Ezekiel 39:27-29

27-29. When the new Israel shall be brought back from their captivity among the “peoples” (Ezekiel 39:25; Ezekiel 39:27), filled with the new spirit of shame for their past sins and with a joy in God’s presence which makes them forget their dismal past (Ezekiel 39:26), and “shall dwell securely” in their own land, where none “shall make them afraid” (Ezekiel 39:26, R.V.), and thus Jehovah shall have been sanctified in them (Ezekiel 39:27; Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 36:20; Ezekiel 36:23-24) then shall they know as never before “that I am the Lord their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity… and have gathered them… and will leave none of them,… neither will I hide my face [compare Ezekiel 39:23; Isaiah 54:8 ]… for I have poured out my spirit.” (Compare Ezekiel 36:25-31; Ezekiel 37:14; Isaiah 59:21; Joel 2:28.) “No historical Church, Jewish or Gentile, has ever yet realized the picture here sketched by Ezekiel.… Will it ever be realized on earth? or must we only look for it in the heavenly city, whose Builder and Maker is God?” Plumptre. If the conflict (chapter 38) is to be on this earth, as it surely will be, then the victory and the peace which follows must also be looked for here. The promise is to be fulfilled truly, though not literally. (See introduction chapter Ezekiel 40:0) It has already received a partial fulfillment (compare Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17); yet the foes of the new Israel, the true children of Abraham (Luke 3:8; John 8:39; Galatians 3:7; Galatians 3:9; Galatians 3:29), are still active, and Gog the Old Testament “Antichrist” if indeed he has yet put on his armor, has certainly not yet been left dead upon the field. It must always be borne in mind that it is not a literal conflict described in this chapter between men armed with bows and arrows who shall be killed by bolts of lightning, but a spiritual battle between God’s people and the powers of evil. Like Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, it depicts figuratively that which is everlastingly true, and what may perhaps be often repeated in different individuals and in different ages.