PTNews
P r o p h e c y T o d a y N e w s
March 2022
Published monthly
All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
P.O. Box 13006, Roanoke, VA 24030-3006
The Threat of Putin’s Russia
“I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth…”
By Mike Wingfield
Amazing! Stunning! More than 2,600 years ago, God revealed to the ancient prophet of Israel, Ezekiel, that He would carry out sudden destructive judgment on Russia and its allies in the last days. As Russian forces invade Ukraine, are we currently watching a divinely orchestrated prelude to Russia’s divine appointment with God?
Many in the West believe this invasion could be the beginning of a major war. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently said, “I’m afraid to say that the plan we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in Europe since 1945 just in terms of sheer scale” (Times of Israel, February 20, 2022).
In a response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine, many countries in the West are announcing strict economic sanctions against Russia. Will this backfire on the world and cause Russia to invade Israel for the wealth that Ezekiel spoke about in his prophecy?
Chatter is escalating among Israel’s political and military leaders about the imminence of the Gog and Magog war with Russia and its allies. Many of these leaders in Israel are convinced the attack on Israel predicted in the Bible is about to take place. They are not only talking about this inevitable war – they are preparing for it.
This escalating crisis facing Europe has reached a critical level. For years, Russia has been the major supplier of natural gas to the European nations. The European Union – a political and economic union of 27 countries – relies upon Russia for about half of its natural gas supplies and more than a third of its total gas requirements. A pipeline that supplies this gas flows through Ukraine.
While Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine, it began to pressure Europe to not interfere with its expansion efforts. In recent months, Russia has cut its flow of gas to Europe. The pipeline is only operating at 4 percent capacity. Europeans are concerned about how this will impact their need to heat their homes during the winter, and the general impact this will have on their economy. Since September, natural gas prices in Europe have increased 70 percent. As the European Union scrambles to import gas from other sources, there is a general concern that this will globally inflate the price of energy resources.
Russia is the second largest supplier of oil to the United States. Last year, the U.S. imported 12-26 million barrels of oil per month from Russia. Therefore, this war could cripple the already weak U.S. economy, significantly driving up already high energy prices.
Afew decades ago, Israel discovered a massive natural gas deposit off their coast in the Mediterranean Sea, now called Leviathan (see map below). At the time of its discovery, it was the second largest known gas deposit in the world. This has major economic implications for Israel. The amount of natural gas in these ocean cavities has made Israel energy independent and in the immediate future, a major exporter of gas. In recent weeks, Israeli and European leaders signed a deal that will bring Israel’s natural gas to Europe. This will not only be an economic boon for Israel but will also place Israel in direct competition with Russia and its monopoly on gas exports to Europe. An extensive pipeline in the ocean and on land will need to be constructed. It is slated for completion by 2025. Obviously, Russia perceives this as an economic threat.
In the fall of 2015, Russia offered Israel military aid to guard the massive area being developed to extract gas. Russia also offered to invest $10 billion to help develop this gas field. They even offered to assist Israel to build a pipeline through Turkey for exporting gas to Europe. The Israeli government had already agreed to allow Noble Energy of Texas to hold and control a 39.66 percent share in controlling Leviathan. Israel knew the Russian offer would not be acceptable to the U.S. Thus, Russia was upset when its offer was rejected.
The procurement of some control of Israel’s Leviathan gas fields was very significant to Russia. Due to Russia’s climate and geographical location, the export of energy resources has become the leading component of Russia’s federal economy. Last year Russia’s exports of energy-related products amounted to 53.8 percent of its total economy. Therefore, the mere prospect of competition from Israel in natural gas production is very alarming to the Russian leadership.
From an Israeli perspective, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a nightmarish scenario for Israel. First, Ukraine has a significant Jewish population. In recent weeks, Israel has made an appealed to about 75,000 Jews in Ukraine. They have now set up locations outside of Ukraine’s western border to airlift them to Israel. Thousands of Ukrainian Jews are fleeing and will seek to immigrate to Israel. However, Israel must be careful to not anger Russia and escalate the tensions that are already mounting. Russia has a military partnership with Iran in Syria along Israel’s northern border on the Golan Heights. Also, about 500,000 Israelis are from Ukraine.
Furthermore, this war with Russia will impact Ukraine’s exports to Israel. Half of Israel’s grain supplies come from Ukraine. Also, Israel imports a large amount of metal from Ukraine. Furthermore, Israel has outsourced many of its hi-tech jobs to Ukraine. If this should suddenly cease, it would impact both Ukrainian and Israeli companies. In addition to all of this, there are currently more than 13,000 Israeli citizens living in Ukraine. Israel is pleading with these citizens to evacuate as soon as possible.
