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Gog and Magog
RV240-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
Our subject is "The release of Satan." This is segment number three in Revelation 20:7-10.
The end of the millennium brings a referendum on the service of Jesus Christ as King of the world government. He Himself brings about an evaluation
on how well He has done in ruling the world for 1,000 years. Satan, at this point in time, is released from his imprisonment in the abyss, and he
promptly sends out his agents to rally people from around the world to a negative vote against Jesus Christ the King. This negative vote is expressed
by going to war against Jesus Christ, and the world's leading nation at the time, Israel. Satan gathers support for his final effort to dethrone God
by promising freedom from the society of righteousness which Christ has imposed on the world.
The rebels who do join Satan are unbelievers born during the millennium. Please remember that. We don't want you to think that we're saying that the
believers in glorified bodies are going to join Satan; nor do we suggest that other believers who are in their natural bodies (of which there will
be a large multitude) will be joining Satan. It is the unbelievers born during the millennium who are going to rally to the devil. The rejection of
Jesus Christ by multitudes of people comes on the background of mankind's golden age, which has been created by the administration of Christ. That's
the amazing thing. We have just concluded centuries of a world of honest government, functioning within the limits of the divine institution of
nationalism.
The Millennium
I am amazed how people in the realms of government service and in politics grit their teeth when you suggest that there is in the Bible a pattern for
the role of government, and a restriction upon its authority. They hate that, because they love power, and they simply give you the back of the hand,
and say, "Oh, that's just your opinion. That's just how you're interpreting the Bible." But the Bible is not a hard book to interpret when you just
let the words say what they mean. And God made it very clear to Noah that he was to establish a system of jurisdiction and jurisprudence, of courts
of law that restrain the sin nature of man so that the conditions before the flood could never happen again. The result was that Noah became the
first magistrate, and laws were established, and government was limited to keeping law and order.
Our Constitution is an expression of such a government. Jesus Christ is going to impose that kind of a divine institution again. Furthermore, it will
be 1,000 years where there is no undetected and unpunished crime, and perfect justice will be meted out by the administrators. Israel will be the
world's superpower, and the teacher of doctrine worldwide from Jerusalem to all nations. Righteous conduct will be enforced in public relations. The
topless bars will close; the bars will close; and, all of the things that are degenerative and evil, like the R-rated movies, will go out of business.
The whole scene will be dramatically changed. There will not be allowed in society in public any violation of the highest moral code of God.
Nature itself will be relieved of the curse placed upon it because of Adam's sin. The desert will blossom as a rose, and maximum food production will
be the norm. World peace will be enforced. No wars will be permitted between nations, and weapons will simply be discarded, and melted down to
implements of agriculture. Personal prosperity will know no limits under a free enterprise, private-property-ownership capitalism. No religion will
have been permitted during that 1,000 years in society from Satan.
There will be instead a great filling of the Holy Spirit on the part of society in general, and thus people creating joy and blessing, and
experiencing great personal freedom. Salvation by free grace will be available to all, based on the death of Christ on the cross, which paid the
penalty of sin, which is death. The millennium will be, in fact, the Kingdom of God come down to earth, bringing glory to God as His will is done.
The End of the Millennium
So, this is going to be a great time in human history. And on the basis of that background for 1,000 years, now people are asked to make a choice for
or against Christ. Satan then is released. He deceives the nations to go for the freedom, and to indulge the lust patterns of the old sin nature that
is a man. That is astounding in itself. Once more, they go for the indulgence of the sin nature the way it was before the millennium. Unbelievers who
were born during the millennium will be pretending an outward subjection to Christ, but inwardly, the Bible tells us, they will be seething with
resentment toward Him. They will have a feigned obedience. Human viewpoint insanity leads these to believe that Satan's way of life is better for
mankind than Christ's way. So, they vote for the devil with their feet, and they join them from all over the world in Israel.
