Here is a article about what I believe.
Part 1
When Does the Gog, Magog War Begin?
By Donna Shakrin
To address when the Gog Magog war takes place lets go straight to the scriptures starting with Rev. 20:1-3, 7-10
1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
According to Rev. 20:1-2, at the end of Daniel's 70th week (a.k.a. the Tribulation), an angel will lay hold of satan and bind him for a thousand years. This thousand years is commonly known as The Millennium. After the thousand years are over, satan will be loosed. He will deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, being the leader of the land of Magog, to gather them to battle the saints and the beloved city. God then devours them and satan is thrown into the lake of fire.
During the Millennium there will be a time of unprecedented peace, a time where swords and weapons of war will be made into plowshares and pruning hooks. There will be no war because Jesus “will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.” (Is 11:4). It will be a time when Jesus Himself will return to Zion and live in the midst of Jerusalem in His 'Holy Mountains'. From Zion will go the law and the word of the Lord. Jesus will rule the nations with a 'rod of iron'. (Zech 8:3 “Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.” Is 2:2-4, “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” Rev. 19:15, "15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron", Ps 2:9 “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron...”) He will judge between nations and decide disputes for people, in other words; hold court.
The people who populate the earth during the Millennium will be natural people who survived Daniel's 70th Week (Tribulation) and all of their natural descendants. This is found in Zech 14:16, “Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King”. Jesus also expected natural people to survive those days. He said in Mt 24:22 that “Except that those days should be shortened then no flesh should be saved, but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.” These natural people will have the same nature as natural people today and many will have an unregenerate sin nature. They will be required to go to the Mount of the Lord and learn the law and He will teach people His ways (Micah 4:2).
Also during this thousand years Jerusalem will be “living securely” (Zech 14:11, Jer 23:6). There will be none to make them afraid, that is until after the thousand years are over when satan is released from his prison and goes out to deceive the nations. Scripture doesn't tell us how long it takes to deceive the nations but it will be long enough to convince “four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”. It is almost inconceivable that during a time when people and nations will have Jesus living, ruling and reigning over them for a thousand years, that they could be deceived once again by satan when he is released. Amazingly enough, according to Rev. 20, this will occur.
It is notable that the only other time in the Bible that the Gog and Magog war is revealed was to Ezekiel. It is recorded in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Many see this war in Revelation and in Ezekiel as two separate events but a study of both will reveal that there is only one Gog and Magog war. First, the following is a look at the similarities in both accounts.
John, the Apostle records in the book of Revelation that he saw satan released from prison after one thousand years to go out and deceived Gog, the land of Magog and many other nations and peoples to go to war. In Ezekiel, Gog of the land of Magog was also mentioned as a leader of a coalition of nations. Ezekiel's account gives more details. It actually lists the names of some of the many nations and peoples as Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, the house of Togarmah and many people with him (Ez 39: 5-6). The number of them were described "as the sand of the sea" in Rev. and "as a cloud to cover the land" in Ezekiel. So, both accounts have Gog as a leader and a massive number of people in a multi nation coalition forming a great army.
The Bible says in Rev. that these people and nations will be "deceived" and Ezekiel vs10 says "things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought". Gog and his cohorts are deceived with evil thoughts to "go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." They saw the peace, prosperity, and abundance in Israel during this time and with evil intent they will come against the Israelites to destroy them and take the spoils. Both accounts show that they were deceived into thinking these things.
This multi nation coalition formed a great army that "compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city" (Rev. 20:9) "against the land of Israel" (Ez 38:18). The location of the attack is the same in both books. The army will come from the north and go down to Israel. They will surround the camp of the saints and Jerusalem.
"It shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. (Ez 38:18) God will be furious and He will send an earthquake, inner fighting, pestilence, floods, and finally "great hailstones, fire and brimstone" (Ez 38:22). In the abbreviated vision shown to John the Apostle, he wrote that "fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them". Both accounts of the destruction of this great army are the same with more details given to Ezekiel.
Revelation shows that the Gog, Magog war is the last war because after this war, "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone" where he will "be tormented day and night for ever and ever". (Rev. 20:10). Appropriately, the very next scriptures in Rev. 20:11-12 talks about the Great White Throne judgment where the dead, small, and great stand before God with the books open to be judged after the earth and the heaven "fled away". As would be expected, at the end of Ezekiel 39, God explains by what standard He used to judge Israel and why He restored Israel. In Ez 39:21 He said, "and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them." He goes on to explain that it was because of Israel's trespasses and uncleanness that He 'hid' His face from them. The lesson to the nations is that He had judged Israel because of their wickedness which caused all their woes and not because He abandoned them. He concluded by saying from that point on, Israel will know that He is LORD and He will be magnified and sanctified in the eyes of the nations.
Many Bible teachers and students want to make the Gog, Magog war to be a war before the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (Tribulation) like a World War III. Others say that it is the battle of Armageddon and will happen at the end of Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation). There are also some who believe that there will be a 'type' of Rev.'s Gog, Magog war before the 70th Week (Tribulation) but a fulfillment after the Millennium. The following will address some of these beliefs to show that Gog, Magog war will happen only once and then after the Millennium is over.
First, some people say that there is no way that after spending a thousand years with Jesus ruling here on earth that any one would dare to come against God. The truth is that this will actually happen because this is what is taught in Rev. 20. Both Zech 14:16-19 and Mt 24:22 tell us that there will be natural people who will populate the Millennium. Many of these will be unregenerate people and when satan is loosed after a thousand year, he will successfully deceive as many as the sand of the sea. In addition, not only could it be possible for them to come against God even after being in His presence but it has already happened. Remember Adam walked with God and talked with God and Adam rebelled and sinned. Through his rebellion, sin entered into the world (Rom 5:19).
