Lesson 5: The Two-Phase View – Gog and Magog
Lesson 5 Overview
Ezekiel 38: A Study of Gog and Magog with Dr. Andy Woods
This lesson answers the “when” question by presenting what Dr. Woods believes is the correct view: the two-phase view. Use this overview to review the key points after watching the full video.
The Problem Being Solved
Dr. Woods restates the tension from the previous lesson. Ezekiel 38 describes an invasion during a time of peace and security, which fits the beginning of the tribulation, right after the Antichrist guarantees Israel’s safety. But Ezekiel 39 describes the conversion of Israel and birds of prey feasting on the corpses, both of which Scripture places at the end of the tribulation (Matthew 24:27-28 and Revelation 19:17-18). So how can one prophecy point to both ends of the tribulation?
Six Timing Clues
Before giving his answer, Dr. Woods walks through the clues the text itself provides.
First, the battle appears in the restoration section of Ezekiel. The book has three parts: judgment on Judah (chapters 1 to 24), judgment on the nations (chapters 25 to 32), and Israel’s future restoration (chapters 33 to 48). Since chapters 38 and 39 sit in the final section alongside clearly future material (like the millennial temple, the division of the land, and the Dead Sea coming to life), the battle cannot be placed in the past.
Second, Ezekiel 38:8 says it happens “in the latter years,” pushing it into the distant future.
Third, Ezekiel 38:16 says it happens “in the last days.” Dr. Woods cautions students not to confuse the last days of the church (2 Timothy 3:1) with the last days for Israel, a phrase the prophets use for Israel’s final tribulation and restoration (Jeremiah 23:20; Micah 4:1; Isaiah 2:2).
Fourth, the battle happens after Israel is regathered in unbelief but before she is regenerated. Ezekiel 38:8 shows Israel gathered from the nations and dwelling securely, yet her spiritual regeneration comes later, in Ezekiel 39. Since the regathering in unbelief began on May 14, 1948, the battle must occur after 1948 but before the end of the tribulation.
Fifth, Ezekiel 38:18-19 says the invasion comes with God’s fury, anger, and wrath, which anchors it inside the tribulation, the only time God’s wrath is poured out.
Sixth, Ezekiel 38:8 and 38:11 place it during a time when Israel is both secure and undisturbed. That rules out the millennium (where there is no war), leaving only the false peace created when the Antichrist confirms his covenant (Daniel 9:27), pictured as the rider on the white horse in the first seal, with war breaking out at the second seal.
The Two-Phase View
Dr. Woods credits this view to his late professor Harold Hoehner. The key insight is that Ezekiel 38 and 39 do not describe a single moment in time, which is the mistake he says every other view makes.
Instead, chapter 38 describes the invasion at the beginning of the tribulation, at the second seal judgment, after the Antichrist has brought peace. Chapter 39 describes the aftermath at the end of the tribulation, which is why it includes the birds feasting on the dead and the national conversion of Israel. The prophecy describes a process, not a one-time event.
Ezekiel Already Describes Processes
To support this, Dr. Woods points to the surrounding chapters. Ezekiel 36:24-28 promises that God will gather Israel from the nations and then sprinkle clean water on her and put a new spirit within her. Part of that is happening now (Israel has been regathered since 1948), but the spiritual part has not (she remains in unbelief). Likewise, Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones, shows bones coming together and forming a body that still has no breath in it, followed later by the breath entering. Dr. Woods sees the physical restoration underway since 1948 and the spiritual regeneration still future. Since chapters 36 and 37 describe layered processes, it is no surprise that chapters 38 and 39 do as well.
Two Regatherings of Israel
Drawing on a chart adapted from Randall Price, Dr. Woods distinguishes two regatherings. The first, happening now, brings Israel back to part of her land, in unbelief, restored to the land only, setting the stage for the discipline of the tribulation. The second, at the end of the tribulation, brings her back to all the land promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), in faith, restored to both the land and the Lord, in preparation for the blessing of the millennial kingdom. The Gog and Magog invasion falls between these two regatherings, and it is one of the means God uses to produce the second.