A question that is often asked in prophetic Bible study
concerns two end times battles, the Battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 &
39 and the Battle (actually campaigns which will be the subject of a future
article) of Armageddon in Revelation 16 & 19 (and numerous sources
throughout the Old Testament). Are these the same two battles or are they two
different battles. Looking at them superficially one would come to the
conclusion that they are the same battle told from two different viewpoints
similar to the creation story in Genesis 1 & 2. However a deeper look at
the text and the description of each battle points to two different battles at
two different time periods. When we look deeper into the Word of God instead of
a quick reading we discover there is more to understand.
We
previously looked at the combatants listed in the Scripture and noticed a
considerable difference between the two armies attacking Jerusalem. Now we will
look at the results of the battle. How the outcomes are the same or different
and what does that show us concerning these two battles?
Please remember, this article is
written from a Premillennial, Pre-tribulation Rapture, and literal-grammatical
interpretation viewpoint. Anyone of an Amillennial, Preterist, Post-millennial,
Pre-wrath Rapture, mid or post tribulation Rapture viewpoint will disagree with
most of what I have written.
Are there differences between the outcomes
of the two battles?
Ezekiel 38-39 – Fire and earthquakes will fall on the
armies who attempt to invade Isarael while their weapons are knocked out of
their hands. The bones of the army are buried after 7 months at a specific
location by trained professionals (perhaps because their bones are
radioactive).
22 With pestilence and with blood
I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops,
and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones,
fire and brimstone. Ezekiel 38:22
14 “They will set apart men who will
constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, even
those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of
seven months they will make a search.
15 As those who pass through the land
pass through and anyone sees a man’s bone, then he will set up a marker by it
until the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. Ezekiel 39:14-15
6 “And I will send fire upon Magog
and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am
the LORD. Ezekiel 39:6
Look at the purpose in this verse, “they will that I am the LORD.”
Everything God does is pointing to Him as the reason and giving unbelievers a
chance to repent and come to Him. God uses this instance to bring His name
among His people, the Jews. God is giving them a chance to restore that
relationship and be right with Him before the terrors of the Tribulation. Verse
7 increases the scope of those who will know the LORD is responsible to include
the Gentiles, “…And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in
Israel.”
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is
patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Armageddon – The flesh of the armies that
come against Israel are dissolved and slain from the sword of the mouth of
Jesus. There is no mention of any burial of the bones.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the
sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in
midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God,
18 so that you may eat the flesh of
kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of
horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and
slaves, and small and great.” Revelation 19:17-18
12 Now this will be the plague
with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against
Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes
will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. Zechariah
14:12
We can
see that things do not go quite as the Antichrist and his minions expect:
19 And I saw the beast and the kings
of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the
horse and against His army.
20 And the beast was seized, and with
him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he
deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with
brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the
sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds
were filled with their flesh. Revelation 19:19-21
Another difference related to the
outcomes is the protest against God’s invasion:
13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants
of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture
spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver
and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’”’ Ezekiel
38:13
The “Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study
Bible” comments:
Sheba and Dedan were countries on
the Arabian Peninsula. Tarshish usually means Spain or the western extremities
of the Mediterranean world, possibly including, as some think, western France
and even England. These countries object to Gog’s invasion.[1]
But at Armageddon we read of no
protest. The armies are gathered together and come against Israel in a wave of
unbridled passion:
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD
when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For I will gather all the nations
against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses
plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the
people will not be cut off from the city. Zechariah 14:1-2
The armies of the Antichrist
decimate the city, raping the women and taking half the people captive. This attack
against Jerusalem will be severe, but the city itself will not be overthrown.
However, the end result will find the Jewish people in such dire straits that
only the Messiah will be able to deliver them. Once again we see man in his own
power can do mighty things but in the end we all need the Messiah, Jesus.
Just when it seems that all hope
will be gone for Jerusalem and the people of Israel, then the LORD will fight
for His people. “God is said to go forth when he manifests his power by
delivering his people and punishing their enemies.” (Pulpit Commentary)
3 Then the LORD will go forth and
fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. Zechariah
14:3
On a side note, in both verses 1
and 3 LORD is capitalized. When we see this word capitalized it is a reference
to the covenant keeping Lord. This is a reminder for the reader, in particular
the Jewish reader, of the Abrahamic Covenant and the great promises God made to
Israel through Abraham. Never lose sight of this when reading the Old
Testament. Remember what this would say to the original audience, the Jewish
people, when they studied God’s Word.
However, despite all of these
differences, we should point out one similarity, and that is the outcome.
In both cases, God will win and will gain victory on behalf of His people,
Israel. After the great victory at Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 39:1-7), one would
think that the unregenerate world would get the message. But only a few years
later, on an even larger scale, the world will again gather its forces against
Israel and against the Lord at Armageddon. The old adage will be proven again:
the one thing people learn from history, is that they don't learn from history.
