Gog and Beyond

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, there has been an uptick in apocalyptic buzz, both biblically informed and otherwise. Some, including a few mainstream media types, have begun to wonder aloud if WWIII has actually gotten underway.

As is normal these days, the only thing I am absolutely 100 percent certain of is that the mainstream media is not telling us the whole story (and applying the desired spin to most of what they are telling us). They have knocked themselves silly peddling the narrative that this is all about big bad evil Russia aggressively picking on poor little innocent Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin being cast as the evil villain and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (often spelled "Zelensky" in the Western press) as the heroic underdog, bravely standing up to the big bully.

And just as with the "secure, fraud-free" U.S. presidential election of 2020 and the "safe and effective" vaccines being pushed on everyone, God help you if you don't toe the line on this one.

The media has given people two choices: You are either (a) 100 percent against Putin and Russia and 100 percent in support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine, or you are (b) an evil, deluded supporter of cruelty and tyranny who is lapping up and peddling Russian propaganda.

And there is nothing in between.

In light of that, it may surprise you to learn that there actually are people who see this war as a strong leader determined to protect his country's interests (i.e. Putin) vs. a hand-picked poser dancing to a tune whistled by leftist elites who are desperately trying to cover their tracks (i.e. Zelenskyy). But whatever your view of the conflict may be, one thing is clear:

All the associated media-fueled political
theater is becoming theater of the absurd.

It's getting ridiculous. For example, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston recently ruled that top-ranked Russian tennis player Danil Medvedev would not be allowed to compete in Wimbledon this summer unless he provides proof that he denounces his president, Vladimir Putin. Really?

H-e-l-l-o-o-o...it's tennis, for crying out loud. What's next? U.S. players being required to prove they denounce Donald Trump?

The narrative being pushed by the media is an almost cartoonish oversimplification and mischaracterization of reality. It is a well-documented fact that Ukraine is home to numerous biochemical laboratories, which have likely received substantial funding from the U.S. (No? Here's a tip: When in doubt, take a look at what the mainstream media is vehemently dismissing as "disinformation.") For years, these labs have been busy producing and experimenting with all manner of dangerous chemical and biological weapons (including viruses, according to many sources), and Ukraine has become money laundering and kickback central for a who's who list of global elites (among whom Joe Biden's son Hunter gained distinction as being the only one stupid enough to get caught red-handed).

As for Putin, he has been sending the message loud and clear for over 15 years that he won't tolerate all the New World Order shenanigans going on in his backyard—but nobody listened. So, with a potted plant in the White House, he finally took matters into his own hands. And understand that I'm not trying to defend Putin—he is one of the bad guys and he does have an agenda. But on the other hand, I think it's a bit ironic that he could honestly be described as about the least bad bad guy in this whole mess.

And I only say that because there are no good guys.

The purpose of this article, however, is not to attempt to give you a detailed rundown on this whole highly combustible affair. There are others far more qualified and knowledgeable than I am who have done and continue to do an outstanding job of this—all I can do is encourage you to turn off the evening nooz and get out there and find 'em.

As I'm sure you know, this is a biblical website, not a political one. But when there is apocalyptic buzz afoot of a political nature, I at least strive to remain part of the biblically informed crowd. And this article is no exception.

Much of the apocalyptic buzz generated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has to do with the battle described in Ezekiel 38–39, commonly referred to as the battle of Gog-Magog. Some are champing at the bit, claiming that this attack is in fact that battle. There is also speculation about the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the buzz concerns whether or not he is in fact the infamous Gog of Ezekiel's prophecy.

I have written about the battle of Gog-Magog before (two such articles are here and here), and before I even get warmed up I can assure everyone reading this that Russia's attack on Ukraine is a far cry from anything described by the prophet Ezekiel 2,600 years ago. And you don't have to plow through either of the two articles I just linked to in order to see this—a cursory glance at the first few verses of Ezekiel 38 is sufficient.

The battle of Gog-Magog is a coalition of primarily Islamic nations converging on Israel, but decimated by the hand of God before they can lay a hand on God's people. It's not one country attacking a neighboring country. Add to that the fact that Ukraine isn't Israel, and you have a nonstarter.

