The events currently taking place in Ukraine have got me wondering again about what the “hooks in the jaws” could possibly be. What would cause the leader of Russia to invade Israel? Quite obviously, God will do whatever He decides, and no power on earth can resist Him, Amen. However, I can’t help but wonder about it all.

The reason for Russia’s current military invasion of Ukraine may not be as simple as most media outlets make it out to be. Be that as it may, the simple reality is that Russia has indeed invaded Ukraine with a large military force.

As events are still unfolding in Ukraine, why not have a look at the very well-known prophecy given in the Book of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 38:3-4, 8-9,” Thus says the Lord God: ‘I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords…. After many days you shall be called. In the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered out of many peoples, against the mountains of Israel which had been always a waste. But its people were brought out of the nations, and they, all of them, are dwelling safely. You shall ascend and come like a storm; you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.'”

“Gog” very likely refers to the leader of the nation currently identified as Russia, and “the land that is restored from the sword” is, of course, Israel.

As a side note: I believe that the Gog-Magog invasion of Israel will take place after the Rapture because God doesn’t need to make His name known among His own church. In fact, it’s the current mission of the church to make the gospel known among the nations (The Great Commission). And in keeping with this fact and the fact that the church will not be present on the earth after the Rapture, the church is not mentioned at all by the Lord when He says that He will make His name known in Israel and among the nations, after the failed invasion attempt:

Ezekiel 39:6-7, “I will send a fire on Magog and among those who dwell safely in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel. And I will not let them pollute My holy name anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”

Back to Ukraine; a large group of nations from the Western alliance (NATO, the E.U., the United States, etc.) have fired a punitive response at Russia as a result of its military invasion of Ukraine. This punishment—mostly in the form of economic sanctions—might be representative of what will provoke Russia into attacking Israel at some point in the future.

Here’s a look at some of the economic sanctions recently levied against Russia:

• Russia’s access to $630 billion of its own money has been cut off by the United States.
• Russian state-owned companies have been banned from doing business with the U.S.
• Russian banks have been expelled from the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) banking system.
• Putin’s family and Russian oligarchs have been personally targeted by sanctions.
• Russian aircraft have been banned from flying over European airspace.
• Russian tech exports have been banned…etc.

As a result of these punitive sanctions, the Russian Stock Market and the Ruble have recently plummeted in value.

As Putin himself—along with the rest of Russia—start to truly suffer from the economic consequences of the Western sanctions, he may become desperate enough to attack a certain Middle Eastern target (Israel) in order to please another Middle Eastern country (Iran) and obtain a substantial discount on much-needed oil and fuel. Or maybe he’ll secure a deal to sell Russian oil through the marketplace of OPEC stealthily flowing through the pipelines of Iran and Syria.

Another possible provocation is that certain countries that Russia currently views as enemies—including NATO allies and other Western nations—have been sending increasingly more powerful and sophisticated weaponry into Ukraine. As a result, Russia may be provoked to up their own military might within Ukraine—and elsewhere. Putin may also view this as a legitimate pretext to militarily attack these Western nations—and their close allies.

As for the common and very reasonable assumption that America must be severely weakened by the time of the Gog-Magog invasion—since there is no mention of America as an ally or defender of Israel in Ezekiel—America is already too weak to defend Israel. This may, of course, change in the future, and then back again. However, even now, we’re already too weak and wimpy to defend our closest ally. Not that they would ever need our help, praise God!

Hypocritical Woke Zealots :: By Daniel Payne

Those who try to force their secular world religion on the rest of society are often described as “the woke mob,” “cancel culture,” etc. An article [*] in “Psychology Today” describes “canceling” as: “…canceling is vigorous, public, retaliatory rejection.”

Canceling is the tool used most by secular religious zealots to impose their self-religion upon the rest of us.

Whether it’s the right to terminate their own unborn children, the right for biological men to use biological women’s restrooms, social justice, climate justice (yes, “climate justice”—google it), white privilege, vaccine justice, etc., the religion of the current generation is chock full of doctrines and “rites.”

Here’s the definition of “zealotry” offered by Google at the top of their own search results: “Zealotry is when someone takes a religious, cultural, or political belief too far, refusing to tolerate other perspectives or conflicting beliefs.” Maybe they should’ve included: “…and forcing their beliefs upon others.”

And there you have it. It appears that a multitude of Generation Z and millennials are religious zealots. It’s certainly true that plenty of people from older generations also join in with their children by giving their approval, their full support, or by not offering any counter wisdom. However, it seems like the majority of the new religious zealots are of the younger generations.

The Bible says that their god is themselves:

Philippians 3:19, “In the end they will be destroyed. Their own emotions are their god, and they take pride in the shameful things they do. Their minds are set on worldly things.”

The so-called “woke mob” is far worse at proselytizing than those they accuse of doing the same. They thoroughly condemn people who are guilty of the “crime” of defending traditional American or Christian values. They say that those who defend traditional values are guilty of forcing their beliefs down the throats of the rest of society. I suppose it takes one to know one then.

Actually, it’s the defense of traditional values against the offensive attacks from the new zealot army.

Here are just a few headlines from real articles that collectively demonstrate the hypocrisy of the current society:

“9 Ways Christian Zealots Cripple America”

“Freedom isn’t forcing religion on others”

“Believe what you want, just don’t force it on others”

“Whether you’re religious or secular, imposing your views on others is foolish”

Truth be told, the unbelieving masses will always divide themselves into the polar opposite sides of extreme sin. As a result, what is right and what is true is usually left alone somewhere near the middle. In this new age of hate-filled extremism, the middle is where true born-again believers should be standing in the gap.

Just in time for this year’s (2021) holiday season, even the Salvation Army has been shamed into creating the “International Social Justice Commission,” working to “dismantle white privilege.” A pamphlet entitled “Let’s Talk About Racism,” intended to “educate” (force) its white donors, volunteers, and employees, asserts that Christianity is institutionally racist.

Apparently, the Salvation Army’s “resource” calls for white Christians to repent and offer “a sincere apology” to black people for being “antagonistic… to black people or the culture, values and interests of the black community.”

I fear that the effect resulting from the efforts of the woke zealots will not be what they desire (or at least, we hope they actually desire unity). It may very well be that the pendulum will counter-swing with unprecedented momentum into even more racial violence against average citizens.

No doubt, that’s exactly what Satan wants. He’s more than happy to pull the strings of his brand-new generation of woke puppets to achieve his desired results. Satan couldn’t care less about those of us with enough sense to understand that we’re witnessing an ongoing setup for total annihilation.

Quite obviously, the Lord had it right when He referred to the generation of Pharisees who lived two thousand years ago as hypocrites. It’s not a stretch to compare the current generation of Pharisees to the Pharisees who condemned Christ. If they were willing to condemn the most kind, generous, loving, and perfect Man ever to exist, then we shouldn’t be surprised that they’re coming after those who follow Him.

From observations throughout my own life, there’s none more greedy than those who condemn the wealthy. There’s none more filled with hate than those whose mantra is: “Love, not hate.” There’s none more racist than those who condemn so-called “white privilege.” There’s none more misogynistic than those who defend men in girl’s restrooms. There’s none more willing to believe lies than those who say they only trust science. Etc., etc., the list goes on and on.

Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Source: [*] “What is Cancel Culture?”