Russia, China And Europe: The Prophecied Clash To Come!

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Much of the framework of all prophecy is found in two prophetic books—the books of Daniel and Revelation. But only in Revelation do we find events of various other prophecies correlated in order of time sequence” It actually details events leading to the return of Jesus Christ; events symbolized by seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials. before I begin, I will visually lay out the story flow of the Book of Revelation:

Book Of Revelation Story Flow

7 Seals:

1. False prophets
2. War
3. Famine
4. Pestilence – these first 4 seals are the 4 horsemen of (Rev. 6:1-8)
5. Tribulation – (Rev. 6:9-11)
6. Heavenly Signs – (Rev. 6:12-14)
7. 7 Trumpets – beginning of the Day of the Lord

• 1st trumpet – Injury to the earth – (Rev. 8:7)
  
• 2nd trumpet – Injury to the sea – (Rev. 8:8-9)
  
• 3rd trumpet – Injury to rivers – (Rev. 810-11)
  
• 4th trumpet – Injury to heavenly lights – (Rev. 8:12)
  
• 5th trumpet or 1st woe – attack of beast power – (Rev. 9:1-12)
• 6th trumpet or 2nd woe – Asian counter strike – (Rev. 9:13-19)
• 7th trumpet or third woe – Seven Last Plaques

1. Sores on those who accept the mark of the beast (Rev. 16:2)
2. Sea turns to blood and all sea creatures die (Rev. 16:3)
3. Rivers turn to blood (Rev. 16:4-7)
4. Sun scorches humanity (Rev. 16:8-9)
5. Beast’s seat of government afflicted (Rev. 16:10-11)
6. Euphrates dries up, armies gather at Armageddon (Joel 3:9-17, Rev. 16:12-16)
7. Great earthquake and hail (Rev. 16:17-21)
   

The  seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials portray a progression of catastrophic plagues God will inflict on mankind. These three world shaking events summed up are:

1. The Great Tribulation
2. The heavenly signs in the sun and moon and stars (immediately following the Tribulation)
3. The Day of the Lord

So let’s break these down in order.

The Great Tribulation (the first of three world shaking events)

The first four seals in Revelation 6:1-8 are:

1. False religion
2. War
3. Famine
4. Pestilence

These lead to the fifth seal, the Great Tribulation—the time of Satan’s wrath – described in Revelation 6:9-11 and other prophecies. The Tribulation  will last for 2½ years.

The Heavenly Signs (the second of three world shaking events)

In Revelation 6:12-14 it says:

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

The heavenly signs signify the sixth seal of Revelation 6:12-14.

The Day Of The Lord (the third of three world shaking events)

This is the Day of the Lord—the time of God’s wrath, when God punishes mankind for their rebellion against Him and His government with plagues. Here he is trying to bring all sinners (who survive the previous disasters) to repentance (verses 15-17).

The Day of the Lord lasts for one year, but it is NOT the last year of the 3½-year period we read of, and is NOT a part of the Great Tribulation. It is a combination of the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Signs and the Day of the Lord which collectively make up the 3½‑year period called “a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14).

The beginning of the day of the Lord is at the opening of the seventh and final seal:

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets” (Revelation 8:1-2).

These seven trumpet blasts occur after the seventh seal is opened during the Day of the Lord. They symbolize plagues sent from God as He intervenes in the affairs of mankind! This is the result of people refusing to listen to God and repent of their sins.

• The first four trumpet blasts of Rev. 8 destroy the environment, making living conditions on Earth unbearable.

• The fifth trumpet (also called the first woe) signifies world domination by a European beast power. Daniel 11:40 (speaking of the first woe) speaks of a clash (in this end time) between that European empire (the King of the North) and the King of the South, a radical Middle Eastern power (modern Iran).

Verses 40-41 speak of the Great Tribulation, when this European Beast Power will enter into the glorious land (called Israel today) and overthrow many nations. However, the spectacular military success of the beast power in the Middle East will be short lived:

“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him …” (verse 44). If we see the modern nation of Israel as a reference point, we have to look north and east on a map, coming directly to Russia and China!

After destroying the radical Middle eastern power (King of the South), the beast power (King of the North), will be troubled by China and Russia in the east and north. This scripture is speaking of a massive clash between these two world superpowers, with the king of the north launching a preemptive strike against the Asian foe:

“Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.”

This attack (the first woe of Rev. 9:1-11) is described as the beginning of all-out war between these two superpowers to determine world rule. The biblical language used is symbolic, because the apostle John had to use terminology of his day to describe technology of the future.

For example, verses 3 and 7-10 state that locusts “came upon the Earth with power in their tails like a scorpion.” This could merely be describing modern military helicopters firing missiles during an all out, five month military attack on the inhabitants of the earth. All is spearheaded by the devil, as verse 11 actually explains the king over these soldiers is Abaddon or Apollyon, which are names of Satan.

