Prince of Rosh

Russia (Gog, Magog)

I do not know when the "Last Days" will occur, no one does. Yeshua/Jesus said only the Father knew when the "Last Days" were. However,events are occurring around us every day that makes one who studies history and Bible scripture realize that we entering uncharted waters. The pace of unusual events seems to be increasing. The Lord warns us to be watchmen and I consider myself a watchman.

The historian Josephus identified the offspring of Magog as the Scythians, a name used in antiquity for peoples north of the Black Sea. According to him, the Greeks called Scythia Magogia.

Some modern Georgians claim descent from Tubal and Meshech. A Georgian historian, Ivane Javakhishvili, considered Tabal, Tubal, Jabal and Jubal to be ancient Georgian tribal designations.

Gog, prince of Magog in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1, is considered a Japhetite tribe, identified by the historian Josephus with the Cappadocian Moschoi (Mushki, also associated with Phrygians or Bryges) and their capital Mazaca. In Hippolytus of Rome's chronicle, 234 AD, the "Illyrians" were identified as Meshech's offspring. In addition, Georgians have traditions that they, and other Caucasus people including Armenians, share descent from Meshech (Georgian: Meskheti), Tubal, and Togarmah.

According to a legend Moscow (Moskva) was founded by King Mosokh son of Japheth (i.e. Meshech), and was named for him and his wife, Kva.

Rosh is the seventh of the ten sons of Benjamin named in Genesis 46:21.
A nation named Rosh is also mentioned in Ezekiel 38:2-3; 39:1 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and prophesy concerning him." Also in a variant reading of Isaiah 66:19 and the Septuagint Jeremiah 32:23.

Ezekiel prophesied that in the Last Days, the Russian people would look with jealousy upon the great developments in the land of Israel. The Russian people will want the wealth produced there. Israel today is the largest food exporter to Europe.

Soldiers from Persia, Cush and Phut will augment a vast Russian army.

A Prophecy Against Gog
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of [a] Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him 3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of [b] Meshech and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. 5 Persia, Cush [c] and Phut will be with them, all with shields and helmets, 6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
7 " 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. 11 You will say, "I will invade a land (Israel) of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. 12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land." 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages [d] will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" '
14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? 15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. 16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
17 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
Footnotes:
a. Ezekiel 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh ,
b. Ezekiel 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh,
c. Ezekiel 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region
d. Ezekiel 38:13 Or her strong lions

Let’s examine the genealogy; Noah had a son named Ham. Cush and Phut were Ham’s sons.

The Cushites are people who live in the areas of the Horn of Africa such as Eritrea and Somalia; Cush may also include the other side of the Red Sea including Saudi Arabia and Yemen; the Beja people in Sudan and Egypt also speak a Cushitic language.

The historian Josephus wrote that Phut founded the ancient kingdom of Libya.

Below is what the prophet Joel had to say about Gog Magog:

20 "I will drive the northern army (Russia/Gog Magog) far from you,
pushing it into a parched and barren land,
with its front columns going into the eastern sea [a]
and those in the rear into the western sea. [b]
And its stench will go up;
its smell will rise."
Surely he has done great things. [c] Joel 2:20
Footnotes:
a. Joel 2:20 That is, the Dead Sea
b. Joel 2:20 That is, the Mediterranean
c. Joel 2:20 Or rise. / Surely it has done great things."


The prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39 further tell us that Russia (Gog Magog), Iran (Persia), Libya (Phut), and Turkey (Gomer) will all form alliances together, before eventually trying to attack Israel from the North.

The historical invasion routes come through Syria and Lebanon. This could mean that Syria and Lebanon no longer exist; it could mean either Syria and Lebanon are active members of the coalition against Israel, or it could mean military forces of the Russian-Iranian alliance have overrun these countries. It could also mean that Syria and Lebanon have been absorbed into some type of confederation like the United Arab Republic that Nasser founded with Syria.

