An article with the above headline was recently reported in the Jerusalem Post. Ironically, many latter days prophecies indicate that whilst war approaches, many are living in ease and comfort, deliberately ignorant of what is coming. In fact, many ecclesias will be living in an environment like this. This is why there are so many warnings in the New Testament about prosperity and the cares of this life, eg. Luke 17:26–30: “As it was in the days of Noah… As it was in the days of Lot; they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, builded; But the same day Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Consider the following warning:
“THE COMING MIDDLE EAST WAR—The warning signs are everywhere, yet no one wishes to see them. Israel’s foes are gearing up for war, and it’s time that we opened our eyes to the danger that confronts us. The conflict may be just weeks or even months away or perhaps a bit longer. How it will start is anyone’s guess, but make no mistake, a major outbreak of hostilities is almost certainly around the corner. If this sounds like scare-mongering or even an advanced case of paranoia to you, just take a glance at the newspapers from the past few weeks. If you read them with a discerning eye, you will see exactly what I mean. For whichever direction one chooses to look, be it north, south or east of us, trouble—major trouble—is brewing” (Jerusalem Post 17.10.06).
As we head towards Christmas, we once again start seeing newspaper headlines such as “Greed is all we need”, and comments like, “Shop to your heart’s content: no one cares anymore” (Sydney Morning Herald). What tragic irony as prophecies such as Matthew 24, Luke 21 and 2 Timothy 3 come clearly into focus. We are also told that today’s churches need to “offer a God of contemporary relevance to worship”. In an article entitled “Modern youth worship new gods”, we are told, “many young people worship the complex world of electronics – the telephones, the computers, the music machines and those mysterious devices which produce moving pictures from mid-air. They worship alcohol and the social structure built around it. Others… see a form of divinity in harder, illegal drugs. …” (Adelaide Advertiser 17.6.06) This is the situation we are faced with on the eve of Christ’s return.
Iranian Crisis
The previous Jerusalem Post article is seen to be realistic when we consider the situation in Iran:
“The shock waves from North Korea’s testing of a nuclear device reached Israel yesterday where the government expressed concern that Iran would benefit from Pyongyang’s technology and accelerate development of its own nuclear weapon. Israeli officials called for more diplomatic pressure, including sanctions, on Teheran…. ‘Now that North Korea has proven its nuclear capabilities, it risks collaborating with Iran and accelerating its nuclear programme,’ said Danny Ayalon, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. ‘In this context, sanctions [on Iran] become more and more critical.’” (UK Daily Telegraph 14.10.06)
“Iran flexed its military muscle yesterday by testfiring missiles capable of hitting Israel and local US bases in manoeuvres the hard-line regime code-named ‘Great Prophet’. In what was taken as a clear warning to America, the commanderin- chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards said the tests were intended to display his country’s military strength. ‘We want to show our deterrent and defensive power to trans-regional enemies, and we hope they will understand the message of the manoeuvres.’ Iranian state TV reported the missiles were fired from mobile launching pads in the country’s central desert region at the opening of 10 days of military operations. The test is the first use of the nuclear-capable version of the Shahab–3.” (UK Daily Telegraph 3.11.06)
“RUSSIA KEY TO IRAN’S COCKINESS—Iran scored one clear success yesterday in the long running wrangle over its nuclear ambitions when Russia made clear that the US and Britain would struggle to get its support for sanctions, even it Teheran continued to offend. At the same time, a new report from Chatham House, a leading London think tank, argues that the strength and complexity of Iran’s links with Russia and its neighbours underpins its new confidence. Russia and China are allies of expediency, the authors say…” (The Australian 25.8.06).
Russia has made the threat more real. It sold the nuclear power plant at Bushehr to Iran and contracted to sell even more to bring cash into its nuclear industry. As one American diplomat put it, this business is a “giant hook in Russia’s jaw” (USNEWS.com 9.02.06).
