Gog, Magog and the Armies of Islam

Is Gog's Invasion of Israel imminent?

I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from my mouth and warn them for me.

~ Ezekiel 33:7

(Updated July 2024 and June 2025)

N.B. This piece is theologically grounded rather than politically aligned. It draws on scriptural prophecy to explore the metaphysical dimensions of the Gog-Magog conflict — not to promote any nation-state, ideology, or faction. The distinction between Zionist Israel and Spiritual Israel is central here. The former refers to the modern, largely secular political entity; the latter, to the multinational remnant aligned with divine order, justice, and truth. The presence of traditional Jewish symbols, such as the shofar, reflects this spiritual orientation — not a political endorsement. Readers are encouraged to approach the text with discernment and an open mind. Thank you.

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The biblical narrative of Gog and Magog — found in Genesis, 1 Chronicles, and Ezekiel in the Old Testament, as well as in Revelation in the New Testament — lends itself to various and sometimes convenient interpretations. These interpretations often reflect the prevailing attitudes of the era, as narratives are frequently shoehorned to fit popular exigencies.

While literal interpretations of the Gog and Magog texts abound in Evangelical circles, symbolic interpretations that engender contemporary insights are less common. In this piece, we shall take a closer look at these interpretations.

Recently, I’ve noticed on both Substack and in the mainstream press frequent mentions of this enigmatic term Gog and Magog. Of particular interest to me are the attempts to identify Gog, the leader of the land called Magog, and to locate Magog on modern maps (see the graphic at the conclusion of this article).

In the Hebrew Bible, Gog, Magog, and their war against Israel are mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. According to this prophecy, Gog, the leader of the armies of Magog, will march a coalition of nations in an attack against the Jewish state. This attack is said to occur "in the latter days," a biblical phrase that alludes to the ‘end times.’

According to this prophecy, God will intervene at the very last moment to save Israel from annihilation, resulting in a devastating defeat of Gog and his armies. The prophetic context further suggests that God's decisive intervention will be of a miraculous nature.

Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken, says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 39:3-5

In the New Testament, Gog and Magog also appear in the book of Revelation, specifically in chapter 20, verses 7–10. In Revelation’s eschatological context, Gog and Magog represent nations deceived into attacking the camp of the saints, but fire from heaven consumes them..

Both prophecies refer to the same war and same outcome using different allegories.

Eschatology is the branch of theology in monotheistic religions that is concerned with the study of ‘end time’ events. In Islam’s Quran, Gog and Magog (known as Ya'juj and Ma'juj) are also apocalyptic figures. They are described in Islamic tradition as barbaric tribes that will wreak havoc across the Earth in the end times.

Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) are introduced in the Quran in a chapter titled ‘Al-Kahf’ (The Cave) and also appear in various Hadiths — the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Eschatology and Geopolitics

But in any case, it is clear that anyone who ignores eschatology will not understand modern geopolitics. And not just in the Middle East, although it is most evident there.

Alexander Dugin (source)

Within Christian Evangelical Dispensational Premillennialism circles, the Gog and Magog prophecy is interpreted literally. The war is considered to be a significant end time event, predicted to occur (depending on the group) either before or after an event conceived as the Rapture and midway through the Tribulation period that leads to a “thousand-year reign of Christ.”

As Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin noted in the quote above, regardless of whether these concepts are interpreted literally or symbolically, they exert significant influence on current geopolitical analyses of the Middle East. Read more about Dugin and Russia’s role in the end times, here.

In the symbolic realm, as opposed to the literal or actual, the person of Gog can be understood as multiple Antichrist figures representing the enemies of God and humanity. These psychopathic figures, through their disbelief, atheism, agnosticism, or sheer indifference, set themselves against the Divine Order.

Magog is frequently invoked in a figurative sense, denoting groups or nations that align with Gog’s forces rather than identifying a specific geographic location. Yet throughout history, various interpretations have attempted to assign a real-world place to Magog, underscoring the meshing between its symbolic meaning and its literal identification.

Ezekiel also names Persia — corresponding to modern-day Iran — as a key member of Gog’s confederation. The longstanding mutual enmity between Israel and Iran remains one of the central dynamics in today’s Middle East. It is not unreasonable to suggest that the present conflict may represent the opening volley from Gog’s coalition.

