That is quite an array of promises, but the link below notes that “what good is it?” if Iran launches a nuclear first strike againat Israel’s tiny nation and destroys it. What good is an excellent second strike capacity if there is no Israeli nation left to save? Also, if Obama actually tried to transfer F-22 Raptors to the Israelis from America’s already small inventory of them and transferred boomer and attack nuclear subs from the US Navy to the Israeli Navy, I think there would be “hell to pay” with the US Congress and Pentagon over any such offer.

Also, if the Israeli nation was attacked or destroyed in an Iranian first strike, does anyone think NATO would actually go to war against Iran to save the Israelis? Not likely. NATO nations are planning on disarming their militaries and are losing the ability to defend themselves. A NATO “guarantee” is getting less meaningful with each passing year.

Oddly, if this report is true, this puts President Obama in the role of trying to protect Iran from an Israeli strike—a position that I cannot see any previous American President taking. If the American voters were aware of this effort by Obama to protect Iran against an Israeli strike while robbing the US military of some of its own major assets, millions of voters might start asking an embarrassing question: Whose side is Obama on?

Supporters of the Israelis need not fear the Israeli nation will be destroyed. God promises in Zechariah 12:1-7 that he will not permit that to happen.

http://www.debka.com/article/8990/

This is openly threatening language from China toward its neighbors. The article below also mentions President Obama’s weakness in “accommodating” Chinese demands about where such naval maneuvers can be conducted. Obama likely doesn’t comprehend that each time he acts weakly and submits to Chinese demands, he is “losing face” all over Asia (and the world). Obama’s weakness as a leader is clearly emboldening China to act more like a bully toward its neighbors. If Obama had told China that the US Navy will conduct exercises in international waters anywhere it wants and ignored Chinese grumblings, Obama would have demonstrated resolve, but he was unable to do so. Obama’s weakness as a national leader gives China more ammunition to intimidate its neighbors. Unless Obama finds his backbone soon, he may risk losing the confidence of America’s allies and nations (like Vietnam) who are at least considering joining an anti-Chinese alliance.

Did any readers see reports in the mainstream media reporting about Obama’s weakness in dealing with China? I surely didn’t see a single such report. America badly needs strong leadership at this time of unprecedented national peril. Unfortunately we don’t have a strong leader, and we also have a weak, very unpopular Congress. It’s time for a major housecleaning in the American Congressional elections this November! Isaiah 3:2-5 warns that when nations disobey God, God will take away strong, mature leaders from those nations and replace them with weak, childish ones. America has been steadily abandoning God and his laws over the last few decades, and we now have the kind of leadership God promised that disobedient nations would have.

Let’s hope lots of Americans are praying II Chronicles 7:14. We badly need Divine help to return America to its past strength and national character.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/the-china-post/frank-ching/2010/08/25/270009/China-warns.htm

China states that its refusal to ship these rare metals is due to its sudden concern for the environment. Anyone who believes this statement is also likely shopping for ocean-side land in Nebraska. China clearly had a long-term national policy to drive the rest of the world’s rare-earth mining operations out of business via predatory pricing. That policy succeeded and now China is using its control of strategic metals to either deprive the West of these vital items or compel the West to make concessions to obtain any of China’s supplies of these metals. Either way, the West loses. Western corporations who thought they were getting a good deal by buying rare metals at cheap prices from China for years are now suddenly without a supply of these vital items, and the link below states it may take many years for the West to restart its rare-earth metals production. The American corporations and the American policy makers who allowed America and its globalist businesses to become so dependent on Chinese goodwill are now realizing the Chinese dragon has manipulated the greed of globalist corporations to lure the West into a strategic trap.

Despite “angry complaints” from around the world, including a formal protest by Japan’s Foreign Minister, China has said that “it will not back down” on its new policy, which is tantamount to a declaration of a trade war against the West. Japan apparently at least saw this Chinese “double-cross” coming as it “has been stockpiling” these rare metals. I would not be surprised if the endlessly-gullible governmental and corporate leaders of the rest of the West were so completely duped by the blandishments of their Chinese suppliers that they have not been stockpiling anything. The Chinese refusal to sell these rare metals to the rest of the world also means the production of such consumer products as plasma TVs, iPads, BlackBerrys, wind turbines and hybrid engines is now endangered. Have you heard anything about this critically-important development yet on the mainstream media?

