The Russian Bear sinks claws into the Middle East

On October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 By AdminIn RussiaLeave a comment

An astonishing series of events have occurred in the last few weeks which are seeing the demise of the US power and subsequent rise of the Russian power in the Middle East.

Last time we posted on this topic, the US had withdrawn their only remaining aircraft carrier out of the Persian gulf. It had also been revealed that Obama’s rebel program had been an embarrassing failure with only 4 rebels remaining for what was supposed to be $500 million dollar strong program to arm US backed rebels.

Since then, the US administration has only continued to fumble in the face of an assertive Russian presence.

1) Iraq is mulling a ‘goodbye to US’ and ‘hello to Russia’

“The parliament fractions are calling on the Iraqi government to request Russian airstrikes and use it to attack the ISIL military bases and oil centers,’ Rubaie, who is now a senior legislator at the Iraqi parliament, told FNA on Tuesday… ‘The US air force doesn’t cooperate with Iraq’s federal government and security and armed forces and refrains from providing any intelligence on ISIL’s concentration and field camps,’ he added.”

2) Russian plans an unprecedented escalation of the war

So far Russia has been bombing in Syria more than 5 times the intensity of the US. Soon Russia’s contribution will be stepped up to an incredibly intense 300 sorties per day, while the US has been bombing on average two times per day. In the words of the Australian… a truly “remarkable escalation”.

3) Canada to withdraw all involvement from US led coalition against ISIS.

With the election of a new Prime Minister, Canadian foreign policy will change to reflect a budget which will support higher domestic infrastructure spending and a complete withdrawal from the US coalition against ISIS.

4) The US war against ISIS has availed ‘nothing in 14 months’

“The Islamic State has exactly the same fighting capabilities now as they did 14 months ago. If the size of an adversarial force you intend to “ultimately destroy” remains static, despite 7,323 airstrikes, then it could be as much an indication of their success as it is yours.”

5) Russian officials admit the plan is ‘broader’ than Syria

Russian officials are beginning to admit that Russia’s intention in the Middle East is far broader than Syria.

The Kremlin’s real goal is to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad retake as much as possible of the territory his forces have lost to opponents, including U.S.-backed rebels, Russian officials told Bloomberg News. Moscow’s deployment of several dozen planes, as well as ships in the Black and Caspian Seas, could last a year or more, one official said.

6) 60 minutes interviewer Steve Kroft unnerves Obama over the failure of the Syrian war.

Recent Articles:

Russias Holy War in Syria – the Revival of the Holy Roman Empire

On October 12, 2015October 21, 2015 By AdminIn RussiaLeave a comment

Seven months ago in March, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative to the United Nations did something unusual.

Prior to March, the Vatican’s official stance on the Syrian conflict was to oppose military strikes in Syria and to that end, Pope Francis wrote to Putin during the G20 summit in 2013 and asked him to urge world leaders to peruse ‘talks’.

But as 2013 progressed into 2015, it became all too clear that the conflict had struck a knife into the heart of something near and dear to the Vatican – christianity in ISIS held territories.

Every day, the christian population in these territories suffer brutal persecution easily comparable with that of the Jewish persecution under the Nazi regime through branding, enslavement, rape, torture, beheading, hanging, etc.

It was this persecution that caused the Vatican to rethink its policy in Syria and for the first time call upon the United Nations to use military force against ISIS.

However, since the Vatican urged the United Nations to intervene militarily, the effort by the United States led coalition to defeat ISIS has been largely anemic.

For example, in September, Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of US Central Command, made an embarrassing admission to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said almost all of the Syrian rebels trained by the American military as part of the $500 million dollar program to fight ISIS had either been killed, captured or had fled from ISIS militants.

“Of the Rebels that are left in the fight… we’re talking… four or five!!” the General awkwardly told the committee.

Half a billion dollars had produced – but 4 – US backed rebels at that particular point in time.

To compound the US’s lacklustre effort, the last remaining US aircraft carrier in the region left the Persian gulf last week.

The Vatican’s call for an effective military force against ISIS seemed to fall on deaf ears.

In many respects the Papacy has been in this situation before. Its a situation where the Vatican supports the use of military force in an effort to preserve itself and by extension, Roman Catholicism.

A notable example occurred prior to AD 800 when the existence of the Pope was threatened by war. The emperor of Constantinople could no longer afford him protection against the Longbeards and so the Pope formed an alliance with the French emperor in A.D. 800 who gave him ‘temporal’ control over three states making him not just a religious ruler but a civil and military ruler over his own states.

