Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
– EZEKIEL 1:1
As a nation, we have become more polarized than ever. Seemingly gone are the days of “agreeing to disagree.” Instead, we have adopted a “cancel culture” where once reasonable opinions were allowed, and in some instances encouraged, they are now singled out and condemned when they don’t agree with the radical liberal agenda. Now, a difference of opinion, unmet with a groveling apology, or bended knee can lead to one’s expulsion from civil society. People and businesses are boycotted and, in some cases, literally shut down. Just consider biased media outlets and those that are politicizing the COVID-19 crisis to benefit their political agendas. Know this—the longer the pandemic drags on closer to the 2020 elections, the better the campaign chances for the socialist democrats.
This is not to discount the devastating threat or effect of this pandemic—but simply to challenge our response to it. It appears COVID-19 was hijacked from the start through inflated and draconian projections of infection and deaths, creating havoc, fear, and hopelessness in the hearts of the American people. Pandemics are not new.
Some may remember the Hong Kong flu pandemic of September 1968. The estimated number of deaths was 1 million worldwide and approximately 100,000 in the US. Most deaths were among people sixty-five years and older. That virus (H3N2) continues to circulate worldwide as the seasonal influenza A.
In response to the Hong Kong pandemic, nations ran business as usual without isolations, restrictions, or the shutdown of their economic engines. The world kept turning and life was relatively normal; why was the response to COVID-19 so radically different?
Could it be that the global community is now conditioned to accept all they hear as absolute truth—no matter the source?
As a whole, untainted journalism in America has died. Truth is ignored in the blinding lust for sensational headlines. No matter if innocent people are destroyed, if impeccable reputations are ruined, if promising careers are crushed or worldwide pandemonium breaks out, causing businesses to fail, family farms to shut down, and supply and demand to halt—print the story! Mark R. Levin, author and news commentator, has written,
I often wonder what Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, John Adams, George Mason, Benjamin Franklin and the other Founders would think about today’s America....Surely, they would object. What will the future hold for our children and grandchildren? What will be left of our constitutional system? Will the Bill of Rights have the force of law?...How many will remember or care to learn about our founding principles, as concisely and brilliantly set forth in the Declaration of Independence? What of civil society? Will it have frayed beyond repair? Will we have been conquered from within, as Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Story, and Abraham Lincoln feared might be our fate? Will we have avoided the doom of Athens and Rome? If we are honest with ourselves, we must agree that the outcome is unclear.
A GEOPOLITICAL SNAPSHOT
For years there has been an aligning of Gentile nations in preparation for the tribulation period. The Kingdom of the West will be led by the Antichrist and comprised of a ten-king federation—the final form of the revived Roman Empire. Russia and her allies will make up the Northern Kingdom; the Eastern Kingdom will include China and its confederacy; and the Southern Kingdom will consist of radical Islamic nations whose common denominator is their absolute hatred of Israel.
The actions of these four neo-axis powers are plainly referred to in Scripture and represent one of the major themes of prophecy. All these major players are rapidly moving into place. Most have nuclear weapons, and all are focused on Israel and the Middle East.
On the world front, we turn to North Korea, defended by China, courted by South Korea, and led by Kim Jong-un. In February 2019, President Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a historic summit in Vietnam. The United States displayed a willingness to extend a hand to North Korea, if the regime would adopt the so-called “Libya model” to end its weapons of massive destruction programs.
Under this approach, the regime would engage in the full “dismantling [of] their nuclear infrastructure,” including their chemical and biological warfare programs, ballistic missiles, launchers. The North Koreans rejected the proposal outright and abruptly ended the meeting.
Despite his willingness to meet with America, Kim Jong-Un has not changed his agenda. He is just pulling a page out of thetactical propaganda journals used by Hitler, Yasser Arafat, and now President Hassan Rouhani of Iran—and that is: tell the world what they want to hear and continue planning for its destruction.
Concerning Iran: Make no mistake, regardless of President Trump’s reinstatement of economically suffocating sanctions, Iran remains a terror state whose citizens are programmed to swarm the streets shouting, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
In fact, Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, continues to threaten Israel and its allies. In a tweet rampage dated late May 2020, the Ayatollah once again compared Israel to a “cancerous tumor” and the deadly coronavirus. He called for the nation [Israel] to be “uprooted and destroyed.” Furthermore, Khamenei warned against the west who he believes has, “stemmed the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions and stated mission to destroy Israel.”
The Ayatollah is ingrained in the principles of Khomeinism, that declares, “We shall export our revolution to the whole world, until the cry, ‘There is no god but God [Allah] resounds over the whole world, there will be a struggle.’” As Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu so aptly concluded, “The Nazi’s believed in a master race. Militant Islamists believe in a master faith.”
