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Israel in the End-Time 10. Russion invasion |
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As the end-time plan of God unfolds, the kingdom of darkness is preparing for an immense confrontation in a bid to obtain full control on earth. Antichristian powers are mustered all over the world in preparation for the great tribulation. Yet, at the same time, a world-wide message of peace, prosperity and humanistic reconciliation is being proclaimed, giving many people a false sense of hope and peace.
One of the countries directly linked to these end-time preparations and hostilities towards Israel, is Russia. According to the Bible there are also many other countries that share the vision of the destruction of Israel. The following are identified by the prophet Ezekiel:
"Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army... Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them... Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops - many people are with you. Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely... On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan. You will say: I will go up against a land of unwalled villages... Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you... a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes" (Ezek. 38:1-16).
Gog is Russia
Three facts have helped to establish without doubt that the Gog the prophet refers to, is indeed modern-day Russia.
The land of Magog
Genesis 10 tells us that Magog was a grandchild of Noah. According to Josephus, the Greeks called the descendants of Magog the Scythians. They lived north of the Caucasian Mountains in what is known as Russia today. They were the most important ancestors of the Russians. Colossians 3:11 refers to them.
The prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal
Rosh or Rush was one of the Scythian tribes descending from Magog, and they lived near the Volga River. Meshech and Tubal were younger brothers of Magog, and also settled in the area we know as Russia today. Meshech was the father of the Moschi, who lived on the Moschi Mountains, and Tubal of the Tibereni, who lived on the shores of the Black Sea.
The far North
Moscow, the Russian capital, is due (yet far) north of Jerusalem. The Assyrians, ruled by "the king of the North," lived just north of Israel. Russia is described as the country far to the north of David's city, and is thereby identified as a separate power.
Russian allies
In former times, Bible scholars have been reluctant to accept the possibility of a Russian world power associated with a number of satellite nations. Consequently, prophecies to this effect have seldom been interpreted in a literal way. Ezekiel clearly stated that the Russian invasion of Israel would occur at the end-time. The alignment of nations mentioned in his prophecy, have indeed only started to emerge since the middle of the 20th century. Russia became a super power and an inciter of smaller nations after World War II. In 1948, the State of Israel came into being after nearly 1 900 years of dispersion. As the Jews were rebuilding their country, the Russians were becoming stronger and stronger. At the same time their hostility grew towards Israel.
Ezekiel refers to five allies that Russia will have when the Russian army attacks Israel:
Ezekiel says that these enemies of Israel will also receive help from other countries. It could mean that even more Muslim nations may regard the attack as the ideal opportunity to set out on a holy war against Israel. In terms of this prophecy, there is a strong possibility that revived Communist forces in Russia and Neo-Nazism in Germany will come up in support of the Muslim cause to annihilate Israel. All three of these ideologies have already cost the Israelis dearly in lives during this century.
Leading role
Through the prophet, God gives Russia a direct order: Be a leader to your allies. We all know that that is exactly what Russia has been since the Marxist revolution of 1917. Ever since 1917, Russia has propagated a world-wide attitude of hostility against Judaism and Christianity. Russia has also been supplying its allies with military equipment and expertise for decades, resulting in various bloody revolutions, five Arab wars in which Russian weapons were used, as well as endless Russian sponsored terrorist attacks by the PLO on Israel.
Surprise attack
In Ezekiel 38:11 we read that Russia and her allies will attack a demobilised and peaceful Israel at a moment when they will least expect it. That means that Russia will not deploy forces beforehand. Nor will she issue warnings to Israel to withdraw from occupied territory. No, this will happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Peace in Israel may be brought about by a Middle East peace treaty, resulting in a complete cessation of hostilities. Russia may even be one of the signatories of the accord.
That the Lord will have to use 'hooks' in the 'jaws' of the Russians to get them to attack, may indicate a certain reluctance on the part of the political leaders. There could be a military coup, however, in which case the Muslim officers in the Russian armed forces, as well as the pressure of Russia's large Muslim population, could be crucial to the military mobilisation. A general revival of communism as a result of the economic collapse in Russia, is also a strong possibility.
Disintegration of the USSR
Many people believe that the disintegration of the former Soviet Union is an indication that Israel has nothing further to fear from that region. This is a misleading and very dangerous perception, for the Russian Federation on its own is still a force to be reckoned with. This republic consists of 75% of the former USSR - that is 17 million square kilometres - and has a population of 150 million from a total of 290 million in the whole of the former USSR. Most of the Russian military installations and arsenals are in the Russian republic.
Many people wrongly believe that communism is dead. The fact is, however, that the leaders have switched from dictatorial to democratic socialism for strategic reasons. This had to be done for Russia to be incorporated into the New World Order. Their new ideology consists of a mixture of socialism, secular humanism and the free-market institutions of capitalism. It can be compared to the Swedish system.
The new humanistic approach demands that an individual must have absolute freedom to realise his full potential. Excessive state interference by way of inhibiting economic, political and religious structures, is therefore to be abandoned. That is why we now see more freedom in the Russian system, also regarding religion. The obvious failure of the experiment to introduce capitalism, will leave millions of families destitute and almost certainly stimulate the revival of communism.
