Skip to content

6 Reasons why Gog of Ezekiel 38-39 is NOT the Antichrist

6 Reasons why Gog of Ezekiel 38-39 is NOT the Antichrist
By Chris Schang

Recently an article came out declaring that “Gog of Magog” is the same as the Antichrist. The author of that article pointed out to 6 passages in Ezekiel 38-39 that he says proves that Gog and the Antichrist are one and the same. As we have demonstrated from recent articles here at Rapture Forums, there are at least 12 if not more differences between the conflicts in Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon. These differences show without a doubt that the two conflicts are not the same and that the two characters are not the same as well.

One important fact that author refuses to admit and acknowledge is that the Gog/Magog conflict of Ezekiel 38-39 is not about Israel coming to a national restoration in Jesus Christ, but instead it is a partial restoration in that humanistic and secular Israel having seen the hand of God intervene will awaken to the fact that God is still there and that he will still honor his promises to them. This partial restoration is important because had the Jews recognized Messiah they would not be seeking a Third Temple in Jerusalem to continue Old Testament animal sacrifices and rituals. Jesus was the final and perfect sacrifice once and for all for sin, for he was the Lamb of God.

In fact, something major has to happen to even allow the fanatical moslems to accept and allow a Jewish temple to be built on the Temple Mount. Today they would not even entertain such a situation. This surely will not happen at the Second Coming as the Bible states that the Third Temple is cleansed after Armageddon after being defiled by the Antichrist. The fact is at the Second Coming the temple already exists. The author of the other article still fails to distinguish the fact that there is a partial restoration for Israel as well as a final and national restoration at the Second Coming when they “see and mourn for the one they pierced” which refers to Jesus Christ coming in his glory with his saints behind him. After all it is Jesus who comes in the clouds to destroy his enemies with the Word of his mouth not with fire, brimstone, hail, etc.

Let us start by examining each of this author’s 6 assertions for why he thinks that Gog and the Antichrist are the same, despite the evidence pointing otherwise.

1. The first assertion and scriptures used by this author is a reference to Ezekiel 39:6-8. Here that author tries to make the case that “God’s name will never again be profaned” means that this is the Second Coming. These passages of course are referring to the people Israel and which is why a largely secular country like Israel suddenly becomes “religious” again. The verse in Ezekiel 39:6-8 states:

Eze 39:6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.
Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Eze 39:8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this [is] the day whereof I have spoken.

Here we see that God deals with the invaders of the Ezekiel 38-39 war. Not only does he destroy the invading armies in the mountains of Israel, but that he will also “send a fire” upon the land of Magog and elsewhere so that they know he is the Lord (God). This does not mean that they come to faith in Jesus Christ, but instead know the God of Israel is alive and well. The land of Magog is the land of modern day Russia. This atheist country and the surrounding pagan countries will see the judgment dished out by the very own hand of God. Ezekiel 39:7 states that the “my people Israel” will not pollute his holy name anymore which means this secular country will as a whole become religious again and will not profane his holy name anymore as a result of their being saved from certain destruction. Nowhere does it imply that “my people Israel” come to know the Lord Jesus. This is their partial restoration where by they are awakened once again to the “one true God” and as a result will demand to resume OT style animal sacrifices and rituals.

The heathen refers to the surrounding peoples who worship pagan idols and false gods who will see the supernatural judgment handed out by the God of Israel and they will know that he is the one true God of Israel. Again, the key here is that this is not the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as at that time the Lord Jesus destroys his enemies solely with His Word of his mouth NOT by his classic weapons of battle which are fire, brimstone, hail, etc. as he does in Ezekiel 38-39. Nowhere does Revelation speak of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ where he “fights” in battle with fire, brimstone, swords, etc. Further, the war of Armageddon is decided by the Lord Jesus in a very specific place in Israel known as Meggido.

So this “first” objection raised by that author is totally without merit for he fails to understand the “big picture” of the scriptures. Especially the understanding between the partial and final national restoration of Israel in it’s full context.

2. The second assertion that author makes is “The surviving Gentile nations will come to a saving knowledge of God” (Ezekiel 39:6-7). As we have already discussed, nowhere does this passage imply that the “heathens” will come to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus. This is simply saying that the pagans in the region who witness the destruction of the invading forces of Ezekiel 38-39 will know that it was the God of Israel that saved Israel from what was sure sudden destruction. Being that the conflict of Ezekiel 38-39 is a “regional” conflict between Israel and a certain coalition of nations it is the invading forces that remain after the conflict that will come to the recognition that the God of Israel saved the Jews. The coalition of Ezekiel 38-39 is a vastly moslem coalition that is led by atheist Russia. These atheists and pagans will come to know that God defeated them and left only one sixth of them remaining. Thus they will know that he is the Lord god of Israel.

Another interesting note is that in each instance of Ezekiel 38-39 the word “Lord God” refers to the God the Father, not the Lord Jesus Christ. The concordance refers to the “Lord God” wording as describing the “one true God” and uses names such as “Jehovah, Adonai, Elohim, etc.” as the true meaning of the words. Never does it refer to the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. The third assertion made by that author is that “The captives of Israel will be delivered. (Ezekiel 39:25-28)” Let’s see if this refers to the Second Coming as asserted.

Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Here we see that as the result of the devastating conflict that is won by the supernatural intervention of God. The Jewish people will begin to mass move to Israel and make aliyah to their ancient homeland. They will have seen God supernaturally intervene and that many nations in the world will see the God of Israel’s name be sanctified. The people of Israel will realize that they went into captivity in the nations of the world as their punishment for rejecting the Messiah. God at this time will not hide his face anymore from Israel. This will mean that the rapture of the church will likely have taken place and that the brief period of “false peace and safety” before the tribulation starts will begin. Even after seeing God deliver them from certain defeat, they will still confirm a covenant with the man referred to as the “man of sin” – the Antichrist.

But the main objection that the “captives of Israel” will be delivered is in the context of being delivered from the invading forces in Ezekiel 38-39 which is a limited coalition. At Armageddon the entire world invades Israel. It is also noteworthy to understand that “Gog” is buried in Israel with his invading hordes, this is not so with the Antichrist at Armageddon. In fact the Antichrist never sees burial at all as he is killed, resurrected, and cast alive into the lake of fire per Isaiah 14:20. So for these reasons the two conflicts of Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon can not be the same as that author assumes. So this assertion fails to support the “Gog is the Antichrist” theory.

4. The fourth assertion made by that author is that “God will pour out His Spirit on Israel” (Ezekiel 39:29) as a proof that Gog is the Antichrist. Actually what the scriptures teach is that God pours out his spirit on Israel again so that they have their “spiritual awakening” that causes them to want to return to OT style sacrifices and rituals. The scripture verse says:

Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Here we see that God says that he will no longer hide his face from the house of Israel. Right now during the church age the Lord has hidden his face from his people Israel for their refusal to accept Jesus as the Messiah. But after the Ezekiel 38-39 war, God reveals himself again starting with his supernatural intervention against the invading moslem forces. This simply can’t be during the conflict of Armageddon because for the entire 7 year tribulation period God will be once again focused on bringing “unbelieving” Israel to faith in Jesus Christ. God will be pouring his wrath out on unbelieving Israel as well as unrepentant sinners. This clearly shows that God has already shown his face again to Israel and continues to do so through supernatural events during the tribulation period. The spirit of God will be poured out on the house of Israel so that they have their “spiritual awakening” that will cause them to want to resume OT animal sacrifices and rituals. Before Israel can come to faith in Jesus as the Son of God, they must first believe in God. Ezekiel 38-39 is the perfect place and event to show Israel that he is with them despite being silent during the age of grace through faith or what is also referred to as the church age.

So as we can see here this “pouring out of God’s spirit” is not the same as coming to faith in Jesus Christ. It is actually the first step in the two step process of Israel’s national restoration. That author who thinks Gog is the Antichrist does not appear to “get” this understanding.

5. The fifth assertion made by that author is that “The survivors of Israel will come to know the LORD forevermore” (Ezekiel 39:22). The scriptures state:

Eze 39:22 So the house of Israel shall know that I [am] the LORD their God from that day and forward.

Again, the difference here is the partial restoration versus the final and national restoration. In fact, the word “forevermore” is not even seen in that verse. It just means from the day of God’s supernatural intervention in Ezekiel 38-39 going forward that Israel will know that God is there with them from that day forward. Nowhere does this imply that they have come to know “Jesus Christ” as their Lord and Savior. Again, the wordings use in the concordance is for the word “Jehovah, Adonai, Elohim, etc.” which is another word for God, not Jesus Christ. So this assertion falls flat on it’s face as being incorrect.

6. The sixth and final assertion that Gog is the Antichrist is that author’s claim that “Israel will dwell securely in their land forevermore” (Ezekiel 39:26-28). Nowhere does this passage say that Israel will dwell securely in their land forevermore. Let’s look at the passage again:

Eze 39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name
Eze 39:26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made [them] afraid.
Eze 39:27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Eze 39:28 Then shall they know that I [am] the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Eze 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

This passage never says that Israel will dwell safely in their land forevermore. This is an absurd statement to make when looking at the whole big picture of Bible prophecy. The passages here are basically saying that the house of Israel will recognize their shame from having become disobedient to God and turned away from Him. At least the majority has as Israel is largely a secular and humanistic nation at this point in time. This will all of a sudden change when God supernaturally intervenes to save them from certain destruction at the hands of the Ezekiel 38-39 coalition.

The people of Israel will recognize that they were scattered upon the nations of the world as punishment for their refusal of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The word “safely” in the above passages is the Hebrew word “betach” which means “securely” not safety. This is important to distinguish because today Israel lives securely in confidence in their land with minor distractions from their immediate enemies. Israel will only be living in complete “safety” at the completion of the Millennial Kingdom. Even at the end of the Millennial Kingdom Satan will be let loose for a little while for more chaos.

I trust and hope that this article helps to correct the error creeping into the church that Gog is the Antichrist and that Ezekiel 38-39 is Armageddon. Between the differences we can see between the two conflicts and the refutation of the Gog is Antichrist theory, any further promotion of this concept is beyond logical reasoning.

God bless.

Back To Top