Western nations were very relieved when the Berlin Wall was taken down and the Cold War was finally over. The Soviet Union collapsed and Russia gave up its quest for world-wide domination . . .
. . . OR, SO IT APPEARED.
THE RUSSIAN BEAR
This perception of peace and safety has suddenly been jarred as Russia has in recent years moved its armed forces into parts of Ukraine and more recently filled the military void in the Middle East when President Obama refused to leave troops in that part of the world. Russia is now entrenched in the Middle East and is an active player in all events occurring in and around Israel.
The Sleeping Bear is Awakening!
The fact is, Russia is one of the major end-time players described in the Old Testament prophecies of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. According to Ezekiel, Russia (Gog of the land of Magog) will one day gather a huge armada of armed forces including many soldiers from the Islamic countries of the Middle East. Like a massive storm or swarm of grasshoppers covering the land, they will attempt to invade the ancient land of Israel. (Ezekiel 38:8-9)
Is Nuclear War Described in the Bible?
The Russian and Islamic invasion of God’s land is going to ignite an immediate response from the heavens above and there will be a terrible conflict between the nations. We read in Ezekiel chapter 38 — “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog (Russia) shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that My fury shall come up in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.” Ezekiel 38:18-19
The prophet then went on to describe the conflict in greater detail when he wrote — “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will enter into judgment against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” Ezekiel 38:21
Often, in times past, the Lord of Hosts (Armies of Heaven) has sent His wrath upon the earth by utilizing evil Gentile nations. The LORD declared through His prophet Ezekiel that He would send fire upon the Russian homeland and upon another great nation “who dwells safely in the coastlands” or beyond the sea . . . and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 39:6
THE POINT IS: Russia (the bear of the north) has been hibernating . . . but she is awakening and hungry to devour much flesh (many nations). The Prophet Daniel predicted this in Daniel 7:5 — “And behold, another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between its teeth; and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.”
For many years the Soviet Union had three votes in the United Nations . . . the federation was made up of Russia, Bylorussia, and Ukraine. With the so called break-up of the Soviet Union, the Russian bear was perceived to go into hibernation . . . but it is awakening and will have a very active part in the last-days fulfillment of prophecy.
PERESTROIKA:
A day of relief, hope, and victory for the free world seemed to come upon the world with the dismantling of the Soviet Union and the onslaught of “perestroika.” The evil empire of the Soviets had come to an end without firing a shot or launching a missile, and the world rejoiced.
Russia’s newly adopted program of “openness” and the removal of the Berlin Wall gave the world additional hope that “peace and safety” were not only possible, but that they had finally arrived! Many of the world’s leaders even boasted that we had entered the “Post War Era.”
Most Americans breathed a sigh of relief that we were no longer living under the threat of annihilation and that the Russian war machine had been dismantled.
Communism was finally dead, and the threat of nuclear holocaust was finally over. Or, so we were led to believe.
20th CENTURY TROJAN HORSE:
The fact is, the West has been lulled to sleep by the most brilliant scheme of deception the world has witnessed since the Trojan Horse. The giant Bear of the north may appear to be taking a peaceful nap, but the purpose of Russian hard-liners continues to be world domination. The present generation of Americans has long forgotten the nauseating statement of Nikita Khrushchev:
“I dream of the hour when the last Congressman is strangled to death on the guts of the last preacher – and since Christians seem to love to sing about the blood, why not give them a little of it? Slit the throats of their children and drag them over the mourner’s bench and the pulpit, and allow them to drown in their own blood; and then see whether they enjoy singing these hymns.”
This gruff rhetoric of the 1960’s has given way to a much more appealing, smiling and conciliatory leadership in Russia. For the past fifteen years they have opened their doors to a guarded form of free trade and have even taken on the guise of democracy. But the fact remains, the basic leadership of the nation has not changed nor has their stated purpose for a global empire. The significant fact is that the Russian sophisticated missile and nuclear weapon systems have never been downsized or dismantled.
