The invasion of the Ukraine by Russia has re-awakened fears of the communist Northern giant that haven’t been felt for a very long time. And fear is something all bullies, including Russia and it’s strong-man dictator, Vladimir Putin, prize even when everything else around them is failing.
Because humanity is estranged from God and from one another, the end result is constant turmoil and the rising and falling of nations. The longer humanity attempts to rule the Earth apart from God, the more degenerated that rule becomes.
This being true, the big picture Scripture paints for the nations is consistent worldwide turmoil, unrest, wars/threats of wars (Matt. 24:6-8) that eventually culminates first in the regathering of the nation of Israel in the End Times (Is. 11:11-2, Is. 66:7-8, Jer. 16:14–15, Ez. 36:22–28, 37:1-10) and then the establishment of a false peace by a one-world government and its appointed leader (Rev. 6:1-2). After that, the Bible says those on the Earth will experience a world war like no other, followed by the return of Christ and the establishment of His rule on Earth (Rev. 19:11-20, 20:4-6).
And what part does Russia play in all this?
A telltale sign of a nation ruled by Satan is its hatred for Israel and the people of God. You probably won’t be surprised to find that Russia is brutal to everyone in general, including its own people. Russians file more complaints with the European Court of Human Rights than the citizens of any of the 46 countries that make up the Council of Europe, 13,645 complaints in 2020 alone (by contrast, the figure for the U.K. was 124).
But its anti-Semitic worldview makes it especially difficult for Jews. In the 1800s, Russian Jews were murdered or forced to immigrate if they didn’t join the Russian church. Fast forward to the early 1960s and we find a Times magazine article stating, “The major center of persecution of Jews nowadays is the Soviet Union. In a land openly dedicated to atheism, the 3,000,000 Jews of Russia suffer more than any other faith.”
But Psalm 121:4 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep,” and so we find a very fitting end to Russia spelled out in Scripture.
The prophetic Word of God states in multiple places how God will pull Russia into its doom, with the most complete description being found in Ezekiel 38-39. In those chapters, Russia is referred to as “Gog and Magog.”
Interestingly, Magog is identified by Josephus as the land of the Scythians, the region north and northeast of the Black Sea and east of the Caspian Sea — now occupied by three countries: Russia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The Great Wall of China was originally called The Wall of Magog by the Arabic countries in reference to it protecting the Chinese from invading Russians.
At some point in the future, God says He will, “put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out … on that day when My people Israel are living securely … you will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you … and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog” (Ez. 38:4, 14-16).
Russia is also referred to as a people from “the north” multiple times elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Dan. 11:40-41) so it’s no surprise that when you look at a map and draw a line north from Israel, you go squarely into Ukraine and then Russia. Theologian C. I. Scofield was ridiculed in the early 1900s for saying in his study Bible that there would be a future Russian invasion of Israel, who didn’t exist at the time, but he said, “I don’t understand it, and I can’t explain it, but the Bible says it, and therefore I believe it.”
Scripture is crystal clear in its prediction of Russia’s demise, so while today they may confidently flex their military muscle and claim Ukraine, the reality is they are squarely carrying out God’s will and in the crosshairs of His trap from which they one day won’t escape.
So, knowing God is in control and has told us in advance what will happen, don’t be afraid of the actions of Russia or any nation, and do pray for the people of Ukraine. Never forget our God is sovereign over everything: “He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away” (Job 12:23); “The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, ‘surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand,’” (Is. 14:24).