'God Is Getting Ready to Do Something Amazing': CBN Founder Pat Robertson on Russia and Its Place in Prophecy
CBN Founder Pat Robertson made a special appearance on The 700 Club Monday to talk about Russia's shocking invasion of Ukraine and how it all might fit into biblical End Times prophecy.
He cited key passages from the prophet Ezekiel regarding nations coming together one day to rise up against Israel – specifically pointing to what Russia is doing in Ukraine as a precursor to that event:
"Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, 'This is what the Lord God says: Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. So I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently dressed, a great contingent with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with buckler and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-Togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops– many peoples with you.'" -- Ezekiel 38:1-6
Referring to a map showing the location of Ukraine, Robertson pointed to a "choke point" between Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece and why Russia might eventually be aiming to control that point.
He continued reading from Ezekiel 38.
"It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," declares the Lord God, "That my fury will mount up in my anger. In my zeal and in my blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will certainly be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the crawling things that crawl on the earth, and all mankind who are on the face of the earth will shake at my presence; and the mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains," declares the Lord God. "Every man's sword will be against his brother. With plague and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone." –
Robertson also showed a map explaining which biblical names correspond to the modern-day countries.
- Gomer = Ukraine
- Rosh = Russia
- Magog = Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
- Persia = Iran
- Togarmah and Tubal = Turkey and Syria
- Put = Libya
- Cush = North Sudan and Egypt
READ Russia Rejects Israel’s Claim to Golan Heights
"North Sudan is so-called Cush," Robertson said. "All of those troops there are going to be coming against Israel in the latter days. And God says, 'I am going to take care of it.'"
"But is Putin insane?" he asked. "Well, yes and no. Because he is being driven to move against Israel because God says 'I'm going to put hooks in your jaws and I'm going to bring you down on them.' Now you get the picture."
Robertson said Putin and Turkish President Erdoğan's troops will one day work together to make up a tremendous army in the latter days.
"And I think you can say, 'Well, Putin is out of his mind,' and yes, maybe so. But at the same time, he's being compelled by God," CBN's founder said. "He went into Ukraine, but that wasn't his goal. His goal was to move against Israel ultimately. And he will link up with Turkey across the little (land) bridge, and they will come together. And then, you look down into North Sudan, you've got a Muslim country down there, and there they all are. Persia, of course, is Iran."
"And there is the land that is set up in Ezekiel 38 and you see how Ukraine is key because you see the land bridge between Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. And all of that area is going to be mobilized against Israel in the latter days. And God says, 'I am going to deal with it,'" Robertson said.
"So you can look at your map. You can read your newspapers. You can listen to your news. But know of a fact that God is bringing to pass what he prophesied years ago through his servant Ezekiel," he explained. "And you read it in the 38th passage of Ezekiel, one through six, it's all there. And God is getting ready to do something amazing and that will be fulfilled."
Robertson told The 700 Club viewers to "Read your Bible because it's coming to pass."
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Greg Laurie: "I Believe We're Living in the Last Days"
Meanwhile evangelist and pastor Greg Laurie is also weighing in, saying he agrees that Russia's war on Ukraine could fit into biblical prophecy concerning the end times.
The senior pastor of the New Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, posted a short video to Facebook on Friday, addressing world events and their prophetic significance.
"I believe we're living in the last days," Laurie told his followers. "I believe Christ could come back at any moment. There are signs of the times the Bible tells us to be looking for. And in fact, Jesus likened it to labor pains in a woman who's ready to give birth. The idea being the closer they get together, the closer you are to the birth."
"And as we see more signs, more things happening, they're reminding us Christ is coming back again," he explained in the almost four-minute video. "Let's go to Matthew 24. What did Jesus say? In the last days, there will be wars and rumors of wars. So this is war on a scale we have not seen in a long time."
The evangelist said there's another thing we should watch for, the world leader who's described as the "antichrist".
"But let me look at another thing in Matthew 24, it talks about plagues being about us, around us in the last days," Laurie said. "If the coronavirus is not a plague, then I do not know what it is -- a global plague. Also, I might add that the Bible warns of a world leader that will come and dominate and defeat people ultimately. But ultimately, will reveal his true colors and is called the antichrist. I believe that a lot of this government overreach, imposing themselves on their people is a sign of what is going to come later when the antichrist emerges on the scene."
"So let's come to the situation in Ukraine," he continued. "So many Bible scholars believe in Ezekiel 38 as this best of Magog attacking Israel that that is modern-day Russia. I could go and talk about that for 30 minutes why they believe that's true. I happen to agree with them."
The senior pastor also reminded viewers that part of the biblical prophecy has been fulfilled.
"But it says in Ezekiel that the Jewish people will be scattered and re-gathered in their land again," Laurie noted. "We know during World War 2 after the Holocaust, Jewish people from around the planet began to return to their land. Israel officially became a nation on May 14, 1948. So that part of the prophecy has been fulfilled."
"But then scripture says a nation from the extreme north of Israel will march on her called Gog and Magog," he said. "If you look on any map you will see that is the geographical area of Russia. Ukraine used to be a part of the Russian empire. They broke up in 1991. Are they going to be a part of Russia again? Could be. But the one thing I think of when I see the aggression of Russia, or Magog if you will, is the reminder that's what we're going to see when Magog attacks Israel."
Jesus reminded his followers in Luke 21 to "lookup for your redemption is drawing near."
"So Jesus said, 'When you see these things begin to happen, freak out because you're dead,'" the Harvest Christian pastor said sarcastically. "No, he didn't say that. He said when you see these things begin to happen, look up for your redemption is drawing near. Here's the bottom line and take away truth. Bible prophecies are being fulfilled in our lifetime. It seems like we're seeing more things happen in real-time closer together as the scripture said they would be."
"So what should we do?" Laurie asked. "We should look up. And we should remember, that God is in control. And we've read the last page of the Bible, the last page of Revelation and we win in the end. Let me add this. Let's all be praying for the people of Ukraine."
"They are going through a great time of suffering right now. Pray for them. Pray that God gives to our leaders' wisdom as they are making very important decisions in the days ahead."
Watch Greg Laurie's Facebook video post below:
