As 135,000 Russian troops, along with military hardware and equipment, stand poised on Ukraine’s border, Russian warships mass in the Black Sea, ostensibly for an ill-timed exercise. The developments are manifesting an end-of-days prophecy made by a rabbinic visionary.

Russian “Naval Exercise”

Last Tuesday, a detachment of at least eight large landing ships (LLS) of the Russian Navy began passing the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits (also known as the Gallipoli Strait), transitioning from their stations in the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The landing ships can transport and land main battle tanks, other armored vehicles, helicopters, and several hundred troops each. They are also necessary for logistical support of an invasion. 

In total, more than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment, and about 10,000 military personnel are involved in the exercise. At least one Russian submarine and as many as four, equipped with land-attack missiles, have passed through the strait. Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement that the purpose of the exercise was to “work out the actions of the Navy and Aerospace Forces to protect Russian national interests in the world ocean, as well as to counter military threats to the Russian Federation from sea and ocean directions.”

Military experts estimate that Russia has in place about 70% of the military assets it needs for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine but would be able to move the remaining troops within a few weeks. 

#Video Detachment of large landing ships of the Russian Navy passes the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits https://t.co/9VW4Z1HTqE#DefenceMinistry #Navy #LargeLandingShip #CombatTraining pic.twitter.com/67Z5ZYq9Q7

— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) February 8, 2022

In theory, international law allows Turkey, a NATO member, to shut the straits to transit if Russia were to take military action against Ukraine.

Sanhedrin: Possible third stage of Gog and Magog

The Sanhedrin released a statement concerning the developing crisis, framing the current tensions in the context of the end-of-days war of Gog and Magog:

“There is a tradition for the people of Israel that three world wars will change the history of the world so that the world will be a better place to live in. And these wars are called the Gog and Magog War. Towards a new era called the ‘Days of Messiah.’

“There have been two world wars and the world has changed for the better, and the people of Israel have returned to their land, but the process is still not complete. The Gaon of Vilna (see below) wrote in the book Maayan Hayeshua: that if the nations of the world return the people of Israel to their land and help build the land, the war of Gog and Magog will be prevented.

“And in the name of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (known as the Chofetz Chaim) it was said that the Third World War would be within twenty-five years of the Second World War. And indeed we see that the words of the Gaon of Vilna were fulfilled when the Gentiles gave the people of Israel permission to return to the Land of Israel, and Russia played an important part in the establishment of the Israel state in 1948. Due to this action by the nations, World War III was postponed.

“Now we see great tension between Russia and Ukraine and this is said in the Midrash Rabbah in Genesis 2: 4: “If you see kingdoms provoking one another, look forward to the time of Messiah.” 

18th Century Prophecy: Russia sailing through Gallipoli

The  Sanhedrin then cited a teaching from Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, an 18th-century rabbinic sage known as the Vilna Gaon, who singled out Russian aggression as a precursor to the Messiah. After being held as “a closely guarded secret” for over 200 years, Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, a great-grandson of the Vilna Gaon, shared the full prophecy publically for the first time during the holiday of Purim in 2014. The text of the Vilna Gaon’s prophecy was reported by Rabbi Lazer Brody, an American-born Hasidic rabbi from Ashdod.

“When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard,” the Vilna Gaon told his followers just before his death in 1797.  

“And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), you should put on your Shabbat clothes and don’t take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute.”

The Vilna Gaon’s student,  Rav Chaim of Volozhin, added, “When the ships of the kingdom of Russia cross the Dardanelles you should dress in Shabbat clothes because this means the arrival of the Moshiach is close.” 

The Prophet Ezekiel hinted at Russia as being a leader in the Gog and Magog War, even though Russia did not exist in Biblical times.

O mortal, turn your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him. Ezekiel 38:2

In this verse, the Hebrew word for ‘chief’ is רֹאשׁ (Rosh), which clearly hints at ‘Russia.’

“Purim is a time when secrets are revealed,” the Sanhedrin added, emphaizing that the holiday of Purim will take place this year on March 16.

The Sanhedrin called for a resolution based on the verse in Isaiah:

Thus He will judge among the nations And arbitrate for the many peoples, And they shall beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks: Nation shall not take up Sword against nation; They shall never again know war. Isaiah 2:4

“We call for a peaceful solution to the problem, and the court on Mount Zion is ready to help as an arbitrator on the issue or in another way to reach a solution that suits both parties while keeping the interests of both sides.”

The declaration was signed by Rabbi Yoel Schwartz, Rabbi Meir Halevi, Rabbi Jonathan Hahn.

Could go nuclear

Russia generally holds a nuclear exercise every year but US military experts believe this year, the exercise is being held early due to the situation in Ukraine. 

Despite its military movements around Ukraine, Russia continues to deny any plans to invade or attack. It should be noted that in 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. President Obama was quietly criticized for his response which was limited to sanctions, precisely the strategy President Biden has stated he intends to employ in the current crisis.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to deploy tactical nuclear weapons should NATO powers interfere in Ukraine. New footage appeared last week showing four newly deployed Russian Aerospace Forces MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors armed with nuclear-capable Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in the Russian Chkalovsk Air Base in Kaliningrad bordering Poland and Lithuania.

It is assumed that Ukraine does not have nuclear weapons. Prior to 1991, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and had Soviet nuclear weapons in its territory. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine held about one-third of the Soviet nuclear arsenal totaling approximately 1,900 warheads, the third-largest in the world at the time, as well as significant means of its design and production. In 1994, at the behest of US President Bill Clinton, Ukraine agreed to hand over its nuclear stockpile to Russia for dismantlement  and to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This was done with the expressed assurances from the US and Britian that the Soviet Union would not invade Ukraine. Ukraine lacked the resources to dismantle these nuclear assets.  When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine still held a total of 176 nuclear warheads and several means of deployment. 

These agreements were clearly violated in 2014 when Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Obama was quietly criticized for his response which was limited to sanctions, precisely the strategy President Biden has stated he intends to employ in the current crisis.