We had stated that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a prophetic event (Refer to our article on 'The stirring of Gog.' Click the Resources link above). It is acting out the prophetic script already written. Today we are going to consider the significance of the stirring of Gog. When Russia is aroused what are the likely dangers to the world, especially Israel? and Why?
It is important to note that two wars involving Gog were described in the Bible. Let us begin from the second, which is, Rev. 20:7-10,
"And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."
The war described here involving Gog and Magog takes place after the 1,000 years reign of Christ on earth, popularly known as the Millennial Reign of Christ. In this war, it is a direct combat between Jesus Christ and the Devil. This is not the war described in Ezekiel 38-39.
The first war involving Gog and Magog was described in Ezekiel 38-39. This is our major focus in this study.
Unknown to many, Russia is one of the major players at the end time arena. They would fulfill key Biblical prophecies which we would do well to note. The Biblical name of Russia is Rosh, found in Ezekiel 38:2, "Son of man, set thy face unto Gog, of the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy concerning him..." (YLT). In explaining this verse, Pastor Toks said,
"'First, in Ezek. 38:1-3, shows God is against Gog, evidently a satanic prince that rules this area (Russia). Magog. – Magog, according to history, was a son of Japheth and a grandson of Noah! – The Greeks called the people of Magog, Scythians, settling north of Mount Ararat in the area of Russia.' 'Meshech was a brother to Magog. – His descendants were known as a barbarous people. Tubal was another son of Japheth and his descendants dwelled by the Black Sea to the west of Meshech!' 'According to historians these took over the territories in southern Russia, between the Black and Caspian Seas! – Possibly Magog even takes in more territories than Russia under an evil prince, Gog!'"
In our article, "The Stirring of Gog", we traced the origin of Rosh to Benjamin, although he settled in the land of Magog and became the leader of that region. Gen.46:21 gave his name among the lineage of Benjamin. Quote;
“Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.”
The lineage of Rosh in the course of history became one of the Scythian tribes under Magog. The modern names of the countries described in Ezek.38:1-6, 39:1 are as follows;
1.
Land of Magog
Northern Quarters
2.
Rosh
Russia & Ukraine
3.
Meshech
Moscow
4.
Tubal
Tobolsk
5.
Persia
Iran
6.
Cush
Ethiopia, Sudan
7.
Put
Libya, Somalia
8.
Gomer
(Eastern) Germany
9.
Togarmah
Turkey, Armenia
10.
Many people with thee
Unclassified military coalition
11.
Note:
Cush and Put figuratively represent large part of Africa, especially the North Africans and Mesopotamia in which Iraq is founded today.
Rosh, not only settled in the territory of Magog, but also became the chief or the head of that block. The name 'Rosh' is a Hebrew word, and means, head, leader or chief. The nations listed above are going to form a coalition with Russia as the leader.
The common denominator of these countries is, Islam! Although Germany and Russia are not officially Islamic countries, Islamic pressure is a big factor in their policies. The influence of Islam and hatred for Israel is going to make these nations to have some form of agreement to work together militarily. While the Islamic countries would be motivated by hatred for Israel, Russia would be motivated by economic reasons. Russia would secure the loyalty of her allies by playing the Big Brother factor. Ezekiel 38:7 said, "Be prepared, yea, prepare for thee, Thou and all thine assemblies who are assembled unto thee, And thou hast been to them for a guard." Some other translations rendered it as, "take command of them..." Russia would be the protector, advocate, defender and the Big Brother, for the nations listed above.
Their chief aim is to invade Israel. Ezekiel 38:7-9 reads,
“Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. 8A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. 9 You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud."
They would come at Israel from air, land and sea. This is another battle that would pose extermination threat to Israel.
One of the reasons why Russia and its Arab allies would invade Israel is because religious hatred and economic advantage.
The aspect of Anti-Semitic climate which pervades these areas (those countries in coalition against Israel) is obvious, but the obscure part is the economic motivation for their invasion. Israel would have a resource deposit that would attract the attention of the world. Ezek 38:10-12 reads,
"10“Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme 11 and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ 12 to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth."
