Monday, 23 April 2018

Britain against Russia, a sign of the times

Britain against Russia - a sign of the times

Bible prophecy and Russia and Britain at odds in the latter days

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April 8, 2018 - Audio, 18.26 MIN
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Can we expect to see Russia and the UK at odds from Bible prophecy? Ezekiel 38 indicates that we can. This week in Bible in the news we consider Britain and Russia in prophecy.

Hello this is Matt Davies joining you.

The latter days

Ezekiel 38 is a fascinating prophecy because it outlines to us the state of the nations in “the latter days”. This phrase is very interesting to consider. When we come across phrases in the Bible which repeat it is because God, through His inspiration of His prophets, is revealing something for us to consider. “The Latter Days” is a ‘sign post phrase’. It is referring to a specific time in history. Consider what the Bible has to say about this time period:

The people of Israel will have returned to their land after a period of dispersion (Hosea 3:5)
The nation of Moab (area of Jordan) would be restored after a time of non-existence (Jer 48:47)
Israel will be victorious over their Arab neighbors (Num 24:14)
A power to the North will attack Israel but will come to his end (Daniel 10:14&11:40-45)
Israel will face a time of tribulation which will cause them to reflect on God (Deut 4:30 & 31:29, Jeremiah 21:20, 30:24)
God’s law will go forth from Zion and all nations will obey it (Isa 2:2, Micah 4:1)

The prophecy of Ezekiel 38 has a lot to say about this time period. “The latter days” is mentioned in verse 16 so we know this is a revelation of events which take place at the same time as the other passages we have referred to.

Like the other passages, we see the “latter days” is a time period when Israel has returned after a period of dispersion. The prophecy focuses on “the mountains of Israel” which is the modern day “West bank” area. It mentions the Jews who live there as living in places which were “desolate places that are now inhabited” (v12). The inhabitants are those who “are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land”.

Therefore this is speaking of our times. The state of Israel came into existence in 1948 and Jews have been settling in the area of the mountains of Israel ever since - much to the disgust of the nations of the world.

We know therefore we are living in the “latter day” period. The time when ultimately a great conflict will take place with the regathered people of Israel but will end up with the Kingdom of God being established on the earth.

The invader from the North as Russia

Ezekiel 38, like Daniel 11, tells us of a great invading force which comes from the North (Eze 38:15). What is interesting about it, is that it gives us the names of the nations who will be involved. The names though are the ancient names of those nations.

We are told the invading force is headed up by a mysterious man called “Gog”. He is “the prince of Rosh” (NKJV).

According to the Hebrew scholar Gesenius

"Rosh is a “proper name of a northern nation, mentioned with Tubal and Meshech; undoubtedly the Russians, who are mentioned by Byzantine writers of the tenth century, under the name oi Ῥῶς (Ros), dwelling to the north of Taurus [Mountains in Turkey], and described by Ibn Fosslan, an Arabic writer of the same age, as dwelling on the river Rha (Wolga [Volga]).”

Gesenius', Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament

Another scholar called “Clyde E Billington Jr.” states:

“Historical, ethnological, and archaeological evidence all favour the conclusion that the Rosh people of Ezekiel 38-39 were the ancestors of the Rus/Ros people of Europe and Asia. The Rosh people who are mentioned in Ezekiel were well known to ancient and medieval writers by a variety of names which all derived from the names of Tiras and Rosh. Those Rosh people who lived to the north of the Black Sea in ancient and medieval times were called the Rus/Ros/Rox/Aorsi from very early times. From this mixture with Salvs and with the Varangian Rus in the 9th century, the Rosh people of the area north of the Black Sea formed the people known today as the Russians.”

Clyde E Billington Jr., The Rosh People In History And Prophecy (Part Three) Michigan Theological Journal (Spring 1993)

From this evidence, Gog then is the leader of the Russians. Currently, the leader of the Russians is Vladimir Putin. Putin recently won another election as Russia’s president which will keep him in power for another six years.

We are not saying Putin is the Gog of Ezekiel 38 but he is certainly showing the same ruthless aggression and tactical intelligence that we might expect from Gog. Gog though may still be waiting in the shadows learning from the behavior of Putin as Russia becomes great.

