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Russia-Ukraine War Not a Sign of the ‘End Times,’ Says Bible Answer Man

Hanegraaff addressed a connection Robertson drew between the Hebrew word “rosh” and modern-day Russia. Some translations of Ezekiel 38 include in verses two and three that Gog is the “prince of Rosh.” The word “rosh,” said Hanegraaff, “sounds enough like ‘Russia’ to implicate Russia as the villain in sensationalistic end times scenarios.” He explained that “prophecy pundits” have been applying Ezekiel 38 to modern-day events and to Russia specifically for quite some time, to the extent that Russia is a “pillar in sensationalistic end times speculation.” Hanegraaff mentioned Dr. Mark Hitchcock as another example of someone making these claims. 

The word “Russia,” however, is an 11th century Viking word, said Hanegraaff, and not semantically linked to “rosh” at all. “That should be obvious,” he said. Hanegraaff went on to explain that, in addition to not understanding semantics, another mistake some make is not understanding the historical context of a passage. 

Ezekiel was prophesying during an “extremely dark period” during Judah’s history, said Hanegraaff. Ezekiel and other Israelites were exiled in Babylon, and his prophecies were announcing that “the worst lay right around the corner.” Hanegraaf believes that the events Ezekiel described would occur “a generation later” during the time when leaders such as Nehemiah lived, “not the 21st century.”

“The principles of Scripture are inviolate,” said Hanegraaff. “We need to understand the principles of biblical interpretation so that our modern-day imaginations don’t go wild.”