However in 1870 the Pope lost this temporal power, and 145 years later in 2015, the Pope now presides over a religious administration that lacks any significant military and civil power.

Without a military backbone, the Vatican has been effective at ‘seducing and influencing’ the nations, however, as the Time Magazine notes, this ‘influence’ is beginning to show its limits:

Ultimately many of the world problems are not responsive to the kind of “soft power” Francis is deploying.

~ Time Magazine

And so the Vatican’s policy on dealing with ISIS changed from ‘talks’ to ‘military intervention’. From ‘soft power’ to ‘hard power’ as Time puts it. However no military entity to date has effectively responded to the Vatican’s call… until last month.

It was last month that Putin poured military assets into Syria and asserted himself as a power to be reckoned with.

Immediately, US warplanes were ordered to divert away from Russian bombers who are bombing on average more than 5 times the intensity than US bombers and last week, Russia started using cruise missiles to bomb enemy strongholds with no advanced notice to US air-traffic.

As Stratfor notes, Russia isn’t hindered by the same rules of engagement that limit U.S. operations – Russia shoots first and asks questions later.

But lets do away with commenting on Russia’s aggressive operational presence because the Papacy sees something else in Russia that is of even greater value.

The MOST alluring aspect of Russia’s operation in Syria in the eyes of the Papacy is that Russia sees its own role in the Middle East as the Holy protector of Christianity.

Russia’s ties to the Middle East are rooted in its self-assigned role as the defender of Orthodox Christianity, which it claimed to inherit from the Byzantine Caesars after the fall of Constantinople in 1453

~ New York Times

In 2012, a Russian Orthodox cleric asked Putin to make ‘the protection of Christians one of the foreign policy directions in future’.

“This is how it will be, have no doubt,” – was Putins answer

Putin as a defender of Christianity is not a new concept on Russian soil, but it is a concept that is only just beginning to play out in practice in the Middle East.

What does it all mean?

Writing in 1868 in a book entitled “Exposition of Daniel”, Dr. John Thomas makes the following observation of such a conflict which might bring together the latter day Holy Roman Empire:

But the time is not far off, when the Latin Bishop (The Roman Catholic Pope) may have to seek again to the Constantiopolitan Autocracy (Russian) for protection.

~ Exposition of Daniel

With Russia exploiting its long held imperialist ambitions in the Middle East as part of a holy war to save Christians, it cannot be far off before it looks elsewhere (Turkey) to comprehensively realize those ambitions.

When that does happen, the Vatican will finally have a willing military partner in Russia who will be established as the Gogian autocracy of Constantinople – the Eastern leg of the latter day Roman empire.

The Symbol of the Nation of ‘Fierce Countenance’

On October 7, 2015October 12, 2015 By AdminIn Russia1 Comment

It’s incredible how God works through symbols and signs even in our generation today.

One of my favourites is the sign of the Eagle.

The symbol of the Eagle in scripture is typically associated with the enemy nation which wreaks havoc on Israel as part of Gods judgement.

Any Israelite who read the law in Deuteronomy would have known that if Israel did not obey the law that the following would happen:

The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand… a nation of fierce countenance.

And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.

~ Deut 28:49-51

This is a nation which would attack and rob the people of Israel with unprecedented brutality.

Is it possible to look back upon Jewish history and see evidence of this?

Yes, probably the two most notable moments of history were the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 and the Nazi Holocaust of the 1940s, in both cases the instigators were Roman manifestations who had eagles as their emblems.

Furthermore, the prophecy of Daniel shows us through the image of Nebuchadnezzar that another manifestation of the Roman Empire will be revived in the latter days once Israel has been established in their land.

So where do we look if we want to find this latter day manifestation? – to Russia.

The Russian federation has not just an eagle, but a double headed eagle for its emblem which we will discuss later.

The emblems from each of the manifestations are shown below.

Time period	Event	Instigator	National emblem
AD 70	Destruction of Jerusalem	The Romans
1940s	Jewish Holocaust	The Third Reich
Yet to happen	Invasion of Israel	Russia (Gogian autocracy)

Each of these empires are manifestations of the Roman Empire, and each manifestation sought or will seek the ‘swift destruction’ of Gods people.

The First Manifestation of the Roman Empire

The first manifestation of the Roman Empire was seen in AD 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem.

Yahweh explained to Daniel in language similar to Deuteronomy 28, that such a kingdom would arise, and that it would destroy his people:

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

~Dan 8:23-24

The Empire of the ancient Romans was the empire of fierce countenance as described earlier in Duet 28.