In Ezekiel 38 verses 1-9 we read of Gog aligning Russia with other nations to invade Israel. Also with Russia are Persia (Iran), Etheopia and Libya (Northern African nations), Gomer (Western Europe), Magog (Eastern Europe) and the house of Togamer (the Turkic nations).

Tarshish as Britain

The British power is also in Ezekiel 38 but is not with the attacking force who comes against Israel. They are found in verse 13 under the name of ‘Tarshish’.

There are some very good Biblical and historical reasons for concluding Britain is Tarshish. Looking at the clues we get from the Bible we can see that Tarshish is a trading power operating in the region of Sheba & Dedan (modern-day Gulf States). We’re told that in Ezekiel 38:13. Also in Ezekiel 38:13 we read that there are political “young lions” - that is nations who are now independent of their ‘Tarshish’ mother lion. We, therefore, conclude that Tarshish is a colonial power.

From other parts of the Bible, we find that the Tarshish people are descended from Japheth & an area which is an island or coastal land (Gen 10:4-5). It is thought that descendants from these men immigrated to the far West of Europe.

In passages such as 2 Chron 9:21 Psalm 48:7 Isaiah 2:16, 23:1, 60:9 and Ezekiel 27:25 Tarshish was known as an ancient maritime power. Some of the oldest boats ever discovered have been found in and around Britain.

Tarshish was an ancient trading power who was active in global markets and in the past, it particularly traded with India 2 Chron 9:20-21. In Isaiah 23:6 we read Tarshish would take over from the trade of Tyre (Phoenicians).

From Ezekiel 27:12 we can see that in ancient times Tarshish was a source of silver, iron, tin and lead & traded with the ancient Phoenicians of Tyre. These metals are located in abundance in Britain and there is abundant evidence that they have been mined from ancient times.

When you piece all of these things together it would appear that only Britain fulfills the requirements of the Biblical clues of who Tarshish is.

Rosh and Tarshish

What does this Tarshish power do in Ezekiel 38? two points here:

Tarshish is on opposite sites to the Rosh power.
When Russia and her confederacy invades Israel the Tarshish power can only say “Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (v13). Although they pose this question it does not appear that any action is or can be taken against the aggression of Gog.

Therefore we can expect, in the time period of the latter days when Israel have returned to their land a distancing of the powers of Britain and Russia. We can expect Russia to be dominant and aggressive and Britain, although having the pride to verbally stand up to the Russian power, to not have the teeth to do anything to stop an invasion from Russia into Israel.

The events in the news we are witnessing indicate that these predictions from the Bible are holding true.

Bible in the News

On March 3rd this year a Russian lady called “Yulia” arrived in London from Moscow. She was there to visit her Father, Sergei Skripal.

Skripal was a former Russian double agent. Sergei Skripal was jailed by Russia for spying for but released as part of a spy swap between the US and Russia in 2010.

Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33 - source: BBC

According to the Evening Standard he had recently written to Putin and asked to be pardoned so he could visit his home country.

On March 4th, Yulia was in Salisbury, in the South of England and met up for a drink with her father Sergei. At about 2:20 pm they went to a pizza restaurant.

2 Hours later, they were on a bench outside the Pizza restaurant. A member of the public was calling 999 after seeing the pair in a terrible condition. They were showing all the symptoms of a serious poisoning and it was doubtful the pair would survive.

The next day Wiltshire Police declare what has happened as a “major incident”. Boris Johnson the UK Foreign Secretary declared that Britain would "respond appropriately and robustly" if Russia was involved.

On March 12th, the British Priminister, Theresa May gave a speech and revealed that that the Skripals were poisoned with a Russian-made nerve agent called Novichok, and calls on Russia to give a "credible response". She set a deadline for Russia to respond. They chose not to.

The prime minister said there were two plausible explanations “Either this was a direct by the Russian state against our country, or the Russian government lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.”

In a news report by the Guardian it was reported:

“May made clear that she believed there was already “a backdrop of a well-established pattern of Russian state aggression” – listing the illegal annexation of Crimea, violating European airspace and a “sustained campaign of cyber-espionage and disruption”, including “meddling in and hacking the Danish ministry of defence and the Bundestag, among many others”. She also spoke of the extrajudicial killing of terrorists and dissidents outside Russia and the murder of Litvinenko.”

