forces of hatred and aggression that are all over the world to date will reach a climax and things will get even worse than they are today. Today is perhaps the most violent period the world has ever seen. Another thing to mention in this connection is chapter 39 where it speaks of the results of the attack of Gog and Magog. It says in verses 9 and those 10, “Then who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up. The small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears, for seven years they will use them for Well, if you had a big invasion fuel.” today, and the invasion was defeated, I think you could take the remains of don’t the tanks and the various instruments of war and use them for fuel. They would be unusable for that purpose. Now of course there is much in this prediction that is in figurative language, but yet this does fit much better with a condition after the millennium when they have beaten their swords into the plowshares and their spears into the pruning hooks, and the nations have not learned war for a thousand years. Then a great invasion might go back to using wooden armor, and wooden instruments. So that also fits with this being after the millennium far better than in the period before. Would you say that maybe sometime in the future we Student Question: will be able to use weapons as a source of fuel? They will not have armaments; they will not learn war MacRae’s answer: anymore. They will have beaten their swords into the plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. For a thousand years there will be absolute peace and therefore if people are to build up a big invasion, they will revert to using very primitive weapons. Now that is rather hypothetical, but I think it is a further evidence that the picture is of conditions at the end of the millennium rather than the beginning. I would not be dogmatic on this point; I just think these evidences are well worth considering and I think the reference in Revelation makes it quite clear that Gog and Magog is after the millennium than before. Well now, so much for chapter 38 and 39, and then we have this big section
forces of hatred and aggression that are all over the world to date will reach a climax and things will get even worse than they are today. Today is perhaps the most violent period the world has ever seen. Another thing to mention in this connection is chapter 39 where it speaks of the results of the attack of Gog and Magog. It says in verses 9 and 10, “Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up. The small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears, for seven years they will use them for fuel.” Well, if you had a big invasion today, and the invasion was defeated, I don’t think you could take the remains of the tanks and the various instruments of war and use them for fuel. They would be unusable for that purpose. Now of course there is much in this prediction that is in figurative language, but yet this does fit much better with a condition after the millennium when they have beaten their swords into the plowshares and their spears into the pruning hooks, and the nations have not learned war for a thousand years. Then a great invasion might go back to using wooden armor, and wooden instruments. So that also fits with this being after the millennium far better than in the period before. Student Question: Would you say that maybe sometime in the future we will be able to use weapons as a source of fuel? MacRae’s answer: They will not have armaments; they will not learn war anymore. They will have beaten their swords into the plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. For a thousand years there will be absolute peace and therefore if people are to build up a big invasion, they will revert to using very primitive weapons. Now that is rather hypothetical, but I think it is a further evidence that the picture is of conditions at the end of the millennium rather than the beginning. I would not be dogmatic on this point; I just think these evidences are well worth considering and I think the reference in Revelation makes it quite clear that Gog and Magog is after the millennium than before. Well now, so much for chapter 38 and 39, and then we have this big section