Vladimir Putin today is considered by many to be the world’s enemy number one. He’s a bloodthirsty tyrant, and his country holds the world’s largest nuclear stockpile.

Bible prophecy speaks of an evil despot who is going to rise from Russia in the end times to lead a great coalition of nations that invades Israel. What we see happening today is a frightening preview of that. 

The Bible in Ezekiel 38 and 39 talks about an individual called Gog. These two chapters were written over 2500 years ago, but they read like they were ripped from today’s headlines.

Gog is the leader of the coalition of nations and is addressed directly by God. Ezekiel 38:1-3 says, “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.”

It is not exactly clear the meaning of the word “Gog.” Some believe that it means mountain, high, or exalted—which paints a picture of this leader, Gog, being very inflated with pride. I don’t believe Gog is this individual’s name. It appears to be used as a title like Pharaoh or President. Others believe the word “Gog” means darkness. Either way, Gog will be a prideful, very dark figure in the end times.

Vladimir Putin, to use the words of Joel Rosenberg, is “Gog-esque.” Now, I’m not saying that Vladimir Putin is Gog—that would be reckless speculation—but at the very least, we could say that Vladimir Putin is a frightening foreshadow and an awful anticipation of this Gog figure.

Gog is not the same as the Antichrist. But according to Ezekiel 38 and 39, when Gog leads an invasion of Israel in the end times, he and his forces are going to be supernaturally wiped out by God, which would create a huge power vacuum in the world that will allow the Antichrist, as a leader of the west, to ascend to great power.

Vladimir Putin dreams of a new imperial Russia—a restoration of the Russian Empire. He has compared himself to the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and uses brutal, heavy-handed tactics.

He invaded Georgia back in 2008, Crimea in 2014, Ukraine in 2022, and has been deeply involved in the civil war in Syria since 2015. He has expansionist desires—wanting to expand and restore the great Russian Empire.

At the end of last year, Putin ordered the military to increase its number of soldiers by 170,000, which would bring the Russian troops to a total of 1.3 million.

Vladimir Putin has now ruled as president for 25 years, and there’s no sign that that’s going to end for this new Russian “tzar.” There’s a long list of Russians who’ve died after running afoul of Vladimir Putin. Putin will do anything to maintain his stranglehold on power—all kinds of brutality and savagery.

Let me just mention a few examples:

• Sergei Yushenkov, a leader of an anti-Kremlin party, was shot in front of his Moscow home on October 17, 2003.
• Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent journalist, was killed execution-style in her apartment in 2006.
• Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent, died in London after being poisoned in 2006.
• Natalya Estemirova, a human rights activist, was shot to death in 2009.
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group who led an attempted coup in July of 2023, seemed to be let back into the good graces of Putin until August 23, when a plane carrying himself and all his top associates exploded mid-air.
• Maksim Kuzminov, a 28-year-old pilot in Russia who defected with his equipment-loaded helicopter and was given sanctuary in Ukraine, was shot 12 times by an unknown gunman in a parking garage in Spain in early February.
• Alexei Navalny, Putin’s chief antagonist, was killed in a remote prison in the Arctic on February 16, the eve of a prisoner swap.

Of course, Alexei Navalny’s death has caused an international uproar. We can see all the brutality and savagery that Putin will do to hold on to power—and it’s exactly like the person who is described in Ezekiel 38.

In Ezekiel 38, it says that Gog is of “the land of Magog,” which is part of Russia and maybe Ukraine. However, it goes on to say that he is the “prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” Rosh is a reference to Russia, but “Meshech and Tubal” are in modern-day Turkey. I’ve always wondered about that. Could this final Russian leader rule over Russia… and Turkey?

The Atlantic Council publication wrote this week:

Russian president and indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin should be closely watched in Turkey. Though Putin took the opportunity to contradict historical facts and pure common sense, the interview offers valuable insights into how the Russian leadership views its relations with neighboring countries.

During more than two hours of what a European Commission spokesperson called “old lies, distortions, and manipulations, and . . . hostility towards the West,” Putin demonstrated a morbid obsession with Russian imperial grandeur, justified the invasion of neighboring states, and showed zero respect for international law and peace treaties.

As a country that has spent more years in wars with Russia than with any other rival and that has competed for dominance in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea over centuries, Turkey should not take the Russian threat lightly.

Turkey and Russia have been involved in more wars over the years than with any other country.

The publication continues:

In February 2023, while Turkey was still recovering from a devastating earthquake, Russian State Duma Member Semyon Bagdasarov issued a call to attack Turkey and annex Istanbul: “Turkey is the historical lands of Russia. Turkey is now in a dire situation. Let’s take advantage of this and return our lands. Let’s squeeze it out of the Central Asia, undermine its influence in Ukraine, drive it out of the South Caucasus, raise certain forces in Turkey and return what historically belonged to us—Constantinople.”

He went as far as to suggest that “the crisis in Turkey must end up in its collapse” and in Russia’s return to Istanbul.

“Some Russian opinion leaders,” according to this article, “have not abandoned the idea of conquering Istanbul when the opportunity arises.” Ankara is the capital of Turkey, but Istanbul is the main city. The Russians obviously have expansionist ideas.

Now, whether Vladimir Putin is Gog or not—only time will tell. But make no mistake, this evil ruler will rise and do exactly what Ezekiel predicted over 2500 years ago.

This is another apologetic or proof for the truth of the Bible, that the Bible is the very Word of God Himself. It’s also another clear indication to us that what we see today is a preview. It’s the warm-up for what’s coming and signals that the return of our Lord could be very near.

Dr. Mark Hitchcock is an author, associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma, and hosts the weekly program “Marking The End Times.”