“You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” (Matthew 24:6)
Right now Turkey and Syria are at war. Erdogan of Turkey wants Syria ‘lock stock and barrel.’ He will not settle for anything less. Erdogan wants it all for the Caliphate. Assad wants to control all of Syria and not share it with anyone else. Russia is waiting in the sidelines most likely to see how things will pan out. Turkey and Russia have economic ties through TurkStream, the new export gas pipeline stretching from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea. The first of the pipeline’s two strings is intended for Turkish consumers, while the second one is delivering gas to southern and south-eastern Europe. Then you have Russia selling the S-400 Missile systems to Turkey in 2019. Last month Turkey announced that it would activate the Russian S-400 missile systems.
As I was writing this post it was reported this morning that a cease-fire of sorts was apparently brokered by Presidents Erdogan and Putin which supposedly, at least for the time being, will see the cessation of hostilities between Turkey and Syria. It would seem the man from Turkey has back tracked his ‘invasion’ but I think he is biding his time.
In Islam in a time of Jihad a Muslim can practice Taqiyya, the Islamic art of lying or a form of deception and a spreading of disinformation in a time of Jihad. A Muslim can be subservient when it is convenient for them when they do not have the upper hand but as soon as they gain the upper hand they strike with the deadly swiftness of a poisonous adder!
While Presidents Erdogan and Putin seem to have come to a peace agreement of sorts will Assad back down or continue his relentless pursuit to have all of Syria to himself? Will Assad continue to kill and maim innocent civilians? I am inclined to think that when the time comes that Turkey has the upper hand that it will invade Syria and somehow Russia will not intervene.
Erdogan of Turkey is also seeking the support of its NATO ally America to assist Turkey in its military campaign against the Assad regime. At present America seems to be taking a back seat. A confrontation with Russia is something the American government does not want. Ironically, it was the Americans who took out Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Could it be that the Americans will be the ones to take out Assad? I don’t think it will happen this time because Afghanistan at present is on the agenda for the United States government.
What about Afghanistan after the American’s leave? Who will ultimately fill the vacuum? It will no doubt be Islam as the Taliban are not going to go away anytime soon and cannot be trusted. As for Syria, Isaiah the prophet said a time would come when Damascus would become “a ruinous heap.” (Isaiah 17:1) Some think possibly the Israelis will take out Damascus as they have been conducting air strikes on Iranian backed Syrian forces in Syria. More likely it will be Turkey that will take out the Assad regime with Russia looking on because of its economic ties with Turkey mainly through their joint TurkStream Pipeline.
Having said this we cannot do away with the fact that Russia might go to war with Turkey in the future. It has happened before in history. Turkey is Muslim at its roots while Russia has Russian Orthodox Christianity at its roots. Biblically it is in reality a North/South conflict as we see prophesied in the Book of Daniel. (Daniel 11:40) Erdogan wants to see the Turkish Ottoman Empire resurrected and spread throughout the entire middle-east and expand into Europe.
Look at the refugees in Syria being pushed by Assad to the border with Turkey while refugees already living in Turkey are being pushed towards Greece. The reality of this situation is that if Turkey pushes the refugees into Greece with the support of the European Union I might add, it will be increasing the Islamic invasion of Europe which has already started. Is this refugee situation an economic issue for Turkey or a much more sinister and diabolical plan to have an Islamic ‘Trojan Horse’ in the heart of Europe that will ultimately rally to the cause of the Turkish Caliphate?
There are other ‘hot spots’ that could flare up at any time. In the Straits of Hormuz 50% of the world’s oil supplies sail down this narrow waterway. It is a possible site for a conflict between Iran and the United Arab Emirates over oil. Already there has been intervention by USA, British, Australian and South Korean naval vessels in the straits to keep the peace, if that is ultimately possible.
Then you have the presence of China in the South China Sea causing huge ‘waves’ of discontent from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines that are suspicious of China’s expansionist agenda in the South Pacific region north of Australia. In North Korea Kim Jong-un continues to test missiles. Indeed today we see a sharp escalation of armed conflict between nations and ethnic groups within nations. (Matthew 24:7) Then you have Israel being threatened by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran and the militancy of the ‘Palestinian’ Arabs.
Yes, we are hearing and seeing wars and rumours of wars and nation rising against nation and ethnic conflicts within nations. These ‘birth pains’ have been with us for centuries but in these last days they are escalating in intensity and frequency indicating that the birth of the Messiah’s kingdom on earth is about to become a reality in the not too distant future.
So then as believers in our Lord Jesus let’s keep looking upwards because our redemption is drawing near, keeping in mind the time of great tribulation that lies ahead for Israel, for Christendom and for the whole world for that matter, and that “the end is still to come.”
