Gog and Magog

[hind'sfeet 1]

I was reading a part of Rev. that I've always been very confused and it
even scared me. I asked the Holy Spirit what it means. Here is what
confused me (I color coded it. The colors that are the same or in the
same type of color belong to each other and represents my
understanding. Also if you don't feel like reading the verses I posted
more at the bottom. I have a question down there )

Rev. 20 ((New King James Version) most of the other versions say the same thing)

⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed

⁷ Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹ They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment


¹¹
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for
them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹³
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered
up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according
to his works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Footnotes:

1. [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation
   20&version=NKJV#en-NKJV-31039]Revelation 20:4[/url] M-Text reads the.
   
2. [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation
   20&version=NKJV#en-NKJV-31045]Revelation 20:10[/url] NU-Text and
   M-Text add also.
   
3. [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation
   20&version=NKJV#en-NKJV-31047]Revelation 20:12[/url] NU-Text and
   M-Text read the throne.
   
4. [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation
   20&version=NKJV#en-NKJV-31049]Revelation 20:14[/url] NU-Text and
   M-Text add the lake of fire.
   

This is my new understanding:


Rev. 6
9When he opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain
because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
10
They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and
true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our
blood?"
11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were
told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants
and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

Revelation 20 (Contemporary English Version)

4 I saw thrones, and sitting on those thrones were the ones who had been given the right to judge.
I also saw the souls of the people who had their heads cut off because they had told about Jesus and preached God's message. They
were the same ones who had not worshiped the beast or the idol, and
they had refused to let its mark be put on their hands or foreheads. They will come to life and rule with Christ for a thousand years.

5-6 These people are the first to be raised to life, and they are especially blessed and holy. The second death [a] has no power over them. They will be priests for God and Christ and will rule with them for a thousand years. No other dead people were raised to life until a thousand years later.


Satan Is Defeated
7 At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be set free.

8 He will fool the countries of Gog and Magog, which are at the far ends of the earth, and their people will follow him into battle. They will have as many followers as there are grains of sand along the beach,
9 and they will march all the way across the earth.
They will surround the camp of God's people and the city that his people love. But fire will come down from heaven and destroy the whole army.
10 Then the devil who fooled them
will be thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur. He will be
there with the beast and the false prophet, and they will be in pain
day and night forever and ever.


The Judgment at the Great White Throne
11I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and
heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go.
12I
also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every
one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books
were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were
judged by what those books said they had done.
13The sea gave up
the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up
their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done.
14Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. [c] 15Anyone whose name wasn't written in the
book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.


My[b] NEW question is WHO is Gog and Magog and where did they come from? If they are not Who I originally thought they, the martyrs, then WHO are they?! Are they people who survived the tribulation, did not take the mark or bow to the image of the beast or do anything like that, yet did not become believers of Jesus?!

[hind'sfeet 1]

Ok, I read it while forgetting the ones who refused the mark, lived through everything, and followed God. I don't understand why after all of that they would give up everything for satan?

[hind'sfeet 1]

I want to be a martyr, I would not want to be one to survive if that is what will happen that they are deceived in the end.

[Dove-Solutions 0]

~Hinds Feet

Well, I can certainly understand wanting to be a martyr verses going through all that stuff after the rapture. My deal here is how can they not believe in Jesus at this point? Try to imagine what they will have to go through. This is not going to pleasant. They will have falling hail and meteors and earthquakes and it will be like nothing we have experienced, there will be much mayhem and confusion. How these people will not be able to say that they don't need Jesus is beyond me, but there will be those who will not believe. The bible makes it clear. The part here that is so compelling is they will be deceived by satan (antichrist) into believing they are saved or by giving into the mark of the beast will be saved as he will be professing to be the one and true Messiah. Sad but true. There are many parts of the Revelations that I am still studying. It is good to study. So I do not have the answers you seek per say but love the discussion.

Here is what I have on Gog and Magog. Hope it helps. :)

Question: "What are Gog and Magog?"

Answer: Historically speaking, Magog was a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:2). The descendants of Magog settled to the far north of Israel, likely in Europe and northern Asia (Ezekiel 38:2). Magog seems to be used to refer to "northern barbarians" in general, but likely also has a connection to Magog the person. The people of Magog are described as skilled warriors (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:3-9).

