Christian Space 360

Is Putin the biblical figure known as "Gog"?

>> JUST POSTED: A video blog by Joel with an update from Washington on the Israel-Iran war rumors, and the latest violence in Syria

>> UPDATE: The Joshua Fund helps supply thousands of Arabic New Testament Bibles into Syria to help the persecuted Church.

Make no mistake: the Russian-Iranian strategic alliance that I’ve been writing about for the last several years has deepened to the point where Moscow is now unequivocally and quite openly backing the mullahs in Iran. “Russia warned Israel on Wednesday that attacking Iran would be a disastrous and played down the failure of a U.N. nuclear agency mission to Tehran, saying there is still a chance for new talks over the Iranian atomic programme,” reports Reuters. “‘Of course any possible military scenario against Iran will be catastrophic for the region and for the whole system of international relations,’ Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told a news conference. It was one of Russia’s starkest warnings against resorting to force, an option Israel and the United States have not ruled out if they conclude that diplomacy and increasing sanctions will not stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. ’I hope Israel understands all these consequences … and they should also consider the consequences of such action for themselves,’ Gatilov said. ‘I hope a realistic approach will prevail, along with a sensible assessment.’”

The big question now is this: Will Vladimir Putin win his bid for become Russia’s President again during the March 4 elections, and would Putin then directly threaten Israel with retaliation for an attack on Iran? So far, Russia hasn’t gone so far as to threaten a military response, but it’s not out of the question. The latest poll shows Putin in a commanding lead to regain the presidency, with 58.6% support, compared to Gennady Zyuganov, the head of the Communist Party, who has 14.8% support. And Putin in recent years seems itching to rebuild the Russian military (something he promised again just this week – he’s called for a $770 billion upgrade of Russia’s military), strengthen his alliances throughout the Islamic world, and give the West a black eye. He’s explicitly running his campaign on anti-Americanism, for example. He’s close to the Iranians. He’s defending the Bashar al-Assad, the butcher in Damascus. He’s growing closer to the Turks, as they become hostile to Israel. Putin hasn’t directly threatened Israel, but he’s backing all of Israel’s worst enemies and could find himself drawn into a war to prove his alpha-dog machismo.

Another question I’m getting asked these days: Is Putin “Gog,” the evil leader described in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39? It came up during my recent speaking tour in Florida, and in a talk I gave to a group on Capitol Hill last week? Thus far, my answer remains the same — Putin is certainly “Gog-esque,” but it is too early to speculate on whether he is actually the biblical figure that will rise to power in Russia (known in Ezekiel’s prophecy as “Magog”) in the last days and build an alliance with Iran (“Persia”), Sudan (“Cush”), Turkey (“Gomer”), Libya and Algeria (“Put”), the countries of Central Asia (“Beth Togarmah”) to attack the State of Israel from “the north” (probably via Lebanon and Syria). That said, it is fair to say that geopolitical events over the past decade — and certainly over the past year or so — have been moving on a trajectory consistent with the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will see the prophecies come to complete fulfillment in our lifetime or soon, but we cannot rule out the possibility.

For the moment, the major need is to keep mobilizing people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to keep asking that the Lord to help us get ready for the next war that comes, be that a really bad geopolitical war (ie, an Israeli first strike on Iran, or vice versa), or a prophetic war (ie, the War of Gog and Magog). One way or the other, it would seem that war is coming. The handwriting seems to be on the wall. Dare we allow ourselves to be unprepared?

• Help Christians bless needy Israelis and Palestinians now and be ready for a possible major new war in the epicenter — please consider a generous, tax deductible financial contribution to The Joshua Fund.
• Implosion is now available for pre-order.
• The Tehran Initiative is available in hardcover or e-book
• Follow the “Epicenter Team” on Facebook with the latest news from the Middle East along with prayer requests.
• Sign up for Joel’s (free) email updates called “Flash Traffic”

RESOURCES ON ISRAEL, IRAN AND BIBLE PROPHECY

• Study notes on Ezekiel 38-39 — What Is The War of Gog and Magog?
• Study notes on the Book of Joel — Israel, Prophecy and the “Day of the Lord”
• Online video messages on the Old Testament Book of Joel from the 2011 Epicenter Conference
• Audio of Joel’s message on how God is shaking the nations (from the Book of Haggai, chapter 2) (given in June 2011)

>> To help The Joshua Fund educate and mobilize Christians to stand with Israel – and to help TJF prepare for a possible major war in the epicenter — please click here.

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to meet at the White House for talks on March 5. Netanyahu is also expected to address the annual AIPAC policy conference and hold other meetings with senior Congressional officials. The big question for Obama appears to be: When is Israel planning to hit Iran, and is there any way the White House can stop Netanyahu from launching preemptive air strikes? That is precisely the wrong question, however. The American President should be asking: How can the U.S. help Israel stop Iran without a full scale war, and if such a war is needed, how can we work together to win quickly and decisively and make the world safer?

