Israeli-Russian Ties Stronger Than Ever, Experts Say by Jonathan Benedek - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

President Reuven Rivlin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 16, 2016. (Photo: Mark Neyman/Government Press Office)

Israeli-Russian Ties Stronger Than Ever, Experts Say

By Jonathan Benedek March 17, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: ‘We came to thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.'” Genesis 32:7 (The Israel Bible™)

President Reuven Rivlin’s visit to Moscow this week looks to be another sign of growing cooperation between Israel and Russia. It also comes against the backdrop of Russia’s military withdrawal from Syria, announced earlier this week, But while that withdrawal may bring change to Syria, the Israeli-Russian relationship looks likely to emerge as strong as ever, Israeli experts said.

“The visit shows that Israel-Russia relations are good as a whole, in comparison to the past,” Dr. Ofer Israeli, an international defense policy expert at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

Much of this is due to Russia’s recognition of Israel as an oasis of stability in the Middle East.

“When Russia looks at the Middle East, it doesn’t see many stable regions besides Israel,” Dr. Israeli explained to TPS. “So from a Russian perspective, Israel is relatively predictable and can be coordinated with, which is in Russia’s interests.”

Russia is also aware of Israel’s strategic importance in the Middle East. “Russia also recognizes that Israel plays a significant role in the region with its military strength,” Dr. Israeli added.

Most importantly, Israel and Russia are no longer automatically placed on opposite sides in geopolitical struggles.

“Israel and Russia are not on two different sides of their political and strategic battle anymore,” noted Professor Zeev Khanin, who teaches in Ariel University’s Department of Israel and Middle East Studies and is an expert on Russian affairs.

“Despite everything, the Cold War is behind us, so Israel is not necessarily obliged to take any side that would be against Russia and Russia is not necessarily obliged to do anything that would be against Israel,” explained Khanin.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union traditionally backed Israel’s Arab adversaries, and Israel found itself in the American axis. But now, some suggest that Russia is friendlier with Israel than with most Arab countries.

“Some Russian observers insist at the moment that to some extent, relations between Russia and Israel are better than between Russia and the majority of Arab states,” Khanin added to TPS.\

At the same time, Professor Khanin urges against overestimating the improvement in Israeli-Russian ties.

“We should not exaggerate, and we should not overestimate,” Khanin stressed to TPS. “There is no strategic partnership between Russia and Israel. But there is a sort of normal cooperation on issues on which we agree, and no cooperation on other issues.”

According to Professor Khanin, the environment of cooperation was created in large part as a result of efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union.

“Fortunately, the previous government was able to create a background for founding a mutual understanding in a situation where Russian troops will be there,” said Khanin.

That foundation of mutual understanding allowed for Russia to take Israel’s interests into consideration in preventing Iran from opening a front against Israel in the Golan Heights through its proxy fighters in Syria, suggested Professor Khanin.

“It was agreed that in any solution and future settlement in Syria, Russia would insist that the interests of Israel be taken into consideration,” Khanin explained to TPS. “Also, Russia did not mind if we struck the transfer of armaments to Hezbollah as long as we did it outside of Syrian territory.”

“These understandings actually helped us to control or watch carefully and to adapt ourselves to the situation in Syria without being a part of the conflict, which was why we didn’t make any noise when the Russians deployed their S-400 anti-aviation defense system located in Syria” noted Khanin to TPS.

Ultimately, Khanin believes Israel and Russia recognize each other’s interests. “Russia understood that we are unable to permit the transfer of armaments to Hezbollah, and Israel understood that the S-400 system was there in order to defend Russian interests, their seaport, their military fleet, and their troops,” explained Khanin.

However, Dr. Israeli stressed that important issues remain unresolved. “The Russian activity in Syria strengthened radical Islamist bodies, including Iran and Hezbollah,” noted Israeli. “Neutralizing this threat after Russia’s retreat will be a challenge.”

Michael Bachner and Alexander J. Apfel contributed to this article.

