Chapter 20 – Gog and Magog

At the end of the Millennium, Satan is released to deceive the nations and lead them to war against God’s people (Revelation 20:7-10). The nations Gog and Magog are utilized for this purpose but fail to conquer God’s people as fire from heaven consumes them. This raises the question of who Gog and Magog are and how they, along with Satan, are thrown into the lake of fire.

In the book of Revelation, unbelieving Jerusalem is referred to as “Egypt,” “Sodom,” and “Babylon” due to its hostility towards God’s new people, the church (Matthew 23:30-38; Revelation 11:8; 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21,24). Accordingly, Gog can be identified as apostate Jerusalem, while Magog represents Rome, both acting as enemies of the church. Gog, symbolizing faithless Jerusalem, was destroyed in the fires of war. Magog, symbolizing Rome, was later destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, fulfilling a prophecy from Paul:

Romans 2:9 (BSB) There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;

Who are Gog and Magog?

Robert Cruickshank, building on the work of Gary DeMar¹ and James Jordan,² establishes a connection between Ezekiel, Esther, and Revelation.³ John frequently reminded his audience of stories from their past to encourage them in their present situations. Jezebel (Revelation 2:20), Egypt (Revelation 11:8), Sodom (Revelation 11:8), and Babylon (Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21) were brought to mind to tell God’s people, “Remember how God delivered us from these people? He will do the same now in the same way!” The prophecy of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 finds fulfillment in the events of the book of Esther, approximately ninety years later.

• Gog’s evil plan against the Jews living in unwalled villages (Ezekiel 38:10-11) finds a parallel in Haman’s plan to wipe out the Jews who, at that particular moment, were living in unwalled villages (Esther 9:19).
• Gog’s desire to “seize spoil” and “carry off plunder” from Israel (Ezekiel 38:12) aligns with Haman’s intention to “seize their possessions as plunder” (Esther 3:13).
• Gog’s pursuit of Israel’s “silver and gold” (Ezekiel 38:13) corresponds to Haman’s promise to pay off Persia’s treasuries with “silver” plundered from the Jews (Esther 3:9, 11; 4:7).
• The burial place for Gog is called “Hamon-Gog” (Ezekiel 39:11), reminiscent of Haman.
• In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Haman is referred to as a “Gogite” (Esther 3:10).

The book of Esther recounts how Haman conspired with the King of Persia to exterminate the Jews in the twelfth year of King Xerxes, around 474 BC (Esther 3:7). However, the plan backfired, and the Jews were delivered when King Xerxes turned against Haman.

Similarly, in 64 AD, unbelieving Jews conspired with Roman Emperor Nero to annihilate the Christians. Yet, their plan failed as Rome turned against the Jews, leading to the deliverance of the Christians.

Cruickshank’s discoveries are invaluable to understanding the book of Revelation, and it is much appreciated that his pre-publication research was permitted to be shared here.

Satan Released

Satan was expected to wage war against the saints when he was released. This occurred when Nero utilized the Roman state to persecute Christians.

While Christian persecution existed in small measures before 64 AD, the Roman Empire had been ambivalent towards Christians. However, in mid-November of that year, the Neronian persecution began, with the “sword of Caesar” being used against Christians for the first time.⁴ It started with a fire that broke out in Rome, and the Jews instigated Nero to blame the Christians, likely through his Jewish wife Poppaea.⁵ Christians were hunted down and subjected to widespread and brutal torture. Notice what Philip Schaff had to say about that time:

Under this wanton charge of incendiarism, backed by the equally groundless charge of misanthropy and unnatural vice, there began a carnival of blood such as even heathen Rome never saw before or since. It was the answer of the powers of hell to the mighty preaching of the two chief apostles, which had shaken heathenism to its [foundations]. A “vast multitude” of Christians [were] put to death in the most shocking manner. Some were crucified, probably in mockery of the punishment of Christ, some sewed up in the skins of wild beasts and exposed to the voracity of mad dogs in the arena. The satanic tragedy reached its climax at night in the imperial gardens on the slope of the Vatican (which embraced, it is supposed, the present site of the place and church of St. Peter): Christian men and women, covered with pitch or oil or resin, and nailed to posts of pine, were lighted and burned as torches for the amusement of the mob; while Nero, in fantastical dress, figured in a horse race, and displayed his art as charioteer. Burning alive was the ordinary punishment of incendiaries; but only the cruel ingenuity of this imperial monster, under the inspiration of the devil, could invent such a horrible system of illumination.⁶

According to early Christian historians Sulpicius Severus and Orosius living in the late 300s AD, the persecution of Christians during this time was not limited to Rome alone but extended throughout the Roman provinces.⁷ Christians were considered enemies of the human race.

