XVI. GOG AND MAGOG IN THE NEW EARTH

But it is asked, do you suppose Gog and Magog, or the wicked dead, will rise out of the new earth, and come upon it and defile it? I do suppose they will be raised out of the new earth, 1. Because they are to be burned up (Malachi 4.) at the great day when God makes up his jewels, and burns the earth; and be ashes under the saints’ feet. So, if they come up at all, as they assuredly will, it must be from the new earth. 2. It is in the new earth they are raised, because they will come around the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But the New Jerusalem is only to come with the new earth. Revelation 21.; Isaiah 65:17, 18.PREX1 48.2

“How can these things be?” is only an infidel inquiry, and shows the same error of which the Sadducees were guilty, “not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” I do not suppose they will defile the earth by treading on it, any more than the devil defiles the human mind by throwing in an involuntary wicked thought, which is instantly rejected. We have only to believe God’s testimony, and all difficulties vanish. What he has promised, he is able also to perform.PREX1 49.1