Last year we looked at the situation in Israel with her growing wealth potential from the incredible gas finds off her shores and oil shale on land. Gas from Tamar, the first of the new gas fields, started to flow ashore at the end of March. We can see another piece of the prophetic jigsaw dropping into place for Israel is to be rich and prosperous and a desirable prey to Gog (Ezek 38:12–13). This is what is unfolding before our eyes, surely one of the great signs for this generation. The closer we get to the Master’s return, the more significance we can see in little phrases which are beginning to jump off the prophetic page.
What Scripture guides us to expect
In our readings in Deuteronomy we have read of God, through Moses, telling of Israel’s future history in chapter 28. It is an absolutely compelling chapter, showing that God is in control and that all that has happened to Israel has been under His direction. God knows that at the end of this period of 2,000 years of the nation’s punishment, there will be a faithful remnant that cries out for help in the extremity of their position when conquered by Gog. God will have His saviours on hand; Christ with his now immortalised saints will be ready to save Israel, His people. We know from Zechariah 12 and other passages that they will have their eyes opened as to who this Saviour is when they see the marks of crucifixion in his hands and feet. As on the day of Pentecost, they will cry out as they realise the enormity of their nation’s sin in rejecting their Messiah and their own blindness. As on Pentecost, they will be baptised into Christ. God will have already made preparation for this, for a river will be flowing from Jerusalem down to the now Living Sea, through the newly formed valley caused by the Mount of Olives being torn asunder. With their sins washed away, they will be an all righteous nation and they will reflect praise and honour to their Saviour and to his heavenly Father.
We know from Zechariah 13 that only one third will be part of this remnant that will repent and be saved. With the number of Jews in Israel now standing at 6 million, this points to another terrible holocaust for those who form the two thirds who are cut off. There are several indications that hearts of the majority in Israel will be in the wrong place. The nation has to learn the hard way not to trust in man but to trust in God: what an exhortation this is for us too.
There are clear references to Israel’s misplaced trust in the period leading up to the Gogian invasion and, so, anticipating our nearness to these things, we look for these signs. We have referred to Deuteronomy 28; in chapter 30 we know the matters of chapter 28 are continued, for it opens with:
“And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee …” (v1).
We know how it speaks of God showing His mercy and restoring these faithful Jews to their inheritance. God makes it abundantly clear that punishment came because of their lack of faith in Him:
“But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it” (v17–18).
Turning to other gods is to trust in them to be able to sustain and deliver you. Isaiah 10 confirms that this will be the case. Speaking in the context of the Assyrian power, which was the great northern power in Isaiah’s day, he makes this comment:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth” (v20).
It clearly is an echo of Deuteronomy 30 for it continues:
“The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness” (v21–22).
Thus verse 20 tells us that the time will come when Israel will “stay upon” or lean upon Yahweh, in truth. What is so interesting is the contrast in this verse. Before this change of heart they were staying or leaning upon those who smote them! This is clearly telling us that Israel is to be trusting in some treacherous friends in the last days, whose friendship will prove so hollow that they will be attacked and overcome by these so called friends!
Consider these verses in Isaiah 2, which must be speaking of the same time, just prior to their saving at the hands of Christ. As is so typical of Bible prophecies, it opens with a wonderful Kingdom picture in the first 5 verses. The rest of the chapter explains how we arrive at this state, and thus we see that these verses are describing the situation prior to this change:
“Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made” (Isa 2:6–8).
This is a picture of a rich, prosperous Israel, with the modern equivalent of war horses and chariots, trusting in what they have designed and made, rather than in their God. Their defensive weapons are their idols which they look to to save them. They are associating with the east – Sheba and Dedan – and please themselves with the children of strangers, people not of their nation. This phrase in translated in other versions as: “are friends with”, “ally themselves” and “strike hands with”.
No wonder God treats the time of peace and safety prior to Israel’s invasion as a time of particular sinfulness on Israel’s part. God says that He will save them:
“After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid” (Ezek 39:26). So what can we see?
Israel making the wrong “friends”
Following President Putin’s re-election, he paid a State visit to Israel in June 2012; among the many things discussed was how Russia, through Gazprom, could help Israel exploit her great energy wealth. Gazprom, in fact, submitted the highest bid to become the 4th partner with the 3 companies (1 American, 2 Israeli) that are developing the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields. It was not to be, for the Australian company, Woodside, were chosen after influence from the American partners. However, a few months later Gazprom was back and signed a partnership deal to handle the distribution of the surplus gas from the Tamar field.