Considering that the thousand years mentioned in Revelation were drawing to a close, the Neronian persecution aligns perfectly with the release of Satan described in the text. Satan was allowed for a short time to deceive Rome (referred to as “Magog” in Revelation 20:8) into falsely accusing Christians, resulting in widespread persecution against them throughout the empire.

Ezekiel and Revelation Parallels

Ezekiel 37-48 and Revelation 20-22 seem to prophesy about the same events.

With such similarities, one must consider whether Ezekiel was a prophecy with dual fulfillments or was a picture of what would happen in the end.

Gog Destroyed By Fire

After the nations attacked the saints, fire descended from heaven to consume Gog and Magog, as described in Revelation 20:9. Similarly, just as the prophet Ezekiel foretold the destruction of the Gogites during the time of Esther, Jerusalem met a similar fate in the first century.

Ezekiel 38:21-22 (BSB) And I will summon a sword against Gog on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD, and every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

When the Jewish war began, Jews who had been living peacefully among Gentiles in cities across the Roman Empire erupted in conflict against their Gentile neighbors. Both sides feared a preemptive strike from the other. Some Jews aligned with the Gentiles and killed their fellow Jews. In a single day, thousands were slain in various cities. Even the wealthy Jews and Jewish zealots turned against one another, betraying and destroying their own people. Driven by mutual hatred, they denied their brethren the honor of burial, resulting in piles of exposed corpses on the streets and in houses. This dire situation triggered a devastating plague, which worsened when the Jewish zealot factions destroyed each other’s food supplies, leading to a dreadful famine.

Upon their arrival, the Romans encountered a nation in chaos, with brothers killing brothers. Unbelieving Jews from various nations throughout the Roman Empire had gathered in Jerusalem for the annual Jewish feasts and found themselves trapped within the city during the war. As prophesied in Revelation 20:9, the Romans hurled burning sulfur and massive rocks upon the city, reducing it to ashes and fulfilling the prophecy.

Magog Destroyed By Fire

Approximately nine years after Jerusalem’s destruction, another “fire from heaven” event occurred, this time upon Magog, symbolized by Rome. Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote about extraordinary events occurring in 79AD such as the opening of the Abyss, the presence of giants roaming the earth and flying through the sky, and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. His account states:

Such is Vesuvius, and these phenomena usually occur there every year. But all the other occurrences that had taken place there in the course of time, however notable, because unusual, they may have seemed to those who on each occasion observed them, nevertheless would be regarded as trivial in comparison with what now happened, even if all had been combined into one. 2 This was what befell. Numbers of huge men quite surpassing any human stature — such creatures, in fact, as the Giants are pictured to have been — appeared, now on the mountain, now in the surrounding country, and again in the cities, wandering over the earth day and night and also flitting through the air. 3 After this fearful droughts and sudden and violent earthquakes occurred, so that the whole plain round about seethed and the summits leaped into the air. There were frequent rumblings, some of them subterranean, that resembled thunder, and some on the surface, that sounded like bellowings; the sea also joined in the roar and the sky re-echoed it. 4 Then suddenly a portentous crash was heard, as if the mountains were tumbling in ruins; and first huge stones were hurled aloft, rising as high as the very summits, then came a great quantity of fire and endless smoke, so that the whole atmosphere was obscured and the sun was entirely hidden, as if eclipsed. 23 1 Thus day was turned into night and light into darkness. Some thought that the Giants were rising again in revolt (for at this time also many of their forms could be discerned in the smoke and, moreover, a sound as of trumpets was heard), while others believed that the whole universe was being resolved into chaos or fire. 2 Therefore they fled, some from the houses into the streets, others from outside into the houses, now from the sea to the land and now from the land to the sea; for in their excitement they regarded any place where they were not as safer than where they were. 3 While this was going on, an inconceivable quantity of ashes was blown out, which covered both sea and land and filled all the air. It wrought much injury of various kinds, as chance befell, to men and farms and cattle, and in particular it destroyed all fish and birds. Furthermore, it buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, the latter place while its populace was seated in the theatre. 4 Indeed, the amount of dust, taken all together, was so great that some of it reached Africa and Syria and Egypt, and it also reached Rome, filling the air overhead and darkening the sun. 5 There, too, no little fear was occasioned, that lasted for several days, since the people did not know and could not imagine what had happened, but, like those close at hand, believed that the whole world was being turned upside down, that the sun was disappearing into the earth and that the earth was being lifted to the sky. These ashes, now, did the Romans no great harm at the time, though later they brought a terrible pestilence upon them.⁸

