Global SITREP C2-25: Superpower of the Eastern Mediterranean

 

Israel, Greece and Cyprus

UPDATED 18 December 2025: Most readers may have long since forgotten Global SITREP A6:16 which focused on the regional superpower triparty alliance of Israel, Greece and Cyprus. Just shy of a decade since the alliance was initiateded it has now officially established a joint Rapid Reaction Force (RRF).

The RRF initially numbers 2,500 personnel, 1000 from the IDF, 1000 from Greece and 500 from Cyprus. It will have a two-squadron air force, one each from Israel (F-35 Adir) and the Hellenic Air Force (F-16C/D); a surface and subsurface naval element, and multiple brigades of land forces to include special operations elements. The RRF fundamentally alters the military balance of power in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East as a whole.

A Rapid Reaction Force of this size is only intended to preempt kinetic enemy action or to serve as a trip-wire for the introduction of larger, more capable forces to confront an enemy.

21 December 2025: The wise are paying attention to the so-called rumors of renewed war against the Twelver-led Islamic Republic of Iran. They are not rumors, they are decisive Orders Of Battle (OOB) to eliminate the growing ballistic missile threat and the remaining 60% HEU the Twelvers possess.

In the much too brief June 2025 war Israel destroyed only those ballistic missiles deployed out of their protective underground tunnel systems. Those missiles which remained in the tunnels survived intact and operational. The war was forcibly truncated so that Trump could declare victory and "peace in the Middle East." Just because Trump said something was so doesnt mean it actually was so. 

The point here is that the surviving missiles are being renovated and upgraded swiftly with an emphasis on their warhead's destructive power over CEP accuracy. Renovated and new production are approaching a rate of 2,000 per month since September 2025. The bulk of the 60% HEU, and many centrifuge cascades, survived the US strikes on the Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan facilities.

According to IDF radio PM Netanyahu will brief President Trump on Monday, 29 December at Mar-A-Lago, Florida. The U.S. has a good idea of Israel's new OOB, and Trump has played down the Netanyahu briefing; he's not one to thoroughly walk back his declarations of total destruction last summer. Netanyahu is prepared to say that Israel's OOB is a go-it-alone plan; that the US can participate because Iran also threatens it in the region and elsewhere. The timing of a unilateral Israeli strike is on a short fuse.

Pray for the fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:34-39!

FINAL UPDATE 29 December 2025: As the world-at-large prepares to celebrate the arrival of 2026 AD with fireworks, parades, concerts, pageantries and parties, it will do so while ensconced in grand delusion. Global peace is not on the horizon, global war is.

Communist China has made clear to subdue Taiwan by force within two years time. Russia has no intention of ending its warwith Ukraine, the deployment of nuclear forces into Byelorussia (Belarus) is far from being a peaceful overture. Iran, according to the IAEA, retains the capability to produce multiple nuclear weapons. Iranian dissidents report the IRGC is also feverishly constructing biological and chemical warheads for its newly refurbished ballistic missiles. North Korea's "Rocketman" has nukes in abundance and nuclear submarines to deliver them from one end to the other of the Pacific Ocean's aptly-named "Ring of Fire." All of this is in addition to the simmering conflicts across Africa, South and Southeast Asia as well as South America. 

Sounds like a good reason to celebrate, right? But then, what happens according to Holy Scripture the world almost universally ignores as myth or fable? The wars erupt and a messianic figure and a false soothsayer arise and the thoroughly deluded masses of planet Earth shout "Peace and Safety, Peace and Safety!!" The world may hardly even notice the sudden absence of the Christians they love to hate, but they'll then dive head first in a feeding frenzy into the earthly wealth left behind.

Well, perhaps there is something to joyously celebrate after all - our soon and sudden departure to be with the LORD forever more.

Happy 2026!

Marana-tha!

Global SITREP E1-19: Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

TOP Image: Greek and Internationally recognized East Med EEZs
Bottom Image: Turkish unilaterally imposed East Med EEZs

UPDATE 28 December 2019: As noted in the last paragraph of theoriginal 3 December posting, there are significant issues to be addressed and they grow more critical day by day. 

On the front lines in the outskirts of Tripoli there are Turkish soldiers (supporting the GNA) in urban combat against Russian mercenaries of the ChVK Wagner Group (supporting the LNA). The Russians are the spearhead of the LNA offensive. 

