The Bible prophesies an alliance between Russia and Europe

Latter-day Bible prophecy predicts that there will be an alliance between Russia and Europe. We should be open in stating that we have not yet seen this alliance take place. Currently Russia and Europe are at odds with each other, mainly because of Ukraine. But ultimately, this has to change. The destiny of these two powers is a united antisemitic force that attacks the Jewish people in the land of Israel.
Firstly, lets consider what we expect the situation to be between Russia and Europe and the young lions of Tarshish in the latter days.

Ezekiel 38, the famous prophecy of Armageddon and the invasion of the land of Israel describes two groups of nations. The first is the confederacy that attacks the Jewish people described for us in verses 1-6. The nations include “Rosh” in verse 3 (translated as Chief prince”) which corresponds to the people of the “Rus” now found in Russia, directly north of the land of Israel. But this gathering of nations also includes Gomer and Magog. Magog is thought to be the territory between the rivers of the Don and Danube in central Europe, while Gomer corresponds to the area of France today. Ezekiel 38 describes the time when the Jewish people have returned to their land in the latter days. This is the era that we are living in. Therefore, in our era, we expect to see Russia and Europe grow closer together, despite Russia’s militarist and expansionist ideals. Both Europe and Russia will gather against the Jewish people in their land. 

The book of Daniel describes the same picture in the latter days, but through a different lens. In his dream, King Nebuchadnezzar sees an image that represents the kingdom of men. It begins with the Gold of the King of Babylon and finishes with the feet made of mixed iron and clay. While this image was a prophecy of the way that the kingdom of men would change over time, it also tells us something else. The image is standing in the latter days, when the stone of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Israel strikes it on the feet. The iron legs were a prophecy of the Roman Empire that would split into two, East and West. The feet of the image still contain an element of Iron, or the power of Rome in them. The vision describes the kingdom of men in the latter days, with the two feet of the kingdom of men standing in the ancient centres of the eastern and western Roman Empire. The Western centre was Italy and encompassed catholic Europe. The Eastern centre was Constantinople, or modern day Istanbul. This was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, when it was overrun by the Ottoman Turks. Since then, the heritage and religion of the Byzantine, of Eastern Roman Empire has shifted to Russia in places like Moscow and St Petersburg. There is a reason why Moscow is called the third  Rome - its a reference to the fact that it is the natural heir of the power of the Eastern Roman Empire. 

Russia: Heir to the Eastern Roman Empire

This history is a vital part of modern Russia’s heritage, This can be seen for example in the Oxford Slavonic papers, written by Dimitri Obelensky, who was a lecturer at the University of Oxford. He writes that “Byzantium is the main source of Russian Civilisation. The continuing strength of the Byzantine inheritance in modern Russia has asserted itself again and again in the form of the Orthodox Christian faith. It is highly significant that Russia entered the European family of nations through her conversion to Christianity, for which she is indebted to Byzantium. The Heritage of East Rome is the main channel through which Russia become a European nation. Byzantium, (or Constantinople or Istanbul) was Russia’s gateway to Europe. Byzantium brought Russia five gifts: Her religion, her law, her view of the world, her art and her writing”.

This is why bro Graham Pearce wrote in the 1970s that “we ought not fix our eyes entirely on the papacy as the essence of Babylon the Great. Babylonish qualities belong to the east as well as the West. Russia is truly the heir to the old Roman Empire. We see Russia as a nation prepared by her long history to play her part in the final brief revival of the power of the Roman empire – the fourth beast of Daniel – when the saints slay the beast and take the kingdom.”

This is vital for understanding current events and Bible prophecy in the latter days. Both Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 2 demonstrate an alliance between the Rosh, or the power of the Eastern Roman Empire and the central European powers of the ancient western Roman Empire. 

Additionally, the ‘Tarshish’ group of nations (Britain and her offspring - the commonwealth and the US) stand in Ezekiel 38 on the opposite sides of the conflict. 

Trump causes a rift with Europe

Understanding Bible prophecy is not about shoehorning current affairs or the news cycle to fit with random bible passages. The prophets of scripture give us a picture of the era of the latter days, when Israel have returned to the land - and how the nations align themselves against the Jewish people. 

For this reason, it is exciting to observe the way that Trump has caused a rift with Europe over Ukraine and the minerals deal that was supposed to be signed a couple of weeks ago. 

During Trump’s inauguration speech, he also exclusively focussed on issues his side of the pond. For example, it talked about domestic policy and then referenced Greenland, the new gulf of America, Mexico, Canada and the Panama Canal. He very clearly signalled that his sphere of influence was primarily based around the Americas. What that left unsaid, was that this made Europe the sphere of influence that may ultimately become dominated by Russia. We should expect to see more of this type of isolationism in the future. The same picture could also be seen when JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security conference in a speech that went down like a lead balloon with the European leaders. The bracing arrival of the Trump presidency has resulted in a gap between the US and Europe - despite Europes shift to the right wing in recent elections of various member states. This is bringing us closer to the gap between the Tarshish group of nations and the antisemitic confederacy of nations in Ezekiel 38. 

A few headlines from the last week make this clear:

• “Taking the Pulse: Is the Transatlantic relationship at a breaking point?”
• “Free world needs a new leader - Europe defends Zelenskyy after Trump attack”
• “JD Vance stokes European fears that rift with the US will outlast Trump”. 
• “Western allies rally around Zelensky after Trump spat deepens rift with Europe”
• “Moscow aims to exploit US-Europe rift, experts warn”. 

Summary

Its pretty clear that Trump’s dealings with Zelensky have widened the gap between Europe and the US. How Russia will become confederate with Europe - whether by treaty or war - remains unknown. But we can be certain about the way that Bible prophecy describes the uniting of these two power blocs. We find the same message in multiple different scriptures. To summarise:

• Ezekiel 38 - the confederacy that includes nations from Russia and Europe
• Daniel 2 - the two ancient centres of the Roman Empire
• Daniel 7-8 - describes the perspective of both the eastern and Western Roman Empire
• Revelation 16 - the sixth vial prophecies the resurgence of the beast (western catholic Europe) and the dragon  - the military power of the Roman Empire found in the east. 

This has been Daniel Blackburn joining you for this weeks edition of Bible in the News.