While not emphasized in the link below, the military implications of this Chinese domination of strategic metals is glaringly obvious. The production of many western military weaponry is jeopardized by the Chinese refusal to ship these rare metals to the West. Previous blogs have discussed the “secret” invisibility projects of the USA, UK and other western nations. There are, no doubt, other secret “black projects” which are now at risk of shutting down due to China’s action. This Chinese action, if continued, will place the Gog-Magog alliance prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 in a position of tremendous advantage over the USA, NATO and their allies. Russia and Iran, allies of China in the prophesied Gog-Magog alliance will likely get all the rare metals they need as these nations build up their militaries to launch their surprise attack against the West in a future year. It makes perfect sense for China to cut off strategic metals to the nations that it intends to attack in the future. From the strategic viewpoint of the Gog-Magog alliance, this cut-off of rare metals is a very logical step to take as they prepare for the new world war which Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies is certain to occur. Western strategic planners can give up any hope of reversing China’s direction. God has “hardened the hearts” of Russia, China and Iran into eventually attacking the nations of the modern tribes of Israel (and all their allies) in NATO and the western alliance so this event will occur (my books, audio messages and my home page article on The USA in Prophecy all make these identifications easy to see). Ezekiel 38:10 prophesies this attack will begin at exactly the moment that God puts it into their hearts to launch it. The only thing the West can do is face reality and reopen its rare metals mines, reindustrialize the manufacturing capacity of the West (which would also jump-start the western economies) and make military preparations to meet this future attack.

China (and Russia) know what they are doing and they are implementing a war plan which I believe was conceived long ago to dupe and weaken the West militarily, economically and monetarily. Personally, I think this plan was conceived just before the “arranged” fall of the USSR to deceive the West into thinking there was no longer a threat from Russia and China. As this (and many previous) blogs have documented, the threat from Russia and China has never been greater than it is today. Russia and China have expertly maneuvered the Western nations into the position of great weakness which is exactly what they had planned for them. The Western world’s leaders and “wise men” still are so blind to the growing danger now facing them that I fear their heads are firmly placed in a location where the sun never shines.

If any readers have not yet read my article, What Ezekiel 38-39 Reveals about a Future World War III, I strongly urge you to do so soon. This prophecy has been so accurate in prophesying what has come to pass thus far in our modern world that it can only be because the Creator God who made everything we see (and everything we don’t see) is guiding world events to make sure his prophecies are fulfilled. He said in Isaiah 41:21-26 that he would do so and he challenges false gods and readers of that prophecy to watch his ability to fulfill biblical prophecies as proof of his reality and sovereignty. Since Ezekiel 38-39 has been “right on target” to date, you might as well read the aforementioned article to see how the future will unfold so you can know what will occur in our future. Our future has a very good ending to read about, but things are going to get very, very bad before God steps in to impose his prophesied positive climax to our current age.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/mining/7970872/Backlash-over-China-curb-on-metal-exports.html

The first link reports that the Sunni Arab states of the Mideast, including Saudi Arabia, are urgently pushing the USA to launch a preemptive strike against Iran to stop it from becoming a nuclear power. However, former UN Ambassador, John Bolton, opines that it may already be too late to stop the activation of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility, its first known operational nuclear facility.  As my August 19th blog related, I think that there is a strong possibility that the above-ground Bushehr plant, built by the Iranians in a location that is very easy to attack, may not actually be a part of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. It may be a “decoy” plant designed to attract an Israeli and/or American attack when that plant is really designed only for civilian electrical generation.

If that is the case, any attack on it will allow Iran to call in international investigators to see it had no weapons capacity and claim that Iran is the victim of American/Israeli aggression. The real Iranian nuclear weapons program is going on in the nuclear facilities at Qom and perhaps ten other hidden locations (also discussed in my August 19th blog) which are buried deep underground or underneath mountains. It may be impossible to determine how far along Iran’s plutonium enrichment efforts have advanced at those secret plants,and it may also be impossible to disable those underground nuclear plants without the use of tactical nuclear weaponry. It may be possible to disable them with successive waves of “bunker buster” bombs, but even that is problematic. Iran has sited its nuclear facilities with great foresight and skill, and I suspect they had considerable help from Chinese and North Korean engineers who helped them locate their secret nuclear facilities deep underground where American reconnaissance satellites cannot see them. However, the fact that the Sunni Arab nations are pushing for an attack indicates that they are growing steadily more fearful of Iran’s nuclear status. If the Bushehr plant is a decoy and it is becoming fully functional in a nuclear capacity, it infers that Iran’s real nuclear weapons plants may also be coming on line as well.

The second link describes efforts by Saudi Arabia and the USA to detach Syria from its long-time alliance with Iran. This effort also involves the internal politics of Lebanon and Iraq, and it is very murky in its details. It is assumed that Hezbollah will submit to Syria’s control if Syria detaches from its alliance with Iran; however, that is by no means certain. Hezbollah is sworn to destroy Israel as is Iran, so Hezbollah may remain loyal to Iran and see Syria as a traitor if it switches sides. Indeed, the second link hints that Assad, Syria’s leader, is “playing a dangerous game” in these machinations. If he does switch sides, he may find himself personally targeted for elimination by a vengeful Iran which has spent much time and money strengthening Syria to be its ally. Syria’s position is also greatly complicated by Turkey’s recent approachment toward Iran. If Turkey joins Iran in an alliance, Syria is almost certain to stay in Iran’s orbit. Otherwise, Syria could find itself attacked and dismembered by a simultaneous attack by Iran, Hezbollah and Turkey.

If Syria can be drawn away from its alliance with Iran, it will want concessions from the West. The concession it will demand is the restoration of the Golan Heights to Syrian control. Israel would have to be crazy to submit to such a demand no matter what pressures the Obama administration puts on it. I’ve stood at the base of the Golan Heights and looked up at them from northern Israeli territory, and I realize how strategic these Heights really are to Israeli security. The only way that I could see any Israeli government returning the Golan Heights to Syria would be if two conditions were acknowledged by all parties. These conditions would be (A) no one will object to the immediate use of Israeli nuclear weapons against Damascus and Syria if it attacks Israel in the future, and (B) the consent of all parties that the Israelis will be given the right to build a Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Those two conditions might pacify the resistance of the Israeli political right-wing and religious parties to such a concession to Syria.

There are a number of biblical possibilities in such a scenario. It seems evident that some kind of agreement or treaty will be necessary to create a situation where the daily sacrifices at a Third Temple site are begun in order for them to be later stopped by a beast power. Daniel 8:11-14 contains a prophecy about the stopping of the daily sacrifices, and while verses 1-10 argue for a ancient fulfillment of this prophecy, verse 17, 19, and 23 clearly state that this prophecy will have a latter-day fulfillment as well. Ominously, Isaiah 17 contains a prophecy that Damascus will become “a ruinous heap” (verse 1), and verses 4 and 7 indicate that this will occur in the latter days. Damascus could be turned into a “ruinous heap” by the Israelis if the Syrians betray a future agreement, but Damascus could also be turned into a “ruinous heap” by a vengeful and betrayed Iran (how hard would it be to have Iranian and/or Hezbollah suicide bombers ignite a small nuke in Damascus if Syria betrays Iran?). Syria is really in the hot seat in current Mideast politics. If I owned property in Damascus, I’d sell it….soon.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139207

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5920256,00.html

The first link reports that the IAEA has discovered that Egypt has conducted a “variety of nuclear experiments for more than 20 years” without disclosing this fact to the IAEA. Reportedly, Egypt has been experimenting with uranium experiments for “20 years or more,” its plutonium experiments are “much [more] recent.” It is plutonium which is the key to making nuclear weapons, so the fact that Egypt is working with plutonium experiments argues that a nuclear weapons program is the only reason for such experiments. One can hardly blame Egypt. Seeing the Iranian Shiites working at a rapid rate to build Shiite nuclear weapons, Sunni Arab nations such as Egypt can hardly be faulted for wanting to build nuclear weapons to deter Iranian (Persian) imperialist dreams. The first link below indicates as much. The second link reports that “Cairo is now building ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.” That Egypt is already building ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads strongly infers that Egypt expects to have nuclear weapons to place on those missiles reasonably soon. Egypt and Israel are so close to each other that Egypt doesn’t need ballistic missiles to strike Israeli targets if Egypt considered Israel a threat to Egypt (short-range missiles would suffice). That Egypt is building ballistic missiles (long range weapons) for its nuclear warheads indicate that it regards Iran as its likely enemy. The second link also reports that Egypt has had plutonium-extraction or plutonium-production agreements with such nations as France, Germany, Argentina, Pakistan and Iraq in the past, and that it declined Chinese help because of an American-Canadian offer of help.

