What Is Really Important To Look For Regarding Bible Prophecy? Midweek 2/12/2020
Whether you believe it to be good or bad, the events in the Middle East continue to heat up. Iran versus the United States—Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and other Sunni Arab nations aligning with Israel against Iran. But, how important are these developments?
- MAGOG, which is modern-day Russia, should also include Kazakhstan (the area north of the Caspian Sea). Some believe it could also include Turkey.
- MESHECH can include the southern part of Russia by the Black Sea, as well as Georgia and Armenia. Some believe Turkey could also be included.
- TUBAL is a part of Russia between the Black and Caspian seas. It also includes the Ukraine and
Kazakhstan, and possibly Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Worthy to note for numbers 1‐3: Presently, Russia has aligned with the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic to create the Eurasian Economic Union or EAEU. This union facilitates the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor—mimicking the EU in many respects, but not all. Click here for a short video description of the EAEU.
As for Azerbaijan, it has 443 miles of coastline along the Caspian Sea that enhances their oil and gas wealth. It is the most lucrative of the three Caucasian states. The two other Caucasian states are Armenia and Georgia. Azerbaijan is not a part of the EAEU. For years they have been in conflict with Armenia over a certain territory that they claim is theirs, but Armenia disagrees—to the point of bloodshed. This is significant because in previous times Moscow might favor Azerbaijan, but now with the EAEU agreements Russia would most decisively conclude with Armenia. However, due to Azerbaijan′s wealth and their standing as former U.S.S.R. members, Russia would hope that one day they might lure the country under the umbrella of the EAEU.
Turkey and Russia have had a long rocky relationship, particularly regarding territory between their own borders; however, you add to that the good relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, who together called for an economic blockade against Armenia, and you have an interesting situation for Russia to navigate through. - PERSIA, which is modern‐day Iran—many also include part of Iraq. (Note: Currently, the protecting force of Iraq is made up of Shia backed militias totally loyal to the leadership of Iran. There is also, what some are terming, a “revolution” between Iraqi citizens and politicians in the government, backed by powerful Shi′ite groups. The outcry is over political corruption leaving an unclear number of dead and wounded.)
- ETHIOPIA (or Cush) is the largest and most populated country in the Horn of Africa. Some consider that other surrounding areas, such as the Sudan or Eritrea, could also be included. (Note: The countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea have been involved in bitter conflict for years. Only recently have they laid down the sword and opened the borders between the two countries—even allowing Ethiopia to use the ports of Eritrea. Russia has had a long standing relationship with Ethiopia for over 180 years. Considered the 5th greatest military might of Africa, although some sources claim it to be the home of the most powerful armies in Africa. This landlocked country has manufacturing and distribution factories producing small arms, rifles and grenades propelled by rockets. This is a profitable business for the country.)
- AND LIBYA (or Phut) which borders the Mediterranean Sea and is Africa′s 17th largest nation in terms of land area. (Note:Presently, Libya has two capitals—Tripoli on the western side and Benghazi, the capital of Libya′s eastern half. Torn by war for many years the country is also torn between government alliances. The western side is supported by the EU and U.S.—the eastern side is supported by Russia and Egypt. In fact, since the UN has a weapons embargo on Libya, Russian sells weapons legally to Egypt and they mysteriously ending up in eastern Libya. On the outside Russia looks to be going along with the UN embargo, but obviously, Russia would certainly desire another sea port on the Mediterranean Sea and it would be most financial beneficially to Russia to help Libya rebuild it’s country.)
- GOMER may include the Ukraine. Some believe it may also include the area SE of the Black Sea, such as Georgia. Many believe that it will also include Germany (of which the major part was not of the Old Roman Empire) as well as Poland. Some may include Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania.
- AND ALL HIS BANDS (or troops) could include some or all of the areas (or nations) listed under Gomer and some others. (Note: While Russia remains untrusted by many western European countries due its assimilating the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine back in 2014, posting more than 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s border (not to mention the deployment of about 7,000 to 10,000 Russian soldiers inside Ukraine), and the alleged poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal (which took place in the United Kingdom); there are some EU members that are willing to leave the door of diplomacy open to Russia. Due to its long standing relations with Russia (and its constitutional neutrality) Austria continues to be the bridge-builder between the East and West. However, even though Germany also has a history with Russia, presently, they are congruent with their fellow EU members who desire a hard line against the former soviet country.)
- THE HOUSE OF TOGARMAH OF THE (far or remote parts of the) NORTH QUARTERS may include Armenia. Many believe this will be Turkey, however, this may be incorrect, as the Scriptures indicate it is Togarmah "from the far or remote parts" of the north quarters. The area being referred to here could be an area north of the Black Sea or an area covering Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. It is uncertain.
- AND ALL HIS BANDS (or troops) could include some or all of the people listed under the house of Togarmah of the north quarters and possibly some others.
- AND MANY PEOPLE (or nations) WITH THEE. This may indicate that there will be yet other nations allied with Russia that are unlisted. It may be noted that Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan are not mentioned.
As you can see by the above list, many of the nations are currently aligned with the great bear— mother Russia. However, that is not the only consideration. Why does Russia invade the tiny state of Israel? Lord willing, that will be the subject of next weeks blog.
Source: Biblestudies.org-Chart; Biblestudies.org-Russian Invasion of Israel; reuters.com; theconversation.com; rfembassy.kz; worldatlas.com; theduran.com; eaeunion.org; evnreport.com; countrystudies.us; osw.waw.pl; dw.com; globalsecurity.org; worldpoliticsreview.com; researchgate.net; britannica.com; africa-facts.org; africa-facts.org; globalfirepower.com; worldatlas.com; brookings.edu; ecfr.eu doc-research.org; aljazeera.com; freebeacon.com.
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