But the buzz about Putin is a different story.

I confess that oftentimes when I hear speculation coming from people who are not especially knowledgeable about God's Word that purports to connect the dots of Bible prophecy with the dots of current news headlines, my first knee-jerk reaction is to dismiss it with a hmph. And I've heard my share:

"Ooo-kay, so the vaccine is the mark of the beast...oh, and those 100-foot statues they want to erect in 21 cities are the image of the beast. Hmph...try reading Revelation 13 sometime, ya know?"

But when I began to hear people speculating that Vladimir Putin might literally be this Gog character of Ezekiel 38–39, before the first jerk of the knee and the first hmph, the Holy Spirit kicked me in the shin:

"Not so fast, hoss. You might want to take a closer look at that one."

So here we are, with me still rubbing my shin. Although what originally prompted me to write this article was the specific question of whether or not Vladimir Putin could actually be Gog, I will end up touching on a couple of other related issues, including things that reach far beyond Gog.

A few key facts

I'm honestly not setting out with the goal of proving conclusively that Vladimir Putin is (or is not) Gog of Ezekiel 38–39 fame. No one can. The first thing I want to do is put together a quick laundry list of facts concerning Gog that we can be reasonably certain of from the text of Ezekiel's prophecy, and get out of the way and let God's Word speak for itself. Fair enough?

• Gog is a man.

Gog is a literal, physical man. One reason this is significant is because there are many who believe Gog is some kind of spirit or powerful, high-ranking demonic entity. But Ezekiel makes it clear that Gog is a man.

Here's my favorite zinger that supports this:

I've never heard anyone else teach about this before (which can make me a bit nervous), but it occurs to me that when Ezekiel says the thought to wipe out Israel suddenly arises in Gog's mind, it actually gives us a marvelous little clue that Gog is a man and not any kind of demonic being.

Consider: From the Garden of Eden until the Crucifixion, Satan's goal was not to wipe out the Jews—it was to throw a monkey wrench into the advent of the Messiah, because in Genesis 3:15 God says the seed of the woman (i.e. the Messiah) would crush his head. I've discussed this before in more detail, but this made Satan scan the horizon for roughly 4,000 years, seeking to sideline, undermine, influence, or eliminate anyone he deemed to be a potential candidate for the role of the Jewish Mashiach. But at every turn God was way ahead of him, and finally God's Son was born into the world. Then, when Jesus was crucified (no doubt with a wee bit of help here and there from the demonic realm), Satan was convinced he had won:

"YES!! I'm gonna get to keep all this! Crush that, Mr. Mashiach!"

But following the Crucifixion, Christ—who holds the keys of death and Hades—showed up at Satan's doorstep in Sheol and let Himself in so He could do a little preaching and escort the righteous dead home to heaven. And as He did so, Satan realized he had been completely outplayed. He knew he had failed in his primary mission to thwart the advent of the Messiah, and now it was too late. So, he had to shift gears and switch to a different strategy in a desperate (and ultimately futile) effort to cling to the dominion he usurped in the Garden of Eden. And what was Satan's new strategy?

Wipe out the Jews so there will be none left at the climax of Daniel's 70th Week to call on their Messiah to return to save them and turn his 42-month kingdom into His 1,000-year kingdom.

So, when the evil thought suddenly arises in Gog's mind in the end times to attack and wipe out Israel (and we shall see in a moment that Ezekiel is absolutely talking about the end times), it makes no sense at all to think Gog is a demonic being under the command of Satan...

A demonic being who apparently didn't
get the memo two thousand years ago about
his boss's new strategy of wiping out the Jews.

It's absurd to think that during the end times some demonic being is not going to have the thought to destroy Israel one minute, and then have this thought arise in his mind the next. Why? Because "DEATH TO ISRAEL!" has been the mantra and the marching orders of the demonic realm for the last two millennia (not to mention a few Islamic countries, oddly enough).

Not only that, but Ezekiel says Gog will be killed and buried:

Satan and all his minions are created spiritual beings, and so they cannot be killed and buried like men. Bottom line: Devils don't push up daisies.

