July 2020 Bible Prophecy Outlook

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It is written, every man is friend to him that giveth gifts‐Pr 19:6. As President Xi Jinping of the People′s Republic of China (PRC) reaches out his hand, many countries have taken hold of it—and the small state of Israel is among them.

As unlikely a pair as they may make, China and Israel have been bonding for a long time—and most of it has been economically motivated. During a visit to China in 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was quoted as saying, China should “assume its rightful place…on the world stage,” and he believes that Israel is China′s “perfect junior partner for that effort.” He also made mention that China‐Israeli trade “is a marriage made in heaven.” To the Prime Minister, this marriage may represent an economic alliance so strong that only death could breach it.

Just a little back round, when Israel no longer trusted trade with the EU over continued sanction threats (due to the so called, “Israeli occupation” of their own land), Israel strengthened ties with China—even though China has never welshed on supporting Israel′s enemies, including the Palestinians, Turkey, Syria and Iran. To this day, China consistently votes against Israel at the U.N. But, putting all that aside, the finances and benefits that Israel receives from the Great Dragon is evidently been enough for Israel to turn a blind eye—an undiscerning eye.

Chinese investments provide a diversified portfolio within Israel. Among other things, they include agriculture, biotechnology, food, high technology, strategic infrastructures and water. For example, in 2014, one of the first Chinese corporations to invest in the Israeli market was Bright Foods which purchased Israel′s largest dairy company. Four years later, the Chinese conglomerate, Fosun, purchased the Ahava company, which made products derived from minerals of the Dead Sea. More recently, the Chinese, Hutchison‐Israel company was allowed, by the Israeli government, to bid on Israel′s new desalination plant, named Sorek 2. This plant is to be the world′s largest desalination plant based on the Mediterranean coast in southern Israel. Israel is hoping that the desalination process will provide its country with 85% of their water consumption per year. Whoever wins the bid will operate the plant for 25 years.

The Prime Minister also has admitted the Chinese account for one‐third of investments dealing with Israeli high technology—which is what China is particularly interested in. After all, Israel has established itself as a hub of innovation and research, which has led to a growing number of Chinese investments. China is particularly interested in this line of industry, because of the growing need for automation. That could include from consumer business to Operational Technology in shipping.

In 2014, the Chinese acquired the rights to build the new port at Ashdod, Israel. This is supposed to be a safe alternative for east‐west trade. According to an article in the Times of Israel, September 23, 2014, “goods will be transported by ship from China and offloaded in Eilat/Aqaba, side‐by‐side ports at the northern end of the Red Sea, then transported by train to Ashdod and reloaded onto ships bound for Europe. The new route will offer shippers a safe and price‐competitive alternative to the current Suez Canal route”. Here is a short video clip if you are interested. The Operational Technology (OT) system at the Port, as of early 2020, was to receive an enhancement called, the Naval Dome, making it no longer vulnerable to outside hacking. This is a must have for any automated port. But, it does not stop there. As of 2015, the Israelis agreed to allow China to run their Haifa Port for twenty‐five years, starting in 2021. They not only will run the port, they will also build another automated port system like the one at their Port of Shanghai. Just a note, during the Syrian war most shipping went from Syrian ports to Haifa. This has created a need to transport the containers from those ships to their desired destination—hence the need for a railway.

There are plans for a new railway system to go from Haifa through Jordan to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States. The minister of Israeli Transportation (from March 2013 to June 2019), Yisrael Katz, called it the Peace Line. The Israeli government is hoping this line of transportation will improve Israel’s International status as the railway will connect Europe with the Middle East. There are also several other lines including one from Tel Aviv and Eilat. The Chinese will not only build these railways, they will also own them and run them. Needless to say some in Israel are not comfortable with these arrangements. Fact is, Israel's closest ally, the United States, is greatly concerned.

Case in point, the location of the Haifa port is strategic—it is conveniently near an Israeli naval base which houses their nuclear‐capable submarine force. At present, the Americans also have a presence there. It is also not unusual for the U.S. to dock in Haifa from time to time while on US‐Israeli bilateral military activities. As the Americans have been voicing concerns for a long time, recently the U.S. Ambassador David Friedman tried to warn the Israeli government that the Chinese use its investments and infrastructure projects to infiltrate countries—Israel should already realize this. The Ambassador also expressed the concern that, “the last thing we (U.S.) want is any limitation on how the U.S. can do business or cooperate in Israel.” He went on to say, “For two countries as close to each other as Israel and the U.S., when they cooperate and exchange intelligence and other secrets for their mutual protection on such a robust level, both countries need to be really careful about exposing that level of cooperation to a foreign power that may have a different agenda”. To further awaken the Israelis, the Americans have warned, “if Israel does not curb its ties with China, security cooperation and intelligence sharing with the U.S. could be limited”. Why would Israel care about what the U.S. thinks—because they provide Israel with not only money, but, also political, diplomatic, military and economic aid. Obviously however, that was not enough to stop Israel from partnering with China. Some even believe that the U.S. is only making a fuse because of the current tensions between the two super powers. (See our blog, 5g Internet of Things-5/6/2019 if you would like more on Chinese providing technology to other countries.)

