When I check the news these days there often is no news at all except moves to prevent effects, or the effects of this Covid-19 virus. But the world has not stood still, the actions to combat the virus itself is changing the world, and also it is changing the dynamics of ongoing political processes. What if God saw whatever foolishness caused this virus, and let if happen in His time, then chose to let play out His way? We can't know, but if this virus pushes events towards fulfilling an expected end, we begin to wonder.
Brexit
Before, in another world, there were tearful protesters and leaders trying with all their might to keep Britain in the EU. Now no sensible people would gather to protest. There were debates as to the economic consequences, and scare campaigns about 'going over the cliff' without a “deal” with the EU (though there was always a relationship on World Trade Organisation terms). There were pleas about solidarity and being an EU citizen. However based on Bible prophecy, specifically Ezekiel 38, I myself, for all of my conscious life have understood that Merchant Britain (of Tarshish, the place of tin) – at the End Time- before the Coming of Messiah will not be allied with Europe- but rather on the opposite side. Based on Ezekiel 38 I have all my life understood that the Europe (as Magog and Gomer) would unite with Russia (Rosh), and that included many years when there was a strong barrier called the 'iron curtain' dividing Europe itself!
In Ezekiel 38 we have a prince of Rosh Meshech and Tubal, a leader who is of the land of Magog, Germanic Europe. Putin came out of East Germany, but the inheritor to the Romanov throne, Gogi is a male descendent of the last German Kaiser. With them is Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya which at least are easily recognised. Also Gomer (Gaul) and Togomah (Turkey). In any case we know from other scripture in Daniel 11 there is a King of the North and the king of the South. Ezekiel 38 says that Gog is of the North parts (v15).
On the other side is Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions (Ezekiel 38:13). Sheba and Dedan are Arabs. The merchants of Tarshish who have held with the Arabs, are the British and American merchants.
This belief as to who is who goes back to my great, great grandfather in the era 1880-1910, so we don't change for the news, or the vibe. France has allied with Britain and America, but this could not fulfil it. The fulfilment would not be natural, or historic, but something remarkable, one moment in history! Britain joined the EU, yet we would not change our view, we knew Britain would change and waited.
In 2009 before Brexit was a debate, looking at the Times in Revelation 17 where “where 10 kings have power with the Beast for one prophetic 'Hour',” we understood that the era of EU agreement of 10 core nations was to be for 30 years.
..the prophetic 'one hour' or thirty years most likely begins in an era from 1986 to 1993. It therefore may end when the Lamb, the Messiah, overcomes this Union when it steps forward to oppose Israel from 2016 to 2023. This is not a time, or a day but a quite broad “season”. biblefocus.net
2016, of course, was a watershed year for the EU as Britain voted to leave (by a narrow margin), however the virus has tested the EU and found it wanting, with no unity at all.
The coronavirus appears to be tearing apart the fragile framework of the European Union. there is no “Union.” There is a conglomerate of European states trying to take advantage of some rules called “the union”. In the face of Italy’s pandemic catastrophe, the European Union showed only impotence and indifference. Europe’s Schengen Area of passport-free travel inside the EU — one of the two pillars of EU dogma (the other being the euro) — was suspended in a hurry and internal borders closed without coordinated action. Another merciless battle Italy fought with the EU was for protective face-masks. France adopted a policy of requisitioning them; Germany banned their export. Those unilateral decisions undermined a much-touted EU principle: the free movement of goods in the single market. As L’Express exposed, France seized four million masks belonging to a Swedish company and that had been intended, in part, for Italy and Spain. In times of crisis, the technocrats in Brussels look apathetic. The European Union is dead, it just does not yet know it.WorldIsraelNews
The British are now offending the EU, in typical old fashioned British fashion. In the face of the obvious decimation of economies due to this virus, there are no arguments worth making anymore that the so called “cliff” exists. The entire world economy just dropped into a chasm, that made that so called “cliff” look like a bump in a road, and now the EU isn't worth much.
