not stand for Russia and two of its cities.

First, Rosh does not mean Russia. It is not an older form of the word Russia. Rather, the term stands for “chief” or “prince” in Hebrew. Russia is derived from the term Rus, a word originating with the Middle Age Vikings from the northern Black Sea. It originally meant “seafarers” or “rowing.”

Second, Meshech and Tubal are not Russian cities. They are often falsely identified with the cities of Moscow and Tobolsk. Ancient sources attest through Josephus, Herodotus, and cuneiform inscriptions that these names are associated with Mushku and Tabal in Anatolia, according to Paul Boyer.[5]

Third, other invaders, who accompany Gog are Gomer and Togarmah (Ezek 38:6), are not Eastern European nations. These were once said to be East Germany and the other Eastern Bloc nations. Now that communism has collapsed in Eastern Europe, little mention is made of the two. Actually, Gomer and Togarmah trace back to the Cimmerians, a group that originally lived near the Black Sea but apparently died out in the area of Hungary by 500 B.C.E.[6]

What about Persia, Cush and Put, which some interpret as Iran, Ethiopia and Libya? These names are best understood as symbolic for nations from the far ends of the earth (see “Problems with Interpretation” below).

Ancient Gog and Magog

The fact that Gog and Magog are north of Israel does not indicate they are coming from Russia. Geographically, the hordes of Gog would come from the north because this was the way most of Israel’s enemies invaded—through the Fertile Crescent along the Euphrates River. The Babylonians, for instance, were a northern threat from “a distant land” in prophetic discourse (Isaiah 39:3; Jeremiah 5:15; 6:22; 50:41).

Josephus called Gog and Magog the Scythians (Antiquities 1.6.1). This group was later understood as the Goths, who sacked Rome in the 5th century A.D.[7] The Goths then migrated west and were destroyed in Italy and Spain. There thus seems to be no modern nation with clear ancestry directly traceable to the original Gog and Magog.

Problems with Prophetic Interpretation

We also run into major difficulties if we interpret Gog and Magog’s attack in a strictly literal sense, and then attempt to connect the people, groups, and events to our day and age, as is sometimes done by uninformed readers of Scripture.

If we read the text this way, do we honestly think Russia would invade Israel with horses, spears, and wooden bows and arrows, as in Ezekiel 38:15; 39:3, 9-10, 20? Previous prophetic pundits convoluted the issue by claiming the Russians have made new weapons out of a wooden product so-called lignostone to evade radar detection. Even if this were true, it still doesn’t explain the horses, or the spears, war clubs, and bows and arrows that will be used for fuel for several years, according to the prophecy.[8] It is purely comical to think that Russian generals or other modern day military leaders would have their forces battle with ancient weapons. And if figurative or symbolic interpretation is accepted for such weapons, on what basis can one consistently make the named enemies and conflict itself literal instead of symbolic?

Another problem is that the only other prophetic mention of Gog and Magog attacking God’s people in the Bible is found in Revelation 20. For those who insist on reading prophecy and apocalyptic literature in a literal sense (an unwise hermeneutic for this genre, might I add), this event is routinely read as taking place 1,000 years after the Second Coming of Jesus. Not exactly in our lifetime!

It is perhaps best to understand Gog and Magog as symbolic for various enemies who attack God’s people. This makes sense when we realize that the prophetic doom of Israel’s enemies is described in Ezekiel 25-32. The hordes of Gog and Magog become the last enemies of God’s people.

If we read Ezekiel 32:21 to 39:29 in one sitting, it becomes evident that these chapters depict Israel as regenerated (Ezek 36), and their Messiah is symbolically portrayed as King David, who leads them (Ezek 37:24–28). The people of God dwell safely in unwalled cities because the Lord has established a covenant of peace with them (Ezek 38:7-8, 11, 14; compare 39:26). This is said to take place in the latter days (Ezek 38:8). Notice that such a reading–that is, if interpreted in some sort of a futurist sense–seems to take place after the Messiah is already presently reigning. The same appears to be the case in Revelation 20.

Notes

[1] Quote from Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992), p. 162.