World War 3 Could Very Easily Turn Into The Very First Nuclear War In The Middle East - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

World War 3 Could Very Easily Turn Into The Very First Nuclear War In The Middle East 

Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Saudi Arabia already has nukes, Iran probably does, and the Russians are one of the two great nuclear powers on the entire planet.  So if Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their Sunni allies do decide to conduct a full-blown ground invasion of Syria, could someone ultimately decide to use nuclear weapons when their backs get pushed up against a wall?

As you read this article, there are thousands of military vehicles and hundreds of thousands of troops massed along the southern border of Turkey and the northern border of Saudi Arabia.  If the command is given and those forces start streaming toward Damascus, it is inevitable that the Syrians, the Iranians, Hezbollah and the Russians would fight back.  It would literally be the start of World War 3, and the Saudis and the Turks are trying very hard to convince the United States to be involved.

But the truth is that we don’t want any part of this conflict, because it could very easily become the very first nuclear war in the history of the Middle East.

Perhaps you didn’t know that the Saudis already have nukes.  Of course the official position is that they don’t, but it is a fact that they were the ones that funded the development of Pakistan’s nuclear program.  It is an open secret that the Saudis have the bomb, but nobody is really supposed to talk about it.

That is why it was so alarming what Saudi political analyst Dahham Al-‘Anzi told RT just recently…

Earlier this week a Saudi political analyst told RT’s Arab network the kingdom has a nuclear weapon.
Dahham Al-‘Anzi made the claim while saying Saudi Arabia is engaged in an effort to “minimize the Iranian threat in the Levant and Syria.”
Although Saudi Arabia has officially denied it has a nuclear weapons program and has publicly stated it opposes nuclear weapons in the Middle East, it has funded a military nuclear program and received scientific assistance from the United States and Pakistan.

You can watch video of this exchange right here…

If you don’t want to believe him, perhaps you will believe the former director of the CIA counter-terrorism operations center.  He told Fox Business that everyone in the intelligence world knows the Saudis have nukes…

If the fur started flying in Syria and Russia and Iran decided to start bombing Saudi airbases, would Saudi Arabia resort to using their nukes?

Let’s hope not.

In the event of a massive ground invasion by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their allies, it is actually more likely that Russia may decide to be the first one to use nukes.  An invasion force of hundreds of thousands of troops would vastly outnumber the relatively small Russian force that is already inside Syria, and so the Russians may feel that the only way that they can keep the Sunni powers out of Damascus is to use tactical nukes.

Russia has more tactical nukes that anyone else in the world by far, and there are some reports that indicate that Russia may be prepared to use them in Syria.  For example, former Associated Press reporter Robert Parry, the author of America’s Stolen Narrative, says that a source has told him that the Russians have already warned Turkey that this could potentially happen…

If Turkey (with hundreds of thousands of troops massed near the Syrian border) and Saudi Arabia (with its sophisticated air force) follow through on threats and intervene militarily to save their rebel clients, who include Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, from a powerful Russian-backed Syrian government offensive, then Russia will have to decide what to do to protect its 20,000 or so military personnel inside Syria.

A source close to Russian President Vladimir Putin told me that the Russians have warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary to save their troops in the face of a Turkish-Saudi onslaught. Since Turkey is a member of NATO, any such conflict could quickly escalate into a full-scale nuclear confrontation.

Given Erdogan’s megalomania or mental instability and the aggressiveness and inexperience of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman (defense minister and son of King Salman), the only person who probably can stop a Turkish-Saudi invasion is President Obama. But I’m told that he has been unwilling to flatly prohibit such an intervention, though he has sought to calm Erdogan down and made clear that the U.S. military would not join the invasion.

Are you starting to understand how serious this is?