The Four Corners of the Earth
Now, the divine mission of Satan (Revelation 20:7) for 1,000 years is completed. Satan is released from his prison. He comes out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners of the earth. This expression "four corners of the earth" is used in the Bible, as in Isaiah 11:12, to signify
the whole planet earth. So, we're talking about something that people are going to be engaged in from all over the world. Everyone will be faced with
making a clear-cut choice for Christ or for Satan, as to which one will be their God.
The Dispensations
This will be the last dispensational test of mankind before eternity begins. If you are not up on the concept of dispensations, I would strongly urge
you to get our splendid series on the dispensations. It is a classic presentation. People have written us many, many times of how this divine outline
of history has finally enabled them to put all the Bible into a proper order. It keeps you from trying to apply one part of the Bible to a place or
people to whom it does not apply it. It clarifies a number of enormous things. So that is a very good series. And if you are not up on it, get the
series on the dispensations, and you will have that very important, divine outline of history. That is the frame of reference you need to understand
the whole Scriptures.
Well, this is the last of seven segments of human history. In each segment, a dispensation is a period of time in which God deals with humanity in a
certain way. We are now in what would be called the sixth segment of God's arranging of His earthly household – the age of grace, or the age of
the church. Grace is predominant, as in the previous dispensation, the Mosaic Law was the system of life under which people lived. So, every
dispensation has a specific purpose. God wants to show us that the natural man, with his natural sinful old sin nature cannot take one step toward
God. He cannot reform himself. He cannot come to an arrangement with God. He cannot arrive at justification. In every dispensation, which has a
variety of situations, man just does not come to God. If it is laws, as with Moses, they didn't come to God. If it's free grace (as it is today),
they don't come to God.
So, the last dispensation, for God to prove how thoroughly corrupt man is by nature, is the kingdom – this last 1,000-year dispensation. In it,
you will have a paradise on earth with Christ the King visibly reigning in all of His glory from the city of Jerusalem. Surely, under those
conditions, mankind will gravitate toward Christ with great loyalty and great enthusiasm.
A Last Test
So, this is the last test. Every dispensation is a test. However, we discover that the 1,000-year paradise on earth does not change the nature of man.
In Romans 3:19, the apostle Paul has said, "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law; that every mouth may be
closed, and all the world may become accountable to God." Well, what the dispensations do is shut everybody's mouth. Nobody is ever going to be able
to stand up and say, "Well, God, you're sending me to the lake of fire, but if you had let me live under this condition or under this situation, I
would have come to you." All of this dispensation is going to prove that that's false. And the greatest one of all here is that the King Himself will
find rebels ready to turn against Him.
For 1,000 years, Satan has been helpless in imprisonment. Does that bring him to repentance? Not for a moment. The lack of the rehabilitation of
Satan, and of the unsaved, shows that external causes do not cause one to rebel and to sin against God and against righteousness. People are not bad
in our society. They don't do these terrible evil things in our society because of their environment; because of their economic conditions; because
of their family background; or, because of the circumstances of life in which they find themselves. That is all human viewpoint. Paul said that people
are bad because they have a sin nature, and they're totally depraved. Here we have children born during the millennial reign of Christ the King. And
when they have a chance to rebel against Him because they refuse to accept Him as Savior, they turn to Satan and say, "We want you to be our God, and
we will follow you in a rebellion against Jesus Christ who imposes these rules of righteousness upon our society."
The cause of evil conduct (make no mistake) is not poverty. It's not inadequate social conditions. It's not the color of your skin. It's not the bad
environment. It's not your lack of education. It's not your frustrations; your rejections; or, any ignorance you may have. It is the sin nature
within you. The root cause of evil conduct is the total depravity of man's nature apart from salvation.
Well, God, with this final rebellion, will show to have been just in taking believers to heaven, and in casting unbelievers with Satan into the lake
of fire. This settles the angelic conflict. The devil has been pointing his finger at God and saying, "You haven't treated me fairly. You created a
place called the lake of fire because I rebelled against You, and all these angels who joined me (maybe a third of the whole host of billions of
angels You created) – they join me. And what do you do? You say, "You're condemned to the lake of fire. You don't give us a second chance.
