Media reports claim that a Russian S-300 anti-air battery opened fire on Friday night against IDF warplanes operating over northwestern Syria, marking the first time Russia has actively interfered with an Israeli air attack in Syria. The fact that the maneuver originated in the ‘north’ and was executed by Moscow has rabbis in Israel noticing several parallels to the War of Gog and Magog as prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel.

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)

“Two possible Gog and Magog scenarios”

Rabbi Ken Spiro, a historian and Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah Yeshiva, stated that this new development adds new and conflicting elements to regional politics and could conform to a possible Gog and Magog scenario.

“Most people mistakenly believe that Gog and Magog will be all of the nations rising up against Israel,” Rabbi Spiro said. “That is only one possible scenario, and if this happens, these nations will be punished for this. Though Gog and Magog are certainly going to be multi-national, there are Jewish sources that describe nations turning against each other. It could be Esav against Ishmael. It could be that this is the plague Ezekiel describes is that all of the nations will turn against each other.”

“One thing for sure is that evil united is not good for the world. EU, the European Union, is actually an acronym for ‘evil united,’ and we see that the only thing that unites them is a hatred of Israel.”

“People try to frame international relations in black and white when it is a big mix of varying shades of gray,” Rabbi Spiro said. “It used to be that way with half the world allied against communism in the Cold War, but since the fall of the Soviet Union, there are a lot of different players pulling in a lot of different directions. No country is entirely the enemy of another, and alliances are nuanced.  Even among the Muslims, you have Sunni against Shia and Arab against non-Arab. The US used to be Israel’s strongest, unshakeable ally, but that is no longer the case.”

“Putin is not entirely against Israel, making him the first Russian leader to take that position,” Rabbi Spiro said. “But he has a lot of personal interests. The Russians have always wanted a port on the Mediterranean, and in Syria, they finally have that.” 

“There is a change in the status quo between Israel and Putin. He has turned up the heat, sending a strong message that since the world has turned against him, Israel should be careful not to join in. There are a lot of more drastic actions he could have taken. His bottom line is ‘what is good for Putin’s political survival.’”

“A man does not sin unless a crazy spirit enters him.”

Rabbi Pinchas Winston explained that when God wanted to make great changes in the world, like a spark of the War of Gog and Magog, he first had to install the specific person in power who will bring the event into reality.

“World War Two may have been inevitable, but the Holocaust would never have happened if the German ruler was a normal, sane person,” Rabbi Winston said. “It took a Hitler.”

The rabbi cited the verse from Proverbs:

Like channeled water is the mind of the king in Hashem‘s hand; He directs it to whatever He wishes. Proverbs 21:1

“When God wanted to take the Jews out of Egypt, the first thing he did was change the pharaohs,” Rabbi Winston said, citing the Talmud (Sotah 3a), which states, “A man does not sin unless a crazy spirit enters him.”

“A normal person as a leader would never bring about the War of Gog and Magog. The world has a disturbingly large supply of sociopaths, but the last couple of months have shown us without a doubt that Putin is filled with precisely the kind of craziness that would allow him to lead nations into an end-of-days war. That he is firmly in power indicates where we are potentially headed.”

“On the other side, God brought Joe Biden into power. He is clearly just a figurehead. But he is a unique figurehead who has allowed so many catastrophes to happen in such a short period of time. This is unnatural for a president of the United States. After watching the southern border crisis continue unabated after the Afghanistan debacle, after leading the country into 8.5% inflation, Biden is clearly the kind of leader who can watch the world descend into chaos and despair and not try to stop it.”