A previous blog at this website documented that Saudi Arabia may already be a nuclear power itself. That blog reported that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program was significantly financed by Saudi money, and that Saudi Arabia can lay a claim to a percentage of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal when it wishes to obtain them. If Iran declares it has nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia would have every reason to quickly claim its share of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

The world is becoming a steadily more dangerous place. As more nations build nuclear weapons, the likelihood grows that they will be used in open warfare. I Timothy 3:1 warned that “perilous times” would come in the latter days. In Matthew 24:22, Jesus Christ prophesied that the dangers would grow so great that unless he intervened in world events with his Second Coming, “there should no flesh be left alive.” If you wish to consider the various ways that “all flesh” could be wiped out on earth as mankind devises ever more destructive weaponry and technologies, I invite you to read my article, Are We Living in the Biblical Latter Days?, available at the articles link at this website.

My thanks to a reader for tipping me off to this report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7181847/

http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/egypt/nuke.html

It has been written that a “picture is worth a thousand words.” If so, a video clip like this is worth ten thousand words. The building of a mosque near the 9/11 massacre site where Moslem terrorists killed many innocent New Yorkers is a perfect example of a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28:43′s statement that when a nation forsakes God: “…the stranger that is within you shall get up above you very high, and you shall come down very low.” I think Americans are getting very, very angry at the politically-correct and spineless submission of our current national leaders to things which previous American leaders would have regarded as a travesty.

While the USA surely needs to make respectful alliances with Moslem nations around the world in matters of common interest (i.e. countering the mutual threat from Iran), it needs to be observed that you can tell easily how “tolerant” Islam is by trying to build a Christian church or a Jewish synagogue in Mecca, Tehran or Islamabad.

Enjoy the video and pass it on to your friends. One last thought: if you don’t like the way things are going in the USA (and a vast majority don’t according to polls), be sure you vote on election day in November. If you are not registered to vote yet, call your local County Auditor’s Office and find out the deadline by which you need to register…and go get registered! This nation need an electoral earthquake in November. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if God is the most interested observer re: the results of our election. He may be watching the election results to see how many Americans are serious about wanting him to intervene and change the direction of our nation. The kind of ”change” God could bring to this nation is not the change Barack Obama is bringing.

SALT IN THE WOUND written by Rita W. Jones

Babylon the Great is described in Revelation 18:3 as an unholy alliance of the “kings of the earth” (the political leaders) and the “merchants of the earth” (the multinational corporations) who exploit the nations in order to lavish themselves with wealth. That describes with remarkable accuracy the “status quo” of how modern globalist corporations and governments function, so this prophecy has come true. The US dollar is the lynchpin of the current Babylon the Great system and the US Federal Reserve Board is the entity which is currently debauching the US dollar in an unprecedented manner as it (and the US government) try to bail out the Wall Street banks and other money-lending entities.

Given that the US dollar and the US Federal Reserve Board system are based in America, it is evident that America is the current headquarters of Babylon the Great. Given that Babylon the Great’s system is prophesied to fall, it begs the question: When it falls, will the USA fall with it?

While there is no way that the collapse of an American-based money-system and global commercial order will not be traumatic for Americans, there is a prophecy which argues that the USA itself will survive the collapse of Babylon the Great. Genesis 48-49 contains a prophecy about the destinies of all the tribes of Israel in the latter days. The tribe of Joseph was subdivided into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:8-22) and Jacob (later re-named “Israel”) gave the birthright blessings of Abraham to these two tribes. Ephraim was prophesied to become a company (or grouping) of nations in the latter days while Manasseh was prophesied to become a single great nation (verses 19). Together, these tribes were to become a “multitude” in the earth so they must be found among the larger, more prominent nations of the globe. The name of Isaac was prophesied to follow the birthright descendants of Abraham (Genesis 21:12) and Genesis 48:16 records that Isaac’s name was stamped permanently afterward on the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. After the ten tribes of Israel were exiled into Asia, the Persians called them the “Saka,” the Greeks called them the “Sacae,” and the Romans later called them the “Saxons.” All these names are forms of the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Isaac.” The modern Anglo-Saxons are well-known as the English-speaking nations. The USA is the single great nation of Manasseh and the British nations are the “company of nations” of Ephraim prophesied in Genesis 48:19. This prophecy has been completely fulfilled in our modern times, as the Creator God himself makes sure his biblical prophecies get fulfilled (Isaiah 41:21-26).