Russia muscles in on East Med gas boom
“A new deal by Russia’s Gazprom energy giant to market Israeli liquefied natural gas puts Moscow firmly in the burgeoning and contentious east Mediterranean energy sector, and shows that it’s again emerging as a player in the strategic region.
The 20-year LNG contract between Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Marketing and Trading Switzerland and Levant LNG Marketing Corp. also provides a major boost for Russia’s drive to rebuild its Cold War influence in the Middle East that collapsed with the demise of the Soviet Union.
The deal, signed February 26, is a direct consequence of a ground-breaking visit to Israel, the United States’ most valuable strategic ally in the region, by Russian President Vladimir Putin last June” UPI, 08-Mar-13.
In actual fact, the matter is not quite finalised, as the Israeli government has still to agree as to what percentage of gas they will allow to be exported, but whatever happens, it will put Russia, via Gazprom, in a favourable position. Bear in mind that one million of Israel’s six million Jews have Russian connections; Israel is home to the biggest diaspora of Russians in the world.
Just last night, as I was scanning the first lines of the multitudes of emails that wing their way from around the world into my inbox, there was one that caused me to sit up. One is searching for ‘needles in haystacks’ but this one jumped out: Russians arrive to cozy up to Israel. It told of the first ever visit of a Russian warship to an Israeli port.
For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, a Russian warship docked at the port city of Haifa early in May. The Azov of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet came to Israel at the request of the Association of Russian War Veterans to help celebrate the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
Jewish veterans of the Red Army who later immigrated to Israel were invited to participate in a ceremony aboard the massive ship.
However, there was another even more important, even historical, reason for the visit: with the looming collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, Russia is on the lookout for new Middle East alliances:
“… Recent reports are that Moscow is searching for a new Mediterranean seaport to maintain strategic balance in the region … Israeli officials say that the Arab Spring has changed Russia’s view of Israel, and Moscow now understands that in this volatile and unpredictable region, the Jewish state is an anchor of stability … The Russians realize now more than ever that you can rely on Israel.”
“… There was a general understanding that the Azov’s visit was not a one-time event, and that other Russian warships would come calling in the near future. Israeli officials did not deny that they are open to further cooperation with Moscow” Israel Today, 13-May-13.
There have been several articles indicating that having Russia working on Israel’s side would be a regional game-changer. No longer would Israel’s neighbours seek to attack Israel if Russian assets were involved in Israel’s gas fields. If Russia can work with Israel, why not the Gulf States?
The changing Middle East
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” is, apparently, an old Arabic and Chinese proverb. Israel and the Gulf States share a common enemy in Iran and we have been aware of considerable secret cooperation between Israel and Jordan and some of the Gulf States. This seems to be coming more into the open with Obama’s latest round of military support to strengthen America’s friends in the Middle East against Iran:
Mideast: Arms buys soar with $10 billion US deal
“The United States unveiled plans Friday to sell $10 billion worth of advanced missiles and aircraft to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in a bid to counter the threat posed by Iran.
It was highly unusual for the Pentagon to announce an arms deal covering three countries and the move seemed to be designed to send a warning to Iran that Washington’s partners in the region were beefing up their military power.
“This is one of the most complex and carefully orchestrated arms packages in American history,” said the defence official.
This time there have been no apparent objections from Israel, as there were none when Washington announced a whopping $29.5 billion arms package to Saudi Arabia two years ago.
There was a time when such deals elicited diplomatic broadsides from the Jewish state but the geopolitical landscape in the Middle East has changed dramatically in recent years, with Israel now watching Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s development of intermediate-range ballistic missiles that are becoming a serious conventional threat” UPI, 19-Apr-13.
A return to East of Suez? UK military deployment to the Gulf
This was another of those spine-tingling headlines. This was the title of a Briefing Paper issued in April by the Royal United Services Institute, the government’s military think-tank that guides government military policies. It was a matter that had been raised last December when General Sir David Richards, the UK’s top military man, gave a speech to the RUSI, where, this leading expert was saying, for the first time since the Suez Crisis in 1956, Britain had to concentrate on the Middle East, using a reshaped combat force, combining the three forces (army, navy and air force) to give a “Joint Expeditionary Force”:
“Britain’s JEF will be capable of projecting power with global effect and influence. Nowhere is more important to us than our friends in the Middle East and Gulf and in line with clear political intent we would expect, with other initiatives, for JEF elements to spend more time reassuring and deterring in that region” ThinkDefense, 18-Dec-12.
The BBC reviewed the Briefing Paper:
“Is Britain quietly re-establishing a permanent, strategic military presence in the Middle East, reversing a 1960s decision to withdraw UK forces from ‘east of Suez’?
