There was almost no fear greater than the fear of Russia. But now Putin’s had to (as they say in poker), “Put what you’ve got on the table.” And it hasn’t looked good so far. No one expected Ukraine to be able to withstand Russia. But they have.
One year into the war, it’s rather a stalemate. But that’s a defeat in many ways for Russia. They were our greatest fear and have been for over 70 years. And now? You can feel they have perhaps two choices. Go fully nuclear, the unspeakable alternative that’s remained our global fear since World War II. Or they can continue to send 10’s of 1000’s of their young men (in a nation desperate to repopulate itself) into the meat grinder of eastern Ukraine, to face resolute Ukrainians and the best weapons the Western powers can provide. Simply put, it’s not looking great for the mystique of Russian superiority and ultimate world dominance, as so many of us have bought into for so long.
And what if you study Bible prophecy? What about “the king of the north”? What about Ezekiel 38? My friends, we’ve been counting on these guys, haven’t we? No need to squirm, I could do the same. I think there are a lot of folks around who’ve been counting on Russia to provide a good deal of the power and “evil” to be fulfilled that’s been predicted in the end time build up, spoken of in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation.
But presently, Russia is losing huge numbers of troops and equipment on the plains of eastern Ukraine. And those resources in blood and treasure are not something that springs freely up out of the ground. They are depleted, they’re being exhausted and so very many look at it and feel it’s a fool’s errand that Mr. Putin has sent Russian power and prestige into. “All for nothing”, so many feel of the present war in Ukraine. My prophecy aficionado friends, how will Russia invade the Middle East if they can’t even take the eastern most part of Ukraine?
I hope you’re not expecting me to pull the cookies out of the fire and the rabbit out of the hat on this. I’m as stumped as you are. Perhaps some scenario develops where Putin is overthrown and a new leader arises who’ll lead Russia into a wiser and more prosperous future, more than at any time in its past. But as always, “what if’s” abound at every turn.
How does this all impact the picture of the unfolding end time, which in other areas continues to proceed most forebodingly? I really don’t know. And in my searching the internet for anyone else out there who sees all these data points leading us toward… what!…, I haven’t heard of anyone coming up with a clear, cognizant foreseeing of where all this is leading.
New and stranger goings on proceed briskly in the secular nation of Israel in the Middle East. Will the new, ultra religious government there clear the way for the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem? And artificial intelligence meanwhile is gathering pace by leaps and bounds; some now predict that “the singularity” is only 7 years away. Tragic natural disasters fall on top of immense refugee crises, war against Iran is a daily storm on the horizon, Western nations muddle through their internal befuddlements and suicide rates for young people increase year by year.
And the latest fear is that China will come to the aid of Russia with an infinity of weaponry, matching what the West is giving Ukraine. My, how that would be an unfathomably ominous turn of events in this saga. Would that not bring us face to face with the full scenario of World War III that was so before us at the height of the Cold War?
How does it all turn out? Will Russia ultimately sue for peace (as Germany did in World War I) and be defeated on the battle field after human losses unheard of before that time? Will China come to the side and aid of Russia, creating a new axis of power internationally? Will there be a cease fire where both sides get just enough of what they want so that both can claim a type of victory? Your guess may be as good as mine.
Still, I remain convinced that the end of the matter of these wars and rumors of wars is that through the haze and heartbreak will be the unfolding of Bible prophecy that will ultimately lead to the so welcomed second coming of our dear Jesus Christ to bring peace to the earth, after “a time of trouble such as was not since the beginning of the world”, to establish His righteous government, ordained and foretold by God and the prophets.
Of course that sounds ludicrous to the unbelievers who are in the majority now. But as the final events unfold, I believe so many will see ultimately that the only sane explanation of this present world is one that takes us to what turns out to be truly our only hope: God Himself and His intervention to save us all from ourselves and each other, where the people of the earth accept and welcome the intervention of God to pull our existence out of the destruction we have brought it to.
What could “the Bible Belt” have to do with the prophetic End Time? Bear with me, there’s ground to explore here. For those outside the USA and not familiar with the term “Bible Belt”, I’ll explain.
But all the while, there was the influence of my Methodist grandparents, back when being a Methodist meant something. Sadly, over that last 50 to 60 years, that movement has deteriorated into a gender-fluid miasma of quasi-Christian verbiage and has functionally ceased to be the Christian influence that it was for 200 years. But my grandparents were of the generation in which they still “flew the flag” of genuine Christianity and that strongly impacted me, even at the age of 5 or 6.
“They overcame him (the coming Antichrist) by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12:11) This is in the chapter that speaks most clearly about “the woman in the wilderness”, which I believe to be the saved believers on earth in the final days.
One place that shows the transformation happening to many American Christians is in the battle against the woke/Progressive agenda becoming fully dominate in public schools. Recently, I’ve been encouraged to see parents and grandparents realizing the necessity of standing up for their Christian values in the present battle for the soul of public education here. I wrote about my experiences with this in “
Speaking plainly, I do feel that “the woman in the wilderness” of Revelation 12:6 & 14 may include these Bible Belt Christians who are now finding that the only thing they have left, as times “wax worse and worse”, is their foundation of faith in God that they learned from their forefathers. Ardent American Christians are increasingly realizing that the basic Christian decency this nation was steeped in for generations has been abandoned and swept away by the “woke/progressive” hordes who presently dominate our national debate.
I’ve written on this subject before and it might be good to including links to those places, to provide context and a more complete view. I wrote, while in Bulgaria, about “the women fled into the wilderness”. Here’s the link to that: 
And is anyone presently living a brand of discipleship Christianity that could be an example and foreshadowing of the endtime Christians to come? I wrote this article about a young American family who currently remind me of future end time Christians to come. There’s even been a movie made about them. 
Did Jesus of Nazareth’s 2nd coming happen in 70 A.D? Did the fulfillments of dozens of prophecies reach their final climax then? Don’t laugh. Sadly there has been a ripple in the community of those who believe in the Lord’s return, somehow gazing toward this view that the return of Jesus to reign and rule happened in 70 AD.
If the enemy of God can get us to drop our spiritual sword and shield, then he gains victory over us. And it can be a very disarming thought that virtually all Bible prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD, that the climactic, world-shattering prophecies of Daniel, Revelation and many others in the Bible, not to mention the words of Jesus Himself, were all drained of their significance at the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
It’s like that cartoon I put