That enemy is Gog of the land of Magog. Only when he and his armies are defeated (38-39) can the Temple be built. With Gog of the land of Magog eliminated, the Lord can build his city and decree new ordinances. When one appreciates the mythic nature of these chapters, one realized that Ezekiel is speaking of the far future in these chapters. Before the new world can come in definitively, evil itself, which is more than the evil of any one nation, has to be defeated. One can see how a mythological perspective enables the prophet to speak of matters that transcend history as such, yet without cutting loose from history, for he is speaking of history's goal.
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