Meanwhile, the West has fully bought into the peace-loving propaganda of the Kremlin. Almost without exception, the people I talk to believe the threat of nuclear warfare has been all but removed. These are days of “peace and safety” in the opinion of most Americans. They sincerely believe that the threat of a full-scale nuclear exchange has been eliminated through the political process.
Perhaps the most distressing part of this plot of Russian “disinformation” and deception is that KGB lies are being successfully pedaled to our gullible public by our own media. The liberal American news makers seem to be major partners in a massive campaign to escalate our own disarmament despite unbelievable risks.
ULTIMATE VOICE OF AUTHORITY:
The observations and warnings of military leaders and men in the know seem to be falling on deaf ears throughout the free world.
But there in ONE VOICE that speaks with absolute authority regarding the future events of planet earth, and we would be wise to listen before it is irreversibly too late. That voice is none other than the voice of God as He speaks through His Word, the Bible.
In previous chapters, we have attempted to show that the Scriptures are filled with words of prophetic significance and warnings for the days in which we live. God, through His spokesmen the prophets, has made every effort to publish His warnings for the end-time nation referred to as the “daughter of Babylon.” This youngest, most wealthy and powerful nation on earth will be destroyed in just one hour, and the consuming fires will descend from the far north.
It is not mere speculation that the enemy to the north is a huge and powerful multi-national force led by ”Gog of Magog”, or Russia.
TERRORISM:
Despite America’s resolve to never again be taken by surprise, the horrific events of 9/11 proved that no nation is safe by mere military might, intelligence networks or vigilance.
The blatant calls for the destruction of Israel and America by militant Islamic heads of state, religious leaders and terrorists is chilling, indeed. Add to that the availability of portable weapons of mass destruction, and you have the perfect formula for unprecedented days of peril. When these weapons fall into the hands of hateful extremists and mad men, they will eventually make their way to our cities, and the world will never be the same.
In Ezekiel chapter 38, the prophet described the huge military might of Russia and her end-time allies which will consist of many Islamic nations that all have one thing in common: intense hatred for and desire to eliminate the State of Israel and the United States.
The prophets were very specific in declaring there was coming an attack from the north against the end-time “daughter of Babylon” –
“For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon, an assembly of great nations from the north country, and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken; their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.” (Jeremiah 50:9)
Jeremiah’s declaration that the “daughter of Babylon” will be attacked from the north causes us to turn our attention to the prophecies that were written against that northern kingdom called “Gog of the land of Magog”.
HERE COMES RUSSIA:
Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 are filled with details regarding the northern confederacy that will invade the Middle East (Israel) and be destroyed in divine judgment.
Just as the LORD had declared that He would bring destruction upon the “daughter of Babylon”, so He utters the same curse upon the northern enemy of His people Israel – “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog . . . . and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog . . . “ (Ezekiel 38:3)
Later in this prophetic chapter of future wrath, God states His great displeasure with Gog when they lead a huge invasion against God’s land, the land of Israel –
“And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face . . . surely in that day will there be a great shaking in the land of Israel, So that the fish of the sea, and the fowls of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God; every man’s sword shall be against his brother.”(Ezekiel 38:18-21, emphasis mine)
It would appear that this portion of the prophecy is specifically directed against the invading armies from the north. When they enter “God’s land,” judgment will fall. I believe this will be a supernatural intervention wherein God will bring about great confusion among the invaders and they will turn upon one another just as they did in the days of ancient Judah when God caused a huge army to utterly fall by the infliction of their own swords (2 Chronicles chapter 20). That ancient battle was fought by the LORD of Hosts, the King and LORD of the people Judah. It took King Jehoshaphat and his army three days to collect the spoils from the dead bodies, and the people knew that this was a battle won by the LORD because the fight was over before one of God’s people could even draw his sword.
DEFEAT OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY:
The Lord will once again intervene directly into the affairs of His covenant people, and the battle against the invading army of Gog may be a repeat of previous victories of the LORD against the enemies of Israel.
