Ezekiel 38-39
My life in Christ got a tremendous boost when, as a teen, I developed a keen interest in end-times prophecy, or “eschatology” — more precisely, “apocalyptic eschatology”. I read the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey, then went on to read There’s a New World Coming, also by Hal Lindsey, and Come, Lord Jesus, by Watchman Nee. I was very enthusiastic about figuring it all out, which ultimately led me deeper into studying God’s Word. And for all of that I am eternally grateful, literally!
Today’s reading regarding Gog and friends fits squarely into the “apocalyptic eschatology” arena. (This Gog does not show up much in the Bible — only here and Revelation 20…) So now is my chance to dive in and sort it all out for us all, right? Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, yet again, but here are a few things I have learned over the years:
- Opinions vary widely, from the obviously kooky (along the lines of asserting that Jesus is definitely coming back next Tuesday at 3:18pm) to the very scholarly camp A to the also very scholarly camp B, or C, or D — which cannot all be true;
- It is easy to get so focused on details that one can lose sight of the big picture;
- We humans do not have a good track record of interpreting such prophecy — just consider how well Jesus’ humble First Advent fit the Messianic expectations of His day.
So, no, I’m not going to make any attempt to determine who Gog is or when in the grand sequence of latter-day events the LORD will hold this feast for carrion fowl. But I will say this: God wins. That is what Israel needs to know. And so do we.
Another item that John and I have in common… The first book that I read after I was newly born-again was The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. This book opened my eyes to the importance of having Jesus in my life – whether these futuristic events were true or not. I also went on to read There’s a New World Coming, also by Hal Lindsey, and in between those two books I read a third Hal Lindsay book, Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth. I was less interested in end-times reading than John, but the possibilities were intriguing nonetheless.