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The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel
The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel
94 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 17, 2025
I stumbled across this read in a thrift store, and frankly was intrigued because I've avoided being exposed to End Times prophecy thus far, and this is a corner of Christian theology that I haven't explored much or know a lot about.
First the pros: 1. The Authors' interpretation is measured and nuanced; 2. Their theory or explanation of the prophecy is simple; 3. They admit uncertainty and places of debate in the literature with relevance to their own interpretations. In my mind, writers and believers in End Times prophecy have accumulated the perception of being unhinged, erratic, and uncritical, and that is not the case with the present writers- they are careful in what they are saying, and do their due diligence in speaking carefully and not going beyond what is spoken explicitly in the text. They stop in many places where they could easily go beyond what is written, and they admit when their case is flimsy. Their theory is simple, and by default stronger than theories with many moving parts- it takes less supporting data, and less reasoning to arrive at their conclusions. It is therefore easier to prove or disprove. And finally, they do admit where the relevant literature differs- even to the detriment of their own case. All of these things I respect, and appreciate, and glad I could find in a genre I believed to be steeped in folly.
Unfortunately, I must now go over the cons: 1. There are many places where I wish they supported their conclusions with more evidence; 2. There are a number of places where they exaggerate and are overconfident. 3. This just didn't happen. This is an incredibly short book, and the point of it is to be a guide for the things to come, and they made a strong enough case for Russia being Gog/ Magog (using older, pre-cold war biblical scholarship, and noting current events) but when they began to explicate the events that are to happen afterwards they stumbled and faltered and relied too much on their own gut and authority in the matter. Understandably: How are we supposed to know? The text is pretty unclear. But they still stepped a bit too overconfidently. On top of this, I think they were a bit overconfident to begin with in saying what events are to occur- again, the text is unclear and any attempt to step inside of a Prophet's head in using contemporary terms and language to depict events that are thousands of years down the road is fraught with peril. By nature of the enterprise, the meanings of the words that are being used become loose and ambiguous and there is no sure footing as to what exactly is being meant- even if we are being as conservative and as literal as possible in the application of those meanings. Is 'fire from above' actual fire, or nuclear holocaust? Are 'locusts swarming the land in devastation' actual locusts or Apache helicopters? We don't know because an ANE Prophet is using their own words in an ambiguous and unclear way to describe future realities that they cannot even begin to comprehend, nor could those around them comprehend given their own language. And we are demanding of them that these words become clear to us- when thousands of years have passed between the original context, the original language, and the mind, the culture, and psychology of an ANE Prophet.
Finally, this was published in 1974, and as of this writing, it is 2025. Nearly fifty years have gone by and they claimed that the invasion of Israel by Russia is immanent, and yet their theory has not come to pass. It can be argued that they are in fact correct, but the expected time period was just off- but this is really just a claim that is unfalsifiable, and at best should be considered ambiguous until history bears out this reality.
So in fairness- as it is a product of it's time, and yet fairly careful and nuanced- I give this 3 stars. God only knows what the future will bring., maybe I will one day give it 5 for being true.
First the pros: 1. The Authors' interpretation is measured and nuanced; 2. Their theory or explanation of the prophecy is simple; 3. They admit uncertainty and places of debate in the literature with relevance to their own interpretations. In my mind, writers and believers in End Times prophecy have accumulated the perception of being unhinged, erratic, and uncritical, and that is not the case with the present writers- they are careful in what they are saying, and do their due diligence in speaking carefully and not going beyond what is spoken explicitly in the text. They stop in many places where they could easily go beyond what is written, and they admit when their case is flimsy. Their theory is simple, and by default stronger than theories with many moving parts- it takes less supporting data, and less reasoning to arrive at their conclusions. It is therefore easier to prove or disprove. And finally, they do admit where the relevant literature differs- even to the detriment of their own case. All of these things I respect, and appreciate, and glad I could find in a genre I believed to be steeped in folly.
Unfortunately, I must now go over the cons: 1. There are many places where I wish they supported their conclusions with more evidence; 2. There are a number of places where they exaggerate and are overconfident. 3. This just didn't happen. This is an incredibly short book, and the point of it is to be a guide for the things to come, and they made a strong enough case for Russia being Gog/ Magog (using older, pre-cold war biblical scholarship, and noting current events) but when they began to explicate the events that are to happen afterwards they stumbled and faltered and relied too much on their own gut and authority in the matter. Understandably: How are we supposed to know? The text is pretty unclear. But they still stepped a bit too overconfidently. On top of this, I think they were a bit overconfident to begin with in saying what events are to occur- again, the text is unclear and any attempt to step inside of a Prophet's head in using contemporary terms and language to depict events that are thousands of years down the road is fraught with peril. By nature of the enterprise, the meanings of the words that are being used become loose and ambiguous and there is no sure footing as to what exactly is being meant- even if we are being as conservative and as literal as possible in the application of those meanings. Is 'fire from above' actual fire, or nuclear holocaust? Are 'locusts swarming the land in devastation' actual locusts or Apache helicopters? We don't know because an ANE Prophet is using their own words in an ambiguous and unclear way to describe future realities that they cannot even begin to comprehend, nor could those around them comprehend given their own language. And we are demanding of them that these words become clear to us- when thousands of years have passed between the original context, the original language, and the mind, the culture, and psychology of an ANE Prophet.
Finally, this was published in 1974, and as of this writing, it is 2025. Nearly fifty years have gone by and they claimed that the invasion of Israel by Russia is immanent, and yet their theory has not come to pass. It can be argued that they are in fact correct, but the expected time period was just off- but this is really just a claim that is unfalsifiable, and at best should be considered ambiguous until history bears out this reality.
So in fairness- as it is a product of it's time, and yet fairly careful and nuanced- I give this 3 stars. God only knows what the future will bring., maybe I will one day give it 5 for being true.
September 20, 2023
Based on Biblical scripture Zola Levitt and Thomas S. McCall in “The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel” outline events that will begin with an military assault on Israel from the north either before or after the Tribulation. With the world convulsing under grim events and wars unfolding around the globe, Ezekiel’s prediction is not unwarranted and could happen at any time. Well-written and illuminating, this is a short book that any Believer with a prophetic curiosity should read and I give it high marks for its insight into the future.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews