The first beast, the lion with eagle wings, is a truly amazing description since the eagle is also the national symbol of the United States. I believe that all the animals that describe the four beasts are the national symbols of those countries. If one had to guess what nation the second beast, the bear with the three ribs in its mouth, resembled, I have no doubt that, since the bear is the national symbol of Russia, very few people would not make this comparison. Let’s look again at Daniel’s description of the second beast (Daniel 8:5): “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear, stood up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth.

And they said to him thus: ‘Arise, devour much meat!'” If you remember, I also proposed that the second beast is the second nation mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The second nation was the kingdom of silver which was described as the arms and chest of the statue. If we add all these prophetic images together, we will end up with the following description of the second beast. Since the second beast is a silver kingdom, I believe that the second beast is a strong economic power, not as strong as the United States (the first beast, the kingdom of gold) but still an economic powerhouse.

The two arms of the statue representing the second beast indicate that it is a divided kingdom; the kingdom is made up of two strong factions vying for control. The description of the raised bear on one side indicates that one of the factions is much stronger than the other, but the other faction, although weaker, still retains some control over the kingdom. I believe that the three ribs in the bear’s mouth represent three different countries that have been invaded by Russia and their economic resources consumed by Russia so that their nations have been devastated. Still, these “ribs” seem to have enough political power that the ribs can command the bear to invade and devastate other countries.

Ezequiel‘s Vision of Gog
 
“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Son of man, set your face towards Gog, the land of Magog, the sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say: Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you back, and put hooks in your jaws, and bring out you and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them dressed in all kinds of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them wielding swords: Persia, Ethiopia and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:”
(Ezekiel 38:1-5)

While I am not the first, I believe this passage describes the invasion of Israel in recent times by a nation called Gog and Gog represents the modern nation of Russia. Meschech and Tubal are believed by many scholars to be ancient names for the modern cities of Moscow and Tobolsk, Russia. I believe that the three ribs that tell the Russian bear to eat more meat are the nations of Iran (Persian), Ethiopia, and Libya, as described in these verses.

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, sovereign prince of Meshech and Tubal; the sixth part of you, and I will bring you up from the parts of the north, and I will bring you over the mountains of Israel; and I will remove your bow from your left hand, and I will make your arrows fall from your right hand.

On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your bands, and the people who are with you; I will give you to be devoured by all the birds of prey, and by the beasts of the field. On open field you will fall, because I have spoken, says the Lord GOD. And I will send fire on Magog, and on those who dwell carelessly in the isles, and they will know that I am the LORD. Thus I will make known my holy name in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them profane my holy name any more; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:1-7)

This passage describes how God will protect Israel and how devastating the destruction Russia will encounter. Russia’s weapons will be removed from their hands and only 1/6 of Russia’s forces will survive this encounter. The “islands” in this passage indicate that Europe is involved in this campaign and God will also punish them for this offensive.
“Behold, it comes, and it is done, says the Lord GOD; this is the day of which I have spoken. And those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, and will set fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and pavises, the bows and arrows, wands and spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years, so that they shall not take wood from the field, nor cut anything from the forests, for they shall burn weapons with fire, and spoil those who have spoiled them And they will rob those who stole them, says the Lord GOD. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give Gog a place of sepulchres there in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and he will stop the noses of the passengers, and there they shall bury Gog and all his host, and they shall call it the valley of Hamon-gog. The house of Israel shall bury them seven months, to purify the land. And I will bury them; and it shall be renowned for them in the day that I am glorified, know the Lord GOD.

And they will separate the men of continuous service, who will pass through the earth to bury with the passengers those who remain on the face of the earth, to clean it; after seven months they will scrutinize it. And passengers who pass through the land, when anyone sees a man’s bone, they will put a mark next to it, until the gravediggers bury it in the valley of Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city will be Hamonah. Thus they will cleanse the earth. And you, son of man, thus know the Lord GOD; Speak to every feathered bird and to every animal of the field: Assemble yourselves and come; Gather yourselves everywhere to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, so that you may eat meat and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and you will drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, of male goats, of calves, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. And you will eat fat until you are satisfied, and you will drink blood until you are drunk, from my sacrifice that I have sacrificed for you. Thus you will be satisfied at my table of horses and chariots, of brave men and of all men of war, says the Lord GOD. And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see my judgment that I have done, and my hand that I have laid on them. And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.” (Ezekiel 39:8-22)

It is interesting to note that Israel will burn Russia’s weapons for seven years and use them as a source of energy; I believe that this seven year period is the tribulation period. I believe this because the destruction of Russia, as Ezekiel writes later in this chapter, marks the time when all the Jews return to Israel. The destruction of these armies will be an incredible event as it will take Israel 7 months to bury all the bodies.

“And the nations will know that the house of Israel was taken captive for their iniquity, because they rebelled against me; therefore I hid my face from them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done to them, and hid my face from them. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will bring back the captivity of Jacob, and I will have mercy on all the house of Israel, and they will be jealous of my holy name, after they have borne their shame and all their transgressions with which they have committed themselves. they rebelled against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and no one frightened them, when I brought them back from the people, and I gathered them from the land of their enemies, and was sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who leads you captive among the nations; he gathered them in their own land, and I have left none of them there any longer. Nor will I hide my face from them any more, because I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 39:23-29)

As I mentioned earlier in this passage, it is obvious that the destruction of the Russian bear in Israel marks the moment when the people of Israel who are scattered throughout the world will finally return to Israel.