As Tensions Grow Week of 2/25/19
As tensions grow daily between Iran and the rest of the world, the Persian state—with a resolve to show itself strong militarily, has reported to have developed their very own submarine capable of firing cruise missiles. One might ask, why developed your own submarine when you can buy from Russia? In fact, they did, but due to the low water level near Iran the vessels did not handle so well.
What is so special about these Iranian submarines? They are said to have a 600 ton submerged displacement being fitted with four torpedo boats, eight mines and two reserve torpedoes. They can operate more than 200m (less than a mile) below sea level for up to five weeks (the largest submarines ever built, Russia′s Typhoon class, could stay under water for about 4 months and had a submerged displacement of 48,000 tons), this is aside from the cruise missiles they can launch, which the U.S. has warned are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Also worth mentioning, is the submarine′s vertical launching system which is (according to a Tehran based security analyst who wanted to remain anonymous) the fastest firing systems (in comparison to what is unclear). Here is a video of the submarine.
What have the annually held Iranian Gulf War Games accomplished? A show to the world that Iran is perfectly capable of protecting herself. Addressing an Iranian crowd before the games, the President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani said, “We will not bow down to the hegemonic power (speaking of the U.S.). We are ready to sacrifice ourselves and spill our blood to protect Iran.” So with a show of submarines, warships, helicopters and surveillance planes President Ruhanni is warning the U.S. to back off the sanctions and leave Iran alone—or else.
If you are concerned about your future—you should be. Many young people believe there are not enough resources to last their life time. Back in 2012, a poll done by Ipsos Global Public Affairs reflected that up to 15% of people worldwide believed the world would end during their lifetime. In a poll done by this same group at the end of 2018, continuing into the beginning of 2019, people worldwide were concerned about higher temperatures and global warming—some 78% which is up from last year at 71%. Countries most concerned about terrorist attacks are France (63%), Great Britain (57%), Israel and Russia (both 52%). The South Americans are less concerned. Regarding national unrest, some 56% of countries polled expect large scale protests and/or riots in their homelands. So, what does your future hold?—some would say, it is very bleak. However, it does not need to be so. Check out this link for more information. Life is a test and by the decisions you make today, you may determine your life forever.
Sources: aljazeera.com; reuters.com; jpost.com; naval-technology.com; reuters.com, ipsos.com.
Poland, Iran, The Soviet Union And Their History Week of 2/18/19
Last week while American politicians debated on whether a wall was immoral or the killing of newborn babies moral, the Trump Administration sponsored a two‐day Middle East peace and security conference in Warsaw, Poland. In attendance were delegates from the U.S., Britain, Israel and other low level political administrators from various Arab nations. Not in attendance were Russia, Iran (who actually was not invited), Lebanon, Palestinian officials and EU diplomat Federica Mogherini. There is some speculation that the summit is American′s effort to pull Israel and her Sunni Arab neighbors together while the U.S. recalls troops home and concentrates on securing her own borders. The outcome of the summit?—“Arab nations attending the Warsaw summit were “unanimous” in viewing Iran as the region′s top destabilizing agent.”
Iran was not happy with Poland for holding the U.S. backed conference, but, leaders in Iran hoped that their long history together would not go unnoticed. What is that history, you ask?
Some back ground information: In late 1939 (the beginning of WW2) the Germans invaded Poland. Germany, having made an agreement with the Soviet Union a month prior, divided up the country—western Poland went directly to the Germans. Eastern Poland and Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), parts of Romania and Finland went to the Soviet Union. This agreement called, the Ribbentrop‐Molotov Pact, provided Germany the security to invade Poland seeing she had a new 10 year non‐aggression pact with the Soviet Union (Poland′s neighbor) and an agreement with the Soviets for economic cooperation, and territorial expansion. The British and French had aligned with Poland so once Germany invaded—WW2 had begun.
Stalin′s rule over eastern Poland was not pleasant. For almost two years Stalin deported approximately 1.25 million Poles to many parts of the Soviet Union, unless they killed them—about 30,000 Polish soldiers received this fate. For being targeted as socially dangerous or anti‐Soviet the Poles were removed from their families and taken to labor camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan. However, when Germany broke the Ribbentrop‐Molotov Pact by invading the Soviet Union (two years later) they now needed friends—hence an agreement with the allies.