After the deadline was ignored 23 Russian “undeclared intelligence officers” were expelled by Britain. Many other nations condemned Russia and expelled diplomats in solidarity with the UK.

May gave Russia a deadline to respond.

Britain has not shown their evidence that the nerve agent was Russian and this has led to some in the international community condemning Britain. Russia denies all connections with the attack.

The game continues though.

On the 7th of April the BBC ran a report entitled “Russian spy: Embassy request is tactic, says ”. The report came after Russia had asked for a meeting with the UK to discuss the incident. the report stated:

“The Foreign Office has described a Russian request for a meeting with Boris Johnson on the Salisbury poisoning as a "diversionary tactic". The Foreign Office said Russia's response had been "unsatisfactory", as it had been three weeks since Russia was asked to "engage constructively". The Russian Embassy said it was "high time" for a meeting on the inquiry. Current interaction between the embassy and the Foreign Office was "utterly unsatisfactory", it said. The Foreign Office said it would respond to the invitation for a meeting between Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko and Foreign Secretary Johnson "in due course". It said: "It's over three weeks since we asked Russia to engage constructively and answer a number of questions relating to the attempted assassinations of Skripal and his daughter. "Now, after failing in their attempts the UN and international chemical weapons watchdog this week and with the victims' condition improving, they seem to be pursuing a different diversionary tactic."

So as we watch with Bibles in hand we see that the Tarshish power and the people of the Rosh are indeed on separate sides as we would expect from Bible prophecy. As the great conflict of the latter days comes closer the pieces are being arranged so that the nations can take their place just as the prophets of old stated they would by the power of the living God.

The Kingdom of God

We are in the latter days. We are witnessing the formation of the nations as the prophecies of the Bible have predicted.

We’ll end the Bible in the News this week by quoting from Isaiah 2 and other events which will soon unfold on the world stage in “the latter days”. These are descriptions of the coming literal and physical Kingdom of God which Jesus Christ will soon establish on the earth when he returns to sit on the throne of his Father David and the Kingdom of Israel is once again restored. The signs are there to warn us and also encourage us that soon the reality of that Kingdom will be here.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war .” Isaiah 2:2-4

Saturday, 7 April 2018

The King of the South Contending with the King of the North

The division in the Middle East between the north and the south is been acentuated this week by a number of significant events around the world. In the United States, John Bolton has been appointed as National Security advisor. John is against the Iranian nuclear deal and is heralded as a great supporter of Israel. Ex-Israeli defence minister Shaul Mofaz today said in the past John Bolton pushed for Israeli strike on Iran. This quick change in the American administration follows the sacking of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Rex supported the Iranian nuclear deal, while his replacement, Mike Pompeo is adamantly opposed. Also this week Israel suddenly claimed responsibility for destroying a nuclear facility in Syria on the Euphrates river in September 2007. Why the announcement now? Most likely intended to be a warning to Iran about its nuclear facilities. There were also reports this week that Iran is constructing military bases in Syria near the Russians, in an attempt to deter Israel from destroying them.

Friday, 6 April 2018

War on the West: Russia’s Growing Threat to Britain & NATO

Latest Post The April issue of the Bible Magazine is now at the printer and highlights the escalating tensions between Russia and the West, and between Britain and the Autocrat Putin in particular. According to a headline in the U.K.’s Sunday Express:

“Russia on brink of WAR threat: Kremlin warns UK is walking a ‘dangerous’ and ‘INSANE’ path.”

And again in the same paper:

“World War 3: Russian jets’ ‘DARK MISSIONS’ over Baltic spark fears of covert invasion.”

The paper went on to say:

“The alarming news comes off the back of reports, Russia has been extending its military reach into northern Europe.”

An earlier article in The Times newspaper (now reproduced in the Bible Magazine) had the headline “Vladimir Putin is preparing for Armageddon.” Yet another news headline read: “Tensions between the UK and Russia are at breaking point. If things were to escalate to war, Vladimir Putin owns a terrifying war chest at his disposal.”