Whether interpreted literally or symbolically, the alignment of nations described in Ezekiel lends his prophecy both sobering relevance and renewed gravitas.

Spiritual Israel - Safed in Northern Galilee near Lebanon

The picturesque city of Safed has long stood as a symbol of mystical insight and spiritual continuity — the historic center of Kabbalah, a metaphysical framework for understanding the universe, the divine, and the human experience through mysticism and esoteric knowledge.

What follows is an exploration of the Kabbalistic, deeper identity of Spiritual Israel, and a call to disentangle it from modern conflations and misunderstandings that blur the line between the sacred and the secular.

Spiritual Israel, as opposed to Zionist Israel, symbolizes the multinational ‘People of God’ and therefore extends, metaphysically, to all who profess belief in transcendent reality. To "stand with Spiritual Israel" is not merely a geopolitical slogan but a spiritual imperative for Christians and Muslims alike.

However, since October 7, 2023, and subsequent events, many — myself included — have been compelled to confront the mistaken conflation of Zionism and the modern State of Israel with Spiritual Israel and Judaism. The once perceived unity between the political and the sacred has been laid bare as an illusion. The mask is off! We should now recognize that Biblical Israel and the nation-state of Israel are entirely separate and irreconcilable entities.¹

Supporting Israel is, for many Christians and Jews, synonymous with standing alongside the Lord and the entire House of Israel. However, this does not mean that the modern nation-state of Israel — Zionist Israel — is immune to legitimate criticism.

On the contrary, it is important to recognize that Zionism, much like many Western institutions today, has succumbed to the influence of globalist interests and power structures. We believe that these influences significantly shaped and, in certain respects, compromised contemporary Zionism from its inception.

As the Apostle Paul taught, Gentiles were grafted onto the vine that is Spiritual Israel. This concept emphasizes the expansion of God's people beyond the Jewish community to include everyone spiritually aligned with Judeo-Christian tradition.

As the 'Age of the Gentiles' draws to a close and the process of ‘grafting-on’ has been fulfilled, a new unity among those who acknowledge transcendent reality, regardless of religious or ethnic background, is being formed. This could well implicate new religious ideas in the coming age, a type of Prisca Theologia.²

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Romans 11:17-24

Ezekiel's Vision of Dry Bones

The imagery of Ezekiel's dry bones breathes life into our symbolic overview. As Ezekiel 37:11 states:

Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’

These 'dry bones' can be interpreted as the spiritually dead or indifferent, though they can be restored to spiritual life. This includes many residents of the nation-state of Israel, which is surprisingly mostly secular (hilonim). The clarion call, therefore, is for these souls to awaken and align (or realign) with God, however they envision him. Obsessing over doctrinal minutiae at the expense of a living relationship with God is problematic. In these times, it also is dangerous.

What is important, and even crucial, is that we not allow our hearts to harden, but rather to rise above petty biases and stubbornness. A holistic picture of the world requires viewing it first and foremost through a spiritual lens.

Will ‘Gog’ invade Israel from ‘the far north?’

While it is always wise to exercise caution when fusing scriptural prophecy to current events, it is correspondingly unwise to ignore the theological underpinnings that inform many modern-day conflicts.

As tensions in the current Middle East conflicts escalate, revisiting these ancient texts, which shape contemporary religious and political views, proves both instructive and enlightening.

The Gog-Magog prophecy:

You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:15,16

Here the prophet speaks of a great invasion by a coalition of nations led by a figure identified as Gog, who hails from northern lands identified as Magog. Given today’s events, it’s important to be familiar with these prophecies.

Ezekiel 38:8-9 states that Gog will march into the land of Israel, which has been restored from previous wars and where the people live in relative safety. The text emphasizes that Gog will ascend like a storm, covering the land like a cloud.

Paul reminds us to keep ourselves informed:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

The prophet Ezekiel further states that God will allow this invasion to happen as a means to make himself known to lost souls — the ‘dry bones’ we alluded to in the previous section.

The prophet’s call, consequently, is for a global spiritual awakening; for the dry bones of the spiritually vexed to return to life, sustained by a divine vision that eclipses sectarian and secular divides.