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius resulted in the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, two coastal cities near Rome, fulfilling the prophecy in Ezekiel 39:6.

Ezekiel 39:6 (BSB) I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.

Moreover, both Jews and Greeks interpreted this volcanic eruption, referred to as “fire from heaven,” as a manifestation of God’s wrath. The Sibylline Oracles stated:

Fire shall come flashing forth in the broad heaven, And many cities burn and men destroy, And much black ashes shall fill the great sky, And small drops like red earth shall fall from heaven, Then know the anger of the God of heaven⁹

(For more information about this event read “The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?” by Hershel Shanks.¹⁰)

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius aligns with the description of “fire came down from heaven and consumed them” and comes upon “those who live in safety in the coastlands.” These events occurred within the remaining few years of Satan’s release (Revelation 20:3).

Satan Destroyed by Fire

Just as Revelation 20:10 prophesied Satan’s casting into the lake of fire, the ancient gods, temples, and idols in Rome met their demise in the volcanic eruption and subsequent great fire. During the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, many individuals who adhered to false gods interpreted the catastrophe as the destruction of their deities. Pliny the Younger, who survived the volcanic eruption, described the scene:

You could hear the wailing of women, the screams of little children, and the shouts of men ; some were trying to find their parents, others their children, others their wives, by calling for them and recognising them by their voices alone. Some were commiserating their own lot, others that of their relatives, while some again prayed for death in sheer terror of dying. Many were lifting up their hands to the gods, but more were declaring that now there were no more gods, and that this night would last for ever, and the end of all the world.¹¹

Even the devotees loyal to demons concluded that their deities had ceased to exist. The following year, Rome experienced a second devastating fire, consuming numerous Satanic temples, including the temple of Serapis, temple of Isis, the Pantheon, and more. The fire was so great, the Romans believed it was sent by God Himself.

However, a second 5 conflagration [fire], above ground, in the following year spread over very large sections of Rome while Titus was absent in Campania attending to the catastrophe that had befallen that region. 2 It consumed the temple of Serapis, the temple of Isis, the Saepta, the temple of Neptune, the Baths of Agrippa, the Pantheon, the Diribitorium, the theatre of Balbus, the stage building of Pompey’s theatre, the Octavian buildings together with their books, 6 and the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with their surrounding temples. Hence the disaster seemed to be not of human but of divine origin; 3 for anyone can estimate, from the list of buildings that I have given, how many others must have been destroyed.¹²

The loss of faith in deities and the destruction of temples by divine wrath strongly imply that Satan and his demons were cast into the lake of fire during this period, marking their ultimate defeat.

Summary

Both faithless Jerusalem and unbelieving Rome can be attributed the titles of “Gog and Magog.” When Satan was released, he exploited their alliance to deceive the world by falsely accusing Christians for the fire that ravaged Rome. The unbelieving Jews, resembling Haman’s treachery, conspired with Nero to eradicate the Christians. This manipulation by Satan led to a severe and widespread persecution of the saints throughout the Roman empire. However, Rome eventually turned against Jerusalem and destroyed it, while God brought about the downfall of Rome through the eruption of Vesuvius. The pagan worshippers of Rome witnessed the destruction of their temples, leading them to believe that their deities no longer existed.

Though the identities of these characters and events remain a subject of discussion among Bible scholars, this scenario serves as evidence that biblical prophecy was fulfilled according to its appointed time.

Footnotes