The war of Gog and Magog is a spiritual concept that relates to Kabbalah. It is not spoken of anywhere but in Kabbalah. Gog and Magog happens at a spiritual degree and not as it does in our world, where the wars and torments happen before our eyes.
What Is the War of Gog and Magog?
The struggle between internality and externality is called “The War of Gog and Magog.” It unfolds within the people of Israel (i.e. people with a desire for spirituality, the meaning of life; “Israel” being a combination of the words “Yashar Kel” [“straight to God”]), and its consequences determine the fate of the entire world. If we are triumphant, we will spare ourselves the horrifying depictions of the war of Gog and Magog as an apocalyptic global war.
The war of Gog and Magog is actually an internal war, occurring within individuals from Israel (i.e. people in whom the desire for spirituality has awoken; who have an inclination to question the meaning of life and discover the altruistic desire above the inborn egoistic desire). It is not a physical war with planes and missiles, as is often thought. The planes and the missiles are not the real war; they are merely a physical manifestation of accumulated imbalance.
The war of Gog and Magog is a war between the internality and the externality of our desires. It is fought in our hearts and in our minds. As it unfolds, it gives us a choice. To which do we want to belong? Do we prefer the internality of the world or its externality? Where are our desires, minds, and hearts drawn? This is the war. [Source: Dr. Michael Laitman, From Chaos to Harmony: The Solution to the Global Crisis According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah. Part II: Israel’s Role. “The War of Gog and Magog“]
The Internal War of Gog and Magog
Question: I know that there is a prophecy about a war called Gog and Magog. From life, I can feel that this war is happening within me, all the time. Can you explain more about these two forces Gog and Magog? What happens to them in this internal war and where is it leading?
Answer by Dr. Laitman: First of all, I’m very happy that she is talking about internal things. Gog and Magog is an internal war; it is like the strife between Moses and Pharaoh. We, specifically Jews, are opposed by alien forces that are threatening us. Within us, too, we are in the same war. In the people of Israel too, with its ego that had vanquished us, after the ruin of the Temple and within each and every one of us, is that perpetual war.
But now, especially, we have completed the period of the exile and we have to rise from that level of exile to redemption; we are pretty much behind already. We should have started this spiritual ascension in accordance with our return to our land, Israel, about one hundred years ago. That is what the Kabbalists say.
Then begins this war of Gog and Magog, which is the last war between the good forces in us that want to achieve bestowal, love of others, brotherly love, “love thy friend as thyself,” and those forces that still keep us in exile and don’t let us out; the internal forces, in each of us and the forces in the nation. There are bodies that still think that we should remain in exile and also the whole world thinks so.
This war is, indeed, as you say; a perpetual war that now exists in each of us. And in the end, the whole world, with the globalization and today’s crisis in ecology, education and security, it’s all in this Gog and Magog war campaign. Let’s hope that we will succeed in it, without an eruption of physical war, but we will complete it and finish it and succeed at the spiritual level.
This is why the wisdom of Kabbalah is emerging today out of seclusion. It is presenting itself to everyone and through it, we can succeed with the forces of bestowal and love, with the Upper Light that will correct all of us, so we will succeed in this campaign. [Source: Dr. Michael Laitman, “Ask the Kabbalist (April 10, 2008)“]
To learn more about Kabbalah’s attitude to war, and the inner definitions of words such as Israel, Jews, and many others, it is recommended to take the Free Kabbalah Course. The reason is that many of the concepts and terms we have a heard a lot about in our upbringing have completely different definitions in Kabbalah, and it takes a while to process them properly. Therefore, if you’re interested in this topic, then we recommend taking the free courses and start learning about the world around you and inside you anew…