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The first problem above is that the nominally Protestant USA is not a Christian nation. And while Russia and Ukraine are mainly Russian/Ukrainian Orthodox Catholics, their nations are not Christian in the biblical sense as they do not hold to the Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church.
Now, let’s continue with what was next in the email:

How can Russia be “Rosh” Gog/Magog as so many prophecy teachers have taught over the past several decades?

The short answer is because that is what historians and others have pointed out that the Hebrew is referring to.

Meshech is the Hebrew term from whence came the name Moscow. Tubal is considered by some to also be associated with the Russian peoples.

Regarding Meschech, notice:

…the Muskai, or Moschians, who are probably identical with the Meshech of Holy Scripture (Rawlinson G. The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World. Published 1881 by Dodd, Mead, and Company, New York Original from Harvard University (Google Books) Page 64).

Some 1000 years ago an ancient Slav tribe, the Meshchera, settled in these parts, not far from present-day Moscow. Since then the region has been called Meschera (Sputnik. Published 1997 by Novosti Press Agency Original from the University of California, Page 96).

Three times the Old Testament uses the expression “the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2,3;39:1).

Notice also the following:

The Scythian Tauri in the Crimea were so called. The Araxes also was called “Rhos.” The modern Russians may have hence assumed their name, as Moscow and Tobolsk from Meshech and Tubal, though their proper ancient name was Slavi, or Wends. Hengstenberg supports English Version, as “Rosh” is not found in the Bible. “Magog was Gog’s original kingdom, though he acquired also Meshech and Tubal, so as to be called their chief prince. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:

“Gog” in the land of “Magog” is the vast regions of the U.S.S.R. in northern Eurasia extending from the Baltic to the Pacific. “Meshech” is Moscow, “Tubal” is Tobol ‘sk (Armstrong HW. Why Russia Will Not Attack the United States, reprint 1980, p. 8).

The same reprint booklet states:

Rosh is the ancient Hebrew name for the Russ (“blonds”) who settled in the plains of Eastern Europe in the ninth century A.D. They gave their name to the Russian nation. The people of Rosh are among the White Russians of Byelorussia today. Living next to the people of Rosh are Meshech and Tubal…Josephus calls them the Moschevi and Thobelites…Together, the Caucasian branches of Meshech and Tubal form the two distinct branches of the Great Russians of today (pp. 10,11).

It may be of interest to note that the official name of the Russian Federation is Rossiyskaya Federatsiya and hence bears a similarity to the Hebrew word Rosh.

Hally’s Bible Handbook teaches:

Rosh is thought by some to mean Russia…Meshech is thought to mean Moscow; or Muscovy…Whatever may be the exact identification of these peoples, (Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer and Rosh) Ezekiel speaks of them as dwelling in ‘the uttermost parts of the north’ (38:6, 15; 39:2), and there can be little doubt that he means nations beyond the Caucasus (mountains). A glance at the map makes it plain that he has in mind that part of the world known as Russia (Halley H.H. Halley’s Bible Handbook, 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids (MI), 1962, p. 333).

Another book teaches:

The Hebrew lexicographer Gesenius says, “Rosh is the proper name of a northern nation mentioned along with Tubal and Meshech; without much doubt the same as the Russians, who are described by the Byzantine writers of the tenth century under the name, the Rhos, as inhabiting the northern parts of Taurus; and also by Ibn Fosslan, an Arabian writer of the same period, under the name Rus, as dwelling upon the river Rha, that is, the Volga.” Koeppen says that “the Russians appear for the first time in the Byzantine historians of the ninth century under the indeclinable name Rhos. Later they were known as Russniacks, Ross, or, now, Russ-ians.” The “Ross” were at first “among the many Sclavonian tribes who were driven northward from the Black Sea on the advance of the Chazars,” Though at first a single tribe, the Ross at length gave name to that vast Sclavonian empire whose territory comprises the ” north parts” of Europe and Asia…

It is worth remarking here that in ancient records the spelling of proper names varies so much that it need cause us no surprise to find Rosh turning into Rhos, Rus, and Russ. Nor are we to wonder to find Meshech of the Hebrew text changed into Moahok in the Samaritan, and Mosoch in the Septuagint. The people of Meshech were known to the ancient Greeks as Mosffhoi.