You're not being fair." And the angelic conflict begins on that basis. Man was created, in part, to resolve that conflict. We'll study more of that
in a moment.
So, what God is going to do is use Satan's wickedness to achieve his divine purpose of publicly separating the saved from the lost. That's why Satan
is released for this short period of time. There's no change in Satan's evil character, and there is no change in that of the unsaved who have enjoyed
the millennial blessings. The final blessings at the end of the millennium, that unsaved man cannot achieve personal righteousness and justification
without God's grace, is very clear. Dispensational testing has been the way that God has given man a chance to show that he could come to God on his
own. And each time he fails.
The first dispensation, of course, was the dispensation in which Adam and Eve lived. Everything was perfect. There was no sin nature. There was a
perfect environment. It was everything they could ask for. The only sin they had that they could commit was one sin, and that was mental attitude
sin – a sin of rebellion against the authority of God. And Satan was able to lead them into that.
Bible Doctrine
So, dispensational testing began at Eden. It moved through the era of the flood and Babylonianism; through Judaism and Israel; through the times of
the gentiles; through the church age; and, into the tribulation, and now it's concluding here in the kingdom age. After all the blissful centuries of
the millennium, men will by nature still choose to follow Satan against King Jesus. The rebellion against Bible doctrine makes a super IQ like Satan
inordinately stupid, and a failure. I cannot stress enough to you that your life is doctrine.
That is not popular, and it does not fill your chairs
and your pews in your churches when you say that. People do not like to come to church to be taught the Word of God. It is like one lady who visited
us one time, who considered herself quite an elite Christian, said, "I don't go to church to sit in a classroom." I also observed that she was
inordinately stupid when it came to spiritual things. She was extremely self-centered and extremely self-oriented, and she was a ding-a-ling of Satan
if there ever was one. Doctrine's is what differentiates us from the world of unbelievers and from the world of animals around us.
So, take it very seriously. So, you want to be successful. You want to be a human being who knows how to live your life next week; how to cope with
the issues that come to you; and, how to go through life and be an achiever instead of a loser. One of the great verses of the Scripture (and it is
an all-time great verse) is a principle laid down in the Old Testament, which is a clue to righteousness and prosperity in the life of any individual,
is Joshua 1:8. Here's the key to all of life for all of us.
Meditation
In Joshua 1:8, God says to Joshua, as he is taking over command of the nation of Israel upon the death of Moses: "This book of the Law shall not
depart from your mouth." What is he talking about? Well, at this time, he was talking about the first five books of Moses. That's all the Bible they
head. We call it the Pentateuch. The Jews call it the Torah, which means "the Law." The first thing God says is, "Joshua, you're going to be the
leader now, and the first thing I want you to know is that you must not fail to keep talking to your people about doctrine – the book of the
Law. The principles of spiritual guidance are in these principles of doctrine that are encased here in the books of Moses, within the specific
dispensational structure of Judaism: "This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night."
The word "meditate" means to mull it over. You just sit, and you take a principle of Scripture, and you mull it over. You take a doctrinal thought,
and you work it over in your mind, and make its application as God the Holy Spirit leads you to make it in your particular situation. I can explain to
you from Scripture a doctrinal principle. I cannot really apply it to you personally because your situation is different from somebody else's
situation. It has to be you who are in temporal fellowship, who therefore has a mind which is open for God, the Spirit to teach you and say, "Now, did
you just hear that? Now here's how I want it to apply in your situation."
Obviously, if you're home watching your TV on Sunday mornings or Sunday nights, you're not going to be able to hear it. And you're not going to be
able to have anything applied in your life. But when you're here, we can teach you in the Spirit of God. If you meditate upon the Word of God, we'll
make it applicable and pertinent, so that you have something on which you will be able to live. You metabolize the truth: "So that you may be careful
to do according to all that is written in it."
James says, "Do not be hearers of the word only, but doers." Well, here's the same thing in Joshua. God is telling Joshua, "I want you to talk about
the Word of God to people. You teach them the truth of doctrine. I want you yourself to meditate and teach them to meditate (to think about it). Then
I want you to tell them to be open to God's application of the Word of Truth in their own particular situation."
