Sound The Midnight Cry

“The Sleeping Bear Woke Up!”

Two weeks ago I wrote about Vladimir Putin being voted 2007 Man of the Year by TIME magazine [see January 10th posting]. We looked at some of the recent changes he has made and others that he is in the process of bring about and his intent behind them. Once again, he is back in the spotlight flexing his iron fist in the face of the world. Look at the following three headlines that appeared this week.

• “UK Sees Putin as ‘Major Threat’”- President Putin ordered to have British Council offices closed in Russia. His growing relationship with Iran and his indifference toward the U.S. and Britain is seen as something to watch closely. You can be sure Israel is monitoring this development closely as their security experts read between the lines.
• “Russian bombers to test-fire missiles in Atlantic” – Reuters reported that “Russia on Tuesday sent two long-range bombers to the Bay of Biscay, off the French and Spanish Atlantic coasts, to test-fire missiles in what it billed as its biggest navy exercise in the area since Soviet times.” The navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the Soviet-made Admiral Kuznetsov, was leading the fleet in the Atlantic where NATO aircraft were trying to keep a close eye on Russian movements, according to Russian media.
• “Russia Reverts to Soviet Era” – The Russia Journal reported how agents of the FSB, the secret police agency that replaced the KGB, is yet another reminder that Russian President Vladimir Putin and many of his top officials, who served the Communist dictatorship faithfully, “still have a Soviet mindset.” Reports of sending secret service agents to question members of the British Council staff at their homes at night to “bully and intimidate them is merely the latest example of the return of totalitarian tactics.”

The choice of the British Council as a target is interesting. It was banned by the Soviet government, and its offices were closed in Eastern Europe during the Russian occupation. Under Nikita Khrushchev, following his denunciation of Stalin as a mass murderer, the British Council was allowed to operate. It became synonymous with democracy. Now these doors are closed once again.

Given Russia's booming energy wealth [they are the #2 producer of oil in the world as well as natural gas] they hold a lot of power. This new found wealth is rebuilding the soviet war machine at an incredible pace. Those goods of war are finding themselves into the hands of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Hamas and other terror groups. The sleeping bear has awakened once again.

Of course, students of the Bible and the prophecies laid out within its pages understand that this is all a part of the end-time scenario. We watch with interest but we work with the incentive of knowing that Jesus Christ is coming soon!

“It’s Clear As Crystal”

Last week, a fleet of Iranian Republican Guard speedboats charged at and threatened to blow up three ships in a U.S. Navy convoy in the Strait of Hormuz near Iranian waters. The speedboats dropped several white, box-like floating objects [thought to be mines] in the convoy's path, and sent a threatening radio message to the effect the U.S. warships would explode. In all, the Iranian provocation lasted for more than a half-hour and gave every indication that the IRG was deliberately trying to provoke the U.S. vessels into opening fire on them.

All of this should cause us to ask, “Why would the Iranian’s try to provoke the U.S. into attacking them?” The initial outcome seems obvious with the speedboats being destroyed. So why would they instigate a losing battle? The clue seems to be what is happening behind the scenes inside Iran.

Last week, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, hinted that U.S. - Iranian relations could be restored at some time in the future. This has many experts believe that statement confirmed that a back door deal has been made with the Iranians concerning its nuclear program. So, why risk undoing any talks by the attack on the U.S. warships?

Only recently it has come to light that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s radical views are now longer receiving Khamenei’s blessing. The Iranian president’s power base has been built on the radical rhetoric of defeating the “Great Satan”—the U.S. If the Khamenei becomes “moderate” in his positions [and I use that word lightly], it gives some sense of just how extreme Ahmadinejad's views really are.

Ahmadinejad is a card-carrying member of the "Twelvers" -- a sect within Islam that believes it can hasten the coming of the Shi'ite Messiah -- the "Mahdi" by starting a global conflagration with the infidel world. [Islam divides the world into two zones, Dar al Islam (Zone of Islam) and Dar al Harb (Zone of War)]. Twelvers believe is the religious duty of the Muslim 'umma' (Muslim world community) to destroy Dar al Harb and replace it with Dar al Islam. Ahmadinejad believes it is his destiny to begin the Mahdi War. A renewal of ties between Iran and Washington threatens those plans.

Iran occupies a major role in Bible prophecy—a role it has been grooming for since the angel of the Lord was delayed in his appearing to Daniel by the "Prince of Persia". (Daniel 10:20)

It appears at the moment that Persia has two 'princes'—Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- but there can be only one. And it appears that Ahmadinejad seems intent on provoking a shooting war with America before Bush leaves office, even if it means political war with Khamenei in the process.

