Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him … - Ezekiel 38:2

Today's Scripture Reading (July 10, 2020): Ezekiel 38

They were cannibals. People of unclean desires. Giants who loved to feed on the flesh of little children. They existed only in the nightmares of the civilized people who inhabited the world that we know. Alexander the Great understood that fact. He was the one who pushed these unclean beasts from his kingdom, driving them through a mountain pass and then building a wall so strong and high that they could never return. Their king was named Gog, and they were from the land of Magog, or maybe they were people from the worlds of Gog and Magog. But thanks to Alexander, the important thing was that they had been walled off from our civilized society. But, if they ever decided to return, the civilized world needed to be ready to fight with them again, if civilization was to survive.

Over the years, these unclean Kings have taken on the identity of every people group who we did not understand or who waged war against us. Gog and Magog have been identified as the Vikings, the Huns, the Mongols, and even the Russians. Some have believed that Gog and Magog were the ten lost tribes of Israel, come back to wreak their vengeance on those they left behind.

But the truth is that we don't know. All we have is guesses, most of which are more products of our nightmares than they are of our rational thoughts. We do know that Gog and Magog will make another appearance at the end of this world's history. John writes about Gog and Magog in Revelation;

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore (Revelation 20:7-8).

Maybe there is a spiritual dimension to these bogeymen of the Bible. Perhaps they still exist, just on the other side of Alexander's mysterious wall in the mountains; walled up waiting for the time when they will once again make their presence known to us mere mortals. But for now, they can exist only in our imaginations, waiting for the day when Satan will call them forth once again.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 39