The Second Woe

Continuing in Revelation 9:

• The sixth trumpet of verses 12-13 (also called the second woe) sounds. Four angels are released specifically to amass an almost incomprehensibly large, 200-million-man army (verses 15-16).

Most Bible critics argue that it would be impossible to assemble an army this size. But the current population in China is over 1.3 billion. Russia has 142 million, India with 1.1 billion people has the fourth-largest army in the world. Japan, the nations of Southeast Asia, and the former Soviet republics could all be probable participants in this alliance. Adding up the populations, there will easily be a total approaching 3 billion people from which to make up an army of 200 million! It is hardly unrealistic to think these combined countries could not muster an army of 200 million men.

Joel 2:4 also speaks of this Asiatic force (there called God’s army) during what is titled an event in the Day of the Eternal. It is actually God who will inspire it to wreak havoc on the European beast power with a counterattack and obliterate it. The end result is the death of “the third part of men” (Revelation 9:15). Of course such a scenario has never transpired and it takes the awesome destructive power of modern super-weapons to achieve such carnage.

Babylon Falls

Jeremiah 50 also adds details to this story, now calling the political-religious system of the King of the North by the name of Babylon, though historically it was known as the “Holy” Roman Empire.

In verse 3, God says He will bring a nation out of the North which will make it desolate. Again, the massive Asiatic counterattack will overwhelm the beast power. This is the second woe.

And verse 9 states that it will be an assembly o many nations, which could only be Russia and China, along with various other nations which will join this power bloc. The devastating collapse of the Babylonian system, the beast power, is further described in Revelation 18:2-19.

These Russians and Chinese armies will be ruthless. To “slay the third part of men”, there can be no doubt that they will attack with nuclear weapons! In verse 15, God says this act is His vengeance, because the people of this beast power have sinned against him (Revelation 18:5-6). Revelation 18 and Jeremiah 50:29 show that Babylon is destroyed in the space of one hour!

Unbelievably, the last two verses of Revelation 9  reveal just how hard-headed and stubborn man can be, even after such severe correction, as those not killed continue on with their lives, unrepentant of their idol worship, their murders, fornication, thefts and so on (verses 20-21). Even after most of the Earth’s population has been personally afflicted by nuclear war and complete destruction, they still are not willing to turn to God and His law!

The Third Woe

Revelation 11:14-15 now speaks of the third woe. Two of the three woes are complete and after that, the kingdoms of this world are to become God’s Kingdom. Christ will return, and God’s government will again take over the Earth.

But even after all the destruction, verse 18 says the nations will be angry and wrathful toward Christ. Can you believe that? And now what’s left of the beast power and of Asia will actually gather to fight against Christ at the last trumpet. This battle is described in great detail throughout Revelation 15 and 16.

The final trumpet blast is divided into seven vials of God’s wrath—the last seven plagues (Revelation 15:1, 6), sent upon mankind because of their hard-headedness. In Revelation 16:12, God dries up the Euphrates River to prepare the way for these armies to gather near Jerusalem (in a place called Armageddon, verse 16). There they will turn their attention toward their one common enemy—the King of kings—Jesus Christ.

There is wonderfully good news in the midst of all these horrors. Both of these armies will gather at Armageddon to fight each other, but will end up fighting Christ at His Second Coming! The armies will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them (Revelation 17:12-14). The conclusion of that battle will mark the beginning of a new, peaceful age for the whole Earth!

Ezekiel’s Prophecy

Ezekiel also tells us about yet another burst of rebellion to spring from northeast of Jerusalem, with the Millennium only just begun. As unbelievable as it sounds, the people of Asia will muster their forces for one final attempt to overthrow Christ’s rule!

Reading Ezekiel chapter 34, we find that, after the Day of the Lord, God will gather His sheep—those enslaved Israelites left alive after the Day of the Lord—and rescue them from captivity. This is when God will remove the spiritual blindness from their eyes and they will seek God’s ways. God’s Kingdom will be set up to finally establish lasting peace (Isaiah 11:11; Romans 11:25-26; Micah 4:2-3).

Dozens of prophecies refer to the end-time descendants of Israel being scattered around the world during the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. But Ezekiel 36 pictures the remnant of Israel returning to the land God originally promised them, to one place.

Ezekiel 37:15 begins to speak of Israel and Judah as two sticks united together after Christ’s return. God will take them from among the heathen and make them one nation (verse 22), with a resurrected, spirit-born King David being king over Israel (verse 24).

Chapter 37 also  speaks of a prophecy referred to as the valley of dry bones. Much of it pictures a literal fleshly resurrection of those who had long since died, never knowing the truth. This resurrection occurs at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ.

