Chapter 12
A Russian Invasion of The Middle-East?
Some conservative Bible scholars have for years suggested the possibility that Russia will, one day, lead an invasion of aggressor armies into Israel in the end-time. What leads them to this conclusion? Are they correct? First let us look at scripture has to say:
38:1 Gog and Allies Attack Israel
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia [Iran], Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops — many people are with you. 7 "Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8 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. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you." Ezek. 38:1-9; NKJV (emphasis mine).
Here in Ezekiel 38 a little further down – in verse 18 we find:
"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.
Separate passages in the "Jewish Antiquities" and " Jewish War" of the 1st century Jewish historian and scholar Josephus show that Jews of that time identified Gog and Magog with the Scythians: Alexander the Great, Josephus said, had locked these horse-riding barbarians of the far north behind the Caucasus mountains with iron gates.This gate is situated in Georgia, near the Russian border in the Caucasus mountains. Georgian kings were mentioned as guards of the Gog and Magog gate in various historical sources, both antique and Medieval.
The biblical interpretation that Russia is Gog, is one that some Russians believe themselves according to historian Christopher Marsh. He writes "Russians and Ukrainians, [are] two peoples with a long history of looking to the Bible for clues to their past and future. At least as far back as the Primary Chronicle, the Rus' looked to scripture for such clues and found them from Genesis to Revelations. They were the descendants of Noah’s third son, Japheth , giving themselves direct lineage to the diluvian period, and they were of the tribe of Magog (or Gog), in the land of Rosh. The implications of such identity as expressed in Revelations, where the Gog and Magog were both thrown out of heaven, apparently didn't matter to those drawing these lines. Ancestors were found in the Bible, and that was enough."[ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; Gog and Magog.
Fausset and Brown commentary identify Gomer and Togarmah as follows:
Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
Gomer - the Celtic Cimmerians of Crim-Tartary.
Togarmah - the Armenians of the Caucasus, south of Iberia.
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
So this is a reference to the general area from present day Germany the Ukraine and south to the Mediterranean Sea. This would include Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Armenia, the Ukraine, southern Russia, Syria and northern Iran. Although this does not necessarily mean all of the countries in this area will be involved scripture this indicates that, at least part of these will attack Israel at some future date.
But it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them - rather, 'and they (the Israelites) were brought forth out of the nations, and they dwelt safely all of them' (Fairbairn). The English version means, 'Against Israel, which has been waste, but which (i.e., whose people) is now (at the time of the invasion) brought forth out of the nations where they were dispersed, and shall be found by the invader dwelling securely, so as to seem an easy prey to him.' (From Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Russia has a long history of aggression and intrigue, especially where Asia and the middle-east are concerned. Russia would love to grab Israel's wealth and gain access to sea ports on the Mediterranean Sea and in the Persian Gulf.
Joel Rosenberg says in his book Epicenter:
"--,from the days of Peter the Great, Russian leaders had been scheming of ways to gain control of central and near-east Asia. It was why the Soviets had armed the Arab world to the teeth during the Cold War and backed them in the 1956, 1967 and 1973 wars against Israel. It was why Moscow had invaded Afghanistan in 1979, amid the chaos engulfing revolutionary Iran at the time. -- ." Epicenter, Joel C. Rosenberg, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., p.38
In recent times Russia has, time and again, shown her willingness to support, encourage, and even entice aggressors to attack Israel. Given the right incentive and opportunity Russia would, no doubt, participate in an invasion of Israel directly or indirectly.
Russia was doing all it could to capitalize on the situation. In 1967 she sent exaggerated reports to both Egypt and Syria about Israel's war preparations. --. Finally, the Egyptians blockaded the crucial Israeli port of Eialt on the Gulf of Aquaba, making a confrontation inevitable. Armageddon, Oil And The Middle East Crises, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.34-45.