• Gog lives in the end times.

As I mentioned above, Ezekiel makes it plain that he is talking about the end times, prior to the Second Coming:

Although the phrase "the latter years" can legitimately be interpreted in different ways, the fact that Ezekiel goes on to specify a time period after Israel has been regathered into her land sorta nails it down. So here, "the latter years" clearly refers to the end times, or the general time frame that leads up to the Second Coming and that includes the end-of-days package of the Rapture and the subsequent Tribulation.

And that's right about where we are now.

• Gog is the leader of a nation with a large army.

This one is pretty obvious:

Only leaders of nations command large armies (much less coalitions of other nations' armies).

• Gog's nation lies north of Israel, and is almost certainly Russia.

I'm going to refrain from getting into a big brouhaha over the geographical details of Ezekiel 38–39, largely because there are so many diverse opinions on the precise locations of peoples and places mentioned in Ezekiel.

But the fact is that the vast majority of commentators agree that Magog almost certainly refers to the former land of the Scythians, who lived in the mountainous region around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea—an area that today includes mostly Ukraine and southwestern Russia (which includes Moscow). To date, I have seen nothing that causes me to doubt the general accuracy of this interpretation.

As a matter of fact, my inner number cruncher got the best of me while I was working on this article, and I calculated that if you draw a line straight north from Jerusalem, you only miss Moscow by about 85 to 93 miles to the west, depending on the precise coordinates used for each city.

Now, if you draw a line north from Jerusalem, you basically pass through three countries: Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia. Modern-day Turkey, however, is covered by Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and the house of Togarmah (aka Beth-togarmah). So Turkey is already accounted for.

And although I certainly support the people of Ukraine in their fight for survival, I admit that it's kinda tough to see Ukraine as any kind of regional leader that could rally a coalition of Islamic nations in a huge attack on Israel (plus FWIW, Zelenskyy is Jewish). I mean, never say never and all that, but to me Ukraine is a real long shot.

And that pretty much leaves us with Russia.

So, the preliminary part of our question is this:

Is Gog the leader of modern Russia,
or the leader of some other country?

Call me безумый, but I'm gonna go with Russia on this one. I believe God's Word is reasonably clear on this issue and leaves us with no other easy or obvious choices.

We're not that stupid: In Ezekiel 38:2, the words "chief prince" are sometimes translated "prince of Rosh," where the word "rosh" is capitalized. The word "rosh" means "head" or "chief," and people argue about whether or not it can be used as a proper noun in this manner. Hmmm...you know, the word "rosh" does sound kinda like "Russia." In my honest opinion, however, the connection between the words "rosh" and "Russia" is somewhat obscure and less than conclusive. But even if there is a real linguistic connection between them (which is not impossible), it's arguably too tenuous to support any conclusions that I'd bet my bottom ruble on.

But there are people who want to make Ezekiel 38–39 mean something quite different who accuse those who see Gog as the leader of Russia of reading the modern nation of Russia into Ezekiel's prophecy for no other reason than the mere fact that the word "rosh" sounds a lot like the word "Russia." Sigh... Trust me, we're not that stupid—gimme a break. A very strong case can be made for Gog being the leader of modern-day Russia without resorting to playing speculative word games with the word "rosh."

So, the text of Ezekiel's prophecy tells us a few key facts about Gog:

Gog is a man who leads a nation with a large army that lies to the north of Israel and that is almost certainly Russia, and he will exist as such in the end times—which is where we are today.

And that brings us to the key question:

Is Vladimir Putin really Gog?

OK, not trying to be coy here, but I think you almost have to get creative to see Gog as anyone besides Vladimir Putin at this point in time. Of course, I still remember that as late as 1991 there were well-meaning people publishing books trumpeting the idea that Mikhail Gorbachev was Gog (and the Antichrist to boot*), so I will ease off the trigger just a bit and say that if it isn't Putin, it has to be a leader of Russia who follows him at some point in the future. Check that...make that the relatively near future.

*No, he isn't: For starters, the Antichrist isn't killed and buried in the mountains of Israel—he and the False Prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire when Christ returns (Rev. 19:20). Plus, you think Gog tries to annihilate Israel, fails, survives, and then turns right around and confirms a huge peace deal with Israel in the treaty of Daniel 9:27? No...not even in a B movie.

