*** UPDATE ADDED 3/7/22 ***
Ezekiel 38:1-7
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you. “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.
Ezekiel 38:15
“ You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.“
Ezekiel 38:18-21
But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
Ezekiel 38:22-23
With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Apparently, this Russia invading Ukraine issue is causing some confusion. Some are not taking it seriously. Some are saying that this is not prophetic at all or they are debating over other things such as Rosh not meaning Russia and that Gog is not a person etc. Some are removing the possibility that Russia may in fact invade Israel and be a part of the Ezekiel coalition and debating about this being the setting up stages of the beginning of the Tribulation. Some are clamping on to that and acting as if the rapture is not actually at the door at all. Then, you have those who think their little side of the world is just going to keep going as it always has and they are rooting into this world throwing caution to the wind and not even worried about their salvation. It is so frustrating and confusing.
If you are like me, you listen to quite a few pastors and teachers and authors. Each has their own take on events but mostly they stay solid on major issues such the Gospel and Biblical events. You can put some issues on the back burner such as rapture timing etc. and find solid things to agree on. But, as far as Ezekiel, you may have thought that everyone knows that it is Russia who is a key player. But then Russia invaded the Ukraine and now all those you listened to are coming out with their thoughts that are different than you realized and your like; Wait, what? Where? And now you feel like Vinny Barbarino from Welcome Back Kotter!
So, I’m just going to offer a couple of videos here that might help clear it up a bit and also an article by Hal Lindsey that I read today that you may get something from.
First, here is Pastor Andy Wood’s latest on the topic. About 50 mins in the video he addresses the Rosh/Russia issue…
Middle East Meltdown 08. Ezekiel 37:23-38:2a. February 27, 2022. Dr. Andrew Woods
*** ADDED UPDATE 3/7/22 *** Pastors’ Point of View (PPOV) no. 200. RUSSIA, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, MARK OF THE BEAST, JUDICIARY
Now, here is a short 8 min video by the late Chuck Missler. He covers who Gog is…
Who is Magog? – Chuck Missler
Now for Hal Lindsey’s article. I believe the snip I took out is because Putin is now the earthly vessel of Gog, a spiritual being. I love Derek Gilbert’s books and articles. He is a sincere and humble man and really digs for resources and back up on what he writes. I do think he makes solid points about Gog being spiritual although, I don’t agree with him about Rosh and Russia not being the nation hinted to in the Ezekiel 38 battle. Maybe he didn’t look into other sources about the Rosh/Russia connection or maybe he did? He most likely did though. He doesn’t have to but, maybe he will give an updated answer or stand firm in his view? Not sure, but it is correct that Rosh does mean “head” or “chief” however, in this instance even if Rosh was not in the text, you can see that Russia is a key player here. (More on “Rosh” ) Either way Derek is one of my favorites that I follow and you can find some valuable information in his books.
That said, I think Ezekiel 38 is before the Tribulation (and rapture may happen at the same time God puts an end to it) and involves the physical man (Putin) being influenced by the spiritual (Gog). I think there are two battles, the Gog Magog battle is Armageddon and in that battle it is fallen angels and demons who are actually on the scene along with man. This here is my view: What are Gog and Magog?
Anyway…..
Snip from article below:
A few days ago, New York Magazine ran a headline that asked publicly what people have been asking privately for months. “Is Putin Sane?” The New York Times recently noted that Putin “has fundamentally changed amid the pandemic.” They say the shift seems to have “left him more paranoid, more aggrieved, and more reckless.” People who speak with him regularly, including the President of Finland, say that he is not the same man.
The Romans One Effect – by Hal Lindsey
Vladimir Putin lies. He looks his opponent straight in the face and lies. He’s good at it. He says that he must invade Ukraine because NATO refuses to rule out the possibility of one day admitting Ukraine. But he knows that no one joins NATO without the unanimous consent of all existing members. He knows that France and Germany flatly refuse to allow Ukraine to join, and several others have expressed strong reservations. He knows that there is no immediate possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.
