Prophecy Update 2001
New Year’s Eve
December 31, 2001
Introduction
Warning about “hype”
One of my concerns about doing a “Prophecy Update” every year is the temptation to find the one little bit of news that will make us all “ooh” and “ahh”. I think there can be a temptation among people who teach on prophecy to start making predictions. I’ve fallen into it myself from time to time. Our purpose is not to be making predictions, but to simply have our eyes open and our lives ready.
Jesus rebuked the religious people because they were unable to “read the times”
(Mat 16:1-4 KJV) The
Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would
show them a sign from heaven. {2} He answered and said unto them, When it is
evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. {3} And in the
morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye
hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the
signs of the times? {4} A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet
Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
We need to be careful that we are “ready”
(Luke 21:29-36 KJV) And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; {30} When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
The fig tree is often seen as a picture of the nation of Israel. Jesus may not just be talking vaguely here about fig trees, He may be referring to the establishing of Israel as a nation once again.
{31} So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. {32} Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
It is the generation that begins to see the fulfilling of the signs of the end times that will see the coming of Jesus. We are in that generation.
{33} Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. {34} And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. {35} For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. {36} Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
I think that Jesus is talking about escaping the time of the Great Tribulation that is coming on the earth. I think that our “escape” will happen when the Lord takes His church in the Rapture.
There are some people who have difficulty accepting the idea that the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation. One of their arguments is that those of us teaching a “pre-trib” Rapture are all going to be extremely disappointed and unprepared to go through the difficulties of the Tribulation.
First, what’s the point of Jesus saying we could “escape” if we aren’t going to “escape” the Tribulation?
Second, just because I believe and teach that we will be Raptured before the Tribulation doesn’t mean that I don’t think we will go through difficult times. I do not believe that a Christian will have a trouble-free life. I believe that Christians will be persecuted, and need to endure through trials. We even grow stronger through trials. But that doesn’t mean we are going to go through the Great Tribulation. Jesus said we could escape.
(Mat 24:45-51 KJV)
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season? {46} Blessed is that servant, whom
his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. {47} Verily I say unto you, That
he shall make him ruler over all his goods. {48} But and if that evil servant
shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; {49} And shall begin to
smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; {50} The lord
of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour
that he is not aware of, {51} And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his
portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We want to be careful that we don’t find ourselves getting lax and saying, “Jesus isn’t going to come back for a little while yet …”
I believe this is one of the fundamental problems with a “post-trib” view of the Rapture. Instead of living a life of being ready at any moment, there can be a temptation to wait until some of the events of the Tribulation occur before you get too serious.
We want to live our lives expecting Him to return at any moment. And for some, He is coming when the time of their death comes.
Europe
Daniel 2
King Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream. It bothered him. He commanded his wise men something unusual, not just to interpret the dream, but to tell him in the first place what he had dreamed. Kind of bizarre. But at least that way he’d know for sure if anyone really had a special gift or not. If no one could tell him his dream, they’d all die. Daniel found out and got his friends together and prayed. God answered their prayers and showed Daniel what the dream was.
Note: Parts of the book of Daniel are written in Hebrew, and parts are written in Aramaic. There is a reason for this. The parts written in Hebrew are directed at the Jews, while the parts written in Aramaic, the world-language of that day, are directed at the whole world. The parts we’ll be looking at are written in Aramaic.
(Dan 2:31-45 KJV) Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. {32} This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, {33} His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. {34} Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. {35} 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. {36} This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Daniel has now told the king what he dreamed. I imagine Nebuchadnezzar’s mouth must be open. Daniel proceeds with the interpretation.
{37} Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. {38} And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
The top part of the statue represented Nebuchadnezzar himself. I’m sure Neb was happy that his part was made of gold. In a sense, Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian kingdom was superior to others in that he was a complete dictator. There was no weakness in his government. Whatever he said happened.
{39} And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
The kingdom of silver would be the Medo-Persian Empire, which conquered the Babylonians during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, Belshazzar. The kingdom of brass would be the Greeks, which conquered the Medo-Persians under Alexander the Great.
{40} And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
The fourth kingdom was the Romans. They conquered the Greeks. They crushed the entire earth.
