What a time we live in

Israel and Hamas have both agreed to a ceasefire. How long will it last? The world is racing to the Middle East to have its say.

There was a meeting held in Egypt today, at Sharm el-Sheik. The list of attendees was a who's who of world leaders: French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, British PM Gordon Brown, Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, Jordanian King Abdullah, Czech PM and current President of the European Council Mirek Topolanek and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The "Quartet" of the EU, US, Russia, and UN additionally had representation. Neither Israel nor Hamas was invited to the meeting, though they were the focus of it. Guess "the many" are having their say.

Sarkozy was quoted as saying, "In our minds, this is the beginning of our journey." And, "We should continue and we should accelerate our efforts in order to achieve a settlement based on the creation of two states, a Palestinian state living side-by-side with an Israeli state that has the right to its security."

The UN, EU, and Palestinian Authority all seem to be on the same page now regarding the situation. They want international "monitors" (read: troops) in Gaza to "monitor" the ceasefire. (Which was already broken by more rocketfire from Gaza into Israel.) Turkey and France have both offered troops for the purpose. The UK, Germany, and Italy all are willing to commit to the cause. They also want the Palestinian Authority back in charge in Gaza. Egypt was reportedly not at all happy about having international troops along its border with Gaza. And Hamas likes it even less.


One of the biggest surprises to come out of all this was the vehemently vicious response of Turkey to the Israeli op in Gaza. Turkey has been one of the only Muslim nations with any semblance of cooperation with Israel until now. But both their president and prime minister have expressed outrage over the op. Particularly the PM. Erdogan said that he felt disrespected and stabbed in the back, particularly by outgoing Israeli PM Ehud Olmert.

"He betrayed me and harmed the honor of Turkey," he said. And, "We were so close to direct talks, and this operation ruined everything." The direct talks were going to be with Syria, which would've been quite a feat given the hostility Syria shows for Israel. He offered Turkey as a mediator between Hamas and the UN. "Allah will sooner or later punish those who transgress the rights of innocents," he said. Erdogan even said that Israel should be barred from the UN.

Given that Turkey is involved in Gog/Magog (Ez. 38/39), this is right on track. This rabid anti-Israel sentiment will lead them to join the rest of the Gog lineup. The alliances are pretty much in place already. The Russian and Turkish navies are training together in the Mediterranean. Turkey did not balk when Russia went after Georgia this past summer, unlike its Western allies. Turkey also has championed Iran and Sudan, both Gog players. The Turkish government is under the control of an Islamist party, and that is the direction they want to go. Not West, but East.

Russia is also establishing naval bases in Syria, Libya, and Yemen in the next few years, to give it a permanent presence in the Mideast. Libya is another Gog player, with a long history of Russian alliance.

Israel just announced the discovery of massive amounts of natural gas off its coast near Haifa. This will give them an unbelievable amount of energy independence. There is also a company called Zion Oil and Gas which is certain that oil will be found soon in Israel.

Here's a possible scenario. They find the oil, and the EU decides to patronize Israel for it and the gas. Most of Europe's gas comes from Russia via the Ukraine. But there are annual arguments over this arrangement between Russia and Ukraine. The EU could circumvent this problem by using Israel's gas. Russia would be furious, and should oil be found, the Arab nations will be furious. They would have a spoil to covet, and come to take. (Ez. 38:12-13) Just need a hook in the jaw. (Ez. 38:4)


Would that hook be the destruction of Damascus (Is. 17)? During the Gaza op, there were incidents along Israel's borders with Syria, as well as Lebanon and Jordan. Shots were fired at the Syrian and Jordanian borders, and Hezbollah had proxies firing rockets from Lebanon. Even with the ceasefire on, this could all break out in a heartbeat. Lebanon has boosted its troop levels along Israel's northern border, and both sides met with the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to discuss the rocket firings. Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that they would make the 2006 Lebanon war look like "a walk in the park" should Israel attack Lebanon again.

Syria has been fairly quiet in all this. Biding time? In fact, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that he is ready to cooperate with the West in stabilizing the region. But they will not drop their close ties to or support for Iran.

Speaking of Iran, Pope Benedict XVI urged Iranian Catholics not to leave their country and to cooperate with the Islamic regime. He also encouraged Iran to work for peace in the Middle East.


Where does all this leave us? "The many" again. (Ez. 38:6, 9, 15; Dan. 9:27) Seems as though the entire world has found its scapegoat: Israel. Nations that have never concerned themselves very much with Israel are seething with hatred now. Malaysia, Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Mauritania...all Muslim-majority nations. But there are signs that this hatred is everywhere now more than ever. Even China, usually content just to vote against Israel at the UN with Russia and the rest of the world, came out with harsh criticism over the Gaza op. (Kings of the East, Rev. 16:12)

Latin American nations have become increasingly vocal in their opposition of Israel as well, with Iran's ally Venezuela leading the way. Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Cuba all follow in their footsteps. Even Argentina and looming economic giant Brazil are leaning that direction.

One day we know that all nations, even ours, will come against Israel. (Zech. 12, Rev. 16)

We will have a newly inaugurated president in the United States come Tuesday. Is this a man who side with "the many"? Almost certainly.


What a time we live in! Prophecy is being breathed to life right before our eyes