The new agreement reestablishment Poland, gave amnesty to Polish prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, and allowed for the formation of a Polish army on Soviet soil so they could help fight the Germans. The Polish general, Wladyslaw Anders, who had been in prison, was set free and began to mobilize an impoverished Polish Armed Forces also known as, “Anders Army”. (Remember they had been in prison or labor camps and most of the army was either already dead or in need of much medical attention.) The Soviet Union needed provisions.
Iran remained neutral during WW2 like they had during WW1, but there were colonies of French and British (who owned oil fields). When Germany came to woo them, they succumbed due to the fact that Germany had never taken any of their land nor tried to rule over them. By 1941, 42% of all Iranian exports went to Germany—nearly half of all Iranian imports came from Germany. The Germans even had propaganda radio for the Iranians. They portrayed the leader of the German people, Adolf Hitler, as the Shiite Messiah, or Twelfth Imam, who had returned to destroy the Jews and communists. No mention was made of the racial intolerance that the Germans had against Arabs as documented in Adolf Hitler′s autobiography, Mein Kampf. However, the leader of Iran was concerned his authority, in his secular‐oriented regime, was being threatened by Hitler′s portrayal of being Messiah. And the Iranian leader had no problems with the Jewish people; in fact, the Jews enjoyed religious freedom, increased economic opportunities, and significant political rights. And although Iran had been tolerant of the British oil fields and patient with the Soviet Union who was using their railway system to bring them much needed supplies from the United States the Iranians soon prohibited the use of the railway system. For the allies (Britain and the Soviet Union), this, along with the concern for the oil fields falling into German hands (they produced 8 million tons of oil in 1940), invaded Iran.
After this invasion, the Soviets allowed the Polish (mostly women and children) to go to Iran. The Iranian people treated them fairly well and Polish Jews were allowed to go through Iran to make Aliyah to Israel. Iran was receiving some 2,500 Polish refugees a day. Overall, 116,000 Polish refugees relocated to Iran to live till the war was over.
That is the history link between Iran and Poland. So, were does that leave us today? Iran has changed—they had an Islamic Revolution. They are no longer neutral, but, have taken sides. According to parstoday.com, Iran has given Poland notice—Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi “warned that Poland′s decision will certainly be followed by Iran′s “serious and uncompromising response””. What that means exactly is unclear, but it is indeed a warning. Why did Poland take the risk of hosting the summit? They are hoping for the U.S. to home a permanent military presence in Poland. They want it so much they are willing to pay for part of it—over two billion dollars. They have even offered to name it, Fort Trump. Poland is very uneasy over Russia′s expansion into Crimea since 2014 and they, along with many neighboring countries believe the U.S. has sufficient power to deter Russia. And while the U.S. is looking into the prospect of a Poland base, the U.S. has scheduled U.S. Army Europe to add 1,500 soldiers to its forces in Germany—a definite increase in presence for western Europe.
And where does this leave you? Is this just a news update to you? Or, is this a warning? If you watch Bible Prophecy it should be a warning. Get ready to meet Jesus. Time is short. Yes, they have said that before, but, when in history have countries been so aligned and events so closely paralleled with Scripture? Check out this link for more information. Be ready, be sure, you won′t want to hear the words of Mt 7:23‐ ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’
Sources: aljazeera.com; latimes.com; parstoday.com; encyclopedia.ushmm.org; henrypavlovich.com, encyclopedia.ushmm.org, iranreview.org, militarytimes.com.
Closer To Doomsday Week of 2/4 & 10/19
For the better part of a year the Atomic Scientists doomsday clock has been at 2 minutes until doomsday. This is closer than 2017 when they set the clock to two and a half minutes till midnight. The clock is a timeline of conflict, culture and change. So what made the scientists move the arm of the clock closer to catastrophe? In a nutshell, United States President, Donald Trump. The Atomic Scientists do not appreciate the President′s stance on global warming; they do not care for his International diplomacy and blame him for the breakdown in the International order.
