Who Are Gog and Magog in Revelation?

John describes the invasion of Gog and Magog as follows: “When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:7–10).

The prophet John explains that at the end, before God’s new world becomes a reality, God will utterly and completely remove from the face of the earth the instigator of all evil and all who followed him in rebellion. In Revelation 20:8, Gog and Magog are not individual nations from the north consisting of military troops. “Gog and Magog” are all the inhabitants of the earth who follow the Beast rather than the Lamb, that is, all the unbelievers who persist in their rebellion against God. Many interpret Revelation 20:7–10 as the final battle between the nations who have been deceived by Satan after the millennium. Others interpret the event as the final judgment upon Satan and the unrepentant at the time of Jesus Christ’s return. The choice between these two possibilities depends on how we interpret the millennium (see question 33). Chronological questions aside, there is agreement that the judgment of “God and Magog” is God’s final judgment on unrepentant sinners.

Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (p. 228). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.