Current Issue of The Bible Magazine

As tension has escalated during the past month, Russia has issued warnings to Britain. For example:

“Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said the prime minister’s plans to sanction Russia, including its decision to expel 23 Russian diplomats from the UK, was extraordinarily dangerous. She warned Moscow was still working on retaliatory measures against Britain for the biggest such expulsion since the Cold War following the poisoning, which left Mr Skripal and his daughter critically ill.

“At a routine briefing, Ms Zakharova told reporters she wanted to comment on ‘the statements made by the prime minister of Britain in parliament with completely insane accusations towards the Russian Federation, our entire country, our entire people.’

“She said: ‘In connection with the introduction by Britain of unfriendly steps towards Russia, we plan to introduce reciprocal steps, without doubt... They are currently being worked on and will be adopted in the near future.’ “

Such warnings to the West by Russia go largely unheeded. This may not be wise because the Sure Word of Prophecy DOES tell us about the overwhelming power of Russia (the latter-day King of the North) and of his whirlwind invasion, when many countries will be overthrown—Daniel 11:40, 41.

Europe’s “Lukewarm” Support

The German Foreign Minister was less than enthusiastic in his support for Britain in its row with Russia. He said that it was a “bilateral issue” and that the U. K. “should clarify details of the evidence” that Russia had been behind the poisoning attack.

Another crack in the European response came when Bulgaria said that it will not expel Russian diplomats. There are now 9 EU states that will not support Britain.

A Development Foretold

Now the coming together of Europe and Russia was foretold in the Bible, and was commented upon by several of those who were able to explain its prophecies to their contemporaries. 150 years ago one of the most remarkable explanations of this development was given by John Thomas in his book Elpis Israel (published 1849). In his comment upon the Image prophecy of Daniel chapter 2 he noted the fact that this Image—representing the empires of men—is to be smitten and broken in pieces together (see verses 35 and 45). He wrote:

“The idea I would convey is well expressed by the prophet, saying, ‘The God in heaven, who revealeth secrets, maketh known to the king what shall be in the latter days’ (Daniel 2:28). That is, there will be in the latter days a dominion, ruling over all the countries mainly comprehended in the limits of the successive empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome; and represented by the Image as a whole; and which will be broken by a power from heaven, which will utterly destroy it, and set up an empire which will cover all the territory it possessed.

Title page of 'Anatolia,' written by John Thomas in 1854

He continued: “Now, there has never yet existed a single dominion, contemporary with the toe-kingdoms, and of course comprehending them in its jurisdiction, which could claim to be represented by Nebuchadnezzar’s Image. In order, then, to prepare for the catastrophe, the Image which is now in antagonistic parts, must be confederate, in other words, a dominion must arise before the setting up of the kingdom of God, which shall rule over these territories.”

In other words, he was saying that Europe must be incorporated into this future Image-empire.

In 1854 the author of Elpis Israel published another work entitled “Russia Triumphant and Europe Chained!” This was a detailed exposition of Daniel’s prophecy.

This was followed by many other Christadelphian works, all covering the same ground. For example in 1885 a Christadelphian newspaper carried the headline:

AN ANGLO-RUSSIAN WAR FORETOLD IN THE BIBLE.

THE COMING BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON.

So Vladimir Putin’s War on the West is no surprise to Christadelphian Bible students who follow the same path trodden by John Thomas well over a century ago.. The Bible Magazine has published several articles on the topic over the years—for example:

Vol. 17 Issue # 1 2003/4 “Russia’s Triumph over Europe.”

Vol. 21 Issue # 4 in 2008 “Russia Triumphant and Europe Chained.”

Today, as we see “Putin’s War on the West” taking shape again, we must realize that the prophetic word is sure and certain. There is no change. Russia will build up its image-empire as a preliminary to the fulfillment of Ezekiel chapter 38. The April issue of the Bible Magazine gives the background to this prophecy and explains where events are heading and how they involve Israel. You can obtain a free copy by contacting:

subscriptions@biblemagazine.com

or,

The Bible Magazine, PO Box 514, Burford, Ontario, N0E 1A0 Canada

This has been Paul Billington bringing you this edition of the Bible in the News.

For more audio like this and to visit the back catalogue visit http://www.bibleinthenews.com/Podcasts

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The American-Iranian Nuclear deal has brought strong criticism from Israel and the Arab states. Israel sees it as a threat to its existence. One of the outcomes has been the development of closer ties between the Arab states, answering to "Sheba and Dedan" of Ezekiel, and also the development of better relationships with Israel.

