Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

GOG and MAGOG

Prophetically, Gog will be the leader of a great army that attacks the land of Israel in the end times. Gog is described as "the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal," from the north "the land of Magog" (Ezekiel 38:2-3). The prophet Ezekiel prophetically describes Gog attacking Israel with a powerful force (Ezekiel chapters 38-39). According to this prophesy of Ezekiel, Gog will be defeated by God Himself on the mountains of Israel. The slaughter will be so great it will take seven months to bury all of the dead (Ezekiel 39:12). The Book of Revelation also mentions Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:7-8). The prophesy in Revelation is essentially a restatement of Ezekiel's prophesy.

Magog was a grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:2). The descendants of Magog settled to the far north of Israel, likely in Europe and northern Asia (Ezekiel 38:2). Magog seems to be used to refer to "northern barbarians" in general, but likely also has a connection to Magog the person. The people of Magog are described as skilled warriors (Ezekiel 38:15; 39:3-9). The Book of Revelation uses Ezekiel's prophesy about Magog to portray a final end times attack on the nation of Israel (Revelation 20:8-9). Many Bible prophesy teachers identify Gog and Magog as Russia and/or China. This is possible, but not explicitly clear in the Bible.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc