Peace, Peace, But Nobody Listens 03/29/2024
How do you make peace with those who don't want peace—they want you dead?.
As the war between Hamas and Israel stretches out, it is clear to see the prophetic hand of God in all of this. No matter what side of the road you are on, both sides should be able to see clearly a lining up of countries that is most interesting regarding Bible Prophecy. Something we have written about many times. This is just another layer to help us see the closeness of the Rapture.
A brief look at events: On October 7, 2023, Hamas (not only the governing body of Gaza, but also a terrorist/militant group backed by Iran), successfully penetrated the Israeli border in 30 places along what is called the Iron Wall (the wall between Israel and Gaza). They preformed the most terrorizing attack on Israel in recent years: beheading, torturing, raping, and murdering over 1,000 Israelis, and other nationals. They also took over 200 hostages—Jews and people from other countries. It has been over five months and still all hostages, or their remains, have not been returned.
In retaliation to the October 7 attack, the Israeli military forces were focused on destroying the Hamas war machine so that they could no longer threaten Israel. However, due to Hamas' war strategy of mixing with civilians, Israel felt there was no other options to reach Hamas, but to bomb Gaza and those who side with the terrorist. (The topic of whether Israel was right or wrong in their actions is not the issue of this blog. We merely wish to recap the events for the purpose of Bible Prophecy.) To date, there has not been a conclusion of this war, nor a clear victor.
According to the UN website, on Friday, March 22, 2024, the United States brought forth a draft for the UN committee to vote on. It called for an “'immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides', facilitating 'essential' aid delivery and supporting ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas militants to create a sustainable end to the hostilities, tied to the release of hostages”. However, the draft was vetoed by permanent Council members China and Russia. The main complaint from Russia was that the resolution, “put no real pressure on Israel over its war crimes”. They further accused the U.S. administration of “throwing a bone to American voters and persuading a domestic audience it was being even-handed in the crisis.”
China urged the committee they need to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, in line with the wishes of the UN General Assembly and the UN Secretary-General. While the Representatives of the Arab group condemned in the strongest terms “this genocide inflicted on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip”.
The disheartened Ambassador from Israel, Gilad Erdan, commented that the draft would have been the first time any UN body condemned Hamas’s attack on his country. He predicted that the failure to adopted this draft would be “a stain that will never be forgotten”. He furthered his comment by saying that Hamas knows they cannot win militarily, so they use Gazans as human shields to maximize civilian casualties so the Council will pressure Israel to ending its military operation and issues false statistics and numbers. He called the famine in Gaza, “Hamas propaganda”, emphasizing that according to his Government, 341,000 tons of humanitarian aid in hundreds of trucks have entered the enclave. He lamented that “Every civilian death in Gaza is tragic, but the only one to blame is Hamas”. And finished by reminding the committee that Hamas and Iran have one goal—to wipe Israel off the map.
This brings us to Monday, 3/25/24, when the UN met again and finally passed Resolution 2728. This resolution calls for a cease fire for the month of Ramadan. The resolution also calls for the release of hostages and the establishing of humanitarian access to Gaza. What this resolution does not call for is an sustained cease fire on the terms that Hamas will return hostages—in other words, hostages first then cease fire happens. The resolution greatly angered many because they thought it was either too lenient with Hamas, or too lenient with Israel. What particularly angered Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, is that he felt the U.S. had retreated from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas. The U.S. could have vetoed the resolution from passing with just their one veto, but instead they choose to abstain.
So, where does that leave us regarding Bible Prophecy? There is the continued alliance of Russia and a growing number of Islamic countries like Iran, Syria, Lebannon, and many of their Islamic terrorist groups. What do they have in common? Hatred toward the Jews. We also see as Israel is trying to protect her borders, the tiny state is pursuing the expulsion of Hamas from the region to insure more peaceful solutions with the civilians in Gaza. However, the more they pursue militarily means the more they anger the very Arabs that hate them—not a good recipe for peace.
Back to the statement made by the U.N. Ambassador to Israel, he said, “this draft would be 'a stain that will never be forgotten'”. This may be a prophetic statement. The Bible is very clear when dealing with Israel. It is written, “I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse”-Gen 12:3 (NAS). Regarding the land of Israel the Bible says, “Sihon, king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan; and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel.”-Ps 135: 11,12 (NAS). “For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.”-Jer 30:3 (KJV). “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.”-Joel 3:2 (NAS). Even though this is a millennial verse, it has a very stern warning for those who want to divide the land of Israel. Perhaps it is best said in the book, The Miracle of Israel. In the book is the historical account of Blaise Pascal, a renowned French thinker of the 17th century. He was a master of mathematics, physicists, an inventor, writer and philosopher. It seems Louis XIV summoned Pascal to his throne room. He wanted to be provided with proof of the supernatural. Is there any way to verify that miracles really happen? Without hesitation Pascal replied, “Why, the Jews, your Majesty—the Jews.” To directly quote the book, “Pascal was, of course, referring to the Jewish People's surprising ability to outlast their enemies, who even then had confined them to over crowed ghettos, excluded them from society and subjected them to death and the destruction of their way of life...Simply put, the Jews occupied a special place in the family of man. The mere fact of their survival attested to the singular role they played in human history.” God is not going to forget all those who turned their back on His land or His people. He will repay them to their face-Deut 7:10. But, if Israel was well loved by the world and the Jewish people well esteemed, then we would not be in the latter days as spoken of by the Bible. ·Pray for peace in Jerusalem: May those who love her·be safe [prosper]. May there be peace within her walls and·safety within her strong towers-Ps 122:6,7 (EXB).
Sources: livemint.com; cnn.com; csis.org; rt.com; npr.org; theguardian.com; msn.com; theguardian.com; theguardian.com; aclj.org; youtube.com; youtube.com; youtube.com; youtube.com; youtube.com; youtube.com;
A Three Fold Cord—Not Easily Broken 03/22/2024
There is an old saying, “A three fold cord is not easily broken”. If one cord should begin to fray, the other two cords will aid and support.
How alarmed is the United States military over the alliance of China, Russia and Iran? General Michael Erik Kurilla (United States Army), spoke to members of the U.S. Senate on March 7, 2024. In his opening statements he declared, “…the central region faces its most volatile security situation in the past half century.” He continued, “…the events of seven October (referring to the Hamas attack on Israel), not only permanently changed Israel and Gaza, it created the conditions for malign actors to sow instability throughout the region and beyond.” He further explained, “In the last six months we have seen every proxy in the Iranian threat network operationalized in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank and Yemen.” He is clearly concerned with those proxies as they have not only caused regional, but also global threats throughout the Middle East directed at U.S. interest and military installations. “Collectively, Iran, Russia and China are strengthening their relationships, and fostering a chaotic landscape favorable for their exploitation. Iran continues to sell 90% of their oil to China, funding Tehran's subversive activities across the region. Iran has developed a full scale production pipe‐line for supplying weapons to Russia, fueling their war on Ukraine.” The General is convinced that the ramification of this partnership has global implications that make decision making for the army, in a joint environment, challenging. The General is apprehensive that the threats will create a domino effect—producing aggression against the US homeland, trigger a regional conflict and ultimately derail national defense strategy.
Did this union of, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, begin over night? Actually, Russia and China started diplomatic relations back in the 17th century. They created a border between the two countries that resulted in a treaty written in Latin. Fast forward to just after WW2, once the Communist militarily defeated the National party of China—hence, formulating the People′s Republic of China (PRC), their leader, Mao Zedong, looked toward communist Russia with awe. The student and comrade of Chairman Stalin, made frequent visits to Russia. The PRC′s state run newspapers ran the aphorism, “The Soviet Union′s today is our tomorrow”. Russia even sent some 11,000 experts from 1954‐58 to help China rebuild after their civil war with the Nationalist. (As you may, or may not know, the Nationalist escaped to Taiwan—hence the bad blood between China and Taiwan today.)
After the death of Stalin, relations soured between the two countries, resulting in the 1961 Sino‐Soviet Split. China needing a friend, started courting the Americans, leading to the 1972 visit of President Richard Nixon. This allowed global recognition of, not only the country of China, but also the communist government of Mao Zedong. China and the U.S. then began a fortified front against Moscow.
In more present times, China and the U.S. have deeply strained their relationship. China now has the world’s second largest economy and is in direct competition with the U.S. regarding, not only strategics, but also economic competition.
Russia and China, on the other hand, have renewed their friendship. However, it is considered by some, that while China is economically stronger than Russia, the Chinese people still view themselves subservient to the Russians. This is due to the way it use to be and China has not run any campaigns to counter this thinking.
So, if two of the cords are Russia and China, Iran must be the third cord. Even though two of the most powerful countries in the east are welcoming Iran into their fold, it is considered that Russia and China may be doing so for their own fear of a nuclear Iran. Certainly, the past history between Russia and Iran is rocky to say the least. In the early 1900′s the Russian military, under direction from the Czar, took land from Iran. After WW2, Chairman Stalin refused to remove his troops from Iran starting the cold war. Russia also supported communist Iranians in their fight for the government, upsetting both the monarchy and theocracy of Iran: plus, they backed Iraq during their war with Iran. These events have not been forgotten, and the Iranian press routinely refers to these events as reasons why Tehran should not trust Moscow. However, Iran and Russia do have common ground—they both hate the U.S. and they both stood by Bashar al‐Assad, the leader of Syria, while he fought for the territorial control and solidifying the regime′s hold of power for his country. Does this mean they trust one another—no.
While Russian and Iranian relations may not have been peaceful (or trustworthy), China on the other hand has managed the Iranians differently. Striking up a partnership back in the 1980‐90′s with joint military maneuvers. China continues to sell Iran technologies that have advanced the accuracy, range, and lethality of their ballistic missiles. China is also Iran biggest importer of goods—a situation Iran is leery. In return, Iran is a large importer of oil to China, not to mention a great source for metals and minerals. However, this relationship may induce the Chinese in believing they levy some kind of power over Iran's decision making—particularly in regards to nuclear proliferation. For China has enormous amounts of money invested in the Middle East region—especially dealing with railroads and trade agreements.
So, were does this leave us today? Besides defending one another′s actions on the world′s stage, they benefit economically. China, Russia, and Iran oppose the U.S. led world order. Last May in a speech, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, made reference to the fact that China′s aim is to challenge the U.S.′s leadership in the world as the dominant technological power. Clearly, China wants economic power—also military dominance would not be off their scope. However, Russia and Iran, with much weaker economies are not looking for world conquest. If Russia feels threatened by NATO, and the democratic way—if President Putin thinks for a moment that NATO or the U.S. would attack him—he will attack for the kill. If a person would kill his own country men, (a long standing practice of the communist), certainly he would be capable of sending a few nukes to annihilate, or try to annihilate, a whole nation—the U.S. And Iran, who hates Israel and the U.S., would love to be in on the kill. Make no mistake, this is how the Bible portrays the events of the end‐times.
Do you think you are a Christian? Why? Are you a good person? Did someone tell you, you are going to heaven because you said a prayer? Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven”‐Mat 7:21. Do you read the Word of God? Again Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”‐Mat 4:4, Lk 4:4. God, in His mercy, gave us the Bible that we may read and know His will for our life. That we may read and understand the sacrifice His Son made for all man kind—that all may have eternal life through Jesus Christ. It is written, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”‐Rom 6:23.
You may ask, “Is there anything I need to do to be saved ?” Yes and no. Truly, it reads in the Bible that, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”‐Eph 2:8,9. Salvation is a free gift—however, it is also written, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works”‐ Ja 2:14,17,18. Faith that has no good works is dead. Faith that is alone, and dead, is separated from repentance, love to God and man, and every other holy affection—it produces no Godly fruits. It is not unconventional to believe that eternal life is impossible to be attained by any faith, which has not the evidence of a holy life. For it is written, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”‐Mat 7:20. Check out this link if you would like to learn more about the topic of faith. We confess Jesus Christ is come in the flesh‐ref 1 John 4:2.
Sources: africom.mil; apnews.com; china.usc.edu; thediplomat.com; iranprimer.usip.org; csis.org; al-monitor.com; uscc.gov; thenationalnews.com; greenfdc.org.
Bible Prophecy In Review-Libya 03/15/2024
In last weeks 2024 Posture Statement to the United States Congress, Marine Corps General Michael Langley, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, was asked, “Why is the U.S. in Africa?”. Americans may ask themselves, “Why do we have a presence in Africa?” The General answered, “For access and influence”. The United States has many partnerships within several African countries. The National Guard program is just one example. This is where the different states within United States have sent their national guardsmen to, not only represent them, but, to help the Africans exercise their capabilities and build capacity. Also, giving them an appreciation for the American's rule of law and law of armed conflict. In working with the African partners, the General believes it makes the partners even more resilient. They like the way the U.S. government is suppose to run and they enjoy the rule of law. The African countries that are currently involved in this program include Kenya, Niger, Liberia, Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Tunisia.
However, due to finances, the U.S. is losing out because even though these African nations are interested in partnering with the U.S.—financially the U.S. does not have the ability to increase enrollment. Russia, on the other hand, seems to have an almost unlimited number of people they can indoctrinate with their rule of law. The General offered a static of 12 to 1. For every 1 person America can teach—Russia can teach 12.
For this reason and others, the General believes a number of countries are on the tipping point of being captured by the Russian Federation. For example, Russia is spreading their false narratives across Libya focusing lies about the U.S. presence—which many Africa's are believing. The General expressed the need for the U.S. to have access and influence among the whole Maghreb area. He further explained that the Maghreb is the southern flank of NATO from a static point of view. Perhaps that is why the Maghreb region of Africa, is desired by the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) and Russia—not only for its minerals and natural resources, but, also for its power projection capabilities—in terms of propaganda to military operations.
What does that mean and how do we relate this with Bible Prophecy? The first thing to understand is, what is the Maghreb? This is the extensive region of northwest Africa—including Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and the Western Sahara. Some also add Mauritania to the region. Most of the countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Why is this area of Africa important regarding Bible Prophecy? Actually, only Libya is of great importance. In Ezek 38:5, the Bible clearly names 3 nations: Persia, Ethiopia and Libya. These 3 nations band with Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and possibly Tobolsk) in the invasion into Israel. This invasion happens not long after Israel makes a covenant with the Anti‐Christ‐ref Dan 9:27. To date, U.S. relations with Libya are chilly at best. Perhaps you remember the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya. On that day, 4 Americans were killed—including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The Americans closed the U.S. consulate in 2014 moving operations to neighboring Tunisia, where they remain to this day. The Biden administration made motions for re‐opening the U.S. Embassy in 2021; but, to date the State Department has said they are waiting for when the security of the situation permits and when they have the necessary security measures in place. (Interesting note, most of the African nations have become strong proponents for Islam. Since the U.S. is considered a Christian nation, the people of Libya, {along with other Islamic African nations}, do not feel a strong bond to the United States. Therefore, nations like Libya are siding more with their Islamic brother countries. That would mean they are not fans of Israel.)
Presently, there are 2 major fighting forces from within the country. (Note, there are several Islamic terrorist groups, not affiliated with either major force, who control swatches of Libya′s countryside.) Which one will gain the power? On the west side of the country, out of Tripoli is the Government of National Accord (GNA). With the help from the remaining official military, more than one hundred officers from Turkey and two thousand Syrian militants (being promised high wages and Turkish nationality), as well as local militias—this group numbers around thirty thousand fighters. The GNA receives significant military aid from Turkey, Italy, and Qatar—not forgetting the support they receive from the United Nations (UN). The opposing force is run by Khalifa Haftar, a former general who helped Muammar Qaddafi seize power in 1969. His army is called, Libya National Army (LNA) and they are based in Benghazi. They have an estimated twenty‐five thousand fighters which consist of two thousand mercenaries belonging to the Russia‐based Wagner Group, besides thousand of Libyans. They are supported by Egypt, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Russia. Russia is the interesting player in this piece.
Whatever side you are on, this aligning of powers is a stunning example of God's providence. He is lining up the countries just as foretold in Scripture. And while fighting continues in Libya, much infrastructure has been abandoned, leaving the citizen in need of shelter, food and water. Natural disasters have also played a prominent role in further crippling the country. Kidnapping and other evils bombard many Libyans daily, making life almost unbearable.
While the people of Libya suffer, Russia has lucrative nation‐wide reconstruction contracts with the GNA. However, just in case they don't win the war, he also entertains Khalifa Haftar by internationally claiming the legitimacy of the LNA's control over eastern and southern Libya, furthering Russia′s hopes for preferential access to oil reserves held by Haftar′s forces and revive Gaddafi—era basing agreements on Libya′s Mediterranean coast.
Is everything in place that we are expecting to be in place? No. But, we are closer today than we were last year. Are you ready to meet Jesus? Have you been reading your Bible five chapters a day? Are you continuing to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith? What Jesus, or God, do you serve? Is it the God of the Bible? Check out this link if you would like to learn more about what it means to be a real Christian.
Sources: msn.com; africom.mil; worldatlas.com; hicginewsagency.com; nbcnews.com; foreignpolicy.com; cfr.org; usembassy.gov; theexchange.africa; rusi.org; youtube.com.
Bible Prophecy In Review 03/08/2024
How close is a Russian invasion into Israel likely? For the next couple of weeks we are looking at the countries that the Bible says will be involved with that invasion. But before we do, you might want to familiarize yourself with our blog of 2/2/2020 and 2/7/22, if you have not been following Bible Prophecy. This week we are reviewing Ethiopia, or the land of Cush.
Ethiopia was clearly prophesied as assisting Russia with an invasion into Israel-ref Ezk 38. The region of Ethiopia the Bible refers to, was much larger than present day. In the past, it included the present day countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and Somaliland. (Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 and enjoys more political and economic stability than Somalia. However, Somalia and most countries do not recognize Somalilands' independence.) Along with Ethiopia, these 4 or 5 countries, (depending on if you think Somaliland is a country), make up the horn of Africa. It is not unusual to find Somalia, and/or Eritrea, and Ethiopia at war internally or with one another—not to leave out Somaliland which has strained relations with Puntland, a semi-autonomous state of Somalia, or Djibouti. These wars generally deal with land disputes; however, they are conveniently pursued if the rulers in charge of the country desire a diversion from political rivalry from within. If you are interested in learning more about the countries of the horn of Africa, check out our 7/9/2018 blog.
Recently, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has challenged the governments of the countries within the horn of Africa regarding their sea borders. Ethiopia is land locked since Eritrea broke away in 1993. Minister Ahmed believes it is his ancestral right to be on the water, as most of the land making up the horn of Africa use to be part of Ethiopia. However, those who legislate maritime law indicate, even though Ethiopia has the right to negotiate with neighboring countries for an agreement to get to the sea, they must do so through negotiations and friendly relations amongst the interested parties. For example, as of January 2024, Ethiopia signed an agreement with Somaliland to lease approximately 20 miles of seacoast to Ethiopia. In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland's statehood and shares in Ethiopian state‐owned enterprises such as Ethiopian Airlines. So far, so good—if everyone agrees on the deal. Herein lies the complications. Because Somalia continues to believe Somaliland is part of Somalia, they do not condone the agreement. Usually this would not be a big hurdle to jump, as Somaliland has made international deals before regarding their ports, but, Somalia has a particularly prominent partner who is taking great pains to protect their interest and investments in Somalia—that partner is Turkey. At this point, the deal Ethiopia negotiated with Somaliland may no longer be effective—Ethiopia may need to walk away from the agreement as negotiations with Somalia are not going to be friendly seeing they are already at odds regarding a land dispute.
So, why would Ethiopia's leaders want a sea port? It would appear that minister Ahmed is straying away from alliances with the West and courting closer ties with Russia and China. So much so, that Minister Ahmed has been invited to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South African) alliance. Ethiopia recently announced they have agreed to join. Minister Ahmed desires a sea port in order to build a naval facility and possibly other commercial avenues. Before the 1990's, Ethiopia had a navy and access to sea ports. Since Eritrea's break away they had rented other countries ports, but those sources are no longer feasible. Now, they can only hope. Perhaps, representatives from China and/or Russia could convince Turkey to back down, or maybe more negotiations with other horn of Africa countries are possible. Regarding the country of Somalia, recently the Russian government generously offered a debt relief of over $684 million dollars to which they owed Russia. Not all the debt will be forgiven, part of the sum will be subject to a rescheduling of payments. Maybe Russia, or China, can step in and do some negotiations on behalf of Ethiopia regarding a sea port in Somaliland?
To address the question of why Ethiopia would join Russia in an invasion into Israel, especially since they appear to have very good diplomatic relations, let's revisit some history. In the past, Ethiopia had long been a Judean/Christian nation. The Bible makes mention of the Queen of Sheba, (Queen of the South or from the land of Cush—Ethiopia), and the caravan she brought with her. She had heard of the wisdom of the great King Solomon and traveled miles to prove him with hard questions. The Scriptures indicate she was more than satisfied and rather impressed with Solomon's wisdom and gave glory to God because the Lord loved Israel and had made Solomon their king, to do judgment and justice. She gifted Solomon with an hundred and twenty talents of gold (which equals $267,505,272 U.S. dollars), and of spices very great store, and precious stones-ref 1 Kings chapter 10. There is also the account, in the New Testament, of Phillip's conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts. These events clearly show that Ethiopia has Jewish/ Christian roots—but more recently, relative to Old Testament times, they also have sided with their Islamic roots.
Even though there have been ancient historic ties between the two country's, the Ethiopians of the past have also attacked Israel-ref 2 Chronicles 12:2-4, 2 Chronicles 14:8-10. Fast forward to more modern times, Ethiopia, along with much of Africa, sided with the Arabs during the October 6, 1973, Yom Kippur War, also referred to as the Ramadan War. Their mind set being, Israel’s continued occupation of the land, stands in the way of real peace. They can relate due to the long history of colonialism their forefathers experienced. And remember the Biblical account of the Queen of Sheba? Ethiopia's own history reflects such a time; although, their story has some what different tone. Ethiopia's folklore, which is deeply integrated with their history, is that while the Queen was visiting King Solomon he seduced her. She goes back to her country and gives birth to a son. When the son is old enough he goes back to Jerusalem to visit his father who then makes the son, King of Ethiopia. The son goes back to Ethiopia, but in avenging his mothers virtue, he takes with him the ark of the covenant. He elevates it across the Mediterranean Sea, and carries it back to Ethiopia—there it remains to this day. There are several other versions of the story depending on your preferred religion.
It is interesting to note, that while Ethiopia has accepted the invitation to join BRICS, Ethiopia must first solve its own economic problems—they are on the brink of insolvency. With heavy foreign debt (most of that is to China), internal conflict, drought, and rampant inflation, Ethiopian's are starving. Not to mention the Russian/Ukrainian War that has decreased the amount of food Ukraine would normally be supplying the horn of Africa. The food shortages are so severe, last year, many African leaders went to a summit hosted by Russia. They went beseeching President Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. Although the Russian President made no commitments, he did promised to send tens of thousands of tones of grain within months despite Western sanctions.
With the promise of booty to pay off national debts and food to feed their people, not to mention a war outside the horn of Africa could make peace within the horn of Africa; and don't forget their thinking that the Jews are colonialist stealing the land from the Palestinians—these could be strong arguments for whether they join the great bear or not—or, maybe they have no choice? The reasons why the Ethiopians join in the invasion is not mentioned in the Bible. This is only a review of facts that are lining up ever so carefully.
Is time running out? Are they only a handful of days left before the Rapture? Why wait? If Jesus is knocking on your door, don't turn Him away. He loves you—He gave His life for you. Check out this link if you would like to learn more.
Next week we should continue our review of Bible Prophesy.
Sources: firstthings.com; capitalethiopia.com; britannica.com; afdb.org; aljazeera.net; aljazeera.com-The Ramadan War; reuters.com; cfr.org-Conflict In Ethiopia; tandfonline.com. aljazeera.com-Israel Hamas War; theconversation.com-Red Sea Politics; theconversation.com-Ethiopias Abiy Takes A Page From Russia/China; britannica.com-Somaliland; cfr.org-Somaliland Break Away State; washingtonpost.com; russiancouncil.ru; africanews.com; un.org; dw.com; adf-magazine.com; navalpost.com;
Bible Prophecy In Review 03/01/2024
If you study Bible Prophecy, one of the next set of events you should be looking for, (not including the Rapture), is a Russian invasion into Israel—or at least the events that would lead into an invasion. Why look for these events? Check out this link if you are interested in a time line of events that must take place around the time of the Rapture. If you are not familiar with the term, Rapture, check out this link. Also, our blogs of 2/2/2020 and 2/7/2022, (scroll down to 2/7/22,) are packed with some historical insights on this topic.