The fighting has escalated in Tripoli and Misrata with the news that new deployments of Turkish Army troops, Turkomen militia from northwestern Syria, and ships of the Turkish Navy are enroute to join the battle. There they will oppose the Haftar-led LNA that has been buttressed by more Russian mercenaries, counter-drone technology, Egyptian armor and UAE UCAV aircraft. The Turkish military deployments are in response to the slow but steady advance of LNA forces westward. 

20 December 2019: Egyptian Navy has conducted exercises in the Mediterranean Sea that include submarine-launched Harpoon cruise missiles. The exercises simulate naval warfare against the Turkish Navy.

Egypt has also deployed T-72 tanks to Haftar's LNA Army for their offensive to liberate Tripoli and Sirte from GNA militias. The LNA has given a 72-hour ultimatum for the militias to withdraw from both cities. 

8 December 2019: On the sidelines of the NATO Summit in London last week, direct talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek President Kyriakos Mitsotakis failed to find a resolution to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ) crisis. No great surprise here, as the Greeks have noted to the international community, there isn't a neighboring country on any Turkish border that is not in a bilateral conflict with Turkey. 

By way of publication in the Turkish Government's Official Gazette and ratification by the Turkish Parliament, the Istanbul Accord, a maritime exclusive economic zone agreement between Turkey and Libya's internationally recognized GNA government in Tripoli, Libya went into effect yesterday to divide the Eastern Mediterranean Sea between them. Erdogan also announced yesterday that accord has been delivered to the United Nations by Turkey.

Greece, which views the Accord as a violation of its sovereign rights and having no legal standing in international law, expelled the Libyan GNA Ambassador Mohamed Menfi. Ambassador Menfi has until Monday to depart from Greece. 

For his part, Greek President Mitsotakis said the Turkish move in denying Greek sovereignty over its many islands has placed Turkey in "unprecedented diplomatic isolation." Greece has announced it will use military force to immediately halt any Turkish oil or gas drilling in the sea southeast of Crete. The application of a European Union sanctions regime against Turkey is also imminent.

3 December 2019: Last week Turkey and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, Libya signed a military pact that essentially divides the whole Eastern Mediterranean Sea between them. Eschatology Today will refer to this pact as the 'Istanbul Accord.' 

As if the Middle East didn't need another point of conflict that could spark a war between two supposed NATO allies (Greece and Turkey), the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a single stroke of their pen annexed a massive swath of the Greek economic zone. For their part the Greeks describe the Istanbul Accord as being "ridiculous." 

The Turkish action is noted in the Eschatology Today map above (click to enlarge). It is in the stripped fluorescent yellow portion. This map is based upon initial reports of the Istanbul Accord as none has as yet been published by Turkey or the GNA. The Turks claim their maritime border now extends from southwestern Turkey all the way across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Libyan coast line of Derna (Darnah) and Tobruk (i.e. all of the Libyan coast to the Egyptian border).

The Istanbul Accord pretends as if the Greek island of Crete and hundreds of other Greek islands going back into antiquity simply no longer exist. Greek citizens inhabit all of those sovereign Greek islands. Eschatology Today would liken Erdogan's Istanbul Accord to that of Adolf Hitler's 1938 military annexation (invasion) of the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland. 

The Istanbul Accord also involves Israel and Cyprus who are, as we've discussed here before, in a military alliance with Greece. The Turkish move directly threatens the proposed gas and oil pipelines between Israel and Cyprus to the Greek mainland and European Union Markets. This move also occurred just prior to the NATO Summit of this week, and alliance fallout is likely to be severe against Turkey, not to mention European Union anger at what the Turks have done. Current levels of EU sanctions against Turkey stand a very good change of becoming far more harsh. Turkey's status within NATO is also in peril. 

Additionally, the Istanbul Accord tosses a wrench into the Berlin peace talks scheduled for January 2020 between the two governments in the Libyan Civil War. Most international recognition is with the GNA Tripoli government led by Fayez Sarraj, while an assortment of other nations, including Russia, Egypt and the UAE are militarily supporting the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) in Benghazi under Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's leadership (whom we've also discussed previously). There are approximately 1,500 Russian Wagner Group mercenaries that have intervened in the war to fight alongside Haftar's LNA. Armed UAE drones also routinely bomb the Tripoli airport. The Istanbul Accord is likely to cost the GNA in Tripoli dearly in terms of international recognition.