{41} And whereas thou sawest
the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall
be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as
thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. {42} And as the toes of the feet
were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and
partly broken. {43} And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. {44} And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. {45} Forasmuch as
thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that
it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the
great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and
the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
The fourth kingdom has two parts to it. The legs are described as being of iron, but the feet are made of a different material, a mixture of iron and clay.
It’s this latter part of the fourth kingdom that will be around at the end, when Jesus returns, the “Rock”.
There will be a form of the Roman Empire in power at the time of Jesus’ return.
There will be a type of strength to it, like iron. Yet there will be some weakness in it, like clay. Though there is a mixture, parts don’t “cleave” to one another. The weakness is in the clay, the human element.
I believe we are seeing this last world empire in its formation, taking place in Europe as the European Union.
There is the beginning of a hugely strong world-force, yet there is a weakness and fragility to it in that there is still some sovereignty among the member nations.
We will see the same picture in a vision that Daniel will have later in his life. This too is written in Aramaic.
(Dan 7 KJV) In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. {2} Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. {3} And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. {4} The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
This again is Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian empire. There is a reference to Neb being a little more human, after his experience of Daniel 4, acting like an ox for a while.
{5} And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
This is the Medo-Persians.
{6} After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
This is the Greeks. They conquered quickly, with “wings”. After Alexander’s death, the empire was divided into four parts, four “heads”.
{7} After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
This is the Romans. We’ll get more later …
{8} I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
This “horn” on the fourth beast is the person of Antichrist.
{9} I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
This is God.
{10} A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. {11} I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. {12} As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. {13} I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Jesus. Daniel sees Jesus, the Son of Man.
{14} And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. {15} I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. {16} I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. {17} These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. {18} But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. {19} Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; {20} And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. {21} I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; {22} Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. {23} Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. {24} And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
There will be two parts to this fourth kingdom. In it’s latter state, it will be composed of “ten kings”, and one of them will be the antichrist, who will conquer three of the kings.
{25} And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
The antichrist will be a great communicator. He will speak blasphemous things. He will come against the Jews, God’s “saints”. He will make changes in the laws. He will bring persecution for 3 ½ years.
The antichrist will come out of Europe.
{26} But the judgment shall
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto
the end. {27} And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most
High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve
and obey him. {28} Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my
cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the
matter in my heart.
We are seeing the birthing of this revived Roman Empire
It’s called the European Union.
It’s been in the works for years now, starting out as a purely economic collaboration. But it’s becoming much more.
Tomorrow, the Euro becomes the new currency of Europe. They’re planning to build an army. They’re planning on expanding.
From CNN.com:
ECB says euro will unify Europe
August 30, 2001 Posted: 10:17 AM EDT (1417 GMT)
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FRANKFURT, Germany -- The European Central Bank has officially launched the new euro single currency.
ECB president Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday: "In 100 days time the euro will be in our pockets, it will be our money -- a tangible reality and not just the virtual market currency that it has thus far been perceived to be by many, if not most, Europeans.
"The euro is much more than just a currency. It is a symbol of European integration in every sense of the word.
"In terms of economic integration, the euro is a symbol of successful enterprise and initiative which has crossed borders and removed barriers to people working, trading and living together.
"In terms of political integration, the euro is a symbol of stability and unity. Countries from a continent which, throughout the ages, has so often been ravaged by war, have together vowed to uphold the values of freedom, democracy and human rights."
He added: "In addition to the economic and political benefits which the euro brings, it will, I believe, help to change the way in which we think about one another as Europeans."
From Yahoo News:
Wednesday April 11 2:25 PM ET
EU Force Seen Ready for Small Operations by
2002
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union (news - web sites)'s top military planner said on Wednesday the bloc's planned rapid reaction force should be ready by the end of 2001 to conduct small peacekeeping operations.
From Nando Times:
|
World: ANALYSIS: Americans wary of European Union defense force |
|
By James Rosen, McClatchy Washington
Bureau
WASHINGTON (May 4, 2001
7:49 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Plans by the European Union to
develop its own 60,000-troop military force, while officially welcomed in Washington,
have alarmed influential U.S. national security figures who warn that such a
force could seriously weaken NATO.
For years, in conflicts
ranging from the Gulf War to Kosovo, U.S. leaders have urged Europeans to
shoulder more responsibility for keeping the peace on their continent.