Those that try to make the Gog, Magog war an event that occurs prior to start of Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation) run into many problems. The scriptures very clearly describe the condition that Israel will be in at time when Gog and the nations come against her. Israel will be a "land of unwalled villages", "at rest", "dwell safely", and again scripture repeats, "all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates". Before Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation) begins the Bible describes a time of wars and rumors of wars (Mt 24). The antichrist will arise be conquering and take peace from the earth (Rev. 6:2-4). He must conquer and to be powerful enough to have great authority to confirm the covenant with many prior to the start of the 70th week. At that time many will be persecuted, hated, deceived, and killed. The antichrist will not be facing an Israel that is "unwalled", "at rest" and "dwelling safely" but after the end of the thousand years Millennium, Gog and his coalition of nations will find an Israel at rest and unwalled.
Some of the results of the defeating of Gog and his coalition of nations will be that the LORD's holy name will be known in the midst of Israel, His name will not be polluted again (Ez 39:7), nations will know that He is the LORD (Ez 38:23), and He will set His glory among the heathens (Ez39:21). If the Gog, Magog war is World War III that occurs at the beginning of Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation), then you would expect to see these results come to pass during the seven year period. This is not the case. Instead of the LORD's holy name to be known in Israel, she will continue to defy God. They will accept the antichrist and confirm the covenant with him. They will throw a party and give gifts when the two witnesses that God sends dies. It will be a time of the rise of the antichrist and rebellion. Certainly Israel and other nations would not be recognizing His sovereignty and His holy name. So, the idea that this Gog, Magog war is the same as World War III doesn't fit at all.
Ezekiel also talks extensively about a time period of at least seven months where the land of Israel will be cleansed of the remains of the dead from the Gog, Magog war. There will be "men of continual employment" cleansing the land (Ez 39:14). Many Bible teachers and student try to say that there will be a time of 'peace' after the antichrist confirms the covenant with many and it will be during this period that Israel can cleanse the land. The problem is that the Bible paints a different picture of this time. Jesus in Matthew 24 describes what it would be like during this time period. He said, "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." In addition to the deaths due to war, famines, pestilence and earthquakes, many saints will suffer persecution and many will die (Rev. 6:8-9). This does not sound like a time of 'peace' that will allow hired men to go throughout the land and bury the dead.
Those who try to make the Gog, Magog war the same war as Armageddon also run into myriad problems. The first problem is the same mentioned above. The antichrist will not be coming against an "unwalled villages", and people "at rest" and "dwelling safely" because the battle of Armageddon happens at the end of seven years of war, death, destruction, and unbelievable horrors.
The intent of the leaders of the Gog, Magog war and of the antichrist in the battle of Armageddon is very different. We're told in scriptures that the antichrist who leads the nations to the battle known as Armageddon "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" in 2Thess 2:4 and "it even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host" in Dan 8:11. The antichrist clearly wants to be God and be magnified and worshipped as God. On the other hand, Gog's intentions in Ez 38:12 is given "To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land." Gog wants the spoils and the riches and to prey on the people of the land of Israel. These are vastly different goals and intents by two different leaders at two different wars.
At the end of Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation), the antichrist, a man who receives power from satan (Rev. 13:4), along with the false prophet will be "cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20). On the other hand, Gog, a man deceived by satan (Rev. 20:8) will be given "a place there of graves in Israel" (Ez 39:11). Gog cannot be the antichrist of Armageddon. Two men, one will be buried in Israel after the thousand years and one thrown alive in the lake of fire before the thousand years. To clarify that the 'beast' antichrist is different from Gog, Rev. 20:10 says "the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are".
So, a thousand years after the beast (antichrist) and the false prophet are be thrown into the lake of fire, satan is released, he deceives the nations and is then cast into the same place where the beast (antichrist) and false prophet already are. It doesn't say the same place as Gog will be cast but where the antichrist and false prophet were long ago cast.
It very important to interpret Bible words, passages, and paragraphs within the context of the overall, whole, intended meaning. For example, there are those who look at the earthquakes that will happen at the end of Daniel's 70th week (Tribulation) and the great earthquake in Ezekiel chapter 38 and equate them as the same event because they both mention earthquakes. Without examining the context, you may arrive at the same conclusion. The problem is that the word 'earthquake' occurs many times in the Bible. No one could reasonably say that when you see the word 'earthquake' in a passage they are all same event because they contain the same word. This would be taking scripture out of context. In the days of King Uzziah there was an earthquake mentioned in Zech 14:5 and Amos 1:1. There were also earthquakes in the days of the Book of Acts and multiple times in the end times, such as after the two witnesses rose from the dead, after the 7th seal and others. So, to say that the Gog, Magog war in Ezekiel is the same as Armageddon because both events have earthquakes and destruction would be an error.
In line with this same thought is the issue about the birds of the air feeding on the flesh of the deceased as is mentioned in both Rev. 19:17-18 at the supper of God and in Ez 39:17-18 in the Gog, Magog account. Having the flesh of the dead eaten by vultures and carrion birds is equivalent to bring more shame and disgrace to the dead one (see Gen 40:19 & 2 Samuel 21:10). Since we know from scripture that the antichrist and his army will be defeated at the end of Daniel's 70th week and we know that a thousand years later Gog and his coalition will be defeated according to Rev. 20 then it is not unreasonable to believe that "the fowls that fly" can be gathered to eat the flesh of the dead for each separate event.
