The future of Russia and Ukraine according to the Bible By Robin Schumacher for Christian Post
The invasion of the Ukraine by Russia has re-awakened fears of the communist Northern giant that haven’t been felt for a very long time. And fear is something all bullies, including Russia, prize even when everything else around them is failing.
While living in Russia, journalist David Satter tells of waiting in a potato line when a fight broke out among those on the street. “These lines are a disgrace. How can we live like this?” asked one man who was promptly answered by an old woman with, “Never mind — the whole world is afraid of us.”
This being their mindset, military action by Vladimir Putin should really surprise no one. When you have a disgraced country with a worldview proven to be a failure, an economy in shambles, a capital that mirrors Gotham City, utter lawlessness that makes the recent U.S. crime wave look tame by comparison, allies who resemble serial killers, and Olympic athletes who can’t compete without doping up, carrying out war is the most effective way for him to consolidate support for his deteriorating regime.
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Looking at the situation, political commentators are recalling the 2014 annexation of Crimea that caused the “Crimea effect,” in which, according to Nikolai Petrov of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, Russians “forgot their worries and felt everything was allowed and anything was possible.” Deflection, a favorite tactic of political failures, works anywhere naïve populations exist (just look at our own country).
So, in a sense, it’s a win-win for Putin who buttresses his own failing approval numbers while causing unreasonable fear everywhere else. That seems especially true in America where the panic-porn media trumpets the potential for nuclear clashes and the stock market sells off in sheer terror, never mind the fact that, before the invasion, Ukraine is a country to which 99% of Americans have never given a moment’s thought.
While I’m thankful every day God saved me and privileges me with knowing His truth, it’s times like these when I’m especially grateful to rest in His sovereign control over everything and know He’s never taken by surprise. And that includes actions by nations like Russia who have their fate spelled out clearly in Scripture.
God’s plan for the nations
When it comes to all the nations that have or will ever exist, there are basically two eschatological (End Times) buckets: (1) Israel, a nation divinely brought into existence and chosen by God to deliver the Messiah (the human Word) and the Bible (the written Word) to the world, and (2) Gentile Nations: non-Jews both beloved (the Church) and hated, used by God for His purposes.
