The world woke this morning to stunning images of Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine.

Russian missiles are striking targets across most of Ukraine. Artillery shells are raining down on towns, cities and key infrastructure. Buildings are on fire and there are already multiple civilian causalities. Russian paratroopers have captured an airfield near Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city. Meanwhile, Russian tanks and soldiers continue to roll into Ukraine.

World leaders are aghast. “Peace in our continent has been shattered,” said North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We now have war in Europe, on a scale and of a type we thought belonged to history.” The Drudge headline this morning encapsulates what many are thinking: “Countdown to WW III.”

How did this happen? Like nato’s secretary general, many people believed that war in 21st-century Europe was impossible, that conflict of this magnitude and consequence “belonged to history.” But here we are, on the cusp of what could become the most significant war since World War ii!

Those who study and believe Bible prophecy are not surprised. If you know the Bible, you know that war of this nature does not belong to history. In fact, prophecy tells us that conflict and suffering much worse than this are coming.

I have been warning for more than two decades that Vladimir Putin would be responsible for violent conquests and that he would set in motion some astonishing and historic events. This understanding comes from studying the Bible and believing God—and He has much to say about Russia and Vladimir Putin!

Ezekiel 38 is an especially important passage about Russia. Verse 8 uses the phrase “the latter years.” This is referring to the time just before the return of Jesus Christ. This whole chapter contains staggering understanding about the powerful Russian empire and its widely feared “prince.”

“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” (verses 1-2). The “son of man,” God’s human messenger, is responsible for identifying this “chief prince.”

I strongly believe this “chief prince” is Vladimir Putin, and I have explained why many times over the past 20 years. The alarming and sobering scenes coming out of Ukraine today dramatically prove that this understanding is right. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled this very moment in Ukraine!

The correct translation of Ezekiel 38:2 is “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.” In Assyrian and Greek histories, Meshech appears as Musku, Muski or Mushki—all names related to the Russian spelling of Moscow. What about Tubal? On the eastern side of the Ural Mountains lies the city of Tobolsk, named after the Tobol River, a name derived from Tubal. Tobolsk was once the seat of Russian government over Siberia and was basically considered Russia’s Asian capital.

Rosh was the ancient name of Russia, once called Rus. Many encyclopedias and commentaries (such as the Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary) recognize this. So who is this “prince” of Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk?

This is what I wrote four years ago in my booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia’: “The use of all three names shows that this is an individual ruler of all the peoples of Russia, from the west to the east. The reference to the cities of Moscow and Tobolsk helps us see how vast Russian territory is in these latter days. This giant swath of land indicates the prince will probably conquer more nations of the former Soviet Union. When you study these scriptures alongside current events revealing modern Moscow’s imperialist direction, you see that Russian President Vladimir Putin could well be the prince of Rosh.”

Vladimir Putin has done more than anyone else to rebuild the colossal Russian empire. The Bible told us to expect the “prince of Rosh” to conquer more territory!

People would be surprised by how much the Bible tells us about geopolitics. As I wrote in that 2017 booklet, “If you add Bible prophecy to a good understanding of history, you can foresee the future with striking clarity.”

In 2008, after Putin invaded Georgia, I wrote: “This was the first military strike of a rising Asian superpower—and there will be more!”

“Will a crisis occur over Ukraine?” I asked. “That area is the breadbasket of Russia, and surely it is willing to wage war over that as well.”

In 2014, around the time of Putin’s annexation of Crimea, the late Charles Krauthammer made some insightful comments: “Ukraine is not just the largest European country, it’s the linchpin for Vladimir Putin’s dream of a renewed imperial Russia, hegemonic in its neighborhood and rolling back the quarter-century advancement of the ‘Europe whole and free’ bequeathed by America’s victory in the Cold War.”

Considering that remark in the context of Ezekiel 38 and other prophecies, I took this analysis even further. Here’s what I wrote more than seven years ago:

Putin has long known that if Ukraine allied with Europe, it would significantly diminish his power. His goal is to resurrect the Soviet empire. The architecture of that empire was built around Ukraine being a part of it. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Russia. To this day, Russia’s largest military base outside its own borders is in Ukraine.

Putin applied all that pressure on Ukraine because that nation is the linchpin of his goal of a renewed imperial Russia! A linchpin is the pin in an axle that keeps the wheel from coming off. Mr. Putin was doing everything in his power to keep the wheels from falling off his dream of a new Soviet empire. And that meant applying intense pressure on Ukraine.

The fact that one man—one man—is responsible for this huge geopolitical shift is deeply significant. It wouldn’t have happened without him using his power and having the will to step out and shake the nations, as Haggai says. …

This is the prince of Russia in action.

Some leading analysts and journalists called Putin’s move on Ukraine a monumental crisis. The American media didn’t say much about it, but it is nevertheless something that changed the course of world history. It took this world a giant step closer to World War iii!

If we had understood his ambition and the resulting fruits, we should have known that he was going to rule over Ukraine—this “linchpin … of a renewed imperial Russia.” This was crucial to Putin’s plan for Russia. This had to happen for him to correct what he viewed as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”

One of the most disappointing events in recent weeks has been America’s pathetic response to Russia’s aggression. This too was prophesied!

