The English word "millennium" is derived from the Latin word for a thousand years [from Latin mille, thousand, and annum, year] (sometimes the word "chiliasm" is used which is derived from Greek word for a thousand). The word is used in Christian theology to designate the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth over a perfect world order. Hence, the term "millenarism" denotes the belief in doctrine of Christ's millennium reign. This millennium is the period of an ideal society characterized by peace, freedom, material prosperity, and the rule of righteousness will be realized. The prophetic vision of Isaiah 55-66 that foretold of a period of earthly prosperity for the people of God will be fulfilled in this era.
The doctrine is taken from a passage in the Book of Revelation (20:1-10), which describes the devil being bound and thrown into a bottomless pit for a thousand years. The removal of Satan is accompanied by the resurrection of those who had died for Christ and the beginning of their reign with Christ during the millennium. At the end of millennium, Satan is released from the bottomless pit and leads a revolt against Christ that ends in the battle of Gog and Magog. Satan is defeated and thrown in the lake of fire for eternity.
"1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven,Revelation 20:2-7 reveals the following facts concerning the millennium:
having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old,
who is the devil and Satan, bound him for a thousand years,
3 and threw him in the abyss,
and shut it and sealed it over him,
so that he should not deceive the nations any longer,
until the thousand years were completed;
after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given to them.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God,
and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image,
and had not received the mark of the beast upon their forehead and upon their hand;
and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5 The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand were completed.
This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is the one
who has a part in the first resurrection;
over these the second death has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ
and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are completed,
Satan will be released from his prison,
8 and will come out to deceive the nations
which are in the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them for war;
the number of them is like the sands of the seashore.
9 And they came up on a board plain of the earth
and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city,
and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimestone,
where the beast and the false prophet are also;
and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
(Rev. 20:1-10 NAS).
This passage (Rev. 20:2-7) has been the subject of much theological controversy, and out of it three main interpretations have emerged: premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. These three interpretations are concerned with the timing and nature of the millennium.
The Book of Revelation, which was composed near the end of the first Christian century, reflects the condition of Christian believers who were being persecuted by the forces of Imperial Rome. The book presented a living hope in the immediate direct intervention of God to reverse history and overcome evil with good. Such an outlook was encouraging and brought much comfort to the believers who were suffering persecution. During the first three centuries, Christian writers expressed an eschatology that has been called historic premillennialism. This view is presented in the writings of Papias (A.D. c.60-c,130), Irenaeus (A.D. c. 125-202), Justin Martyr (A.D. c.100-165), Tertullian (A.D. c.160/170-c.215/220), Hippolytus (d. A.D. c.236), Methodius of Olympus (d. A.D. c.311), and Lactantius (A.D. c.240-c.320). These early church fathers emphasized an attitude of expectancy and believed that the entire complex of events - the Antichrist, tribulation, return of Christ, and the millennium - would soon occur.
The first of the church fathers to devote extensive discussion of the coming of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation is Irenaeus (A.D. c.125-202), the Bishop of Lyons in the late second century A.D. Irenaeus was a thoroughgoing premillenarian, first to give us a premillennial system of interpretation. He looked forward to a series of events of historical significance within the Roman Empire before the Antichrist could arise and then Christ return. He writes,
"In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord's disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. He teaches us what the ten horns shall be which were seen by Daniel, telling us that thus it had been said to him [see Rev. 17:12]. It is manifest, therefore, that of these [potentates], he who is to come shall slay three, and subject the remainder to his power, and that he shall be himself the eighth among them. And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdoms to the beast, and put the church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of the Lord."
(Against Heresies, 5,26,1)
Three important things should be noted about Irenaeus' interpretation:
"And for this cause tribulation is necessary for those who are saved, that having been after a manner been broken up, and rendered fine, and sprinkled over by the patient of the Word of God, and set on fire [for purification], they be fitted for the royal banquet" (27,4)That is, God is expected to use the Great Tribulation to accomplish the purification of the Church.
"But when the Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man [Antichrist] and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous [the Church] the times of the kingdom." (30,4)At this time, the resurrection of the dead saints and the rapture of living saints will take place.