Headlines this week revolved around the historic agreement between the USA and Iran regarding the nuclear agreement.

President Obama proudly took the podium brag about his “peace in our time” nuclear agreement. Here are some of the excerpts of his deal:

Obama address the nation about the Iran Nuclear Deal
Today, the United States -- together with our allies and partners -- has reached a historic understanding with Iran, which, if fully implemented, will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon…. I am convinced that if this framework leads to a final, comprehensive deal, it will make our country, our allies, and our world safer.

Today, after many months of tough, principled diplomacy, we have achieved the framework for that deal. And it is a good deal, a deal that meets our core objectives. This framework would cut off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran will face strict limitations on its program, and Iran has also agreed to the most robust and intrusive inspections and transparency regime ever negotiated for any nuclear program in history. So this deal is not based on trust, it’s based on unprecedented verification.

Many key details will be finalized over the next three months, and nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed. But here are the basic outlines of the deal that we are working to finalize.

First, Iran will not be able to pursue a bomb using plutonium, because it will not develop weapons-grade plutonium. The core of its reactor at Arak will be dismantled and replaced. The spent fuel from that facility will be shipped out of Iran for the life of the reactor. Iran will not build a new heavy-water reactor. And Iran will not reprocess fuel from its existing reactors -- ever.

Second, this deal shuts down Iran’s path to a bomb using enriched uranium. Iran has agreed that its installed centrifuges will be reduced by two-thirds. Iran will no longer enrich uranium at its Fordow facility. Iran will not enrich uranium with its advanced centrifuges for at least the next 10 years. The vast majority of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will be neutralized….

Third, this deal provides the best possible defense against Iran’s ability to pursue a nuclear weapon covertly -- that is, in secret. International inspectors will have unprecedented access not only to Iranian nuclear facilities, but to the entire supply chain that supports Iran’s nuclear program -- from uranium mills that provide the raw materials, to the centrifuge production and storage facilities that support the program. If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it. Iran’s past efforts to weaponize its program will be addressed. With this deal, Iran will face more inspections than any other country in the world.

The ongoing failure of Obama to deal with Iran was made evident in an article in the New York Times, (April 3, 2015), commenting on the negotiations and the agreements that came out of them:

But as the talks hit one deadline after another, the administration had to compromise more. Instead of maintaining strict limits throughout the life of a 15-year accord, for example, it began to talk about keeping the toughest limits — the ones that would extend to a year the time Iran needed to produce enough nuclear material for a bomb — in place for at least 10 years….

The growth of the Iranian nuclear project has been substantial since Obama has been in office, the article stated:

“Iran had a few hundred working centrifuges in 2003, thousands when Mr. Obama took over and 19,000 now.”

Israel’s Response:

Israel is extremely concerned with this agreement. This is why Netanyahu came to address the congress a few weeks prior to the Israeli election, much to the chagrin of Obama.

Netanyahu gave Israel’s response to Obama’s agreement. It is clear and reasonable:

T
Netanyahu responds to Obama's deal as a threat
"to the very survival of the state of Israel"
his deal would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world and would threaten the very survival of the state of Israel. The deal would not shut down a single nuclear facility in Iran, would not destroy a single centrifuge in Iran, and would not stop R&D on Iran’s advanced centrifuges. On the contrary, the deal would legitimize Iran’s illegal nuclear program, it would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure. The deal would lift sanctions almost immediately, and this the very time when Iran is stepping up its aggression and terror in the region and beyond the region. In a few years the deal would remove the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, enabling Iran to have a massive enrichment capacity that it could use to produce many nuclear bombs within a matter of months. The deal would greatly bolster Iran’s economy. It would give Iran, thereby, tremendous means to propel its aggression and terrorism throughout the Middle East. Such a deal does not block Iran’s path to the bomb, such a deal paves Iran’s path to the bomb. And it might very well spark a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East, and it might greatly increase the risks of terrible war. Now some say that the only alternative to this bad deal is war. That is not true. There is a third alternative. Standing firm, increasing the pressure on Iran, until a good deal is achieved.