Two interesting points should be made here:
1. The bodies of the invaders will be buried in the mountains east of the Dead Sea. These mountains are in the present day country of Jordan – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the travelers on the east of the sea; and it shall stop the noses of the travelers, and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitudes; and they shall call it the Valley of Hamon-gog.” (Ezekiel39:11)
Let us not forget that God has claimed all of the land from the River Egypt (Nile) to the River Euphrates which flows through the center of present day Iraq. The actual battle and destruction of Gog’s invading army will apparently take place east of present day Israel.
2. God will only destroy 83% of the invading army – “And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:2)
This overwhelming, but partial victory, may give opportunity for the coming world dictator known as anti-Christ to become involved, win an easy victory over the remaining survivors from Gog’s northern army and thereby deceive the Jews who expect to recognize their messiah when he saves them from the northern invasion. He will declare himself to be their long awaited Messiah and after three and one half years, turn on them, desecrate their Temple in Jerusalem, and demand their worship.
RUSSIA’S SMOLDERING HOMELAND:
In addition to the decisive victory over the invading forces in the land of Israel, God is going to call for the destruction of Russia’s homeland as we read in Ezekiel 39:3 and 6 – “And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand . . . And I will send a fire on Magog, and among those who dwell securely in the coastlands . . . “(emphasis mine)
God will personally intervene against the army of Gog and they fall upon the mountains of Israel.
At the same time, the Russian homeland will also be destroyed as God calls for fire against them. This just judgment against the land of Russia could very well be the retaliatory response of another nation that becomes embroiled in the catastrophic melee. In all probability, the “daughter of Babylon” will be able to send a fiery response during the time of her own destruction. Notice that “I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand . . . “ (verse3) The Russian homeland and the bases for her remaining weapons will apparently feel the retaliation of nuclear weapons. That’s the theory behind M.A.D. (Mutual Assured Destruction). The aggressor may ultimately “win” the war but will pay a dreadful price.
Regardless of the possible scenario, we do know that end-time Babylon will be attacked from the north and be totally annihilated. Possibly during the same conflict, the Russian homeland will suffer great destruction and the Russian forces invading the land of Israel will be humbled.
There is something else very interesting to note in all of this – during this massive battle, there will be a “shaking in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, and the fowls of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence . . . “ (Ezekiel 38:20 emphasis mine) This is no small military action limited to a small area like Israel. This conflict is international in scope, and even the “fish of the sea” suffer the consequences.
When the Lord specifically mentions “a shaking in the land of Israel” one would speculate that this shaking would be describing weapons of mass destruction being detonated somewhere east of present day Israel and still within the boundaries of what He calls “His land”. This “shaking” could include the final melting down of Saddam Hussein’s rebuilding effort of the ancient city of Babylon.
One would wonder why this day of calamity would involve the “fish of the sea”? Is it possible that at the same time God is delivering a death blow to the invading Russian hordes, that there is another even larger battle taking place that would include nuclear explosions at sea?
We do know that nuclear weapons would be employed against enemy submarines in an all-out thermo- nuclear exchange. Time will tell how this passage will be literally fulfilled. It is always easier to observe the exact meaning of prophetic utterances after they have been fulfilled.
We cannot help but ask, “Just who will comprise this massive invading army that comes against the land of Israel?”
ISLAMIC JIHAD:
When “Gog of the land of Magog” invades the land of Israel, she will have amassed a huge confederacy of nations intent on annihilating Israel once and for all. In today’s world, if Russia decided it was time to launch a full-scale attack against Israel, she would have plenty of Muslem volunteers who would be overjoyed to take part in destroying their mortal enemy.
The nations in league with the king of the north are listed in Ezekiel 38:4-6 – “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army . . . Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer, and all its hordes; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all its hordes; and many peoples with thee.”
An author and student of the prophetic scripture by the name of Mark Hitchcock spent considerable time and effort in researching the names and identities of the nations that invade Israel with Russia. In his book “After The Empire,” he summarized his findings –
“Three of the invaders of Ezekiel 38 and 39 have now been identified: the former southern Soviet republics, the former Russian republic, and Turkey. The former southern Soviet republics and Turkey have almost everything in common – language, religion, political ties, economic compatibility, and, of course, a common Moslem hatred of Israel. It’s not too difficult to imagine these two getting together in the near future to invade Israel.” (chapter 4, pages 50-51)
We may be surprised that Turkey is listed as one of the nations in league with “Gog”, or Russia. Modern day Turkey seems to have strong ties to the West, but those ties are purely economic. Even during the second conflict with Iraq, the Turks prohibited the United States from having air bases in their land. Their allegiance to the Muslem world cannot be underestimated.
In addition to the five former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzebekistan, Kirghizian, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, plus Turkey, all Islamic republics, Hitchcock researched these additional Moslem nations that will be partners with Russia in the invasion of Israel:
“Persia” is modern day Iran.
“Cush” is modern day Sudan, south of Egypt and under the control of militant Islam.
“Put” is modern day Libya who has already illustrated their hatred for the West and Israel, in particular.
The Prophet Ezekiel apparently did not list all the nations that will be involved in this action against Israel as we read in Ezekiel 38:6, 9 and 15 – “ . . . many peoples with you.” One of the nations Ezekiel does not list is “the king of the south” or Egypt but Egypt is listed as one of the participants in this great invasion by the Prophet Daniel in Daniel 11:40-43.
One nation in particular deserves a special comment and that nation is Iran. Iran has been identified as ancient “Persia”.
A majority of the extremist militant warfare being waged by the Muslim world is coming right out of Iran. Iran is financing Hamas in their effort to destroy Israel. And Iran is very involved in much of the suicide bombing that is taking place in Iraq. Iran has also been personally behind many of the attacks that have been waged against American forces such as the destruction of the Marine’s barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983, when 241 American service men will killed.
Near the end of the Iran Iraq war, Ayatollah Khomeini was able to send hundreds of thousands of young men against the well armed forces of Saddam Hussein. Many of these young men were armed only with knives and copies of the Koran. Multiplied thousands were killed as wave after wave of these suicide attackers faced the machine guns of the Iraqi army. But they caused such panic amongst the Iraqi invaders, that the battle was won by Iran and Saddam’s forces retreated.
These same type of frenzied militiamen may one day mount an attack against the people of Israel when the multitude of Islam join forces with Russia and attempt to drive the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea.
Keep your eyes on Russia . . . and the Middle East and Israel. Better yet, keep your eyes upon the heavens . . . Jesus is coming . . . perhaps soon!
“Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come . . . Therefore, be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:42, 44
HOW CAN YOU BE READY?
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord, shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
One of the dying thieves who hung on a cross beside the Lord Jesus Christ apparently understood Who Jesus was . . . he must have heard Him speak or perhaps someone told him that Jesus was the Son of God Who came to die as our substitute and God’s sacrifice for our sins. When the thief called upon Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom, Jesus said — “Today, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” The dying thief KNEW WHERE HE WAS GOING after he died. What a great thing to know!
YOU can have this assurance as well if you believe that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins and call upon Him, confess your sin and ask Him to save you. Call upon Him today! John 1:12
THE SPARK THAT IGNITES THE HOLY WAR:
It is obvious that a gigantic horde of Islamic warriors will one day become embroiled in their hatred against Israel. Hatred for the people of Israel has been in the hearts of the Muslims for many hundreds of years. But something will incite them to unite and join forces with the Russian army and march into the Holy Land.
We need to consider the following question:
What is the spark that will agitate the Moslem world so much that their Islamic armies will join Russia in invading Israel?
CLICK HERE TO INVESTIGATE THAT “SPARK” THAT WILL IGNITE WW3
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