Russia Unleashed – The Bear with Three Ribs
The first beast, the lion with eagle wings, is a truly amazing description, as the eagle is also the national symbol of the United States. I believe that all the animals that describe the four beasts are the national symbols of those countries. If you had to guess which nation the second beast resembled, the bear with the three ribs in its mouth, I have no doubt that since the bear is the national symbol of Russia, very few people would not make this comparison. Let’s look again at Daniel’s description of the second beast (Daniel 8:5): “And suddenly another beast, second, like a bear. It was raised on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.
And they said to him thus: “Arise, eat much flesh!” If you remember, I also assumed that the second beast was the second nation mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The second nation was the kingdom of silver, which was described as the arms and breast of the statue. If we add all these prophetic images together, we end up with the following description of the second beast. Since the second beast is a kingdom of silver, I believe that the second beast is a strong economic power, not as strong as the United States (the first beast, the kingdom of gold), but still an economic power.
The two hands of the statue, which represents the second beast, show that this is a divided kingdom; the kingdom consists of two powerful factions fighting for control. The description of the bear raised on one side shows that one faction is much stronger than the other, but the other faction, although weaker, still retains some control over the kingdom. I believe that the three ribs in the bear’s mouth represent three different countries that were attacked by Russia and their economic resources were absorbed by Russia so that their nations were devastated. However, these “ribs” seem to have enough political power that the ribs can command the bear to invade and ravage other countries.
Ezekiel‘s Vision of Gog
“And the word of the Lord came to me and said:
Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal : And I will turn you back, and put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all kinds of armor, even a great company with armor and shields, all wielding swords: Persia , Ethiopia and Libya with them; all with shield and helmet:”
(Ezekiel 38:1-5)
Although I am not the first, I believe this passage describes the end-time invasion of Israel by a nation called Gog, and Gog represents the modern day nation of Russia. Many scholars believe that Meshech and Tubal are ancient names for the modern cities of Moscow and Tobolsk, Russia. I believe the three ribs telling the Russian bear to eat more meat are the peoples of Iran (Persian), Ethiopia and Libya as described in these verses.
“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against you, Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will bring you back, and leave only a sixth part of you, and I will cause you to come up from the northern countries, and I will bring you upon the mountains of Israel; And I will break your bow from your left hand, and I will make your arrows fall from your right hand.
You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your hosts, and the people who are with you; I will hand you over to all kinds of birds of prey and wild beasts of the field to be eaten. You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken it, says the Lord Jehovah. And I will send fire upon Magog, and upon them that dwell carelessly in the isles; and they shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I declare my holy name in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not suffer them to profane My holy name any more; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:1-7)
This passage describes how God will protect Israel and how devastating the destruction that Russia will meet will be. Russia’s weapons will be knocked out of her hands and only 1/6 of the Russian forces will survive this encounter. The “islands” in this passage indicate that Europe is involved in this campaign and God will also punish them for this offensive.
“Behold, he came and stood, says the Lord Jehovah; this is the day i was talking about. And those who live in the cities of Israel shall go out and set fire to and burn the weapons, both shields and shields, bows and arrows, hilts and spears, and shall burn them with fire seven years, so that they may not take wood from the field, nor to cut down anything from the forests; for they will burn the weapons with fire; and they will rob those who robbed them, and they will rob those who robbed them, says the Lord GOD. And in that day I will give a place to Gog there from the graves in Israel, the valley of travelers east of the sea; and she will stop the travelers’ noses; and there they shall bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-Gog. And for seven months the house of Israel will bury them to cleanse the land. and will bury them; and to them shall be known the day in which I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah.
And they shall set apart men of constant work, who shall pass through the land, to bury with the travelers those who remain on the face of the earth, to cleanse it; after the end of the seven months they shall seek. And travelers passing through the land, when one sees a human bone, must set a sign by it until the undertakers bury it in the valley of Hamon-Gog. And the name of the city shall be Hamona. Thus they will cleanse the earth. And you, son of man, thus says the Lord Jehovah: Say to every bird of feather and to every beast of the field: Gather together and come; gather from all sides to my sacrifice, which I offer for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the first of the earth, of rams, of lambs, of goats, and of bullocks, all the fatlings of Bashan. And you shall eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, of my sacrifice which I have offered for you. Thus shall ye be satisfied at My table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah. And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the judgment that I have executed and the hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.” (Ezekiel 39:8-22)
It is interesting to note that Israel will burn Russia’s weapons for seven years and use them as a source of energy; I believe this seven year period is the tribulation period. I believe this because the destruction of Russia, as Ezekiel writes about later in this chapter, marks the time when all Jews return to Israel. The destruction of these armies will be an incredible event as it will take Israel 7 months to bury all the bodies.
“And the Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity because of their iniquity; because they transgressed against Me, therefore I hid My face from them and delivered them into the hand of their enemies; so they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their crimes I dealt with them and hid My face from them. Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah: Now I will return the captivity of Jacob and I will have mercy on the whole house of Israel, they will be jealous for My holy name; after that they took their shame and all their crimes, with which they transgressed against me, when they lived safely in their land and no one scared them, when I brought them back from the people, and gathered them from the lands of their enemies, and I sanctified myself in them before the eyes of many nations; then they will know that I am the LORD their God, Who causes them to be led away captive among the heathen; but I have gathered them to their own land and have not left any of them there any more. Nor will I hide my face from them any more, for I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord Jehovah.” (Ezekiel 39:23-29)
As I mentioned earlier in this passage, it is obvious that the destruction of the Russian bear in Israel marks the time when the people of Israel, who are scattered throughout the world, will finally return to Israel.
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