With all of the talk of a potential invasion in recent days, the Russians are on high alert and are rapidly preparing for a direct conflict with both Saudi Arabia and Turkey.  The following comes from Infowars…

Still, the Russians are taking no chances and they have put all their forces into high alert. They have very publicly dispatched a Tu-214r – her most advanced ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) aircraft. You can think of the Tu-214R as an “AWACS for the ground”, the kind of aircraft you use to monitor a major ground battle (the regular Russian A-50Ms are already monitoring the Syrian airspace). In southern Russia, the Aerospace forces have organized large-scale exercises involving a large number of aircraft which would be used in a war against Turkey: SU-34s. The Airborne Forces are ready. The naval task forces off the Syrian coast is being augmented. The delivery of weapons has accelerated. The bottom line is simple and obvious: the Russians are not making any threats – they are preparing for war. In fact, by now they are ready.

In addition, it is important to remember that it is quite likely that the Iranians have nuclear weapons as well.

Of course the U.S. government and the Iranian government both insist that Iran does not have nukes, but many of those in the know insist otherwise.

For instance, you may want to consider what retired U.S. Army Major General Paul Vallely and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dennis B. Haney are saying.  The following comes from an article that was authored by Jerome Corsi of WND…

In a joint statement, Vallely and Haney say an accumulation of available evidence shows a coalition of Russia, China and North Korea have assisted Iran since 1979 in achieving a nuclear weapon, despite sanctions, under the guise of a domestic nuclear energy program.
Vallely explained to WND that he and Haney have taken a systematic approach to evaluating each component needed to deliver a nuclear weapon, from the development and testing of a ballistic missile system, to the design of a nuclear weapons warhead, to the development of the weapons-grade uranium needed to produce a bomb.
“To come to our conclusion that Iran is a nuclear weapons power right now, we supplemented publicly available research, plus information from intelligence sources, including Iranian resistance groups such as the National Council of Resistance of IRAN, NCRI,” Vallely explained.

I happen to agree with Vallely and Haney.  I cannot prove it, but all of the intel that I have received indicates that Iran already has nukes.

Hopefully I will not be proven accurate any time soon.

It had been hoped that a cease-fire could be negotiated that would at least temporarily defuse tensions in Syria.  Unfortunately, it does not look like the shooting is going to stop, and this is going to put immense pressure on both Saudi Arabia and Turkey to do something to rescue the radical Sunni militants that are on the verge of defeat.  The Saudis, the Turks and their allies have poured enormous amounts of money and resources into this war over the past five years, and now they are faced with the choice of either accepting defeat or directly intervening in this conflict themselves.

But in order to conduct a full-fledged ground invasion, they are going to need justification for doing so.  There are some that are suggesting that we could soon see a false flag attack that would provide that justification, so that is something to watch out for.
I can’t remember a time when our planet has been so close to World War 3 potentially beginning.

And if it does break out, I believe that it is quite likely that nuclear weapons will be used.

So what do you think?

Do you agree with me?

Rick Wiles - The Jim Bakker Show - "World in Turmoil" (Day 4) - Russia, Putin

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Ben Carson Speaks Out on Putin's Islamic Ties

Ben Carson

Ben Carson spoke out about Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)

Ben Carson Speaks Out on Putin's Islamic Ties

CBN NEWS Oct. 12, 2015

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been tied to controversial Middle East Muslim leaders since the time they attended school in Moscow, according to Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson.

Carson raised the little known historical fact during his guest appearance on CBN's The 700 Club Friday.

Carson said Putin shares a deep historical tie with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, suggesting he became acquainted with them during their college days in Moscow when Putin was a young KGB operative.

"He has longstanding relationships down there. Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, were both classmates in the class of 1968 at Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow where they became acquainted with a young Vladimir Putin. So these are deep ties," Carson said.

While Abbas' tenure as a Patrice Lumumba graduate student is well documented, Khamenei's school ties are not.

In a follow-up interview, Dr. Carson would not disclose his sources, but told CBN News he learned about the ties between the three leaders from advisers across the government, including the CIA.

He said the connection helps to explain what's currently happening around the world.

"That's what I call wisdom," Carson said. "You get these pieces of information. You talk to various people. You begin to have an overall picture. You begin to understand why people do what they do."

"And why it's so important for Putin to establish influence in that area now because you see what his economic situation is, and he sees that as the quickest way to improve his economic situation," he continued.

