Intro to Ezekiel 38-39
The Final Battle and the Defeat of Gog – Chapters 38 & 39 are one unit, beginning with our nal Word-Event formula, “the Word of Yahweh came to me,” and ending with the signatory, “says the Lord Yahweh.” 39:23-29 is the epilogue for these chapters and 33-37. The ultimate security of God’s people even in the face of the worst threats, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the fundamental promise of the return of God’s people to dwell in the promised land. Notice the kaleidoscopic structure of the chapters, which gradually add new (and increasingly surreal) themes rather than displaying Western-type logical coherence. Initially, it appears to interrupt the sequence of chapters 33-37 and 40-48. Those earlier chapters promise the advent of the new David, Jesus Christ, and the regeneration of God’s people (e.g., 34:23-25; 36:25-28; 37:22-28). The later chapters (40-48) give us an eschatological picture of a golden age of everlasting peace, security, and proper worship in the transformed promised land— the new heavens and new earth—parallel to the portrait of the eternal state in Revelation 21-22. In Ezekiel 38-39, we have a description of a fearsome, climactic battle between the forces of evil and the people of God, who have already been redeemed and restored (e.g., “gathered” in 38:8; “peaceful … resettled … regathered” in 38:11-12). If we read Ezekiel 33-48 as presenting a chronological end-time sequence, this means that after the rst advent of Jesus Christ (as prophesied in chapters 33-37), those who believe in him will be raised to new spiritual life already now. Thus, the resurrection in Ezek 37:1-14 corresponds to dying and rising with Christ in Baptism (Rom 6:1-4) and to the ” rst resurrection” in Rev 20:5-6. Baptized believers in Christ have already undergone this spiritual ” rst resurrection,” though we still await the bodily resurrection at the return of Christ. According to amillennialists, the thousand years in Rev 20:1-6 depict the present church age, during which believers in Christ are spiritually raised to new life and begin to reign with Christ. Then Rev 20:7-9 describes the increasing persecution of the church, which will culminate in a last battle before Christ returns. At his return, all the dead will be raised and judged (Rev 20:11-15). Then, all believers in Christ will enter the new heavens and earth, their home for eternity (Revelation 21-22). There is no “rapture” apart…