"For all those, and other words, were unquestionably spoken in reference to the resurrection of the just, which takes place after the coming of the Antichrist, and the destruction of all nations under his rule; in (the times of) which (resurrection) the righteous shall reign on the earth, waxing stronger by the sight of the Lord: and through Him they shall be accustomed to partake in the glory of God the Father, and shall enjoy in the kingdom intercourse and communion with the holy angels, and union with spiritual beings; and (with respect to) those whom the Lord shall find in the flesh, awaiting Him from heaven, and who have suffered tribulation, as well as escaped the hands of the Wicked one." (36,1)In this first detailed discussion of the events after the New Testament, Irenaeus looks for the overthrow of Rome and the division of the Empire among ten kings. Then the Antichrist shall appear and will kill three of the ten kings and rule over the other seven. Antichrist will direct his wrath particularly against the church, and put her to flight, but God will use the Tribulation to purify the Church. After three and a half years, Christ will return in glory to punish the Antichrist, raise the dead saints, and bring the living saints, both those who had suffered persecution by Antichrist and those who escape his anger, into the millennium kingdom.
From Irenaeus, we also learn of Papias (A.D. 80-155) as a premillenarian. Papias was reputed to have heard the Apostle John. Thus he would become our chief link with the views of the Twelve Discples themselves. Irenaeus said that the tradition that Papias passed along was that the Lord in His day taught concerning the millennium that "vines shall grow, each having 10,000 twigs, and in each one of the shoots, 10,000 clusters and on each one of the clusters, 10,000 grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metrets of wine ..."
Several forces worked to undermine this premillennialism of the early church. One of these was the association of this teaching with a radical ascetic Christian group, the Montanist, who shortly after the middle of the second century placed a great stress on a new age of the Spirit which they believed was coming among their numbers in Asia Minor. They gathered together in a village in Phrygia, which they named the New Jerusalem, thus proclaiming the establishment of the millennium. There they waited for the Lord's return. By time of the death of the last of the leaders of Montanism, Christ's return had not occurred.
Another influence that encouraged a change in eschatological views was the emphasis of Origen (A.D. c.185-c.254) upon the manifestation of the kingdom within the soul of the believer rather than in the world. This resulted in a shift of attention away from the historical toward the spiritual and metaphysical. He was perhaps the first to allegorize the passages on which the teaching of the millennium was based. His principle of allegorizing Scripture opened the door for a spiritual millennium and the school of amillennialism.
A final factor that led to a new millennial interpretation was the conversion of the Emperor Constantine the Great (A.D. c.274/280-337) in A.D. 313 and the adoption of Christianity as the Imperial religion.
It was Augustine (A.D. 354-430), Bishop of Hippo, who articulated the amillennial view which came to dominate Western Christianity during Middle Ages. The millennium, according to his interpretation, referred to the Church in which Christ reigned with His saints. The statements in the Book of Revelation were interpreted allegorically by Augustine. No victory was imminent in the struggle with evil in the world. On the really spiritual level, the battle had been already been won and God had triumphed through the cross. Satan had been reduced to lordship over the City of the World, which coexisted with the City of God. Eventually even the small domain of the devil would be taken away from him by a triumphant God.
Augustine early claimed to be a premillenarian, but he changed to become an amillenarian. He did not object to premillenarianism, but he spiritualized the millennium, finding its fulfillment in the church. The millennial reign of the saints was heavenly between the first and second coming of Christ, which period would end in or around A.D. 1000. The first resurrection was the new birth. He wrote in his City of God,
"The church now on earth is both the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of heaven..., the saints being with Him now. Thrones (Rev. 20) may not be understood of the last judgment, but by the thrones are meant the ruler's places in the church, and the persons themselves by whom it is governed.... The church which is now is the kingdom of God. Thus then, the church reigns with Christ.... Christ's kingdom is the church."
(Augustine, The City of God, as quoted in
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, p. 256)
Augustine's allegorical interpretation became the official doctrine of the church during the medieval period. It was more or less modified when Christ failed to return at Augustine's predicted time at A.D. 1000. With the cessation of persecutions, the conviction that the Gospel could probably win the world found a place in the church. The millenarians of this period were of the postmillennial type. Hildegard and Joachim of Floris (A.D. 1130-1202) were perhaps the best known. Joachim innovated what is sometimes called a Trinitarian Millennialism. The Old Testament was the age of the Father; the New Testament was the age of the Son; and the age of the Holy Spirit will be the millennium after which Christ will return. However, in defiance to the official teaching of the church, the earlier apocalyptic premillennialism continued to be held by certain groups. These expressions of premillennialism continued during the reformation period, and was most notably expressed in the rebellion of the city of Munster in A.D. 1534. Jan Matthys gained control of the community, proclaiming himself that he was Enoch preparing the way for the second coming of Christ by establishing a new code of laws which featured a community of property and other radical reforms. He declared Munster to be the New Jerusalem and called all faithful Christians to gather in the city. Many Anabaptists answered his call and most of the original inhabitants of the town were forced to flee or to live in a veritable reign of terror. The situation was so threatening to other areas of Europe that a combined force of Catholics and Protestants laid siege to the place and after a difficult struggle captured the town, suppressing this wave of millennial enthusiasm.
