Steven M. Collins
May 31, 2007
A May 29, 2007 story posted at the FOX News website indicates that Russia has developed (and perhaps is deploying) a new “first-strike” ICBM. It could be considered a “first strike” ICBM because it is designed to defeat any anti-missile system deployed by the USA or the Western world. The article (“Russia Test-Launches New Intercontinental Ballistic Missile”) states “The new missile would modernize Russia’s stockpile at a time of rising tensions with the West.” ITAR-Tass quoted Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying: “As of today, Russia has new (missiles) that are capable of overcoming any existing or future missile defense systems.” Bellicose talk indeed!
The article cites Alexander Golts, a “respected military analyst” as telling the Associated Press: “It seems to be a brand new missile. It’s either a decoy or something that has been developed in complete secrecy.” The article further notes that Russian adherence to a treaty that limits the number of Russian tanks and aircraft on Europe’s borders is in jeopardy.
A US State Department spokesman named Tom Casey is cited in a separate FOX News story on the same date (“U.S. Reaffirms that Russia Should be Cooperating on Missile Defense”) as saying: “We would hope that the Russians would want us to cooperate on the issue of missile defense.” That U.S. statement lacks any teeth and sounds inane at best. It is typical of the weak-willed responses issuing forth from Western nations faced with clear evidence that Russia, China and Iran are building their militaries as fast as possible for a final confrontation with the West for global supremacy (see previous blogs for more evidence supporting this statement). Even though Russia, China and Iran are becoming increasingly bellicose in both words and deeds, the Western world exhibits the spirit of Neville Chamberlain–deluding itself into thinking peace is obtainable when in fact it is not.
Russia’s further development of new strategic weaponry is further evidence that a Divine Creator is guiding world events to fulfill Ezekiel 38’s prophecy about a global world war in the “latter days” of our age. That prophecy foretells that Russia, China and Iran will lead an alliance of nations in launching a surprise “first strike” attack upon the nations of the Western world. This prophecy is taking shape with increased rapidity in modern geopolitics. Since God has decreed it will happen, nothing can stop it from occurring. What we do not know is the year that the attack will occur. For the time being, I think that all of us can at least sleep knowing it is not coming tomorrow. The Bible also prophesies that two prophets will arrive on the scene to give God’s final warning to this age before Armageddon occurs and global annihilation is averted by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. These two prophets are called the “Two Witnesses” in Revelation 11, but they are not yet apparent in world affairs. They have a three and 1/2 year ministry to perform so we have some time yet before the end of the age. China, a strategic ally of Russia, also hosts the Olympics in 2008 and China will want to at least “make nice” until the Olympics are concluded to avoid any mass boycott of their games. China, no doubt, sees the 2008 Olympics as a kind of “coming out” event to showcase its arrival as a new world Superpower. Expect China’s athletic program to seek to dominate the Olympic gold medal count as evidence of their superior national prowess.
This has an eerie historic parallel. In the 1936 Berlin Olympic games, Adolf Hitler sought to demonstrate the superior prowess of German National Socialism even as Germany was militarizing and becoming more bellicose in behavior and words. Next year, China will host an Olympic Games even as it is militarizing and becoming more bellicose in behavior and words. Three years after the 1936 Berlin Games, Adolph Hitler and the Nazis launched World War II. How soon after the 2008 Olympic Games will Russia and China start the climactic World War of this age prophesied in Ezekiel 38? In 1936, the black American athlete, Jesse Owens, smashed Hitler’s “Aryan racial supremacy” theories by winning four gold medals against Hitler’s Aryan athletes. As an aside, I once had the opportunity to spend several hours with Jesse Owens and discuss those 1936 Berlin Olympics with him (his personalized autograph from that meeting still is framed and proudly displayed in my office!). China intends to intimidate and dominate the world in 2008 just as Hitler tried to do in 1936. Will a new Western athlete arise to embarrass Chinese aspirations at their own games? Time will tell.
The weakness of the West in confronting Russia, China and Iran is sad but understandable in the context of Revelation 18’s prophecy about “Babylon the Great.” The prophesied global economic system of “Babylon the Great” is revealed to be an alliance of the political leaders and elites of the world (the “kings of the earth” of Revelation 18:3) with the leaders of the global, multinational corporations (the “merchants of the earth” of Revelation 18:3). As is made clear in my article “A Captivity to Babylon the Great?” available elsewhere at this website, Babylon the Great is none other than the Western world’s economic system of banking-based capitalism. This global capitalism is prophesied to grow “great” until it dominates the earth’s economies (this has already been fulfilled) just before the entire system collapses–never to rise again. The global political/economic elites thought they had a golden opportunity when the Soviet Union collapsed. They thought they could attract (or coerce) Russia and China into joining their world system as did Germany and Japan at the end of World War II. The global robber barons deluded themselves into thinking Russia would become Babylon the Great’s source of cheap natural resources and that China would be become its source of endless cheap labor.
However, that effort was doomed to failure. Russia and China were not defeated and destroyed as were Germany and Japan. Germany and Japan were open to receiving new national institutions. Russia and China are not. Russia and China were playing their own game and the global robber barons fell into Russia’s and China’s trap. Russia has made virtually all of Europe dependent on Russian goodwill for its energy supplies and China has duped Babylon the Great’s industrialists into relocating their factories to China. The multinational corporations thought that China would be a compliant nation of happy little coolies in their service. They were wrong. Having duped the West into becoming dependent on Russian energy supplies and on Chinese labor and lenders, the Russian bear is now baring its fangs and the Chinese dragon is ready to issue its fiery breath at the world. China is waging war (and winning it) against Babylon the Great via its monetary and economic policies. The shrunken militaries of the West are being exhausted in Iraq and Afghanistan even as the militaries of Russia, China and Iran are expanding and growing more powerful. Current trends indicate that Russia and China intend to force Babylon the Great’s robber barons into becoming their coolies someday via overwhelming military force.
Every dollar and Euro invested in China by Babylon the Great’s corporations will eventually be lost whenever China decides to nationalize those facilities at an opportune time. China is not led by fools. They have figured out the Western world’s debt-based economic system and they are beating Babylon the Great at its own game. I do not think that China is buying up massive mega-billions of US debt instruments because of any altruistic motive. China correctly realizes that the more US debt it acquires, the more leverage (and control) it gains over US foreign and domestic policies. Russia knows that the more dependent Europe becomes on Russian energy, the more leverage it gains over European foreign and domestic policies. Ezekiel 38’s prophecy is starkly accurate in predicting the alliances of our modern world and it reveals who is going to start the next world war. The West can either cut its losses and start acting in its own interest to meet the growing threat from Russia, China and Iran or it can opt for self-delusion and continue to stick its head in the sand. Given that Ezekiel 38 prophesies the nations of the West will be surprised by the inevitable attack, the West is likely to continue making the latter choice.