But now that the
15-nation European Union has decided to create its own army within two years,
some Americans fear the move is an attempt to exclude the United States from
allied military decisions.
From Reuters.com
EU Fumbles on Afghan Force, Riots Flare
By Paul Taylor
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders disagreed on Friday over whether the bloc should create a peacekeeping force for Afghanistan as police turned water cannon and teargas on anarchist rioters outside an end-of-year EU summit.
Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, announced triumphantly that the 15-nation bloc had decided to create its first multinational force to police Afghanistan once U.S.-led military action ends.
Calling it "a turning point in the history of the European Union," he told a news conference that the force, to involve all 15 EU member states, would number between 3,000 and 4,000.
But other EU ministers lined up to contradict him, saying the bloc was in no position to organize any military operation and that only some individual member states would take part in a U.N.-authorized peace mission led by Britain.
German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told reporters: "Even if we wanted to, we
could not do it as we are not as far as we need to be with the (defense)
structures. No, no. This is an issue that will be handled in the (U.N.)
Security Council
Reuters Photo
From Guardian
Alarm at
superstate plan
Eurosceptics attack Schröder vision of a
federal Europe
Special report: European integration
John Hooper in Berlin and Patrick Wintour
in London
Monday April 30, 2001
The Guardian
A blueprint drawn up by Germany's chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, putting forward
a radical vision of a federal Europe, last night elicited an appalled response
from Eurosceptics.
It envisages a superstate
with its own unelected ministers, its own indirectly elected president and a
two-chamber parliament with full control over public spending.
From BBC
Monday, 11 June, 2001, 20:14 GMT 21:14 UK
EU 'to
proceed with enlargement'
Romano
Prodi said the timetable would not alter
The European Union has
moved to calm the fears of potential new members from eastern Europe that its
plans to enlarge have been derailed by a referendum in Ireland.
Romani Prodi, President of the European
Commission, said the EU remained committed to concluding negotiations by the
end of next year with the most advanced of the 13 candidates.
From FT.com:
European
Union sets course towards new era
By Peter Norman in Brussels
Published: December 16 2001 22:29 | Last Updated: December 16 2001 22:33
The European Union opened a new chapter in its history with a decision at the weekend to create a special convention that could lead to a constitution in 2004.
In a far-reaching declaration on the future of Europe, EU leaders set out their aim of bridging the gap between the EU and its citizens, calling on the union to become more democratic, transparent and efficient.
At its summit in the Belgian town of Laeken, 15 governments of all political hues, agreed that the EU "stands at a crossroads, a defining moment in its existence". Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian prime minister and summit host, said the declaration aimed to start a debate on Europe "with no taboos".
World Empire
Fox News, October 20, 2001:
Gorbachev: Anti-Terror Coalition Should Become Coalition for New World Order
MOSCOW — The U.S.-led international coalition
against terror must become a coalition for a new and fair world order if it is
to succeed, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said in an interview
published Saturday.
"If the fight against terrorism is reduced to force actions, the world will eventually lose," Gorbachev told Rossiiskaya Gazeta. "If it becomes part of joint efforts to build a just world order, everybody shall win, including those who today are not supporting the U.S. actions and the coalition."
The Temple
There will be a rebuilt Temple in the last days.
For years we’ve talked about how the Temple Mount Faithful have been creating the implements for Temple worship, making robes, and have been training the priests.
Things are kind of at a standstill for now. There is much concern over what the Muslims are doing as they are conducting secret digging operations on the Temple Mount.
World Net Daily
(March 23, 2001)
TROUBLE
IN THE HOLY LAND
Temple Mount
dig continues
Hundreds of
Muslims volunteering to excavate sacred site called 'illegal'
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Yisrael Caspi, of the Committee to
Save the Temple Mount, told the Knesset Education Committee the “desecration”
of the Jewish holy site by Moslem Waqf construction continues.
Caspi said hundreds of Islamic
Movement volunteers arrived at the site earlier this week to help in the
excavations. So far, the new Israeli government has announced no decision about
curtailing and restricting the operation, which, Caspi said, is being carried
out based on illegal permits granted by ex-Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Ha’aretz:
Renewed charges of plundering the Temple Mount
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Tevet 5, 5762
By Nadav Shragai
Extensive damage to, and plundering of,
antiquities at the Temple Mount are continuing and the police are turning a
blind eye to this, 23 public figures charge in a sharply-worded letter to the
prime minister.
The signatories include two former Supreme Court presidents,
Justices Meir Shamgar and Moshe Landau; the former state comptroller, Miriam
Ben-Porat; the writers A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz and Yizhar Smilansky; former
chief of staff Dan Shomron; Prof. Avi Ravitsky and prominent archaeologists.
They say that the police permit the entry of tractors and
building materials to the site, as well as underground construction and the
plundering of treasures by the Waqf Muslim religious trust, without supervision
and without inspection.
CNN.com
Israel unveils virtual Temple display
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JERUSALEM (AP) -- Deep in the cool recesses of the remains of an ancient Muslim palace, tourists gaze at a computer screen and find themselves transformed into pilgrims as they are led to the Jewish Temple destroyed 2,000 years ago.
The computer simulation is part of a new interactive museum that opened Wednesday just outside the Al Aqsa Mosque, which sits on land where Jews believe the remains of their two Temples -- one built by King Solomon and the second by King Herod -- are buried.
The sacred compound revered by Muslims and Jews is the most sensitive spot in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A dispute over final control over the hilltop helped derail peace talks and triggered fighting that began seven months ago.
The Mark
(Rev 13:16-18 KJV) And he causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in
their foreheads: {17} And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. {18} Here is wisdom.
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the
number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Worldnetdaily
Thursday, June 14, 2001
------------------------------------------------------------------
'Digital Angel' set to fly tomorrow
------------------------------------------------------------------
Beginning tomorrow, Applied Digital
Solutions will begin beta testing on humans an implant technology capable of
allowing users to emit a homing beacon, have vital bodily functions monitored
and confirm identity when making e-commerce transactions.
The first production run of
"Digital Angel®"
devices has begun, the Florida-based, NASDAQ-traded company has announced.
While the manufacturers of
the technology bill it as a potential lifesaver, others fear the advent of the
device threatens personal privacy – and even raises the ugly specter of the
Bible's "mark of the beast." Applied Digital Solutions,
an e-business-to-business solutions provider, acquired the patent rights to the
miniature digital transceiver it has named "Digital
Angel®." The company plans to market the device for a number of uses,
including as a "tamper-proof means of identification for enhanced
e-business security."
Digital Angel® sends and
receives data and can be continuously tracked by global positioning satellite
technology. When implanted within a body, the device is powered
electromechanically through the movement of muscles and can be activated either
by the "wearer" or by a monitoring facility.
Washtech.com
States Devising Plan for High-Tech National Identification Cards
By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 3, 2001; Page A10
State motor vehicle authorities are working on a plan to create a national identification system for individuals that would link all driver databases and employ high-tech cards with a fingerprint, computer chip or other unique identifier.
The effort by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which would take several years to implement if approved by state and federal authorities, follows disclosures that some of the Sept. 11 hijackers used false identities or obtained driver's licenses fraudulently.
LA Times
Dec. 19, 2001
A Chip ID That's Only Skin-Deep
Biotech: Firm plans to
sell implantable devices that can store a variety of data about you.
By DAVID STREITFELD -- A Florida company is poised to become
the first to sell microchips designed to be implanted into human beings, an
achievement that opens the door to new systems of medical monitoring and ID
screening.
Implantable chips have long been discussed by technologists and denounced by
those who object on religious grounds or fear their use by a totalitarian
state. But the company that did the test, Applied Digital Solutions of Palm
Beach, said the specter of terrorism is shifting attitudes. The direct union of
man and computer is no longer dismissed out of hand.
One World Religion
The Effect of 9/11/01 on Religious Tolerance. I am a little concerned with how our nation is trying to draw in the Muslims of the world in order to show that we aren’t “anti-Muslim”. I am concerned when I see a Muslim Imam on the stage of a prayer meeting along with a Jewish Rabbi and Christian leaders.
Gog and Magog invasion
I believe that one of the next things we’ll probably see happening is the invasion of Israel. I believe this could happen before the time of the Tribulation, perhaps before the Rapture.
