Ezekiel 38

1–23

(Chapter XXXVIII.) \"And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of the head (or head of) Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of the head (or head of) Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all clothed in armor, a great multitude, with bucklers and shields, wielding swords (or bucklers and helmets, and swords): Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans, all with shields and helmets; Gomer and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah from the far north, and all his troops, and many peoples with you.\ Prepare and equip yourself, and your entire multitude which has gathered to you, and be a commandment to them (or you will be to me a custodian). After many days you will be visited: in the last years you will come to a land which has turned (or perverted) from the sword: and it has been gathered from many peoples to the mountain (or land) of Israel, who have been continuously deserted: this has been brought out from the peoples and they will confidently dwell (or have dwelt) in it. But when the storms come and the clouds cover the earth, you and all your armies, and many peoples (or nations) with you, will ascend. Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will arise in your heart, etc., and you will devise a wicked plan, and say: I will ascend to the land (or above the land) without a wall (or abject): I will go to those who dwell securely (or in peace): all ((Vulgate adds these)) dwell without a wall, bars and gates are not for them: to plunder spoils, and seize prey: to lay your hand upon those who were forsaken, and later restored, and upon the people who are gathered from the nations, who have begun to possess and inhabit the belly button of the earth. The people of Sheba and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish (or the Carthaginians and all the lion-like cities) will say to you: Have you come to gather spoils? Look, you have gathered your multitude to take silver and gold, and to take away possessions and spoil endless treasures. Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: Will you not know (or arise) on that day when my people Israel dwell confidently (or in peace)? And you will come from your place on the sides (or from the far north), you and many peoples with you, all mounted on horses, a great gathering and a mighty army. And you will come up over my people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. In the latter days you will come (or he will come) and I will bring you against my land, so that all the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you in their sight, O Gog. Thus says the Lord God: So you are the one of whom I spoke in the days of old by the hand of my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days and years (or times), that I would bring you against them? And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day of the coming of Gog against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that my fury will arise in my anger. And in my zeal, in the fire of my wrath, I have spoken, because on that day there will be a great commotion over the land of Israel, and the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the beasts of the field (or the countryside), and every creeping creature that moves on the earth will be shaken. And all the men who are on the face of the earth will be overturned (or split) and the mountains will be overturned (or torn down), and the hedges (or valleys) will fall, and every wall on the land will collapse. And I will summon against him on all my mountains a sword (or every terror of the sword), says the Lord God. The sword of each (or every) man will be directed against his brother. And I will judge him with pestilence (or death), and blood, and severe rain and immense stones (or hailstones). I will rain fire and sulfur on him, and on his army (or on all those who are with him), and on many peoples who are with him. And I will be magnified, and sanctified, and I will be known in the sight (or eyes) of many nations, and they will know that I am the Lord.\" The foundations of the first history must be laid, and it must be known that this final discourse of the Lord is to the prophet Ezekiel. For after this we can find nothing similar, except that which is written in the twenty-fifth year of the transmigration of Jehoiachin: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me there, that is, to the land of Israel, when the building of the temple is described, and the order of its ceremonies is narrated. Then it is to be noted that the face of the prophet is set or hardened against the land of Gog, or the land of Magog. For it requires firmness and much consideration of countenance, so that we may understand the things that are spoken, according to the saying of the Apostle: But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:18). Therefore, the Jews and those of us who follow Jewish customs believe that the Gentiles mentioned as Gog are the Scythians, who are savage and countless in number, stretching from beyond the Caucasus mountains and the Maeotis swamp to near the Caspian Sea and as far as India. And they believe that after a thousand years, these nations stirred up by the devil will come to the land of Israel to fight against the saints, gathering many other peoples with them. First, Mosoch, whom Josephus interprets as Cappadocians, then Tubal, whom the same interprets as Iberians, or Spaniards, Hebrews suspect to be Italians, having with them in their army Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans: also Gomer and Thogorma, whom they interpret as Gauls and Phrygians: also the Sabaeans and Dedan, and the Carthaginians, or Tharsis, and this is what John also puts in his Apocalypse: 'And when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.' And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them: and the devil, that seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev. 