Many analysts agree that Russia is playing a chess game with the U.S. and Europe. Putin wants to regain control of the former Soviet countries that were a part of the Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991. Putin claims that many people now living in the independent states of the former Soviet Union are of Russian descent and want to be a part of Russia. It is obvious that Putin wants to rebuild the former Soviet Union to create a global power that will compete with China and others for global control.
Russia has recently threatened to go to war with Israel. For several years, the Israelis have bombed Iranian military installations and facilities in Syria. Israel has declared to the global community that it views any Iranian military build-up on its northern border to be a threat to its national security. For years, Russia has allowed Israel to exercise its right to defend itself against Iranian positions in Syria. However, in recent weeks that has changed. Russia has told Israel that its bombing within Syria will no longer be tolerated. In essence, Russia has declared that Israel’s military incursion into Syrian airspace will now be viewed as a threat to Russia’s interests in Syria and the region. In so many words, Israel was told that this could lead to a war with Russia. In recent weeks Russia sent MIG-31 fighter jets with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and Tupolev Tu-22 bombers to its expanded permanent air force base in Syria. Furthermore, Israelis are concerned that these fighter jets are conducting air-force patrol missions along Israel’s Golan Heights border with Syria. Israelis perceive this to be a threatening gesture.
As these war clouds loom over Europe and the Middle East, it appears that this crisis traces its roots back to one man – Putin. According to Ezekiel 38-39, the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel will feature God’s wrath against the leader of Russia – Gog. The Hebrew term “Gog,” refers to the prince or leader of the land of Magog, which most agree refers to the land of Russia. So, considering current developments, we must ask, “Is Vladimir Putin the Gog mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39? While we cannot be dogmatic, it does appear that Putin perfectly fulfills what we know about the Gog of Ezekiel 38-39. Let us examine the evidence.
There are 10 areas of consideration that demand our examination as we compare Vladimir Putin to the Biblical “Gog.”
Gog will appear in “the last days.”
The Bible declares that the confrontation between the leader of Russia and “the Holy One in Israel” (39:7) will take place “in the latter days” (38:8; 16). This term is used to speak of the time leading up to the end-time events that are connected to the coming of the Messiah. According to Ezekiel, this Russian invasion of Israel will occur when certain conditions among the Jewish people prevail. (1) When a Jewish remnant has regathered to its own land out of the nations (38:8, 12; 39:28). This amazing miracle occurred with the rebirth of the modern nation of Israel in 1948. (2) When the regathered Jewish nation will have acquired a considerable amount of wealth (Ezekiel 38:12). The tiny nation of Israel has some very incredible resources. The minerals in the Dead Sea are calculated to be worth at least $4 billion. In recent years, Israel has discovered oil deposits on the Golan Heights (see map), and gas reserves that are worth hundreds of billions of dollars. (3) The regathered nation of Israel will be dwelling in its land with a sense of confidence in its abilities to defend itself against any aggression of the nations surrounding them (see Ezekiel 36:1-7). Ezekiel declared four times in these two chapters that the Jewish people would be dwelling “safely” in their land. The Hebrew word translated safely in these verses could be translated “with confidence.” In 39:26, Ezekiel adds, “and none made them afraid.” This word describes the confidence that Israel has in defending itself against the aggression of its Muslim foes. In recent years Israel has designed and manufactured some very precise defense weaponry that has been extremely effective against the missiles launched against them. Now, they claim that within the next year they will produce and distribute an even more powerful laser defense weapon system that will be more precise, more rapid, less costly, and very reliable. (4) Israel will be dwelling in its land when the Persian Gulf Arab states [described in the text as Sheba and Dedan] will verbally oppose the Gog invasion of Israel (38:13). With the growing weakness of the U.S. and the current moods among the Persian Gulf states that have entered the Abraham Peace Accord with Israel, it seems that Russia has an optimal window of opportunity to move against Israel.
Without getting into detail, I believe this Russian invasion of Israel will take place before the Tribulation Period begins. It could take place before the Rapture, or it could happen between the Rapture and the signing of the Antichrist’s covenant that will begin the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27). There is much evidence that supports this chronology. The two most prominent are: (1) Israel will burn the weapons of this invading army for seven years (39:9) and bury the dead for seven months (39:9-16). The stated purpose of this activity is to “cleanse the land” (39:12, 16). According to the Scriptures, all the cleansing of the land of Israel will be completed before the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom of God on earth. According to Daniel 12:11-12, God will add a short period of time between the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the kingdom. Many Bible scholars believe the extra days allotted between the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Kingdom mentioned by Daniel is for the cleansing of the land of Israel before the inauguration of the Messiah at the beginning of the kingdom. (2) The divine intervention of God to rescue Israel from this massive invasion will have a profound spiritual impact upon the Jews living in Israel (39:7, 22-29). This would be the perfect preliminary preparation for
the spiritual impact of the two Jewish witnessed [Moses and Elijah] on the first day of the Tribulation Period (Revelation 11:3-12). So, it makes sense that the destruction of Gog would precede the coming of the Jewish witnesses.