After all, Putin could walk out of the Kremlin tomorrow to go grab a bite to eat and get hit by a bus. And if he did, there'd be no shortage of faces and no shortage of egg to apply to those faces. Mine won't be one of them.

Speaking of making Ezekiel 38–39 mean something quite different, one of the most common mistakes people make in regard to Gog in Ezekiel's prophecy has to do with another mention of Gog in the book of Revelation. (Hint: They're not the same.)

They're not the same

The name Gog appears a total of 10 times in the Old Testament, and nine of those usages appear in Ezekiel 38–39. The only other appearance of the name Gog in the Old Testament is in a relatively obscure bit of genealogical information found in 1 Chronicles that arguably has nothing to do with the topic at hand:

There is, however, one single mention of the name Gog in the New Testament that has drawn the attention of many, and it is found in Revelation 20 and pertains to Satan's final rebellion. Here's the passage in question:

Many Bible students and teachers have keyed on this passage and have been motivated to conflate it with Ezekiel 38–39 and claim these two attacks are the same event.

As a result of linking Ezekiel's prophecy to this passage in Revelation, there are people who have a hazier, possibly more allegorical view of Ezekiel 38–39, and who have managed to put it off at a safe, comfortable distance as opposed to viewing it as an earth-shattering event of staggering prophetic significance that could literally occur within the next couple of years.

Comfort zone: It saddens me to say that there are many believers who have sat under errant teaching concerning Bible prophecy and end-time events. They have been taught things such as the idea that essentially all Bible prophecy was fulfilled by AD 70, that the book of Revelation is merely some kind of Good vs. Evil allegory, that the kingdom is in our hearts, that we are in the kingdom now and so we should go out and strive to make the world a better place for Christ to return to rule some fine day, etc.

It occurs to me that one of the reasons these types of teachings appeal to so many people is because they're not scary. They allow people to retreat to a comfort zone in which they don't have to worry about things like a big, scary invasion of Israel that is smashed by the hand of God, or the currently ongoing push toward a one-world government, a one-world economic system, and a one-world religion that is setting the stage for the kingdom of the Antichrist as we speak. Those things are scary, so thank God that's all just a bunch of malarkey that those tinfoil-hatters blather on about.

Allegorizing, spiritualizing away, or simply ignoring Bible prophecy allows such people to remain holed up in their cozy little comfort zone where any species of Bible prophecy is reduced to a fuzzy fairytale intended to make people feel good. In their comfort zone, any fulfillment of Bible prophecy is a far-off fantasy that is completely removed from our earthly reality by at least a thousand years, and so it doesn't exactly provoke a sense of the urgency of the hour. On the contrary. Rather, it numbs them to the urgency of the hour and leaves them ill-prepared for what God's Word clearly teaches we should be watching for prior to our being caught away to be with the Lord before the bottom falls out during the Tribulation.

In their comfort zone, life goes on as it always has. And yeah, maybe in the far distant future something grand might happen. But whatever that may be, it's little more than a fairytale for adults that has about the same effect on them as Jack and the Beanstalk has on their children.

The problem is that a careful reading of both Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 reveals fundamental and irreconcilable differences that prove they cannot be referring to the same event.

While Gog is clearly a man and Magog is the land he rules in Ezekiel 38–39, the usage of the phrase "Gog and Magog" in Revelation 20:8 is less clear, and different theories have been put forth on the meaning of this phrase in this verse. Personally, I agree with those who believe the phrase "Gog and Magog" is being used in verse 8 to refer to all the collective enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ—a transnational symbol of evil, so to speak. After all, Christ has been ruling them with a rod of iron for a thousand years.

And after a thousand years, they're chafing under that rule.

Christ's enemies—"Gog and Magog"—are led in a rebellion by a freshly released Satan at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, and he leads them in one last, desperate shot at overthrowing the King of kings.

There are actually a good number of reasons why this attack in Revelation 20 cannot be the same attack described in Ezekiel 38–39, but I will limit myself to three of the primary ones.