Probably the Munster episode led the Protestant Reformers to reaffirm the Augustinian amillennialism. Each of the three main branches of Protestantism of the sixteenth century - Lutheran, Calvinism, and Anglican - had the support of the state and so continued the same Constantinian approach to eschatology. Both Luther and Calvin were very suspicious of millennial speculation. Martin Luther (A.D. 1483-1546) believed that the Book of Revelation was defective in everything which could be called apostolic and prophetic, and was offended by the visions and symbols of the book. He came to believe that the prophecy in the Book of Revelation was an outline of the whole course of church history and that the Papacy was predicted in both chapters 11 and 12, and in the second beast of chapter 13. The number 666 represented the period of papal domination. This "historic" type of interpretation with its application of the Antichrist to papal Rome so dominated Prostestant study of prophecy for next three centuries, that it is frequently called "the Protestant" interpretation. Luther branded the doctrine of a millennium as heresy. The idea of a millennium was rejected as a Jewish opinion by the Augsburg Confession and by the Helvetic Confession. The Augsburg Confession read:
"They condemn others also, who now scatter abroad Jewish opinions, that, before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall occupy the kingdoms of the world, the wicked being everywhere oppressed."The Helvetic Confession reads:
(Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, Article XVII).
"We reject all who deny the real resurrection.... We also reject the Jewish dream of a millennium, or golden age on earth, before the last judgment."John Calvin (A.D. 1509-1564) and Calvinism dismissed this millenarian interpretation of the Book of Revelation and Calvin declared that those engaged in calculations based on the apocalyptic portions of the Scriptures were "ignorant" and "malicious." He said that the teaching of millennialism was "fiction too puerile to need or deserve refutation." (Calvin's Institutes of Religion).
(ibid., Article XI).
The major statements of various Protestant bodies such as the Augsburg Confession (1, XVII) in A.D. 1530, the Thirty-nine Articles (IV), and the Westminster Confession (chapters 32, 33) in A.D. 1646, although professing faith in the return of Christ, do not support any apocalyptic milleniarian speculation. But the Protestant literal interpretation of the Scriptures, and the identification of the papacy with the Antichrist, would eventually lead in Protestantism to a revival of an interest in premillennialism. Some of these premillennialists were historical interpreters of the Book of Revelation. They found the history of the church symbolized in the seals, trumpets, and vials. They held that after the return of Christ, there would be the millennial reign of Christ before the final consummation.
It was during the seventeenth century that premillennialism of a more scholarly nature was presented. Two reformed theologians, Johann Heinrich Alsted and Joseph Mede were responsible for a renewal this interpretation of apocalyptic scripture. They did not interpret the Book of Revelation in an allegorical manner but rather understood it to contain the promise of a literal kingdom of God to be established on earth before the last judgment. During the Puritan Revolution, the writings of these men encouraged others to look for the establishment of the millennial kingdom in England. One of the more radical groups, called the Fifth Monarchy Men, became infamous for their insistent on the re-establishment of the OT law and a reformed government in England. The collapse of the Cormwellian regime and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy discredited premillennialism. Yet the teaching continued into the eighteenth century through the work of Isaac Newton (A.D. 1642-1727), William Whiston (A.D. 1667-1752), Johann Albrecht Bengel (A.D. 1687-1752), and Joseph Priestley (A.D. 1733-1804). These men, and many others, taught the premillennial return of Christ, but did not believe in a personal Antichrist who would appear at the end of the age to persecute the saints for three and one-half years of the period of tribulation. Neither did they believe in what is now called "the Great Tribulation." Rather they believed that the tribulation extended throughout the history of the church, and that the three and a half years or twelve hundred and sixty days were frequently interpreted to mean twelve hundred and sixty years of church history before the millennium and the end times would come. Such a view lent itself to date-setting. William Whiston predicted that the millennium would begin in A.D. 1715. When it failed to occur, he deferred the date to 1734. When he survived both dates, he projected the time to A.D. 1766, but he did not live to see the prediction fail a third time. J. A. Bengel wrote several apocalyptic works, among them, Erklarte Offenbarung Johannis in which he tries to fix the number of the beast and predicted the beginning of the Millennium at June 18, 1836. When these predictions did not happen, interest in premillennialism waned.