Prosperity
What will be the result? Here's the kicker: "For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." Life will fall together.
Will it be a bowl of cherries? Not always. Will you take the ups and downs in stride? You will indeed. It's pretty easy to take the prosperous times
and "the ups" in stride. But when we get those sad moments, when we get "the downs," that's where your character as a Christian is revealed. And boy,
do I ever see this? When people come to crisis points in their lives, and I, because of experience and knowledge of the Word, have some ability to
make discernment. I am appalled on what I see in people, who should have spiritual capacity, who are zeros. They are great when they're on a high, but
when it comes to success in the lows, they're not with it, because they have not filled their human spirits with the doctrines of the Word of God,
and they have not meditated and practiced what they have learned.
If you do this, it'll make your way prosperous. Do you know what that means? That means money. It means good times. It means material well-being and
blessing. This is the principle of the Word of God: that those who function on doctrine will have minds that are oriented to reality so that
therefore you will take the job that you should take; you will do the business move that you should move; and, you will conduct yourself in your life
in such a way that it is compatible with the Word of God and with your dignity as a member of the royal family of God. Everything you do is going to
have the Midas touch on it. God prospers the Christian who, without even having to think – his mind is so oriented to the mind of God that he
makes the right moves. So, there's no whining, and there's no bellyaching. And even when the hardest times come, there's no: "Why did this happen to
me?" There's a taking in stride of the sovereign dealing of God.
If you want to prosper, and if you want to have good success in life, it's very simple: Start learning the Word of God. I don't know that I can go so
far as to say what one Bible teacher says, who deals with youth matters and conflicts that young people have. He has argued, and he has some pretty
good examples to quote, that people who learn the Word of God, and who memorize passages of Scripture, and who devote their minds to learning the
Word of God, become "A" students. And boy, he will knock you on your ears as he tells about this poor guy who could hardly scratch above an "F."
He starts memorizing Scripture, and he starts learning doctrine, and something happens to the process of his mind. Pretty soon, he's creeping up from
the "Cs" to the "Bs," and he's kicking out "As."
You can't increase your IQ. What you're born with is what you have. I don't want you to be depressed. Some of you have a real problem there. What you
have is what you see. But you can use that IQ in a huge maximum effectively. Learning the Word of God does that because it keeps you oriented to
reality so that you don't do dumb things. And all you have to do is one dumb thing. And boy, does it dramatically change your life? Do I have
to explain that to you? One dumb thing can undermine your tremendous effectiveness even as a Christian in God's service. The way you keep from doing
dumb things is, as you learn the Word of God, you metabolize it. As Joshua was told, you do it. The result will be success.
So, what am I saying? I'm saying that this applies to a person even of modest intelligence. The modest, simple-IQ person who meditates upon the Word
of God will become a great success, because a person who meditates upon the Word of God, and then does it, will have integrity. And a person who has
integrity will be a huge success in life. Maybe he will not respected by the world, and maybe not rewarded. But I guarantee that when he goes over to
the other side, he will be an enormously enriched person. A person of modest IQ, but who has integrity, will blow over a person with higher mentality,
but who is a cheat; a liar; a snake; a conniver; and, a compromiser with the moral standards of God. The simple person of low IQ, but with integrity,
will find himself, the associates, the Scripture says, "Of kings and princes." And boy, does it ever happen? That's exactly the way it goes.
Psalm 119
We've been reading the longest Psalm for several Sundays in the Bible: Psalm 119. It is so long that we've had to chop it up into segments. But this
Psalm has one thing at its core (you may have picked it up), and that is praise of doctrine. That's it. It is praise of the Word of God. And it is one
of the most dramatic, exciting passages of Scripture that you should teach your sons and daughters: praise for the Word of God. This is exactly tied
back to Joshua 1:8, of having great success and prosperity with the Word of God.