[2] Tim LaHaye, “Will God Destroy Russia?” in Storming Toward Armageddon: Essays in Apocalypse, ed. William Terry James (Green Forest, Ark.: New Leaf, 1992), p. 259.

[3] William Goetz, Apocalypse Next: Updated (Cathedral City, Calif.: Horizon Books, 1981), p. 126.

[4] E.g., C. S. Lovett, “Is Russia About to Invade Israel?” Personal Christianity, January 1981, p. 2l; Jack Van Impe, “1999? Global March to Israel,” Perhaps Today, May-June 1993, pp. 3-7.

[5] Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More, p.69.

[6] Edwin Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1982), pp. 24-29.

[7] See J. Paul Tanner, “Daniel’s ‘King of the North’: Do We Owe Russia an Apology?” Journal of Evangelical Theological Studies (September 1992): pp. 322-26.

[8] Cf. Yamauchi, Foes from the Northern Frontier, pp. 22-23.

For more prophetic sobriety (including an earlier interpretation of this subject), see my book, 99 Reasons Why No One Knows When Christ Will Return.

Image 1: Border Country Map via pixabay.com; Image 2 Coat of Arms Russia via pixabay.com

About B. J. Oropeza

B. J. Oropeza is Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University, and has authored numerous publications You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

May 4, 2021

Is Jesus Praying for Us in Heaven? No, but Something Better is Going On

Next Post

June 13, 2021 Top 12 Commentaries on Romans

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "in Christ" 1 Corinthians 1 Enoch 1 John 2:19 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 1Peter 2 Corinthians 2 Timothy 400 years of silence A. I. A. M. Hunter Abraham Achilles Tatius Acts 13 Acts 19 Acts 22 Acts 26 Acts 9 addiction adultery Aesop's Fables Affliction afterlife allegiance allusions amanuensis Amen Ananias Ancient Biography Andrew Wilson Andronicus Angels anger Anglicanism anointing aorist tense Apep apocalypse apocalyptic Apocrypha apologetics apostasy Apostle Apostle Paul Aquinas archaeology archangel Ardel Caneday Arminianism armor of God article from journal artificial intelligence Asbury ascension atlas atonement Augustine Augustus authorship Awakening awards baptism Battle of Armageddon beasts behemoth Belial Beliar belief Benediction between Testaments Beverly Roberts Gaventa Bible Bible discrepancies Bible Gateway Bible reading Bible reading plan Bible Study Bible translations Bible version Bible versions biblical inerrancy Biblical Theology blasphemy blindness Boethius boldness Book of Acts Book Review Born Again bravery burial Caesar calling Calvinism canon canon Cassius Dio Catholics Channing Crisler charistmatic Christ Christian behavior Christian origins Christian theology Christians Christology church church fathers Church of England Chuza Cleopas Commandments Commentaries congregation conversion Corinthian letters coronavirus courage Covenant covenant theology covenantal nomism coveting COVID-19 Craig Keener Crescens crocodile Cross crucifixion curse custom Cyprian Daily Bread Dale Allison Damascus Damascus Experience Damascus road David Moffitt Day of Atonement deacon dead Dead Sea Scrolls death Deity of Christ Demas demonology demons determinism Deuteronomy Devil devotion dinosaur Dio Chrysostom divided I Divine Christology divine punishment divorce Do not fear Doxology dragon E. P. Sanders Eastern Orthodox Ebeneazer Urga echoes ekklesia election Elijah the Prophet Elymas embodiment of the gospel embodying the gospel emperor empty tomb Encouragement end times enlightement Ephesians Ephesus Epistles of Paul eschatology eternal life Ethics (Christian) euchlaion Eusebius of Caesarea evangelical evangelism evidence exile extreme unction Ezekiel faith falling away false prophet fate father Father's Day favorite Fear film Final Judgment Flood foreknowledge foreordain forgiveness fornication freewill from Saul to Paul Galatians Gary Cooper Genesis Gentile studies Gentiles geography giants gift gift giving global perspective Glossa Ordinaria God God perception good news gospel gospel 2.0 Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospels grace gratitude Great Awakening Greco-Roman Greco-Roman world Greek Greek classic literature Greek lexicon Greek Orthodox Greek