Albert Barnes Commentary Ezekiel 38:1

"And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying," — Ezekiel 38:1 (ASV)

The last conflict of the world with God, and the complete overthrow of the world. This section, Ezekiel 38–39, refers to times after the restoration of Israel.

As the Church (the true Israel) grows stronger and stronger, more distant nations will come into collision with it and must be overthrown before its triumph is complete.

Some have thought that this prophecy is directed against the Scythians, who possessed Asia for twenty-three years. During this time, they overran Syria and probably made their appearance in the Holy Land.

However, this prophecy contains little that is distinctive of any single nation. It is a gathering of Yahweh’s enemies to make their last effort, and to be overthrown.

The seer then moves to the final struggle between Good and Evil, and the triumphant establishment of divine rule.

This is the same struggle depicted in the Book of Revelation (Ezekiel 20:7–10), where John adopts words and phrases from Ezekiel.

There are four main divisions of this prophecy:

1. Ezekiel 38:1–13, describing Gog’s march.
2. Ezekiel 38:14–23, describing his punishment.
3. Ezekiel 39:1–16, describing his ruin.
4. Ezekiel 39:17–29, the outcome of Gog’s ruin in Israel’s redemption and sanctification.

Each division is broken up into stanzas, like a poem.