What happens to Gog and Magog (the Asiatic Nations)?

The Russians and Chinese are used to punish the beast power just before Christ returns, but as a result, they too become proud and haughty, therefore needing correction from God. He even tells these nations to prepare for a coming battle with Him (verse 7), after Christ’s return. God prophecies against Gog and Magog , stating that His anger is against them (Ezekiel 38:2-3).

How do we know this? Notice that verse 8 says Israel has been “brought back from the sword.” Here the people of Israel are dwelling peacefully (verse 11). It is the remnant of the Asiatic hordes of the battle of Armageddon (who were not killed) which descend upon the glorious land a short time after it has been occupied by the re-gathered Israelites. It will only be a land of villages at this point early on in the Millennium. Gog and Magog will see how God has blessed His people and will target the people of Israel as easy spoil in a blessed and undefended land!

Now think about this, because it really makes the mind reel. Even after Christ returns, there will not be peace immediately. There will still exist those who haven’t submitted to God’s law and government. They will learn the “hard way” that God’s system is fair and equitable and that they must submit to it to be blessed. Imagine, having to force people to be happy.

Yet that is exactly what the Bible says God does. Only one sixth of those who come to attack Israel will live through the battle, even though the y have been pre-warned (Ezekiel 39:7). The number of dead will be incalculable, and the people of Israel will be called upon to bury the fallen fighters. “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land” (verse 12).

According to Ezekiel 38 and 39, this is the last great rebellion this Earth will experience for 1,000 years! Then, at the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed for a little season, and there will be another—Revelation 20:7-9. Through both of these, God will not only defend and deliver His people, but He will prove that He fights and wins our battles for us.

God will make sure that His wrath is felt and witnessed throughout all the Earth (Ezekiel 38:18-20). He will have the nations of Gog and Magog destroy themselves (verse 21). Only through  blood, pain and suffering will God finally have all skeptics—those who do not accept Christ’s rule; those who do not know God, come to the understanding that He is the Eternal.

And here’s the rub. God wants us to choose life, not death! He does not like to see anyone suffer. Only those who stand with God now in complete obedience will not have to suffer in the future.

The Obama Bow: Fealty To A Foreign Potentate!

  

sharprightturn.wordpress.com/

President Barack Obama’s bow in front of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz during their recent meeting at the sidelines of the G20 conference in London has astounded many people.  OK, so what you might say, it’s no big deal, right? Well, yes it is!

First of all, media from media networks to newspapers, neither have aired the video of the incident nor reported on it. In fact, so blase are they that Washington Post reporter Michael A. Fletcher’s gave this breezy dismissal of the event: “I’m not sure what the etiquette is for such greetings, but I’m sure the president was only trying to convey respect … Remember some years ago when President Bush touched cheeks with and held the hand of a Saudi monarch during a visit to his Texas ranch? Another sign of respect. I would not make too much of it.”

But there is a difference. Though George W. Bush holding hands with and kissing Abdullah on the cheeks, while begging down the price of oil was over the top, it did not hold the same consequences as President Barack Obama’s obeisance to the Saudi king.

Let’s examine what I mean.

The White House denies that the president bowed. 

“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah.” 

I don’t know if they were watching a different video clip than the one that shows Obama’s head below the King’s shoulder level, a significant stoop by any measure. Or did they miss one of the President’s hands dangling at the knees?

Michael Goldfarb summed up the problem for Mr. Obama succinctly in the Weekly Standard: “So who you going to believe — Barack Obama or your lying eyes?” The evidence simply does not support the official position of the Obama administration.

Interestingly, a columnist in the Saudi-backed Arabic paper Asharq Alawsat also took the gesture as a bow and appreciated the move.

It’s deeper than a matter of etiquette

Is it really a matter of etiquette for an American President to bow to royalty? Was this merely a generic breach of protocol; a rookie mistake for a young President? Protocol experts told FOX News that no rule exists on presidents bowing.

“To my knowledge, there is no rule at all,” said Lloyd Hand who was chief of protocol for President Lyndon Johnson. “Protocol is 95 percent common sense judgment and 5 percent specific rules and that has nothing to do with bowing.”

OK, so it’s not a matter of protocol, but rather of judgment and common sense. In that vein, the US has some of the best intelligence in the world and Mr. Obama should be well vested in whom he is dealing with. King Abdullah is a Sharia dictator who fosters religious repression, de facto slavery, subjugation of women, and, not least, the international export of jihad and Sharia through “charities,” mosques, madrassas, textbooks, university endowments, Sharia finance and, of course, terrorists, some 15 of whom attacked the United States in 2001 (Townhall.com, April 9, 2009).

