Ezekiel 38:2

EZEKIEL—NOTE ON Ezekiel 38:2 Gog, of the land of Magog. These two names have been the focus of extensive speculation in both Jewish and Christian literature, and there is no agreement on their meaning. Many interpreters understand Ezekiel 38:1 to be a prophecy concerning an attack against Israel in a more distant future. In the NT, Gog and Magog are the names of the nations led by Satan to attack Jerusalem at the end of the “thousand years” (Revelation 20:8). Although the other geographical names in this passage can be identified (see notes on Ezek. 38:5; 38:6), “Gog” and “Magog” remain unknown. Perhaps the intention of the prophecy is simply to point to a yet-unknown future leader of a great attack against God’s people, one whose identity will not be known until the prophecy is fulfilled. No time is specified in the prophecy either, except the vague “In the latter years” (v. Ezekiel 38:8) and “In the latter days” (v. Ezekiel 38:16). Meshech and Tubal, first named in Genesis 10:2, are in Asia Minor (see note on Ezek. 27:13).