NOTE: The following post gives more details on the topics covered below: “The Daniel 11:22 War”, “Sheep/Goat Nations”, “Satanism”, “London = Babylon the Great?” https://dangreenup.com/geopolitics-and-bible-prophecy/
The Daniel 11:22 War
According to Voice of America, Turkey is framing its military operation in Syria “as an Islamic struggle.” Apparently, the propaganda is “aimed at promoting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition to be seen as the leader and protector of the Muslim world.” Despite his ambitions, Erdogan isn’t going to reunite the Ottoman Empire. After all, 60 percent of Turkey’s natural gas imports come from Russia and the Turks have embraced Russia’s TurkStream pipeline project, making them more dependent than ever on the Russians. Turkey can’t afford to go after the Russians in Syria.
Besides, the Antichrist is God’s judgment on Islam. Consider that the Antichrist will conquer several countries with large Muslim populations, including Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. He also will invade the so-called Beautiful Land, which Genesis 15:18 says includes everything north of the Nile River to Lebanon, and everything east of the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River. Basically, the Antichrist will conquer the Middle East, except Jordan. Perhaps the reason the Antichrist has to conquer so many Muslim countries is due to the fact that he’s going to claim to be God. Indeed, people will have to worship his image. Muslims would never worship a man claiming to be God and they would never worship an image. Naturally, there’s going to be conflict.
By the way, Russia isn’t the only roadblock to Turkey’s attempts at an Islamist empire in the Middle East. The Iranians consider themselves the leaders of the Muslim world and they have a different vision for the Middle East. That said, although Iran is going to join the Antichrist in his invasion of Israel, the Antichrist will attack them sometime later. Daniel 8 indicates that Iran will be conquered by the Antichrist. This was discussed in our June 24-30 roundup, under the Sheep/Goat nations heading. In the same way, Turkey is going to join the Antichrist in invading Israel. This was mentioned in our July 22-28 roundup, as a part of the Daniel 11:22 War category. After the Antichrist claims to be God and forces people to worship him, the Turks will either submit to the Antichrist or get conquered like much of the rest of the Muslim world. Those are their only options.
Sheep/Goat nations
In response to rocket attacks by Palestinian terror groups, certain countries strongly defended Israel’s right to defend itself. For example, the president-elect of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, denounced “the attacks in which our brothers, the people of Israel, are being victimized.” For the record, Guatemala has lots of committed Christians, it has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and it has moved its Israeli embassy. Neighboring Honduras, which opened a trade office in Jerusalem a couple months ago, also condemned the attacks against Israel. Like Guatemala, Honduras has many committed Christians.
Unsurprisingly, the United States vigorously defended Israel and condemned the attacks. Of course, the US was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem, it has officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and Americans, especially Evangelicals, strongly support Israel. Fittingly, Brazil joined the US in condemning the attacks. In recent years, Brazil has seen a huge increase in its number of evangelical and charismatic Christians and it has opened a trade office in Jerusalem. Like Guatemala and Honduras, the US and Brazil are home to some of the most committed believers in the world.
All told, most countries in the Americas have a growing number of charismatic Christians, which has led to increased support for Israel. There are a few exceptions, but the trend is looking good for the Americas. Expect the US, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras and other American nations to stand together and become places of refuge for persecuted Christians and Jews in the end times.
LINK: https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/guatemalas-president-elect-rocket-attacks-on-israel-must-stop
Satanism
At this point, it’s obvious Pope Francis is a false prophet. Recently, Eugenio Scalfari, a friend of the Pope who has interviewed him several times, claimed that Pope Francis rejects the bodily resurrection of Christ and denies the deity of Christ. That’s blasphemy, but such beliefs shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Pope has made blasphemous statements before. On one occasion, he stated that Muslims “worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer.” In other words, he believes Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Yet, the Bible says, “This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.” Muslims reject that Jesus is the Son of God. According to the Bible, Islam is anti-Christ.
On another occasion, perhaps confused, the Pope alleged, “God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life.” In his mind, God isn’t divine but is the Creator. Hopefully this was a translation issue. In another disturbing moment, the Pope encouraged us to “remember that we are followers of Jesus Christ and his life, humanly speaking, ended in failure, the failure of the cross.” Saying the Cross was a failure is about as blasphemous as it gets. Not to be outdone, the Pope has blessed indigenous idols. His idolatry, coupled with his blasphemous statements, should be a wake-up call to Catholics. Pope Francis is a false prophet. Could he be the False Prophet prophesied in Revelation?
London = Babylon the Great?
While criticizing London in May of this year, actor John Cleese called the city, “the world centre for Russian dirty money laundering.” Often considered the money-laundering capital of the world, London has attracted a great deal of Russian money over the years. Since the height of the Soviet Union, Russian elites have laundered money in London. In the words of The Guardian, “After the second world war, Britain was all but bankrupt, the City of London was somnolent, and economic power rested on Wall Street.” The publication added, “Their salvation came from an unlikely quarter: the Soviet Union, which didn’t want to keep its dollar reserves in US banks.” Things haven’t changed. To this day, Russian oligarchs invest heavily in London. The good times, however, may be coming to an end.
The United States is done being the world’s policeman, which means London and Russia’s financial relationship could become a problem. The British and the Russians were allies against Napoleonic France. They fought together against Germany during the world wars. They secretly undermined the US during the Cold War. Without a common enemy, Russia and Britain are likely to be at odds with each other. They’re going to compete for resources and power.
In 2018, the United Kingdom opened its first permanent military base in the Middle East since the 1970s, strategically located in Bahrain. The British have at least three warships in the Gulf to protect their interests. In 2016, Boris Johnson, now the prime minister, gave a speech titled, “Britain is back East of Suez.” In related news, the British have promised to increase their troop presence in Syria. The UK is going to protect its economic interests in the Middle East, which are particularly important post-Brexit. On the flipside, Russia is trying to make inroads in Africa, having already deployed its military to the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo. Russian mercenaries are operating in Syria and in Africa. On top of that, the Russians have signed agricultural agreements with Saudi Arabia and are looking to expand their influence in Central Asia.
At the beginning of the end times, Babylon the Great is the dominant global power. The cosmopolitan, international city, known for its extravagant wealth, is going to be an economic powerhouse and a financial center. Consequently, it will rule “over the kings of the earth.” This creates resentment and allows the Antichrist, who will be the ruler of Russia at the time of the end, to lead a coalition of ten rulers that destroys Babylon the Great. After he destroys Babylon the Great, the Antichrist creates his own financial system: the mark of the beast.
LINK: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/13/relationship-britain-russia-money-report
That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading and Godspeed!