As interest in premillennialism waned, postmillennialism increased and rose to prominence. First expressed in the works of some Puritan scholars, it received its most influential formulation in the writings of the Anglican commentator, Daniel Whitby (A.D. 1638-1726). Among his 39 published works the most famous is a Paraphrase and Commentary on the New Testament (2 vols. A.D. 1703), which continued to be used throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It seemed to him that the kingdom of God was coming ever closer and that would arrive through the same kind of effort that always triumphed in the past. Whitby held that the world would be converted to Christ, the Jews restored to the Holy Land, and the Pope and the Turks defeated, after which the world would enjoy a time of universal peace, happiness, and righteousness for a thousand years. At the end of millennium, Christ would personally return to the earth and the last judgment would be held. This view was adopted by most eighteenth century ministers and commentators. Among the many preachers and theologians that were convinced by the arguments of Whitby was Jonathan Edwards (A.D. 1703-1758). Edwardsean postmillennialism also emphasized the place of America in the establishment of millennial conditions on earth. Edwards held that the fulfillment of the Book of the Revelation in the history of the Church was an unanswerable argument for the inspiration of the Scriptures. He held that the 1260 days in the Book of Revelation was 1260 years and that they began in A.D. 606 and that he was living in the last days. John Wesley (A.D. 1703-1791), following Bengel, thought that the papal Antichrist would be overthrown in A.D. 1836 and would be succeeded, not only by a millennium, but by two millenniums, the first on earth and the second in heaven.
During the nineteenth century, premillennialism again became popular. The violent upheaval of European social and political institutions during the French Revolution encouraged an interest in apocalyptic literature. Also there was also a revival of interest in the future of the Jews. A new element was added to premillennialism during this period with the rise of dispensationalism. Edward Irving (A.D. 1792-1834), a Church of Scotland minister who pastored a congregation in London, was one of the outstanding leaders in the development of this new interpretation. He published numerous works on prophecy and organized the Albury Park prophecy conferences, thus setting the pattern for the gathering of premillenarians during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Irving's apocalyptic exposition found support among the Plymouth Brethern and led many in the group to become enthusiastic teachers of dispensational premillennialism.
Perhaps the leading dispensational expositors among the Brethren was John Nelson Darby (A.D. 1800-1882). He believed that the second coming of Christ took place in two stages, the first stage was a secret rapture or "catching away" of the saints which would remove the church before the seven year period of the tribulation that would devastate the earth, and the second stage would occur when Christ would appear visibly with His saints at the end of tribulation to rule the earth for a thousand years. Darby also taught that the church was a mystery which Paul only wrote about and that the purpose of God can be understood as working through a series of period, or dispensations, in each of which the people of the earth will be tested in unique way.
But during the nineteenth century, most of the premillennialists
were not dispensationalist. Typical of their number was David
Nevins Lord, who edited a quarterly journal, The Theological and
Literary Review, which appeared from A.D. 1848 to A.D. 1861.
This periodical contained articles of interest to premillennialists and
helped to elaborate a nondispensational system of prophetic interpretation.
