Gog and Magog in the Book of Ezekiel

The imagery evoked in descriptions of rapturous spiritual states (“Raush” in German philosophy) powerfully captures the profound experience of confronting seemingly unconquerable opposition and existential threat.

As in the prophecy of Ezekiel against the forces of Gog and Magog, this moment of crisis threatens to engulf one like an apocalyptic tidal wave (Ezekiel 38:9–12). Enemies from all around, geographic and spiritual, seem insurmountable.

Yet Scripture teaches that even in the darkest hour, there is hope for deliverance and rebirth for those who put their trust in God –and, unserendipitously, it is at these darkest moments where the greatest deliverances are most opportune.

Gog and Magog as Connoting Spiritual Rapture

As the description notes, when one feels wrapped in the protective grace of the Divine amidst overwhelming threat, the possibility of divine intervention and new creation emerges even in a moment of despair.

Ezekiel thus prophesies that God will strike down the vast armies of Gog with pestilence, torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone (Ezekiel 38:22), even as God’s people dwell securely in unwalled villages (Ezekiel 38:11).

This narrative arc of crisis giving way to redemption echoes across Scripture, from the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Exodus (Exodus 14:26–29) to Christ’s conquest of death itself in the Resurrection, restoring life from death.

The reference to the “pre-firmament” — i.e., “Earth” before God lays the firmament, which juxtaposes in a unity heaven from Earth — evokes the Spirit of God hovering over the primeval waters before Creation (Genesis 1:2), suggesting this moment of crisis contains the seeds of new beginnings.

As philosopher Mircea Eliade has observed, mythological imagery signifies that the potential for fresh creation comes out of the chaos of destruction. The dividing and ordering of those waters parallels God’s separation of light from darkness and imposition of structure upon the formlessness of primordial chaos in the Genesis narrative.

Thus, the crisis plunges one back into the fluidity of chaos, out of which divine action summons new structure and understanding. In The Courage to Be, philosopher Paul Tillich describes this state as “the anxiety of meaninglessness…the loss of an ultimate concern, of a meaning which gives meaning to all meanings.” Yet he further argues that the Divine serves as the “ground of being,” which anchors our search for meaning and rebirth.

The subsequent progression maps the soul’s journey from dissolution through doubt and disorientation toward a renewed and enlightened state of virtù (Machiavelli) and esprit (Voltaire). In the depths of crisis, one faces the dissolution of old certainties, the threat of destruction, and the loss of structure and meaning.

Through trust and grace, the soul passes through this nadir of the journey before gradually reconstituting a new sense of order and meaning from the remnants of the old.

As Augustine reflects in Confessions, “Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no end.” This insight encapsulates the renewed perspective and praise that emerges from the soul’s journey through crisis. Therein, one finds a synthesis of virtù and esprit –there is no higher state of being a human can attain than this synthesis.

From this position of renewed strength and enlightened perspective cultivated through struggle, one can finally reengage the world with greater wisdom, purpose, and harmony. Thus, Ezekiel’s prophecy and the state of Raush provide a salient metaphor for many crises of trust and meaning.

Whether collective or personal, these moments plunge one into the chaotic pre-firmament, threatening dissolution. Yet Scripture and philosophy affirm that through trust and grace, chaos gives way to growth and renewal as the soul transforms from darkness and fragmentation toward enlightenment, virtù, and esprit.

The Divine presence undergirds this journey, using crisis as the crucible through which wisdom, understanding, and new creation emerge.

Gog and Magog in Revelation

The mysterious figures of Gog and Magog also emerge in the apocalyptic visions of the Book of Revelation, where they are depicted as gathering the nations for a final epic battle against the people of God after Satan is released at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:7–10).

As in Ezekiel, Gog and Magog signify archetypal enemies of the righteous who threaten utter destruction, only to meet their own demise. Yet Revelation, like Ezekiel, ultimately envisions this conflict, giving way to definitive divine victory, final judgment, and the descent of a new Jerusalem from heaven (Revelation 20:11–22:5).

Gog and Magog’s all-consuming war thus becomes part of the death throes of the old fallen order before God restores creation to purity and paradise. Gog and Magog in Revelation are the violent, destructive instincts that must be purged and transformed before paradise can be regained. When defeated, suffering and death can be destroyed (Revelation 20:14).

Thus, Gog and Magog constitute an apocalyptic mythic framework for conceptualizing the definitive battle between good and evil. This battle engulfs the world in a crisis that threatens utter dissolution. Yet, it ultimately gives way to divine victory and the emergence of a new and perfected creation.

Crises plunge the world into chaos and dissolution, out of which the divine will summons new structure and meaning.

The defeat of Gog and Magog represents the final purge of destructive forces as the fallen world undergoes a fiery transformation into an eternal kingdom of peace, justice, and harmony under divine rule. The return of Gog and Magog in Revelation signals that crisis and conflict are not ended but are an enduring element of the human condition.

Revelation’s answer is hope and trust in ultimate divine victory, judgment, and redemption. Every such battle and crisis thus contains within it the seeds of rebirth.

Crisis becomes the crucible through which God reshapes a flawed world into the new Jerusalem. Gog and Magog symbolize these epochal historical crisis points that give birth to a renewed creation. Their fate calls us to conscience, moral and intellectual, in moments of deepest despair.