by Truth and Justice 12 Replies latest jw friends
Hi To All,
Can someone explain or produce any information about what the new views are about the subject of Gog of Magog. Apparently, it has caused a stir and I like to know a little bit about it. Especially, when I had a brother who hasn’t talked to me in quite a while, starts talking about Gog. Apparently they, the watchtower society had a view for over a century and now changed its view for new light.
Any light on this subject would be great and appreciated.
"Gog" had been the invisible evil spirit creature Satan but is now a future "coalition of nations" visibly bent on annihilating "pure worship" aka the Watch Tower organization, which will be miraculously rescued by God's angry heavenly warriors during Armageddon. (this future attack on Watch Tower by the "coalition of nations" will trigger Armageddon itself)
JW doctrine now understands Gog to be a flesh and blood entity, not an invisible evil spirit creature, because this prophecy at Ezekiel chapter 39 describes the defeated Gog as receiving an earthly burial. Apparently, spirit creatures cannot be buried on earth, therefore, Gog is not Satan, as Watch Tower (aka pure worship) had taught for decades.
So, a Cryptid.
I've always known Bigfoot was involved in this!
Gogfoot ?
Gog of Magog used to be Satan according to Watchtower but now it’s the King of the North aka Russia.
Question: why is it “Gog of Magog” in Ezekiel but “Gog and Magog” in Revelation?
First they were wrong and said Gog was a demon. Later, they were wrong and said Gog was Satan. Now they are wrong and say Gog is a coalition of nations. At least they're consistent-ish.
Gog was a hypothetical enemy in Ezekiel who would attack Judea from the far north. It didn't happen. The term was later borrowed by the author of Revelation. (There was an intervening change in tradition around the 2nd century BCE so Gog of Magog became Gog and Magog.) In both cases, Gog is a leader and not a coalition of nations. Neither has anything to do with the modern era.
Some clarification is probably in order regarding 'Gog and Magog' as used in Revelation. Revelation 20:8 does not indicate that there are only two nations that would attack 'the beloved city'. (This is clear from the context of the earlier verses of the chapter, which indicate that all the nations from before Satan is imprisoned continue to exist throughout the thousand years without Satan to mislead them, and they are subsequently misled when he is released.) Nor does it mean that Gog is one 'coalition of nations' and Magog is another 'coalition of nations' that together form a single bigger 'coalition of nations'.
'Gog and Magog' as used in Revelation is an analogy, in the same way that Revelation uses Babylon as an analogy for (ancient) Rome. The whole phrase is used to represent all of the nations, but 'Gog' and 'Magog' as used in Revelation do not each depict any specific nation or nations.
My take on "Gog of Magog"?
WHO GIVES A SHIT??????
I could never make heads nor tails of this ancient cryptic bullshit, and neither can anyone else. What relevance does it have in the year 2021? ZERO!
If an Almighty God wanted to save everyone and be followed and praised, maybe he shouldn't have given us an ancient text full of psychedelic nonsense?
How about this? How about every 100 years, he actually show Himself up in the heavens, or at the very least send Jesus down here on His flying Pegasus and preach the Gospel. Every 100 years would PROVE that he exists, re-inforce his authority, and qualm people with critical, scientific minds about His very existence. It would also put to bed that other of the other so-called "Gods" are merely inventions of man.
If He'd do this, there would be ZERO question as to his Sovereignty to rule the Universe. But nope! Mankind is left to try and find the correct denomination and interpret some Bronze Age goat-herder scrolls.
Jeffro is right about Gog and Magog in Revelation.
The book of Revelation does a lot of borrowing of wording and concepts from the OT and uses them as symbols and analogies.
The Gog and Magog used in Revelation is just an analogical comparison of the post-apocalyptic rebels to the Gog mentioned in Ezekiel. It's the same way Revelation uses Babylon the Great, which I'm now convinced is actually a reference to 1st century Jerusalem under the control of the anti-Christian Jewish religious hierarchy.
The fall and destruction of Babylon the Great mentioned in Revelation is actually recounting the fall and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans from 66 to 70 CE. "Get out of her my people" is actually a reference to Jesus' warning to his followers that they should leave the city when they see it surrounded by encamped armies.
It's all worded as a prophecy to fool the reader into thinking that the book is older and that it correctly predicted the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome. This tactic was used to give the book credibility with readers. The same is true of 666 which is actually a gematria reference to Emperor Nero.
