Israel · Gog defeated; the Spirit poured out

Ezekiel 39:1-29

Ezekiel · ~586 BC · Status: Future · Confidence: 60%
“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:”
King James Version · the opening of the passage — the whole of it is condensed below
One prophecy — The Gog oracle, Ezekiel 38:1–39:24, 51 versesThis entry is one part of it. The rest here: Ezekiel 38:1 · Ezekiel 38:2
This entry spans the turn: it runs from judgment on Gog through Ezekiel 39:25, where the oracle turns to Israel restored and the Spirit poured out (39:25-29).

The aftermath of Gog's invasion — the LORD's decisive victory, His glory revealed to the nations, and His Spirit poured out on a restored Israel.

The prophecy, condensed

Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel
Ezekiel 39:1-29 · King James Version · condensed from 928 words · every cut marked …
Read the full prophecy — all 29 verses

39:1Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

39:2And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:

39:3And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

39:4Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

39:5Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.

39:6And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

39:7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.

39:8Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

39:9And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:

39:10So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.

39:11And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.

39:12And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.

39:13Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.

39:14And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.

39:15And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.

39:16And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

39:17And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.

39:18Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.

39:19And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

39:20Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.

39:21And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

39:22So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.

39:23And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.

39:24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.

39:25Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;

39:26After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.

39:27When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;

39:28Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.

39:29Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

Fulfillment References

Ezekiel 38:1-23 Revelation 20:7-9 Joel 2:28-29 Romans 11:26

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe LORD who pours out His Spirit on His restored people (39:29) is the one God of Acts 2 — His glory revealed to all nations.
JewishThe end-time defeat of Gog and the nations, the LORD's name vindicated, and Israel restored — a major motif in Jewish eschatology.
CatholicGod's final triumph over the hostile nations and the revelation of His glory, harmonized with the consummation.
ProtestantThe Gog oracle is read variously (a future northern invasion or a symbol of the nations' final assault); the outpoured Spirit ties to Israel's restoration.
OrthodoxGod's victory over the powers arrayed against His people and the manifestation of His glory.
DispensationalA literal future invasion of Israel, decisively defeated by God; Revelation 20:8 reuses 'Gog and Magog.'
AcademicScholars treat Ezekiel 38-39 as a paradigmatic apocalyptic 'enemy from the north' oracle; 'Gog of Magog' is debated (Gyges of Lydia has been proposed) and the passage is foundational for later apocalyptic.

Scholarship & Sources

Ezekiel 38-39 (Gog of Magog) is taken up at Revelation 20:8 as the nations' final revolt; the relation between Ezekiel's Gog and Revelation's 'Gog and Magog' (same event or distinct) is debated across the millennial views. The chapter ends with restoration and the Spirit poured out (39:29; cf. Joel 2; Acts 2).

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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.