Reformational Commentary on Ezekiel 38:3

"And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:" (Ezekiel 38:3)

In the previous verse, the Lord told Ezekiel to set his face against Gog and Gog's homeland, and prophesy against him; here the Lord addresses Gog directly, repeating that He is against him, stated doubly by way of emphasis (technically triply in that Ezekiel was told to set his face against Gog as well).

What a terrible thing to be the man whom God addresses across the mists of time with a direct prophecy stating that He, the Almighty, is against him, regardless of that man's awareness of God's opprobrium directed his way!

And this man, this Gog, is addressed as chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, not necessarily for Gog himself to know that the Lord is speaking to him, but so that those, in the era of the prophecy's fulfilment, with whom the secret of the Lord abides (i.e. them that "fear him" - see Psalm 25:14), are able to identify this persona from the clues laid out in the passage.

And if this person, this chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, that is, this ruler of the land of Russia is who I personally think he probably is, then he is by no means one to take heed to the Word of God, though he may feign religiosity for the sake of boosting the morale of his people and for the beguiling of gullible, superficialist western conservatives who are easily impressed by strong statements of patriotism, conservativism, and pretension to Christianity (in Gog's case, the Russian branch of the eastern fork of the idolatrous Antichurch that is Orthodoxy).

Further striking aspects of Gog's personality may be deduced from the remainder of Ezekiel 38, which portray a man who enjoys the high esteem of his own people and his allies.