Gog And Magog
GOG AND MAGOG
Are usually spoken of together in Scripture. In Gen 10:2, Magog, which seems to denote a country with its people, is reckoned among the descendants of Japheth. In Eze 38:1-23 ; 39:1-29, Magog apparently signifies a country with its people, and Gog the king of that people; but critics are much divided as to the people and country intended under these names. The Scythians, the Goths, the Persians, and several other nations, have been specified by interpreters as the Magog of the Scriptures; but most probably it is a name given generally to the northern nations of Europe and Asia, or the districts north of the Caucasus. The names reappear in the later predictions of John as enemies of the people of God, who are to be signally overthrown in Armageddon, Jer 16:14-16 ; 20:7-9.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Gog and Magog
Names, respectively, of a king and of his supposed kingdom, mentioned several times in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezechiel, and once in the Apocalypse (20:7). In the first passage of Ezechiel we read the command of Yahweh to the prophet: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog the land of Magog…and prophesy of him…Behold, I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal” (38:2-3). A similar command is found also at the beginning of chapter 39. These two chapters contain repeated reference to Gog and Magog, but they furnish only vague and uncertain indications as to the identity of the ruler or the location of the country. In chapter 39 Gog is represented (verses 5 and 6) as being accompanied in his invasion of the land of Israel by the Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans, Gomer, and…the house of Thogorma; and in verse 15 we read: “And thou shalt come out of thy place from the northern parts.” From the number and variety of the peoples mentioned in this connection some writers have inferred that the name Gog may be only a generic appellation, or figure, used in Ezechiel to designate the host of the enemies of Israel, and in the Apocalypse to denote the multitude of the foes of the Church. Others conjecture that it may be a local title expressing the royal dignity, such as the name Pharaoh in Egypt. But it seems more probable that both names are historical; and by some scholars Gog is identified with the Lydian king called by the Greeks Gyges, who appears as Gu-gu on the Assyrian inscriptions. If this be true, Magog should be identified with Lydia. On the other hand, as Mosoch and Thubal were nations belonging to Asia Minor, it would seem from the text of Ezechiel that Magog must be in that part of the world. Finally, Josephus and others identify Magog with Scythia, but in antiquity this name was used to designate vaguely any northern population.
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JAMES F. DRISCOLL Transcribed by Sean Hyland
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VICopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Gog and Magog
GOG is a symbolical name for the powerful and proud chief of the vast hordes of Scythia and Tartary. MAGOG, the son of Japheth (Gen 10:2), whose descendants spread over the vast steppes in the north, after whom the land is here called. Eze 38:2 should read “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” Gog is the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal answering to Russia, Moscow or Muscovy, and Tobolsk: all now in the Russian empire. These, ‘coming out of the north,’ as a cloud to cover the land,’ will attack Israel in the land of Palestine, but will be smitten by God. Eze 38:2; Eze 38:18; Eze 39:1; Eze 39:6; Eze 39:11. The valley where they will be buried will be called HAMON-GOG, the ‘multitude of Gog,’ Eze 39:11; Eze 39:15. The destruction of these hordes will cause the heathen to know the Lord, that is, the nations extern to the Anti-christian Empire of the West.
In Rev 20:8 we also read of Gog and Magog attacking “the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city,” Jerusalem; but this must not be confounded with the prophecy in Ezekiel, for here they come out of ‘the four corners of the earth;’ and the battles do not coincide as to time. In Ezekiel the attack is before Israel is finally settled in the land, as may be seen by the context; whereas in the Revelation it is after the thousand years of the millennium, and is followed by the final overthrow of God’s enemies who are led on by Satan. There is doubtless an allusion to the names in Ezekiel; ‘Gog and Magog,’ being symbolical names, are employed to describe all the proud and powerful hordes of post-millennium times, whose number is ‘as the sand of the sea,’ and whom Satan will collect together from all quarters to attack the kingdom of the Lord Jesus as established on earth, only to be devoured by fire from heaven: for Satan, when loosed, will not be able to raise up an empire against the Lord.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Gog And Magog
Moses speaks of Magog, son of Japheth, but says nothing of Gog, Gen 10:2. According to Ezekiel, Gog was prince of Magog, Eze 38:2-3, &c; Eze 39:1-2, &c. Magog signifies the country or people, and Gog the king of that country; the general name of the northern nations of Europe and Asia, or the districts north of the Caucasus, or Mount Taurus. The prophecy of Ezekiel, Eze 39:1-22, seems to be revived in the Apocalypse, where the hosts of Gog and Magog are represented as coming to invade the beloved city, and perishing with immense slaughter likewise in Armageddon, the mount of Mageddo, or Megiddo, Rev 16:14-16; Rev 20:7-10.