THE WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG: RUSSIA, END TIMES, AND HOLY LIVING

1. Are we living in the last days?

A. The answer to that question is YES.

Acts 2:17a – “‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ says God, ‘That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh.’”

1 John 2:18a – “Little children, it is the last hour.”

Matthew 24:6 – “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Matthew 24:7 – “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”

Matthew 24:8 – “All these things are the beginning of sorrows.”

2 Peter 3:8 – “But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Ezekiel 36:24 – “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”

Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

Matthew 24:44 – “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

2. Isn’t the nation of Russia involved in the Last Days?

A. The answer to that question is YES!

Ezekiel 38:1 – “Now the Word of the Lord came to me saying,”

Ezekiel 38:2 – “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.”

“Gog” is a title like “czar”, or “president”.

“Magog” refers to the lands to the far north of Israel known as the “stans”: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan; Gog is the prince of Rus (Russia), Meshech (Moscow) and Tubal (Tobolsk).

Gog is leading a confederation of nations against Israel. This confederation includes Persia (Iran), Libya, and Turkey.

Ezekiel 38:10 – “Thus says the Lord God: ‘On that day it shall come to pass, that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan.”

Ezekiel 38:11 – “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’”

Ezekiel 38:12 – “To take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.”

Ezekiel 38:18 – “‘And it shall come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, says the Lord God, that My fury shall show in My face.’”

Ezekiel 38:19 – “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.”

Ezekiel 38:20a – “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.”

Ezekiel 38:21 – “‘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.’”

Ezekiel 38:22 – “And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many people who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”

Ezekiel 38:23 – “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.”

3. Why is this important?

Jesus challenged us to watch and pray.

Mark 13:33 – “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”

The end of days motivates us to holy living.

2 Peter 3:11 – “Therefore since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”

The end of days motivates us to boldly share the Gospel.

Matthew 24:14 – “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”