Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:  The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!  The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! (Psalm 118:15–16, NIV84)

In a vision on March 8^th, 2022, after the invasion of the Russian military had begun on February 24^th,  the Lord revealed to me that He was fighting against the Russian military.  This was welcome news!  I released this prophecy on March 11, titled, Ukraine – The Lord’s Trojan Horse which contains a related dream and vision from two other friends that came to us during a conference call.

Since that time, I have been amazed and thankful to see how the Lord has given numerous victories, even amid great tragedy and loss of human life, to the Ukrainians as they have defended, counter-attacked, and moved on the offensive.  The world has been a witness to the Russian’s disorganized and disastrous attempt to complete their so-called “special operation.”  It is clear that the Lord has indeed entered the battle against Vladimir Putin’s military, a powerful confirmation to what He revealed March 8^th.

No one expected to see the stunning military defeats of the Russian military.  Ukrainians exclaim, “Glory to Ukraine,” to which I must say, “All glory to the Spirit of Jesus Christ who has entered the battle against Russia!  He has never lost a battle!”

Early last week I became concerned of the ongoing reports of the reconsolidation of Russian forces in the Eastern Ukraine.  The troubling and grievous reports of the atrocities the Russians had committed, the murder of innocent and defenseless civilians including men, women, and children, both young and old were horrific.  With Russia’s apparent change in strategy, I began to pray for what the Lord wanted to reveal concerning His ongoing battle against Russian military aggression.  I cried out to Him to continue to route the Russians and push them completely out of Ukraine.  In the natural, even in the light of the stunning victories of the Ukrainians, the situation appears grave.

On Wednesday, April 13^th I was stunned to hear that the Russian Flagship Moskva had been hit by two Neptune missiles developed and launched by the Ukrainian military.  When I first heard of the report of the attack by the Ukrainian government, it was not clear how bad the damage was until it was confirmed on Friday, April 15^th that the Moskva had been sunk – the only Russian naval vessel destroyed since World War II, and by a country that doesn’t have a navy!

Once receiving this news of the sinking of the Moskva, it took my emotions time to catch up with what had happened; I was shocked.  Prior to the announcement, I was led to the Book of Psalms that has over 60 verses containing the word judgment and closely affiliated derivations.  It is notable because no other book in the Bible has this many references containing these words; Psalms is followed by Ezekiel in terms of the number of related verses.

As I studied the verses in the Psalms, on verse struck me as odd –

Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. (Psalm 48:11, NIV84)

In my ongoing attempt to understand the concept of the Lord releasing judgments against the nations, especially a Psalm written by the sons of Korah saying that “the villages of Judah are glad” was difficult to digest, even in the midst of my gladness over the Russians humiliating defeat.  In my heart, I was having a difficult time reconciling my relief that the Russians were being defeated, while at the same time being grieved that there was any loss of life whether it was a Ukrainian or Russian.

The fact that the sons of Korah, descendants of the rebellious Levite, Korah, along with three other leaders, together with another 250 leaders (men of renown) of the congregation came against Moses (Numbers 16:1-2), had penned such a Psalm is remarkable.  As a direct result of this group’s pride and rebellion against the Lord and His leader Moses, in one of the more notable accounts of the Lord releasing judgment in the Bible, the Lord caused the ground to open under Korah, Dathan and Abiram, as well as their families so that all perished, with the earth closing over them (Numbers 16:23-33).

If that wasn’t enough, the Lord took it a step further.  Fire came forth from the Lord killing 250 men who took part in the rebellion.  Israel saw and experienced great and terrible judgments against their enemies as well as against their own who rebelled and would not believe the Lord.  As they followed the Lord, they experienced great blessing and deliverance, as well as great and grievous judgments.  This is a solemn, Biblical warning to all of us given that the Lord has revealed to me this from His point of view, none are as guilty as His Church.  His point of view is all that we should be concerned about.

Years later, after this event, the descendants of Korah were able to pen by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that “Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.”  Why?  I believe that they came to understand this truth –

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.” (Psalm 19:9, NASB95)

If we as the Church are to have a proper understanding of the Lord’s judgment, we must begin with the truth set forth in this verse, a truth emphasized in Psalm 7:11,36:6,50:6,51:4,67:4, 96:13,103:6,119:7,75,137.

The Lord Corrects Me!

The day after the announcement of the sinking of the Moskva, my heart was filled with inexpressible joy, but I didn’t connect it to that event!  At the same time Holy Spirit caused the verses of Paul Wilbur’s song to flood into my mind and my spirit – “Shouts of joy resound in the tents of the righteous of the Lord.  The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things for us!  The Lord’s right hand is lifted high!”  These are the words of Psalmist in Psalm 118.  The Lord was surrounding me with His word, filling my heart with a song, causing me to rejoice in what He had done in the sinking of the Moskva.

The Lord was faithful to reveal the Biblical truth above, but He didn’t stop there.  He then reminded me what He had revealed to me on March 8^th was that He held a man, a world leader, in His right hand, above His head.  I mistakenly wrote that I saw the Lord holding the leader in His hands, which was not correct!  He was holding the world leader in His right hand, which directly corresponds to Psalm 118 –

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:  The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!  The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! (Psalm 118:15–16, NIV84; emphasis mine)

I now believe that the man I saw held in the grasp of the Lord on March 8^th was Vladimir Putin, which stands as a general warning to all the world’s leaders and those in the Church.  The Lord has entered the battle in Ukraine, and He will continue to wage His war against Russia; Ukraine is the Lord’s Trojan Horse that He has designed as a trap for Putin’s willful aggression.

I don’t know what lays ahead in this war, but we should take comfort that He has never lost a battle that He entered and never will.

What can you and I do but rejoice in the victory the Lord is giving to the Ukraine and to those who are praying for their deliverance and for righteousness to be exalted?!  We should not fret as the war continues to unfold, but trust in the Lord and continue to ask Him for revelation for what He is doing.  We must always remember that as the Lord releases His judgments in the earth, His judgments are true and righteous altogether!

Praise the Lord!

Mark C. Biteler