What Is Russia Doing?

What is Russia doing? Why is it such a big deal? Why should we care?

WHAT IS RUSSIA DOING?

I'm sure that many of you have been wondering what's going on with Russia and her neighbors and why it's causing such a stir in the media. Simply put, Russia hates democracy and anything/anyone who threatens to shift the balance of power in their global sphere of influence.

Many people incorrectly assume that since the end of the Cold War and the destruction of the Berlin Wall that Russia has become nothing but a mere afterthought on our nation's political radar or, in other words, that they're nothing for us to worry about any longer. Big mistake.

If anyone is still wondering about the kind of threat that Russia poses to the world they need not look any further than the world news headlines from the past week or from even today.

Russia keeps up blockade of strategic Georgia city. Russian troops on Friday allowed some humanitarian supplies into the city of Gori, but kept up their blockade of the strategically located city, raising doubts about Russia's intentions in the war-battered country. A flurry of international diplomacy, meanwhile, was set in motion to clear the way for a Russian withdrawal. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived Friday in Georgia for talks with President Mikhail Saakashvili.

In Washington, President Bush demanded that Russia get out of Georgia, saying the people there have cast their lot with the free world and "we will not cast them aside." He said that "bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that Georgia's two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, were unlikely to ever be parts of that country again.

On Friday, Russian military vehicles were blocking the eastern road into the city of Gori, although they allowed in one Georgia bus filled with loaves of bread. Gori is on the country's main east-west highway about 45 miles west of the capital, Tbilisi. By holding it, Russian forces effectively cut Georgia in half.

What happens in Gori is key to when — or if — Russia will honor the terms of a cease-fire that calls for both sides to pull their forces back to the positions they held before fighting broke out last week in the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Escalating things dramatically this morning, Russia now says that Poland risks attack because of U.S. missiles that will be present there soon!

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported.

The statement by General Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations.

Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile interceptor base as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations. Moscow, however, feels it is aimed at Russia's missile force.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike — 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Nogovitsyn that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, he said, according to Interfax.

At a news conference earlier Friday, Nogovitsyn had reiterated Russia's frequently stated warning that placing missile-defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic would bring an unspecified military response. But his subsequent reported statement substantially stepped up a war of words.

WHY IS IT SUCH A BIG DEAL?

For the past few years, Russia has felt threatened by her smaller neighbors (all ex-communist states that were once a part of Russia) because they seek independence and many want entrance into either NATO, the European Union, or both - any scenario would represent a threat to Russia's sovereignty in the region at least according to their perspective.

Complicating matters is the fact that many in the Western world (many of these member nations) have allied themselves with these same states politically if not militarily as well. As previously mentioned, the U.S. has agreements to establish missle bases in the region as a deterrent to any threats against them or their allies in the region.

So, why is it such a big deal to us what happens in a far off place on the planet? Well, prophetically speaking this could be HUGE and have serious implications for telling us where we are on the prophetic timeline of events to come!

This weekend I'll post a more thorough description of the Gag-Magog War (surprise attack upon Israel) that's prophesied to occur, but for now we'll just focus on the fact that the Bible says that in the last days events will shape up to cause Russia to make a move against Israel while the world stands by and does nothing. Specifically, Russia and Iran are going to oppose Israel militarily, according to the book of Ezekiel (written in approximately 593-571 BC or almost 3,000 years ago!).

WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

I know that when the news first broke about war breaking out in that part of the world some people joked, "Why would Russia attack Georgia? I mean, if they want peaches that badly we could just give them some!" Obviously, war is no laughing matter, but given the potential spiritual significance of these developments we should be on our knees in prayer for those who still haven't accepted God's free gift yet before it's too late for them.

The Gog-Magog attack prophesied by Ezekiel is one that is controversial, so far as to where it specifically will fit into the end-times timeline. Some have the event just before or in conjunction with the rapture, while others believe it will happen right after the rapture or nearer the mid-point of the 7-year tribulation period.



Russia is destined to present some of the most fearsome trials and tribulations for Israel. In the last days, Russia will be the leading nation of the Gog-Magog coalition of nations that will make a move against Israel and be defeated by a supernatural act of God. Persia (Iran) comes right along beside Russia in prophetic parlance. According to Ezekiel 38:5, Iran will aid Russia in attacking Israel. Apparently, this event isn't just pure speculation since many are beginning to see the signs all around them as evidenced by this international news report from last year.

Low and behold, we find it is Russia (and China) who has been arming the nations that surround Israel in the Middle East as well as posturing with them to make the events foretold in the Bible a plausible scenario that could occur at any moment. Isn't it AMAZING that Russia and her Arab allies were mentioned thousands of years ago with such precision and detail so that we couldn't mistake the times that we are living in as being prophetically significant?

But why should we care? Surely, an attack on the small state of Georgia in an isolated part of the world hardly indicates that Russia is poised to attack Israel tomorrow, right? Well, not so fast.

A few things should stand out to us regarding these events as they unfold because they're relevant to this discussion. First, the manner in which crisis erupted has been described by many as "a complete surprise" and it was even our own U.S. military analysts who also commented on how "surprised" and "shocked" they were at how quickly and effectively Russia was able to mobilize her forces in the region given the scale. In addition, today's surprising comments that Poland is now on Russia's radar defies logic and was met with equal shock and bewilderment by many.

Why is all of this significant? Because we know that the future attack on Israel will be a complete surprise! We are also told that when the Gog-Magog invasion occurs, it appears that the only response from the Western democracies will be a diplomatic protest (Ezekiel 38:13)!

We are seeing similar trends regarding this whole issue, which surely makes the Gog-Magog scenario a plausible one today for those of you who are still on the fence regarding this whole biblical prophecy thing.

Please stay tuned in the coming days for more on this topic as this is a serious escalation of prophetic events lining up in order to fulfill end times biblical prophecy.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Armageddon: Appointment With Destiny by Grant R. Jeffrey
Russia Goes To War To Accomplish Its Goals by Steven Collins
Timing Of The Gog Magog War: A Pre-Tribulation Scenario by Ray Gano