1. Timing, timing, timing.

As I said, the mention of Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8 occurs in the description of Satan's final rebellion that he mounts after he is released at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Satan launches one final attempt at defeating Christ and snatching back what was once his kingdom for a measly three and a half years before the Millennial Kingdom was even established.

That attack is over a thousand years from now.

But the attack in Ezekiel 38–39 occurs after Israel has been regathered as a nation, and (at least in my view) in between the Rapture and the launching of the Tribulation. But no matter how you slice the details of its timing, it clearly occurs well before the launching of the Millennial Kingdom.

That attack may only be a couple of years from now.

Big difference.

Now, how can I say what I just said with complete confidence? Simple: As I have discussed in a previous article, the fundamental purpose of the attack on Israel in Ezekiel 38–39 is to give God an opportunity to fight for His people and turn His face back to them, and spur them to re-establish their covenant relationship with Him. Why? So He can bless them and fulfill His promises to them in the form of their Messiah and the kingdom. And when He does so, they will enjoy that 1,000-year kingdom under their Messiah's rule just as God promised them so long ago.

So, not to belabor the obvious, but...

If the attack of Ezekiel 38–39 occurs before
the Millennial Kingdom, then how can it
occur at the end of the Millennial Kingdom?

2. What comes after?

Another aspect of these two attacks that clearly distinguishes them is what follows in their wake. After the attack of Ezekiel 38–39, Israel spends seven months burying the bodies (Ezek. 39:12) and seven years burning the weapons (Ezek. 39:9).

So, it makes little sense to equate this with the attack of Revelation 20 because immediately following this attack, Satan is finally finished for good and is thrown into the lake of fire for eternity (Rev. 20:10). Then it's time for the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11–15).

There is no easy, straightforward way you can reconcile these.

3. Logistics.

Finally, there are logistical details of these two attacks that clearly differentiate them. For example, the attack of Ezekiel 38–39 is a Russian-led coalition of Muslim nations (Ezek. 38:5–6), comes toward Israel from the north (Ezek. 39:2), and the entire coalition is decimated on the mountains of Israel (Ezek. 38:21–39:6). They never get as far as Jerusalem.

On the other hand, the attack of Revelation 20 involves nations from all over the world (Rev. 20:8), and they completely surround Jerusalem before they are destroyed by God (Rev. 20:9).

These are simply not the same attack.

Make it fit...somehow: People who claim the attacks of Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 are the same make the classic interpretive mistake that leads to virtually every bit of bad doctrine I can think of. There's no need to name names or pinpoint specific doctrines, but it goes like this:

Someone comes across a verse of Scripture that contains something that isn't 100 percent clear in how it should be interpreted (for example, the phrase "Gog and Magog" in Rev. 20:8), and they decide to interpret it one certain way (for example, that the mention of the phrase "Gog and Magog" must mean it's the same attack described in Ezek. 38–39). Often they are convinced they've had a flash of insight into Scripture that has eluded others.

But then when they are confronted with other more straightforward verses that clearly indicate that their interpretation is wrong, they are forced to either (a) admit they got it wrong and go back to the drawing board, or (b) continue twisting and torturing every verse that contradicts their interpretation, no matter how clear that verse may be.

Sadly, people all too frequently go with option (b), and they do it for the simple reason that option (a) is unthinkable to them.

And voilà—it's bad doctrine à go-go.

Three strikes, you're out

As I contemplated the fact that the attacks of Ezekiel 38–39 and Revelation 20 are different, it began to occur to me that there is a progression here that suggests that Ezekiel's attack could be viewed as a type or foreshadowing of Armageddon, and that Armageddon in turn could be viewed as a type or foreshadowing of the attack of Revelation 20. And the longer I thought about it, the more sense it made and the more things came into focus.

Consider: As I discussed earlier, after luring Adam and Eve into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden and usurping dominion over the earth, Satan's next major task was to prevent the advent of the Messiah who would crush his head. And Satan knew exactly what that meant: It meant the Messiah was someone the Father would send one day to defeat him and take back the dominion he had snookered Adam and Eve out of.