Let me show you a few verses. Psalm 119:9: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your Word." Purity and morality come
from knowing the Word of God, and then obeying it. It's just that simple. A person in temporal fellowship has this power, the Spirit of God, to do
that. You don't have to have the sex life of a barnyard animal. You can have the sex life of a noble prince or princess of God, because the Word of
God gives you the capacity to do that.
Please look at verse 14-16: "I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches." Did you get that? First I put the things of God,
then I put the things of money. I have to make a decision. I must leave an area where I am filled with the instruction of the Word of God, and I must
move someplace else for an employment opportunity. How will you make that decision? You might say, "Well, I'll see where I can get the most money. If
the most money is in Irving, I stay. If the most money is someplace else, that's where I go. That is wrong. What is the doctrinal principle? Can you
come up with it on your own? Jesus enunciated it very clearly: "Seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will
be added unto you. That's the principle.
There are people in our midst who had to make a decision like that, and almost moved in the wrong
direction, then said, "Wait a minute. The Word of God and the feeding of my spiritual life comes first" – not the fact that I can move here, and
have even a satisfying employment, but I get the good salary too. No, that's not the guideline. You never leave the instruction to the Word of God
unless you can go someplace else where the enrichment is the same. Otherwise, God is not leading you, unless he's leading you to be a missionary
there.
I get these sad calls and letters from people who want to be here in Irving. These people want to be here because Berean Church is here. They
have been on tapes, and they know what's available here on a Sunday-by-Sunday basis. We have people in our midst who have moved from parts of the
country just because they said, "I'll move for the Word of God instead of for riches."
Here is the wisdom of the psalmist: "I have rejoice in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches." And here it is: "I will meditate on
Your precepts, and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statures. I shall not forget Your word." Meditation is the key.
Look at verses 23 and 24: "Even though princes sit and talk against me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my
delight. They are my counselors." Oh my! They are my counselors? You mean when that poor sorry preacher stands up in that pulpit and teaches you
doctrine, he has no fame or fortune, and he is your counselor because when he transmits the Word of God, God Himself becomes your counselor? How many
times have you heard us say that every time that we speak to from the Word of God, we are counseling you. Instead, you Christians go off the
psychobabble, even to Christian psychobabblers, in order to get information about how to live your lives, and never realize for a moment that up
there on that balcony is a room filled with counseling of the most superb kind (recorded sermons) because it is the Word of God explained. And you
deal with the appropriate subject, and you have all the answers that you could ever call for. If you've been attending church, you've been getting it,
and being reminded of it. What is the key again? "Your servant meditates on Your statures." I mull over the Word of God, and that's what makes me
powerful.
Rebellion at the end of the millennium is going to be because people were rebellious against the Word of God which they were taught, and they would
not meditate upon it. So, they made fools of themselves by following Satan.
Notice verse 27: "Make me understand the way of Your precepts so I will meditate on Your wonders."
Verse 48: "And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments which I love. And I will meditate on Your statues." Meditation is the key to success
and prosperity.
Verse 72: "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces." Oh boy! Is that true? What will you compromise of
integrity for gold and silver pieces?
Verse 78: "May the arrogant be a shamed, for they subvert me with a lie, but I shall meditate on Your precepts." Doesn't it make you mad when you
Christians, who are posed as a threat to American society today, are misrepresented? You are described as horrible people which are ready to take
away freedom from other people who are going to impose your way of life, and all that. The arrogant should be ashamed, because they try to subvert
the Christian with a lie. When you are solid in doctrines, anybody can say anything about you, and it will roll off like the water off the duck's
back because you will know that you are right.
Psalm 119:97: "O, how I love Your Law. It is my meditation all the day." Again, mulling over the Word of God is what makes it in life.
Verse 99: "I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditations." When our brother Carl Simmons was here to sing for us
a few Sundays ago, at lunch he said, "You know, I go to school. I'm in college, and I listen to these yo-yos all the time who are either degrading
the Bible; belittling biblical principles; or, talking like they are arrogant, knowledgeable experts on the issues that they deal with, and they're
nothing but intellectual fools." What he was saying was: "I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation." When you
meditate upon the Word of God, and you know the principles of the Word of God, boy, you are going to be smart. You'll be smarter than all those people
who are in positions of authority and power in our society. Verse 99: "And smarter than my teachers."