Carson added, "There's a lot more information that I've gotten that's probably not appropriate for revelation."

The GOP candidate's original on-air statement was made while offering analysis about Putin's game plan in Syria.

"Putin has expansionist ideas. The only thing that's stopping him right now is money," Carson said. "The price of oil has dropped tremendously which has hampered him severely. Now he's looking to extend his influence throughout the Middle East."

"I personally believe that he would very much like to get control of a lot of the energy resources in that area so that he can control pricing and bring himself back up where he wants to be," he added.

Carson contends that Putin's long ties with Abbas and Khamenei are key to understanding what the Russian leader is doing now in Syria. He said the United States needs to take a stand against Putin now.

"And you can see that Iran is supporting the Assad regime along with Putin and it has nothing to do with what Russia said they were coming in there to do, to fight ISIS," Carson said during his 700 Club appearance.

"Instead, who are they fighting? Al Nusra. Al Jalani. You know they obviously have a very different agenda here and we need to oppose them," Carson said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin

Plot Thickens as Russia Expands Syria Presence

By George Thomas

CBN News Sr. Reporter

Friday, September 25, 2015

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Russia is on the move in Syria, saying it wants to help the war-torn nation fight Islamic terrorists. But the United States believes Moscow has ulterior motives.

Political activist and blogger Ruslan Leviev says he knew something was brewing in Syria when families of Russian soldiers started contacting him in early August.

"That's when we first started getting messages that our Russian military contractors are being sent to Syria," he said.

Leviev says Russia has moved a small but significant military force into Syria in recent weeks.

"After our first investigation we published the number of military equipment we thought was there," he said. "Based on the images of soldiers being brought to Syria on military ships, we thought that there was no less than 1,000 of them."

According to the New York Times, satellite images from the Syrian port city of Latakia show Russia has also moved about half a "dozen T-90 tanks, 15 howitzers, 35 armored personnel carriers, 200 marines and housing for as many as 1,500 personnel."

"All this shows is that Russia has made a qualitative shift in its behavior," Russian political analyst Vyacheslav Matuzov said.

Moscow has denied that it is building up its military presence, saying that it instead wants to help Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fight the Islamic State terror group.

"I would like to say that we are supporting the government of Syria in the fight against a terrorist aggression and are offering and will continue to offer it necessary military-technical assistance," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

And Assad needs the help. He's been losing territory to ISIS a lot faster this year than when the war started four years ago. Troop morale is also down significantly.

But Pentagon officials say Moscow's sudden military moves into Syria aren't just about fighting ISIS. They believe Russia is ultimately trying to protect Assad, a longtime Russian ally.

Putin agrees. He told CBS's "60 Minutes" that Assad must remain in power to avoid another Libya. 

However, the U.S has repeatedly called for the Syrian dictator to step down.  And the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says Russia's moves to defend Assad will only encourage the radical Islamic views of ISIS.

"To pursue the defeat of ISIL without at the same time pursuing a political transition is to fuel the very kind of extremism that underlies ISIL. And if that's the Russian view that's a logical contradiction," Carter said.

Russia's intervention has forced a meeting between Putin and Obama in New York next week. The two haven't met in 15 months and the U.S wants to know what Russia's long-term military intentions are in Syria.

Military Advisers Accompany Netanyahu to Moscow

CBNNews.com

Monday, September 21, 2015

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought his military advisors with him for a one-day meeting in Moscow Monday.

In an unusual move, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevy, National Security Council head Yossi Cohen and Col. Eliezer Toledano, Netanyahu's military secretary, are accompanying him.

Much of the three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will focus on Russia's recent military buildup in Syria, particularly at the Latakia port.

Among Israeli concerns is that Russian troops on the ground could facilitate the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based Iranian proxy. Hezbollah has sent thousands of its fighters to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops.

According to one Syrian military source, Russia has provided Assad's army with advanced weapons and training.

"New weapons are being delivered and new types of weapons. The Syrian army is being trained in the use of these weapons," Reuters quoted the source.