Iran’s aspiration is to export their Islamic Revolution throughout the Middle East and the world, via their backing of proxy terrorist organizations. The war with radical Islam that intensified after 9/11 has only just begun. America and the West cannot let their guard down, because nations like Iran will not relent until the world is under its extreme Islamic rule.
In Europe, on one end of the spectrum, you have the British government, who recognized that Iran has engaged in the “systematic non-compliance” of the JCPOA. Accordingly, under the leadership of conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain has expressed a desire to see Europe’s Iran nuclear agreement replaced with the “Trump Deal.”
On the other end, the French and the European Commission have consistently sought to resuscitate the flawed Iran nuclear agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron went so far as to unilaterally invite Iran’s foreign minister to a 2019 meeting of the G7. The other signatories to the Iran Deal, Germany, China and Russia, presently remain party to the agreement—but with varying levels of interest in maintaining it.
As I stated, since withdrawing from the Iran nuclear accord, the US has steadily increased sanctions against key Iranian industries, entities, and individuals associated with the regime’s leadership nuclear weapons programs, and terrorist support. In addition, America has vigorously responded to Iran’s use of proxy terrorist organizations which seek to destroy our nation and its allies.
In January of 2020, the US conducted an airstrike killing Maj. Gen Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Soleimani oversaw Iran’s effort to back terrorist groups like Hezbollah and other Shiite extremists. He was the architect of the strategy behind Iran’s anti-Western war of terror. As President Trump noted after the successful attack, Soleimani is “directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people.”
For Russia and China, addressing the dispute over Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions is not about curtailing that ambition, but rather manipulating the situation to their own countries’ geo- political benefit.
Fundamentally, Chinese foreign policy reflects their engagement in a “zero-sum” geopolitical game with the West, where one state can only make gains if others lose. In the Middle East, this plays out in China’s efforts to engage the region economically. In fact, the Chinese have become “the biggest trade partner and external investor for many countries in the region.” This economic power is translating into security influence over the Middle East. A prime example, was the Chinese government being “instrumental in persuading Tehran to sign the Iran nuclear deal.”
The rivalry between the US and China functions in all arenas, including military expansion, space exploration, economic growth, technological advancements, strategic and security alliances, and within political and cultural models. International advisors have even gone as far as recommending that the US accept China’s rise to power, allowing them a greater say in the shaping of global rules. In late May of 2020, General Jack Keane asserted that Chinese president Xi had “weaponized the spread of the coronavirus around the world to destroy Western democracies’ economies and stifle its competition.”
China has vowed not to seek international domination, even though President Xi declared he intends to “fully dominate the Sino-Pacific region.” Few are aware of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which covers much of the world. This project currently links China with more than 138 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania through trade and infrastructure projects, such as shipping lanes, railroads, and airports.
To accomplish its goal of stronger international ties, China is lending vast amounts of money to participating nations, totaling 18 trillion dollars. This endeavor sounds progressively innovative, yet America views this initiative as a direct challenge to its own supremacy.
Supporters believe BRI is an opportunity for China to strengthen connections by investing in emerging markets. On the other hand, critics contend, “It is a way for China to use money to leverage political gains and increase its global power.” By generating these loans, China is engaging in “debt-trap diplomacy,” which is the strategy of “extracting political concessions out of a country that owes it money.”
The Belt and Road Initiative is made up of two parts: the “belt,” which recreates the old Silk Road land route, and the “road,” which is a route through various oceans. It is interesting to note that the Silk Road was an ancient land route across Europe and Asia that connected traders and travelers from regions like China, Persia, and the Roman Empire, nations representing some of the major players in the Final Game of Thrones.
America and China, the world’s two largest economies and military powers, are headed for a major conflict—primarily because of the US-China economic trade wars, the coronavirus catastrophe, and the clash concerning Hong Kong’s endangered capitalistic autonomy. Such a confrontation would cripple the already fragile global order, like what took place after the First World War— “the war to end all wars”— when international order disappeared altogether.
Russia, under the cunning leadership of former KGB officer Vladimir Putin, is methodically rebuilding the international power and prestige once associated with the former USSR. Central to Putin’s efforts is the need to remain in total control of the region. To that end, Putin advanced constitutional changes in Russia enabling him to continue to seek re-election, guaranteeing that he could retain power through 2036.† Putin wants Russia to be a superpower again, and to America and Israel’s detriment, a key component of his efforts revolves around the Middle East.
But why is Russia interested in Israel?
