Additionally, at the end of the Great Tribulation, Israel will not be at rest and living securely as Ezekiel 38 requires. The Jewish people will be scattered and pursued by the Antichrist (see Revelation 12:13-17). Therefore, the invasion described by Ezekiel could not be a part of the Battle of Armageddon at the end of the Great Tribulation.
While I hold open the possibility that view #2 might be correct, I favor placing this invasion in the first half of the coming Tribulation because it best explains the security requirement. I don’t believe what we see in Israel today meshes with the description of rest and security in Ezekiel 38. However, Scripture tells us the day is coming when Israel will be secure and at rest. So how will this come about? Charles Dyer and Mark Tobey suggest, “Perhaps a treaty [will be] forged by an outside power that is strong enough to enforce the treaty’s conditions and compromises.”[19] The prophet Daniel tells us how this peace will come to pass: “The ruler [the Antichrist] will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven [years]” (Daniel 9:27).
Daniel reveals that in the end times, a group of ten leaders will spearhead a coalition of countries that will reunite the Roman empire (the Western confederacy). Out of this Group of Ten, which I call the G-10, a strong man will rise to power. He is the final Antichrist, who will take control of the G-10. This regional leader will emerge on the world stage as a peacemaker, accomplishing what no one else has been able to do—crafting a seven-year treaty of protection and peace with the people of Israel that will solve the Middle East crisis. One can only imagine the accolades he will receive for pulling off this agreement. He will receive the Nobel Peace Prize and be Time’s “Person of the Year.” The perpetual, thorny Middle East crisis will appear to be solved.
With this guarantee of peace and protection, Israel will be able to relax and let its guard down for the first time in its modern history. Lulled into a false sense of security, Israel will direct its energies toward increased wealth rather than defense—only to have the peace treaty shattered in less than four years when the Russian-led assault force will strike the unsuspecting nation, fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy.[20]
John Phillips summarizes the timing of this invasion in relation to other end-times events: “Only one period fits all the facts. When the Beast first comes to power in Europe, he will quickly unify the West, impose his totalitarian will on the nations under his control, and begin to prepare for world conquest. The major obstacle to his future plans will be a revitalized Russia.” And, I might add, a radical Islamic presence. Phillips continues: “The invasion, then, takes place after the Rapture of the church, after the rise of the Beast in the West, after the signing of the pact with Israel, and just before the Beast takes over the world. Indeed it is the collapse of Russia [and its Islamic allies] that makes his global empire possible.”[21]
David Jeremiah pinpoints the timing of this invasion: “To summarize, it will come after Israel returns to its homeland, after it has become highly prosperous, and after the implementation of the seven-year peace treaty with the Antichrist.”[22]
Whatever view one holds of the timing of the coming Russian invasion, one thing is certain—it will happen. It may happen soon if the Rapture comes quickly and the Antichrist appears to bring peace to Israel, or even sooner if all the conditions in Ezekiel 38 are currently in place, as some believe.
The timing of Russia’s offensive may be debated, but the truth of it is not up for discussion. God has spoken. And we see signs all around us that it could be very soon. The Jewish people are back in their land living in prosperity. Russia is taking its place on the world stage right on cue. World leaders continue to pursue a road map to Middle East peace. The signs are lighting up like runway lights signaling the coming of Jesus Christ.
As John Walvoord says, “The world today is like a stage being set for a great drama. The major actors are already in the wings waiting for their moment in history. The main stage props are already in place. The prophetic play could begin at any time…. Russia is poised to the north of the Holy Land for entry in the end-time conflict…. Each nation is ready to play out its role in the final hours of history.”[23]
The time is at hand.
Chapter 9: What Does the Future Hold?
THE BOARD IS SET, AND THE PIECES ARE MOVING.
There’s a famous story from Russian history about Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin. He lived from 1739 to 1791 during the reign of Catherine the Great. He was a brilliant statesman and successful field marshal, conquering several new territories, creating new armies, and building up the Russian fleet. But he had one fatal flaw in his character—he exaggerated nearly everything he did. This trait reached its peak when he boasted incessantly to Catherine the Great about the construction projects he had undertaken in the outlying regions of Russia, especially in Crimea. He painted such a lavish picture of all the beautiful buildings that had been constructed that she decided she had to go see it all for herself.
Of course, this put Potemkin in quite a spot because it was all a lie. He left the city as quickly as possible, traveled to Crimea, and gathered thousands of people to build entire pasteboard villages—hollow facades of villages, like Hollywood props, along the desolate banks of the Dnieper River. Potemkin had people there walking up and down the streets at the time of the queen’s visit. As the queen and her entourage passed by and were quickly paraded down the streets, they didn’t notice that it was not a real city at all. It was all just a facade. Potemkin’s standing was greatly enhanced in the eyes of Catherine the Great. To add even more intrigue to the story, most believe that even the story itself is a myth.
Nevertheless, there arose an expression—“Potemkin Village.” A Potemkin Village is a facade, something that appears to have substance but has no reality. Since that time, the term Potemkin Village has come into our language to express that which is supposed to be something but is really nothing, something that appears elaborate and impressive but is a sham.
The prophecies of God’s Word, including the prophecies about Russia in Ezekiel 38–39, are no Potemkin Village. They’re not a myth. They’re not imagination. They’re not speculation. As David Jeremiah says, “We have good reason to believe the Russian threat is real. In fact, we have evidence that, at some point, Russia will ignite a pivotal world war like none ever seen or imagined. According to the prophet Ezekiel, this is a sure thing. Russia’s aggressive moves today cast a long shadow into a future explicitly described in Ezekiel’s prophecy.”[1]
19
Charles Dyer and Mark Tobey,
20
The main objection to placing the Battle of Gog and Magog during the first half of the Tribulation or near its midpoint is Ezekiel 39:9, which says that in the wake of the battle the inhabitants of Israel will make fires with the weapons for a period of seven years. This would mean that if this invasion occurs during the first half of the Tribulation, the weapons would be burned throughout the last half of the Tribulation and even on into the first years of the Millennium. While this is admittedly a problem for the view, it is not fatal. As long as some Jews continue to burn the weapons during the final half of the Tribulation, and briefly into the first three and a half years of the Millennium, the requirements of Ezekiel 39:9 can be fulfilled. John Whitcomb offers a solution to this objection: “I would suggest that this activity of massive cleansing takes place immediately after the second coming of Christ, just after the additional devastation in the holy land called Armageddon. By then, the bodies of Gog’s soldiers are nothing but bones (v. 15).” John C. Whitcomb, “Gog from Magog: A Study in Prophetic Chronology,” Whitcomb Ministries, 2010, http://media.sermonaudio.com/mediapdf/121110111401.pdf.
23
John F. Walvoord with Mark Hitchcock,
1
David Jeremiah,