Interesting that Gog and Magog tend to be 'spiritualized' here.
I would also point out that Gog and Magog make war with the saints, and present day political Israel are not them.
You talk about Gog and Magog being
"spiritualized" and yet you spiritualize the prophecies given to the descendants of Abraham as being fulfilled by the Church. Jonathan Brentner wrote an article several years ago explaining how
allegorizing scripture crept into the church. In the 2nd century A.D.
Clement and
Origen embraced Greek philosophy and maintained that Scripture must be understood
allegorically so as not to contradict it. The church
Council of Nicea, which met in A.D. 325, condemned the teachings of Origen and affirmed the place of the book of Revelation in the New Testament in direct contradiction to Origen's rejection of Jesus' thousand-year reign as described in Revelation 20:1-10. He points out that
racism has historically been the one of the three foundations of
amillennialism and the resurgence of this teaching explains the rapid increase of animosity towards Israel and the Jewish people. The reformers robbed the physical descendants of the literal prophecies concerning them and gave it to the church.
Amillennialism dominated the church during the dark ages and persisted long after the Reformation. The reason for this rests with three factors that fueled this teaching for well over a thousand years and remain in place today, at least to some degree. It’s vital to our faith that we understand the
www.jonathanbrentner.com
I will sometimes ask someone who takes a word out of context to make it mean something that is ludicrous this question, "What does
P-O-L-I-S-H spell?" The answer is usually someone from the nation of
Poland. I tell them that is incorrect. It spells
polish as in shoe polish but if you put it in a context the meaning is obvious. The Church of Christ will use John 3:4-5 to prove Jesus taught
baptismal regeneration. In the
context water is obviously talking about the physical birth in contrast to the spiritual birth for in verse 5 it says "that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." Many problem passages can easily be cleared up using this principle.
The same is true with the words of Gog and Magog. The website "Got Questions" contrasts the two contexts.
1. In the battle of Ezekiel 38-39, the armies come primarily from the north and involve only a few nations of the earth (Ezekiel 38:6, 15; 39:2). The battle in Revelation 20:7-9 will involve all nations, so armies will come from all directions, not just from the north.
2. There is no mention of Satan in the context of Ezekiel 38-39. In Revelation 20:7 the context clearly places the battle at the end of the millennium with Satan as the primary character.
3. Ezekiel 39:11–12 states that the dead will be buried for seven months. There would be no need to bury the dead if the battle in Ezekiel 38—39 is the one described in Revelation 20:8–9, for immediately following Revelation 20:8–9 is the Great White Throne judgment (20:11–15) and then the present heaven and earth are destroyed, replaced by a new heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1). There obviously will be a need to bury the dead if the battle takes place before or in the early part of the tribulation, for the land of Israel will be occupied for another 1,000 years, the length of the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4–6).
4. The battle in Ezekiel 38-39 is used by God to bring Israel back to Him (Ezekiel 39:21-29). In Revelation 20, Israel has been faithful to God for 1,000 years (the millennial kingdom). Those in Revelation 20:7-10 who are rebellious are destroyed without any more opportunity for repentance.
What are Gog and Magog? When will Gog and Magog attempt to destroy Israel? What modern nations represent Gog and Magog?
www.gotquestions.org
God brought present day Israel which was a dead nation for 2500 years from the grave to once again be numbered among the nations of the world and all the prophecies concerning them will be fulfilled
literally. Amen.