In the Assyrian inscriptions lately deciphered by Sir Henry Rawlinson, the same people are named Muskai, It is said that at one time the Muskai, in conjunction with their neighbors, the Tibareni, kept the inhabitants of Syria and Mesopotamia in continual dread of their ravages. One memeuto of this fact may be that exclamation in the 120th Psalm, ”Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech.” By the advance of the Median and Persian powers the Moschoi were afterwards, about 700 to 650 B. C., compelled to cross the Caucasus and take refuge in that immense steppe region in which they had their origin. The descendants of the Moschoi figure in history as Muscovites. They built the old capital of Russia, Moscow, on their river, Moskwa, and from them Russia is still known as Muscovy throughout the east. Tubal has been identified with the Tibareni of Herodotus (Craig A. Writings and Addresses of Austin Craig. Published 1913 by The Christian Publishing association, Dayton Ohio:Pages 147-149).

The American Cyclopaedia of 1873 states:

Japheth Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah, by most critics regarded as the eldest. It is said of him (Gen. ix. 27): “God shall enlarge Ja-pheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” He was the progenitor of extensive tribes inhabiting the northern parts of the Mosaic world. His sons (Gen. x. 2) were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Gomer is now generally identified with the Cimmerians of the ancients; Magog probably represents Turanian Scyths about the Caucasus; Madai is the Hebrew name for Media; Javan for Ionia and Greece; Tiras probably for Thrace. Meshech and Tubal, who in the Scriptures always appear coupled together, are identified with the equally associated Moschi and Tibareni of the Greeks, and Muscai and Tuplai of the Assyrian inscriptions (or Muski and Tabali, as Schrader renders the names), the former of whom, according to Rawlinson (Herodotus, book i., essay xi.), “are regarded on very sufficient grounds as the ancestors of the Muscovites, who built Moscow, and who still give name to Russia throughout the East; and these Muscovites have been lately recognized as belonging to the Tchud or Finnish family, which the Slavonic Russians conquered, and which is a known Turanian race.” This statement is made still more probable by the Hebrew text of Ezekiel xxxviii. 2, 3, and xxxix. 1, which connects Meshech and. Tubal with Rosh; the latter word, rendered “chief” in the English version, being now regarded by Gesenius and others as a proper noun corresponding to the Pws of the Byzantine historians, and the people Rus (on the Volga) of the Arabian Ibn Foslan, and thus containing the earliest historical trace of the Russian name. Thus Japheth, as a family name, embraces a large number of primitive nations, in modern ethnology partly designated as Turanian and partly as Indo-European. This agrees with the tradition of the Arabians, which assigns to Japheth 11 sons, progenitors of as many nations, among whom are Jin (the Chinese), Gomari (Cimmerians?), Turk (Turks), Khozar (Khazars), and Ros (Russians). The name Japheth is from a Hebrew root meaning expansion, wide-spreading (Gen. ix. 27). Another derivation, meaning fair, comely, denoting the white-colored races, is less pertinent. It has also been compared with the Japetus of Greek mythology. Japhetic is often used by ethnologists instead of Indo-European. (Ripley G, Dana CA, eds. The American Cyclopaedia- Popular Dictionary Of General Knowledge. Vol6. D. Appleton And Company, 1873)

An Islamic legend seems to identify Ros as a son of Japheth:

There are numerous Oriental legends about Japheth. According to Mohammedan writers he was the eldest son of Noah … They call him Aboultierk, and ascribe to him eleven sons, among whom are … Ros of the Russians—nations wholly unknown to the ancient Hebrews. They ascribe to his sons great wisdom (Kitto, John; Alexander, William Lindsay. A Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, 3rd Edition. Black, 1876, p. 465).