And as I said, this put Satan on the lookout for the next 4,000 years for anyone he thought might be a possible candidate for Head Crusher, and he sought to eliminate them or negatively influence them in ways that he assumed would weaken them or otherwise disqualify them from that role.

But in spite of Satan's best efforts, the Messiah was born and ultimately crucified and resurrected to provide atonement for sin, reconciliation with a holy God, and eternal life in heaven for all who would respond to His Spirit, humble their hearts before Him, and believe in faith.

Now, technically speaking, Christ won back the dominion that Satan usurped from Adam and Eve when He was crucified and resurrected—He was the second (and last) Adam who came to repair the damage done by the first Adam, and repair it He did.

But Christ hasn't actually taken possession of that dominion yet, nor established the associated kingdom. He won't officially take possession of what He won back at Calvary until the seventh and final trumpet is sounded that releases the final salvo of bowl judgments on His enemies:

Since Satan can read Scripture, he knows that the Jews are supposed to call on their Messiah in their distress and implore Him to return to save them (Hosea 5:15), and when He does He will establish His kingdom. So...if they don't, He won't. In that case, the Second Coming would be put on ice and Satan knows that means he would get to keep his dominion and his kingdom of evil and deception. In other words, Satan wins.

Satan also knows that one of the fundamental purposes of Daniel's 70th Week is for God to purge Israel and call out a believing remnant of His Chosen People who will call upon their Messiah to return. And if they do and He does, Christ will establish and usher the remnant into that kingdom—a kingdom that Satan very much wants to prevent from ever being established so he can hang onto his own wicked, inferior version of it.

As the Adversary ponders these things, and rubs his chin and muses:

"Hmm...you know, it would be a crying shame if all His 'Chosen People' were slaughtered like cattle before Daniel's 70th Week even started."

And so what does Satan do? He enlists the aid of Gog, and influences this man to put together an attack involving a group of Islamic nations that is guaranteed to wipe out Israel—and logically enough, he does it before the Tribulation even gets off the ground to make 100 percent sure that Jewish remnant never sees the light of day.

And he fails.

As usual, Satan's best effort simply plays into God's hand. The Father uses this as a chance to turn His attention back to His People (in the absence of the Church) and miraculously save them from certain destruction—which motivates Israel to rekindle their covenant relationship with Him. (Later, He will introduce them to their Messiah...but hey, one step at a time).

But Satan isn't finished, oh no. After Gog fails to do his dirty work for him, Satan has no choice but to watch as the believing Jewish remnant is called out and protected by God during the Great Tribulation (in the midst of what he calls his kingdom, no less)—and Satan knows they are the key.

Of course, at that point Christ hasn't yet returned to establish His kingdom, and the Father of Lies thinks he still has a shot at stopping that from happening. So Satan steps up his game.

Now he fully possesses his man the Antichrist and uses him to mount an even greater attack on God's Chosen People involving nations from all over the world in the battle of Armageddon at the climax of Daniel's 70th Week. He knows this is his last chance to keep the Jewish remnant from asking their Messiah to return to save them, which he knows will trigger their Messiah's return to establish His dreaded Millennial Kingdom.

And he fails again.

God preserves the Jewish remnant so they can call on their Messiah to return to save them at the climax of the Tribulation, and when He does His first order of business is to wipe the floor with Satan and his forces. Satan gets tossed into the bottomless pit, where he has a thousand years to stew over his failures and dream of one final desperate bid to defeat the King of kings and somehow steal back the dominion Christ reclaimed from him at the cross and re-establish his own sorry excuse of a kingdom.

So when Satan is released at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, he knows this is it—this is for all the marbles. No more proxies—forget Gog, forget the Antichrist. The gloves are off. In a sense, now it's mano a mano.

Now it's Satan himself who leads nations from every corner of the globe, and they descend upon Jerusalem in one last desperate bid to defeat the King of kings that will enable Satan to get it all back.

But the King is ready and waiting...and once more Satan and his forces walk right into the flames of God's fury.

And he fails again.

God wipes out Satan's attack that this time threatens not just His Chosen People, but His beloved Son—their Messiah and King. And when it's over, Satan is cast into the lake of fire, where he will spend eternity with the Antichrist and the False Prophet.