“The UK cannot refuse to extend the transition and at the same time slow down progress in important areas,” Barnier said, expressing concern that Britain has not presented concrete proposals for certain contentious issues. It looks like Boris Johnson and the Brits are treating Barnier and the EU with the same vague contempt that he and the EU treat everyone else and guess what? Brits have to ask for an extension by June 30.. If no trade deal is agreed to by the two sides by then, trade between them on WTO terms commences. Given the current state of EU politics and its sinking economic conditions the likelihood of the U.K. giving Barnier even the time of day at this point is pretty low.zerohedge
It is actually worse than presented in Zero Hedge, as Financial Times points out that “what Britain wants bears scant resemblance to the EU’s notions..Friday, Mr Barnier brandished a copy of the political declaration on future relations that Boris Johnson agreed with EU leaders last year. That document is barely six months old, but it already seems like a relic from the distant past, and that’s not just because of the transformations wrought by the pandemic.” ft.com As FT notes it is not just because of the pandemic, as now Britain is fighting for it's “National interest” in an era where the government has a majority and is no longer weak, however the Corona Virus itself has laid out clearly a new path for national interest over unreliable unstable relationships.
The virus justified Brexit. The best unit of people for fighting a virus, is one with strong policed borders which is as small as possible - like New Zealand, Australia or Taiwan.
Safety on the Mountains of Israel
Ezekiel 38 presents a time when Jews live on the Mountains of Israel in safety. What is remarkable about this is that it is after the Chapter in Ezekiel 37 where the national hope of Israel is described as a valley of exceptionally dry bones. The ideal of a Jewish homeland was well and truly politically dead until 1865. Then Israel was revived. Then we have Ezekiel 38
After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. (Ezekiel 38:8)
And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. (Ezekiel 38:11-12)
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? (Ezekiel 38:14)
Going back to Isaac Newton's writing from 1733, “the commandment to return and rebuild Jerusalem precedes Messiah the prince 49 years (Dan. 10): it may perhaps come forth not from the Jews themselves but from some other kingdom friendly to them and precede.. and give occasion to.. their return from captivity..rebuilding.. the waste places of Judah.. Ezek 37.38.” (p133, Observations, 1733). Going back to 1880-1910 when I have witness though 3 generations great-grandmother to mother, that they were seeing the approach of the era of Ezekiel 38's fulfilment in context, which required Jews to return to the desolate land and Israel to be a revived nation again (under great power protection). So my great great grandfather was dead before he saw his faith made sight for the next generation, who witnessed the war of 1914-1918 and the Balfour Declaration. The area in question had then been desolate for nearly 2,000 years, as witnessed by Mark Twain, and any others who went there, and as predicted in Leviticus 26:30-35. So all my life I have my parents as witness, that they saw Israel become a nation as expected by understanding of prophecy, from a time when Jews were not a nation; and it was a miracle against all odds.
I have witnessed on nightly news the Arab violence that arose due to the Oslo accords of 1993, so it seemed to the vanishing point of impossible that there would be safety for Jews in Israel, let alone in that disputed area, yet I have always understood that somehow the miracle would occur. Like Brexit it began to occur in 2016, and the virus has accelerated remarkable, ground shaking, change.
In 2016 Donald Trump won the US presidency promising to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem, in accordance with American law from 1995. Against all advice he did this. The American embassy move now seems irrevocable as even Biden's spokesman is saying it will not be taken back, for practical as well as political reasons. worldisraelnews
More so, whereas other presidents gave lip service to peace in Israel, or used it to establish their own agenda, Trump gave the task to a team who were not diplomats or politicians, but who cared for a real peace. Remarkably, by miracle, they were in the right time and place to win the young leader of Saudi Arabia to a compromise. This compromise is on the Jewish side foolishness, as they did not trust in God, but it changed the dynamics. Right on cue, right after the release of the American-Arab plan the virus begins to explode from China and heads to Iran, Italy and Israel.
Israel had their 2nd unresolved election and went to their third election, now virus-effected, in March 2020. One of the issues of the election was the American 'peace plan'. Fighting the virus in Israel itself led to the political environment of a unity government. One of the core agreements of the Benny Gantz- Benjamin Netanyahu unity coalition to govern was Israel applying sovereignty over (EU called it “annexing”) the areas of the Mountains of Israel agreed as Jewish or required for Jewish security, on the basis of an American agreement! (Newton's friendly kingdom).