And finally, let me say one more thing. Iran is a regime that openly calls for Israel’s destruction and openly and actively works toward that end. Just two days ago, in the midst of the negotiations in Losan, the commander of the besieged security forces in Iran said this: “The destruction of Israel is non-negotiable.” Well I want to make clear to all, the survival of Israel is non-negotiable. Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a company which vows to annihilate us to develop nuclear weapons… period. In addition, Israel demands that any final agreement with Iran will include a clear and unambiguous Iranian commitment of Israel’s right to exist.”

Obviously Israel cannot accept an agreement with a country that is wanting to maintain a nuclear program, while at the same time vowing to annihilate it.

Another Israel official, Mark Regev, spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister likened the deal to the former US deal with North Korea:

“We see th
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev,
"Iran is much more dangerous"
is deal as very dangerous. We say this deal is a move in the wrong direction. If this framework actually becomes the basis, the foundation for a final deal with Iran, we see this like the deal with North Korea. You'll recall in the 1990s North Korea signed a deal, they committed themselves to non-proliferation, kept their nuclear program intact and when ready they proliferated, they exploded a nuclear device. Today, they threaten east Asia. Iran is much, much more dangerous than North Korea.”

Where the Arab Nations will stand

Not only Israel is concerned. The Arab states in the Saudi Arabian peninsular are terrified of Iran and are moving to protect themselves.

The alliances that are forming in the Middle East line up precisely with the picture of Bible Prophecy. The Bible clearly shows who is with the King of the North of Daniel 11, also known as Gog in Ezekiel 38:2,6.

“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, [RSV] Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him… Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.”

This is not our subject under consideration today, but these nations comprise Russia and the nations of Central Europe (Magog) along with France and Germany (Gomer).

Allied with them are (v5):

“Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet.”

The Biblical prophetical prediction is becoming evident in news. In an interview in Damascus this past week, (March 27, 2015), reported by Yahoo News under the headline, “Russia, Iran, Syria share the same vision”, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated about the war in his country:

“It's not only about Syria…. it’s about the future of the world. They want to be a great power that has their own say in the future of this world… they want stability, and a political solution. Syria and Iran and Russia see eye to eye regarding this conflict.”

Syria was part of the Assyrian-Babylonian Empire that made up the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s image. Following it was the chest and arms of silver of the Persian Empire (Iran), and finally Russia the clay in the Feet of iron and clay which will be broken in pieces together as is stated by Daniel 2:

“Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:35)

So all the elements of the image have to be confederated together in the latter day in order to be broken together.

However, there is also the “King of the South” powerbase spoken of in Daniel 11, and reflected in Ezekiel 38:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezekiel 38:13)

Many Bible Magazines, and Bible in the News articles have identified Tarshish the British and its former colonies including American, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India etc.

But there is also the “Sheba and Dedan” element. Sheba and Dedan were both descendants of Abraham through Keturah after the death of Sarah:

“Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan…” (Genesis 25:1–3)

Ancient Sheba covered the territory of Yemen, and it was from here that the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon. Dedan spread itself across Saudi Arabia, as is noted by Isaiah 21:13:

“The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.” (Isaiah 21:13)

These true “Arab nations” were also merchant traders:

“The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.” (Ezekiel 27:15)

“Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.” (Ezekiel 27:20)

“The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.” (Ezekiel 27:22)

At the time of the end they are confederate with the merchant nations of Tarshish and its independent young lions.

The Arab nations Response

What is very interesting in the fallout from the Iran-USA deal is the confederation of nations forming in the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. The Southern Arab states have been quick to criticize this deal between the USA and Iran. Obama was quick to call for a meeting of key Arab leaders at Camp David to try to placate them. In his speech he stated:

Today, I also spoke with the King of Saudi Arabia to reaffirm our commitment to the security of our partners in the Gulf. And I’m inviting the leaders of the six countries who make up the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain -- to meet me at Camp David this spring to discuss how we can further strengthen our security cooperation, while resolving the multiple conflicts that have caused so much hardship and instability throughout the Middle East.

One of the outcomes of the agreement between the USA and Iran has been a need for the Arab nations to work more closely with each other.

