RUSSIAN UPDATE: 9.2.16 - Russia and Turkey Kiss and Makeup

 Russia and Turkey Kiss and Makeup - Todd Strandberg - http://raptureready.com/rap16.html

 

A major shift has occurred in the balance of power in the Middle East. Following the failed Turkish coup of mid-July, Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has become excessively and suspiciously close to Russia.

 

Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting resulted in both nations agreeing to mend the bilateral relations strained after the shooting down of a Russian military jet by Turkey in November.

 

Because Erdogan had already apologized in June for the downing of the plane, the pathway is open for Russia to gradually lift economic sanctions on Turkey, including restrictions on sightseeing trips to the country and an import ban on Turkish livestock and agricultural products.

 

One possible reason why Erdogan has gone from describing Putin as a foe to calling him his "dear friend" is due to the help Russia provided during the coup. It now appears that Russian intelligence tipped off Erdogan just hours before the planned overthrow of his regime.

 

When the coup plotters got wind of the Russian communications with Erdogan loyalists, they moved up their plans several hours. Deprived of the element of surprise, the coup failed, and Erdogan is ready to switch from NATO to the Russian side.

 

The sudden lack of trust between Washington and Ankara has raised safety concerns over nuclear weapons stored at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

 

The European news outlet EurActiv.com, quoting two independent sources, said the Pentagon, has ordered the emergency evacuation to Romania of an estimated 50 B-61s, (which is a tactical nuclear bomb that's carried by fighter jets with a blast yield of up to 340 kilotons).

 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has given Russia the go-ahead to use its Incirlik air base for operations in Syria. Though no official request from Moscow to use the strategic military facility has been made, an upper house member of Russia's Parliament, Igor Morozov has said that "It just remains to come to an agreement with Erdogan that we get the NATO base at Incirlik as our primary airbase."

 

According to the MP, Incirlik would give Moscow a strategic advantage providing for a swifter conclusion to Russia's anti-terrorist operation in Syria. A key reason for the reset is energy. Putin wanted to restart the Turkish Stream Project, which will transport 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas from the Russian Black Sea coast to Turkey and on to Europe. With Russia and Turkey acting as partners, Europe will have little left to do but continue to be dependent on energy coming from Mother Russia.

 

This "kiss and makeup" between Turkey and Russia is important to prophecy watchers. With Iran also part of this lovefest, we now have all the key nations of the Gog Magog invasion in place. The only thing that remains is the "hooks into thy jaws" motivation that triggers the invasion of Israel. I believe the Rapture is the next major prophetic event; the Church's departure may be what gives Putin the confidence making such a daring move.

 

"And say, 'Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

 

Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

 

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.' Thus saith the Lord God; 'It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:' And thou shalt say, 'I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land'" (Ezekiel 38: 3-12). --Todd

 

 

Prophecy Clock: Russian missiles at Iran's nuke site - Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com

 

AFP reports that Iran has deployed Russian-supplied S-300 missiles around its nuclear plant near Qom. The system is aimed at the sky to protect the plant from attack. This comes after the revelation that pallets of Euros, Swiss Francs and other currencies totaling some $400 million were delivered by plane to Iran after the current US "president" negotiated a nuclear deal with the terrorist state. The money was ransom paid to Iran for the release of hostages the terrorist-sponsoring nation was holding during the negotiations. While the White House said there was nothing unusual with the ransom, historians are now saying it is unprecedented. The US cash likely made the Russian missile purchase possible.

 

It has been speculated for decades that Russia is part of the Biblical end time battle found in Ezekiel 38 and 39, but there is no mention of the country in scripture. Ezekiel 38:2-3 says, "Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal." This prophecy contains only current Islamic-Arab nations as located on modern maps: Magog (Turkey), Meshek (Turkey), Tubal (Turkey), Gomer (Turkey), Togarmah (Turkey), Persia (Iran), Ethiopia/Cush (Sudan), Libya/Put (Libya), Sheba (Egypt and Saudi Arabia), and Dedan (Saudi Arabia).

 

The United States of America is also not mentioned in the Bible. We know, however, just as Russia has played an anti-Israel role in history, America, until the past decade, has played a positive role in history toward Israel. That changed when President George W Bush politically forced Israel to abandon Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and removed Jewish settlers from their land. But the current "president" has placed America at odds with Israel by assisting the Muslim Brotherhood with Arab Spring, negotiating with the terrorist state of Iran and propping up its nuclear agenda, and many other numerous policy shifts that elevated radical Islam over the only democratic free state in the Middle East-Israel.

 

Zechariah 12:3 says, "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." While we may not be able to stop the march of prophecy, we can determine our place in it. As a nation that will also be judged, Americans need to be just as worried as Russians about where their leaders are placing them in Biblical prophecy. Jesus said in Matthew 25:32, "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats." These nations will be judged based on how they treated the least of his brethren.