"The weapons are highly effective and very accurate and hit targets precisely," he said, adding that Russia is supplying both air and ground weapons to the Assad regime.

From time to time, Israel carries out targeted airstrikes on convoys transporting weapons to Hezbollah or in retaliation against rocket attacks, but almost always refrains from confirming or denying responsibility.

Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - Israeli Strike on Iran in 2014?

Joel Rosenberg Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog - Israeli Strike on Iran in 2014? With rumors of Israeli strike on Iran in 2014 rising, Santorum & Rosenberg write oped for CNN: Could there be a “Second Holocaust”? Lessons from Nazi Germany & modern Iran. by joelcrosenberg

(Netanya, Israel) -- Greetings from Israel. I'm here doing media interviews for The Auschwitz Escape, having various meetings, and trying to get a better sense of how Israeli citizens and leaders are viewing the crisis in Ukraine and the rising Iranian nuclear threat.

Rumors are swirling in the media here about a possible Israeli preemptive strike on Iran this year. Israeli officials at the highest level -- including the Defense Minister -- are reportedly coming to the reluctant belief that they cannot count on President Obama to take decisive action to neutralize the Iranian threat before it is too late.

Here are several recent headlines worth noting:

• Netanyahu orders IDF to prepare for possible strike on Iran during 2014 (Haaretz)
• Israel said to be budgeting billions for Iran strike -- Military chiefs reportedly say they were given top-level orders to keep prepared for action despite nuclear talks (Times of Israel)
• Israel gears up for possible unilateral strike on Iran (Xinhua Chinese news agency)
• Defense minister leans toward Israeli operation in Iran, as Obama portrays 'weakness' -- Moshe Ya'alon says U.S. is acting feebly - from China through the Mideast to Ukraine. 'I hope the U.S. comes to its senses.' (Haaretz)

In this context, CNN.com has just published an op-ed that former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and I have written. It examines parallels he and I find sobering between the history of Adolf Hitler and the current regime in Tehran. In the column, we also cite the exclusive new poll showing 80% of Americans fear a "Second Holocaust" if Iran is allowed to build nuclear warheads.

I hope you'll take a moment to read the full column. Then please post your comments on the "Epicenter Team" page on Facebook, and share this column with friends and get their reaction, as well.

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Lessons of history: Americans fear 'second Holocaust' if Iran gets the bomb

By Rick Santorum and Joel C. Rosenberg

(CNN) -- Hillary Clinton raised eyebrows this month when she compared Vladimir Putin's tactics in Ukraine to those of the Nazis.

She was right, but there is an even more ominous similarity between the actions of Iran and those of pre-war Germany.

On May 21, 1935, Adolf Hitler delivered his infamous "peace" speech. In his masterful history of Nazi Germany, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," William L. Shirer quotes the Fuhrer's remarks at length:

• "Germany needs peace and desires peace."
• "Germany has solemnly recognized and guaranteed France her frontiers."
• "Germany has concluded a non-aggression pact with Poland."

Shirer, a CBS Radio correspondent, called the address "one of the cleverest and most misleading of his Reichstag orations this writer, who sat through most of them, ever heard him make." He observed the West seemed beguiled by the speech, noting the Times of London welcomed Hitler's words "with almost hysterical joy."

"The speech turns out to be reasonable, straightforward, and comprehensive," stated the Times editorial. "No one who reads it with an impartial mind can doubt that the points of policy laid down by Herr Hitler may fairly constitute the basis of a complete settlement with Germany."

Yet Hitler was lying to buy time. He would not bring peace, but a horrific war, annexing Austria, invading France and Poland, and ordering the extermination of six million Jews.

Indeed, Hitler's lies were apparent less than a year after the speech. On March 7, 1936, the Nazis marched into the Rhineland, the demilitarized zone between Germany and France, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

If the West had confronted Hitler then, it could have forced him out of the Rhineland with a limited application of military force.

Such history is worth noting in today's showdown with Iran. Many in the West seem beguiled by the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. But are they....

