Russia Stomps Through Middle East - Gog Has Taken the Bait
If you pay attention to what’s going on around the world, you may already suspect that we are in the last days. People have thought the end was near many times, but they’ve been disappointed each time Jesus didn’t return when they expected. Many people have become jaded, and have given up watching for Christ’s return. Their apathy was prophesied and is itself a sign that we are closer than ever before to that day when Jesus will appear in the clouds.
We won’t know the day or the hour, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:36 that not even He knows that, but we are to watch and discern the season. You may hear people say that Jesus will come “like a thief in the night,” and they may use that as their excuse for not paying attention to prophecy or current events. It’s true, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 does say just that, but we need to keep reading. Verse four says, “But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief.” We have a duty to be watchful, to stay sober, and to pay attention, because we are the possessors of hope, and it’s our job to dispense it liberally as the world spins out of control
There is no greater service we can do for the people in our lives than to share the Gospel with them, to warn them of what is coming, and to encourage one another. In the tiny book of Jude, it says, “have mercy on some who doubt, save others by snatching them from the fire, on others have mercy in fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” That’s an end times evangelistic job description, and it’s intense, but if we aren’t aware of the prophetic fulfillments happening right now, how can we do those things with that kind of urgency?
History combined with current events, viewed through the lens of Scripture, can tell us where we are in God’s timeline, and help us understand what’s coming next.
There are many opinions about the nation of Israel, but regardless of anyone’s opinion, it’s mere existence is a major fulfillment of end times prophecy, and that’s a fact. It was the “nation created in a day” prophesied in Isaiah 66:8, and it signifies the beginning of a season. Jesus referred to it in Matthew 24:32-35 when he used the fig tree to represent the nation of Israel. He said that “this generation [meaning the generation that sees Israel be reborn] will not pass away before all these things [referring to verses 5-31 just before] come to pass.” We’re nearing the end of that time-frame; it’s been almost 68 years since Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948. It’s no wonder the headlines related to prophecy are flying at us daily.
Maybe you’ve heard that Russia has joined forces with Iran in both Syria and Iraq, and maybe your ears perked up. There are more interesting details and nuances than can be covered here, but your prophetic sense isn’t wrong. The stage is set for what is referred to as the Ezekiel 38 war, also called the Sixth Seal War in Revelation 6:12-17. In the midst of Russia being “hooked” to bring troops into the Middle East, the prophecy about Damascus in Isaiah 17:1-3 is coming to pass also, that Damascus will no longer be a city, it will lie in a heap of ruins. Russia is in the region supposedly to support the Syrian government and eliminate ISIS, but the temptation to control the massive newly tapped oil and natural gas fields in Israel is going to prove impossible to resist, according to Ezekiel 38:12-13. If you read Ezekiel 38 and 39, you’ll get clues about what to expect as the situation continues to unfold.