So as you can see, there is a progressive escalation in Satan's efforts to steal back what Christ reclaimed from Him at Calvary and effectively put Christ's kingdom on ice. And I think it's quite natural to view his three major attacks that are intended to do so (a) after the Rapture and before the Tribulation begins, (b) at the end of the Tribulation, and (c) at the end of the Millennial Kingdom as each being a type or foreshadowing of the next:

• First, Satan influences Gog to attempt to wipe out Israel with a handful of Islamic nations before the Tribulation even begins to prevent the Jewish remnant from ever being formed.

Attack #1 fails: The Jewish remnant is formed.

• Next, Satan fully possesses the Antichrist, who leads the nations of the world in an effort to eradicate the Jewish remnant at Armageddon at the climax of the Tribulation so they can't implore their Messiah to return to save them and subsequently establish His kingdom.

Attack #2 fails: Christ returns and establishes His kingdom.

• Finally, Satan himself leads nations from all over the world in one grand, final attack that is aimed at not merely destroying Israel, but defeating Israel's Messiah and King along with them.

Attack #3 fails: Satan is cast into the lake of fire.

And it's steeeeee-rike three, yer out!

Game over—Christ wins.

And if you're anything like me, you're looking forward to the victory celebrations that will ensue. (I admit, however, that I'm having a difficult time visualizing Christ being sprayed with a bottle of champagne.)

Are we there yet?

It strikes me that most Americans are so used to thinking of Israel as our friend and Russia as our enemy that they fail to grasp how strong and deep the relationship between Israel and Russia has been for a very long time.

The Jewish people have long had strong and deep cultural ties with the Russian people, with Israel being home to a surprisingly large number of Russian-speaking Jews. I admit I found this a bit surprising, but while working on this article I learned that as of 2017, about 17.3 percent of the population of Israel were native speakers of Russian. And Russia has had a significant Jewish population for centuries.

Russia was there to voice their support when it was time for Israel to be re-established as a nation. In May 1947, Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko told the United Nations that the Soviet Union fully supported their plan to partition Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states.

Although Soviet leader Mikhail Yasnov formally severed diplomatic relations with Israel in June 1967 in protest of the Six Day War, these formal relations were restored in October 1991, as the dissolution of the old Soviet Union neared its completion in December of that year.

In spite of a few isolated incidents, Israel and Russia have managed to maintain a strong relationship over the last three decades. And when Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin as president on December 31, 1999, the Israelis knew they still had a friend in the Kremlin.

But as you know, with Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, things have been getting increasingly strained for all players. Zelenskyy is effectively trying to guilt-trip Israel into giving Ukraine more military support and seems unable to grasp Israel's reluctance to go all in on his behalf by agreeing to provide such support as well as sanction their Russian friends to put an exclamation point on that support. After all, this is what the rest of the world is being goaded into doing, fueled by an adamantly anti-Putin media.

As the pressure grows from the international community to fully support the heroic Zelenskyy and his poor, desperate nation and punish the evil Russkies, the chances grow that this conflict will begin to cause the relationship between Israel and Russia to sour.

Having said all that, however, it is important to remember that the Russian-led attack on Israel that Ezekiel describes isn't your garden variety attack:

It is an all-out effort to wipe Israel off the map.

This goes far beyond the occasional sparring that occurs between countries with occasionally conflicting interests or objectives.

The attack on Israel that Ezekiel
describes is existential in nature.

Now, this is my opinion. Although it's true that the Ukrainian situation could contribute to a souring of the relationship between Russia and Israel, I personally don't see this as the ultimate wedge. There must be something more than the war in Ukraine to make Russia want to annihilate Israel.

I believe Ukraine might be the beginning, but I honestly don't think it's the relationship-killer that pushes Russia and her Islamic allies across the threshold of Ezekiel 38–39. I could be wrong, but I would say this:

I am inclined to believe that the true nature of the wedge that drives Russia and Israel so completely apart that it sparks the attack of Gog-Magog has yet to be fully revealed.

I believe, however, that there may be something developing on the horizon that just might evolve into such a wedge.

