Relevant Bible passages:
- “Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword” (Deuteronomy 28v37).
- “Thy lovers will despise thee” (Jer 4:30).
- “It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble … Th ere is none to plead thy cause … All thy lovers have forgotten thee … in the latter days ye shall consider it” (Jer 30: 7, 13–14, 24).
- Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her “ … when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her … I called for my lovers, but they deceived me” (Lam 1:2, 7, 19).
Commentary
In light of the above passages, the rising tide of anti- Semitism sweeping the globe ought not to surprise us. Indeed, it is a fulfilment of Bible prophecy; particularly the increasingly anti-Zionist rhetoric emanating from Israel’s traditional allies (‘lovers’), Australia being no exception.
Russia: When will they make their move?
Relevant Bible passages:
- “And the king of the north shall come against him (Turkey) like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he (the king of the north) shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape … But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up … and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was” (Dan 11:40–12:2).
- “Son of man, set thy face against Gog of the land of Magog, Prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal … a great company … all thy company that are assembled unto thee … in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them… thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey … In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts … a great company … it shall be in the latter days … And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face” (Ez 38).
Commentary
Putin:The would-be Tsar and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
A brief history of the EEU:
- January 2010: The Eurasian Customs Union was created by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
- November 2011: A joint commission to create the EEU by 1 January, 2015, was signed by Russia, Belarus & Kazakhstan.
- October 2011: Kyrgyzstan announce they will join the EEU.
- September 2012: Tajikistan announce the same.
- May 2013: Ukraine granted observer status.
- September 2013: Armenia announce their decision to join the ECU and, in turn, EEU.
- November 2013: Uzbekistan pledges to join the EEU.
Putin has described the end of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.” He has repeatedly stated his goal to enlarge the ECU to include all former Soviet States. The ECU/EEU is unquestionably the vehicle by which Putin is seeking to re-establish a Tsarist Russia. Hilary Clinton stated as much back in December, 2012, when she declared that Washington would openly oppose Russia’s attempts to ‘re-sovietise’ the former Soviet countries into a new USSR-type union: “It’s not going to be called that (USSR). It’s going to be called customs union, it will be called Eurasian Union and all of that. But let’s make no mistake about it. We know what the goal is.”
Why all the fuss about Ukraine? It is the fly in Putin’s ointment!
A few facts on Ukraine:
- It is the second largest economy of the 15 former republics of the USSR.
- It became independent when the USSR dissolved in 1991.
- Its membership was seen as the key to the success of the EEU (and, as can be seen from the table above, it had been in the frame).
Russian pressure on Ukraine to join the EEU instead of the European Union (EU) led to the Euromaidan protests, which ended Viktor Yanukovych’s reign and led to the Crimean Crisis, which has escalated into the crisis we now see in Eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova have been pressured by the EU and EEU to join their unions. All opted for the EU, signing Association Agreements on 21 March, 2014. Breakaway regions of Ukraine (Republic of Donetsk), Georgia (South Ossetia and Abkhazia) and Moldova (Transnistria) subsequently expressed their desire to join the ECU and, in turn the EEU.
Flashbacks to WWII
Russia’s incursion in Ukraine is reminiscent of Hitler’s vow to protect ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia, which led to annexation of the Sudetenland, home to 3 million German-speaking Czechoslovakians. A year later, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Will we see the same in Ukraine? Putin justified sending forces into Crimea by saying he wanted to “protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine.” As Hillary Clinton again observed on 4 March, 2014, “Now if this all sounds familiar, it’s what Hitler did back in the ‘30s.”
A watch on the countries en route from Moscow to Jerusalem
A look at an atlas will show you that the most direct land-based route from Russia to Israel is down through Georgia, Turkey, Syria and into Israel. We therefore watch these countries with keen interest.
Russia–Georgia
Russian troops have been advancing their positions, erecting barbed wire fencing and digging trenches to establish a new border between Georgia and South Ossetia, annexing land under Georgian control until 2008. The action commenced in 2009, accelerated sharply in 2013 and peaked in 2014. Why? First to pressure Georgia into joining the ECU then as recrimination for Georgia signing with the EU. Despite earlier reassurances, on 2 August, 2014 Russia suspended its Free Trade Agreement signed with Georgia two decades ago as a further act of aggression.
