Are we on the brink of triggering the Gog and Magog war as predicted in the Book of Ezekiel?

Prophetic alarm bells are ringing, according to a recent episode of “The Watchman” on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). 

ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel C. Rosenberg and CBN’s Middle East Bureau Chief and host of Jerusalem Dateline, Chris Mitchell, met with Watchman host Erick Stakelbeck to analyze the prophetic implications of Russia’s Ukrainian invasion for the Jewish state.

Mitchell and Rosenberg agreed there are prophetic implications to Russia’s presence in the Middle East and the coming war of Gog and Magog, the end-times battle laid out in Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. The scripture says that Magog and its allies will threaten 'the restored Israel' but will be destroyed.

This is meant to be fulfilled at the end times, when Gog and Magog – representing nations rather than individuals – would be defeated by God at the end of the millennium, an event that would usher in the age of the Messiah as described in the Book of Revelation.

“We don't know when and we don't know exactly if this is the scenario, but it looks like things are lining up and these trends are moving forward just like the Bible says,” stated Mitchell. 

Rosenberg said the role of Magog is represented by Russia, Iran and Turkey, which he explained are “the very countries that are occupying Syria ­­– first time in 2,600 years since Ezekiel wrote that."

And while Lebanon is not mentioned as an aggressor in the prophecy, the attack is coming from the North, and Lebanon is “a wholly-owned subsidiary – a province really – of Iran because of Hezbollah,” Rosenberg explained.

However, before any of this can occur, there are a few prerequisites mentioned in the Bible.

“Israel has to be reborn as the country. Check. Jews have to be coming back en masse and resettling here. Check. Jews have to rebuild the ancient ruins. Check. They have to make modern Israel prosperous. Check. And they have to be living securely in the land,” Rosenberg said, adding that events are coming together in ways never seen before in history.

In addition to the Russia-Ukraine war raging in Europe, the current landscape in the Middle East pits thousands of Russian soldiers in Syria – at Israel's doorstep.

On one hand, the Russians have said they will continue allowing Israeli airstrikes against Iran and Hezbollah inside Syria, however they have also said they are losing patience over the matter.

“Is a day coming where [Russian President] Vladimir Putin says to Israel, 'The arrangement… the agreement is out the window, enough is enough, and no longer, Israel, will we allow you to have freedom of movement in Syria?'” Stakelbeck asked. “That would be a game-changer in all the wrong ways because that Syrian freedom of movement has been crucial for Israel as it pushes Iran and Hezbollah back from the Golan Heights.”

Mitchell explained that Iran wants to use the nation of Syria as a base to carry out operations against Israel. 

“They brought in Hezbollah and militias from around the country. They're trying to bring in weapons. Israel has been fighting a shadow war against that encroachment. Putin has allowed it, but what will happen if Putin all of a sudden says, ‘Well, no more Israel’ and allows Iran to not only get a nuclear weapon, but to have this forward base right on Israel's border?” Mitchell postulated.

Rosenberg believes it is just a matter of time before Iran persuades Putin to turn against Israel. Russia has provided Iran with nuclear assistance, advanced missile defense systems and political cover at the United Nations. In addition, Rosenberg said Iran could easily convince Putin that he has nothing to worry about when it comes to the U.S. since “the Biden administration is not going to show any type of strength.”

More than one year ago, ALL ISRAEL NEWS featured another Watchman episode where Rosenberg and Stakelbeck took a deeper look into the joint Iranian-Russian naval drill on the Indian Ocean and discussed how the burgeoning alliance between the two countries may have been a prelude to an end-times scenario with prophetic implications.

“We have never seen a Russian-Iranian alliance – military, political, economic, diplomatic – in the history of the two countries,” Rosenberg said in February 2021. “The Book of Ezekiel – chapters 38 and 39 – indicate that the country that we now know as Russia and the country that we now know as Iran, which used to be known as Persia, will form an alliance in what the Bible calls the last days of history, after Israel has been reborn as a country, after many, many Jews have come back to resettle the land and rebuild the ancient ruins.”

Just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, Stakelbeck was in Israel for a week-long Watchman production. “You need to keep this land on your minds and on your heart and in your spirit because this is the epicenter. This is where these momentous events are unfolding right now. All of the prophetic chess pieces are moving on the board, and it all happens right here in Jerusalem, so it should never be far from your heart,” he told viewers.