Revelation 20:8

The devil will then resume his former work of deceiving the nations (Revelation 20:3) into thinking they will be better off submitting to his authority than to Jesus Christ’s (cf. Genesis 3; Matthew 4). He will eventually gather innumerable soldiers from all parts of the world to fight against Jesus Christ (cf. Revelation 7:1; Isaiah 11:2; Ezekiel 38:3-6; Ezekiel 39:1-2).

"At the close of the Millennium, Satan will be released from the pit and permitted to lead one last revolt against the Lord. Why? As final proof that the heart of man is desperately wicked and can be changed only by God’s grace [cf. Jeremiah 17:9]. Imagine the tragedy of this revolt: people who have been living in a perfect environment, under the perfect government of God’s Son, will finally admit the truth [that they hate Him] and rebel against the King! . . .

"In one sense, the millennial kingdom will ’sum up’ all that God has said about the heart of man during the various periods of history [dispensations]. It will be a reign of law, and yet law will not change man’s sinful heart. Man will still revolt against God [cf. Genesis 2:16-17]. The Millennium will be a period of peace and perfect environment, a time when disobedience will be judged swiftly and with justice; and yet in the end the subjects of the King will follow Satan and rebel against the Lord. A perfect environment cannot produce a perfect heart." [Note: Wiersbe, 2:620.]

The people who follow Satan in this rebellion will evidently be those who have not trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior during the Millennium. Even though everyone will know who Jesus Christ is during the Millennium (Jeremiah 31:33-34), not everyone will trust in Him as Savior. Only believers will enter the Millennium, but everyone born during that time will need to trust Christ to experience eternal salvation.

The phrase "Gog and Magog" (Revelation 20:8) evidently refers to the world’s rulers and nations in rebellion against God. Gog, the ruler, and Magog, his land, probably have symbolic significance as well as literal meaning, much as Babylon does, and they signify Messiah’s enemies. People will come from all over the world to rebel against Christ (Ezekiel 38:3-6). It seems quite clear that the total invasion by Gog described in Ezekiel 38, 39 is not in view here, though part of it is. One phase of the invasion will evidently occur at the end of the Tribulation (cf. Revelation 19:17-21). Similarly chapters 17 and 18 that record the destruction of Babylon allude to Isaiah 21 and Jeremiah 51, which record both future and eschatological destructions of Babylon. In view of its description in Ezekiel, Gog’s invasion of the Promised Land finds fulfillment in two events. In Revelation 20, we see a worldwide rebellion at the end of the Millennium. The battle of Armageddon (cf. Revelation 16:14) will be a similar earlier and limited fulfillment.

"That rebellion of the godless forces from the north will have made such an impression on mankind that after one thousand years, that last rebellion of man bears the same label-Gog and Magog.

"We have passed through a similar situation in this century. World War I was so devastating that when war broke out in Europe, involving many of the same nations and even more, it was also labeled a World War, but it was differentiated by the number two." [Note: McGee, 5:1058.]

Amillennialist Meredith Klein argued that Har Magedon is Mount Zion, the battle in Revelation 20:7-10 is the one described in Ezekiel 38-39, and it is the same as Armageddon in Revelation 16:12-16. [Note: Meredith G. Kline, "Har Magedon: The End of the Millennium," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39:2 (June 1996):207-22. Cf. C. C. Torry, "Armageddon," Harvard Theological Review 31 (1938):237-48.]