First Ukraine, Eventually Israel?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wasn’t prophesied in scripture. But this war may have revealed a character – now living on the world stage – who will be important in bringing about end-times conditions.
Three events will definitely launch the end of days leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The re-birth of Israel as a modern nation, after nineteen centuries of Jewish statelessness, astounded the world in 1948. The other two biggies have not yet happened.
This blog has already posted about the Rapture (14 May 2021). This will be the sudden disappearance of true Christians, whom Christ will remove from Earth ahead of end-times cataclysms.
The third leading event will be the Gog-Magog War. This will be an armed invasion aimed at destroying Israel and looting it’s riches. Timing is uncertain: this war could happen before or after the Rapture.
The Old Testament book that predicts the Gog-Magog war is Ezekiel – written in the sixth century BC
The specific Ezekiel quotes on Gog, in Chapter 38, are consistent with a repeated Old Testament theme. God uses strong-willed rulers who are enemies of the Jews – like Pharaoh in ancient Egypt – to accomplish His goals.
Gog is a person. Magog is a place. Gog is a prince from Rosh, to the “uttermost north” of Israel. Look at any world globe or map, and that’s Russia. The invading force will be a coalition of armies from several countries, organized and driven by Gog. Ezekiel mentions nations with ancient names, from what is now Russia, Asia Minor and Africa, coming against Israel.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army….In the latter years thou shalt come into the land brought back from the sword, that has been gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel… And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee…..a great company and a mighty army; and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land.
Ezekiel 38
Ezekiel says that God will put hooks in Gog’s jaws, and bring him against Israel. Vladimer Putin is, of course, very focussed on Ukraine right now. But Russia is also a major player in Middle Eastern power politics. And Israel-hating Iran, which Putin has said is under Russian protection, is its main ally in the area.
Russia, Allied with Iran, Against Israel
Iran’s ruling mulas have openly said that wiping out Israel is a national goal for them. Anyone who believes that Iran’s nuclear program is about anything other than developing atomic bombs to use against the Jewish state is most likely wrong. And being wrong in this matter risks Israel’s very existence.
Russia has military and technical personnel in Iran, helping the Persians’ nuclear program. Israel will most likely soon hit Iran’s bomb making facilities with airstrikes, killing Russian advisors into the bargain.
In addition to the Israel-Iran situation, the Jewish state is on another collision course with Putin. Russia’s main business is energy exports. Israel’s massive, recently discovered natural gas reserves make them a direct competitor for energy sales to Europe. Ten years ago, it would have been difficult to think of natural resources Israel had that Russia could want to take. Not any more.
If Putin is Gog the hooks in his jaws – to move against Israel – are now obvious
Ezekiel predicts that the Gog-Magog war will not go well for the invaders.
And it will come to pass in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath…..in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel…And I shall rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone….Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah
Ezekiel 38
This Ezekiel quote says that God will directly destroy the Gog-Magog coalition, as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah. For the secular minded who regard the story of these two bronze age cities as mythical, please note that their remains have been found in modern day Jordan. Details of this discovery in 2008 include pottery with a coat of melted glass. Just like the sands in New Mexico in the US after the first atomic bomb test. The melted glass pottery is at a depth coinciding in time with Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction as described in Genesis 19:1-28. All this is documented in Chapter 18 of Eric Metaxas’ great recent book, Is Atheism Dead?
Most likely, what scientists describe as “airburst events” – asteroids exploding low in the atmosphere – wiped out the two cities. A modern example would be the Siberian explosion of 1908, which leveled a thousand square miles and eighty million forest trees in seconds. Genesis says that Sodom and Gomorrah were wiped out by fire and brimstone raining down from heaven. Ezekiel predicts that fire and brimstone, with huge hailstones added, will utterly destroy Gog’s armies.
After the Rapture and the Gog-Magog War, Apocalypse?
God’s supernatural destruction of the Gog-Magog coalition armies will inflame Jew-hating world opinion. That political background is nearly here. Israel is despised not only by Iran and many Muslims, but also at the UN and in politically correct Western society. The last bulwark of non-Jewish support for Israel is worldwide Christianity. And true Christians will be removed from Earth in the Rapture.
The secular world’s frustration over Israel’s deliverance in the Gog-Magog War will open the way for the Antichrist. The Book of Daniel (Chapter 9) predicts that this most evil human in history will burst upon the international scene as a heroic man of peace, brokering a Middle Eastern treaty. More than likely, under that treaty Israel will disarm in exchange for political guarantees of their security, and permission to rebuild their Jerusalem Temple and resume Old Testament animal sacrifices.
The preceding Middle East peace terms may seem ridiculous for today’s modern, secularized Israel. But we are talking about a country that would have just re-found its ancient religious roots. God miraculously intervening to wipe out the Gog-Magog armies would do that. If and when these events come to pass, all conditions for the end-times Tribulation leading to the second coming of Jesus Christ will be in place.
What about the Russia-Ukraine War, and Israel, Today?
Like I said at the beginning, there is nothing about this present war in scripture. Only Christ’s general prediction that in the end times, “there will be wars and rumors of wars.”
The best recent secular analysis of the Russia-Ukraine war that I have found is by Niall Ferguson, here.
Putin has gotten Russia to the point of defying the entire West with his invasion of Ukraine, all on the basis of energy export revenues. Little Israel is not only Russia’s main political opponent in the Middle East because of the Russia-Iran alliance. These upstart Jews now have the capacity to seriously compete against Putin’s economic base. Even so, for the moment, Israel has to be far from the Russian dictator’s mind. But if the Jews bomb Iran’s nuclear production facilities, that will change quickly.
So is Putin Gog?
Right now, it’s too soon to say. But the specific biblical description of an Israeli enemy nation called Rosh, to the uttermost north of Israel, points to Russia.
Personally, Putin’s murderous nature more than qualifies him for the job. We’re talking about a man formed as a KGB operative, who mourns the fall of the evil Soviet Union as the biggest political catastrophe of the 20th century.
If Putin goes down in a year or so, the prospect of the Gog-Magog war in the intermediate future will diminish. But what if he succeeds in Ukraine, breaks the West, and emerges as the internationally dominant strong-man dictator? Vladimir Putin would then look very much like the real Gog deal. Especially if he goes after Israel.