Whereas the European Union leadership's attitude, while paying lip service to 2-state, had been that of the Palestinian Authority to fully ethnically cleanse the Holy City, Judea and Samaria of Jews, on the basis that Israel hadn't won that area in the war of 1948, Jews having lost the area to invading neighbour Jordan as Britain withdrew (actively helping the Jordanians), the Americans had always been much more pragmatic.
If you posit that Israel’s presence anywhere east of the armistice line is “illegal,” as the European Union does, Israel would be taking someone else’s territory for incorporation into Israel, aka annexation. But that is not the case. The territory’s last legitimate ruler was Great Britain under the UN Mandate for Palestine. Before that, it was a province of the Ottoman Empire. Jordan’s 1950 annexation — the proper use of the word — was illegal and deemed so by all the countries of the United Nations, except Great Britain and Pakistan.
It was specifically understood by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations that Jewish population centers east of the line would be part of Israel - the only question was when. The presumption was that it would happen after an agreement with the Palestinians. But that left the timing up to the Palestinians; if they didn’t agree, then it wouldn’t happen. It was a recipe for pushing the conflict on indefinitely. This is where the new peace plan represents a break with prior US policy. Trump didn’t change the “what,” but the “when. algemeiner
America also in the past only paid lip service, relying on the Palestinian Authority obduracy to resist any agreement, and rewarded the Palestinian Authority for not coming to an agreement. However, the idea of land-swaps was there, and the acceptance that there would be no ethnic cleansing. What has changed is that now there is no reward for no agreement, this is a great power dividing the disputed area and saying one side can have 'this' section and the other side 'that' section and stop fighting over it (or else no rewards at all from America).
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated to reporters this week that Israel is no longer required to wait for an agreement the Palestinians have thwarted since Oslo, telling reporters, “The Israelis will ultimately make those decisions. That’s an Israeli decision. And we will work closely with them to share with them our views of this in (a) private setting.” algemeiner
The plan comes at at time the European Union is weak with a lot of internal dissent, increased by the Virus.
European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell put forward a surprise resolution on Israel’s new government that included the following: “The EU does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. The EU reiterates that any annexation would constitute a serious violation of international law.” But EU statements have to be unanimous, and Borrell was thwarted by members of his own club. Hungary and Austria were definitely opposed, and an Israeli diplomat noted that the largest number of EU delegates to date opposed a resolution aimed at Israel.algemeiner
Not only is the Foreign Office in Britain no longer part of the EU, they are in no position to have any influence at all, reduced to further impotence by the virus and dealing with Brexit. In addition the British Foreign Office, a place of tradition, might still be reeling from the sudden shift in position by the Arabs. So it was noted that Israel feels safe to move forward with the application of sovereignty under the American plan as;
Israel is also unlikely to face increased international pressure if the PA rejects this deal. Israel has seen improved international ties in the past decade despite the absence of a meaningful peace process. The Palestinian cause no longer commands the attention that it once did in the Arab world. algemeiner
Britain was clearly left in a position of empty words in the matter of the American Plan, in the end hiding behind a caveat of not being party to it: On January 31, 2020
The UK foreign office said that London was "concerned by reports of possible moves toward annexation”
Britain has been extremely cautious in response to the so-called “Deal of the Century” peace plan announced by Trump this week. Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, commented on the Trump peace plan on Tuesday, saying, “This is clearly a serious proposal, reflecting extensive time and effort.” "A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that leads to peaceful coexistence could unlock the potential of the entire region, and provide both sides with the opportunity for a brighter future,” he added. UK Foreign Office minister Andrew Morrison said Thursday that "we owe America and its president at least the time to consider this plan". He also stressed, however, that "this is not our plan" and that Britain was not fully backing it. israelnationalnews
On 6 February 2020, not realising that Israel applying sovereignty meant that the classical two state solution was dead, the UK PM sent another mixed message.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday emphasized his support for the new US peace plan and for a two-state solution in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. timesofisrael
The Arab news with unusual clarity headlined, 'UK slammed for contradictory response' (arabnews.com). Therefore Israel knows that Britain may say things of no importance, but in effect will not oppose it in any meaningful way. Merchant Britain are all at sea, their flag flapping both ways as the winds change. We expect, based on prophecy American rather than European views will prevail.
