um. The Gog of Ezekiel comes from the North — but the armies of the Gog of the Revelation come from the four comers of the earth. In the Reve lation it is the last great rebellion against all of God’s authority. Now the word “Gog” means “prince.” So that the “Gog” of Ezekiel is the prince of Russia, or the leader of Rus sia while the “Gog” in Revelation 20 is the prince of this world, Satan. Eze kiel’s Gog is against Israel while the Gog of the Revelation is against God and the saints of God in Jerusalem. I believe we can expect to see Russia withdraw from the ill-fated United Na tions. The Federation of Nations which God will use to destroy Russia will be under the leadership of the man of sin in Revelation 13—the anti-Christ. Since Russia will be establishing her own confederacy, so the western powers, united under the old Roman Empire, will be led by the anti-Christ. This con federacy will, at the first, seem to come as if the anti-Christ is a befriender of Israel, but at the end, his will be the force which will seek to obliterate, the entire nation which God has so blessed. So Russia seeks to move for ward against the nation Israel as she makes her conquest — study Ezekiel 38:21. As God rained fire and brim stone upon the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, so He will repeat the devastation on a vastly greater scale. God is going to demonstrate that no man can repudiate Him and live. The extent of this vast judgment is described in Ezekiel 39:9. So what can we expect in the days ahead? The nation of Russia with its communistic forces and satellites will be on the increase until the time of their final doom and destruction by God as seen here in Ezekiel 38 and 39. It will increase but it will not take over the western sphere of influence. There will be a stalemate between these two great powers: Russia and the western confederacy, until Russia will feel strong enough to move against
Palestine, starting another great world war. While they are confident they will win — they will be defeated! We will see more of the Koreas, Cubas, Laoses, and Vietnams, and all of the African countries that are rising at the present time. Many in the nation of Israel will turn to God and accept Him because they will become His servants to witness for Him in the last years of the Tribula tion period to bring the multitudes from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and na tion to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. When Gog invades Israel, then Gog will be smitten with a violence that will repay Russia for every act of ag gression, violence and dishonesty, every slaughter that has ever transpired, whether it be in Hungary or any other nation of the world. God says, “To me belongeth vengeance and re compense; I will repay.” The rise of Russia; the increase and intensity of the menace of Communism is but one of the significant signs of the times which points to the return of Christ to take His own out of this world. The Bible reveals that it is not until the Church is raptured, not until the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be with Him, that the man of sin, the anti-Christ will show him self. It is not until then that the king of the north will strike. In this lies the blessed hope of every child of God. May we love that glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Je sus Christ. Are you ready for the com ing of your Lord? These are difficult hours in which we live. You need a solid anchor, a firm foundation to which your life can be fastened amid the storms of life! BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR MATERIAL ON THIS SUBJECT 1. Prophecy for Today, J. Dwight Pentecost, Zon- dervan Publishing House. 2. Bible Prophecy, Lehman Strauss, Dunham Pub lishing Company. 3. Russia Mobilizes for Armageddon, Louis T. Tal bot. 4. Russia in the End Times, M. R. De Haan. 5. Startling Prophetic Events, T. Myron Webb. 6. The Crumbling Kremlin, Chester J. Padgett.
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