As I wrote in the Commentary entry for March 1 of this year, Europe is beginning to chafe under its dependence on Russia for their gas. And now, with the current pressure to punish Russia for beating up on poor Ukraine, many European countries are considering looking for an alternate source for their gas to end that dependence. And the fact that doing so would help drain the coffers of the big Russian bully suits them just fine and dandy.

Enter Israel.

As I wrote in that entry, a little over a decade ago, some of the largest deposits of natural gas in the world were discovered off the coast of Israel. In the years since then, they have developed the needed infrastructure to begin to tap into that gas and not just put it to domestic use, but export it. In the minds of many, it is a foregone conclusion that Israel is on its way to becoming a major energy exporter.

And European nations, who are suddenly looking for an energy supplier who doesn't brutally invade their neighbors, have taken notice.

So the $64,000 question is this:

Q. Do you think Vladimir Putin will stand helplessly by and watch as Israel takes over a major source of Russia's revenue and erodes one of their primary sources of power and influence in that part of the world?

A. точно нет.

And if you guessed that "точно нет" means "absolutely not," your Russian is coming along splendidly.

So, does the potential loss of the benefits that go with being the primary exporter of gas throughout a major world region serve as the wedge that drives Russia and Israel so far apart that Russia launches a huge attack aimed at wiping Israel off the map? Well, consider this: In Ezekiel 38:12–13, we learn that the Russian-led coalition is attacking Israel in order to "take a spoil." Please don't miss this: That means the motivation for the attack stems primarily from economic considerations.

In other words:

The attack on Israel that Ezekiel describes
may be existential in nature, but it's not about
regional aggression—it's about economics.

As Democratic strategist James Carville quipped back in 1992 during Bill Clinton's successful campaign against George Bush Sr., "It's the economy, stupid." And the exporting of gas is a vital part of Russia's economy.

In reality, it would likely take a couple of years for Europe to fully implement such a change in their supplier of gas, but that's not the point. The point is whether or not Putin would allow this whole idea of one of their biggest customers shopping elsewhere to even get past the talking stage. Understand one thing: Vladimir Putin is not a stupid man. Neither is he an impatient man. But there is one thing you can take to the bank: He is a man of steely resolve when it comes to protecting the interests of his country.

Bottom line: This gas situation has the word "wedge" written all over it.

Note also that since Putin is certainly already aware of Europe's thoughts of turning to Israel for their gas in the future, there is really no inherent delay built into this. Hypothetically, that "evil thought" could begin to arise in Putin's mind at any time—assuming it hasn't already. So, although I'm tempted to say we're not there yet, the simple truth is that we kinda are there. We just don't know how close we are or how many intermediate steps we may be looking at. So, all we can say is...

"Come quickly, Lord!"

So, if nothing else, this should make us realize how close we may actually be to the Rapture, and how little time we may have to reach out to those last few precious souls with the eternity-changing message of the gospel. So, in the words of the man currently occupying the White House:

"Go get 'em."

This kind of gradually evolving prophetic development reminds me of a scene in an episode of The Simpsons that always cracked me up because it strikes a familiar childhood chord.

In the episode, the Simpsons are traveling by car: Homer is driving, Marge is beside him, and Bart and Lisa are in the backseat. And as kids are wont to do, Bart and Lisa begin to pester their beleaguered father:

Ad infinitum, ad hilarium. It's true that we, as prophetically aware believers, occasionally resemble Bart and Lisa to some degree in regard to ongoing and upcoming prophetic events. But luckily our Heavenly Father is considerably more loving and patient with us than Homer is with his children, and I'm sure He doesn't mind one little bit when we "pester" Him about the details of the evolving prophetic scenario.

After all, He told us to watch...and that shows Him we're watching.

Of course, He may gently and lovingly remind us that the precise timing of these events is not for us to know, just as Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:7. However, that doesn't change the simple fact that He commanded us to watch and be on our toes in regard to what is transpiring in terms of prophecy.

Because one day soon and very soon, it's going to be...

"Are we..." (SWOOSH)

"WE'RE THERE!!"

Greg Lauer — MAR '22

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