We see the words of Ezekiel 38 coming to pass as Russia becomes a “guard” to ancient Persia, with hooks in her jaws ready to establish herself as latterday King of the North. This is indeed a crisis:
“ENDGAME FOR IRAN—Iran’s theocratic despots are hell-bent on acquiring atomic weapons with which to threaten Israel and control events in the Middle East and beyond, and large swaths of the world appear prepared to let them have their wish. With every day that ticks by, Teheran comes that much closer to being able to build either a dirty bomb or a full-scale atomic fission weapon. The repeated insistence by the Iranian regime’s mouthpieces that the country’s nuclear program is being developed for peaceful purposes is a lie of the first order. As one of the world’s biggest oil producers, with several centuries’ supply of liquefied natural gas, energy security is not an issue for Teheran. The fact is that a nuclear-armed Iran would be a disaster for the world, not just Israel and the West. A hegemonic Iran in the Middle East would be hugely destabilising to the Sunni Arab world as well…
The current climate feels reminiscent of the late 1930’s, when many in the West supported Germany’s right to rearm… Most chillingly, Mr Ahmadinejad’s speeches are peppered not only with threats to eliminate Israel and Judaism but also millenarian Shia rhetoric about the 12th, or ‘hidden’, Imam whose reappearance will herald the end of the world. Some analysts believe Mr Ahmadinejad feels he is the 12th Imam. Under such circumstances, diplomatic threats and sanctions could have the perverse effect of emboldening Mr Ahmadinejad. If so, the world’s only option is military, though the window of opportunity for strikes against Iran’s nuclear program is rapidly closing as the regime plays for time and hardens its facilities. US President Bush and Israeli PM Ehud Olmer may have no choice but to act, since no one else in the world seems prepared to. Anyone who cares about the future of humanity should be concerned that nuclear weapons do not fall into Iranian hands.” (Editorial, The Australian 4.09.06).
Some light is shed on Ahmadinejad’s apocalyptic visions in the following article earlier in the year:
“RELIGIOUS ZEALOTRY PUTS IRAN ON APOCALYPTIC PATH—Ahmadinejad’s ‘vision’ at the UN could be dismissed as political posturing if it weren’t for a string of similar statements and actions that suggest he believes he is destined to bring about the ‘End Times’—the end of the world—by paving the way for the return of the Shia Muslim messiah. This is a man who recently pledged to use Iran’s new-found powers to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ and to ‘destroy America’…
The new President said the main mission of his Government was to ‘pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his appearance)’. The mystical 12th Imam of Shia Islam disappeared as a child in 941AD, and Shia Muslims have awaited his reappearance ever since, believing that when he returns, he will reign on earth for 7 years, before bringing about the Last Judgment and the end of the world.” (The Australian 16.01.06)
Russia’s New World Order
Bible prophecy clearly has a role for Russia in the last days. The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest and most powerful church in Eastern Europe today and she continues to prepare herself to fulfill the role of “the dragon” at the time of the end (Rev 16:15). Russia is responsible for the scattering and persecution of Jews through the centuries (Joel 3:2), and she is therefore ripe for judgment. It is a historical fact that over 1 million Jews returned to Israel from “the land of the north” during the 1990’s (Jer 3:18; 16:15). It is this region that was predetermined by God to play a leadership role at Armageddon, as expressed in Ezekiel 38, Daniel 2, 8 and 11. Russia’s power is rapidly re-emerging as we would expect:
“ASCENDANT AT THE SUMMIT—Russia is ascendant and its president, Vladimir Putin, is the equal of his powerful guests… (Russia) has moved from nervous debtor to confident creditor, from potential energy giant to actual energy superpower. In the background… (one said) ‘was an emerging reality in which Russia’s fellow G8 members are increasingly dependent on Russia’s vast supply of ever-more-expensive oil and gas’” (G8 Summit report—Weekend Australian 22.07.06).
“RUSSIA’S NEW WORLD ORDER—Buoyed by expensive energy and a booming economy, the Kremlin is once again flexing its muscles abroad—but very carefully. Russia has reemerged as an energy superpower. Last year it was the world’s second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. In gas, it is the undisputed world leader, with proven reserves almost double those of second place Iran. …Vladimir Putin doesn’t hide his ultimate goal: Russia ‘must aspire to claim world leadership in the realm of energy’” (Time 10.07.06).
In 2001, the six nations of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed an economic and military alliance known as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. In 2006, Iran was given observer status. The leaders of these countries met in Shanghai in June 2006 and this time Iran’s extremist leader was also invited. These countries are already conducting joint military exercises:
“RUSSIA AND CENTRAL ASIAN ALLIES CONDUCT WAR GAMES IN RESPONSE TO US THREATS—Barely acknowledged by the Western media, military exercises organized by Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, (CSTO) were launched on the 24th of August. These war games, officially tagged as part of a counter terrorism program, are in direct response to US military threats in the region including the planned attacks against Iran. The Rubezh-2006 exercise is scheduled to take place from August 24–29 near the Kazak port city of Aktau. Press reports from the region describe these war games as a response to US military presence and ambitions in Central Asia…” (Global Research 24.9.06).