In the first century, Josephus wrote:

Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that, beginning at the mountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia…they called the nations by their own names…Now as to Javan and Madai, the sons of Japhet; from Madai came the Madeans, who are called Medes, by the Greeks… Thobel founded the Thobelites, who are now called Iberes; and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch…And so many were the countries that had the children of Japhet for their inhabitants. (Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. VI, 1).

For biblical confirmation of Russia being the leader in Ezekiel 38, let’s look at some passages in Ezekiel 38:

1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops — many people are with you. (Ezekiel 38:1-6)

Notice that this is tied in with the FAR NORTH. That is also confirmed in the following verses:

15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”  (Ezekiel 38:15-17)

Gog clearly comes from THE FAR NORTH. That must be Russia.

Now, the email newsletter I received also had the following:

As we know, in the end time Christians, and as such Christian nations, will become targets for persecution and martyrdom. Is Russia being targeted for their rejection of the West’s lawless morals that the globalists insist all nations adhere to if they wish to trade with them in the SWIFT system? Seems like they are and as such would not be a likely candidate for being the Beast or Gog of Magog.

While Christians will face more persecution in the end times and globalists do not like Russia’s stances against the LGBTQ agenda, to suggest that economic sanctions against Russia for its military invasion of Ukraine is prophesied persecution against Christians is false.

Furthermore, Ezekiel 38 is NOT for this age and will not occur until well after Jesus returns.

More on that is in our newest BibleNewsProphecy video:

16:45

Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?

On February 24, 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced a ‘special military operation’ into Ukraine. Are Jewish sources correct that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the start of the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38? Are Protestant sources, and people like Trumpet editor Gerald Flurry right that Vladimir Putin is the ‘prince of Rosh/Rush? Does Ezekiel 38 include Russia? What are some of the other nations involved in Ezekiel 38? Does this battle happen BEFORE or well AFTER Jesus returns? Can you know the answer from the actual passages in Ezekiel 38? Dr. Thiel answers these questions and more.

Here is a link to our video: Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?

What is happening now is NOT Ezekiel 38, but this is consistent with the ‘beginning of sorrows’ Jesus spoke of which included wars and rumors of war, famines, and troubles (Mark 13:7-8).

That being said, notice the following from Aden Tate at the Organic Prepper:

What Could the Russia-Ukraine War Mean for You?

How is the Russia-Ukraine war going to impact the American? What can we see coming down the pipeline? What are the next steps of this crisis? Here is how I currently believe this is going to impact us:

You’re going to see increased food prices and shortages.

For starters, let us remember that Ukraine is “The Breadbasket of Europe.” Due to a lack of personnel, farmers not planting crops, equipment being destroyed, and a number of other factors, there is likely to not be any Ukrainian harvest this year at all, or at the very least, it will be substantially reduced.

This in turn is going to lead to Europe having difficulty in procuring food supplies. If we follow the rule of supply and demand, we’re going to see this result in an increase in prices and food scarcity here within the United States. Europeans are still going to need to eat, and they are going to buy the food they need somewhere. Much of it is going to come from the United States, and they are going to be willing to pay a high price for it. …

Europe is eventually going to have a problem getting fuel.

A great deal of Europe’s natural gas is supplied to them via pipelines which travel through Ukraine. Once Ukraine falls – and it will – this natural gas is gone. This will be used as a form of coercion to get the European Union to bow to its will, a natural consequence of nations refusing to be as energy independent as possible.

Will this in turn affect the prices of fuel in the United States? I think it is highly likely. …

Americans have lived without fear of an attack on their own soil for so long that the idea of such is beyond belief to many.

That era is over.

As we saw with Ukraine, I think this is going to start off with cyberattacks against a very vulnerable electric grid (as has been pointed out many times before), against our banks, and against government-run websites. You will likely see acts of sabotage that are removed enough to be viewed by the sheeple as a “coincidence.” Do you remember the strange pipeline explosion that happened in Ukraine just prior to the invasion? That is the kind of action you are going to see here. 02/26/22 https://www.theorganicprepper.com/russia-ukraine-war/

Aden Tate is correct that we should expect to see higher prices for food and energy.