By showing deference to this person, Mr. Obama besmirches the memories and lives of Americans dead and maimed in action aginst their foes. And as the Washingtom Times said in their editorial, “By bending over to show greater respect to Islam, the U.S. president belittled the power and independence of the United States. Such an act is a traditional obeisance befitting a king’s subjects, not his peer.”

It’s certainly more deference than Queen Elizabeth received, who was the recipient of a handshake and an I-Pod equipped with Mr. Obama’s  speeches. Oh, I almost forgot: A sweater-clad first lady did show some (over) familiarity with the queen by putting her arm around the monarch.

This diplomatic disrespect was also evident in buying cheesy DVD box sets and toy Marine 1 helicopters for the British Prime Minister and family. And as for that Churchill bust, we no longer need it because we’re all about change! 

“Now remember that Obama said he was going to improve America’s image throughout the world….and showing respect and adhering to protocol is unarguably the first way to achieve that if you believe that is your purpose…..so then ask yourself:

Why did Michelle Obama not curtsy to the Queen?
Why did Obama know to tip his head to the Queen, but mastered a full waist bow to the Saudi King?
Why did Obama use two hands in his gesture to the Queen when one hand is protocol?
Why did he give the queen a cheap Ipod made in China by cheap labour? 
Why was there no more thought put into PM Brown’s gift?

These gestures may SEEM small, but this lack of respect, uninformed gaffes, or outright purposeful messages being sent by the Obamas are fully in line with their subtle anti-Americanism and disdain for British history and culture.  – (Sharprightturn)

Will past associations show in future actions?

Mr. Obama had a close association with the  “hate America” pastor  Jeremiah Wright who states that the foundation of his beliefs are in systemized black liberation theology. Here is what Glenn Beck said on his CNN broadcast, March 19, 2009:

“Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill gods who do not belong to the black community. Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in black power which is the power of black people to destroy their opinion pressers here and now by any means at their disposal. Unless God is participating in this holy activity, we must reject his love.”

This is one of the most anti-God, anti-Bible statements one can utter! Christ died for the sins of all humanity. And all humanity is going to be a part of God’s Family, in God’s time frame.

Rolling Stone featured “The Radical Roots of Barack Obama” in its Feb. 22, 2007, issue stating: “This is as openly radical a background as any significant American political figure has ever emerged from ….” The magazine insisted that Jeremiah Wright was not “an incidental figure in Obama’s life, or his politics.” The article also quoted another pastor, who said, “If you want to understand where Barack gets his feeling and rhetoric from, just look at Jeremiah Wright.” (The Trumpet.com, July 25, 2008).

And much has been made about Barack Obama’s association with William Ayers, a man who hasn’t expressed one ounce of remorse for his terrorist attacks on federal targets during the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, he wishes his organization could have committed more murderous acts of domestic terrorism.

What does all this portend? 

If history is our guide, we know that the success of a nation under crisis is tied to two essential words that Lincoln knit to a new birth of freedom – “under God.”  These were the two most important words in Lincoln’s entire presidency.

“This nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” — A. Lincoln, Nov. 19, 1863.

When Barack Obama (who ironically strives to mimick Lincoln) took the oath of office as America’s first African-American president, these words were conspicuous for their absence. This is a man who relies on himself, not on God. He sees his enthusiasm for dialogue and negotiation as one of his chief selling points.

“Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions,” his website proudly asserts. In a January interview, he said he wanted to hold a Muslim summit in hopes of bridging the gap between Islam and the West. He told the Daily Telegraph he would “do so with the credibility of someone who has lived in a Muslim country.”

Obama is also proud of his opposition to the September 2007 Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which branded Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization and authorized the U.S. to use “all instruments … of national power in Iraq” to combat the destabilizing influence of Iran. (The Trumpet.com, July 25, 2008).

If you want to know what a person really believes – observe his actions and aquaintances, rather than his words. Since being elected he has bent over backwards (and now forwards) to show deference to the Muslim world. All this while famously hanging out for years with people who hate America. Is there a connection?

Leaders – and world events – are of God

God’s Word informs us that there can be no power in this present world, except as God allows, so I don’t take sides, nor get into emotional debates. I can say though—with certainty—that this president of the United States is the one God put into that office. The movement behind Barack Obama’s improbable rise to power, as well as his celebrity-like status internationally—says a lot about where we are in Bible prophecy.

The movement to elect Mr. Obama’s reveals just how naive many of our people are when it comes to the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East and, to a certain degree, the whole world—Iranian-backed Islamic extremism. The Bible reveals that neither America nor Israel has the will to confront this prophesied “king of the south” (Daniel 11:40). That task will be left to a Vatican-led European Union. And it will result in a spectacular clash that will then lead to a worldwide war!