The prophetic implications are obvious and numerous, touching on the fulfillment of Scripture from Daniel through Ezekiel. The issues between Turkey and Russia alone stand out profoundly so that clearly major changes will have to occur for the Magog Confederation to materialize as many interpret Ezekiel 38/39 indicating Turkey being part of that confederation (also discussed in-depth previously on Eschatology Today).

Global SITREP C6-17: The 3rd Trilateral Summit of the New Mediterranean Alliance

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last week, in Thessaloniki, at the third trilateral summit, signed joint statements for the continued strengthening of relations. YWN image.

Updated 3 July 2017: Without moving Global SITREP A6-16: A New Mediterranean Alliance forward by 16 months, consider this to be a continuation of that SITREP. An important re-fresh is always a good thing, especially this new geo-strategic alliance in the eastern Mediterranean in terms of Bible prophecy. To put it another way, these are quite likely three of the full number of ten toes we're looking for in last days prophetic fulfillment. They bridge the left and right foot of the image seen in Daniel 2. The importance of this cannot be understated; it is no accident this alliance has emerged within the past 17 months.

There are several OSINT sources for this update, but I have deliberately chosen the one published by Yeshiva World News last Sunday. The  published story is the text of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's statement following the third trilateral summit held by Israel, Greece and Cyprus in Thessaloniki, Greece. At the bottom of the linked YWN webpage is a video. Take in PM Netanyahu's words. Think about what Paul wrote 2000 years ago in 2 Thessalonians 2. No, this alliance is not any accident of happenstance. It is prophetic.

Elite IDF 'Egoz' commando training in Cyprus, June 2017.

Eschatology Today held back for some time, a week longer than Israeli media, in posting a report on this unique and now completed event. For us this is an early glimpse at how near-term prophecy-related events could and may very well occur. 

Two weeks ago approximately 400 IDF special forces soldiers from the elite Egoz unit, the elite Yahalom combat engineers and Oketz canine unit trained during the day and at night with approximately 100 of their Cypriot allies in Cyprus' Troodos Mountains and Paphos Forest. The elite IDF special forces troops which were selected to deploy for this exercise were not told in advance where their training would take place; they boarded IAF military transports in Israel and landed on Cyprus. 

Elite 'Egoz' special forces soldiers during a mission brief in Cyprus.

This exercise simulated a deep infiltration behind enemy lines. In military terms this kind of an operation is known as Enroute Mission Planning and Rehearsal Simulation (EMPRS). Once these boots hit the ground, multiple 'enemy' positions were assaulted, both above and below ground. The simulation mimicked probable future operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, or in Syria. This exercise undoubtedly enhanced and advanced the combat effectiveness and capabilities of the participating special forces units. Movement within the exercise 'box' was accomplished via ten IAF Blackhawk special operations helicopters and several C-130 'Shimshon' Super Hercules transport aircraft. The exercise will pay great dividends when these units are called upon to execute their real-world mission. This is the boots on the ground aspect of the handshake photo at the top of this SITREP.

Global SITREP A6-16: The New Mediterranean Alliance

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (center), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras shake hands at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on January 28, 2016.

Update 10 February 2016: This SITREP has to be updated with the fact that a brand new political reality, a unity of purpose, exists in Israel at this time. This is in every sense a tectonic shift of the political reality in the State of Israel to the political right. And that this shift comes on the heels of Israel's historic alliance with Mediterranean Sea partners Greece and Cyprus is by no means accident of history.

Both of Israel's main political parties, the rightist Likud and leftist Labor, find themselves in complete agreement that a two-state solution with the "Palestinians" is not attainable. This major political shift has come about through the rank and file members of the Labor Party, led by Yaacov Herzog, voting to change a longstanding platform of the party from one of being a solid backer of negotiating a "Two State Solution" to one of near total disengagement from negotiations with the PA because, as Herzog put it, "Israel is at war."  

At a time when the political left in the United States remains in total denial regarding the truth and costs of negotiating and cooperating with Islamic jihadists, the political left in Israel has finally seen, albeit belatedly, that the daily death toll of Jewish Israeli citizens at the hands of knife-wielding Arab Islamists is no longer a cost it is willing to bear politically.

The State of Israel now has the requisite political unity based upon the fact that the nation is at war and that the war must be fought and won before any further negotiations with the enemy can become a worthwhile endeavor. It is the belief of this Eschatology Today blog that a political realization of this exact kind is the first and most basic necessity for the prophecy of the whole Psalm 83 scenario to begin an approach its final fulfillment.

