Who is Gog? (Ezekiel 38-39)

In today's reading I found myself asking, "who is Gog?"  I scoured the chapter before to see if there was any mention of him, and I finally turned to The New Bible Commentary to get some information.  What I found was pretty interesting, and I thought it was worthwhile to post here.  I hope you appreciate this background info the way I did.

We do not know for certain of a historical ruler called Gog. The lands that he ruled—Magog, Meshech and Tubal—are probably to be located in the region of Asia Minor and the Black Sea…  These lands would thus lie at the farthest reaches of the world of the Middle East.  It may well be that Gog and his nations are symbolic of the people of the world who are arraigned against the people of God.  (The book of Revelation refers to Gog and Magog in this sense in Rev. 20:8).  Viewed in this way, the oracle becomes a warning that, even after their return from exile, the people of Israel would at the same time experience immense forces against them.  Yet these forces would be routed, and their destruction would be great.

The intensity of the imagery in the oracle—the great armies and the huge numbers of fallen—has led some interpreters to see this oracle as predicting a specific final battle.  However, if we compare this oracle with e.g. those against Egypt in 32:1–16 and Tyre in 28:11–19, we find a similar extravagance of symbolism.

The implication of the oracle is that in future days the people of God would experience the massed forces of evil ranged against them.  The odds would seem insurmountable, but the power of God would protect his people.  The enemy would be routed.  This victory still lies in the future for us, but the crucial blow has been struck at the cross of Calvary.

Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition. Rev. ed. of: The new Bible commentary. 3rd ed. / edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970. (4th ed.) (Eze 38:1). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.