The Magog war is one subject that continues to be misplaced in Biblical timelines of future events. Many people are striving to understand what nations will be involved in this war, believing that it will happen before the Day of the Lord or the tribulation. We cannot understand the nations involved because the event will occur after the Millennial Kingdom, after the one thousand years. We have all made the mistake of trying to fit this war into our pre-tribulation timeframe, but Revelation clearly tells us that it will occur when the satan is loosed. We should remember (as Daniel mentioned) that knowledge of the end times is increasing. Therefore, as the Body of Christ is moving forward in knowledge and understanding, things we taught previously will likely change. This shows progress in our learning and our growth. If we run across someone attempting to put this war into a pre-tribulation or pre-Day of the Lord timeframe, we can gently encourage their further study of the Book of Revelation.
To understand the timing of the Gog and Magog war, we want to read and understand Ezekiel chapters 40-48. We will take a quick scan of the events in this future time. Ezekiel goes into great detail regarding the Millennial Temple, it’s shape, size, and rooms. Generally speaking, the outer dimensions of the temple are about one mile by one mile. Both the Nehemiah temple and the Herod temple were not built to these specifications, nor were either of those later temples this large. Herod’s temple was a re-furbishment of Nehemiah’s temple. This time during the Millennial Reign, the Glory of the Lord will be in the temple. The Glory left the temple around the time of the first wave of Judah’s captives into Babylon. The Glory did not return in the Nehemiah or Herod temples. There is no temple today. There will be one built about the time of the start of the tribulation, but the Glory does not come to that temple. In the Ezekiel temple, the Glory is back.
Ezekiel 43:1 Moreover he brought me to the gate looking eastward, and led me forth. 2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came by the eastern way; and there was a voice of an army, as the sound of many redoubling their shouts, and the earth shone like light from the glory round about. 3 And the vision which I saw was like the vision which I saw when I went in to anoint the city: and the vision of the chariot which I saw was like the vision which I saw at the river Chobar; and I fell upon my face.
4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house, by the way of the gate looking eastward. 5 And the Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the house of the Lord was full of glory.http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Jezekiel/index.htm
The priesthood for this temple is the Zadok/Zedek priesthood. Not simply from the priest Zadok from David’s time, but the Zedek’s from Melchizedek, Shem, Lord of the Zedeks. Zadok from David’s time was a priest of the Melchizedek order, a student just like the prophets. The Levites are not priests in this temple because they profaned the temple. They will be ministers mostly doing service in the outer courts. But the priesthood belongs to the Zadok/Zedek/Sedek/Sadduc lineage, the students of Shem and Eber. The glory of the Lord will fill this temple.
Ezekiel 44:13 And they shall not draw nigh to me to minister to me in the priests’ office, nor to approach the holy things of the children of Israel, nor to approach my holy of holies: but they shall bear their reproach for the error wherein they erred. 14 They shall bring them to keep the charges of the house, for all the service of it, and for all that they shall do.
15 The priests the Levites, the sons of Sadduc, who kept the charges of my sanctuary when the house of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw night to me to minister to me, and shall stand before my face, to offer sacrifice to me, the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God. 16 These shall enter into my sanctuary, and these shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charges. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Jezekiel/index.htm
The Levites have lost their privileges as priests in the temple. Now we have to ask the question as to why there are sacrifices in the temple during the Millennial Kingdom? Since Ezekiel lists a lot of rules for sacrifice offerings there must still be sin during the Millennial Kingdom. I would imagine that in the first generation the people would adhere to the rules for sacrifice religiously. In fact, even in our generation, we have not experienced this ritualistic service as there hasn’t been a temple for nearly two thousand years.
The Lord talks about the feast days which will be on a solar calendar. People will also observe the New Moon, but the moon will not determine the seasons and feasts except for its own New Moon festival. The cycle of the new moon was the low point of ovulation and the start of menstruation in the fertility cycle for all women, as well as female animals. The menstrual cycle was a 28 day cycle, and at one time all female beings on the planet had the same cycle with peak ovulation during the full moon. We can see how fertility goddesses crept into Israel by this cycle. Yet the moon was never to determine the calendar and the feasts. Today if one wanted to celebrate the New Moons, that one would be celebrating fertility, not the holy days of the Lord. Just to note, procreation is a holy matter to the Lord and should not be defiled.