And finally, verse 148: "My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate upon Your Word." How is that? "God, I look forward to having to go
to bed, so that I can lie down, and I can start thinking about You. I can start thinking about what I've been taught that day at church. I can start
mulling over what I read in Scripture that day. I can think through what I've heard on tape. I can just think about You. And all of a sudden, I'm
drifting off to slumber land. The sandman of doctrine throws the magical sand of the Word of God in your eyes, and you drift off to sleep. That's
your last memory. And when you wake up, that's what you're thinking about.
I have noticed how there is that strange connection: You are thinking about something; you fall asleep; you wake up; and, you're still thinking about
it. In fact, you think that you never fell asleep. One time, while visiting one of my relatives, they had a digital clock by the bed stand with large
numbers on it. That's when I learned that whatever I was thinking about when I fell asleep, I woke up still thinking about, and it seemed like only a
few minutes later, but when I looked, it was two hours later. And all through the night, I would fall asleep, and wake up. And I would think that it
was just a few minutes later, when it was really three hours later. Get yourself a digital clock, and discover the timespan between your falling
asleep and waking up as you go through the night, and how your mind is hooked into what you've been thinking about. This business of meditation is a
powerful, transforming factor, and it does give you good success in life, and it does make you prosperous.
Well, here we have Satan on his last hurrah, and people are willing to join him in that last foolish enterprise, because they have ignored the great
access to the Word of God. Do you realize that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be on public television throughout the millennium? He will be running
Bible classes. It's going to be like you're back in New Testament times with one of the disciples. People are going to be instructed in various ways.
The media will be propelling the Word of Truth. Publications will be from that frame of reference. Everything will be terrific in learning God's
framework of thinking. And Satan comes up; he chooses to rebel against God; and, he goes down in flames, taking a new generation of rebels with him.
In Revelation 20:8, we have now the final mobilization. Satan comes out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. The "four
corners of earth" is an expression which refers to all of the planet earth. Then we have these two words: "Gog and Magog." The words are not
identified, and they're not explained. This is Satan's rallying of the nations and their leaders as an insurrection against Jesus Christ, and it is
referred to by the words "Gog and Magog." These words are used here in a symbolic way.
1,000 years before, in Ezekiel 38-39, there is described a power from the north. Gog is the leader, and Magog is his people. That nation comes down
from the north against Israel, because it is envious of Israel's prosperity, and this happens in the middle of the tribulation. At mid-tribulation,
the Gog and Magog event takes place. The leader, with his people, sweeps down upon Israel. And Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe how God enters the picture,
and He Himself, with probably atomic nuclear forces, melt the rebels coming down upon Israel. He just destroys them, so that only one-sixth of them
escape alive, and they get back to the country they came from.
The Bible says that that country is to the north of Israel. The country to the north of Israel is clearly Russia, and those who are allied with it.
Ezekiel 38:2"Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. In Genesis 10:2,
where we have lists of names and families, you will find the name Magog listed as the son of Japheth, who was Noah's eldest son. So, Magog was a
grandson of Noah. Magog had two brothers, among others, who were named Tubal and Meshech. Magog founded a kingdom north of the Caspian Sea known as
Scythia. Scythia eventually assumed the name "Russia." So, here you have, from anthropological descent, this man Magog from Japheth who settled in a
part of the world north of the Caspian Sea in the territory which is today Russia, and which now bears the name of "Russia." Ezekiel 38-39 record
an attack from this territory of Magog at mid-tribulation (this territory of Russia), and its allies, against Israel. Gog is the leader, and Magog is
the people who follow him. God Himself destroys the aggressors, Gog and Magog, and saves Israel.