Some suggest appeasement. They say NATO should have gone against its own bylaws and officially announced that it would never admit Ukraine. But when someone uses a pretext as an excuse, removing the pretext only means the creation of another excuse. For instance, there is Putin’s silly lie that with over 150,000 Russian troops on its doorstep, Ukraine decided to begin a series of atrocities against Russians living in Ukraine. When someone is willing to lie that boldly, he can always concoct a new pretext.
Others have said that what happens in Ukraine should not concern Americans. These people either do not personally visit gas stations, or they don’t understand the recent jump in fuel prices. Over the next weeks and months, the connection will probably be made plain to everyone who drives a car, heats a home, or pays an electric bill.
But Putin’s actions in Ukraine are much bigger than a series of price increases. They threaten your savings, investments, and livelihood. More than that, they endanger your life and the lives of those you love. Russia may have the most advanced cyber-attack teams in the world. Such attacks threaten electricity, water, and food. Russia also holds the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. And Putin’s threats to use it, suddenly seem credible.
A few days ago, New York Magazine ran a headline that asked publicly what people have been asking privately for months. “Is Putin Sane?” The New York Times recently noted that Putin “has fundamentally changed amid the pandemic.” They say the shift seems to have “left him more paranoid, more aggrieved, and more reckless.” People who speak with him regularly, including the President of Finland, say that he is not the same man.
What happened? Romans One happened. Putin suppressed the truth in unrighteousness (verse 18). He exchanged the truth of God for a lie (verse 25). He did not see fit to acknowledge God (verse 28). Therefore, God gave him over to a depraved mind (verse 28). A “depraved mind”—or as the King James Version says, “a reprobate mind”—means in part, a mind that can no longer think in its own best interest.
The Romans One effect is not confined to Putin. The things that brought on his change are widespread among most of the world’s leaders—and not just political leaders, but also leaders in entertainment, education, religion, and business.
How does a nation survive in such a world? Through virtue and strength (Proverbs 14:34), remembering that corruption begets weakness, and weakness invites aggression.
How do individuals survive in such a world? By turning to God the Father through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to be alone. We can walk hand in hand with the God who brought the universe into existence with the power of His word.
These times prove again the reliability of the Bible. We were never promised that life during end-time events would be easy.
But the same God who told us about these things thousands of years in advance, also promises to keep and protect those who have placed themselves in His hands.
Remember the wisdom of 1 Peter 5:7. “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.”
Here is another video worth the time by Brandon Holthaus. I share this mainly because of what he shares about Putin’s religious thoughts. Pastor Holthaus states when he is speculating so try not to get discouraged when he talks of Psalm 83 if you don’t agree. He agrees with Bill Salus. Also, if it is a correct view, then there could possibly be just a little more time going forward as Putin keeps building back the USSR and Israel gains more land etc. But then again, maybe not. It could all go very very rapidly as Putin feels the pressure of succeeding going forward! One might get discouraged thinking the rapture is so far off now. Not necessarily. The rapture is not what actually starts the Tribulation. The Tribulation begins when the Antichrist confirms the covenant after Ezekiel 38 war is stopped by God. So the rapture can happen at any time then.
But of course, as stated above and in previous blog posts, I am thinking the rapture may be right as God is putting an end to that battle and I still look for this Spring or Summer. Could be by Summer the Ezekiel 38 battle begins and quickly God ends it and raptures us and by the fall, after the ashes fall and clean up begins, the Antichrist confirms the accord/covenant. We have no way of knowing exact time frames for each event or even if it actually goes down that way yet. We can only speculate on those things.
Anyway, just take the information Pastor Holthaus has that you may differ on and set on the back burner for now. It is what I do. You can glean good information here even if you are not fully on board with certain thoughts. Most especially when he speaks of the religious part because it is so important to understand. When the dust settles all people will rush into wanting the one world Beast system because of what all they went through during war etc.
3-2-22 Putin’s Religion and the Gog of Magog Invasion [Prophecy Update]
Now let’s finish strong with some encouragement by checking out this article at Unsealed: Finish Strong By Following in His Footsteps!
How To Get To Heaven