Gog and Magog are referred to in Ezekiel 38-39 and in Revelation 20:7-8. While these two instances carry the same names, a close study of Scripture clearly demonstrates they do not refer to the same people and events. In Ezekiel’s prophecy, Gog will be the leader of a great army that attacks the land of Israel. Gog is described as “of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2-3). Ezekiel's battle of Gog and Magog occurs in the tribulation period, more specifically in the first 3 1/2 years. The strongest evidence for this view is that the attack will come when Israel is at peace (Ezekiel 38:8, 11). The description from Ezekiel is that of a nation that has security and has laid down its defenses. Israel is definitely not at peace now, and it is inconceivable that the nation would lay down its defenses apart from some major event. When Israel's covenant with the Beast/Antichrist is in effect at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (also known as the 7-year tribulation, Daniel 9:27a), Israel will be at peace. Possibly the battle will occur just before the midpoint of the seven-year period. According to Ezekiel, Gog will be defeated by God Himself on the mountains of Israel. The slaughter will be so great it will take seven months to bury all of the dead (Ezekiel 39:11-12).

Gog and Magog are mentioned again in Revelation is found in 20:7-8. The duplicated use of the names Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8-9 is to show that these people demonstrate the same rebellion against God and antagonism toward God as those in Ezekiel 38-39. It is similar to someone today calling a person "the devil" because he or she is sinful and evil. We know that person is not really Satan, but because that person shares similar characteristics, he or she might be referred to as "the devil."

The book of Revelation uses Ezekiel's prophecy about Magog to portray a final end-times attack on the nation of Israel (Revelation 20:8-9). The result of this battle is that all are destroyed, and Satan will find his final place in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

It is important to recognize that the Gog and Magog of Ezekiel 38-39 is quite different from the one in Revelation 20:7-8. Below are some of the more obvious reasons why these refer to different people and battles.

1. In the battle of Ezekiel 38-39, the armies come primarily from the north and involve only a few nations of the earth (Ezekiel 38:6, 15; 39:2). The battle in Revelation 20:7-9 will involve all nations, so armies will come from all directions, not just from the north.

2. There is no mention of Satan in the context of Ezekiel 38-39. In Revelation 20:7 the context clearly places the battle at the end of the millennium with Satan as the primary character.

3. Ezekiel 39:11-12 states that the dead will be buried for seven months. There would be no need to bury the dead if the battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is the one described in Revelation 20:8-9, for immediately following Revelation 20:8-9 is the Great White Throne judgment (20:11-15) and then the current or present heaven and earth are destroyed, replaced by a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). There obviously will be a need to bury the dead if the battle takes place in the early part of the tribulation, for the land of Israel will be occupied for another 1,000 years, the length of the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).

4. The battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is used by God to bring Israel back to Him (Ezekiel 39:21-29). In Revelation 20, Israel has been faithful to God for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom). Those in Revelation 20:7-10 who are rebellious are destroyed without any more opportunity for repentance.

Love in Jesus,

Connie~

[hind'sfeet 1]

That is really interesting! Funny you mention Ezekiel because God had me read that yesterday! Then He had me read Revelations last night! It's really cool how He brings things together and you don't know why.

I'm sure God will give me the answer eventually and your stuff I'm sure will help.

[Dove-Solutions 0]

~Hinds Feet,

Glad I could be of help. I Love it when He does that. :) Take care and God bless!

Love in Jesus,

Connie~

[hind'sfeet 1]

Ok, I was listening to some christian teaching on the radio and he went all into this. They said that Gog and Magog are the children of the Martyrs. Which is interesting because aren't they going to make the same mistake Adam and Eve made? I didn't hear the whole thing.

[randomhit10 0]

there are some translations that read Gog is the leader of Magog, which is believed to be Russia....more accurately it is the area around the northern and easten part of the Black sea....


randomhit10

[hind'sfeet 1]

Thanks randomhit, I really doubt that countries will survive what is coming. Most people I believe will be taking the Mark and All of them will die in God's wrath.
I guess we'll find out.

[randomhit10 0]

i agree...i think the mark will be the big thing to do by the deceived...i also think that although the country's borders will collapse the people who are left will become tribal in nature and become very mobile, like gypsies....there will come a time when life as we know it will break down into tribal groups, each with their own agendas but brought together for a final battle....

randomhit10

[hind'sfeet 1]

Are you saying that there are going to be people who don't take the Mark, survive all the disasters, aren't confronted about not having the mark, survive God's wrath and the appearance of Jesus, yet are not on God's side?

[randomhit10 0]

no...people will be forced to choose between God or take the mark of the beast....there will be no one who survives and not be on God's side....the only hint at this will be after the 1000 year reign...when satan is loosed on the world to deceive the nations one last time...

randomhit10

[hind'sfeet 1]

you had me so confused. I think it stems from you saying Gog/Russia.

[randomhit10 0]

sorry...that was one translation that i had read that many Bible scholars seem to lean toward....personally i don't know of anyone who can say for sure who Gog is outside of the Lord...and i am going to wait on the Lord...

randomhit10

[hind'sfeet 1]

Me too.