Revelation 20 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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11, 11, 11, 15, and Amos 7:1 (where it is the name of a king). Twice Gog is named as “ruler
of Ros, Mosoch, and Thobel.” In three of the instances in Ezekiel, the name is used with the
definite article; elsewhere there is no article.
Once again we see John's usage of the Jewish traditional materials, but with his own
peculiar slant placed upon that material, treating “Magog” as a personal name rather than as
the name of a country. Compare Revelation 19:18, for the background in Ezekiel.
Walvoord, who almost always rejects any symbolical interpretation, holds that "From
the context it would seem that this is not the same event as that described in Ezekiel 38 and
39 where Gog and Magog are prominent; and the battle which follows is entirely different and
separated by at least a thousand years from that of Ezekiel's prophecy...The expression is
used much as we use the term 'Waterloo' to express a disastrous battle, but one not related to
the historic origination of the term." (P. 303)
The reason for this is that Walvoord sees the invasion described in Ezekiel as occurring
at the beginning of the Messiah's reign, while he interprets this invasion described in
Revelation 20 as occurring at the end of His reign. But once again, this comment shows how
Walvoord has introduced his own peculiar "time-table" into Revelation, forcing its enigmatic,
puzzling visions to conform to his pre-conceived chronology, and it is obvious that John’s
visions contain no such time-table or chronology.
In contrast to Walvoord, Beasley-Murray states that "The imagery of the closing chapters
of Ezekiel is continually employed by John in his delineation of the kingdom, and in them
John will have found the basic elements of his interpretation. Ezekiel 36-37 describes the
'resurrection' of Israel and the restoration of the nation to its land under the rule of the new
David. After an unspecified period the rebellion of Gog and Magog occurs (chapters 38-39),
followed by the promise of a new Jerusalem with a new temple in the bliss of an untroubled
kingdom (chapters 40-48)...The pattern of this prophecy appears to have determined the
presentation of John's vision of the kingdom in chapters 20-22, above all in chapter 20." (P.
289)
Beasley-Murray asks, "If the millennial reign represents the revelation of the glory of
Christ in this world, why does John depict its end in disaster, and why in particular is the devil
released so as to precipitate such an end? A sufficient reason could be that John found it so
represented in Ezekiel, for Scripture was authoritative for him." (P. 291)
G. B. Caird likewise holds that "The myth of Gog enshrines a deep insight into the
resilience of evil...However far human society progresses, it can never, while this world lasts,
reach the point where it is invulnerable to such attacks. Progress there must be, otherwise
God is neither Lord of history nor Lord of creation. But even when progress issues in the
millennium, men must remember that they still have no security except in God." (P. 257)
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