(Ezek 38:1-5 KJV) And the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying, {2} Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, {3} And say, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal: {4} 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: {5} Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them
with shield and helmet:
Missler: Numerous ancient sources have clearly identified the classic "Magog" as referring to the Scythians, which were the ancestors of the true Russians. Among the allies, the lead ally is listed as "Persia" (Iran). The Empire of Persia also laps over into modern Iraq.
Because of these verses, there are several countries we ought to keep an eye on in the news. Russia, Iran, Iraq.
Hindustantime.com
Iraq will attack Israel if US threatens Saddam: Israeli intelligence
AFP
(Jerusalem,
October 16)
Iraq
will strike Israel if the United States threatens Saddam Hussein, head of
Israeli intelligence General Amos Malkha said Tuesday.
The Iraqi president
"will attack Israel if he feels the United States is threatening his
control of Iraq," Malkha told the parliamentary foreign and defence
committee, Israeli television reported.
The statement follows growing Israeli expectations of a US attack on the Arab country, but Washington has promised to warn Israel before any such action.
World Tribune
Russia 'can't allow' U.S. to widen war to Iraq
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, October 18, 2001
MOSCOW — Russia has already signalled its opposition to a U.S. offensive against Iran and Iraq.
Russian officials said Moscow would help Washington with the war on terrorism. But they said President Vladimir Putin would not allow the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein or Iran to become a U.S. target in such a war.
Moscow has sent weapons and troops to help the opposition Northern Alliance overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Russia has also agreed to U.S. troops and combat planes in neighboring Uzbekistan, Middle East Newsline reported.
Both Iran and Iraq are on the U.S. State Department list of terrorist sponsors. The Bush administration has been engaged in a debate over making Iraq a target in Washington's war on terrorism.
Moscow has indicated that this is where it would draw the line. Russia has emerged as an ally of both Baghdad and Teheran.
"We can't allow the United States to wield its club the way it wants," Col. Sergei Goncharov, a leading Russian military analyst, said. "We are on good terms with Iran. We have tremendous economic investments in and expectations of Iraq. We can't afford to sever all these ties in one stroke. I foresee a major debate along these lines."
World Net Daily
June 20, 2001
Russia preparing Iraq for war?
Hundreds of tank transporters delivered to
Baghdad
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Iraq has procured hundreds of tank
transporters from Russia in what Western intelligence sources have concluded is
a concerted effort to improve military logistics and respond quickly in the
event of regional conflict.
The intelligence sources confirmed
reports in the London Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat that hundreds of
Russian-made tank transporters have arrived in southern Iraq over the past few
weeks. They said the transporters were seen being unloaded in the port of Basra
and then painted in the color of military khaki.
Washington Post
Mossad Chief: Iran Developing Nukes
By Yoav Appel
Associated Press Writer
Sunday, December 16, 2001; 7:48 PM
JERUSALEM –– The head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said Sunday that Iran is pursuing development of nuclear and other non-conventional weapons but is sending occasional hints that it could someday reconcile with Israel.
Iranmania News
Rafsanjani says Mideast nuclear conflict possible
Friday, December 14, 2001 - 2001 IranMania.com
©2001 IranMania
& AFP
Photo/Behrouz Mehri
Former
president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned of nuclear conflict in the Middle
East.
TEHRAN, Dec 14 (AFP) - Former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani raised the spectre Friday of possible nuclear conflict in the Middle East.
Rafsanjani, speaking at the weekly Muslim prayers in Tehran, said that because Israel does not have enough soldiers to defend itself, Western powers had "provided her with unconventional arms of mass destruction, chemical and nuclear."
"The use of an atomic bomb against Israel would totally destroy Israel, while (the same) against the Islamic world would only cause damage. Such a scenario is not inconceivable," he said.
Rafsanjani, who heads Iran's powerful Expediency Council, said that "if the Islamic world armed itself with the same arms, then that equilibrium would be broken".
But "we do not want the world to fall victim to insecurity, and we do not want the confrontation ... to turn into World War Three. That is the worst that could happen."