Genesis 49 includes prophecies for each of the tribes of Israel in the latter days, and a detailed description of these tribal locations in the modern world is contained in my book, Israel’s Tribes Today (see “books” link of this website). The destinies of Ephraim and Manasseh will be so closely linked in the latter days that Genesis 49 simply addresses their fates together under their common name as the tribe of  “Joseph” in verse 22-26. These nations are destined to have considerable wealth and national blessings, and this prophecy has certainly come to pass as well. However, notice the language of verses 22-26. It prophesies that the latter day nations of Ephraim and Manasseh will be hated and “shot at” and “grieved” by archers (enemies). The same Creator God who inspired Revelation 17-18 also inspired Genesis 48-49, and while Babylon the Great (a globalist system dominating the nations) is destined to collapse, there is no prophecy in Genesis 48-49 that either Ephraim or Manasseh will collapse in the latter days. Indeed, Genesis 49:24-25 prophesies that God will “help” and “make strong” the tribes of Joseph in the latter days when they are attacked and grieved.

The prophecy of Genesis 49 gives us hope that the modern Anglo-Saxon nations will be sustained as independent, functioning nations in the latter days by God. Unquestionably, the collapse of Babylon the Great’s system will cause major hardship and dislocation for these (and many other) nations, but Genesis 49′s prophecy would seem to contradict those modern “Jeremiahs” who say the USA will collapse and fall when Babylon the Great’s system collapses. I don’t see any such message in prophecy when I compare Revelation 17-18 and Genesis 48-49. That should give us all some hope.

The link below reports that President Obama personally warned Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey’s status as an ally is in jeopardy. It notes that Turkey voted against the UN sanctions against Iran, it has been increasingly hostile to Israel and its slide into Iran’s embrace prompted Obama to tell Turkey’s leader that the White House and Congress are wondering “about whether we can have confidence in Turkey as an ally.”  Obama further warned Turkey’s leader that if Turkey expects to buy more US arms, it “must” change its policies regarding Israel and Iran.

We will have to wait to see if Turkey changes its policies to rejoin the NATO/western alliance or whether it betrays NATO and embraces Iran (and the rest of the Gog-Magog alliance of Ezekiel 38). Turkey is essentially “on probation” as a NATO member right now.

While Turkey (which I see as Edom in general and the Edomite clan of Teman in particular) is not mentioned in Ezekiel 38:2-6 as a member of the Gog-Magog alliance, Ezekiel 38:6 includes the phrase, “…and many people with thee,” which allows for other nations not mentioned to be part of the Gog-Magog alliance. The obscure biblical book of Obadiah may offer us a clue about Turkey’s future. Obadiah is a prophecy about the Edomites, and the words “In that day” in verse 8 and the reference to the “day of the Lord” in verse 15 argue that this is a latter-day prophecy. My previous writings have identified Turkey as the Edomite clan of Teman as the previous name of Turkey was the Ottoman Empire and the consonants of the words “Ottoman” and “Teman” are identical. Obadiah 8-10 specifically warn the Temanites in the latter days that they are in great danger of being “cut off” by God due to their “violence against their brother Jacob.” Many NATO nations are descended from the ancient ten tribes of Israel so many NATO members are the modern nations of Jacob in today’s world. Turkey seems poised to betray or “do violence” to the nations of Jacob by betraying its NATO brothers if it allies itself to Iran.

Turkey’s future is now in its own hands. However, Obadiah 8-10 and 18 warn Turkey that it faces national ruin if it abandons “its brother Jacob” (Edomites are descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob–Genesis 36:1). If Turkey abandons the other modern nations descended from Abraham (not only the Israelite nations of NATO, but also the Israelis of the modern tribe of Judah and the Ishmaelite nations of the Sunni Arabs), it may be devastated in the years ahead of us. The book of Obadiah hangs like a sword of Damocles over the head of Turkey. Turkey’s decision about which alliance to join in the latter days will determine if Obadiah’s sword of Damocles falls on them.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139138

These cuts could hardly come at a worse time for the UK and NATO. Turkey is increasingly acting as if it intends to betray its NATO partners by drawing closer to Iran and Syria (Iran is an ally of Russia and China). If Turkey leaves NATO, NATO will be faced with a greatly increased threat from Russia and its allies because Turkey had the largest NATO army. The remaining European nations would need to dramatically increase their military forces if Turkey leaves NATO, not decrease them, as they are now doing. The fact that the British are making such deep cuts now indicates to me that the UK’s economic/financial crisis may be much worse than they have revealed to their own citizens or their fellow EU and NATO allies. If the British had a healthy economy and financial position, no such cuts would be needed.

