Magog
“Region of Gog, or possibly from 'great mountain'”
Summary
Magog was the second son of Japheth and the ancestor of peoples inhabiting the remote north; the name is used prophetically by Ezekiel and in Revelation to represent distant savage nations who will oppose God's people.
☩Son of Japheth
Magog appears in the Table of Nations as the second son of Japheth, listed alongside Gomer (the Cimmerians) and Madai (the Medes). Various etymologies have been proposed: from Sanskrit words meaning 'great mountain' referring to the Caucasus range, or from terms meaning 'land of the moon-worshippers.' Josephus identifies the Magogites with the Scythians, the fierce nomadic peoples who inhabited the regions north of the Caucasus and between the Euxine (Black Sea) and Caspian Sea.
☩In Ezekiel's Prophecy
Ezekiel uses Magog as the name of a land whose ruler is Gog, 'prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.' This great and powerful people dwelling in the extreme recesses of the north will invade the Holy Land in the future with a vast force of cavalry armed with bows, only to meet their destruction on the mountains of Israel. The prophecy pictures them as representing the ultimate enemies of God's people who will be utterly overthrown.
☩In Revelation
In Revelation, Gog and Magog represent all the heathen opponents of the Messiah who will be gathered for the final battle against God's people after Satan is released from his thousand-year imprisonment. Just as Ezekiel used these names to designate distant and savage nations, John employs them symbolically for the enemies of Christianity who will attempt to destroy it but will bring upon themselves signal destruction by fire from heaven. The names thus became a prophetic shorthand for the ultimate coalition of evil against God.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Magog," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Magog," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Magog," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).