Russia–Turkey
Turkey first applied for EU membership in 1987. Stalled progress on accession with the EU has seen Turkey look for closer cooperation with the ECU. For example, Russia’s Economic Development Minister discussed the plan with Turkey’s Economic Minister at the G20 meeting in Sydney in July, 2014: “We have discussed the possible forms of cooperation, including the formation of a free trade zone between the Customs Union and Turkey. We have agreed to create a working group and to begin a more detailed discussion of these possibilities and prospects in September.” Trade between Russia and Turkey amounted to $32.7 billion in 2013, making Russia Turkey’s second largest trade partner after the EU, with Turkey experiencing an extraordinary boon in exports to Russia following the retaliatory trade sanctions Russia has imposed on the West.
Turkey is geographically very relevant given Russia’s most direct sea-based route from Russia to Jerusalem is across the Black Sea, through Turkey’s Bosporus Strait to the Sea of Marmara, down through Turkey’s Dardanelles Strait, into the Mediterranean Sea and around the Turkish coast to Israel.
Russia–Syria
On 29 June, 2014 Syria’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade announced that Syria had submitted an application to join the EEU. Economic cooperation with Russia is growing increasingly important to Syria due to the sanctions imposed on the Assad regime by the EU and the US. Like Turkey, Syria has experienced an economic boon following the sanctions Russia has imposed on her Western trading partners.
Why is Syria so strategically important to Russia? Syria helped the Soviet Navy out during the Cold War in 1971 by leasing them the naval facility in the port of Tartus, which currently gives Russia its only direct access to the Mediterranean, thereby saving the Russian navy the voyage across the Black Sea.
A holy war?
Relevant Bible passage:
“In those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land… Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare (Hebrew: make holy) war… Assemble yourselves… gather yourselves together round about… come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe… Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision… The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem…” (Joel 3)
Commentary
Putin: resurrecting Russian Orthodox Church
After almost a century in the wilderness, the Russian Orthodox Church has regained the power and prestige it enjoyed under the Tsars. Many in the Russian Orthodox Church credit that to Putin, a man they believe is inspired. Putin has personally overseen the reconstruction of some 23,000 Russian Orthodox churches and is certainly a rare former KGB agent – he was baptised, in secret, as a child. Indeed, when archives were opened at the start of the 1990s, both the previous and present Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church were revealed to have been KGB agents.
90% of Russians self-identify as Russian Orthodox. Putin is therefore using religion to fuel nationalistic fervor. In 2012, Newsweek, for example, referred to the Russian Orthodox Church as Putin’s ‘God Squad’ while the New Yorker observed in 2014, Putin’s “increasingly vivid nationalist-conservative ideology” relies “on the elevation of the Russian Orthodox Church, which had been so brutally suppressed during most of the Soviet period, as a quasi-state religion supplying the government with its moral force.”
Putin: uniting Roman Catholic & Russian Orthodox Church
In November, 2013, Putin flew to Rome for his first audience with Pope Francis. The Kremlin announced that the visit would focus on “protection of Christian minorities in the Middle East.” The Vatican press office reported Putin and Pope Francis discussed “the critical situation faced by Christians in some regions of the world.” As we are acutely aware, there have been violent attacks on Christians in Syria, Libya and Iraq. Indeed, Christians (10% of Syria’s population) are viewed as supporters of Assad, fearing the Islamic ideology of rebels, as has been manifest by the Islamic State jihadists.
Could it be that Putin’s advance into the Middle East is cloaked in the guise of seeking to protect his Christian brethren in the Middle East … a move backed by the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches?
Tension has dominated relations between the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, which split in the Great Schism of 1054. There has never been a meeting of the Pope and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church since. The relationship, however, is thawing – a trend we watch with growing interest. On 12 November, 2013, Patriarch Kirill stated, “We live in an epoch when many of our historic differences should no longer play the negative role they have played in relations between our churches.” On 14 April, 2014 Pope Francis wrote to Kirill, “I am ready to meet at any place.”
Conclusion
We know from Zechariah 14:5 that when all nations are gathered against Jerusalem to battle the Lord Jesus “shall come, and all the saints with [him].” The saints will be with the Lord when he intervenes. Brethren and sisters, we may not therefore see all the various stages of Armageddon before our Lord returns to take us unto himself. Let us therefore now, while we are privileged to see “these things begin to come to pass… look up, and lift up (our) heads; for (our) redemption draweth nigh.”