20:9-10). They do not understand that the entire volume of John, which is titled Revelation, is mystical, and that we need revelation in order to be able to say with the prophet: Open my eyes, and I will behold wondrous things out of thy law (Ps. 119:18). But others, forsaking earthly sensibilities and harmful Judaic and elderly fables (I Tim. IV), and content with themselves, delve into the depths, ascend too high, and invent much worse things, in order to describe wars of the devil and all his host in the heavenly Jerusalem, and they interpret spiritual wickedness in celestial matters under the guise of the topologies of individual nations. We, conceding all these things to the judgment of the reader, will strive not so much to condemn foreign ideas as to affirm the ecclesiastical explanation. In the Greek language, a gift is called δόμα, and in Latin it is called tectum. Furthermore, Magog is interpreted as being uncovered. Therefore, all pride and false knowledge of name, which raises itself against the knowledge of truth, is demonstrated by these names. These are the roofs, about which Isaiah speaks in a vision against the Valley of Zion: What has happened to you now, since you have all gone up to empty roofs? (Isa. XXII, 1) And we will interpret the roofs as the leaders of heretics: and we will call those who have received their teachings from the roofs. And beautifully after many mystical prophecies in this volume, the final prophecy is against Gog and Magog. For if it is the time of judgment, according to Peter, that it begins with the house of God, and according to this same Ezekiel, who says: 'And begin with My holy ones' (above IX, 6), and the last enemy will be destroyed, death (1 Peter IV): in Isaiah also the first discourse is against Judah, in which the confession of the Lord is, and the last against the quadrupeds that are in the desert (Isaiah II): rightly here too the final discourse is against Gog and Magog, who attack the city of God, which the flow of the river delights (Psalm XLV). And what Isaiah says: 'I am the first city which is attacked' (Isaiah XXVII, 10). And concerning which it is written in the Gospel: A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14). And more fully in the Psalm: Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity in itself (Psalm 122:3). The mountains are round about it; and the LORD is round about his people (Psalm 125:2). Furthermore, in the army of Gog, or Magog, who according to the Septuagint, Symmachus, and Theodotion, is chief of Ros, Mosoch, and Thubal: the first nation is interpreted by Aquila as the head, which we also follow, so that the sense is: The prince of the head of Mosoch and Thubal. And indeed, neither in Genesis, nor in any other place in Scripture, nor even in Josephus, who in his first book of Antiquities explains the names of all the Hebrew nations, could we find this nation. From this it is clear that 'ros' does not mean nation, but head. It should also be briefly noted that in Ezekiel, Gog is said to be the prince of the land of Magog. And in the Apocalypse, it is mentioned that Gog and Magog are nations that come forth from the four corners of the earth. And just as Jacob, who was later called Israel, received the name of all the Hebrew people, and Aram received the name of Syria, and Mesraim received the name of Egypt, whose names are written in Genesis: so too, all those who are subject to the prince Gog are called Magog. However, Mosoch is interpreted as madness, and Thubal as everything or all. Therefore, the prince and the head of arrogant madness and of all evils are called Gog and Magog, according to what is written: The world is set in the evil one (1 John 5:19). These hostile and opposing nations of the saints come forth from the corners of the earth, deviating from the straight line and the arrangement of God's camp, as is recounted in Numbers, and not realizing this testimony: Many will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God (Matthew 8:11). And in another place: I will say to the North, give up; and to the South, do not withhold. Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name (Isa. XLIII, 6). But not such the corners of the earth from which Gog and Magog come forth: next to these corners stands the harlot in Proverbs (Prov. XXIII), who, passing by, hastens to deceive foolish young men through the streets, that is, through the broad and spacious road that leads to death. The scribes and Pharisees also pray in the corners of the streets, so that they may be seen by men, who have received their reward (Matthew 6). So what is the curse against Gog? I will turn you around and put a bit in your jaws. First, I will make you waver from your opinion and be converted. And I will put a bit in your jaws, as it is written: 'With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near Thee' (Psalm 32:9); so that the untamed and unruly horse, who falls down precipices, may be subject to the bridle of the Lord: to whom the prophet says: 'Ride upon thy horses, and thy riding shall be salvation' (Habakkuk 3:8). And it is said of Job, through a cloud and whirlwind: You have surrounded the horse with strength (Job. XXXIX, 19). Such were the horses and horsemen; whose multitude John saw in heaven (Apoc. VI). Therefore, he says to Gog: I will lead out, or gather you, and all the army, or your strength. He who is led out and gathered from dispersion is brought back to salvation, according to what is promised in the law: If your dispersion shall be from the top of the sky to its summit, from there I will gather you (Deut. XXX, 3). They also have horses and cavalry clad in armor, who imitate the apostle's equipment and boast of having the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6): the multitude is excessive, and all seize the shield and sword against the Church, and they are the most savage and hostile nations, including the Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans: their wars against the people of God are recounted in the Holy Scriptures. Also Gomer and the house of Thogorma, who come from the sides of the North, which is a very cold wind and is called the East wind, and the whole strength of Magog, and all the peoples who are subject to him, will come with him to battle. To whom it is said ironically: prepare yourself, make ready, and gather to yourself all your multitude that obeys your commands; and know that after many days you shall be visited, according to what is written: I will visit their iniquities with a rod and their sins with stripes (Psalm 88:33). In the last days, he says, you will come. Hence John also says: My little children, it is the last hour (1 John 2:18). And the people of the nations are hired at the eleventh hour to work in the vineyard (Matthew 20), to whose land, that is, the land of mildness, and the land of the saints, which brings forth one hundred, and sixty, and thirty fruits, Gog has come to conquer, which has turned away, or turned its back, from the sword. For it is written: Scatter, O Lord, the nations that desire war (Psalm 68:32). And it shall come to pass that, when the people and nations have been gathered together, and the error of the nations has been despised, it shall come to the mountains of Israel, namely the patriarchs and prophets, who once wandered in the desert without the law and commandments of God. To whom it is afterwards said: 'More are the children of the desolate, than of her that hath a husband.' (Isa. LIV, 1) These are the deserted and waterless places, in which the devil could not find a place, because they were called to salvation, and afterwards he, having taken seven other, more wicked spirits, returned to his house, namely to the people of Israel. (Matth. XI) These things, he says, are spoken of the people, understood as the earth; or, it is spoken of the nations, so that it may be understood as the people of believers who dwelt in peace and trusted in the Lord. But Gog, together with all his army, will come up like a storm and like a cloud, to cover the land of the believers. For what heretics, whose leader is the devil, do not come against the Church like a storm, and in a cloud of their words, they hasten to oppress and cover the simple believers? Therefore it is said to him: As much as it is within you, you will cover all things and all your armies, and many peoples with you. Gog, ascending proudly, does not have voluntary rain, nor temporary and late rain, which would rejoice the dry fields, but rather storm and darkness, so that it may confuse everything with darkness and error. Therefore, the Lord God speaks these words to him: At that time, that is, in the last days, evil thoughts will arise in your heart, and you will ponder a wicked plan, as the Scripture says: If the spirit of the one having power desires to rise against you, do not leave your place (Ecclesiastes 10:4). On the other hand, God ascends into the holy heart, about which it is written: He established his ascents in his heart (Ps. 83:6). And Gog says: I will ascend to the land without a wall, or a projecting one, that is, which is deprived of God's help, and not fortified by dialectical argumentation; I will come to those who are at rest and dwell securely, that is, in peace. For our King is peaceful, and his place is in peace (Psalm 75). All, he says, dwell without a wall, and there are no bars or gates for them. This prince of heretics speaks, having no defenses of the Church; nor secular wisdom, which is foolishness before God, in order to plunder the spoils and invade the prey of the Church, and lay his hand upon those who were deserted when they did not have knowledge of God; and then, restored through Christ, come to the Father, to whom he speaks in the Gospel: Father, I have revealed your name to men (John 17:6). And so that we may know that the people who were deserted and then restored signify the Christian people, it follows: And over the people who are gathered from the nations (Psalm 74:12). The people who began to possess the inheritance of Christ and to be inhabitants of the navel of the earth, of which it is written: He has worked salvation in the midst of the earth. For truth has risen from the earth (Ibid. LXXXIV, 1); who says in the Gospel: I am the way and the life, and the truth (John XIV, 6). While he was thinking and saying this, and eagerly trying to snatch the possession of the Church, the nations that had been converted from their ancient error to salvation, Sabah and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, Carthage, or the sea, who seek merchandise in the waves of this world through good works, and all their cities, whether lions or lion cubs as it is contained in Hebrew, will speak to him what follows. But as for the cubs of lions, which are called Caphir in Hebrew (), both the Seventy and Theodotio translate as 'villas', it is a clear mistake. For if you write it with the letter chi, it is called a lion cub; but if you write it with ce, which is called Coph in Hebrew, it is called a field and a village. Hence, Capharnaum is said to be a beautiful field. Therefore, Saba and Dedan will say, and the merchants of Tharsis, and all the holy ones who are called lion cubs, or certainly the villages and dwellings of the believers: O Gog, do you come for this reason, to seize the spoils of the Church, and therefore have you gathered a multitude, so that the possession of Christ may become your inheritance? Or do you think that the silver and gold, which is understood in speech and meaning, will be possessed by the Church, so that you may take away all the furnishings and all the wealth, and plunder the countless spoils gathered by the victories of Christ? Therefore, O Prophet Ezekiel, who is called the son of man in the type of Christ, speak to Gog and say to him: Thus says the Lord God, when the error of the whole world is removed, my people