There is a lot of consternation in the Christian community about the Russian-Ukraine war. Some think it is the beginning of the tribulation spoken of in the Bible and leading to the end of days. As always, there is a lot of misinterpretation and misinformation. The first thing Christ told his disciples about the end of days in Matthew 24:4 was, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Then he went on to give a chronology of the events leading up to and through the end of days. Prophecy questions are best answered with your own Bible study–not just by blindly accepting what is taught. Instead of repeating in ignorance what people say about Bible prophecy, it’s best to find out firsthand through independent study.
Christ said in Matthew 24:6-8, “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows.” The part that concerns so many right now is the war Russia has started with Ukraine because since the Cold War, Bible teachers have wrongly taught that Russia was Gog of Magog, the antichrist leader of the Ezekiel 38 end time prophecy. Read and study the context of the holy scriptures. Many things that have been taught as fact, are not what the scriptures say. For example, ”Ros” or “Rosh” does not mean Russia in interpreting Ezekiel 38. It always means “chief” or “head.”
When looking at the current worldwide landscape, it prompts many to think we have entered the tribulation spoken of by the prophets and Christ. This just does not match with the context of the scriptures. With Matthew 24:6-8 in mind, think about the context and the current history. In the early 1900’s, for example, there was World War I and thereafter a worldwide flu pandemic. During World War II, many thought Adolf Hitler was the antichrist. He certainly had many of the characteristics of the antichrist, but he was not. Then there were famines, and disease, and more wars—Korea, Vietnam, Intifadas, Afghanistan, Iraq and many more. These events, even earthquakes, increased during the 20th Century. Throughout this time, people have thought that the end was near. Many theories exist about the end of days.
Read and study the Bible for yourself and put what the prophets say in context—context is very important. As you study and discern, don’t just pick out verses and build your own context around them to support what you want to believe–as have many modern Bible teachers. Keeping verses in context will reveal that the prophets are viewing The Day of the Lord event from several perspectives, but all are consistent. Why? Because it is God’s word, not man’s ideas, interpretations, traditions or agendas. You may conclude that because of the frequency of prophesied events, we may be living in the time Christ termed “the beginning of sorrows.” But the end is not yet. There are many prophecies that must occur before that Day of the Lord. Before jumping on someone’s error-perpetuating bandwagon, find out for yourself.