03 February 2016:  The fourth sentence of the Trilateral Declaration can been seen as the enlargement clause through which other Mediterranean nations can join these three nations: "Our partnership is not exclusive in design or nature, and we are ready to welcome other like-minded actors to join our efforts to promote coordination and cooperation, as well as regional peace and stability." Also of significant importance are the following sentences.

"We remain steadfastly committed to working together towards the enhancement of the bilateral relations between the European Union and Israel in areas of mutual interest and concern.

We stress the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation for the countries of the region. On the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, we welcome the role the Union for the Mediterranean can play to this end, as reflected in the EU Joint Communication on the Review of the European Neighborhood Policy of 18th November 2015."

The Trilateral Declaration, as an instrument of international relations in unity of purpose for the 21st century, is unique in that nowhere within any of its paragraphs is there any reference to the United States of America. The next Trilateral Summit will be held in Israel during the latter half of this year.

31 January 2016: This is another very important SITREP, having what I believe will be monumental prophetic repercussions in the Middle East and for the world at-large. Better late than never, I've been chomping at the bit to get this posted for three days now, but waited for any further important developments to become known before doing so.

The Trilateral Declaration of Israel, Greece and Cyprus was announced on Thursday. 28 January 2016 by the above imaged three heads of state representing Israel, Greece and Cyprus. The Trilateral Declaration is a geopolitical paradigm shift of immense importance in that it commits the three nations to act as one "in promoting peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Mediterranean and the wider region." 

From this moment forward whatever Israel does in the Middle East and the greater Mediterranean region, Greece and Cyprus will be integral to that action. This is a virtual economic, energy, diplomatic and military alliance between Israel, Greece and Cyprus. I, for one, cannot think of this paradigm shift with out thinking of the ten toes of the image in Daniel 2, the ten-nation confederacy of the Antichrist of the 70th Week, and all that stems from it in other Bible prophecies.

The alliance will be the facilitator of the immense wealth that is evident in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39, much of it in the form of hydrocarbon exports that will flow from Israeli and Cypriot fields of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea into Greece and Europe beyond. Think of the Arab oil boom of the 1970s and the immense wealth generated and transfer that image to these three nations for the immediate future. The strategic implications, regional and global, are positively mind-boggling as Bible prophecy makes abundantly clear to those who understand the literal sense of the prophecies.

The ink was barely dry on the Declaration, and harmonic echos of the public announcement were still reverberating when the Obama Administration, which has spent the past seven years alternately snubbing, insulting, ignoring, lecturing and in some cases betraying Israel in favor of Islamists in the region, suddenly came calling with a new set of demands for what Israel needs to do in exchange for more empty promises from the socialist American regime. The phrase "take a hike and hit the pike" comes to mind here as the diplomatically proper Israeli response.

This new alliance also is the direct result of the Islamist policies of Erdogan-led Turkey, as all three of the principles in the Trilateral Declaration have significant issues with that country. One need only look at a map of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to see what this means strategically for Turkey. All three nations currently have friendly relations with Russia, while Turkey continues to threaten shooting down Russian aircraft operation from their bases in Syria.

A new regional superpower is born: Israel, Greece and Cyprus

Did I say paradigm shift? Maybe I should have said a tectonic shift instead. Israel now possesses a strategic depth which it has never had previously, and appeared to have lost when Obama assumed the presidency of the United States. All of that is changed now, and all three countries, marginalized in geopolitical terms for the past several decades, are now to emerge as a dominant force to be reckoned with in the Mediterranean and Middle East region. No pun intended, but Israel, Greece and Cyprus now stand firmly under the Israeli military's 'holy of holies', its long established nuclear weapons arsenal. A new regional superpower has been born.

Global SITREP C12-15: Grexit Good For Israel?

6 July 2015: Is the presence of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in Israel today just coincidental to the Greek voters turning down another European Union financial bailout this past weekend? I, for one, highly doubt anything is coincidental at this point on The Prophetic Road to Revelation, and in particular when it involves the EU, Greece and Israel.

FM Kotzias has meetings with all of the key Israeli government leaders, including PM Netanyahu, through Wednesday of this week. That means the prospect of Israel taking on some measure of financial support to Greece is perhaps more likely than ever before.  

With Greece looking to the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for necessary financial assistance and to divorce itself (GREXIT or Greek Exit from Eurozone) from what FM Kotzias sees as a growing Euro empire ruled from Brussels and Berlin that is comprised of a rich north and poor south, the doorway to an important Israeli role in Greece's financial woes must be seen as a very attractive option to FM Kotzias and his boss PM Alexis Tsipras.