That being said, the International Community also has issues with the American President who has now decided to terminate the INF (Intermediate‐Range Nuclear Forces) treaty due to Russia (for many years) violating the agreement. The treaty expires in about 6 months. (Some back ground history: The INF Treaty is a bilateral U.S.‐Soviet agreement that U.S. President Ronald Reagan and then General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Socialist, Mikhail Gorbachev signed to eliminate Intermediate‐Range (620‐3,420 miles) and Shorter‐Range (310‐620 miles) Missiles. The treaty required that both the U.S. and USSR would destroy “ground‐launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, their launchers and associated support structures and support equipment within three years after the Treaty enters into force” according to the U.S. State Department′s website. Signed on December 8, 1987, the whole world sighed in relief and not long after, events (like the toppling of the Berlin Wall and fall of communism in Eastern Bloc Nations, including Russia) announced the beginning of a major shift in world powers).
Fast forward thirty or more years, the INF treaty is outdated. Consider; back in 1987 the U.S. and U.S.S.R were the only super powers—today that is all changed. Those countries that have ground‐launched intermediate‐range missiles, which could reach Russia and possibly the U.S., are China, India, Iran, Israel (although they have not publicly admitted this), North Korea and Pakistan—none of whom are bound by the INF treaty. And the truth be known, if you want to be a super power today you need the latest technology which is the high‐precision long‐range missile—whether it has a nuclear warhead or not. And you will need lots of them.
In 2014, the Obama Administration accused Russia of violating “its obligations under the INF Treaty not to possess, produce, or flight‐test a ground‐launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 km to 5,500 km, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles.” Although at that time facts were vague regarding the allegations, the year 2018 produced specifics. The U.S. revealed that probably around the turn of the new century (the year 2000 plus) Russia began developing the 9M729 (or SSC‐8 as it is known in the U.S.) and finishing testing around 2015. They tested from a fixed launcher and mobile platform. Herein lies where they were in violation of the INF treaty. To be fair, geography plays a role in this. The U.S. is surrounded by water. Therefore, they could work within the INF treaty and launch missiles from a submarine, ship or aircraft. Russia is surrounded by land and would make more sense to use land launchers or some kind of mobile platform against their intended target like countries in Western Europe (NATO for instance) although they do have submarines and aircraft as well.
How does the mutual agreement to leave the INF Treaty affect Israel? With Russia bent on developing hyper‐sonic weapons, (meaning they combine speed, range and maneuverability) and if they fell into the hands of one of Israel′s enemies—it could be stressful news for the tiny Middle East State. There are critics of the State that believe Israel′s defensive measures are not keeping up with the world stage. And as there are April elections in Israel this year, the newly elected may (or may not) be so prepared to handle Israel′s defense.
How does this affect Europe and the World? By throwing the INF Treaty to the wayside, this allows the U.S. and Russia to engage in full development of missile defense—they have some catching up to do with other nations, like China. But, just because a nation has high‐precision long‐range missile capability is no reason for citizens to be alarmed. If the playing stage is even and everyone has the same toys everyone should be happy and feel safe—right? Unfortunately, history has proved this to be wrong and according to Scripture, the world is going to get more chaotic.
What does all of this mean for you? If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savor, and followed Him in true obedience to the Holy Scriptures; it means, that your doomsday clock is fast ticking toward a most horrific time—the Tribulation. In the book of Jeremiah, God warns His people because they have forgotten Him (ref Jer 18:15), forsaken Him (ref Jer 19:4) and have hardened their necks and would not hear His Words (ref Jer 19:15); therefore, He will bring all the plagues he has pronounced against His people (ref Jer 19:15). Why does He warn His people? He desires them to repent—to return everyone from his evil way, and make their ways and works good (ref Jer 18:11). Right now He is giving you that opportunity. Turn to Jesus with all your heart before it is too late. Don′t be like the children of Judah during the time of Jeremiah who said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart‐Jer 18:12. Commit your life to Jesus. Read your Bible every day and obey God′s commandments.
Sources: thebulletin.org; newsofdayonline.com; washingtonpost.com; state.gov; vox.com, jpost.com, romeosquared.eu, foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com, stripes.com.