Now comes a new challenge: senior Iranian officials are threatening to launch preemptive missile strikes against Israel anda wave of suicide bombing attacks the U.S. Yet the Obama administration continues to act as though Israel is the real problem, not Iran. “A senior Iranian military commander signaled the Islamic Republic might launch a pre-emptive strike against its ‘enemies’ if the nation’s leaders felt an attack on Iran was imminent, providing another example of ever-escalating tensions between Tehran and the West over its nuclear program,” reports the Associated Press. “In a clear shot across the bow, the deputy head of Iran’s armed forces, Mohammad Hejazi, told state media on Tuesday: ‘Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran’s national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions,’ according to the Reuters news agency….American officials have pressed Israel in recent days to delay any strike on Iran, fearing the resulting instability in the region could outweigh an attempt to disable Iran’s nuclear facilities. The official news agency IRNA said the four-day air defense war games, dubbed ‘Sarallah,’ or ‘God’s Revenge,’ were taking place in the south of the country and involve anti-aircraft batteries, radar, and warplanes. The drill will be held over 73,000 square miles near the port of Bushehr, the site of Iran’s lone nuclear power plant. Iran has held multiple air, land, and sea maneuvers in recent months as the tensions increase.”

OTHER KEY HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• U.S. top military officer says premature to attack Iran now
• U.S., Britain warn Israel against attacking Iran
• Tel Aviv to get missile interceptor system
• Suicide  bombers poised to strike U.S., Iran warns
• Decoding Leon Panetta’s Iran press dance

———————–

• Learn more about — and sign up for – the live national IMPLOSION SIMULCAST on June 16th
• Joel’s latest NYT best-selling novel, The Tehran Initiative, is about an Israeli preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The butchery of the Assad regime is horrifying to behold. More than 6,000 Syrians have been brutally murdered by the thugs in Damascus. The evil Assad government must be brought down and brought to justice, or face judgment.

Bible prophecy tells us in Isaiah 17:1-3 and Jeremiah 49:23-27 that Damascus will be destroyed as a city in the last days. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly when or how this will happen, but I believe that day is steadily approaching. Indeed, it may not be far off. I’m currently writing a political thriller called The Damascus Countdown about how this could play out.

In the meantime, followers of Jesus Christ around the world must be praying and working for the spiritual and political liberation of the Syrian people. We need to be praying and working to strengthen the persecuted Church in Syria, and to help believers there spread of the Gospel to every person in that precious country. Make no mistake: God loves the people of Syria. The Apostle Paul came to faith in Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. Believers were first called “Christians” in Antioch, Syria. And our God and Father wants every Syrian to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. We need to act now and share the good news with Syria before judgment comes. For God is not going to allow this current evil to go unchecked much longer. In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord told us that those who bless the children of Israel will be blessed, and those who cursed them will be cursed. The Syrian government faces judgment for killing its own citizens, but also for killing so many Jews and Israelis over the years, and cursing the State of Israel on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, since we don’t know when the judgment of Syria’s government will happen, the U.S. government — and our allies — can and must take decisive steps to stand with and for the people of Syria against the Assad regime. This past week, 58 foreign policy experts urged President Obama to take strong, specific action. Among their recommendations:

• Immediately establish safe zones within Syrian territory, as well as no-go zones for the Assad regime’s military and security forces, around Homs, Idlib, and other threatened areas, in order to protect Syrian civilians.  To the extent possible, the United States should work with like-minded countries like Turkey and members of the Arab League in these efforts.

• Establish contacts with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and, in conjunction with allies in the Middle East and Europe, provide a full range of direct assistance, including self-defense aid to the FSA.

• Improve U.S. coordination with political opposition groups and provide them with secure communications technologies and other assistance that will help to improve their ability to prepare for a post-Assad Syria.

• Work with Congress to impose crippling U.S. and multilateral sanctions on the Syrian government, especially on Syria’s energy, banking, and shipping sectors.

The experts noted: “For eleven months now, the Syrian people have been dying on a daily basis at the hands of their government as they seek to topple the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad.  As the recent events in the city of Homs—in which hundreds of Syrians have been killed in a matter of days—have shown, Assad will stop at nothing to maintain his grip on power. Given the United Nations Security Council’s recent failure to act, we believe that the United States cannot continue to defer its strategic and moral responsibilities in Syria to regional actors such as the Arab League, or to wait for consent from the Assad regime’s protectors, Russia and China.  We therefore urge you to take immediate steps to decisively halt the Assad regime’s atrocities against Syrian civilians, and to hasten the emergence of a post-Assad government in Syria. Syria’s future is not purely a humanitarian concern.  The Assad regime poses a grave threat to national security interests of the United States.  The Syrian government, which has been on the State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list since 1979, maintains a strategic partnership with the terror-sponsoring government of Iran, as well as with Hamas and Hezbollah.  For years, it facilitated the entry of foreign fighters into Iraq who killed American troops.  For years, it secretly pursued a nuclear program with North Korea’s assistance.  And for decades, it has closely cooperated with Iran and other agents of violence and instability to menace America’s allies and partners throughout the Middle East….The Syrian people are asking for international assistance.  It is apparent that American leadership is required to ensure the quickest end to the Assad regime’s brutal reign, and to clearly show the Syrian people that, as you said on February 4, 2012, the people of the free world stand with them as they seek to realize their aspirations.”

I agree. Time is running out, according to Bible prophecy. Now is the time for the free world to speak out, and act decisively. Now is also the time for followers of Jesus Christ to do our part.

The Joshua Fund has invested more than half-a-million dollars in recent years to spread the Gospel through Syria. We have helped produce and distribute some 440,000 copies of the evangelistic film called “Damascus.” We have helped fund the printing of New Testaments in Arabic for Syria, and have assisted key Christian leaders inside that beautiful country. Please prayerfully stand with us as we seek to be faithful to Christ and His love for Syrians at this critical time. God bless you, and the people of Syria.

“The news about Him [Jesus Christ] spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.” (Matthew 4:24)