Furthermore, we have already seen food and energy price inflation. Last October, the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) put out the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel related to food inflation:

12:03

Food Inflation & the 3rd Horseman of the Apocalypse

The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, UN’s FAO, and others are reporting food price inflation as well as often selected shortages of some food items. Might it get worse? Did Jesus prophesy famines? One analyst stated, “WE haven’t seen anything yet” in regards to rising food prices. Should Christians prepare? What about helping others? Does the ride of the third horseman of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:5-6) point to a coming time of severe food inflation. Is more food price inflation coming? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more in this video.

Here is a link to the video: Food Inflation & the 3rd Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Aden Tate is also right that more cyber attacks will occur.

Yet, one thing missing is that the events of the past week have scared the Europeans.

So much so, that its military arm called PESCO took a major step related to cyber warfare (see War, Food Prices, and Taking Away the Peace in Ukraine and Europe) and Germany announced that it would basically double its military spending (see ‘Germany commits 100 billion euros to new armed forces fund’)–which will mean Germany will be spending a lot more on its military than Russia is.

Despite what many think, the Bible shows that Europe will end up with a “great army,” “many ships” (Daniel 11:40), and be so successful militarily that the world will marvel (Revelation 13:3-4).

What is happening in Ukraine has already helped motivate Europe to make moves in that direction faster than many think.

The end result is that Europe will one day conquer the USA (Daniel 11:39), its British descended allies (Daniel 8:24-25, Jeremiah 30:7), and a power that will arise in the Middle East and North Africa (Daniel 11:40-43).

Properly understood biblical prophecies are coming to pass.

Do not let those who do not properly understand them dissuade you from believing them and taking proper physical and spiritual action.

Some items of related interest may include the following:

Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy as are two video sermonettes Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy and Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Three related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, and Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code).
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer. There is also a YouTube video sermon you can watch: The Coming Persecution of the Church. Here is information in the Spanish language: Persecuciones de la Iglesia y el Estado.
Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something? Here is a version in the Spanish language Escrituras sobre Preparación física para los Cristianos. Here is a link to a related sermon: Physical preparedness for Christians.
The Plain Truth About Gold in Prophecy. How Should a Christian View Gold? What do economists and the Bible teach about gold? Gold and silver may drop in value. Inflation/deflation? What do Christians need to know about gold? A video of related interest may be: Germany, Gold, and the US Dollar.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection. A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. Two related sermon are available: Identifying the USA and its Destruction in Prophecy and Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin? A related sermon is also available: The Bible, the USA, and the King of the West.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2028 or or 2031 or 20xx? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Might the U.S.A. Be Gone by 2028? Are there prophetic reasons to believe that the USA will not last two complete presidential terms? Yes. There is a tradition attributed to the Hebrew prophet Elijah that humanity had 6,000 years to live before being replaced by God’s Kingdom. There are scriptures, writings in the Talmud, early Christian teachings that support this. Also, even certain Hindu writings support it. Here is a link to a related video: Is the USA prophesied to be destroyed by 2028? In Spanish: Seran los Estados Unidos Destruidos en el 2028?
The Great Tribulation: What Happens First? What events have happened? What are some events that are now happening? And what events need to happen for the Great Tribulation to start? Here is a link to a related sermon video: Counting Down to the Great Tribulation. Here is a video in the Spanish language: Contando los eventos y el inicio de la Gran Tribulación.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2022, 2023, or 2024? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation start in 2022 or 2023? Here is a video in the Spanish language: Es El 2021 el año de La Gran Tribulación o el Grande Reseteo Financiero.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous. A related sermon is titled Ten Kings of Revelation and the Great Tribulation.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, and What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, and Early Heresies and Heretics, and Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, and Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, and Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List.