Let’s consider some current events. Today, President Dmitry Medvedev and Anatoly Serdyukov, Russia's defense minister, said NATO expansion, international terrorism, and regional conflicts were reasons why Russia was going to upgrade its nuclear forces. About $43 billion will be budgeted for weapons purchases this year to upgrade the aging nuclear force.
Russia will embark on a military modernization plan despite Russia’s worst economic crisis in a decade. Russia's stock market, for example, is down 75%. The value of the Russian ruble is down about 30%.

The Russians accused the United States of strengthening its military presence near Russian borders and seeking mineral wealth from central Asian states. Medvedev will take a tough position on arms control in his talks next month with President Obama.

Serdyukov told military officers "U.S. aspirations have been aimed at getting access to raw materials, energy and other resources of ex-Soviet nations. Active support was given to the processes aimed at pushing Russia out of the sphere of its traditional interests."

Moscow has fiercely opposed plans to put Ukraine and Georgia on track to NATO membership.

Russia’s glaring weaknesses became visible in its war with Georgia last summer. There were shortages of precision "smart" weapons and modern communications gear. Medvedev said, "Let me mention top priorities, the main one is a qualitative increase in the troops readiness, primarily of strategic nuclear forces. They must guarantee the fulfillment of all tasks of ensuring Russia's security. In the past year, we have transformed a whole range of combat units and formations by providing them with modern equipment, and in 2011 we will begin the large-scale rearmament of the army and navy."

Military officials said more than 10 new intercontinental ballistic missiles will go into service in 2009 and the Bulava missile will go into service by January. Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, the chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, said the first three RS-24, multi-warhead ballistic missiles will be deployed after Dec. 5 when the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) expires. No date has been announced for new strategic arms negotiations

Turkey is leaving the Western sphere of influence. Syria, Turkey and Iran are forming a strategic, regional alliance. Over the past few months, Turkey has denounced Israel and is now leaning politically towards Russia and Iran. Turkey has called for Israel to be banned from U.N. meetings. This is noteworthy because Turkey is "Gomer" in the prophecy and is a key player with Russia and Iran against Israel.

The historian Josephus placed Gomer and the "Gomerites" in Anatolian Galatia. The Christian writer Hippolytus of Rome in c. 234 assigned Gomer as the ancestor of the Cappadocians, another Anatolian people. However, Cappadocia is right beside Galatia. They are both in Turkey.

The countries that Ezekiel wrote about are beginning to align together to stand against Israel.

Last January Russia's military leaders approved plans to station warships permanently in friendly ports across the globe.

The Russian navy had been in decline from since the break up of the USSR. The Russian navy has been reasserting itself over the last year by chasing Somali pirates around the coast of east Africa. For the first time since 1991 a Russian warship cruised off Cuba after visiting South America. A rejuvenated navy is central to a strategy for Russia to project itself back into foreign affairs. Russia is negotiating with foreign governments to permanently station warships at bases around the world.

A Russian naval official said "Nobody can predict where problems could flare up…..what we need are permanent bases…..." The Russians are in negotiations to build a permanent Black Sea Port in the Russia-backed breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.

In January 2009 Russia decided to establish naval bases in Libya, Syria and Yemen. A naval official was quoted as saying "It is difficult to say how much time it will take to create the bases for our fleet in these countries, but within a few years this will be done without question." The Syrian port of Tartus will be revived as a Russian naval base. During the Cold War, the Soviet navy had a permanent presence in the Mediterranean, using Tartus as a supply point. Opening a naval base in the Libyan port of Benghazi was among the main issues discussed during Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's visit to Moscow in October 2008.

In early March 2009 Libya has signed with Russia a contract worth up to an estimated $200 million to buy three missile boats.

Mikhail Barabanov, science editor of the Arms Export journal said a military contract with Vietnam for the Molniya missile attack boats valued the vessels at $45 million apiece without weapons, so the Libyan contract could be worth a minimum $150 million, and as much as $200 million with arms and spare parts.