In addition the 2018 American Taylor Force Act calls out the PA for funding terror, and reduces American payments. This has cut the power of the PA as no nation can now pay money to the PA lest others say, in effect, they support terror, reducing any hope of gain by the use of terror by the PA in any place that mattered to International opinion.
The American peace plan map, which took the PA at their word, that they wanted all Arabs and no Jews, had land swaps that so shocked the Arabs who lived in Israel (and benefited by living in Israel), they dug in their heels to stay in Israel! reuters
No one will agree to exchange their Israeli passport for a Palestinian one. They say “we will not agree to be under the sovereignty of a Palestinian state.” jns.org
Divide and conquer.
This Arab reaction totally undermined the PA arguments.. The virus has then opened up further this issue as there is no work in Israel for those PA Arabs in virus affected Israel, and the PA doesn't want any from the PA going to and from Israel, even using military force. This is a huge issue as there is very little work in the PA. bbc . The only way they can work in Israel for the moment is if they can find a place to live in Israel. honestreporting The virus has exposed those who live in the PA to what life looks like in a two state solution, and it looks like third world poverty.
Whereas the PA is suffering, and likely to lose people to Israel or elsewhere, Jews are now taking what were Arab jobs:
Tens of thousands of Arab laborers from Judea and Samaria who usually work at construction sites throughout Israel are now unable to travel due to coronavirus restrictions. The construction industry is exempt from the Ministry of Health’s regulations regarding the number of employees at a workplace. Construction work in Israel has continued as normal, largely immune to the coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout. The first phase began by focusing on connecting Israelis who had previous work experience in the construction industry with contractors in urgent need of workers, it was so successful that the project has been expanded to focus on unemployed Israelis who may be interested in a career change. worldisraelnews
But shall the jobs in construction continue? Yes! It was written!
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: (Ezekiel 36:7-10)
The global coronavirus pandemic will likely spark a massive wave of immigration to Israel, with some 100,000 expats and new arrivals expected to move to the country once the crisis is over, according to Ministry of Absorption statistics.“These communities have seen how Israel is functioning in fighting the virus in the midst of a global crisis, and they see a robust, relatively well-functioning state,” Herzog said.Despite the outbreak, more than 900 new immigrants arrived in the country in March. Jews from communities that have been badly impacted by the pandemic, including in France and the UK, have shown the largest jump in expressing interest regarding aliyah. breitbart
April saw a 50 percent increase in the number of application requests from the U.S. for immigration to Israel ..Nativ, which organizes aliyah from the former Soviet Union, said it had received 20,000 new immigration requests following the coronavirus crisis outbreak, compared with 6,000 beforehand. breitbart
The virus has changed the dynamics of the situation so much that the expectations of the prophecy Ezekiel 38 requiring safety for Jews on the Mountains of Israel now seems possible, as it has never seemed possible, not for 40 years, or 70 years, or 300 years but for 1,950 years.
100 years since San Remo
On the 26 April 2020 Yishai Fleisher argued that the San Remo Convention exactly 100 years before was “The Original deal of the century”
One hundred years ago this week, the British Balfour Declaration — which recognized Jewish rights to the land of Israel — became international law.
Yet this momentous occasion, on which the international community recognized and then ratified the inalienable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel for the first time in modern history, is often forgotten. Instead, attention is diverted to the radio broadcast of the UN vote for Partition on Nov. 29, 1947, Legally speaking, the two events cannot be put on the same scale. The San Remo Accords were binding law, ratified by member states, which took quick effect. Even the United States, which was not a member of the League of Nations, took measures to recognize the accords.