The zero day was 5 June 1967 in the early dawn Israeli jets, coming in low from the north and northwest, destroyed the Egyptian air force. At the same time, Israeli torpedo boats and commandos demolished most of Egypt’s naval power. Armageddon, Oil And The Middle East Crises, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.35
By the second day it became evident to Russia that her plan had backfired. Three billion dollars’ worth of investment in military aid to the Arab countries was almost completely lost. Armageddon, Oil And The Middle East Crises, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.35
Speaking about the rise of the world leader, the antichrist, and his confederation of nations, Walvoord digresses to say:
Just before this period begins, Russia will attempt a final bid for power for the Middle East, and her armies will be supernaturally destroyed (Ezekiel 38-39). The balance of power will swing decisively to the new strongman controlling the Mediterranean Confederacy. Armageddon, Oil And The Middle East Crises, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.28
Topping even these disasters will come a world war of unprecedented proportions. Hundreds of millions of men will be involved in a gigantic world power struggle centered in the Holy Land (Rev. 16:13-16). -- . Great armies from the south, representing the millions of Africa, will pour into the battle arena (Dan. 11:40). Other great armies from the north, representing Russia and Europe, will descend on Palestine (Dan. 11:40). Climaxing the struggle will be millions of men from the Orient and Red China who will cross the Euphrates River and join the fray (Dan. 11:44; Rev. 15-16; 16:12).Armageddon, Oil And The Middle East Crises, John F. Walvoord, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p.28
The ironic thing, in this unholy alliance between Russia and the Islamic nations, is that neither can afford to trust the other. Russia would never be satisfied to invade Israel, steal her wealth, gain access to her Mediterranean Sea ports and leave the rest of the Middle-East and the Persian Gulf alone. Meanwhile, the radical Islamists would never stand by and let Russia hog the wealth of Israel, give Russia unmetered access to all of the Middle-East sea ports and the wealth they contain.
To Russia this is not an ideological quest. Russia is driven by greed for wealth and power. For the Radical Islamists, this is a religiously motivated jihad (a holy war) of hatred. To them the Russians are now useful infidels – but infidels non-the-less. These two divergent motivations may ally in the short term but they must diverge in the long run. This may be why scripture tells us that God will turn Gog around and put hooks in his and jaws lead him out against Israel with all his armies and other nations with him. Then later it says, "Every man's sword will be against his brother". They have tormented Israel since the day the nation was reborn and now God is ready to judge them.
Judgment on Gog
"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. 19 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, 20 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.' 21 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. 22 And I will bring him to judgment 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. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."' Ezek. 38:18-23; NKJV (emphasis mine).
The phrase could mean that the alliance between the Muslim nations and Russia suddenly collapses as the divergent motivations of each come to the surface. Of course, we cannot be sure of that, but we can be sure that something causes these warriors to turn on each other. In addition to causing them to turn on and slay each other, the Lord is going to bring pestilence, flooding rain, earthquakes, large hailstones, and brimstone upon them. Then, apparently, the other nations seeing all this will realize it is the work of the Lord.
Not All Muslims Are Evil!
We hear a lot these days about suicide bombings in Israel, Asia, throughout Europe and now, even here in the U.S. It is scary, it makes us angry, and it is very tempting to try to pin an identity on the culprits, so we can avoid them. If we can readily identify a gang by their colors, an army by their uniforms, or a country by their geographic location we feel somehow safer. We are now in a war where the enemy wears no uniform, displays no colors -- he/she could be next to us on a bus, plane or eating at the next table in a restaurant. We don't know how to identify this enemy!
What we do know is that radical militant Muslims are our sworn enemies. So how do we identify radical militant Muslims? Some radical Muslims have dark skins - but not all. Some radical Muslim women cover their faces - but they are not the only ones who do that. Some radical Muslims speak with distinct accents -- but not all of them do and again they are not the only ones who do. Sadly, some very peaceful individuals and groups from the Middle East and Asia have been the victims of vicious attacks by radical Americans who thought they were radical Muslims.
We, as Americans, who believe in peace, liberty and justice, must maintain moral clarity in our present crises, if we want to preserve what God has blessed us with. We cannot exercise injustice in the name of justice and expect God to bless us. We cannot look at a person’s costume and skin color or listen to their accent and determine that they are evil. There are millions of Muslims around the world who are very peaceful people who hate violence.
The radical Islamists often stone or otherwise execute those they consider guilty of homosexuality or adultery. Even women who are victims of rape may be punished. Thieves may have their hand cut off, yet the Koran teaches mercy for offenders who repent. Two of the major problems in Islam are that the Koran is written in Classical Arabic, but most Muslims are not fluent enough in the language to read it and many believe that any interpretation of the Koran would distort the true meaning. Therefore, their only understanding of the teachings of the Koran comes through their religious leaders. Apparently, it does not occur to them that this allows Imams to interpret the Koran in ways that meet their personal prejudices and goals. God can open their eyes and unstop their ears.
We must remember that the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob is also the God who created Adam, rescued Rahab the prostitute, changed king Nebuchadnezzar’s heart, and change Saul of Tarsus into Paul the apostle. God loves all people.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9; NIV.
I believe that in the end time crises, as the horrible events of prophecy become reality, God in his mercy and grace will bring many Muslims to their senses as the terrible events unfold. I expect a great revival to occur that will include millions from the ranks of Islam.
As we await the Lord’s return we must learn the lesson of the fig tree to be sure we produce fruit – not just leaves and keep our eyes on the burning bush, Israel.
Be Watchful!
Copyright © 2012 Vernon E. Gillispie
All Rights Reserved