World Tribune.com
Iran urges Egypt, Syria to confront
Israel
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Friday, August 17, 2001
NICOSIA — Iran has called on Egypt and Syria to stop Israel in the current war against the Palestinians.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi called on his Syrian and Egyptian counterparts to adopt what he termed "urgent and effective mechanisms" to stop Israeli attacks on the Palestinian Authority. Kharazi did not elaborate.
Iran does not recognize Israel's right to exist and has increased support to Lebanon's Hizbullah movement as well as to the Palestinians in the war against Israel.
ABC News:
WIRE:
03/21/2001 10:57 am ET
Iran wants grand alliance to drive out Israel
DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) - Iran said Wednesday it was seeking a broad alliance of Arab and Islamic countries to drive Israel out of occupied Arab lands, including Jerusalem, just as Hizbollah guerrillas drove the Israelis from Lebanon last year.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on a visit to Damascus that Tehran wanted to build on and expand the alliance between Syria, Lebanon and Iran that had backed the guerrillas.
BBC:
Tuesday, 24 April, 2001, 14:52 GMT 15:52 UK
Iran
warns Israel of wider conflict
All
Iranian factions are united behind the Intifada
Iran has urged the Muslim
world to rally behind the Palestinian uprising, warning Israel that it risks a
wider confrontation.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, said Israel should be squeezed both economically and politically.
He was speaking at a conference in Tehran in
support of the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, attended by delegates from
some 35 Muslim and Arab states.
"Supporting the Palestinian people is
one of our important Islamic duties," he said.
Washington Post:
Israel Calls Iran 'Biggest
Threat'
By Barry Schweid
AP Diplomatic Writer
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001; 12:21 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON –– Iran is the biggest terrorist threat in the Middle East and
receives critical support from Russia for its nuclear weapons program, an
Israeli Cabinet minister said Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted in an American television interview taped Monday in the Kremlin that Russia was not providing dangerous weapons technology to Iran. He called such suspicions a "legend," or fable.
But Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli general and now transportation minister, said he was certain "the central support for the Iranian nuclear project is provided by Russia."
The Moscow Times
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2001. Page 4
Russia Building 2nd Iran Reactor
By Alla Startseva
Staff Writer
Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov.
Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov on Tuesday dismissed as "all politics" staunch U.S. opposition to Russia building a nuclear reactor in Iran and announced that work on a second one was already under way.
"There is not a single piece of evidence that we are helping or might help Iran strengthen nuclear weapons potential," Adamov said at a press conference.
He said that construction of the first 1,000-megawatt reactor at the Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr, which began in 1995, is 90 percent completed.
The reactor is expected to be fully operational by 2003, when Iran is due to pay Russia $800 million, according to the agreement.
Iran already has two small research reactors of its own, but the Bushehr reactor would be Iran’s first powerful enough to produce weapons-grade plutonium — the reason the United States says it opposes the project.
World Tribune.com
Iran to buy cruise missiles
from Russia
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
LONDON — Iran plans to obtain ship-born cruise missiles from Russia. Industry sources said the Russian government has agreed to sell the Yakhont cruise missiles to Iran as part of a huge deal now being negotiated between Moscow and Teheran. Estimates of the price for the package range up to $7 billion, Middle East Newsline reported.
Geostrategy-Direct.com reported in its April 17 edition that likely customers for new version of the SSN-26 anti-ship cruise missile include the Chinese military which is intensely interested in anti-ship cruises missiles, especially those capable of sinking U.S. aircraft carriers.
The missiles use stealth technology, supersonic speed and an advanced fire and forget precision targeting system. They can be launched from coastal patrol boats, ships, submarines and ground launchers. They have a range of 186 miles and fly some 15 to 50 miles before dropping down to an altitude of as low as 15 feet from the water surface before delivering a 553-pound warhead to its ship target, according to Geostrategy-Direct.com.
U.S. officials said the Bush administration is concerned by the sale of the Yakhont. They said the missile could threaten U.S. naval vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz.
World Tribune.com
Russia close to major arms deals with Iran, Libya
SPECIAL TO WORLD
TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, August 27, 2001
MOSCOW — Russia is in the final stages of concluding major weapons agreements with both Iran and Libya.
Russian officials said both countries have drafted an accord for the sale of weapons to Iran, Middle East Newsline reported. The accord is being examined by the government in Moscow for final approval.
Russia's defense industry sets sights on Libya