Conversely, the UNSCOP Partition Plan was merely a non-binding resolution, voted on in the toothless General Assembly (not the Security Council), and was immediately rejected by the Arabs — in other words, the whole exercise of the partition plan vote was null and void. algemeiner
Let us consider that there is a coincidence this year on April 30,
On Wednesday, the 5th of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar, Israel celebrated its 72nd birthday, the day David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence, which was famously recognized by US president Harry Truman just 11 minutes later.
But as momentous an occasion as that was, an argument can be made, that it was the 5th of Iyar 28 years earlier in 1920 that the Zionist movement marked its original “Independence Day.”
In that year, the 5th of Iyar coincided with April 25th, the date in which the victorious Allied Powers of World War I convened in San Remo, Italy, Britain received a “Mandate for Palestine” that instructed the UK to implement the Balfour Declaration, its commitment to establishing a Jewish State.. the San Remo conference guaranteed a Jewish state with the force of international law and with the recognition of political superpowers. We must view President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” in this same light. The world’s largest and most influential power has recognized the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel. The San Remo Accords referred to the preservation of religious and civil rights of Arabs living in Palestine, but there was no reference to national rights.
Similarly, President Trump understands the reality that has been imposed upon us and the many years of delegitimization, violence and hostility toward us, and therefore has added a recognition of Israeli national rights as well.
We Israelis must understand and internalize the magnitude of this moment. 100 years later we have the right to set our own boundaries. Trump is facilitating the implementation of the decisions of the San Remo conference and is recognizing the implications of that conference on international law and on rights to our land. jpost
With eye on sovereignty the Jerusalem post claims April 26 as their key national date.
Jewish people will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, convened in Italy from April 19-26, 1920 in the aftermath of the First World War. jpost
San Remo dealt with the disposition of territories that until 1920 were a part of the Ottoman Empire, which had been defeated.. Formally, the Ottomans renounced their claim to sovereignty.. in the Treaty of Sevres, which was signed the same year as San Remo on August 10, 1920. jpost
On April 20, exactly 100 years later it is reported that Gantz and Netanyahu sign their emergency 'Unity Deal'. Not long after on the April 27,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the Trump administration will support the annexation of large parts of Judea and Samaria, and pledged that a decision on doing so would come “a couple of months from now.”
Unilateral annexation was proposed after the publication of the Trump peace plan earlier this year, and was a major sticking point in recent negotiations on forming an Israeli unity government.
Under the terms of the coalition deal, Netanyahu can propose a law annexing parts of Judea and Samaria in July, contingent on the approval of the White House.
Speaking to an online event celebrating 100 years since the San Remo conference, which anchored the idea of a Jewish state in international law, Netanyahu told the evangelical Christian group the European Coalition for Israel that he is “confident” annexation is inevitable.
“My friends, for decades I’ve been fighting those who’ve sought to deny the millennial connection of the Jewish people to our homeland,” the prime minister said in a video message. “I’m proud to say that the decades-long struggle has borne fruit.”
“Three months ago, the Trump peace plan recognized Israel’s rights in all of Judea and Samaria, and President Trump pledged to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Jewish communities there and in the Jordan Valley,” he said. “A couple of months from now, I’m confident that that pledge will be honored.”
“We will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism,” he added. “A century after San Remo, the promise of Zionism is being realized.” unitedwithisrael also at algemeiner
On April 23 after the deal is signed and the EU realises that the window is closing to object- they object!
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented on the matter, saying, “As for the annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis will ultimately make those decisions. That’s an Israeli decision.”
Possibly in response to Pompeo, EU High Representative Josep Borrell issued a statement on Thursday that praised Israeli-EU cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus, but added that the EU had examined the terms of the new Israeli coalition agreement and “the European Union’s position on the status of the territories occupied by Israel in 1967 remains unchanged.” algemeiner
After the EU responded the Americans come out more clearly, and it is reported on the April 2
By TOI staff 28 April 2020, 3:39 am
The United States said Monday it was ready to recognize Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank but asked Israel’s government to also negotiate with the Palestinians.
“As we have made consistently clear, we are prepared to recognize Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel,” a US State Department spokesperson said when asked if the US would allow Israel’s new government to move forward with the process.