Lord believed that a historical explanation of the Book of Revelation
was preferable to the futurist outlook which was characteristic
of the dispensationalist view. This historic interpretation was followed
by premillennialists in America until after the Civil War, when
dispensationalism spread among their number. Darby's interpretation
was accepted because of the work of such individuals as Henry
Moorehouse, a Brethern evangelist, who convinced many interdenominational
speakers to accept dispensationalism. Typical of those who came
to believe in Darby's interpretation were
William E. Blackstone (A.D. 1841-1935),
Henry Allen ("Harry") Ironside (A.D. 1876-1951),
Arno C. Gaebelein (A.D. 1861-1945),
Lewis Sperry Chafer (A.D. 1871-1952), and
C. I. Scofield (A.D. 1843-1921).
It was through Scofield and his works that dispensationalism became the
norm for much of American evangelicalism. His Scofield Reference Bible,
which made the new dispensational interpretation an integral part of its notes
printed on the same page as the text, proved so popular that it sold over
three million copies in fifty years. Bible schools and seminaries such as
Biola, Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Grace
Theological Seminary, along with the popular preachers and teachers who had
utilized the electronic media of radio, have made the interpretation
popular to millions of conservative Protestants. The new interpretation
had so replaced the older historic premillennial interpretation
to such extent that when George Ladd restated the older historic
interpretation in the mid-twentieth century it seemed like a novelty
to many evangelicals. Ladd's interpretation is that the Blessed Hope
is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, not a pretribulation Rapture of
believers in a secret coming of Jesus before the tribulation. He holds
that the rapture of I Thess. 4 occurs as part of the visible return of
Christ at the end of the tribulation and at the beginning of the
millennium.
While various forms of premillennialism competed for adherents in the nineteenth century America, a form of postmillennialism that equated the United States with the Kingdom of God became very popular. Many Protestant ministers fed the fires of nationalism and Manifest Destiny by presenting the coming of a golden age as dependent upon the spread democracy, technology, and the other "benefits" of Western civilization. Perhaps the most complete statement of this civil millennialism was presented by Hollis Read. Ordained to the Congregational ministry in Park Street Church, Boston, he served as a missionary to India but was forced to return to the United States because of his wife's poor health. In a two volume work, The Hand of God in History, he attempted to to prove that God's millennial purposes were finding fulfillment in America. He believed that geography, politics, learning, the arts, and morality all pointed to the coming of the millennium to America in the nineteenth century. From this base, the new age would spread to the whole world. In order to accomplish the purpose of global evangelism, Read favored imperialism because the extension of Anglo-Saxon control over other nations ensured the spread of the gospel. This civil postmillennialism found increasing expression during the nineteenth century. For example, during the Civil War many agreed with Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which described God as working through the Northern forces to accomplish God's ultimate purpose. President Wilson's crusade to "make the world safe for democracy", who led his country into World War I, was based upon a postmillennial vision that gave American ideals the major role in establishing peace and justice on earth. His League of Nations was also an expression of the same civil millennial vision. Since World War II, several groups have revived civil millennialism to counter communism and to resist domestic changes such as those brought about by movements for equal rights for women. There are also other movements including the Nazi and Marxists who teach a kind of secular millennialism (without God) when they speak of the Third Reich or the classless society.
In addition to the premillennial, amillennial, and postmillennial interpretations, there have been groups such as the Shakers, the Seventh-day Adventist (disciples of William Miller), the Jehovah's Witnesses (followers of Russel and Rutherford), and the Latter-day Saints (Mormons, followers of Joseph Smith) who tend to equate the activities of their own sect with the coming of the millennium.
Gog and Magog refers to the people and the lands that will invade the land of Israel at future times.
Bible References
The words "Gog", "Magog", and "Hamon-Gog" appear in the Bible in the following
places:
Gog (I Chron. 5:4; Ezek. 38:2, 3, 14, 15, 18;39:1, 11; Rev. 20:8);
Magog (Gen. 10:2; I Chron. 1:5; Ezek. 38:2; 39:6; Rev. 20:8);
Hamon-Gog (Ezek. 29:11, 15).
In this future invasion of Israel, the confederates with Gog will be
Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah. The identity of
Gomer, and Togarmah is somewhat obscure.
In Ezekiel 38:2-3, there is an interesting difference between the texts of the Authorized and Revised Versions. In the Authorized Version (A.V.) the expression "chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" is translated in the Revised Version (R.V.) "prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal". These two translations of the same passage differ because the Hebrew word translated "chief" in A.V. is Rosh, which means "head" or "chief", has been taken in R.V. as a proper name and is, therefore, translated "prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal", indicating a people or territory. In the A.V., the word Rosh in the Hebrew is translated as an adjective describing "the prince of Meshech and Tubal". Is Rosh a proper name of a people of whom Gog is the prince, or is Rosh an adjective modifying prince, as "chief prince"?