Saudi Arabia has launched air strikes into Yemen to ensure the Iranian
backed Houthi rebels do not gain a influence in the region

This past week has seen violence flare up in Yemen, as it has been under attack from the Houthi rebels, who have been backed by Iran.

Yemen, the ancient Sheba of Ezekiel 38’s prophecy is under pressure to become an Iranian proxy. Saudi Arabia, for its own security reasons, has intervened and is bombing the rebels and in the words of a Russia Today headline, “Saudi Arabia airstrikes pave way for ground invasion of Yemen.”

This past week the National Interest Magazine posted an article under the headline, “Saudi Arabia's Plan to Transform the Middle East,” which stated of Saudi Arabia:

“Between restructuring some of the country’s most important political and economic institutions and launching an unprecedented, large-scale military operation in a neighboring country on the verge of a civil war, we could be witnessing the beginning of a completely new Saudi way of thinking.”

The article went to state:

“A philosophical divergence, rather than tactical differences has emerged between Saudi Arabia and the United States over the past two years. That divergence led Saudi officials to warn about a “major shift” in how Saudi Arabia sees its relations with the United States. Saudis have begun to write about the need to develop their own military capability to deter any threat to their security, without having to rely on the United States whose priorities and commitments seemed to have changed significantly under President Obama.”

This shift will help build a “Dedan” that is able to offer a resistance in Ezekiel 38, along with the Merchant’s of Tarshish. It may also be one of the factors that brings peace into the middle east.

The New York Times, in an article entitled “Arab World Adjusts to Shift in U.S.-Iran Relations,” stated the following:

As Tehran and its clients around the Arab world celebrated the accord as a triumph of Iranian resolve, Saudi Arabia and its allies declared that the agreement had only reinforced their determination to push back against Iranian influence, with or without Washington. On the front lines of battles with Iranian proxies in Syria and Lebanon, some cried betrayal.

“The Saudi king decided his country could no longer bear the provocative Iranian expansive policy in the Middle East, or the American silence over it,” wrote Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist and former government adviser, in a commentary this week on what he called “the Salman doctrine.”

The New York Times reported, the concern with the agreement, as expressed by a Saudi diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, is:

“things did not change, the agreement addresses one aspect but not the whole issue of Iranian expansionism.”

The article reported the dire concern of the Saudi’s and other Arab states with Iran’s involvement in the region:

In Syria, where Iran has sustained President Bashar al-Assad in a proxy war against mostly Sunni Muslim rebels backed by the Persian Gulf monarchies, many in the opposition denounced the deal as a betrayal of Mr. Obama’s stated support for their cause.

Monzer Akbik, a representative of the Syrian opposition coalition in exile, said that the lifting of sanctions on Tehran would mean more cash to support Mr. Assad:

“If the news we’re hearing is true, that $150 billion in Iranian deposits will be released from banks soon, this will help Assad a lot,” he said. “We fully object to any agreements signed at the expense of Syria.”

Russia is trying to keep its claws in the thick of what is going on in the Middle East, as is evidenced by the letter Putin sent to Arab leaders, read by Egyptian President al-Sissi at a gathering of Arab leaders in Egypt this past weekend. The letter stated:

"We support Arab nations in their effort to ensure a safe future and urge them to resolve all emerging challenges peacefully without any foreign involvement…”

Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal accuses
Putin and Russia of hypocrisy

The response from the Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal accused Russia of hypocrisy:

"He speaks about the problems in the Middle East as though Russia is not influencing these problems…"

So there is a clear division between Arab states who are supported and supporting Iran and Russia and those who are siding with America and, surprisingly Israel.

One of the changes in with Saudi Arabia has been it’s relationship with Israel. Israel’s channel 2 News station reported:

“The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi air space en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary.”

Russia Today reported at the end of February:

“Israel’s Mossad and Saudi officials were said to be working on contingency plans that could have included an attack on Iran if its nuclear program was not curbed enough, according to a report. It was also revealed that the Saudis were willing to assist an Israeli attack by cooperating with the use of drones, rescue helicopters, and tanker planes.

So while the world contorts its policies to meet its own needs the angels are at work in bringing about the necessary moves that will set the stage for the great day of God Almighty, and the Kingdom of God in Israel that will be established as the outcome.

This has been Jonathan Bowen joining you for the Bible in the News.