There continues to be a great deal of conjecture about whether the current Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, is Gog, the evil person who will lead the Gog-Magog attack against Israel as prophesied by Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39.
Mr. Putin certainly seems to fit the profile in many ways. While the world of Bible prophecy watchers looks intensively at the current Russian leader, fishing to understand if he, Putin, is indeed that biblically foretold character, it is absolutely assured that God’s Word says He has what it will take to deal with whoever Gog turns out to be.
Here is what the Lord says:
“And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet” (Ezekiel 38:1-).
So God Himself will go fishing at exactly the right time for this voracious would-be destroyer of God’s chosen nation, Israel. He will “hook” this barracuda-like leader of Rosh (Russia) in his jaw. The Lord will jerk Gog back into the direction He wants this Satan-spawned leader to go. The Lord will be in total control at all times during this attack on Israel–just as He is always totally in control.
We who observe and seek to understand these times so obviously near the Rapture of the Church can’t know for certain who this big, prophetic fish named Gog is. I believe the Church will be in Heaven, called into the clouds of Glory by God the Son–the Lord Jesus—before that great Gog-Magog battle is launched.
The Gog leader is apparently called so because “Gog” is the designation for a demon spirit that will inhabit the Russian leader at the time God puts the “hook” into the jaws. So it is, to me, at least, not possible to say for certain who Gog will be in terms of his given name.
Again, Vladimir Putin seems to have many of the characteristics attributed to the one who will be Gog.
Here is what Joel Rosenberg, a well-known Christian-Jewish writer, has to say in the matter:
“Over the years, people have asked me if Putin might be the Russian dictator referred to as “Gog” in the Biblical prophecies of “Gog and Magog” in Ezekiel 38—39…. Here’s my quick answer: It’s too soon to draw such a conclusion. There’s much more that would have to happen to indicate that Putin was the “Gog” of Bible prophecy. But there’s no question in my mind that Putin is Gog-esque. He is dangerous, and both Israel and the West should keep a close and wary eye on him, especially given all that Putin has done to build a strategic alliance between Russia and Iran and the other countries mentioned in the ‘Gog and Magog’ prophecies.”
The Lord has always seemed to have a special interest in fishing. He started building His Church on the concept of fishing. Remember the earliest signs used by Christians in expressing their relationship to Christ was the symbol of a fish.
Jesus first called men from the shores of Galilee while they were fishing. He told them He would make them “fishers of men.”
He certainly did so. And we can be assured that God will follow up by putting the “hook” in the jaw of the one He calls Gog, whether it’s Mr. Putin or some other Russian leader.
But, as my great friend Chuck Missler used to say: “We will be watching from the Heavenly mezzanine.”
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
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