Lesson 3: One War or Two? – Gog and Magog
Lesson 3 Overview
Ezekiel 38: A Study of Gog and Magog with Dr. Andy Woods
This lesson finishes the “who” question, addresses the popular “Psalm 83 war” theory, and then begins the “when” question by working through several views about the timing of the invasion. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.
Review of the Nations
Dr. Woods recaps the coalition identified in the first two lessons: Magog is Central Asia, Rosh is Russia, Meshech and Tubal are Turkey, Persia is Iran, Put is Libya, Cush is Sudan, and Gomer and Togarmah are Turkey. Sheba and Dedan are Saudi Arabia (with Dedan possibly Yemen), and Tarshish is Spain, standing for a broader group of Western powers including Europe.
“And Many Peoples With You”
He draws attention to Ezekiel 38:6, which adds “many peoples with you.” His point is that Ezekiel names the major players but leaves open the possibility of additional nations not specifically listed.
The Psalm 83 War Debate
This leads into the “Psalm 83 war,” a popular idea (associated with the book Israelestine) that a separate, earlier war involving nations nearer to Israel (such as Tyre, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia) happens before the Ezekiel 38 invasion, with Israel winning and expanding her borders. Dr. Woods rejects the idea of a separate Psalm 83 war for five reasons: Psalm 83 never actually describes a war; it lacks the prophetic language found in Ezekiel; its nations all fit the time of its author, Asaph, around 950 BC; it is simply an imprecatory prayer (a prayer calling down judgment on enemies), a common form in the Psalms; and if Psalm 83 were a war, one would also have to invent a “Psalm 2 war,” which becomes absurd. His conclusion is that if Psalm 83 has any end-time relevance, it describes the nearer nations joining the same Ezekiel 38 and 39 invasion, not a separate conflict. There is one war, not two.
Beginning the “When” Question
Dr. Woods then turns to the timing of the invasion, noting there are at least seven views, which shows how much scholars disagree. He believes the first six are wrong and the seventh is correct, and he begins eliminating the less likely ones.
View 1: It Already Happened (Esther 9)
The preterist view (held by teachers such as R.C. Sproul, Hank Hanegraaff, Kenneth Gentry, and Gary DeMar) says the battle was already fulfilled in Esther 9. Dr. Woods rejects this, noting that Esther 9 describes a fight in Persia, not an invasion of the mountains of Israel, and that Israel was not even in her land at that time. He lists several differences: Ezekiel has Israel invaded, converted, its land cleansed of bodies, and its invaders destroyed supernaturally by fire, none of which fits Esther 9. His principle is that similarity does not equal equality.
He addresses the preterist argument from Ezekiel 38:4 that the ancient weapons (horses, shields, swords) show a past battle. He answers that Ezekiel may be using ancient terms for future realities, but leans toward a literal future “weapons downgrade,” where humanity returns to older weapons. He supports this with John Walvoord, Paul Lee Tan, and an article noting the continued use of horses and mules in modern mountain warfare (such as Afghanistan), and suggests an event like an EMP attack could cause such a downgrade.
View 2: The Beginning of the Millennium
Some place the battle at the start of the millennial kingdom because it occurs during peace and security (Ezekiel 38:8 and 38:11). Dr. Woods rejects this because the millennium is a time with no war (Isaiah 2:4, swords into plowshares). The only rebellion in the millennium comes at its very end when Satan is released.
View 3: The End of the Millennium (Revelation 20)
Others equate the battle with Revelation 20:7-9, which also uses the words “Gog and Magog.” Dr. Woods rejects this too, citing his professor J. Dwight Pentecost. Revelation 20 involves all nations, comes at the end of the millennium, disposes of the dead instantly, and has Satan already bound beforehand, while Ezekiel 38 and 39 names specific northern nations, leads into the millennium, requires seven months to bury the dead, and does not have Satan bound. The shared phrase “Gog and Magog” is outweighed by the differences.