It is a question posed and addressed in a detailed report published on Monday by Whitehall thinktank, the Royal United Services Institute.
‘It may not yet be declared government policy,’ says RUSI director Prof Michael Clarke, in the foreword, ‘but the UK appears to be approaching a decision point where a significant strategic reorientation of its defence and security towards the Gulf is both plausible and logical.’” BBC, 29-Apr-13.
In practice this has already begun.
The BBC then listed bases which are quietly being enlarged and refurbished in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Britain is also stepping up training facilities in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait:
“The idea is to pre-position forces and equipment in the Gulf before they are needed, while simultaneously showing support for countries considered allies.
For Arab Gulf governments, unnerved both by the Arab Spring upheavals of 2011 and by Iran’s growing regional ambitions, Britain’s renewed military commitment, however small, offers some reassurance at a time when the Pentagon is focusing increasingly on the Pacific.
Their paper argues that ‘it is of considerable economic benefit to the UK to be the leading European – and indeed, Western – player in the Gulf’” ibid.
The withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan provides an ideal opportunity to move military equipment to the Middle East, rather than shipping it all the way back to Britain.
Cabinet ministers call for withdrawal from EU
This comes at a time when there is an increasingly shrill call, even from within David Cameron’s own cabinet, for Britain to take the bold step of withdrawing from the EU:
“A second Cabinet minister has admitted he would vote for Britain to leave the EU if the current relationship doesn’t change.
The Defence Secretary Philip Hammond agreed with Education Secretary Michael Gove, who said earlier that life outside the EU would be ‘perfectly tolerable.’” Itv.com, 13-May-13.
The pressure is growing for Britain to renegotiate her position. According to the rules, such a matter is not possible. The only way to renegotiate is to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which states that the EU will only seek renegotiation with a country when it says it is leaving:
“A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union” Lisbon Treaty, Section 50 (extract).
If it wishes to still be a member but on revised terms, it has to leave and apply to re-join – and starts off as if a new applicant. So if Britain is unhappy with the EU, as clearly the opinion polls show, all the talk of renegotiation is just hot air. Her only option is to get out and rebuild her trade links with America and the Commonwealth. In addition, the government has made increasing trade with Israel a top priority! Who can deny that we are living in thrilling times? Our long held views are now being vindicated by current events.
Another power that wants to be friends with Israel
We have seen how Russia is keen to befriend Israel, in order to assist her in the development of her energy, but the phrase in Ezekiel 38:10 is of Gog thinking an evil thought, which shows us that she is going to turn out to be a treacherous friend. So, too, will the Vatican prove to be. The new Pope has a history of friendship with the Jewish community (in contrast to his predecessor, Benedict). The Chief Rabbi in Rome was one of the first to congratulate Francis on his new role. President Peres, too, was quick to send his congratulations and added an invitation to the Pope to come and visit Israel. A few weeks later, Peres was in Rome and was among the first leaders to make a visit to Pope Francis. He reiterated his invitation and assured him of the support he has for making this invitation:
“‘I am expecting you in Jerusalem, not just me but the whole country of Israel. Your arrival will be welcomed with enthusiasm and love by all of the nation’s residents.’
Pope Francis gave the President three Vatican medals and Peres gave the Pope a leather-bound copy of the Scriptures in Hebrew and English. The President had written a dedication: ‘To His Holiness Pope Francis, so that “you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go” (1 Kings 2:3). With deep esteem, Shimon Peres, president of the State of Israel’” Reuters and Times of Israel, 30-Apr-13.
Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between the then Pope and the Greek Orthodox leader, which marked the first main step since the 1054 Schism, in a long road to reconciliation between the two churches. For the first time in 1,000 years, the Greek Patriarch attended a papal inauguration.
The Vatican has long been dismayed at the growing power of Israel and has been co-operating with the Arabs in efforts to undermine Israel. The Roman Church would like to regain her control of the ‘Christian sites’ in Israel. This is a matter that has been discussed with the Israeli government for a long time. An increase in the Vatican’s control of religious sites in Israel may prove to be an attractive bargain for Israel, in return for lessening the Vatican’s support of Arab hostility. After all, if the Vatican can be seen working with Israel, then the Arabs might be persuaded to lessen their hostility.
We can but pray for the day to come when Israel will have learnt that her trust in these ‘friends’ is misplaced and abhorrent to their God; when the veil that prevents them seeing their Messiah is removed and they turn in faith to “stay”/trust in their God and His Beloved Son.