The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 20 and the Final Rebellion

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 20
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

The Second Gog-Magog War

Vic Batista: Revelation 20:7-10 introduces the reader to another end times war. It’s a war that’s often confused with an earlier end times war, one that I believe could even happen in our lifetime. This war as Revelation 20 describes it is the Second Gog-Magog War.

“Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Nathan Jones: Ezekiel 38-39 also describes an end times war called the War of Gog and Magog. Ezekiel describes how Russia and a series of Islamic nations which today include Iran, Turkey, Libya, the Sudan, and the ‘Stan nations join together in the wicked attempt to plunder and destroy Israel. When Israel is facing its bleakest moment, God steps into human history and destroys these nations’ armies with His typical apocalyptic fire and brimstone, earthquakes, hail, and by turning the armies against each other.

Prophecy foretells that because of the Gog-Magog War, Israel will become a world super power. I believe we are getting closer to the time period when Israel as a nation will no longer be a tiny, weak, little nation, but will be a rival super power in the world. Russia will lose its strength and the Islamic world will lose its might, with even Islam likely disappearing altogether. That’s Ezekiel 38-39’s war.

After the First Gog-Magog War, #Israel will become a world superpower. #Revelation Click To Tweet

Now in Revelation 20, we’ve got another reference to a Gog and Magog War. Is it the same war as described in Ezekiel 38-39? I’m going to call it the Second War of Gog and Magog. The war is a tiny bit similar to Ezekiel’s reference, except instead of a few nations attacking Israel, we are now talking about people from all the nations from the four corners of the earth gathering against Jerusalem. The Second Gog-Magog War’s armies don’t just comprise the swath of nations Ezekiel described, but are comprised out of all the new nations of the world. Clearly this is not Ezekiel’s war, but the reference is a nod back to it.

What are these Millennial nations? We don’t know because they don’t yet exist. The Bible makes it very clear that Israel will exist during the Millennial Kingdom. From Scriptures we know Syria will exist. We know that Egypt will exist during the Millennial Kingdom. And, even Russia will exist during the Millennial Kingdom. But, the Bible does not name any of the other nations by name. Likely all sorts of new nations will form after Christ’s Second Coming as people repopulate a world that will also be very different geographically than what we know of today due to the four Tribulation earthquakes.

The leader of this final end times war is the recently released Satan. He will deceive those Millennial Children who wish to rebel against Jesus Christ. Satan will travel across all the new nations of the world invoking rebellion and dissent. Satan’s goal remains the same — to overthrow God.

Satan will march his untrained, mob-like army “whose number is as the sand of the sea” up to Jerusalem (verse 8). They will surround the Beloved City. The scene reminds me of an action television show with a bomb that’s merely one second away from blowing up the whole city. Satan has succeeded in turning huge multitudes of the Millennial Children against Jesus, organized them, and marched them unheeded all the way up to the world’s capital. It looks like Satan’s going to win.

Then, BOOM! Fire rains down out of Heaven. All of the rebels are instantly incinerated.

Finally, finally, finally! Satan is finally thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is Hell. There the Antichrist and the False Prophet are already writhing in torment, waiting for their master. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The Adversary is finally vanquished!

Revelation 20:10 provides a reference to the “foreverness” of Hell: “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” While the argument can be made that Hell will not last forever for everybody, the Bible makes it clear that for sure Satan, the False Prophet, the Antichrist, and the demons will be tormented in Hell forever and ever. What justice God grants for someone so heinously evil as Satan!

Vic Batista: This passage is a good reminder that people need to recognize that since Heaven is real, so too is Hell. The Bible tells us that Hell was created for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41). And, anyone who has rejected Jesus Christ and His salvation are also choosing to end up in that awful place.

Nathan Jones: In church we often read John 3:16, but we rarely read John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Jesus Christ died for our sins because He loves us. When we don’t accept that love, when we reject His forgiveness, then we remain under the wrath of God due to our rebellion. The only way to transfer the wrath of God off of us is to have Jesus Christ step in and take that wrath upon Himself, which He did on the cross. In faith believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and our Savior. No person should ever want to live under the wrath of God, for it means eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire.

In the sixty-ninth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we will tremble as God hands down His final justice!

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

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