Waiting

Some rather odd (on the surface, anyway) alliances have been forming, between nations on different continents. But when you look closer, the motives behind these alliances are crystal-clear.


Russia and Iran have befriended Venezuela, and of course, Russia and Cuba go way back. And now Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is operating in Venezuela! What makes this so sinister is that Iran and Russia, and even Hezbollah, can use Venezuela and Cuba as bases to launch attacks on the US. These two nations hate the US, and are right in our backyard. No need for intercontinental ballistic missiles! Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has developed a hearty hatred for Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, as well. Hence, Hezbollah is more than welcome in his country.


Iran this week announced that it will help Nigeria develop "civilian" nuclear power. Why this country, so far away? One, it is a Muslim-majority nation. Two, it has vast oil reserves, and is in OPEC (so is Iran). Three, they hate the US and Israel. Turkey has been courting other African countries, and in particular Sudan. Sudan is where ancient Cush was located. (Ezekiel 38) Iran already has a defense pact with Sudan.


Turkey, while having cemented close ties to Iran, is also warming up to Russia at the expense of its ties to the West, and NATO. Russia has its navy patrolling the Black Sea, wedged between them. The US wants to have a presence there as well, but cannot enter without Turkey's permission, as they control the only way in from the Mediterranean. Turkey is at a crossroad: West, or East. If they are truly part of Ezekiel 38 & 39's Gog/Magog War (and it's almost a certainty), then they will turn East at some point, and join the battle against Israel.


South Ossetia announced that it would reunite with Russia, and it is a virtual certainty that Abkhazia will follow. Ukraine has been warning the West that Russia is not going to stop at Georgia, and the West is not listening. Russia has threatened Ukraine with nuclear attack for many reasons, chiefly its pursuit of membership in NATO and the EU. (Same for Georgia.) These nations know exactly what Russia is capable of, but no one is listening.


Russian President Dmitri Medvedev met with Jordan's King Abdullah this week, to strengthen ties and cooperation between the two nations. Now why would Medvedev care? Because of Israel. Jordan is one of only two Arab nations to have a peace agreement with Israel. Abdullah has been pushing hard for a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. The Arab world has been very favorable in its reaction to Russia's retaking of Georgia's breakaway regions. An Arab-Russian alliance is in the making. Syria was especially heavy in its approval.


Syria is allowing Russia to dock its warships in Syrian ports. The US has ships in both the Mediterranean (which Syria and Israel both border) and in the Persian Gulf (just south of Iran). Now they aren't there for no reason. War is inevitable at this point; it's just a matter of who participates and when.


Then there's the matter of which war first? Because the Arab nations do not seem to be involved in the Gog/Magog war, it seems likely that the Psalm 83 war might happen first. Israel's ancient foes are defeated in this war, nations like Edom and Moab among others. These areas are now the Arab nations which surround Israel, and their peoples the descendants of these ancient peoples. This could be what causes the destruction of Damascus in Isaiah 17, and the Gog/Magog war would follow in retaliation.


Talk of a strike on Iran is raging again. Russia's aid to their nuclear program has their Bushehr plant near completion. The window for a strike is closing rapidly. This plant is on the southern coast of Iran, just where the US happens to have warships.


Even if the US or Israel should attack Iran over its nuclear program, Iran has to be around long enough for the Gog/Magog war, where God will dispose of them and their cohorts Himself. Israel will be utterly alone at this point, and will have to rely solely on God to save them.


So what of the US? Why won't we come to Israel's aid? Well, prophetically, it's already stated that all nations will come against Israel. (Zechariah 12 & Revelation 16) This is not easy for us to reconcile ourselves to, because we have been Israel's biggest ally. But at some point, even the US will completely abandon, then turn on Israel. When, how, why? Not sure at this point. Could be a nuclear exchange with Iran and Russia takes us out, or after the Rapture, the real friends of Israel, true believing Christians, are gone and the US turns on them.


We're getting a pretty clear view of that now. Bush and Condi Rice are still heavily pushing Israel to divide its land and Jerusalem. (Zech. 12) What kind of friend is that? And imagine Obama in office! Israel would be handed over to the Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iranians, etc. Jimmy Carter would throw a party.


Will we see a peace agreement this month? Rumors are rampant that we will. Some say it is already done, just awaiting the right time to announce it. Publicly, the last round of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas just concluded in failure. But behind the scenes, where the real deals take place, who knows what has been agreed upon already?



Earthquakes, in divers places (Matthew 24:7)

Weather worldwide also created havoc in many places. The Sichuan province in China saw yet another quake, following up on the massive one this past May, from which it still hasn't recovered. With the spectacle that was the Olympics now over, this is likely to go unnoticed by most of the world. There have been so many earthquakes lately it's difficult to keep track.


The sea and the waves roaring (Luke 21:25)

New Orleans was evacuated because of the threat posed by Hurricane Gustav. If it gets hit again, it would be disastrous for the region. Almost 2 million people have left the Gulf coast ahead of it. A second hurricane, Hanna, is following behind it a ways.


Japan was hit by major flooding that displaced over a million people! They were ordered to evacuate by their government. India was also hit by major flooding due to monsoon season, also requiring at least two million to evacuate!


Christians in India are undergoing some heavy persecution right now, and being killed for their faith. Remember them in prayer.

All over the world, Christianity is under major attack. In the West, we see little of it, but it's coming to us, too, and soon.


Feels like we're just biding our time, playing a waiting game. All we can do now is pray that people wake up and find Jesus NOW. Keep spreading the Gospel to all who will listen. And keep looking for Christ's soon return. If some of the things we've been watching come to pass in the next few weeks, we may be headed Home soon.