Whoever the princes from the lineage of David will be during this thousand year period, they will have special rules and laws to follow as well as a special place to live. There will also be healing waters flowing out from the temple to Arabia. The desert wasteland between Babylon, Edom, and Nineveh will still be there. There will also be year round food and fruit from trees and the leaves of the trees will be for medicine. This tells us that people will still have a need for physical healing. If there are non-Israelites living in the land, they will be like native born sons of Jacob. The tribes will also be split up a little differently throughout the region.
What we see is a world that is a safe place to live. People travel freely but are to celebrate certain feasts. The Israelites are to bring animal sacrifices to the temple. During this time people will start to forget the past. People may even grow resentful for the rules and ritual service that they are supposed to follow. It seems the people will even blame Yahweh for their captivity in previous ages and may speak badly about him, profaning his name. Today we think this will be a glorious place to live, but people will probably grow weary of the peace and safety. They will be easily swayed by the satan so that at the end of the one thousand years many people of the nations will be misled by him.
Revelation 20:7 G2532 And G3752 whenever G5055 [4should be fulfilled G3588 1the G5507 2thousand G2094 3years], G3089 [2shall be loosed G3588 G4567 1Satan] G1537 from out of G3588 G5438 his prison, G1473
8 G2532 and G1831 shall come forth G4105 to mislead G3588 the G1484 nations, G3588 the ones G1722 in G3588 the G5064 four G1137 corners G3588 of the G1093 earth -- G3588 G* Gog G2532 and G3588 G* Magog, G4863 to gather them together G1473 G1519 for G3588 the G4171 war, G3739 which G3588 the G706 number G5613 is as G3588 the G285 sand G3588 of the G2281 sea.
4171 LSJ Gloss:πόλεμος battle, fight, war
Dodson:πόλεμος a war, battle, strife.
Thayer:
1) a war
2) a fight, a battle
3) a dispute, strife, quarrel
πόλεμος
polēmos pol'-em-os From πέλομαι pelomai (to bustle); warfare (literally or figuratively; a single encounter or a series) KJV Usage: battle, fight, war.
The satan is set free to mislead the ethnos, nations, who all reside in the four angles or corners of the earth. The generations of people on the earth will have lived in peace and security for one thousand years. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. All people submit to Him. Imagine someone born 905 years into the Millennial Kingdom. They have never experienced trouble, or fighting with other nations. They have never learned war and they have never made a weapon. Their parents have not known war, neither have their grandparents. They would have to go back nearly one thousand years to know what war is. Maybe there will be history books and maybe there will be schools that will teach of the prior ages, but experientially no one will know war until the satan is loosed and teaches war to the far away nations once again.
G1136 γωγ GOG
1136 Dodson:Γώγ GogGog, in Ezekiel a king of Magog, a land of the remote north; hence, in Revelation, of a people far remote from Palestine.
Thayer:
1) the king of the land of Magog who will come from the north and attack the land of Israel
Literal: Gog = "mountain"
Γώγ
Gōg gogue Of Hebrew origin [H1463]; Gog, a symbolic name for some future Antichrist KJV Usage: Gog.
G3098 μαγωγ MAGOG
3098 Dodson:Μαγώγ Magogv (Hebrew), Magog, sometimes as name of a people, sometimes as name of a country in the Old Testament, probably the Scythians; hence: used in apocalyptic literature.
Thayer:
1) a land north of Israel from which the King of Gog will come to attack Israel
Literal: Magog = "overtopping: covering"
Μαγώγ
Magōg mag-ogue' Of Hebrew origin [H4031]; Magog, a foreign nation, that is, (figuratively) an Antichristian party KJV Usage: Magog.
Amos calls Gog a grasshopper who is the king of the locusts.