The step would be “in the context of the Government of Israel agreeing to negotiate with the Palestinians along the lines set forth in President Trump’s Vision,” the spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
“The annexation would be in the context of an offer to the Palestinians to achieve statehood based upon specific terms, conditions, territorial dimensions and generous economic support. This is an unprecedented and highly beneficial opportunity for the Palestinians,” the State Department spokesperson said.
The Trump peace plan unveiled earlier this year - which angered the Palestinians and was rejected by much of the international community - gave Israel the green light to annex settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley area. timesofisrael
United With Israel adds,
According to the terms of the unity agreement reached by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party, the issue of extending Israeli sovereignty can be brought to the Knesset for a vote on July 1 at the earliest.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that it was up to Israel whether or not to annex territory in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, and that discussions on the issue are taking place through private channels with the Israeli government.
The Palestinians have refused to negotiate with the Trump administration.
The Arab League will convene an urgent virtual meeting this week to discuss Israel’s annexation plans, according to the AFP. unitedwithisrael
The Australian added it is the end of the two state solution
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week reached a power-sharing deal to remain in office after three inconclusive elections, has vowed to press ahead with annexations that the Palestinians say will shut the door to a two-state solution. theaustralian
There are three points to note: The PA isn't talking at all hoping to wait out Trump, Israel and America are secretly communicating freely without impediment, and the Arab League can only meet virtually. The virus has so changed the environment that all normal diplomacy is lost, as they fear to meet lest they end up fighting for their life, like Boris Johnson.
There is no ability for any to gather in protest as in most places, including in Europe, Iran, PA and Gaza, gatherings of any size are forbidden due to fear of the virus. Furthermore the people of the world are focussed on the issues in their own life, the media also is struggling and focused on the cares of the people, and the leaders are struggling to rule to keep their essential services working and people from falling into starvation. There is no economy anywhere to boycott, and none now would wish to boycott, as all are looking to Israel technology for solutions to the issues of the virus, as China is not being helpful.
So shadowed is the situation, that even the Israeli government is delaying technical formal action on the agreement until July 1. By July 1 the action of applying Sovereignty would be no longer be news. Yet the critical Great Nation action and Israeli agreements were made to allow Israeli Sovereignty over the Mountains, in this time where events are overshadowed, at exactly the 100 year anniversary of the time when the Great Powers wrote into International law, agreed by America, a mandate for the creation of a Jewish nation on the Mountains of Judea and Samaria.
Let us consider that 100 years from San Remo in the context of the 50 years from the Jewish rule in Jerusalem in 1967 to the Great Power, American-led recognition of Jewish rule there in 2017. Let us consider that Isaac Newton in 1733, long before events, noted a 49 year interval. Let us consider Christ's prophecy regarding Jerusalem.
For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations:
and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:22-27)
From 1967 when Jews again ruled Jerusalem after 2,000 years, there was a remarkable era of protest as 'sea and waves', which after a generation of 50 years has become a spirit of fear, where even the political heavens are shaken.
Iran in shadowed eclipse
Iran as Persia 100 years ago was part of the Great Powers Great Game. It was no surprise to Bible Students based on the reference to Persia in Ezekiel 38, that the Iranian revolution of 1979 alienated Britain and America from Iran.
Iran's trade connection to China to evade sanctions meant they didn't block flights, and due to virus entering the Iranian holy city of Qom the virus affected the Iranian elite. After threatening the safety of Israel with the threat of destruction of nuclear weapons, for the moment they are weakened.
The Iranian regime in Tehran has repeatedly stated that its goal is the “total annihilation” of Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel has blocked Iran’s military buildup in Syria and was preparing to clear the Iranians out.
Bennett’s comments came the day after Syrian news agencies reported on an alleged Israeli air strike on an ammunition dump near the Syrian capital of Damascus. worldisraelnews
It is reported:
The global battle against the novel coronavirus might have overtaken the news cycle, but under the radar, Israel’s shadow war against Iran has yet to miss a beat. last November, Bennett immediately pushed for a more aggressive approach to fighting Iran in Syria, which mostly meant keeping up a steady pace of the attacks with very little break in between. The idea has been to prevent Iran from being able to create an infrastructure in Syria. While Iran is still there, the IDF has noticed a drop in Tehran’s appetite to keep this fight up for long. This is a far cry from yet declaring victory, but it is believed to be the result of a combination of the aggressive policy Bennett brought with him to the Defense Ministry when he took up the post half a year ago; the impact the virus has had back in Iran; and the drop in the price of oil, a key source of revenue for the Islamic government. jpost
They don't know yet how badly the nuclear program is affected.