Russia’s influence also appears to be reappearing in the Middle East as she gains a foothold in Syria to the north of Israel. We expect from Daniel 11:36–45 that Russia will assume the mantle of “King of the North” before the invasion of Israel at Armageddon.
“Russia has started dredging at a Syrian port where it maintains a logistical supply point with a possible eye to turning it into a full-fledged naval base… Tartus, the second most important Syrian port on the Mediterranean, could be transformed into a base for Black Sea Fleet warships. The Defence Ministry source (said) that a Russian naval base in the Mediterranean would not only help Moscow strengthen its position in the Middle East—where it is currently also involved in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear crisis and the Israel/Palestinian issue—but also ensure Syria’s security” (United Press 2.06.06).
Russian-German Alliance
I The re-emergence of Russia’s power is linked with German gas and oil interests. A Russian-German alliance is emerging, one which eventually will result in the leadership of all Europe:
“Russia and Germany agreed in the final days of Gerhard Schroeder’s Chancellorship to build a pipeline bypassing Poland. Germany—which is Russia’s biggest West European customer—seems to be pushing toward greater reliance on Russian sources. Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has taken a job as head of a supervisory board of a joint venture between Gazprom and two German firms that is building an underwater gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany. German dependence on Russian energy supplies will increase, in part because of a growing belief that Russia is the best alternative to the Middle East” (Time 10.07.06).
“Vladimir Putin hailed Germany as Russia’s strategic ally in Europe after promising to double the amount of gas pumped to German businesses each year via a new pipeline. ‘I am sure that Bavaria will contribute to the development of Russian-German co-operation’, the Russian president said after being greeted at the Residenz palace in Munich. The visit followed Mr Putin’s announcement in Dresden late on Tuesday that Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom natural gas firm would use gas from the Shtokman field under the Barents Sea to send 55 billion cubic metres a year to Germany, in addition to the 40 billion it already receives. ‘Germany will not only be able to completely cover its gas needs, it will itself become a great distribution centre of gas in Europe,’ Mr Putin said.” (UK Daily Telegraph 12.10.06)
“GERMAN WARSHIPS SET SAIL FOR LEBANON—Germany began its biggest naval operation since World War II on Thursday as eight warships set sail for the eastern Mediterranean to help the UN keep the peace in Lebanon.” (UK Daily Telegraph 12.09.06)
Poverty and Prosperity
of the world we live in. Much has been discussed in the media of late about climate change:
“The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response…. If no action is taken to reduce emissions, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could reach double its pre-industrial levels as early as 2035, virtually committing us to a global average temperature rise of over 2oC.
In the longer term, there would be more than a 50% chance that the temperature rise would exceed 5oC. This rise would be very dangerous indeed; it is equivalent to the change in average temperatures from the last ice age to today” (www.hm-treasurey.gov.uk/index.cfm).
Also consider the tragedy of planet earth right here in 2006:
“Jacques Diouf, the African-born chief of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, was in no mood to mince words. A decade after world leaders pledged to halve the number of malnourished, nothing has changed: 854 million people still go to bed hungry, half of them children. ‘There are more hungry people in the developing countries today than in 1916,’ Diouf told an FAO summit in Rome this week. ‘Far from decreasing the number of hungry people in the world, it is increasing at the rate of 4 million a year…. Unacceptable, intolerable and, I would add, shameful.’
Yet, despite $US709billion ($916 billion) in foreign aid and healthy economic growth across much of the developing world during the past 10 years, one person in six does not have enough to eat. A child starves to death every three seconds. ‘Globally we have produced enough food to feed everybody on the earth,’ Diouf remarked. Of the thirty-nine countries experiencing serious food emergencies, twenty-five are in conflict. Australia will give $2.9 billion in government foreign aid this financial year (up 15%). But even then public foreign aid as a share of national wealth is estimated to reach only 0.38%. In comparison, Australia spends $3.7 billion a year treating obesity, according to a recent Access Economics study. Australians spend five times more on beer ($14.5 billion a year) than they do on aid.” (The Weekend Australian 4.11.06)
Meanwhile God sits in the heavens and He watches all this. Despite all of man’s grand inventions, the world refuses to confront the problem of poverty and disease. Billions of dollars spent on weapons, but how much on food? Poverty in the world could be eradicated if nations all agreed to stop military spending. God’s longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, and we wonder how much longer it can last today. The Kingdoms of this world will soon be replaced with an age of peace and prosperity where there will be food for all. This prosperity will come about through the only way possible: the establishment of Jesus Christ as king in Zion:
“He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.” (Psalm 72:2–4,8,11–14)