Amos 7:1 G3779 Thus G1166 [3showed G1473 4to me G2962 1 the lord G3588 G2316 2God]; G2532 and G2400 behold, G1922.2 a breed G200 of locusts G2064 coming G2192.3 in early morning, G2532 and G2400 behold G1027.2 [2grasshopper G1520 1one] -- G* Gog G3588 the G935 king.
When Amos finishes his prophecy he ends with the Millennial Kingdom, when Yahweh will bring back those in captivity to their land.
Amos 9:14 G2532 And G1994 I will return G3588 the G161 captivity G3588 G2992 of my people G1473 G* Israel, G2532 and G3618 they shall rebuild G4172 the cities G3588 G853 having been obliterated, G2532 and G2730 shall inhabit them; G2532 and G5452 they shall plant G290 vineyards, G2532 and G4095 they shall drink G3588 G3631 their wine; G1473 G2532 and G4160 they shall make G2779 gardens, G2532 and G2068 shall eat G3588 G2590 their fruit. G1473
15 G2532 And G2707.3 I will plant G1473 them G1909 upon G3588 G1093 their land. G1473 G2532 And G3766.2 in no way G1610.6 shall they be pulled out G3765 any longer G575 from G3588 G1093 their land G1473 G3739 of which G1325 I gave G1473 to them, G3004 says G2962 the lord G3588 G2316 God.
The people will rebuild the cities and inhabit them. They will plant and then eat and drink. Amos says Yahweh will plant them upon their land, and they shall not be pulled out any longer. During the entire Millennial Kingdom, the heirs of Jacob will dwell in Israel. What Amos is telling us is true. The battle that takes place after the satan is loosed, after the one thousand years, means that the people brought back to Israel will never be thrown out. So then what is the point of the battle of Magog led by Gog? Spoiler alert, it is to show Israel that Yahweh can fight for them and protect them, and that they indeed can trust Him. Trust.
Revelation 20:9 G2532 And G305 they ascended G1909 upon G3588 the G4114 width G3588 of the G1093 earth, G2532 and G2944 encircled G3588 the G3925 camp G3588 of the G39 holy ones, G2532 and G3588 the G4172 city G3588 G25 being loved. G2532 And G2597 [2came down G4442 1fire] G1537 from G3588 the G3772 heaven G575 from G3588 G2316 God, G2532 and G2719 it devoured G1473 them.
2944 LSJ Gloss:κυκλόω to encircle, surround
Dodson:κυκλόω I encircle, besiege, surround.
Thayer:
1) to go around, lead around
2) to surround, encircle, encompass
2a) of persons standing around
2b) of besiegers
κυκλόω
kukloō koo-klo'-o From the same as G2945; to encircle, that is, surround KJV Usage: compass (about), come (stand) round about.
3925 LSJ Gloss:παρεμβολή insertion, interpolation
Dodson:παρεμβολή a camp, barracks, army in battle array
a camp, fort, castle, barracks, army in battle array.
Thayer:
1) an encampment
1a) the camp of Israel in the desert
1a1) used for the city of Jerusalem, inasmuch as that was to the Israelites what formerly the encampment had been in the desert
1a2) of the sacred congregation or assembly of Israel, as it had been gathered formerly in camps in the wilderness
1b) the barracks of the Roman soldiers, which at Jerusalem were in the castle of Antonia
2) an army in a line of battle
παρεμβολή
parembolē par-em-bol-ay' From a compound of G3844 and G1685; a throwing in beside (juxtaposition), that is, (specifically) battle array, encampment or barracks (tower Antonia) KJV Usage: army, camp, castle.
Gog’s armies encircle the region of Israel. What that tells us is that they will have to go through the desert wasteland of the Babylon, Edom, and Nineveh triangle. This means that as the people cross through that region, those people will be infested with demons. Demons love a warm body to inhabit. Fire comes down over the enemy and his armies and destroys them. Imagine what the people in Israel are thinking. One morning while watching the news there is a report that a huge number of people just crossed the desert wasteland and are headed their way with what looks like weapons. After one thousand years they are unprepared. They don’t even have city walls. Can they trust Yahweh? Now let’s read what Ezekiel prophecies.