Notice Ezekiel 38:21-22: "'And I shall call for a sword against him (against Gog) on all My mountain,' declares the Lord God. 'Every man's sword will
be against his brother, and with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him, and I shall rain on him and on his troops, and on
the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain with hailstones, fire, and brimstone.'" God stops this attack against Israel with powerful
forces of nature. God says, "Gog is coming. He's bringing his nation Magog with him, and I'm going to stop them in their tracks.
Now look at Ezekiel 39:1-6. This is a little more background, because you remember that we interpret Revelation from where it speaks of these same
things elsewhere in the Bible. Ezekiel 39:1 says, "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God. Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I shall turn you around and drive you on, and take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and
bring you against the mountains of Israel. I shall strike your bow from your left hand, and dash down your arrows from your right hand. And you shall
fall on the ground. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you. I shall give you as food to
every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. You will fall on the open field, for it is I have spoken,' declares the Lord God. 'And I shall
send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coast lands in safety, and they will know that I am the Lord.'" "The coast lands are fringes of Russia.
"And I will send fire upon Magog."
It is this passage of Scripture, which was the background of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the movie which dealt with the discovery of the missing
ark of the covenant, and of these villains who took it and opened it up. When they opened up the top of the ark, here came the tremendous descent of
the Spirit and power of God. And you stood and looked at the soldiers and these leaders, and their eyeballs melted. ... They opened their mouths, and
their tongues poured out. It was very impressive, and a big finish. That was doing exactly what nuclear power does. This is what you have described
here. And they brought it right up front there, because that's what God says He's going to do to the people of Gog, the Magogs.
Now, with that background, we point out to you that Gog and Magog of Ezekiel, which is in mid-tribulation, is not the same as what we're reading of
here in Revelation 20. Don't make that mistake. It is a different event altogether, but it is still this kind of a military enterprise. The Gog and
Magog of Ezekiel is actually a prototype of the same kind of aggression at the end of the millennium, again against Israel, instigated by Satan with
the defeat of the aggressors at the hand of God.
"A Gog and Magog Event"
Revelation 20:8, at the end of the millennium, records another attack against Jerusalem and the Jews as in Ezekiel: "And will come out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog." And he goes on in the next two verses to describe how he has come to attack
Jerusalem (Jesus Christ), the camp of the saints. A huge multitude of unsaved rebels is rallied by Satan to make war on Jesus Christ, and on Israel at
Jerusalem. This aggression is referred to symbolically as "a Gog and Magog event." That's the connection. It is a Gog and Magog event. Gog (the
political leaders of the nation) and Magog (their citizens) are going down in defeat before Jesus Christ.
Waterloo
This is comparable to describing a person's climactic defeat in some way as his "Waterloo." And all of you immediately can make the connection. You
say that something climactic; some tremendous problem; or, some finality in your life is your Waterloo. What do you mean? You don't mean the city of
Waterloo in Belgium, where Napoleon met his final great defeat. But the battle of Waterloo was where Napoleon met his defeat. And this man, up to this
point, was untouchable militarily, and was an artillery genius. And like Robert E. Lee in the Civil War, he knew how to use artillery in such a superb
way that, even with inferior forces, he could always beat the larger army. Waterloo, in our minds, is a symbol for a final, ultimately defeat.
Well, that's exactly what this term "Gog and Magog" mean here. It's a symbol. Here, Satan and his army of unregenerates experienced the defeat of
another Gog and Magog kind of event. That's why these words are thrown in. Here, 1,000 years after Ezekiel's Gog and Magog, here is another Gog and
Magog event. Today, we speak about a possible world confrontation. What do we call it? World War III. We speak about the potential of World War III.
We don't have to explain that to you. Everybody knows what we mean because we know what World War I was, and what World War II was. They were world
military conflagrations. If we say World War III, we mean another world conflict. So, we use those words symbolically. Gog and Magog are used in
Revelation 20 as the Waterloo of the wicked who have been rallied by Satan against Jesus Christ the King at the end of the millennium. And indeed,
they will experience, as we shall see, exactly the same thing that was experienced by the Gog and Magog war in Ezekiel's time.