We'll be watching closely as this develops in the days to come. 

Global SITREP A12-15: It's Happening!!

UPDATE 9 March 2015: Today's update to this SITREP is purely to refute a recent article authored by Leo Hohmann that was published by WorldNetDaily (WND). Hohmann's article claims early on that "WND contacted several prophecy experts and Bible teachers to get their take on this phenomenon." I will now execute this refutation without the obligatory, in-your-face merchandising of agenda-driven, dubitable quality WND literary and DVD productions.

The first refutable point to be made is that Leo Hohmann's article, "Has antichrist ascended to world stage?," is condescending right from the get-go as he characterizes a great many dedicated Christian students, researchers and teachers of Bible prophecy in a most disreputable and diminishing manner. According to Mr. Hohmann these many Spirit-filled and distinctly learned personages of the Bride of Christ are merely "speculating" "prophecy buffs." This characterization evokes the notion that their important work in the Word of God is nothing more than an inconsequential abstract hobby. 

The second refutable point is that it has not yet dawned on Mr. Hohmann that none of the prophecy students writing about the sudden ascendancy of the new Greek Prime Minister have said anything of the sort that he is the antichrist, or that he will become the antichrist. What they have said is analogous to, "this is what the Bible says, and this is what I see, so let's keep an eye on this guy to see what happens from this point forward." This is what good watchmen do regarding the prophetic Word of God.

Thirdly, and to the contrary of Mr. Hohmann's non sequitur, none of his inferred "prophecy experts" actually are "prophecy experts." This is primarily due to the simple fact that no such thing exists as a human being "prophecy expert." There are men and women who can quote Biblical chapter and verse, but none of that guarantees a perfection of understanding and application of the proper hermeneutic exegesis. The Holy Spirit is the purveyor of such expertise and none of the "experts cited in Mr Hohmann's article have cornered the Bible prophecy market in this regard.

Fourthly, a brief look at Hohmann's three cited sources. First up is the WND headliner, the ubiquitous "Joel Richardson," a prolific ghost writer of prophetic eisegesis, and whose primary claim to Bible prophecy expertdom is a half-dozen or so unbiblical books, mostly published by WorldNetDaily, with each uniformly declaring contrary to the express Word of God about Greece (Daniel 8:8-9), yet with unequivocal certainty, that the coming Antichrist will be an adherent of Islam from Turkey. How's that for unbiased substance, eh?

The next cited "prophecy expert" is Pastor Carl Gallups. At first glance Carl Gallups is one whom I did not expect to see referenced in this article. At second glance, I see why he follows "Joel Richardson." His interpretation of Bible prophecy, which is available in another brand spanking new WND Superstore book, is especially egregious. This is especially true regarding his interpretation of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. (he says the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 was the Third Trumpet, meaning we all missed the Harpazo and we're now deep into the 70th Week!) Simply put, it is just trumpeting preposterous. It pains me to write that Carl Gallups is candidate numero uno to have to write a hundred times on the prophecy interpretation classroom chalkboard the text of Revelation 22:18-19. Make that two-hundred times. 

Finally, we have the third WorldNetDaily Superstore Bible "prophecy expert" Mark Blitz. Mark, according to Hohmann's article, states flat out that the new Greek PM is not the antichrist. Of course, Mark is correct, Alexis Tsipras is not the antichrist. Not yet anyway; we'll have to see how things unfold. However, I do disagree with Mark Blitz that being a 'watchman on the wall' is anything but a speculative waste of time, and I did not have to stay in a Holiday Inn last night to come up with that. Nor did I write a book about the prophetic significance of a sequence of blood moons interspersed with a solar eclipse when all the Spirit-inspired Word of God really says three times is, respectively:
 

"The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." Joel:2:31 NKJV

"The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." Acts:2:20

"I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood." Revelation 6:12

Most "prophecy buffs" interpret these verses to state that the Lord will break open the Sixth Seal during Gabriel's prophetic 70th Week (Daniel 9:24-27) and on one occasion, and one occasion only, the sun will become black and the moon will turn red. One time, not four times with a bisecting dark sun prior to the 70th Week. 

Prophecy experts? Negative, folks. These gentlemen do not even attain complete agreement with each other much less the majority of the rest of the Bride of Christ.