Gog will be an enemy of God and His people.
A casual reading of Ezekiel 38-39 quickly reveals that Gog [the leader of Russia] is the enemy of God. Repeatedly, Ezekiel is told that God is “against” Gog (38:2,3, 21, 22; 39:1). According to Ezekiel, Russia’s leader has demonstrated that he is the enemy of God because he is against God’s people and God’s land. Ezekiel writes that Gog will come “against the land of
Israel” (38:18), and God’s people, Israel (38:16). Russia and its leadership have demonstrated their hatred toward Israel. While Russia has claimed to be a friend of Israel, it has demonstrated for decades that it is a real enemy of Israel. For decades, the Arab armies that have fought against Israel have been supplied with Russian armaments and defense systems. In recent years, Putin has been very deceptive in his portrayal as a friend of Israel. Without any hesitation, he has formed a coalition with the enemies of Israel – Iran, Syria, Turkey, Hamas, and Hezbollah. He has supplied these enemies with the military capability to destroy the nation of Israel. It is only a matter of time before Russia will make its move and unveil its deceitful hatred of Israel. Perhaps we are witnessing this take place at this very moment.
Russia’s future invasion of Israel is not only motivated by its thirst for wealth, but also by its hatred for Israel. The text in Ezekiel declares that God will bring Russia and its coalition to the mountains of Israel where they will be annihilated by the hand of God (38:16-17; 39:2). Symbolically speaking, God will put a hook into the jaws of this invading army and lure it to come to the land of Israel for their defeat. Concerning this invasion by Russia, God said, “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth …” (38:4). This imagery was familiar in the ancient world. After a war, the defeated people were pierced with a hook in their lips and literally forced to march to the land of their enemies to be paraded through the streets in humiliation before the eyes of their enemies. Thus, in the eyes of the entire world, God will humiliate this ancient enemy of His people (39:21).
Gog will be a military leader.
Ezekiel declared that Gog would be “a guard” unto the coalition that would join him in this invasion (38:7). The Hebrew word here points to a military advisor or commander. Russia has clearly demonstrated that its military prowess is its top priority in its attempt to fulfill its dream of global dominance. This is what evil tyrants like Putin do. They do not care about the freedoms or the will of the people. Their pride is focused upon the exercise of their power at the expense of people.
Gog will be the leader of a specific northern area.
Many Bible scholars demonstrate that the land of Magog, with the cities of Meshech and Tubal, are references to modern-day Russia. Furthermore, the Bible tells us that Gog is from “the north parts” (38:15; 39:2). Using Israel as a reference point, Russia is to the extreme north of the Promised Land. So, Gog is a Russian leader.
Gog will be the leader of a specific coalition.
Ezekiel reported that the leader of Russia in the last days would have a specific coalition that would participate with him in this future invasion of Israel. His coalition partners are mentioned in 38:5-6, “Persia [modern-day Iran], Ethiopia [the ancient area of Ethiopia today points to Sudan], and Libya, …. Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands [the ancient areas of Gomer and Togarmah are today a part of Turkey]: and many people with thee.” Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia has displayed its alliance with these nations that have had a history of hating Israel. This is the first time in history these nations have entered into agreements with each other. In former times they were enemies of each other. It is apparent Putin has masterfully put together this coalition to aid him in a direct attack upon Israel.
Gog will have an evil intention toward Israel.
As previously mentioned, the Scriptures indicate that Gog will be against the Jewish people. One of the first nations to recognize Israel in 1948 was Russia. When Israel began, it was forced to form collective farms in an economy in which people owned everything together. Jews were emigrating from countries that would not allow them to bring their personal wealth with them. Therefore, many Jews came with very few economic provisions. Plus, the Israeli government had assumed ownership of the land that was vacated by the Arabs that left before and during the War of Independence (1948-49). Therefore, as a matter of survival, Israelis were forced to form collective farms [called kibbutz and moshav). Russia interpreted this to indicate that Israel would join Russia as a socialist nation. However, when Israel declared itself to be a democracy, Russia felt betrayed. Therefore, from the very beginning Russia has identified Israel with the West and opposed its occupation in an area that was formerly governed by Islamic principles, which are very similar to socialism.
For decades, Russia has pretended to be a friend of Israel. However, at the time of the Ezekiel invasion, Ezekiel wrote, “It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought” (Ezekiel 38:10). Apparently, the Bible is telling us that something will materialize in the last days that will trigger a fit of rage on the part of Gog, that will tempt him to make his bold and open move to attack Israel.
