Ukraine

In a previous post, I suggested that Crimea could be the second rib in the mouth of the bear. After more reflection and study of the verse, I think I was wrong to see the ribs as sequential. Daniel saw four terrible beasts coming out of the sea. The first was an eagle attempting to get free from a lion. The second beast was a bear.

And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh!” (Dan 7:5).

In this series of visions, nations are represented by animals, so a rib is not a nation, but a region of a nation. The bear had three ribs in its mouth. This describes an empire taking control of three regions of another nation (or several nations).

A bear is a commonly used a symbol for Russian. For a long time, I thought that Russia was too weak to be a fulfilment of this vision, but that now seems to be changing. Russia is now growing in strength towards the west (one side). With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lost territory on its western flank. Some of the ribs that protect its central organs were ripped out of its side.

The boundaries between Russia and the neighbouring republics were formed quite arbitrarily by the leaders of the Soviet Union, so they do not reflect historical population and cultural patterns. For example, Eastern Ukraine includes areas, which were traditionally part of Russia. President Putin is leading a resurgent Russian culture. He will take every opportunity to restore these lands to Russia. Crimea is the current example.

As the Red Horse goes to work in the Ukraine, racial and religious differences will tear the nation apart. This disunity will present an opportunity for Russia to seize back the lands that Russians believe to be part of their nation. The provinces with the significant Russian population are Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk. I suspect that at some time in the future, Russia will get an opportunity to take these regions back. When we see these three ribs being chomped up at the same time, the vision will be fulfilled. This is still in the future.

In Genesis 2, Eve was formed from a rib taken from Adam’s side. The Russian Orthodox Church was established in the area around Kiev, so this area is like a rib of Russia. The bear will eventually want to get this rib back into its side.

Daniel heard the bear being told to “Get up and eat. The nations of the West should be careful, because God has given the bear permission to “get up and eat its fill of flesh”.

God will allow this to happen as judgement on the Western nations that have forgotten him and focused on feeding the flesh. He has allowed Russian control over a significant share of the world’s oil supplies to shake the western economy. This will lead to the third seal of Revelation. The solution is not belligerence towards Russia, but repentance towards God.

The regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk are not strategically important in themselves. The main issue is the impact on Western Nations. This Bear and the Leopard release the Terrible Beast of Daniel’s vision.