Few years back it was difficult to figure out what might be the economic attraction in Israel, but today the attraction is not hard to see. Israel has discovered good amount of oil and gas deposits which started flowing in 2013. Israel may soon become not just an exporter of oil and gas, but also an energy powerhouse in the Mideast. The potentials are that, Israel may become a competitor in the Russian dominated oil and gas market. Currently Russia supplies oil to Turkey and some parts of Europe, at a higher price. The entrance of Israel into these markets would certainly provoke Russia. It is most likely that the last resort of Russia would be to annex Israel. The stage is being set for Russia and its allied forces to launch an offensive against Israel. The Moment, February 26 2014 edition, wrote,
"With a large economy and a growing demand for energy, Turkey would be a natural pipeline terminus and would provide access to Europe, another major market. Several Turkish energy companies, seeking alternatives to expensive Russian gas, have expressed interest in acquiring rights to future production from the Leviathan field. However, Turkey’s current frayed political relations with Israel cloud prospects for an Israel-Turkey pipeline. In addition, Russia, a major exporter of natural gas to both Turkey and Europe, is wary of possible Israeli competition."
When Russian invades Israel, the ensuing conflagration would be so phenomenal that it would change the prophetic landscape. The world would never be the same again, and that would signal the beginning of the end.
The nations that would stand in opposition to Russia and its allies are described in Ezek.38:13. They are;
1.
Sheba
Arabia Pennninsula
2.
Dedan
(Northern) Saudi Arabia
3.
Merchants of Tarshish
Spain, Cyprus (Western Europe)
4.
Young Lions
Members of the Commonwealth
The clue that the Western nations with their Arab allies would confront Russia and their allies in the land of Israel is in verse 21, which reads, "21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother." The word, summon, suggests a coalition of army, most likely the Western nations, that would come against Russia and her allies. The Hebrew word used was also translated as, "I will call for..." Whichever case, the word denotes a counter attack by another coalition of army.
This presents two or three possible scenarios, namely,
i) the invading army would turn against themselves; or
ii) the Western nations and Israel would rise against the invading nations, or
iii). both.
This is one war that would be fought with assorted military weapons. Man made weapons of massive destruction would be deployed; God made weapons of Divine retribution would also be deployed. Whenever Israel faces extermination threat God usually shows up. And in this case, God Himself would show up to defend Israel besides the efforts of Western coalition. Ezekiel 38:19-23 reads,
"This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign Lord. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’"
God would declare the victory with a tsunami, the type never seen before. Mountains would crumble, ground would open and most of the invading army would be buried alive.
As we noted earlier, this war would signal the beginning of the end. It is a remarkable sign post on the journey to the end. Some scholars believe that this conflagration would lead to the rising of the Antichrist who would eventually bring peace momentarily. But whatever the case, this is the war that would make Israel look unto God, and would have their prayers answered. God would save Israel and that would lead to their reconciliation with God. They would come to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour. This salvation was described in Zech 12. You can read the whole chapter. But verses 10-14 reads,
"10'And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives."
This national repentance would turn a new page in God's program. At this point, the First fruits from the Gentile Church Age were supposed to have been translated as salvation returns to the Jews. So when Gog begins to stir itself, then it is a signal that the days of the Gentile Church are numbered. (If you require more information about this, I found the article on the Lion and Lamb Ministries' website relevant. You can check it out. It also includes a map of the nations allied with Russia).
The summary of all we have said in this article is that we should be ready for the return of Jesus Christ. The signs are all around us. These events are not intended to scare the reader, but to awaken in every ready the consciousness of the soon return of Jesus Christ and motivate us to prepare so that the trumpet sound may not come on us like a thief in the night. Let us heed the exhortation of Jesus Christ,
35“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn.d But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. 39 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” Luke 12:35-40
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father..." (John 14:12).
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father..." (John 14:12).