Over the years, I have been asked about my position on Ezekiel 38–39, namely, if it refers to the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19:11–19, the post-millennial battle at the time when Satan is released from his prison in Revelation 20:7–10, or some other eschatological battle. My position is Ezekiel 38–39 describes the post-millennial battle. I hope to publish on this issue in the future but I want to quote Marko Jauhiainen who gives a good summary in the context of the recapitulation-progression debate:
If we compare [the description of Ezek 38-39] to the two passages in Revelation, it is evident that 20:7–9 plays a similar role in John’s prophecy as chapters 38–39 do in Ezekiel’s: the ideal Davidic shepherd is reigning and the people have peace from their enemies and dwell securely. Moreover, the mention of ‘Gog and Magog’ is an unmistakable reference to the Gog prophecy. In contrast, the context of the beast’s attack on the Lamb in chapter 19 hardly corresponds to the context of Ezek 38–39. In fact, the only unmistakable use of the Gog prophecy in chapter 19 is the allusion to the victory banquet, i.e., the birds’ devouring of the flesh of those slain by the Lamb. Thus, it seems that in chapter 19 John has adopted only the sacrificial feast motif from Ezek 39—probably as an ironic reference to the invitation to the wedding feast earlier in the same chapter—without necessarily intending to invoke the Gog prophecy as a whole. This is the case with Rev 20:7–9, however, where the clear reference to Gog and Magog, and the numerous correspondences to Ezek 38–39, ‘leave no doubt about the strong relationship’ between the two passages. (“Recapitulation and Chronological Progression in John’s Apocalypse: Towards a New Perspective,” New Testament Studies, 49:4, 2003, 556–7.)