It was an empire, known for its speed, ferocity and brutality and it carried out Gods judgement upon Israel by destroying Jerusalem in AD 70.

Why? because Israel knew not the time of their visitation (Luke 19:44)

The Second Manifestation of the Roman Empire

The German word ‘Reich’ stands for ‘Empire’ and so in English the phrase reads, the ‘Third Empire’.

Why was the Nazi regime called the ‘Third Empire’?

It was named in succession of what it considered to be the two previous and greatest empires:

The first greatest ‘Reich’ was the ancient Roman Empire.
The second ‘Reich’ was the Hohenzollern Empire which existed prior to WWI.
The third ‘Reich’ was the Nazi Regime of WWII

Hitlers Empire was very similar to the Roman Empire in so many ways but one thing that stands out for the purpose of this article is its emblematic use of the Eagle which sat above the Swastika.

Hitler standing under the Eagle of the Third Reich.

In the case of the 1940’s, the same eagle of Deuteronomy 28 presided over the swift destruction of 6 million Jews.

It was an unprecedented ethnic cleansing as far as history is concerned, but one which brought about the Jewish state.

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

~Ezekiel 36:16-24

The Third Manifestation of the Roman Empire:

The third manifestation of the Roman Empire will be seen in the Gogian autocracy with the militant component of the Empire led by Russia.

Interestingly the eagle emblem of Russia has two heads – this is because the heads represent the Eastern and the Western components. See here to find out more about the Eastern & Western Empires.

Putin standing under the Double Headed Eagle with members of the Russian Orthodox Church

In Luke 17, the disciples asked Jesus for a sign of the days of the coming of the son of man.

For as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall the Son of man be in his day.

But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation.

And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.

Likewise even as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all:

after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.

…And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

~ Luke 17:37

Russia escalates the conflict in Syria

On October 2, 2015October 2, 2015 By AdminIn RussiaLeave a comment

Russia has just bombed CIA trained rebel camp:

Russian warplanes have bombed a camp run by rebels trained by the CIA in their second day of strikes. Read more here:

Russia has demanded that American warplanes exit Syrian airspace immediately:

The official said that Russian diplomats sent an official message to the US ordering American planes out of Syria, adding that Russian fighter jets were now flying over Syrian territory, according to the report.

US military sources told the news outlet that US planes would not comply with the Russian demand. Watch CNNs coverage here:

Iran Sends Troops for Mass Syrian Ground Offensive

Lebanese sources revealed on Thursday that hundreds of Iranian troops have entered Syria in the last ten days, and are planning a major ground offensive together with Syrian regime forces and Iran-proxy Hezbollah terrorists.

3 Similarities between Putin & the Gogian autocracy

On September 30, 2015October 11, 2015 By AdminIn Russia1 Comment

Little is known about the man who was catapulted from obscurity into the seat of power.

Is Putin the man who will lead the Gogian force of Ezekiel 38?

I just finished reading a book by investigative journalist Masha Gressen entitled “The man without a face”.

In her book, Gressen explores the not so well known side of Putin and makes some observations about him which strike me as being very similar to the characteristics we might expect from the latter day Gog.

1. Putins ‘kleptomania’.

When reading about Gogs invasion in Ezekiel 38, one element stands out to me; Gogs desire to ‘take a spoil’.

Putin also, is infamous for taking what doesn’t belong to him.

Gessen dedicates a whole chapter to cover extensively what she calls “Putins Greed”. In this chapter, she documents Putins brazen history of becoming fixated on taking possession of personal items and corporate assets that belonged to other individuals and companies.

One notable example is was when Putin shutdown Russia’s largest privately owned oil & gas firm, Yukos, and salvaged its assets.

Here is a small collection of extracts taken from Gressen’s book showing Putin’s reoccurring urge to steal:

Putin hosting businessmen in St. Petersburg:

On several occasions, at least one of them embarrassingly public, Putin has acted like a person afflicted with Kleptomania.

In June 2005, while hosting a group of American businessmen in St. Petersburg, Putin pocketed the 124-diamond Super Bowl ring of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

He had asked to see it, tried it on, allegedly said, “I could kill someone with this”, then stuck it in his pocket and left the room abruptly.

Putin hosted as a special guest in New York:

In September 2005, Putin was a special guest at New Yorks Solomon R Guggenheim museum. At one point his hosts brought out a conversation piece that another Russian guest must have given the museum: a glass replica of a Kalashnikov automatic weapon filled with vodka.

Putin nodded to one of his bodyguards, who took the glass Kalashnikov and carried it out of the room, leaving the hosts speechless.

Gressen’s assessment of Putin’s ‘Kleptomania’

The correct term is probably not the popularly known kleptomania, which refers to a pathological desire to possess things for which one has little use, but the more exotic pleonexia, the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.

If Putin suffers this irrepressible urge, this helps explain his apparent split personality: he compensates for his compulsion by creating the identity of an honest and incorruptible civil servant.

Putin’s destruction & salvaging of Yukos:

It has been a year since Khodorvsky’s arrest, and it was now clear that Russia had passed two milestones. With the country’s former richest man behind bars indefinitely, no one, not even the rich and powerful, could afford free agency.

With the assets of the country’s largest and private company hijacked in broad daylight, Putin had claimed his place as the god father of a mafia clan ruling the country…. like all mafia bosses he amassed wealth by outright robberies such as with Yukos, by collecting the so called dues and by placing his cronies wherever there was money or assets to be siphoned off.

2. Putin has studied how to take the spoil.

It is worth noting that Gog takes a spoil specifically from two nations:

Israel (Ezek 38:12)
Egypt (Dan 11: 42-43)

Israel and Egypt aren’t the only nations that Russia will invade, Turkey will also be invaded. Why then doesn’t Gog take a spoil from Turkey?

Here is the suggestion: Both Israel & Egypt recently discovered unprecedented amounts of lucrative gas in the Mediterranean.

Both of these finds will be very disruptive to Russia’s control of the gas market.

The fact that both Egypt and Israel have now discovered what could be easily considered a ‘spoil’ from a geopolitical perspective makes this year distinct from past generations: The scene of the invasion of Israel in Daniel 11 & Ezekiel 38, is now set.

What is Putins take on all this? Well a few weeks back he called the Israeli PM and offered to guard Israel’s oil and gas assets.

But if we go back further and have a look at Putins past, Gressen shows that Putin actually completed his PHD on the subject of exploitation of natural resources.

His PHD was entitled: ‘Natural resources and the development strategy for the Russian Economy’.

Putin used the time to write and defend a dissertation, a goal he had set for himself when he went to work at Leningrad University seven years earlier.

The dissertation, oddly, was not on international law, as he had originally planned, but on economics of natural resources

So the idea of resource exploitation is well and truly entrenched in Putins mind, AND as Gressen points out, he seems to have some form of kleptomania. Not a good mix.

But that’s not all.

3. Putins overpowering violence

The third element of the Gogian invasion of Israel is the manner in which the invasion takes place.

It is fast and overpowering, Ezek 38:9 says “like a storm”.

Daniel 11 says: “he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many”.

Gressen recounts many stories of Putin that are on the public record showing Putin’s intrinsic tendency to impulsively dish out overpowering violence.

In one such story, Gressen describes Putins childhood:

“Thugs all. Unwashed, unshaven guys with cigarettes and bottles of cheap wine. Constant drinking, cursing, fistfights. And there was Putin in the middle of all this…When we were older, we would see the thugs from his courtyard, and they had drunk themselves ino the ground, they were hitting rock bottom. Many of them had been to jail”

Putin, younger than the thugs and slight of build, tried to hold his own with them. “If anyone ever insulted him in any way,” his friend recalled, “Vladmir would immediately jump on the guy, scratch him, bite him, rip his hair out by the clump – do anything to humiliate him in any way…

he would flare up and start expressing his outrage. He did this several times over”

Gressen notes that Putin likes to cultivate an image worthy of fear:

it is notable that Putin painted himself as consistently rash, physically violent man with a barely containable temper.

Gressen then goes on to show that his overpowering violence and impulsive temper which manifested through the tentacles of the KGB/FSB, resurrected vertical power enabling him to effectively head a security state much like Hitlers Nazi SS.

Is this the same barely containable temper that will “go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many”? (Daniel 11:44)

Three observations from Gressens book:

Putins has a tendancy to steal / “kleptomania”, as Gressen puts it.
Putin is well educated in and a strong proponent for the exploitation of natural resources for Russias economy.
Putins has a record of calculated and overpowering violence.

Dubbed by Forbes the most powerful man in the world, Putin seems to perfectly embody a latter day Nimrod.

There are many other characteristics which define Putin, which when put together seem to all add up to a perfect storm.

Is Putin Gog? We simply dont know, however, with the way the world is headed, and if God wills, we might find out sooner than later.

Bible Prophecy & Current Events

Category: Russia