Israel, who discern God with their minds, will dwell confidently in the Church, either in peace. Then you will know, whether you rise up or come from your place. However, the following discourse shows the place of heretical wickedness: From the sides of the North, which endeavors to cool down all the heat of believers. And many people will come with him, all riders on horses, of whom it is written: He threw horse and rider into the sea (Exodus 15:1): a great multitude and a powerful army, with whom he ascends, saying, 'Upon my people Israel, you shall come like a cloud and cover my land, as it is written: In the last days, you shall be, when the Gospel preaching: and I will bring you upon my land. For heresies must exist, so that those who are approved may be made manifest (1 Corinthians 11:19), and by God's will the devil, the fighter, and all perversions of doctrine have been abandoned: so that all nations may know and understand me, when I am sanctified in you in their eyes, o Gog, that is, when they understand me as their judge through your punishments. And he addresses Gog himself; Are you not the one of whom I spoke in ancient times, through the hands of my servants the prophets of Israel? Namely, Moses, who said in the book of Numbers, specifically in the Septuagint: A man will come forth from his seed, and he will rule over many nations, and his kingdom will be exalted, and his kingdom will grow (Num. 24:7). Moreover, according to the Hebrew text, I found it written as follows: Therefore, his king Agag (translated as Gog in the Latin Vulgate) will be removed, and his kingdom will be taken away, because the kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Agag, the king of Amalek, during the time of Saul. And in another place: He will cleanse the land of his people (Joel 3). Joel also describes the gathering of people in the valley of Josaphat, which is the judgement of God. And Isaiah and all the prophets, in whose hands the word of the Lord is made manifest through good works. So when my wrath and fury come upon the land of Israel, my indignation will rise against you, and my zeal for my people. In the fire of my anger, I have spoken, to consume all the wickedness of your actions. At that time, he says, there will be a great upheaval upon the land of Israel. For with the Devil unleashed, frequent persecution against the Church will occur: and when it has been suppressed and overcome by God's help, then the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, and all reptiles that move upon the land, and all the men who are upon the face of the earth will be shaken. This is clearly demonstrated concerning the inhabitants of the Church: some are like fish of the sea, others like birds of the sky, others like animals of the field and all creeping things that move on the earth, others like those who retain human dignity and dwell upon the face of the earth. And as for the diversity of character, which is designated by various names, the Apostle writes to the Corinthians that there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies after the resurrection, and that one body is of a fish, another of a bird, another of animals, another of creeping things, and another of humans who have retained their original name. In the actions of the apostles, that linen cloth, which is shown to the third Apostle Peter with four principles (Acts X), also signifies the diversity of believers, which is also contained in the Ark of the flood. Then, indeed, the mountains will be overturned by the face of the Lord, and by the sight of His majesty, which were rising up against the knowledge of God; and the hedges or valleys, which were sunk to the lowest depths by the lowliness of their understanding, or certainly the fortifications, which promise something, in order to imitate the Church of God, of whose hedges it is said: 'He who breaks a hedge, a snake will bite him' (Sirach X, 8). And all the walls will fall to the ground. For when the strength of Ecclesiastical discourse appears, all the fortifications of the heretics will fall. And I will call, he says, him against them, that is, the leader of the heretics Gog, a sword in all his mountains, so that the leaders of his army may be defeated by the sword of the Lord. Then heresy will fight against heresy, their struggle is our victory. And I will judge him, saith the Lord, with death, or with plague, and blood, and severe rain, and immense stones, or hailstones. But Gog is judged with his own death, and with the blood which he shed, and with the severe rain, by the words of learned and perfect men, and with immense stones, which bury him with testimonies of the Scriptures, or with hailstones, which make his heat grow cold: For all who commit adultery, their hearts are like an oven. (Hosea 7:4). I will rain fire and sulfur upon him, whereby the punishment of eternal judgment is shown. And not only above him who was the author of wickedness, but even above his entire army and multitude, and above many nations who are with him. For heretics have many accomplices, indeed the devil himself, their prince, is surrounded by an infinite number. With every error removed, and with the leaders of the heretics punished and destroyed, the Lord is magnified and sanctified among the believers, and is known in the eyes of many nations who have believed in his faith; and both from the blessedness of his followers and from the punishment of his adversaries, it is understood and known that he is the Lord. We have interpreted these things as best as we could, obeying that precept: Neither shall you turn aside to the right hand, nor to the left, but shall walk in the royal way (Deut. XXVIII, 14). But if someone criticizes our work, let them either propose better things for us to follow, or if they have nothing to say, let them leave perfect knowledge of God behind; as long as they understand that we have no power, but the judgment of our mind.

Commentary on Ezekiel