The Battle of Gog & Magog

 Post-apocalypse, or pre-apocalypse, what times are we living in now?! (See Ezekiel 38:1-6)

I think this question worries a lot of people today. We have witnessed the ongoing Covid epidemic, we constantly hear about earthquakes in various places, we’ve seen war in Syria and other armed conflicts in different parts of the world. And of course now, the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many from the former USSR would never have thought of a war like this to even happen. Of course, looking at all this, many are wondering "is the world coming to an end?". This question is still difficult to answer. Similar pictures were drawn during the Napoleonic wars, and at the beginning of the 20th century, and those who are a little over 50 years old remember that during this half a century of ours, the end of the world was foreshadowed more than once or twice.

I was born in the USSR, and I can say with confidence that the difference between an Ashkenazi Jew and a Sephardic Jew is much greater than between a Russian and a Ukrainian. And so, this terrible conflict, war, massacre... Cain rebelled against Abel. Cities turn into ruins. Residents of Ukrainian cities, children, old people, and sick people sit in basements without water and in the cold. Even in the "extreme survival" course, this is unthinkable, but here - terrifying photos, photomontage at this level is not possible, and, of course, telephone conversations with friends and relatives. Daily. Messages have become both good and bad at the same time.

In Shavei Zion (our Haifa congregation), 95% have relatives or friends both in Ukraine and in Russia.

How to keep the community in peace?! How to prevent conflict among believers?! The Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 divided Christians in Russia and Ukraine. What this war will do (if the Holy Spirit does not intervene) will be much more painful and deeper.

But it is necessary to keep the people in unity! After all, “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. Luke 11:17 NIV

And if, nevertheless, we can keep everyone together, then our PRAYER, heard in heaven, will change circumstances on earth. (See Matthew 16:19). Of course, for us it is not only talking on the phone with Ukraine. There are many prayers for the relatives and friends of our people from Haifa (below are some testimonies) and we are also preparing to receive refugees and new repatriates who escaped from shelling.

The first ones are already starting to reach out to us for food, bed, kitchen, even housing. We encourage the community to be open and provide practical help. Together with Beit Sar Shalom (Jerusalem), we are participating in a project to help refugees who have reached Germany. What else can be done? Oh Lord, show us what to do and give us strength, wisdom, how to fulfill Your will in these days!

Testimonies:

1.     In 2014, when strong airstrikes began in Lugansk (in my school, which has not yet been restored), my mother and sister had to flee the city, leaving their homes and property. As a matter of urgency, while the railway tracks were not yet broken, they left from there in the direction of Ukraine. From there, they flew to Israel to me, but they did not have the right to repatriate, and therefore they were forced to leave at the end of their visas, and then re-enter, they stayed here for a total of 3.5 years. But, without their own housing and medical insurance, it was no longer possible to stay, and they returned again to Ukraine, to an empty place, settled in a hostel where 3-4 people lived in a room measuring one meter by one and a half meters. So they lived for the next 5 years. Sometimes visiting our apartment in Luhansk. Everything was already sad at that moment, people lost their prestigious jobs, their homes, friends, families (everyone fled in all directions). Without my support from Israel, people would lead an absolutely impoverished life. On February 20, 2022, my mother was in Lugansk (undergoing an operation) and literally one day before the start of the events, she managed to move to her sister in the city of Khmelnitsky! There were two of them and it was not so scary to go further to Lvov, and from there they were going to go to Poland. We collected our whole life in a small suitcase and left Ukraine... Glory to the Almighty for all the people along the way, and all the communities that received them. Now they are already in Germany, they are assisted by a specialist in all paperwork. And, God forbid, do not look back, so as not to turn into a pillar of salt... Thank God for everything, thank you and trust

2.     I am an Israeli citizen, but my relatives stayed in Ukraine and had to endure a terrible war from the “friendly people” of Russia. Throughout the war, I prayed and asked the Lord for protection for my relatives and all citizens of Ukraine. My brother and his family live in Kherson, he was wounded in the first battle, he went through three operations and a long recovery. When I found out about this, I immediately asked our congregation for prayer support, it was a strong support, both for me, from the congregation, and for my brother, since many of us had relatives there. My niece is a student at Kharkiv University, and together with a group of students, she sat in a bomb shelter for 13 days while they were evacuated. The children were very scared and had to move every time to a new, more reliable shelter - further to the outskirts, since the enemy spared no one. Thanks to the faith and common prayer of our congregation, all relatives are alive, but the horror that they experienced and still experience cannot be forgotten.

I urge you all to pray for the end of this war!

Sincerely, Leon Mazin

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