In Leviticus 26:19, God warns, “I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass.” America’s broken will is just one of many curses now coming upon this nation, and this curse comes with some terrifying geopolitical consequences.

In 2014, when America sat idly by as Russia invaded Crimea and carved great chunks out of Ukraine, I wrote:

The Ukraine attack was an audacious move by Russia! America did nothing. Washington has become so weak that it wouldn’t even support the Ukrainian protesters with strong words!

In 1994, America persuaded the Ukrainians to get rid of the Soviet nuclear weapons stored in their country. We promised to protect them. But we wouldn’t even send them conventional arms to fight against the Russian invasion! This is the treacherous way we treat our allies!

Few Americans realize what a massive disaster this is for America and its future. As Russia, China, Iran and a German-led Europe expand their spheres of influence and grow in strength, American foreign policy has become an international joke!

But some Europeans recognize that Putin’s power maneuver on Ukraine was no isolated incident. Putin is doing everything he can to prevent Georgia, Ukraine and all other former Soviet countries from developing closer ties with Europe.

President Barack Obama’s weakness in 2014 led to even more aggression from Russia!

For years now, “Russia” has been a buzzword in America’s media. There were endless reports of Donald Trump colluding with Russia, of Russia meddling in our politics and stealing our elections. We now know that the whole Russia collusion narrative was one gigantic hoax, a total lie. When it comes to Russia, our focus has been all wrong. We have been blind to what Russia is really doing in the world!

For years we have allowed Putin to get away with aggressive behavior. Our leaders, especially Barack Obama and Joe Biden, would not challenge him in a meaningful way. The fruits of our weakness are now on display in Ukraine!

This too is something I warned would happen. Here’s what I wrote in 2014:

The West has mostly been silent about the depth of this man’s evil. Under his rule, Russia has become the world’s most dangerous superpower at this time. America’s military might is shrinking fast and its will is completely broken.

The Ukraine [Crimea] crisis exposed U.S. weakness most of all. It demonstrated how the American superpower has almost disappeared from the world scene! Where is America providing any real leadership in the world? All we see is shameful retreat.

This means that one of those fierce, tiger-like empires will soon pounce on the U.S. and devour it. This is the lesson of history. But far more importantly, your Bible prophesies that it will happen.

President Putin has military might and the will to use it. America has the power but lacks the will to use it. That is why we grovel before this “evil empire”—as President Ronald Reagan once called it. No leader in Russia has equaled Putin’s diabolical evil since Joseph Stalin.

The Ukraine crisis continues, and America is sleeping through it. But Europe is deeply alarmed! The changes this crisis provokes in Germany and Europe will shake the nations!

These remarkable statements were informed by Bible prophecy. Prophecy is proving to be right again and again! When will we stop and listen to what God prophesies? Until we do, the wars will only continue!

We don’t know just how or when the present war with Ukraine will end. Putin might stop over the next day or two, content with merely beating Ukraine into submission. Or he could continue with a full-scale invasion, taking over the nation entirely.

However, thanks to Bible prophecy we do know where Russia’s current actions will ultimately lead. The same Bible that accurately prophesies a powerful prince of Russia also prophesies that an Asian superpower will do battle in a final world war, primarily against a German-led Europe. (America, Britain and the Jewish nation will have already fallen at the same time; see Hosea 5:5).

Bible prophecy tells us that war is coming between Russia and China and a German-led Europe—war on a scale that is hard to imagine! Hundreds of millions of people will be killed. Nuclear bombs and other weapons of mass destruction will impact every nation on Earth! Many think this is impossible. But people thought the kind of invasion and war we are currently watching was also impossible!

Finally, the Bible also prophesies that at the end of all of these wars, the world is going to see the greatest event ever in the universe: the Second Coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ! As Christ Himself said, if He didn’t return, there would literally be no flesh saved alive (Matthew 24:22; Moffatt). But before humanity annihilates itself, He will return and stop all this madness!

Vladimir Putin is a sign, literally a sign, that Jesus Christ is about to return! This is one of the most inspiring messages in the Bible. What we are seeing in Russia ultimately leads to the transition from man ruling man to God ruling man! And it is almost here! It is just a few short years away.

We need to watch Vladimir Putin closely. I believe he is almost certain to be the “prince of Rosh” whom God inspired Ezekiel to write about 2,500 years ago! We need to watch what is happening in Russia and how Europe responds to it. Daniel 11:44 talks about “tidings out of the east” troubling Europe. Putin’s tactics in Georgia, Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere are already deeply troubling to Europe and the world.

The most important nation to watch right now is Germany. How will it respond to Putin’s war on Ukraine? This Ukraine war is going to speed up the rise of the prophesied German-led Holy Roman Empire!

We have to realize that this is all good news because Jesus Christ is going to return to Earth at the end of the coming world war. The powers fighting the war are going to be destroyed by Jesus Christ Himself!

To learn more about what Bible prophecy tells us about Russia and Vladimir Putin, read my free booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’