Daniel 12:4 says, "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

Persia's exact role in the time of the end remains largely sealed, but one fact is clear as crystal—according to the Bible, Persia is still there at the end. For that matter, so are Russia and Israel. As that end gets closer, the real question is, “Are you ready for the second coming of Jesus Christ?”

“The Player Behind The Scenes”

As we enter into a new year and look ahead at events happening in the light of bible prophecy, I thought it more than interesting that TIME Magazine voted Vladimir Putin as its “Person of the Year 2007.”

Now any student of bible prophecy knows that Russia is a major player in end-time events. TIME’s article pointed out that Russia “is central to our world—and the new world that is being born. It is the largest country on earth; it shares a 2,600-mile (4,200 km) border with China; it has a significant and restive Islamic population; it has the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and a lethal nuclear arsenal; it is the world's second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia; and it is an indispensable player in whatever happens in the Middle East.”

Putin is genuinely popular with his people for a mixture of impartial and biased reasons. Because of the vast revenues Russia accrues due to high global energy prices, the standard of living for many Russians is noticeably improving. Putin has also increased pensions and state aid programs. He adopted the policy of a sharp reduction of business taxes and a low, flat-rate income tax for individuals. Most notably are his efforts to restore Russia's standing as a power in the international arena is enormously popular among Russians. There is an undercurrent in the populace yearning for a restoration of Russia's prestige in areas of sports and the arts. This feeling has flooded the mood of the people because of the Kremlin's skillful manipulation.

Putin is a career intelligence office and has taken considerable pains to conceal his plans. This secrecy is simply a part of the mindset of Putin and the Siloviki -- a reference to the armed services, law enforcement bodies, and intelligence agencies that wield the coercive power of the state. Clues to Putin's intentions can be found in an 800-page manifesto issued last summer under the title “Russian Doctrine.” The book is presented as a set of guidelines for a national, supra-party platform. It details foreign and domestic policy proposals, including reforms to the military, national-security system, the economy, the mass media, education, and culture.

What is interesting is that the authors propose a new state structure based on the traditions of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Of greater interest is that they propose doing so without dissolving the current Russian Federation. The plan is to create a “shadow state” that begins operating unseen behind the veneer of the current one. It would consist of a system of political and economic institutions accessible only to Putin and the Siloviki that the authors call “the invisible, networked Russia.”

Make no mistake about it, Russia is here to stay and intends on being a big time player. At the present, it continues to work behind the scenes with alliances being made between nations in the Middle East and the old Soviet bloc. However, with the power of its resources bringing wealth to its treasury, might to its military and influence with world leaders, Russia will soon be assuming center stage in the world. All of this is necessary for the events that lead to eventual Gog-Magog showdown—all according to bible prophecy!

"Mr. President, Are You Listening?"

The world's attention continues to be focused on the Middle East with its finger on Jerusalem. Among the different events happening there, none are bigger than President Bush’s three-day visit to Israel next week. The topics will cover Iran and its nuclear program and the “Road Map” to peace.

In the political arena, 2008 will be a year that President Bush’s administration pushes hard for a peace agreement. Every president in the last 30 years has tried to bring a resolution to the conflict in that region of the world. With the negative world view of President Bush and the U.S. as a whole, a peace accord would make those opinions change drastically. One only has to go back to the Clinton Administration and see that his last year in office was spent in a flurry of negotiations that would erase the scandals of his presidency.

The problem with this course of action is that it is defective from the outset. The land known as Israel is not for any government or coalition to give away. It is not for a cause of achieving a “One World Order”. Why? The reason is simple: God has already given it to the Jews! This point is at the very heart of a media campaign to be unleashed when President Bush visits Jerusalem next week.

In the upcoming days, billboards all over Jerusalem will be plastered with a new poster on the eve of U.S. President Bush’s visit to Israel. Pictured in the poster is a gigantic Bible, towering over the walls of the Old City. The caption says: “Bush, read your Bible. God gave Israel to the Jews.”

Tzvi Fishman, of the Am K’Lavee organization, says “The poster is designed to refocus Israel’s opposition to further withdrawals back to our Divine claim to the Land of Israel, as documented again and again in the Bible.”

“The Biblical claim of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel was recognized by the British in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which called for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine,” Fishman states. “The British believed in the Bible and what was written in it, and that was what guided Lord Balfour in winning the support of the British Parliament.”

"America also believes in the Bible,” Fishman says, “and therefore, it is totally unreasonable that America and its G-d-fearing President should act against the Bible, the pillar of Christian belief.” Through the poster, Fishman is embarking to remind President Bush that God’s plan for the world supersedes his plan.

Let us pray that in this coming week and throughout the year, that the biblical truth of to whom the land belongs to will come be awakened in our President’s heart. May he stand against the opinions of man and do right in the sight of God.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…” Psalms 122:6