Ted's Response:

I know that a common consensus of many is that the seven years of Ezekiel 39:9 is equivalent to the final seven years of Daniel 9:27 (commonly known as the "tribulation"). That is one of the main reasons why so many make the assumption that God will destroy the hordes of Gog and Magog at the beginning of the 70th Week (seven years) of Daniel 9:27.

However, there are several seven-year periods in the Bible; there is nothing unique or unusual about this length of time. According to Isaiah 2:4, which is descriptive of the millennial period, nations no longer will fight against each other, nor will they train for war anymore. This means that, from the time that Jesus begins to rule and reign on the earth, weapons of war will not be needed. In fact, for the first seven years of the Millennium, they will be burned up.

By comparing various scriptural passages, it can be seen that the Gog/Magog bloodbath will occur at the very end of the 70th Week, when Jesus returns to earth. That will be followed by the burning of weapons of war as fuel for the next seven years.

Most will agree that Revelation 19:11-13 pictures the return of Jesus, with His robe dipped in blood. He will tread the winepress of God's wrath (19:15), which parallels Joel 3:13. This will take place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (3:12), which is between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. This is not the same as the plain of Megiddo, which is many miles north of Jerusalem and where the Battle of Armageddon will take place.

After Jesus returns as the Rider on a white horse (Revelation 19:11), wild birds will be gathered to eat the flesh of those He destroys (19:17,18). This is a parallel of how Ezekiel, in writing about the destruction of Gog and his armies, wrote in greater detail about how birds and wild animals would be gathered to eat the flesh of many who had been destroyed (Ezekiel 39:4,17-20).

Another place where the Messiah, Jesus, is seen to be coming with His garments stained crimson and treading the winepress of His wrath (as in Revelation 19:11,15) is in Isaiah 63:1-6, where He is coming from Bozrah, in Edom or southern Jordan. (Most people believe that Jesus initially will touch down on the Mount of Olives, but that is not the case.)

Isaiah wrote about this same great slaughter in Isaiah 34:6,7, likening those killed to lambs, goats, rams, and bulls. This is a direct parallel to how the armies of Gog, at their mass destruction, are likened to these same animals in Ezekiel 39:17,18. That is because all of these accounts are descriptions of the same bloodbath that will take place when Jesus returns at the end of the 70th Week and pours out fire on Magog (39:6).

After Jesus returns and annihilates the hordes of Gog and Magog, He will direct His angels to pour out the Bowl Judgments upon the kingdom of the beast/Antichrist (for instance, in Revelation 16:10). This will enrage the beast and the kings who have given him their allegiance, and they will conspire to come against the Son of God, sitting as King in Zion or Jerusalem, which is what Psalm 2:1-12 is all about. Then they will gather at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), planning to make war against the Lamb, Jesus, but He will come out and overcome them (17:14).

More details about the differences between the Winepress of Gog/Magog (on the day Jesus returns) and the Battle of Armageddon (30 days later) can be found in my Final Battles commentary and also here: When does the Gog/Magog battle, described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, occur?