However, and the point of all this is that now I get it, I really, really do get it. I interpret this self-aggrandizing article is nothing more or less than an in-your-face commercial advertizement for WND book and DVD sales. This is hardly prophetic when it comes to WND, it's rather a very consistent matter of practice: they want your dollars for their commercial interests.

15 February 2015: This Global SITREP leads off with the current Mid East Prophecy Update video from Pastor JD Farag. The lead-off topic in Pastor JD's video sermon presentation is the current update topic subject in the Eschatology Today 'The Origin of the Antichrist' blog post - the new PM of Greece... 

 Alexios Tsipras (Cipras) Was Born: Tisha B'Av, Sunday 28 JUL 1974!

In the above video Pastor JD freely admits that he was at first dismissive of the political developments in Greece, but with sound counsel in the form of Emails and web postings coming from the Mainland (Pastor JD is in Hawaii) he became intrigued. As you watch this MUST SEE video (captioning included) you will learn why Pastor JDs intrigue was transformed to become the impetus for this video and why this SITREP is titled as it is. 

Also, Pastor JD references the NTEB website article (from whence the above image of Tsipras was borrowed) and information posted there directly linking the new Greek PM with the Pope and Vatican. I've already referenced my own discussion on this with Terry James at Rapture Ready. Here's a link to Terry's 2 February "Nearing Midnight" commentary "Antichrist Archetype Emerges." 

So let's consider, within the context of the Psalm 90:10 defined 70-year generation plus an additional 10 years defining a generation of strength, what is currently happening:

1) Just prior to Israel's 70th year as a reborn nation in fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8 we have standing on the various world stages: 

2) A strong candidate for Ezekiel 38/39 'Gog of Magog' leading a militarily resurgent and adventurous Russia; 

3) A charismatic leader suddenly assuming power in the prophetic nation of Greece and executing actions in his own name; 

4) This same newly emergent leader, acting as a candidate for the EU Presidency just a few short months ago, meeting with the Roman Pope to discuss a peace treaty for the Middle East.

5) The very real possibility in the near term of simultaneous multi-front war erupting on Israel's northern, central and southern frontiers as foretold in Psalm 83, Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 11.

Is there any question about the season we are living in? Is Jesus your Savior; your family's Savior?

Who is “Gog” and Why he’s NOT the Beast of Daniel’s 70th Week

Collective Security Treaty Organization

Организация Договора о коллективной безопасности

Update 19 September 2013: Four years is a long time between updates, nevertheless, this item is back to the top of Eschatology Today with an update.

In my assessment the CSTO is about to kick itself into high gear due to the very recent events which pitted the CSTO military alliance against a faltering NATO alliance over the issue of chemical weapons use in the Syrian civil war. While the world may see that confrontation as one of Russia versus America, I see it as a CSTO versus NATO confrontation because the charters of these organizations view an attack upon one member as an attack upon all members who are then obligated to join in a common defense.

As a direct result of these recent events a CSTO Council and statutory bodies meeting will convene in Sochi, Russia on Monday morning, 23 September 2013 at which the member nations representatives will sign numerous documents and agree to the creation of a CSTO Joint Air Force. The CSTO Joint Air Force will complement the already existing CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CSTO CRRF). One week later, between October 1 and 4, these same CSTO members will reconvene in Yerevan, Armenia for further tightening of the alliance in all areas of military cooperation. 

The key military function of both meetings is the CSTO CRRF which as of yesterday morning began a large scale military exercise on the territory of member nation Belarus. The exercise is known as "Cooperation 2013." The "Cooperation 2013" exercise will continue through September 27, 2013 and includes the CSTO CRRF contingents from Armenia, Belarus, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

It is my assessment that the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force and its newly integrated Joint Air Force will be the forces that are prophesied to march against Israel in the near future during the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38/39. It is these forces which will be annihilated by God and buried by the people of Israel in the Valley of the Passengers (the Valley of Hamon-Gog) east of the Dead Sea.

See also:  The Prophetic Road to Revelation (Part IV): The War of Gog and Magog

  

02 October 2009: Armies of Gog, The Chief Prince of Magog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal Initiate Military Exercises
 

The Russian-led military alliance of seven former Soviet Republics known by the acronym CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization), the counter-balance to the American-European NATO alliance, began large-scale military exercises today at the Matybulak training grounds in southern Kazakhstan.

The name given to this CSTO military force is "Collective Rapid Reaction Force" (CRRF). One of the CRRF's principle mission objectives is to wage war on Islamic insurgent groups on the territories of the member countries: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Just another nail in the coffin of the Gog is Antichrist shoehorned eisegesis.