Ezekiel 38:1 http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Jezekiel/index.htm
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, and the land of Magog, Rhos, prince of Mesoch and Thobel, and prophesy against him, 3 and say to him, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I am against thee, Rhos prince of Mesoch and Thobel: 4 and I will gather thee, and all thine host, horses and horsemen, all wearing breast-plates, with a great multitude, shields and helmets and swords: 5 Persians, and Ethiopians, and Libyans; all with helmets and shields. 6 Gomer, and all belonging to him; the house of Thorgama, from the end of the north, and all belonging to him; and many nations with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, prepare thyself, thou, and all thy multitude that is assembled with thee, and thou shalt be to me for a guard.
The Lord tells Gog to be prepared, he and his multitude. Prepared for what? We should notice here that the multitude that comes against Israel is coming with primitive weapons. We really don’t know if this is a “reset” in technology or simply that there has not been a war in one thousand years. The people come with breastplates, shields, helmets, and swords. Compare this to the battle of Megiddo when the Lord comes with His armies, and the army of saints have projectile missiles that incinerate people where they stand. The nature of breastplates, shields, and helmets are defensive, as compared to the sword. Later Ezekiel mentions arrows, bows, spears, and lances. Again this is quite primitive weaponry.
Ezekiel 38:8 He shall be prepared after many days, and he shall come at the end of years, and shall come to a land that is brought back from the sword, when the people are gathered from many nations against the land of Israel, which was entirely desolate: and he is come forth out of the nations, and they shall all dwell securely.
This takes place at the end of years, or the latter end of years. Gog will come to Israel which is a land brought back from the sword. Israel became desolate at the time of Megiddo when the wild beasts’ armies swept through the region, killing and raping people. They, the sons of Jacob, came out of the nations or were gathered out of the nations and the heavens, to live in, and rebuild, Israel. They have been dwelling securely.
After many days the satan will be mustered for service. The sons of Jacob came to the valley of Jehoshaphat after the battle at Megiddo. The satan’s army will rise up over the mountains like a storm. How can the satan muster an army? What must he say to these humans that spreads throughout nations and influences them to make weapons? These people have not known any wars in their lifetimes. The satan must start a campaign similar to what he started in Babylon. He might be telling people that they themselves are the masters of their own lives, and there is no need to worship Jesus. He might be saying that they can overcome the region of Israel and then they would be free to not have to worship or partake in the feasts and holy days. He also might be suggesting that one of their nations can rule the entire world. He may well insist that if they destroy Israel and depose Yahweh, they could be their own judges, and make up their own laws and rules.
Ezekiel 38:9 And thou shalt go up as rain, and shalt arrive as a cloud to cover the land, and there shall be thou, and all that are about thee, and many nations with thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass in that day, that thoughts shall come up into thine heart, and thou shalt devise evil devices. 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the rejected land; I will come upon them that are at ease in tranquility, and dwelling in peace, all inhabiting a land in which there is no wall, nor bars, nor have they doors
Israel will have no walls. There is nothing to stop this army that will come against them. They have no barrier. They have no weapons. They have no defenses. They have no security alarms, security camera’s, and guard dogs. People have been at rest and dwelling securely. The satan’s army does this to take spoil and make them prey.
Ezekiel 38:12 to seize plunder, and to take their spoil; to turn my hands against the desolate land that is now inhabited, and against a nation that is gathered from many nations, that have acquired property, dwelling in the midst of the land. 13 Sabba, and Daedan, and Carthaginian merchants, and all their villages shall say to thee, Thou art come for plunder to take a prey, and to get spoils: thou hast gathered thy multitude to take silver and gold, to carry off property, to take spoils.
Even the merchants surrounding Israel will be asking what this army under Gog is doing. The fact that the entire world has been defenseless for one thousand years is what inspires Gog to attempt to enslave the world, starting with Israel.