Some background regarding the United States and China relations—the 1950′s brought about one of the first cold war conflicts beginning in Korea. It was North Korea, which entailed the U.S.S.R., Communist China (or Chicoms as the Americans nicknamed them) and North Koreans pitted against the South Koreans and the West, namely the United States. Why did the Americans believe this was a worthy conflict? They were trying to doing everything possible to keep communism from permeating around world. (Little did they understand that their soldiers were to die in vain {and every soldier who gave his life by fighting for liberty} and that some fifty years later, in the classrooms, American school children would be learning that communism is a better form of government than republicanism.) So, for many years there has been, to say the least, some tensions between the U.S. and China.

However, between the years of 2008‐2015, under the Obama Administration, American foreign policy turned on its heels regarding China. It went from the ideology that China was an enemy and competitor, to wanting to partner with the Communist nation. One World, One Government—most everything was in place. China′s trade advantages with the Americans lead to an unusual domination over American commerce which few citizens understood—however, was deeply felt during the current Covid‐19 pandemic. The fact is, the pandemic brought to light the evidence that China supplies the United States with an estimated 97% of all antibiotics and 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients needed to manufacture most drugs in the United States. The U.S. needed N‐95 face mask. They are only made in Taiwan and China. China declared the masks a strategic resource, reserving them only for medical workers. And if you can find N‐95 face mask made in another country, chances are that some component parts are Chinese‐sourced. But, it is much more critical—China is the sole exporter of America′s ibuprofen, dominates 91% of U.S. imports of hydro cortisone, 70% of acetaminophen, 40 to 45% of penicillin, and other medicines according to the Commerce Department. In total, 80% of the U.S. supply of antibiotics are made in China. Generic drug companies can not even step up to make drugs because much of their starting ingredients are produced in China′s Hubei Provence—the place where the Corona Virus is believed to have originated.

But, that is not their only move against America. Of the $23.4 trillion in U.S. debt (as of March 2020), China owns about $1.1 trillion. Japan owns $1.2 trillion. Why would China buy so much U.S. debt? China desires its own currency, the yuan, to be pegged to (or be fastened with) the U.S. dollar. Since the dollar is still seen as one of the safest currencies in the world, dollar‐pegging adds stability to a countries currency. A dollar‐pegged yuan will help keep the cost of Chinese exports down, which the Chinese government believes makes it stronger in International markets. But between the two Asian countries (Japan and China), they only hold about 9% of the U.S. debt. So how else is China moving against the U.S.? By purchasing large parcels of U.S. farm land.

In 2013, China bought the U.S. company, Smithfield Foods for a record $4.7 billion. It is no secret that the Chinese relish pork. In that deal, the Chinese company also obtained more than 146,000 acres of farmland across the United States. Actually, it is worse than that. Since 2011, China has bought some 240,000 acres of U.S. farmland and lands areas (this would include a very large seed company—you need seeds to plant crops). As China is considered the world′s biggest producer, importer, and consumer of food they are interested in acquiring land already suited to farming. Since it is one of our most basic needs it is not hard to understand, if someone is controlling your food source, they in essence will eventually control you—if they don′t already.

In 2018, China′s largest shipping body, Cosco Shipping Holdings Co., took control of a major U.S. trade terminal in Long Beach, California—nonetheless, in 2019 the Trump Administration required them to sell to a North American subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure. This Administration has also stopped the purchase of ports and/or properties that are near military installations. To be realistic, with holdings near the military, the Chinese can access important details that could include not only the combat readiness, but also their munition stores, the logistics networks used by vehicles/vessels, and even clues with respect to tactics for military patrols. The fact is, all around the world this is a new concern for the U.S. Navy since China owns so many ports globally.

The number of acquisitions the Chinese have made within the U.S. are too numerous to number in this blog, but they include luxury apartments, banks, a company that makes batteries for electric cars, factories, a movie theater chain, mineral resources, oil and gas deposits, power plants and posh restaurants. They even purchased land for a China City to be built to house Chinese immigrants. If all of these things are not alarming enough for the American people, perhaps the attentions of Chinese tech companies like Huawei and ZTE toward Silicon Valley would cause a red flag to go up—no pun intended. But, as there will always be those who will not see the writing on the wall—they say, there is nothing to worry about. Perhaps they are not concerned because of the propaganda China has purchased to be read in several news outlets including The Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times, The Atlanta Journal‐Constitution, the Chicago Tribune, the Houston Chronicle, and The Boston Globe, just to name a few, have been listed as clients of China Daily. Yes, China Daily has spent nearly $19 million for advertising and printing expenses over the past four years, according to documents filed with the Justice Department. What do they print? The inserts are designed to look like real news articles, only with a pro‐Beijing spin, anti‐American rhetoric on contemporary news events.

Within the past several years, China has rapidly advanced its strategy to weaken the American dollar, destabilize the U.S. economy, and replace the United States as the dominant economic world power. Normally, people would be questioning the increase of Chinese ownership of American industry; but, due to Chinese lobbyist economically influencing, not only U.S. lawmakers, but anyone willing to look the other way—hardly nobody is raising a fuss. Has China successfully weakened America while diminishing her national security and self‐reliance?

Why is any of this of any importance regarding Bible Prophecy? The Bible refers to, Kings of the East. These are East Asian countries that will exists during the Tribulation. China is, along with other countries, considered part of the Kings of the East‐ref Rev 16:12. Other countries may include India, Japan and any number of East Asia regions. As China has very clearly forged their way into having full control of their supply chain, they have gained a geo‐economic leverage to do what so ever they please. But, they are not alone, back in 2015 Japan and India also were reaching out to Oceania (which consists of many islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean), plus Indonesia. They too are interested in a global market—although some are calling this colonization. While it appears the sleeping dragon has begun to rise, so have other Asian countries. Both Japan and India have been organizing navies.

The current administration of the United States does not seem interested in fitting in with the Global Community. Many Americans are only interested in making America great again. They are interested in jobs, production, paying their bills, caring for their families, putting food on the table. Hence, President Trump's position is to jump start the American economy and focus on America′s GNP—not stimulate the Global Community at America′s expense. This blog is not prepared to go into all the entities that are trying to stop America from becoming great again. The Bible is clear that the coming one world government will be an economically engined government. The Scriptures also indicate the U.S. and Russia will engage in World War 3, due to Russia′s (and other countries) invasion of Israel‐ref Ezk 38 & 39. That means exchanges will be made—exchanges that will cause one‐fourth of the world′s population to be killed—this is the second, third and fourth seal of the Tribulation‐Rev 6:3-8.

Some believe the Scriptures of Dan 11:40‐45 have to do with the Anti‐Christ; however, there are several difficulties with this reasoning. Instead, verses 40‐45 may be referring to the Russian invasion of Israel, portrayed in Ezek chapters 38 and 39. When the Scriptures are looked at in this light, at the time of the end (referring to the Tribulation) the King of the South (possibly Libya or Ethiopia‐ref Ezek 38:5) and the King of the North (Magog‐Russia‐ref Ezek 38:2,4,15) shall come against Israel. Daniel goes on to elaborate regarding the invasion indicating that Gog will have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things (riches) of Egypt‐ref Ezek 38:13. But then Gog receives tidings (or reports) out of the east (which may be the kings of the east) and out of the north (which may be the EEC). Regarding the tidings—remember, a covenant (or treaty) has already been confirmed by the Antichrist with Israel (and others; perhaps referring to the EEC). The confirmation of this covenant begins the Tribulation. Israel now feels safe. They are not expecting an invasion. China, as we have reviewed, has a significant economic interest in, not only the U.S.—but, also Israel. For whatever reason, Russia is disturb. It is written, But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him‐Dan 11:44.

The following is a tactic that the enemies of America seem to be following, if you want to bring America down, you have to undermine three things: their spiritual life, their patriotism and their morality. Has your spiritual life been neglected? After seeing events happening daily, you must know something is about to happen. How long has it been since you read your Bible? Faith only comes from hearing the Word of God‐ref Rom 10:17. Do you realize that if a person goes to church three times a week for his entire life, because of the lack of Bible preaching, this person would never hear the whole Bible. Stories only entertain—they do not build faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him‐Hebrews 11:6. A man is justified by faith‐Romans 3:28. The Laodicean church age is about to come to a close—then the Rapture happens. Are you ready? Check out this link if you are interested in knowing how to be saved.

Source: cfr.org; al-monitor.com; axios.com; worldportsource.com; maritime-executive.com; middleeastmonitor.com, jpost.com; newsweek.com; scmp.com; the-american-interest.com; breitbart.com; investopedia.com-China Owns U.S. Debt How Much?; investopedia.com-4 Countries Produce Most Food; modernfarmer.com; investigatemidwest.org; americanfreepress.net; dailysignal.com, biblestudies.org; historycrunch.com; history.com; politifact.com;
Kresge, Ted. "At The Time Of The End." The Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy The Latter Days, Vol. 2. The Gospel Truth of St Petersburg, 1998. p.761 section 2108-5B.