14 September 2009: The overwhelmingly accepted Christian eschatological definition for the name Ezekiel 38 and 39 identified as “Gog” is that of a man who will be the chief prince or leader of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal and who is to come from the land of the Magog located far to the north of modern day Israel.

Eschatology Today and our sourced documents have provided the ancient historical records, themselves from additional multiple-sourced historical records, from which a firm eschatological conclusion has been achieved in determining that Magog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal are ethnically diverse nations which exist today within modern Russia to include the 46 oblasts, 21 republics, 4 autonomous okrugs, 9 krays, 2 federalized cities and 1 autonomous oblast of Russia; officially and internationally recognized as the Russian Federation, or within the increasingly totalitarian political confederation known as the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Let’s compare the above regarding “Gog” with my July 8, 2009 article “Origin of the Antichrist.”

A few excerpts of my research should suffice for this comparison.

“He (Antichrist) has always been an enigma, a man of mystery, prophesied to be of fierce countenance, a master of deceit and deception, of such unearthly evil power and charisma that by his mere presence all of mankind will be subdued and submit to his will.

The beast will be a man who ultimately will be wholly possessed by a demonic spirit ascended out of the abyss and identified by the name of Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in the Greek; a man of mind bending unconscionable evil destined to stand as Satan incarnate during Daniel's 70th Week. He is a man whose name John revealed in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 13 verse 18, would count to or calculate to the Greek alphabetical-numerical equivalent of χξϚ (chi-xi-stigma) or six-hundred, three-score and six. 666.”

Who among us is so bold as to declare, contrary to the Word of God in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, that the name of “Gog” must be given the same alpha-numeric value as the 666 assigned to the Antichrist? Only someone completely ignorant of the Lord’s admonition found in Revelation 22:18-19 would do so.

As I wrote and cited Scripture in the above article, all indications from the prophet Daniel are that the coming Antichrist would be modeled on his Biblical predecessor, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a man of a definitive Greek-Macedonian bloodline; that he would possess a might that is not derived from his own power; that he would exalt himself above everything, including God and Christ, and yet in the end he would come to his end without human means, as revealed in Revelation 19:20-21:

“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

To review what has already been covered in this blog, Gog comes from the land of Magog and is a prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Gog is a man who is from an ethnic Russian origin. Gog is killed in battle in Israel and buried in Israel in a mass grave in what will become known as the Valley of Hamon Gog. Gog has no side-kick or accomplice such as the False Prophet.

In stark contrast to the fate of Gog, the Antichrist is indwelt by a demonic spirit from the Abyss known as Abaddon/Apollyon. It is my absolute conviction that Daniel's prophecy informs us in no uncertain terms that the coming Antichrist will specifically arise from a Greek or Hellenic ancestry; that he will be a direct descendant of the Biblical Javan via one of his sons whose progeny populate Europe and most of the nations of the West. In his defeat Antichrist and his False Prophet are captured by Jesus Christ and are immediately “cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” This fate is entirely and wholly different than that of the human followers of Antichrist who are “killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of” the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OR LORDS, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The differences between Gog and Antichrist are exceptional differences. They are even more exceptional than the brief synopsis provided in this article. However, even these brief exceptional differences cannot be overlooked by anyone unless they are conducting eschatological studies in a manner not unlike the locomotive ability of some surface skimming water strider.

UPDATED EXEGESIS: The ultimate proof that Gog cannot possibly be one and the same as the Antichrist is found in the Biblical fact that Gog and his armies are IMMEDIATELY UNSUCCESSFUL in their invasion of Israel. Almighty God will personally see to that. On the other hand, the Antichrist WILL BE SUCCESSFUL and will stand in the Temple declaring himself to be God. Put another way, since Gog will be dead and buried in the Valley of Hamon Gog it will be literally impossible for him to stand in the Temple much less have an image of himself placed there. Therefore Gog cannot possibly be the Antichrist.

Global SITREP A5-13

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, 'Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?'" Revelation 13:1-4

31 March 2013: I certainly hope that this will not be the first time that you have read something which links the global institution of the United Nations with the military power of the first beast of Revelation 13. I've had this eschatological thought percolating in the back of my mind as a 15-year old in 1969, from the first time I read the Bible's prophetic accounts of the coming beasts global military power. 'How could one Satanically empowered man wield such power from his base in central Mediterranean Europe," I silently questioned myself, "the days of European colonial power are gone forever, never to return." Back then America was Europe's defender and champion, World War II had ended just twenty-five years previously and only the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics could pose a serious challenge to American global military power. But that was then, and this is now and the global military power paradigm has certainly changed. The prophetic players of the Book of Daniel and of Revelation are coming much, much more clearly into view as we get closer to the arrival of Israel's 70th Week, and in particular, the first 42 months of that week of years.