Ezekiel 38:14 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus saith the Lord; Wilt thou not arise in that day, when my people Israel are dwelling securely, 15 and come out of thy place from the farthest north, and many nations with thee? all of them mounted on horses, a great gathering, and a large force? 16 And thou shalt come up upon my people Israel as a cloud to cover the land; it shall come to pass in the last days, that I will bring thee up upon my land, that all the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in thee before them.
In the latter days, the Lord will bring them against the land. His holiness shall be vindicated. During the Millennial Reign people will question the holiness of the Lord. Remember, as Zechariah said, if people don’t come to worship on the appointed feast days their land will not receive rain water? People may think he is a harsh judge. They may have even think that life under the satan’s rule in the previous age was better. This is why the satan is loosed. But the Lord protects Israel; and stories will resurface from past ages that tell of him not protecting them because of their own sin and allowing them to go into captivity. The Lord Jesus will be vindicated.
Notice in verse 17 that Gog is the one spoken of through the prophets in former ages.
Ezekiel 38:17 Thus saith the Lord God, to Gog; Thou art he concerning whom I spoke in former times, by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel, in those days and years, that I would bring thee up against them. 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, 19 that my wrath and my jealousy shall arise, I have spoken in the fire of mine anger, verily in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 and the fish of the sea shall quake at the presence of the Lord, and the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the field, and all the reptiles that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth; and the mountains shall be rent, and the valleys shall fall, and every wall on the land shall fall. 21 And I will summon against it even every fear, saith the Lord: the sword of every man shall be against his brother.
The land will shake and the Lord will be angry. The animals, fish, and birds will all shake. The mountains will fall into the valleys and the walls in other lands will fall. The Lord will summon every fear against Gog and his army. The Lord calls for a sword against Gog and the people of Gog kill each other.
Ezekiel 38:22 And I will judge him with pestilence, and blood, and sweeping rain, and hailstones; and I will rain upon him fire and brimstone, and upon all that are with him, and upon many nations with him.
23 And I will be magnified, and sanctified, and glorified; and I will be known in the presence of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The Lord will judge Gog and his armies; and He will judge the nations supporting this war with bloodshed, pestilence, rain and hailstones, and fire and brimstone. What is the goal in allowing the satan to be loosed and allowing Gog to gather an army against Israel? So that the Lord will be magnified, sanctified and glorified. Everyone on earth will know that Jesus is Lord. The Israelites will trust Him
Ezekiel 39:1 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, Rhos prince of Mesoch and Thobel: 2 and I will assemble thee, and guide thee, and raise thee up on the extremity of the north, and I will bring thee up upon the mountains of Israel. 3 And I will destroy the bow out of thy left hand, and thine arrows out of thy right hand, and I will cast thee down on the mountains of Israel; 4 and thou and all that belong to thee shall fall, and the nations that are with thee shall be given to multitudes of birds, even to every fowl, and I have given thee to all the wild beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 Thou shalt fall on the face of the field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord.
6 And I will send a fire upon Gog, and the islands shall be securely inhabited: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The Lord will lead Gog on, and it will appear as if he is not watching over Israel. Israel will look helpless, but Gog and his armies will fall, kill each other, be burnt with fire, and then will be eaten by the birds and beasts. Those people and nations that went along with this plan, but stayed behind, will burn with fire also. All the world will know the Lord and who he is.
Ezekiel 39:7 And my holy name shall be known in the midst of my people Israel; and my holy name shall no more be profaned: and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold it is come, and thou shalt know that it shall be, saith the Lord God; this is the day concerning which I have spoken.
The people of Israel will no longer profane His name, or speak against His character. They will trust Him. The nations will also know and understand that Yahweh is the Holy One of Israel. This tells us that through the Millennial Kingdom, the nations and the people of Israel were not sinless, they did not know, or understand the Lord Almighty. There is still a need for sacrifices in the temple. Jesus reigns from Jerusalem in a one mile by one mile temple compound, but the people have the responsibility to follow the laws; the civil laws, the moral laws, and the spiritual laws.
The Israelites will take the primitive weaponry of Gog’s armies and burn them for seven years.
