As the bitter war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, one Russian state TV host tried to comfort viewers about the possibility of a nuclear outcome, declaring, “We will go to heaven.”
The comment from RT host Vladimir Solovyov came during a panel discussion Wednesday evening with RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, who said nuclear war would be OK because everyone is “going to die someday.”
“Personally, I think that the most realistic way is the way of World War III, based on knowing us and our leader, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,” she said, according to The Daily Beast. “Knowing how everything works around here, it’s impossible — there is no chance — that we will give up.”
“Everything will end with a nuclear strike is more probable than the other outcome,” she continued. “This is to my horror, on one hand, but on the other hand, with the understanding that it is what it is.”
It was at that point Solovyov chimed in, “But we will go to heaven, while they will simply croak.”
“We’re all going to die someday,” Simonyan agreed.
The back-and-forth between Solovyov and Simonyan came just one day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was asked on state television if the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine is comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He said the seriousness of the conflict between the two countries “should not be underestimated.”
“Under no circumstances should a third world war be allowed to happen,” he said. “There can be no winners in a nuclear war. NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”
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Lavrov was referring to the fact that NATO has helped to arm the Ukrainian military.
Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Putin placed his nuclear forces on high alert, citing “aggressive statements” by NATO and the financial sanctions placed on Russia by the United States.
The Russian leader on Wednesday threatened other countries involved in the violent conflict.
“If someone intends to interfere in what is going on from the outside, they must know that constitutes an unacceptable strategic threat to Russia,” Putin told journalists in St. Petersburg. “We have all the weapons we need for this. No one else can brag about these weapons, and we won’t brag about them. But we will use them.”
Certainly, the infusion of theology into this situation is fascinating.
As CBN’s Faithwire has reported, there are many theologically astute scholars who see Russia as central to the end times. At the center of this theory is Ezekiel 28, which focuses on Gog and Magog.
GotQuestions.org, a site devoted to answering theological hot topics, explains it this way:
Gog is a person. Whoever Gog is, he is from the land of Magog and is the leader of Tubal and Meshek (some translations add ‘Rosh’ to the list) and a confederacy of other nations: Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:5–6). And, whoever he is, he will have plans to ‘attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people,’ viz., Israel (verses 11, 14, and 18). But, regardless of Gog’s plans, the Lord God is against him and will defeat him soundly (Ezekiel 38:4, 19–23; 39:3–5).
The Bible goes on to note Gog comes from the “far north,” which, on a map, leads to the general area where Russia and the former Soviet territories are located. Russia is also a strong ally of Syria, which neighbors Israel, a country the latter does not recognize as legitimate
Perhaps most interesting, though, is the nation of “Persia,” which is modern-day Iran and is listed as an ally to Magog. Iran and Israel have a very hostile relationship, as the leader of the former nation wants the Jewish State wiped off the earth.
You can read more about the theological implications here and here.
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