Ezekiel, my favorite Old Testament prophet, appears to have honed in on today’s world while held captive in Babylon over 2,500 years ago. His prophetic writings occurred over the course of 22 years beginning around 593 BCE.

Given that the previous (and inaccurate) association between Magog and Russia has now fallen out of favor among scholars, there is near-unanimous agreement among exegetists that in Ezekiel’s day, Magog, Meshech, and Tubal (see graphic below) were all located in what today is Turkey — not in Russia.

The nations joining the coalition to be led by Turkey against Israel are listed on the right side of the graphic. This list includes key players that have been identified through scholarly analysis, although the list is not all inclusive.

Israel, July 28, 2024 — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan [recently] appeared to threaten to invade Israel in support of the Palestinians, and to put an end to the nearly 10-month-old war Israel is fighting against Hamas in Gaza.

Turkey must be “very strong so that Israel can’t do these things to the Palestinians,” the Turkish leader said of the war. “Just as we entered [Nagorno-]Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them. There is nothing we can’t do. We must only be strong.”³

Erdoğan has also advised patience, which is considered a central and highly esteemed virtue in Islam. Known as sabr in Arabic, it is repeatedly emphasized in the Quran and Hadith as essential for spiritual growth, resilience, and maintaining faith through life’s trials.

The Quran states, “O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” Patience is regarded as a sign of true faith and a critical component of a Muslim’s character, helping believers to remain steadfast, calm the mind, and trust in Allah’s plan during adversity.

Practicing patience is seen as a form of worship, bringing blessings, rewards, and inner peace — can be broadly applied to all Abrahamic religions, though each tradition articulates and emphasizes these ideas in its own way.

Christianity teaches that patience is considered a Fruit of the Spirit and is central to Christian life. Jewish scripture teaches that patience leads to understanding, wisdom, and ultimately peace, and that God rewards those who wait upon him.

Conclusion

The Gog-Magog confrontation, whether interpreted literally or symbolically, foreshadows a final metaphysical reckoning — not merely between nation-states, but between spiritual orientations.

As argued in Satanic Accelerationism and the Temple of Set, history enters a phase of violent acceleration when the Logos is rejected and entropy reigns. In this scenario, Gog is not a lone tyrant but an archetypal force — the culmination of antinomian energies arrayed against the Divine Order.

His coalition becomes a vortex for the spiritually disfigured: institutions, ideologies, and actors who have abandoned truth in favor of domination, spectacle, and decay. Set, the cosmic principle of sacred disruption, presides over this threshold.

A coalition potentially led by Turkey and Iran — encompassing the Axis of Resistance, with possible organizational support from the Muslim Brotherhood and the theoretical participation of states such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Libya, and even Azerbaijan — reflects the current potential for an Islamic alliance against Israel and the awakening of the Ummah.⁴ This coalition also mirrors the list of nations waging war against Israel as identified in interpretations of the Gog and Magog prophecy.

This scenario is seen by many as a modern echo or foreshadowing of the ancient biblical narrative, though its actual realization would depend on a dramatic shift in regional alignments and the convergence of multiple crises.

Amidst the turmoil, Ezekiel’s prophetic vision holds — the dry bones will rise. The surviving remnant — whether grafted or regrown — will not be defined by blood or doctrine, but by fidelity to the transcendent and the courage to resist spiritual nullity.

These are the true heirs of Biblical Israel — not Zionist, but spiritual. The dry bones that ache for flesh are not only Jewish, nor merely Christian, but human — called back to life in a final act of divine reclamation.

As Ezekiel was commanded to do, we too — as watchmen — must speak to the bones. And warn them.

1. World War III and Other Simulacra

2. Prisca theologia, also known as ancient theology, is a doctrine that asserts the existence of a single, true theology that runs through all religions. According to this belief, God imparted this ancient wisdom to humanity in the distant past. It suggests that there is a common thread connecting various religious traditions, and this universal truth was revealed to ancient philosophers.

3. Turkey’s Erdogan appears to issue open threat to invade Israel over war in Gaza (article)

4. In Islam, the ummah refers to the global community of Muslims, a concept that transcends national, ethnic, and racial boundaries. It signifies a sense of brotherhood and shared identity among all believers in Islam, united by their faith and the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad.