Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Update to Previous Post

Over a month ago I spent a day researching and writing my blog post Where Are Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudia Arabia in Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 11?  For some reason I didn't post it right away.  I posted it last week unaware that Russia had already deployed troops in Syria.  As I blogged last time,  I don't keep up on world news like I should.

I asked in this blog, "Is it possible that overwhelming growth of the Islamic State (or some similar terrorist group in Iraq and Syria) ... causes Iran to call on it’s ally Russia as well as other nations at threat to put an end once and for all to ISIL?"

Read this quote from Fox News:  "The defense official, briefed on the latest satellite photos of the Syrian coastline, said:  "This is the largest deployment of Russian forces outside the former Soviet Union since the collapse of the USSR."

Friends, it just occurred to me that "the beautiful land" described in Ezekiel 38, if it means the land God promised to Abraham, includes most of Syria and much of Iraq.

Is Putin,  President of Russia, the mysterious Prince of Rosh from Ezekiel 38?

Are we seeing Bible prophecy unfold before our very eyes?

Only time will tell.  I just pray and hope for us all to have eyes to see and "ears to hear. "

Map from https://teenalmyers.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/map-of-promised-land.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/14/russia-shipping-tanks-into-syria-in-first-clear-sign-offensive-weapons/

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Where are Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia in Ezekiel 38 and Daniel 11?

DISCLAIMER:  I write this as if I assume that the campaign of Gog of Magog could begin any day now, which I believe it could, but I am making no claims as to the validity of these ideas.  They are simply that:  ideas, and observations and analysis, both of my own, and of others.  I make no assumption that I am right.


I haven’t really looked much into prophecy and/or current middle east news since writing a three part series last winter. 
I don’t have cable tv, and I don’t tend to read much internet news, so I get bits and pieces of information from my husband and parents.  I was interested in the recent Iranian nuclear deal and the effect of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the Middle East, so I decided to do a little reading before bed last night.  I don’t know how much of my dream time was taken up with this but I woke up early with some ideas I had formed in my dreams, and decided to do some more research.
As I previously posted, the 7 countries/areas of Ezekiel 38 that march on Israel in the campaign of Magog and Gog are most commonly described as Russia, possibly parts of Easter Europe, Turkey, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and the vicinity of Armenia and Georgia.  The 3 countries that oppose or acquiesce to the Anti-christ in Daniel 11 are Syria, Egypt and Jordan.
When I originally looked at the geography of the Middle East, it seemed obvious that Russia was indeed the country that is home to Gog of Magog, Prince of Rosh.  When you look at the ancient northern lands of Meschech and Tubal (Turkey), and Beth Togarmah (Georgia, Armenia),  Russia is directly above these ancient lands.  It makes sense that Russia would be pulled south bringing or aligning all these countries straight into Israel.  But what about Syria, Iraq and Lebanon?  These countries are right in the way.  And what about the big player of Saudi Arabia to the southeast?  The latter question was easily answered with a little research:  Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the ancient lands of Sheba and Dedan – passive onlookers in the campaign against Israel in Ezekiel 38:13.  The merchants and villages of Tarshish, modern-day southern Spain, are also mentioned as onlookers.  Tarshish may refer to not just Spain but the economies of Europe and North America.1 It is obvious from this that Saudi Arabia nor Western and/or European nations are directly involved in either the battles of Ezekiel 38 or Daniel 11.  With the at best, laissez-faire attitude towards Islamic State terrorism*, and at worse, direct opposition to Israel from western leaders like Barak Obama, this comes as no surprise.
Let’s get back to the countries in the map above that lay in the direct path from Russia to Israel.  In that dream-like place just between sleep and awake this morning, it occurred to me that perhaps Russia does not invade the Middle East with the seeming intent and purpose of invading Israel.  Maybe some other conflict draws Russia south.  What is the biggest threat to the peace of Northern Iraq and Syria, and potentially the entire Middle East right now?  That’s right?  ISIL (also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and Islamic State).
Iran, Lebanon and parts of southern Iraq are an anomaly with a majority of Shia Islamists, as opposed to their enemy sect Sunni Islamists, which composes not just ISIL but the majority of other Islamic countries.  Iraq has a Shia led government, which has been fighting against the Sunni ISIL.  Iran has provided support to the Shia Iraqi government and also considers ISIL an enemy.  This does not mean that Iran’s cooperation with American and Iraqi forces to fight against ISIL makes Iran a friend to the US.  Iran is still a very real and very dangerous threat to Israel and the US.
So how does Iran’s nuclear deal with the UN fit into all of this?  Less a fair-sided negotiation than a “Please take all my lunch money, just don’t beat me up” attempt to stay war with Iran at all costs, the deal allows Iran to receive what it needs most right now:  Money.  In return for the UN lifting economic sanctions, Iran promises to reduce aspects of it’s nuclear program like uranium storage and to allow inspections to verify the same for a 10 year period.  This deal allows Iran to continue to enrich uranium (but not weapons grade uranium, supposedly for peaceful energy producing purposes) and still recoup more than $100 billion in oil revenue they have been locked out of due to UN imposed sanctions.  Given the inspections are effective and Iran does keep it’s end of the deal, it simply allows for time to accrue money and for nuclear weapons to be built after the 15 year period.  It also allows Iran to put more money into it’s military:  bolstering anti-Israel terrorist forces in Lebanon and Iraq, and perhaps positively play a greater role in the fight against ISIL.
If Iran is expected to get a financial boost in the coming months from locked up oil revenue, Russia is experiencing the crunch of NATO restrictions because of it’s annexing of Crimea and military advancement into Ukraine.  In the past year, Russia has finally reached an end to a decade long negotiation over a gas line from Siberia to China, as well as shifting it’s oil exports from Europe to China.  Russia has further distanced itself from the West by forming the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with it’s neighbours to the East.  It seems Russia’s goal is to create a NATO or EU of the East.  Militarily, Russian president Vladmir Putin is the president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which is an alliance with 5 north Asian states including China.  Just in these past few weeks, India and Pakistan have become the first added members of the SCO since it’s inception in 2001.  Currently, Iran and Afghanistan have observer status and Turkey has dialogue-partner status.  It’s been inferred that the lifting of sanctions off Iran has now sealed it’s spot with the SCO.  One of the two main bodies of the SCO is the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure which has a mandate of:
  • Maintaining working relations [to tackle] issues of fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism;
  • Assisting … the member states in preparation and staging of counter-terrorism exercises at the request of concerned member states, preparation and conduct of search operations and other activities in the field of fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism;
  • Joint formation of a system of effective response to global challenges and threats.
It’s been said that Putin has an objective to regain the ground Russia lost with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.  Is it possible that he has his eyes set on east-and-southern former Soviet States and Asian nations to realize his ultimate objective of once again becoming a world superpower?  It has been argued in the past that the fall of the Soviet Union left Russia incapable of mustering a military offensive like that of Ezekiel 38, but Russia has made significant grounds and is now rated #2  behind the US in global fire power, doubling their military budget in the past decade, trailing only the US and China.
Iran and Russia have a common enemy in the West and strong diplomatic, financial and nuclear ties.  Is it possible that overwhelming growth of the Islamic State (or some similar terrorist group in Iraq and Syria) spreading as far east as Lebanon and/or north to Turkey causes Iran to call on it’s ally Russia as well as other nations at threat to put an end once and for all to ISIL?  It would make sense that Sunni governed countries would align with even the Shia powerhouse Iran, if it meant an end to the threat of ISIL in their own unstable countries.
How far will the SCO go to “assist member states in the staging of counter-terrorism exercises?”  Some scholars insist that the ancient nations of Beth Togarmah consist not only of the nations of Georgia, and Armenia, as I found in my previous research, but all the “Turkic-speaking people of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.”  If this is a more accurate description then four out of these six nations are already a part of the SCO.
If the Ezekiel 38 invasion by Russia and its’ allies did occur in a circumstance similar to this one, would it come with the expectation that once the threat has been eliminated, a subsequent storm on Israel is to ensue?
Is Russia’s growing ally, China, the 2 million man army from Revelation 9 and/or the Kings of the East from Revelation 16?  (China currently has about 2.3 million active personnel in the military).
To summarize:
  • Along with Russia, the SCO and the EAEU are comprised or affiliated with at least  3 of the 7 ancient peoples allied with Russia in Ezekiel 38.
  • Stated goals of the SCO are to assist member states in the fight against terrorism, as well as forming a system of response to global threats and challenges.
  • Iran and Russia have strong ties that  may make Iran the next member state of SCO.
  • If some threat to Iran or it’s neighbouring SCO countries were to occur (such as ISIL), would the SCO swoop in to maintain order, essentially starting WW III (or the Ezekiel 38 campaign against Israel)?
As I’m reviewing all this I am thinking that maybe it won’t be ISIL or another terrorist group at all that draws Russia into the Middle East.  It’s been hinted that because UN sanctions have been lifted from Iran, Israel will consider  pre-emptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, which even some Western allies are calling terrorist acts on behalf of Israel.  If this happens to be the case in a future of an Iran-membered SCO, then perhaps that will be the “global threat or challenge” it will need to enter the Middle East and invade Israel.  If this is the case, then the remaining Muslim countries of Ezekiel 38 will be more than ready to ally with Russia and the SCO to pounce on Israel.
But once again where are Egypt and Lebanon/Syria/Iraq in this conflict?  In my previous observations, I questioned whether Gog from Magog was the 11th king, the Anti-Christ, listed in Daniel 7?  Would he form an alliance with  the 10 ancient nations listed in Ezekiel 38, and Daniel 11? Are Egypt, Syria and Jordan from Daniel 11, the 3 kings who will be subdued by the 11th king from Daniel 7 with Egypt, and Syria reneging and opposing him by military force, and perhaps Jordan being spared because they do not strike with military force?  I still don’t have answers to these questions, and but perhaps in another few months, I’ll get the bug to dig deeper to find some of these answers.
1 Joel Rosenberg, Epicenter, page 130-131.  For a list of the numerous websites I consulted while writing this article, please email me at stailingblog@gmail.com
* This accusation comes with the understanding that ISIL’s uprising is due, in part, to the demise of the secular state of Iraq brought about by the American invasion of Iraq in the 2000s.  It’s a “you’re d****d if you do and d****d” if you don’t” situation.