[To read the full column, please click here.]

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• Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it’s available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore.
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joelcrosenberg | March 25, 2014 at 7:48 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-2W7

Joel C. Rosenberg - 72% of Americans see Putin as “clear and present danger” to U.S. and Israel

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Vladimir Putin: a "clear and present danger"?

(Washington, D.C.) -- In preparing for the launch of The Auschwitz Escape, I contracted with a nationally-respected polling company to ask a series of questions that would help me better understand American attitudes towards the Holocaust, Israel, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the crises in Syria and Ukraine. The results were both fascinating and sobering.

In the days ahead, I will share all the results of this polling data with you. But given the crisis in Ukraine, I decided to begin by writing a column for National Review Online releasing the results of how Americans now perceive Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

HOW DANGEROUS IS PUTIN? JUST LOOK AT HIS OWN WORDS

By Joel C. Rosenberg

Who is Vladimir Putin, and what does he really want? Why exactly has he suddenly sent tens of thousands of heavily armed Russian troops into Crimea? Why did he invade Georgia in 2008? Why is he selling arms to bloodthirsty regimes like that of Bashar Assad in Syria? And why is selling both advanced arms and nuclear technology to a rogue terrorist state like Iran?

In the face of such questions, President Obama looks disoriented and confused. He and his national-security team have been painfully slow to understand the Putin threat. They’re now scrambling to develop a coherent and convincing policy to contain Putin, much less have a chance at rolling him back.

The American people now see Putin as a real and growing threat, and not just to the former Soviet republics but to the national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.

This month, I engaged McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-respected polling firm, to ask a series of questions of 1,000 likely U.S. voters. Among them:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “In light of Russia’s invasion of southern Ukraine, and Russia selling arms and nuclear technology to Iran, and Russia selling arms to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria, I have come to believe that Vladimir Putin and the government of Russia pose a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and our ally, Israel”?

In 2012, Mr. Obama mocked those who even raised such a question. Today, a remarkable 72 percent of Americans said they agreed with such a statement. Only 19 percent disagreed.

Are they right? Is Putin as serious a threat as Americans believe? To answer that question requires going beyond Washington conventional wisdom and listening carefully to what he has said in the past....

[To read the rest of my column on National Review Online, please click here.]
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FLASHBACK: PAST COLUMNS ABOUT PUTIN, RUSSIA AND THE BIBLICAL PROPHECIES OF EZEKIEL 38 & 39
Epicenter, Chapter 7 (2006): “Future Headline: A Czar Rises In Russia, Raising Fears of a New Cold War.”
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part I
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part II
What is the War of Gog & Magog -- Part III

————————
Order The Auschwitz Escape today — it’s available now in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. You can get it online, or in your favorite bookstore.

Learn more about The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net) – educating and mobilizing Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, and caring for the poor and needy with food and other humanitarian relief – read our 2013 Donor Report, and make a beginning-of-the-year, tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution.

Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg

Receive every blog post automatically via the RSS feed.

Vladimir Putin: The Rise of Gog and the Prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 by Dr. Jeff Crwaford

Vladimir Putin: 

The Rise of Gog 

and the 

Prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39

Vladimir Putin, Russia

Dr. Jeff Crawford, The Good, The Band & The Ugly

March 10, 2014

We may be seeing a biblical prophecy fulfilled in front of our eyes.  Ezekiel 38-39 foretells the coming invasion of Israel from a northern land known as Magog.  The ruler of Magog is said to be Gog, a name that most biblical scholars identify as a title rather than a proper name itself.

The prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 is fascinating because it is so specific in the way it names a coalition of nations that will come up against Israel.  The prophecy foretells this axis of evil that invades Israel will be miraculously destroyed by the hand of God and that Gog, himself, will be killed.   What is remarkable about Gog’s defeat is that the Bible declares he will be buried in Israel and not in his homeland.  This will be a sure sign as to the literal fulfillment of this prophecy.