The view of the Authorized Version, "chief prince", was held by Ewald, Aquila,
and Jerome, after the analogy of I Chron. 27:5 where Rosh is translated
"chief priest". The view of the Revised Version was held by Keil and
Delitzsch, following the Septuagint, and hence, the passage refers to three
distinct people: Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Keil claims that Byzantine and Arabic
writers mention a people called Rus living in a country of Taurus, who were
counted among the Scythian tribes. According to Gesenius
(1786-1842) in his ancient Hebrew lexicon, Rosh is proper noun of
a northern nation, mentioned with Tubal and Meshech, which is undoubtedly
an ancient name for Russia.
Samuel Prideaux Tregelles,
Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament
Scriptures,
(Grand Rapids, Michagan, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 1949, 1971),
p. 752a.
These passages present the following information concerning Gog, Magog, and Hamon-Gog:
In Ezekiel 39, after the army is destroyed by fire
that came down from heaven (verse 6) and ended the war, it takes seven years
for the weapons to be burned (verse 9); the weapons are made of wood. If
Russia invaded the nation of Israel today, they would certainly not be using
wooden weapons. However, during the millennium, without any foundries and
factories (which pollute), there would be no source of metal available and
so any weapons would necessarily be made of wood.
Jim McKeever, The Coming Climax of History
(Medford, Oregon: Omega Publications, 1982), pp, 263-269.
| Gog in Ezekiel | Gog in Revelation |
|---|---|
| Destroyed by fire (Ezek. 38:23) |
Destroyed by fire (Rev. 20:9) |
| God brings Gog forth (Ezek. 38:4) |
Satan brings Gog forth (Rev. 20:7-8) |
| Gog comes from the North (Ezek. 38:6) |
Gog comes from four corners of the earth (Rev. 20:8) |
| Gog is a "multitude" (Ezek. 39:11) |
Gog is as the "sand of the sea" (Rev. 20:8) |
| Gog is final enemy of Israel" (Ezek. 38:8, 14-16) |
Gog is final enemy of Israel" (Rev. 20:7-8) |
Identity of Gog.
Identity of Magog.
The land of Gog is located in the Bible as being in the "uttermost parts of the north" (Ezek. 38:6, 15; 39:2). From the historical research, it seems that Gog and Magog refer to a barbarian people and land directly north of the land of Israel just below the Black Sea.
The name Magog first appears in Scriptures as a son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2) and then refers later to the great and powerful people descended from Japheth as well as the region where they lived, in the extreme recesses of the north. A few of the views of their identification are the following:
Identity of Hamon-Gog.
"Hamon". from a Hebrew root meaning "to hum, growl, sigh, or moan", is used in the Bible for the noise of a multitude of people. As used by Ezekiel, then, the "multitude of Gog" would seem to express tumultuous confusion made by great numbers of people, and would refer to Gog's confederated allies.
Identity of Gomer.
The first mention of Gomer in the Scriptures was as the oldest son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2-3). Most interpreters understand the "Gomer" of Ezekiel, however, to refer to the Germans, who are reputed to be the descendants of the Celts, who descended from Gomer, who were in turn the Cimmerii who lived in early times just north of the Black Sea in the Crimea. Historians claim that the Cimmerii abandoned this residence in a war with the Scythians and settled in western Asia Minor (800-700 B.C.) until their expulsion about fifty years later. After their expulsion their name disappears from history in its original form, and hence, is held to be identical with the Celtic race, the Cimbri of northern Europe, sometimes described by classicists as the Germans (Condensed from McClintok and Strong's Encyclopedia).
Gomer is allied with Gog of the land of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, or prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.
Identity of Togarmah.
The first appearance of Togarmah in Scripture is as one of the three sons of
Gomer (Gen. 10:3). Ezekiel mentioned the descendants of Togarmah as trading
with the merchants of Tyre "in its fairs with horses, and horsemen, and mules"
(Ezekl. 27:14). Gesenius says that they are "a northern nation and country
sprung from Gomer (the Cimmerians) abounding in horses and mules. We should,
apparently, understand Armenia, as very abundant in horses.... Such
is either the tradition or the opinion of the Armenians themselves, who
regard Torgom the son of Gomer... the founder of their nation, and they
call themselves the house of Torgom,"
op. cit., p. 856b.
The Jews understood them to be the Turks who descended from
the Turkoman hordes, since the Septuagint and some Hebrew manuscripts render
the word Togarma. Others have rather connected them with the Armenians since