ON GOG AND MAGOG

In the Old Testament:

In Ezekiel 38, Gog is a ruler and Magog is his land, both of whom receive a prophecy:

"Son of Man, direct your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince, leader of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy concerning him."

In the New Testament:

In the Book of Revelation 20:8, the Crimson Dragon (identified with Satan because of its reptilian appearance) and the Antichrist recruit a multinational army led by Gog and Magog for the final battle against the heavenly legions:

"When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the Earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle."

In modern doomsday prophecy (Futurism):

Present-day readings of the Book of Revelation informed by Futurism, ie those that identify the Revelation prophecies as having to come true in the future, see Gog as Western Europe or the European Union (EU) and Magog as Eastern Europe or Russia.

In Islam:

In the medieval Islamic parable The Case of Animals v. Humans Before the King of the Jinni, Gog and Magog are two faraway ethnic groups of anarchic, cannibalistic hunter-fisher-gatherers who personify the archetype of the savage:

"... the land of Gog and Magog, who live beyond the great barrier, two nations of human form but savage spirit, who know neither order nor government and have no commerce nor trade, industry nor craft, ploughing nor sowing, but only hunting and gathering and fishing, plundering, raiding, and eating one another."

In Hellenistic folklore:

According to one interpretation, "Goth and Magoth" (sic, maybe related to the Goth ethnic groups, Götar in their native Sweden) are the kings of the Unclean Nations (read: not lands, but ethnic groups), whom Alexander the Great drove through a mountain pass and prevented from crossing his new wall (something like the Great Wall of China - maybe the first Silk Road travellers thought the Great Wall of China was the work of Alexander the Great?). Gog and Magog are said to engage in human cannibalism in Hellenistic and related literature (see the King of the Jinni example above).

In Hungarian folklore and Romanticism:

Hungarian folklore calls Gog and Magog also by their alternate names Hunor and Magor. Their homeland was in the steppes of Central Asia, but following a marvellous white stag, both ended up in the Carpathian Basin in the heart of Europe and founded the Magyar, or Hungarian, people (this is their founding myth). Hungarian Romanticism would therefore mention this myth quite often.

In British folklore:

Gog and Magog were allegedly savage giants who lived on pre-human Great Britain. They were defeated and slain by the first human settlers on British soil, Trojan refugees from the Sack of Troy. To be more precise, they were defeated and slain by Corineus, founder of Cornwall and a brave Trojan warrior. There are also statues, chalk hills, and ancient oak trees (the Oaks of Avalon) in the UK named after Gog and Magog (there is also a statue of their vanquisher, the hero Corineus).

In Hinduism (Koka and Vikoka):

Gog and Magog also appear in Hinduism as two demonic generals by the names of Koka and Vikoka. They are twin generals who are described to aid the asura Kali in battle against Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of the god Vishnu, whose coming is believed to herald the end of the last age, or Kali Yuga.