Ezekiel 39:9 And they that inhabit the cities of Israel shall come forth, and make a fire with the arms, the shields and the spears, and bows and arrows, and hand-staves, and lances, and they shall keep fire burning with them for seven years: 10 and they shall not take any wood out of the field, neither shall they cut any out of the forests, but they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and spoil those that spoiled them, saith the Lord.
The Israelites will also take all the spoil of the armies of Gog. Pay attention to this timing here. They will burn the weapons for seven years. This tells us that after the thousand years, when the satan is loosed for a short time, plus seven years of burning weapons, means the Lord will be King for over one thousand years. Will it be an extra eight years or one hundred years? We don’t know, but from the time that the satan is loosed to the end of the seven years of burning weapons is at least eight years. Then Gog and his dead armies will have a place of renown, a tomb in Israel. It will take seven months to bury everyone.
Ezekiel 39:11 And it shall come to pass that in that day I will give to Gog a place of renown, a tomb in Israel, the burial-place of them that approach the sea: and they shall build round about the outlet of the valley, and there they shall bury Gog and all his multitude: and the place shall then be called the burial-place of Gog. 12 And the house of Israel shall bury them, that the land may be cleansed in the space of seven months. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a place of renown in the day wherein it was glorified, saith the Lord. 14 And they shall appoint men continually to go over the land, to bury them that have been left on the face of the earth, to cleanse it after the space of seven months, and they shall seek them out. 15 And every one that goes through the land, and sees a man’s bone, shall set up a mark by it, until the buriers shall have buried it in the valley, the burial place of Gog. 16 For the name of the city shall be Burial-place: so shall the land be cleansed.
If they miss any bones they will be marked and the buriers will bury it in the proper place. This is how the land will be cleansed.
Ezekiel 39:17 And thou, son of man, say, Thus saith the Lord; Say to every winged bird, and to all the wild beasts of the field, Gather yourselves, and come; gather yourselves from all places round about to my sacrifice, which I have made for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, and ye shall eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and ye shall drink the blood of princes of the earth, rams, and calves and goats, and they are all fatted calves. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye are full, and shall drink wine till ye are drunken, of my sacrifice which I have prepared for you. 20 And ye shall be filled at my table, eating horse, and rider, and mighty man, and every warrior, saith the Lord.
21 And I will set my glory among you, and all the nations shall see my judgment which I have wrought, and my hand which I have brought upon them. 22 And the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from this day and onwards.
Just like the birds came to eat after the battle of Megiddo, the birds come and eat after the battle of Gog. While the birds and beasts eat, people will take the bones and bury them. All the nations will see the glory of the Lord. The house of Israel will know that He is the Lord their God from that day forward.
The Millennial reign is all about people coming to know their Lord and God, and it will take one thousand years for Israel and the nations to actually know him, and trust him. The people of the early years who have just come out of the tribulation will know Him; but now, one thousand years later, people will not know or understand why there has to be a temple and temple sacrifices. They will not know or understand what the purpose of worship is and it will be easy for the nations to be lured by the satan to fight a battle for their freedom.
When everyone sees Yahweh’s glory, the glory of the Lord, everyone will know and understand why Israel went into captivity. This is interesting, the glory is so intense, so perfect, so holy, that it is the glory that corrects the people, and their understanding of their forefathers’ past sins.
Ezekiel 39:23 And all the nations shall know that the house of Israel were led captive because of their sins, because they rebelled against me, and I turned away my face from them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleannesses and according to their transgressions did I deal with them, and I turned away my face from them.
25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Now will I turn back captivity in Jacob, and will have mercy on the house of Israel, and will be jealous for the sake of my holy name. 26 And they shall bear their reproach, and the iniquity which they committed when they dwelt upon their land in peace. Yet there shall be none to terrify them
This is the time of mercy for Jacob’s heirs. Jacob’s heirs will once again be brought out from the nations. This tells us that during the Millennial Kingdom Jacob’s heirs were free to live anywhere among the nations.
Ezekiel 39:27 when I have brought them back from the nations, and gathered them out of the countries of the nations: and I will be sanctified among them in the presence of the nations.
