Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
EZEKIEL 38:23
Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.”’”
EZEKIEL 38:1-6
My own research has led me to believe that the modern nations represented by these ancient names are as follows: Togarmah, Gomer, Meshech, and Tubal represent modern-day Turkey. Libya is, of course, modern Libya. Persia is Iran, and Ethiopia represents North Sudan (in Ezekiel’s time Ethiopia was the area of North Africa directly south of Egypt). That leaves Magog and Rosh.
Flavius Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, wrote, “Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians” (Antiquities 1.6.1). Because the Scythians’ history is well documented, that has led some to see Magog as what is known as the southern steppes of Russia, which is today occupied by the nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and the northern parts of Afghanistan.
Going back to Genesis 10, we read this in verse 2: “The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.” There is little debate amongst scholars that Gomer, Tubal, and Meshech all settled in what is now modern-day Turkey. Madai is the ancestor of the Medes, who are the ancestors of the modern-day Kurds. The descendants of Javan settled in Greece. And it is unknown where Tiras, the grandson of Noah, and his people settled. Magog is described by Strong’s concordance as “the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media.” Cappadocia is in Turkey, and Media is in northwestern Iran. Thus, an argument could be made that Magog is the area between Cappadocia, Turkey, and Iranian Kurdistan and Azerbaijan (where Turkey, Iran, and Iraq share borders). Modern-day Armenia occupies a portion of this territory, as do eastern parts of Turkey. Though a popular interpretation for many years, I do not believe Magog represents modern-day Russia. Here is what we know for sure: Whether Magog is eastern Turkey and Armenia or the former Soviet Republics at the southern steppes of Russia, both interpretations leave us with the single most important fact, and that is they are all predominantly Muslim nations.
What about Rosh and Gog? They are not found in the table of nations in Genesis 10. So who are they? For the answer, it’s necessary for us to look at the opening of Ezekiel 38 using two different Bible versions:
The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince ofRosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you,O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”’”
EZEKIEL 38:1-3 (nkjv)
The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
EZEKIEL 38:1-3 (kjv)
First, we need to be careful about assuming that the mention of Gog in Revelation 20:8 means that the Ezekiel war is recorded there also. They are two distinct events, the battle theaters are different, the combatants are different, and the outcomes are different. Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 are not two records of the same battle. With that said, why is Gog mentioned in both battle scenarios?
One possibility is that Gog is a moniker for rulers who oppose Israel and lead battles against Jerusalem. Some say this could be a fallen angel who—as in Daniel 10:13, where the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” is identified as the one who hindered the delivery of the answer to Daniel’s prayer—is assigned to harass the nation of Israel and incite hatred against the Jews and Jerusalem. Whichever case is true, it is clear that Gog is figurative of a leader who opposes God’s people—whether that is God’s chosen people the Jews (in the Ezekiel war scenario), or God’s people the saints (who rule and reign in righteousness with Jesus during the millennium).
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