It is no secret that Israel has her share of enemies.  The focus tends to always be on the Palestinian conflict and tensions with Israel’s immediate neighbors.  But the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy points directly to an invasion led by Russia.  What clues in the prophecy point to modern day Russia as the biblical land of Magog?

• Magog is referred to as the land in the north.  If you draw a line from Jerusalem all the way to the North Pole, that line will pass through…Moscow.
• Gog is referred to as the prince of Meshech and Tubal.
• Meschech refers to the ancient peoples who live along the Black and Caspien Seas, the Moschi, or the Moschovites.  This is the word from which Moscow is derived.
• Tubal is a derivative of the modern word Tobolsk.  Tobolsk is the former capital of Russia and one of its most famous cities.

It is chillingly clear that the ancient land of Magog is modern day Russia.  More startling are Russia’s allies as named by Scripture.  A quick survey of Ezekiel 38:5-6 and the reader will note:

• Persia – modern day Iran.  It is no secret the role Russia has and is playing in Iran’s nuclear program.  Iran is located to the east of Israel.
• Cush – modern day Ethiopia.  A north African nation located to the south of Israel.
• Put – modern day Lybia.  Another north African nation and one that has become completely hostile to the West in recent days.
• Gomer – while a modern day equivalent here is difficult, biblical scholars agree that the people of Gomer were the Cimmerians, who lived around the Black Sea and were expelled to what is modern day Turkey.  So Gomer could be Turkey.  However, the ancient Cimmerians lived in what is now known as…Ukraine.  We should take particular notice of this as Ukraine has sprung onto the world scene as Russia is on the doorstep of invasion of this sovereign nation.  Could Gomer be Ukraine?
• Beth-togarmah – this too is not certain but some scholars have suggested Germany as the modern day equivalent of this ancient land.
• The uttermost parts of the north – when one looks at a map of the nations north of Israel they will certainly see Syria, among others.  Once again, the role of Russia in Syria is unavoidable.

The point is clear.  Russia, the ancient land of Magog, is on the move.  The headlines declare it so.  The pieces of its coalition are quickly falling into place.  And it is this collection of nations, led by the great bear of the north, that will at some point make a move against Israel.

Is Vladimir Putin the biblical leader, Gog?  Only time will tell.  But consider…

• Putin is emboldened.  Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, Russia has been kept in-check by the United States.  Putin no longer feels “in check.” In fact, he is playing his own game of chess and doing his best to put the United States in “check.”
• Just two weeks ago, Russia signed an arms agreement with Egypt, Israel’s southern most neighbor.  Egypt now gets it military arms from Russia and not the United States.
• The world watched as President Obama, walked back from his red-line in Syria over the use of chemical weapons.  Putin was paying close attention as well.
• The world watched as our ambassador and his team was slaughtered in Libya.  To this day our government has done nothing by way of response.  This too has been noted by Putin.
• The world has watched as the United States has been fixated on domestic issues such as the economy, same-sex marriage, immigration, climate change regulations, the minimum wage, etc. and in turn has treated international matters as less important.
• The world has watched as the United States has proposed defense cuts and troop reductions to pre-WWII levels.

So while the United States is gearing down, self-focused, and too timid to respond to international matters, Putin has decided to make his move.

Watch Russia.  Watch Putin.  Watch the response of the United States, or lack thereof.  And watch as biblical prophecy unfolds in tomorrow’s headlines.

Blog: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Jeff Crawford

Supernatural Fire - Rick Joyner & Lonnie Rex - Video | Prophetic Perspective on Current Events

Lonnie Rex - 

President and Director of World Wide Compassion

Rick Joyner and Lonnie Rex

Supernatural Fire

Rick Joyner

Lonnie Rex

Friday, February 14, 2014

Lonnie Rex shares Vladimir Putin’s idea of lighting a cathedral in Moscow using an Olympic Torch that was lit by the supernatural fire that appears in Jerusalem every year on Christmas Eve.

Click here: Supernatural Fire - Rick Joyner Video | Prophetic Perspective on Current Events