The Germans of World War II
There are two great wars against Israel are then referred to here. One is premillennial, in the middle of the tribulation. The other is
post-millennial. And the two are tied together by this term "God and Magog." The premillennial one, in Ezekiel's day, was predicted for the
mid-tribulation. And that took place indeed. Then the second one tied to it with the same concept of what? The concept of an aggressive power against
God's chosen people. That's it. Military leaders like Hitler could be called a God; and, the German people could be called a Magog. They had a Gog and
Magog experience also. They attacked the Jewish people and slaughtered them in such multitudes. And they created for themselves another Gog and Magog
situation.
God came in, and if you know anything about military history, or if you've read anything about all the things that have been written about the
Normandy landings on D-Day, you will know that there was absolutely, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the hand of almighty God on the side of the allies
in that landing. The Germans were fully prepared with the barriers that they had built, and with their military forces. Rommel wanted those Panzer
tank units to be released 12 hours earlier. Hitler refused, thinking that the Normandy landings were just a diversion, and that the real landing was
going to come at the closest point to England, at Calais. He was convinced. He held the troops. He wouldn't release them. He was so confident that he
was right.
Well, wonder of wonders, the allies had a magnificent double-agent. They kept giving Hitler enough real information that the Germans considered him
their most reliable agent on what the allies were doing. So, before they pulled him out, Eisenhower had him send one more piece of information to the
Germans as the landings began, and the ships came across from England. He said, "The Normandy landing is a diversion. The real landing is at Calais.
And Hitler said, "You see, I'm right," and Hitler believed a double-agent. Up to now, Hitler was invincible. Everything he called was right. Going to
Russia wasn't too smart – that proved to be a foolishness, but he went against his own judgment there. So, this was a Gog and Magog experience.
God Himself gave victory to the allies. He stepped in, and these who were the oppressors of the Jews were brought down to great defeat.
Satan is freed. Satan goes out to deceive the nations. He goes to all the earth. His demon-possessed people (indwelt unbelievers) become the
spokesman for the demons, and the call to rally is sent out. And a Gog and Magog situation is set up.
What is the consequence? The consequence is one that has enormous internal results. It teaches us one thing more about God, and about Satan, and
about righteousness that we should never forget. Learn the word of doctrine; meditate upon it; and, become a winner in life. Find what it is to have
good success. Find what it is to have real prosperity: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (first), and all these things will be
added unto you."
Don't come to me and tell me why your son or your daughter has to have a job this summer instead of working in summer camps. Don't come and have the
gall to tell me, "My son or my daughter can't get a job which will allow him or her to go to summer camp and serve the Lord." How dare you have the
audacity to teach your precious teenage child, who is now making adult decisions, that first you go for the money, and then you work in the service.
Do you see what it means to meditate upon the Word of God and get your head screwed on straight? A parent with his eyes on the Lord would never, for
one moment, say a thing like that. No money is worth substituting for teaching your child to put the things of God first.
I walked into Taco Bell before summer camp. There was a boy. He was in club. He is in the ninth grade. It is his last year for summer camp. He comes
from a Catholic background. We had some reservations about him last year, but he proved to be a very cooperative, solid camper, and we were very
pleased with him. He asked me, "When is camp going to be?" I told him. About a week before camp, he called on the phone about getting the forms, and
we told him to come on down, and we would have them, and we encouraged him to come. But his parents wanted him to work at Taco Bell.
This is a ninth-grade kid. He'll never be that age again. As I've always said, the real problem with the human race are parents. If we could
eliminate parents, we wouldn't have any problems in most cases. These parents are taking this boy and saying, "Nah, you don't want to go to summer
camp. You want to be there at that Mexican place around those tortillas, and those onions, and those enchiladas, and those tacos. And what does he
have?
Well, he went home with a fistful of money, and he lost the greatest experience of his life as a ninth-grade boy in his last year in summer camp.
His parents robbed him of that. They have taught him how to be unsuccessful and non-prosperous in life. They think they're putting money first: "Seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will absolutely be added to you."
Dr. John E. Danish, 1993
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