The Lord brings Jacob’s heirs back to Israel again. He gathers them out of the nations. Because Yahweh fights for Israel this time, the people, no matter where they have been living, will know that He is the Lord their God.
Ezekiel 39:28 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, when I have been manifested to them among the nations.
29 And I will no more turn away my face from them, because I have poured out my wrath upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
This is the finale of Israel’s punishment for their sins. It is also the finale of the satan who deceived them. We have another event that must take place after this time. The satan will be cast into the lake of fire and sulphur, joining the beast and the false prophet.
Revelation 20:10 G2532 And G3588 the G1228 devil, G3588 the one G4105 misleading G1473 them G906 was cast G1519 into G3588 the G3041 lake G3588 G4442 of fire G2532 and G2303 sulphur, G3699 where G3588 the G2342 beast G2532 and G3588 the G5578 false prophet are . G2532 And G928 they shall be tormented G2250 day G2532 and G3571 night G1519 into G3588 the G165 eons G3588 of the G165 eons
1228 LSJ Gloss:διάβολος slanderous, backbiting
Dodson:διάβολος slanderous, the Slanderer, the Devil
(adj. used often as a noun), slanderous; with the article: the Slanderer (par excellence), the Devil.
Thayer:
1) prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely
1a) a calumniator, false accuser, slanderer,
2) metaph. applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with himSatan the prince of the demons, the author of evil, persecuting good men, estranging mankind from God and enticing them to sin, afflicting them with diseases by means of demons who take possession of their bodies at his bidding.
διάβολος
diabolos dee-ab'-ol-os From G1225; a traducer; specifically Satan (compare [H7854]) KJV Usage: false accuser, devil, slanderer.
928 LSJ Gloss:βασανίζω to rub
Dodson:βασανίζω I torment, torture, buffet I examine, as by torture; I torment; I buffet, as of waves.
Thayer:
1) to test (metals) by the touchstone, which is a black siliceous stone used to test the purity of gold or silver by the colour of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal
2) to question by applying torture
3) to torture
4) to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment
5) to be harassed, distressed
5a) of those who at sea are struggling with a head wind
βασανίζω
basanizō bas-an-id'-zo From G931; to torture KJV Usage: pain, toil, torment, toss, vex.
The wild beast, the false prophet, and the satan, will be tortured day and night, from age to age. The devil made the whole earth wander, stray, and roam from safety, truth, and virtue. When we reflect back to Solomon’s words regarding man and the devil, we understand that there must be a long vetting process before final judgment.
Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24 (KJVApocrypha)
23 For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.
24 Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side [the devil’s side] do find it.
Man was created to be immortal, and made to be an image of God’s eternity. Man is to live age to age, eon to eon, like the angels, cherubim, seraphim, ophanim, and the rest of the sons of God. This is the age of man, and an envious usurper caused mankind to be misled. Through this slanderer, the earth and everything in it was infected with sin. But the process of extermination for the devil, and those who hold onto his side,
is a just one that takes more time than most of us would like to see. That is the justice, fairness, and mercy of our God.
To review our timeline, we see the satan set free after one thousand years to deceive the nations. He goes out to the four corners or angles of the earth and gathers an army, as Revelation 20:8 says, Magog. Israel has been living in peace and safety with no walls and no weapons. The deceived people come to fight against Israel. Remember that the temple compound is in Jerusalem, and it is about one square mile. Jesus will lead them on by pretending not to notice them. Their goals is to overthrow Jesus. Jesus incinerates these people fighting for Gog and all those who agreed with this plan. Gog and his armies will be buried in a place that everyone will see. It will take seven years to burn all their weapons. Then everyone will see and know the glory of the Lord and they will understand His judgment. They cannot understand Yahweh’s judgment until they see His glory. Then they will realize why their sin separated them, causing them to go into captivity during this age. There is a temple and there are sacrifices during the Millennial Kingdom, so we know that there must be sin and there is the requirement of an atonement for sin during that time. Then the satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The Millennial age does not end just yet; there is another event that must take place before the Millennial Reign is complete.