In the past couple of weeks the history of the Korean conflict has been front and center and that brought me back to how the United Nations could be the vehicle by which the Antichrist might exert positive control over the world's military forces from his base in the West. I remembered that the Korean War was not just a war between the military forces of South Korea and the U.S. versus North Korea and the People's Republic of China, but between the armed forces of the whole of the United Nations versus North Korea and the People's Republic of China, or more correctly, U.N. Security Council Resolution 84 versus North Korea and the People's Republic of China. Again, that was then, this is now, and a new paradigm is at play.

Back then the People's Republic wasn't part of the U.N.'s on-call military forces, Taiwanese China held that UN Security Council seat. And at this time the People's Republic of China, with its rapidly growing conventional and nuclear military capabilities is a major player. Back then it was inconceivable that "Red China" would ever place its armed forces at the United Nations disposal; they were enemies right? Wrong. The Chinese of today are an integral if not a key part of the United Nations ability to deploy "peace keepers" (i.e. combat forces) in any global hotspot. A hotspot like Cyprus, for example.

Did you know that troops from the People's Republic of China wearing UN blue berets are deployed on the line between Greek and Turkish military forces on the financial basket case of Cyprus. Again, Red Chinese troops are keeping NATO allies Greece and Turkey separated from each other on Cyprus. In fact, the commander of the U.N. military mission on Cyprus is Major General Chao Liu of the People's Liberation Army, and the U.N. forces he commands there are primarily Chinese, and this is how the Chinese are learning how to deploy a military force far from home at the direction of the United Nations. 

So, going forward into the future, at a minimum looking at the first 42 months of the 70th Week when the whole world will be under the sway and in awe of a satanically empowered beast from the sea of gentile nations, who will be able to make war with him who will have the ability to control United Nations Security Council permanent member nations and their world-class military forces at that time? Food for eschatological thought, no?  Keep in mind that those 'kings of the East' and the 'king of the North' will not be militarily aligned against the Antichrist until some point in the second 42 months of the 70th Week as I would say can be seen in Daniel 11:44. That time looks to be after the breaking of the "covenant among many" and the Abomination of Desolation.

Heads Up: Watch Greece

26 September 2012: Given Greece's important role in the prophecies Gabriel imparted to Daniel regarding the rise of both the precursor and ultimate last days Antichrist, watch Greece in the coming days/weeks for the enigmatic rise from obscurity of a pseudo-miracle working leader who will solve that government's (and then Europe's) abysmal financial crisis and imminent bankruptcy. 

 

The Greek crisis has the recently created coalition government completely stumped and has all but paralyzed the economy. Nationwide the transportation and public service sectors are basket cases. There is not a single major Greek city that is unaffected by the ongoing general strike. Given the season and the depth of the current crisis it would seem that conditions are quite favorable for an epic hero to arise.

Babylon: The Megas Pornē Riding on the Fourth Beast

19 January 2009: In my continuing in-depth research there is a considerable amount of Macedonian/Greek reference, in particular as it applies to both Antiochus IV Epiphanes (of Antioch, Seleucid Empire circa 167 BC) and a descendant of his, Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes, circa 70 AD, (a/k/a Antiochus IV Commagene as referenced by Flavius Josephus in his history "The Wars Of The Jews." These two, the latter in particular, were prototypical or templates of the coming Antichrist. The ultimate common ancestor of both of these ancient Greek/Macedonian kings is one of Alexander the Great's Macedonian Generals (Diadochi) named Seleucus. Seleucus founded the Seleucid Empire (one of four rump Empires carved from Alexander's Empire) upon the death of Alexander and took for himself the title Seleucus I Nicator, in a fulfillment of prophecy as foretold by the Hebrew prophet Daniel.

The currency seen above is the current Greek 2 Euro coin minted in 2002, which has a certain prophetic meaning relative to Revelation 17:1. It features the Megas Pornē (Great Harlot - one who yields herself to defilement for the sake of gain) riding upon a beast. The beast featured on the coin is not identical that the scarlet-colored beast of seven heads and ten horns of Revelation 17:3.