So far the shooting down of the Russian warplane in Syria by Turkey is headlines around the world so there is little point us adding to the noise on the blog in detail at this point.
Here are some of the main points of the conflict so far:
Rebels shoot a Russian recovery helicopter
As soon as the Russian warplane was shot down, Russian helicopters moved into the hostile territory to try and recover the pilots. One of the helicopters was destroyed by US backed rebels. (Note: the page may need to be refreshed for the video to load)
Putins Response:
Putin responded by saying that Turkey have “stabbed Russia in the back” and there will be “serious consequences for Turkey”
“We will search for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We will find them in any spot on the planet, and we will punish them”
A few weeks ago, we reflected on Deuteronomy 28 where God said to Israel that if they neglected his ways, that God would punish them by sending a nation against them, a nation with a fierce countenance. Russia is exhibiting a fierce countenance and while it doesn’t yet have its eye on Israel, it is being dragged down into the Middle East.
We also had a brief look at three distinct and well documented characteristics about Putin which are very similar to what we might expect Gog to show. One of these characteristics – his tendency to quickly resort to overpowering violence – manifested in a key event which catapulted Putin into the seat of Presidential power; the decisive crushing of the Chechen military.
Chechnya is made up of a strong Islamic population so in many respects Putin comes to the Syrian war table with much experience handling Islamic ‘terrorists’.
Incidentally, while 16,000 militants were killed in the Chechen war, up to 80,000 civilians died demonstrating that Putin has little care for collateral and this is perhaps the deciding factor that will turn the fortunes that ISIS have experienced up till now.
So far in Syria, Putin’s military has exhibited nothing short of a ‘fierce’ intensity. For example, when comparing Russian and US bombing in Syria, the numbers speak for themselves:
Syria comparison: US vs Russia
United States
Russia
Time in Syria
14 Months
48 Days
Sorties (Bombing flights)
2642
2450
This week alone, the Russians have
Doubled the number of war-planes based in Syria to 69 (Not including their long range strategic bombers)
Launched 101 air and sea based cruise missiles
Launched a further 1400 tons of air bombs for a different purpose
Terrorist groups like ISIS are suffering significant losses – over 600 militants were killed by one cruise missile strike made against one of facilities near Deir ez-Zor.
The following videos were taken and published this week by the Russian Ministry of Defence:
Pilots and technicians of Hmeymim airbase have sent by ‘priority airmail’ their message to terrorists: “This is for Paris”
Massive strike with cruise missiles Kalibr-NK was made from the water zone of the Caspian Sea against terrorist objects in Raqqah, Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
Combat sorties of the Long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force against terrorists in Syria:
Su-30SM fighters met and escorted Tu-160s, which launched cruise missiles over the Mediterranean:
Vladimir Putin said Russia will intensify its air strikes on Islamist militants in Syria and launch a global manhunt after the Kremlin concluded that terrorists had placed a bomb on a Russian passenger jet which broke up over Egypt last month.
We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them
~ President Putin
Until now, Russia had played down assertions from Western countries that the crash, in which 224 people were killed on Oct. 31, was the work of terrorists, saying it was important to let the official investigation run its course.
Reuters are reporting that the Russian military has already launched heavy ordinance airstrikes against the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria which include cruise missiles from their ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
Russia is beginning to demonstrate its deadly capabilities in Syria.
Here is a recent video of Russian Heavy Flamethrower Systems being used (probably by the Syrian military) to destroy enemy fortifications (allegedly ISIS) in Syria.
These missiles turn mountainsides into a ball of flame. Temperatures soar to a staggering 1,000 degrees Celsius at the epicentre of the explosion – burning out atmospheric oxygen and rupturing the lungs of the victims.
The latter day Roman manifestation will be a king of “Fierce countenance” and in Daniel 11 it will eventually turn its focus upon Israel, to “go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many”.
Bible Prophecy & Current Events 