A well-known American televangelist came out of retirement to announce that Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, is invading Ukraine because he was "compelled by God."
Speaking on a "special appearance" of the 700 Club on Monday, February 28, Pat Robertson announced his theory about God and Putin. The 700 Club, a Christian news magazine, is a regular program on the Christian Broadcasting Network, founded by Robertson.
Pat Robertson came out of retirement to claim that Putin "is being compelled by God" to invade Ukraine in preparation for a massive End Times invasion of Israel. pic.twitter.com/Pmwybf57Ay
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) February 28, 2022
Robertson began by reading Ezekiel 38:1-6. After the Bible verse, Robertson enumerated specific countries on the map, supposedly the actual direction of Putin's campaign.
He also explained that modern-day countries in his map correspond to the places mentioned in the Bible verse. According to Robertson, Gomer is Ukraine, Rosh is Russia, Persia is Iran, and Magog consists of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
He also said that Turkey and Syria are Biblically known as Togarmah and Tubal.
Robertson asserted that Putin might be out of his mind. "People say that Putin's out of his mind. Yes, maybe so," the retired pastor said. Then he immediately backtracked and continued with his Biblical conspiracy. "But at the same time, he's being compelled by God. He went into Ukraine, but that wasn't his goal," he said. "His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately," Robertson declared.
It was also claimed that Ukraine's plight is merely a "staging area for one of the great Biblical armies that will gather together for Armageddon in Israel." "Putin and Turkish President Erdoğan's troops will one day work together to make up a tremendous army in the latter days," Robertson said. He announced that “God is getting ready to do something amazing”, and reminded his viewers to “Read your Bible because it's coming to pass.”
Robertson has made several futile predictions about the end of the world. In 1982 he predicted a devastating tsunami to hit the Northern US in 2006 and claimed that an asteroid would destroy Earth in 2020.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Robertson was not the only Christian evangelist quoting Ezekiel 38. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Christian preachers have been fixating on the battle of Gog and Magog, an end of the world prophecy in the book of Ezekiel.
Another evangelist, Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship, also used the invasion of Ukraine to fuel his Bible-driven conspiracy theory and end-of-the-world prediction.