Are the countries the Bible refers to as aligning with Russia
in place? Let's start with:
Ukraine
To date, Russia is entering it's third year of war with neighboring Ukraine. There are some annalist who expect this war will come to a close this year. It would appear something would need to be decided as the NATO backed, (or really the U.S. backed‐ check out this chart) war in Ukraine is slowly losing the monetary momentum of western support. Even though, as of December 2023, the U.S. President signed a bill to send $300 million to help support Ukraine for two years; but, this is a far cry from the $61 billion he asked Congress to approve back in 2022, or the recent U.S. Senate approved bill of sending $64 billion to Ukraine. (Please note, the U.S. Senate can pass as many bills as they desire; but, if they need funding, the bill must be voted upon in the U.S. House of Representatives. To date, the house majority speaker has not acknowledge he will present the bill any time soon. And while the Senate desires to send $64 billion to Ukraine, not an official ally of the U.S., their bill only allots $14 billion to Israel for it's war with Hamas, and $8 billion to Taiwan and partners in the pacific for countering China, who are official allies of the Americans.)
However, many believe the outcome of this war is not going to be on the battlefields of Ukraine, but by the diplomatic talks amongst the members of NATO, Ukrainian and Russian diplomats. What would stop the war? The same assurances Russia demanded three years ago—guarantees that NATO would not expand into nations that border Russia. That would include Ukraine. (If you would like to learn more about NATO see our blog of 04/08/2019).
Ukraine, is listed in the book of Ezekiel as one of the countries that aligns with Russia to invade Israel. Certainly, with the destruction war brings, the country's dependence on itself for food, sheltering it's citizens and infrastructure has been challenged. Before the war, 70% of Ukraine's land was used for farming. In a recent ABC News article they report that, “Ukraine's role as the breadbasket of the world is in jeopardy as war rages on, tearing apart the country's agricultural lands and leaving behind dangerous obstacles, (particularly mines), further hindering the cleanup and rebuilding that must take place in order to restore the fields. The war is exacerbating an already delicate food system that could have consequences for decades to come.”
So, even if Russia and Ukraine came to some kind of an agreement today, that would not help the current food shortages that are already being felt around the world, and most assuredly inside Ukraine. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine's agriculture sector has lost $4.3 billion U.S. dollars. However, the GDP of the country is not the only thing the war has disrupted. Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced or murdered, families torn apart, towns reduced to rubble. Ukraine is going to need money to rebuild infrastructure, along with assurances that it is safe for families to come and live again. The world is tired of sending millions to help them—they will need to start helping themselves. Where can they get food and funds? Russia might have an answer—perhaps an invasion into a very prosperous country.
And what countries have been most hit by the Russian/Ukrainian war regarding Ukrainian export? Mostly, the horn of Africa. Which bring us to our next country the Bible indicates will be allied with Russia in the invasion of Israel—Ethiopia. Lord willing, that should be the subject of our next blog.
The handwriting on the wall is very clear—no matter what country you live in. Just as the Bible predicted people's consciences have been seared (or destroyed)‐ref 1 Tim 4:2. They say evil is good and good is evil—they count the proud blessed, including those that work wickedness. Many challenge God in their deeds and in their speech. They do not perceive the judgment that will come against them because it does not come right away. They say, “it is vain to serve the Lord—what profit is it that we have kept His commandments and walked humbly before Him?” But, those who fear the Lord and speak about Him to one another, the Lord is listening attentively and hears it. The Scriptures tell of a book of remembrance that is written before God, and those who fear the Lord and esteem His name, their names are written in that book. These are the people the Lord receives and spares‐ref Mal 3:3‐18.
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation (our Lord's return) is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let’s behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy-Ro 13:11-13 (NAS). Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded-Ja 4:8 (KJV). Be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near-Ja 5:8 (NAS).
Sources: reuters.com-Biden Signs 886 Billion U.S. Defense Policy Bill Into Law; cnn.com; cfr.org; pbs.org; cato.org; bbc.com; abcnews.go.com-1 Year Later: How The War In Ukraine Is Affecting Food Supplies; reuters.com-Ukraines Economy falls; abcnews.go.com-Nato Rejects Russian Demands.