President Vladimir Putin visited Tripoli last April and relations were further strengthened by Muammar Gaddafi's subsequent visit to Moscow.

During Putin's visit, the two countries signed a deal to write off $4.6 billion of Libya's debt in exchange for a host of new deals, including $2 billion in Russian arms agreements.

Shortly after President Obama’s election Medvedev was in Kyrgyzstan. He was there to get the U.S. kicked out. The Russians do not like the U.S. being in their backyard of Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a crucial supply line to Afghanistan & Pakistan. The Russians do not like the U.S. giving military supplies and advisers to Ukraine, Georgia and the Stans. These areas are historically Russia's geo-political sphere of influence. Russia is reasserting itself in central Asia.

· Russia is building alliances with Iran, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. All of these countries are plotting secretly against the U.S. and Israel.
· Russia is scheduled to complete Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in 2009
· Moscow, in December 2008, began delivering the highly sophisticated medium-range air defense S-300 system to Iran for securing its nuclear and strategic sites against potential attack.
· Russia plans to install S-300 system in Syria to protect Tartus
· Iran and Russia announced in February plans to boost defense cooperation
· Russia plans to build navy bases in Libya
· Russian navy is going to build base at Tartus, Syria
· Russia's Gazprom is increasing oil holdings in Libya
· Russians attacked Georgia
· Russians are punishing the Ukraine and eastern Europe causing shortages of energy
· Russians are attempting to control oil-rich Chechnya
· Russians have signed multi-billion dollar weapons and nuclear deals with Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia
· Russians have resumed strategic bomber over flights towards the U.S.
· Russia supplies 33% of Europe's energy. This gives the Russians power to intimidate others
· Russia opposes U.S. missile defenses in Poland and related radar installations in the Czech Republic
· Russia is building strategic alliances with nations in Central Asia
· Russia is considering deals with Cuba and Venezuela to put Russian bombers, carrying nuclear weapons, on their soil

The Russian bear is waking from hibernation. This is an old, wily and sometimes wise bear. By the way, he is a Grizzly as Napoleon and Hitler found out.

Historically, the Russian rulers and people have been very anti-Semitic and if the Russian economy spirals downward anti-Semitism will increase. Russian prejudice caused many Jews to leave Russia and go to Israel. The Jewish exodus has been good news for Israel. The Russian brain drain benefited Israel; consequently, Israel is becoming a world hi-tech center. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have invested billions in Israel.

The Bible clearly states that Israel's enemies will plot behind her back. I believe this is occurring as we speak. I also believe America’s enemies are doing the same thing, plotting behind our backs. We may be getting so focused on domestic problems that we do not recognize international plotting.

President Obama is a rookie when it comes to foreign policy and Panetta has no intelligence experience. Joe Biden warned President Obama would get a baptism by fire. This administration is ignorant about what is going on around them in foreign lands, especially Russia. I would speculate they are not listening to the people in the intelligence trenches. Obama's inexperience, in my opinion, is clearly showing and the Russians see his inexperience. Khrushchev saw JFK’s inexperience at the Bay of Pigs in 1960. Then Khrushchev proceeded to test Kennedy with a Berlin crisis. All of Khrushchev’s manipulations culminated in Khrushchev putting Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) in Cuba and the world ended up on the brink of nuclear war. Hence, we have a precedent for the Russian bear flexing his muscles.

The Obama administration has been vocal about its desire to repair rifts between the U.S. and Russia. In Munich last month, Vice President Joe Biden told a gathering of world leaders, "It's time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should be working together with Russia."

President Obama is wasting his time trying to get Russia to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. President Obama offered to give up our missile defense system in Poland and its related radar in Czechoslovakia if the Russians would help with Iran. Russian officials have dismissed such a notion. Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Russian nationalists, have no desire to help the U.S. Russia is making a lot of money doing business with Tehran. They do not care about U.S. national security.

President Obama and his administration need to get up to speed quickly on the Russian Bear.