Joel Richardson WND
The prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39, often referred to as the battle of Gog and Magog, is hands-down one of the most influential end-time prophecies in all of Scripture. But it is also arguably one of the most widely misinterpreted prophecies. This idea that Ezekiel prophesied a Russian-led invasion of Israel is widely taught by numerous well-known and highly respected Bible teachers. The idea finds its basis in the fact that Gog, the leader of the invasion, is from the land of Magog, which, it is claimed, is a reference to Russia. In a previous article, I showed several maps – several created by popular prophecy teachers and several from modern and scholarly referenced Bible atlases. What was quite apparent from that article is that the majority of Bible atlases are not in agreement with the popular belief concerning the location of Magog. While many teach that Magog is a reference to Russia, the Bible atlases all placed Magog in modern-day Turkey. So if modern scholarship does not validate the popular notion that Magog is in Russia, where, then, did this idea come from?