In a recent All-Israel News report, Joel Rosenberg, a Jewish evangelical author, and American Israeli communication strategist, stated, “At his core, Putin is a mafia boss, obsessed with power and wealth, and willing to rob, kill to obtain both. … Putin sees himself following in the tradition of the Russian czars, believing he has a divine right to rule with an iron hand and is permitted to use any means necessary to rebuild the glory of Mother Russia” (Joel Rosenberg, All Israel News, February 21, 2022).
Gog will have an intense interest in Israel’s wealth.
In Ezekiel 38:12-13, we are told that Gog and his coalition will invade Israel to obtain the great wealth the young nation of Israel will have accumulated. In Ezekiel 36:8-11, God promised the Jewish people that when they returned to their land in the last days He would bless them with an abundance of food and wealth. God has kept that promise. Since March 1985, I have been to Israel 24 times. During this time, I have witnessed the incredible economic and agricultural transformation of Israel. It is something to behold!
In addition to the resources of wealth mentioned previously, Israel is impressively filled with an abundance of food. Contrast this with the poor weather and inadequate soil conditions in other parts of the Middle East and in Russia’s frigid hemisphere. Furthermore, the global climate changes are playing havoc with mega farming trends in recent decades that have been developed to feed the growing global population. All of this is making food scarce, and more expensive. So, the future Russian invasion of Israel will be focused upon attaining more food. China is facing a similar problem that is forcing it to purchase land all over the world, including in the U.S., to grow food exclusively for the Chinese people.
Putin wants his beloved motherland to become a major global player to dominate the world. More and more people are realizing that water and food are the most basic of all necessities. We sometimes think about the significance of oil and other commodities. However, the greatest resources in the world are fresh water and food. Putin is beginning to wake up to this reality and he is looking at Israel with envious eyes.
Gog will not have the support of the Persian Gulf Arabs.
We are living at a very dangerous moment in history. Several ruthless dictators want to dominate the lives of other people and control the destiny of their nations for their own selfish ambitions.
In recent decades, especially under the leadership of Putin, Russia has begun to side with the more radical elements of the Islamic world in the Middle East. Putin has aided Iran’s radical Islamic regime in its development of nuclear power, knowing that Iran is considered a threat to the leadership of the Sunni Arabs in the region. He has also developed a friendship and coalition with Turkey’s radical Islamic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is also considered an enemy of the Sunni Arabs of the Persian Gulf. Iran and Turkey are not Arabs. The Persian Gulf Arabs have been the enemies of Iran for decades. The radical Muslims in Iran and Turkey have a passion to control Saudi Arabia – the motherland of Islam.
Considering this, it is interesting to note that the future Russian invasion of Israel mentioned by Ezekiel is opposed by Sheba and Dedan – areas in modern Saudi Arabia today. While they will not militarily oppose Russia, they will verbally question its attack upon Israel (38:13). Saudi Arabia’s opposition will be joined by the West – “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions” (38:13).
Gog and his nation will suffer great defeat by God.
In response to Gog’s attack upon the people and land of God, the Holy One of Israel will send a powerful earthquake upon the region (38:19-20). This earthquake will devastate everything in the region. It will confuse the invading armies so that they will attack one another (38:21). This massive global earthquake will trigger global volcanic eruptions, including the 14 dormant volcanoes on the Golan Heights. This is described in the text as “an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (38:22).
This earthquake and ensuing volcanic eruptions will also take place in Russia. In Ezekiel 39:6, God says, “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
“The Kamchatka Peninsula in Far East Russia is one of the most volcanically active locations in the entire world. Part of the Ring of Fire, Kamchatka has the highest density of volcanoes and associated volcanic activity in the world. This place, deemed Russia’s Yellowstone, is home to over 130 volcanoes, 29 of which are still active today” (volcano.oregonstate.edu). This area is called the place of fire and ice and is home to many islands. (See map on this page.) God has prepared everything for the fulfillment of His eternal plan!
Gog’s defeat will produce a global response.
The eyes of all the nations are currently upon Vladimir Putin. The entire world will suffer due to his reckless and ruthless war efforts. It appears that he might be the Gog of Ezekiel 38. Therefore, when the Lord delivers His timely sudden blow upon Russia and its allies, it will demonstrate the presence and power of God in defense of His people and His land. Ezekiel 38:23 states, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself: and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” In Ezekiel 39:21, the Lord further declares, “And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.”
It is apparent that the day of Russia’s divine visitation (see 38:8) is at hand. This judgment upon Gog and his coalition will set the stage for significant developments that will thrust the world into the Tribulation Period. It will have a major spiritual impact upon Israel. God says, “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward” (39:22). I am convinced that the Rapture will occur immediately before or after the Gog and Magog invasion of Israel.
Therefore, as we watch the events in Europe and the Middle East unfold, we need to “be listening for the shout that will take us out!”