New alliances
We must carefully analyse national and international politics in Russia. It is not by chance that these people are the chess champions of the world! They have the rare ability to plan masterfully, and we should not be too hasty to see their current policy changes as a defeat. It should rather be considered as part of a hidden plan to restore their power and influence.
NATO was suddenly faced with the fact that Russia no longer constitutes a military threat. The Warsaw Pact was terminated and the iron curtain was suddenly dismantled. These developments forced NATO to do an urgent re-evaluation of the economic and military situation in Europe. This 'chess game' can lead to one of two scenarios:
The first would be that Gorbachev allowed the revolutions in the Eastern European countries, as well as the dissolving of the USSR, in order to win financial support for the Eastern European countries from the USA and Western Europe. That would, of course, be to Russia's advantage. One of their aims may be to become part of the united Europe. That would result in the establishing of a military power block from which the USA will be excluded. NATO, in its present form, will then have to disappear from the scene. If the Western world continues on its set course of disarmament, Russia would be the undisputed military leader of the European confederation by the turn of the century.
The second scenario is even more frightening. Informed sources say that Russia and Germany entered into a secret alliance before the onset of the changes on the Russian front. According to them, Russia was prepared to allow the unification of Germany if she, in turn, promised to remain neutral in any military situation. Should other European countries decide to follow Germany's example, the USA's influence in Europe would be diminished dramatically. Then Russia could become the undisputed leader by the year 2000 – after having recovered economically with massive aid from the West!
It is a known fact that relations between Russia and Germany have improved dramatically. After granting Russia even more financial support, Chancellor Helmut Kohl said in a statement: "The stronger ties between Russia and Germany should not lead to any fears. Russo-German ties do not threaten the interests of any other group."
There is also the possibility that military and ideological interest groups in Russia have secret contacts with certain Arab countries. In this way Islamic plans for the destruction of Israel and the handing over of the spoils to the PLO, may be forged in deep secrecy. Under cover of the smoke screen of generally supported Middle Eastern peace initiatives, they will devise their plot for a surprise attack on Israel.
The great defeat
When Russia and her allies attack Israel, we see God intervening:
"And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains, says the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. And I will bring him to judgement with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone" (Ezek. 38:18-22).
"Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken, says the Lord God" (Ezek. 39:3- 5).
A feast for the vultures
In Ezekiel 39:4 and 17 the Lord says that the dead soldiers of the Russo-Arab alliance will be eaten by birds of prey. The scene has already been set, as millions of these birds fly over Israel every year. The migrating birds pose a problem to the Israeli air force, and intensive research has been done in an attempt to solve the problem and minimise the danger. The air force has lost more aircraft through collisions with birds than in clashes with their enemies in all the wars of the past decades. The results of the research have been released in a documentary film called Flying with the birds.
The research has shown that 15 million migrating birds cross the Israeli sky every year. They represent 280 species, of which the majority are birds of prey. At a certain time up to 45 000 eagles fly over Israel every day. These birds come from Central and Eastern Europe, and they all cross Israel towards the end of the summer. Their preference for this route is related to the so-called chimney effect of rising hot air in desert and semi-desert regions. Under these conditions the birds can reach their flying height with less effort, soar for longer periods, and therefore use less energy along the way. A bigger effort would be needed to fly across the Mediterranean Sea. Many birds also land in Israel to look for something to eat there. One of these years they are going to be given a treat they have never experienced before!
What will happen to Israel's enemies?
Russia and her Muslim allies will discover the reality of Genesis 12:3 when they are defeated on the hills of Israel: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
During the past four millennia, all the enemies of Israel have experienced the truth of this statement. World history has seen the rise and fall of mighty empires such as Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. One by one they rose to power and dominated the world for a time, just to crumble again and fade into oblivion. The main cause for their downfall was that they submerged themselves in heathen religions and became adversaries of God by trying to annihilate His people Israel. However, despite severe hardships, Israel survived the relentless attacks against her and is now set to enter the glorious kingdom of the Messiah. He will soon restore the throne of David and Jerusalem will be the undisputed capital of the world:
"Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever" (Is. 9:7).
Spiritual quickening
As soon as the Lord has defeated the enemies of Israel and gathered all His people in their country, they will also be quickened spiritually. That will be the dawn of a new day for Israel, and they will be a holy people unto God:
"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name - after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and none made them afraid. When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their own land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord God" (Ezek. 39:25-29).
"They shall live in the land of Israel where their fathers lived, the land I gave my servant Jacob. They and their children after them shall live there, and their grandchildren, for all generations. And my Servant David, their Messiah, shall be their Prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting pact. I will bless them and multiply them and put my Temple among them forever. And I will make my home among them. Yes, I will be their God and they shall be my people. And when my Temple remains among them forever, then the nations will know that I, the Lord, have chosen Israel as my very own" (Ezek. 37:25-28 LB).
Nations of the world, please be warned! To fight Israel, also implies to wage war against the God of Israel! That is a futile exercise that can only lead to self-destruction. Rather share in the blessings of Israel, as they were promised to all nations: "...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen 12:3).