Leviticus 26 lists the blessings that “covenant” nations will enjoy when they obey God’s laws and honor him, and it also lists the curses that nations will bring on themselves when they disobey and dishonor God. That God is being dishonored and disobeyed widely throughout the historically Christian nations of the West is without question. One of the curses for national disobedience is that God will “break the pride of your power.” Power can be either economic/financial or military in nature. The UK in particular is being smitten with this curse. The British Empire used to be the dominant power on earth just  70 years ago. It is today a mere shadow of its former glorious self, and soon it will diminish even further if these planned military cuts are implemented.

The second link documents that the USA is also looking for major cuts in its Defense Department expenses. At least the American cuts described in the second link cut support systems rather than actual weaponry (a good step). However, when/if the American government faces a deeper financial/economic crisis in the future, it may also have to make deep cuts in its military budget. The most obvious and logical way to cut America’s military budget quickly is to end the Afghan War and bring its forces and troops home to rest.

Germany and the UK have announced big military cutbacks at a time when Russia, China and Iran are building up their military power. China is especially aggressive in building a world-class military force increasingly intended to overwhelm the USA and its allies. With each announcement of a military disarmament program by a NATO nation, Europe is making itself an ever-easier target for a military attack from the east. If Turkey leaves NATO in the future, NATO and Europe will face an existential crisis. As regular readers of this blog know, Ezekiel 38-39 prophesy that Russia, China, Iran and their allies will launch a surprise attack against the USA, Europe and their allies at the end of this age, triggering World War III. For much specific information on this prophecy, I invite readers to review my article, What Ezekiel 38-39 Reveal about a Future World War III, available at the Articles link at my homepage.

I’ll close with a bit of a paradox. The final link has a story about a new, high-tech, unmanned stealth fighter designed for the British Royal Air Force. The first link indicates that there is little likelihood this warplane will ever be funded or built. The technology to defend the Western nations does exist. However, the finances and will to defend themselves are fading fast (especially in Europe). If Winston Churchill could see the massive decline that has occurred in his beloved British nation since his death, he’d “roll over in his grave.”

My thanks to readers for making me aware of these stories.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4739367&c=EUR&s=TOP

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4739691&c=AME&s=TOP

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1294037/Taranis-The-143million-unmanned-stealth-jet-hit-targets-continent.html

Russia has experienced a severe drought in its wheat belt which has so reduced wheat production that Russia suddenly had to cancel wheat exports to other nations. This means that Russia’s normal export customers are left without a supplier and are scrambling to find new ones. This has understandably caused the price of wheat to leap higher due to the worsening global shortage of wheat supplies. It also has a ripple effect. Tightened wheat supplies cause price increases globally as the Russian shortage of wheat causes tightening of supplies all over the global commodity markets. It has even caused corn prices to go higher as some people who cannot locate wheat purchase corn instead. The links below detail the Russian wheat shortage, and how it causes supply shortages and price hikes in many other types of products (including pizza and beer) besides bread.

As was noted in my previous blogs about Ug99, the global wheat market is due for a steady erosion in supplies as the Ug99 wheat virus spreads to more wheat-producing nations. Climate factors such as the Russian drought only hasten the problem. Matthew 24:7 prophesies that there will be famines in the latter days before the return of Jesus Christ, and Revelation 6:5-6 specifically foretells that the wheat market will have shortages in the latter days and that wheat will be rationed by price. It looks like the trends that will fulfill this prophecy are already in place.

My thanks to the reader who tipped me off to this story.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6742QQ20100805

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7929101/Price-of-bread-could-hit-record-after-Russian-wheat-export-ban.html

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/economy/wheat_prices/

http://wallstreet.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/08/05/corn-stalks-wheat-rally/

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/cereal_killer_blues_EsXJNuVnXING4uqyp02l9J

http://www.cphpost.dk/business/119-business/49636-bread-prices-out-of-control.html