Russophobia is emerging around the world. There are individuals in the Russian government who are making evil decisions that affect Russia and other countries—Putin comes to mind, as do others who may not be as familiar to Western readers—but these are not grounds to resent Russian people. Within the Russian population are plenty of believers who are doing excellent work in a dark place. They are to be commended (if not now, then they will certainly be rewarded later).
It would be easy to build a case that Russia is evil. One can build this case without actually talking about Russia per se. All men are born spiritually dead and the state religion of Russia is Eastern Orthodoxy, which is a false religion. It follows that a large portion of Russian society consists of unsaved people who walk according to their lusts and self-righteousness (Eph. 2:1–2). It is also true of Russia that it is subject to the angelic conflict. We can derive biblically that there seem to be fallen angels over the nations (Dan. 10:14), so Russia likely has an angelic hierarchy that is dedicated to its spiritual destruction. The doctrines of the world, the flesh, and the devil are true of all countries, so we cannot justify sentiments against Russian people on biblical grounds.
Some Thoughts About Satan And Gog
However, Russia may be facing a unique challenge that we can theorize based on some elements of biblical prophecy. The Bible speaks of an evil ruler who will start a war with Israel, most likely after the rapture but before the tribulation. He is called Gog, of the land of Magog, who is “the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezek. 38:2, 3; 39:1). It is difficult to determine exactly where Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal are located, but it is often accepted that Rosh is Russia. Moscow has been proposed as the biblical Meshech. If this is true, then Gog is the ruler of Russia and Moscow. Satan is aware of this prophecy, but he does not necessarily know when the Rapture will occur. There is a theory that Satan always has his eyes on Russia and always keeps someone there whom he can raise to fight against Israel. We know that Ivan the Terrible was not Gog (because he did not invade Israel), but he was certainly like Gog. According to the theory, it is possible that Satan was invested in Ivan and had him ready to go, should God decide to rapture the Church and reinstate Israel. From this line of reasoning, there have been conjectures that Putin is the biblical Gog. While Putin is certainly Gog-like in character, we must realize that we simply cannot know for sure if Putin will fulfil this role until it happens.
Modern interpreters often point to 19th-century commentators who said that Rosh was Russia long before there was the Soviet Union or the state of Israel to go to war with. The Cold War was not underway, so this is often a defence to show the Russia-Rosh connection is not just 20–21st-century newspaper exegesis. However, Russia also was in turmoil in the 19th century (as always), so the accusation of newspaper exegesis is not defeated on these grounds. On the other hand, if the above theory is correct, then the Satanic conflict could contribute to why Russia has always been in conflict, not just in the 19th-21st centuries.
This theory does not mean that Russia cannot have good leaders. It simply proposes that Satan will always have someone—either in a prominent office or behind the scenes—that he is prepared to use for this future war.
Some Thoughts About Rosh and Ukraine
I think that the Biblical Rosh is more likely to align with Ukraine rather than Russia.
We can probably assume that the biblical Rosh and Meshech were locations that were contemporaries of Ezekiel. There is archaeological evidence for people occupying the area of Ukraine and the Moscow region since before Ezekiel’s days, so this is not problematic for either of them to be Rosh. For Moscow to be Meshech, it would need to go far back enough to take a name from Genesis 10, which is also not impossible. To determine which is Rosh, we should think about whether modern-day Russia or Ukraine was more likely to be called Rus’ back then.
Unfortunately, there is a great deal of uncertainty here. Is Rosh even a place? Rosh is also Hebrew for head or chief, so some translations understand it to be speaking of the “chief” prince of Meshech and Tubal. Assuming it is a place, it could be a place completely unrelated to Russia or Ukraine. I may be completely wrong, but I will at least provide my reasoning for saying that biblical Rosh is likely modern-day Ukraine.
The word, Russia, comes from the root word, Rus’. Nobody knows where the word Rus’ comes from, but apparently, it was in use by 839 A.D. We know this because the Annals of Saint Bertin contains a reference to a people who called themselves Rhos. The Byzantine word for people of Rus’ was Ρως, which is the same as the Septuagint rendering in Ezekiel 38:2. When Kievan Rus’ was formed, they took the name Rus’ as it was already the term for the land. I am assuming that this name goes far back into antiquity (and I would say that this is the weak spot in my conjecture since we simply do not know how far back it goes). Where was Kievan Rus’? In modern-day Ukraine, not Russia. Eventually, borders expanded and capitals shifted and, long story short, Russia was born and Moscow became its capital. But this was all after Kyiv had come to prominence; Ukraine is a more ancient Rus’ than Russia.
Let us now turn our attention to the phrase, “Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal” (Ezek. 38:2). Notice that there is one land called Magog, and three areas within Magog: Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. If Rosh is Russia, then it would be awkward for it to be listed at the same rank as a location within Russia, such as Meshech/Moscow. However, if Rosh is a region in Ukraine and Meshech is a region along the Moscow river, then they are both fit comfortably within the one land of Magog. This would bring us to a conclusion that may be concerning, that Gog of Magog will rule both Ukraine and Moscow. In other words, Ukraine and Moscow will not always be under separate rulers. Perhaps Gog will rule from Kyiv, perhaps from Moscow, perhaps from Tubal, but I would say that the land of Magog includes all three.
Speaking of which, Tubal is a whole ‘nuther topic.
TL;DR
This is a matter of nerdiness and not at all to be taken as a litmus test for orthodoxy. It seems that there will be a future ruler named Gog. He will rule a land called Magog, which consists of modern-day Ukraine and Russia. Satan does not know when he will need Gog, so he is always investing in someone in that vast territory.