prepositions greetings guilt Habakkuk hair Halloween head covering head coverings healing heaven Hebrew Hebrews hermeneutics Hesed high Christology Higher Christology highlights holiness holy Holy Bible Holy Scriptures Holy Spirit Homer hospitable hospitality how to read the Bible human effort I Am sayings imperialism in Adam In Christ inspiration intercession Interpretation intertestamental period Intertextuality Interview intimidation Isaiah Israel Israel (land of) James James D. G. Dunn Jason Staples Jerome Jesus Jesus sayings Jesus traditions Jesus: Studies Jewish literature Jewish names Jewish Scripture Jewish studies Jews Joanna Job John John 3:16 John Chrysostom John Hyrcanus John Mark John of Damascus John the Baptist John Wesley Josephus joy Judaism Judgment day Julia Junia Justice justification kerygma King Kingdom kingdom of God Krister Stendahl lament Law lecture hall letter writing Letters of Paul Leucippe et Clitophon Leviathan Leviticus light Logical fallacy looting Lord Lord's Prayer lose salvation Lot Lotan love lovingkindness Lucifer Luke lust Luther LXX maenads Malachi Marcion marginalization marital affair marriage martyrdom Mary Matt Damon Medieval theologians Medieval theology memorization mercy Michael the Archangel miracles Mishnah missiology mission missionary missions monergism monogenes monster monsters Mysterious Ways mythology N. T. Wright name change names narrative Nephilim New Birth new covenant new covenant pneumaism new creation New Perspective on Paul New Testament New Testament use of Old Testament Noah Noah's ark non-Christian oath obedience Odysseus Odyssey oil Old Testament only begotten Origen Outpouring pagan pagans parable paraceratherium Parousia participation in Christ Pastoral Letters patristic theology Paul in prison Paul letter of Paul teaching Paul the Apostle: Studies Paul within Judaism Paul's calling Paul's conversion Paul's death Pauline Theology persecution perseverance perseverance of the saints Persis personal devotion pesher Peter Abelard Philo philosophy Phoebe Pink Floyd pistis Plague plutarch pneuma pneumagism popular culture sayings Porneia Post-New Perspective on Paul praise prayer preaching predestination Prisca Priscilla Prison Epistle Prophecy prophets Psalm Psalms Pseudepigrapha Q Q source quest for the historic Jesus quotations Rabbi Pinhas be Yair Rabbinic literature Rainer Riesner raised from the dead rapture reading missiologically reading plan recipients reciprocity reconciliation Red Herring red letter edition redemption Reformation Regeneration rejoicing reminder renewal repentance restoration resurrection revival righteousness riot Roman Antiquity Roman names romance Romans Romans 12-16 Romans 16 Romans 4:25 Romans 7 Rome Rufus's mother sacrificial system salvation Salvation/Soteriology sanctification Satan Satan's fall Saul the Pharisee SBL Scholars school Scripture Second coming of Christ Second Temple Judaism secretary Septuagint Sergeant York Sergius Paulus Servant in Isaiah sex and sexuality sex ethics sexual immorality sheep sick sin sinful nature single Christians and dating social justice Society of Biblical Literature sons of God soteriology spinosaurus spiritual gifts spiritual renewal spiritual warfare Stephen Wilson struggle Study Bible studying the Bible Suetonius suffering Suffering Servant suggestive commentary Survey synergism Synoptic Gospels Tacitus teacher teaching telos temptation Tertius The Chosen the flesh Theology Thomas Aquinas Thomas Robinson Thomas Schreiner Thorn Thucydides Timothy Titus tongues Top 10 top 12 Torah trust Tryphaena Tryphosa Tyrannus U2 Ugaritic Ukraine Ukrainian Uncategorized unconditional love unforgiving Union with Christ unity/solidarity unpardonable sin Valentine's Day veils vice vices victory warnings Watchers witnessing Woman ministers women women ministers women speakers women teachers word of God works works of the law worship writing YouVersion Zen Hess

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to Philippians, what should we think about?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The word of God day and night The suffering of Christ Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable The needs of others