Based on Prophecy we would expect that there is both Persian animosity to Israel, yet apparent safety on the mountains of Israel.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (1Thessalonians 5:2-3)
China (goes missing)
Until very recently China was in an expansionist mode to absolute world domination and influence that didn't fit any pattern of prophecy.
Five Eyes is US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand intelligence agencies. They have exposed a series of Chinese cover-ups and lies.
Five Eyes security alliance brands Beijing's secrecy over the pandemic an 'assault on international transparency dailymail
Five Eyes is interesting as it fits an expected pattern of 120 years for the Old Merchant nation with Young Lion nations. The pattern had an absence that has puzzled us and many others for some years. China is not mentioned in Bible prophecy of the last day-! now why? What? the Bible didn't know?- but it mentions the US (Woe, Isaiah 18 place of Ambassadors in UN building) and Russia and Britain, and France, and Iran, but not China. China is known about as those of Sinim (another name for China as in Sino-US relations etc) are mentioned in the kingdom (Isaiah 49:12) but not when it comes to the action of the end times. Why not?
A virus is bringing down that proud nation, who are a problem and a cause of sin in Israel.
Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots (cars): Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: (Isaiah 2:6-8)
Just as in the rest of the world, Israel are replenished or filled up with cheap poor quality, stuff of vanity, from the East!
The whole world has had to re-evaluate what is essential. Of note is that Americans have turned to reading the Bible,
A stunning 44% of Americans polled said they see “the global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown” as “a wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God,” as “signs of coming judgment."
Fully one in five non-Christians (22%) polled said the crisis is causing them to start reading the Bible and listen to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online even though they usually don’t, search online to learn more about Bible prophecy and God’s plan for the future of mankind, and have more spiritual conversations with family and friends. jpost
This also is causing Jews in Israel to re-think
Jewish tradition teaches us that when tragedies befall the community, we are required to look into ourselves and seek ways to improve our behavior.
For people of biblical faith, the restoration of Israel after two millennia of exile is a clear sign that God is still faithful to His promises. We are living in times that were yearned for by Jews before us for nearly 2,000 years. But this perspective must not mutate into conjecture about what God will do next or what the reasons are for the spread of a deadly disease. jpost
The writer makes a point, Our understanding of God begins after the event has passed. However we may see the pattern of events before and as they happen in the same way my ancestors saw the pattern of events that led to the restoration of Israel. Isaiah 2 is a prophecy of the latter days. The 'replenishing from the East' can be seen. Next Isaiah 2 says, “Enter into the rock for fear” then the judgement of the Lord is
upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. (Isa 2:16)
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (Isaiah 2:20-21)
Not only will Israel be forced to rethink replenishment from the East- so too are many other nations:
Matthew Pottinger, in addition to serving as Deputy National Security Advisor in the Trump Administration, he has served as a top advisor on China policy, an expertise Pottinger honed while reporting for the Wall Street Journal from Beijing. Pottinger recounted how seeing up close how Beijing treats its citizens helped instill in him a newfound respect for the US, and an intense wariness of the CCP. He also covered the SARS outbreak in 2003-2004. Pottinger is heavily involved in the Trump Administration's plan to chart a new course for the US-China relationship that would take us closer to a "decoupling". Pottinger, is now a pivotal player in the Trump administration’s attempts to reorient U.S. policy on China toward a more confrontational approach.
Long before the outbreak, Pottinger reportedly kept a 'scorecard' in his office with a 'highly detailed' accounting of all the ways China is undermining the US. "Decoupling," he replied, "is when you have a Great Firewall where not a single Western Internet company has been able to prosper or survive in China, by design. When Christian churches are torn down and ethnic minorities are put into reeducation camps, that’s 'decoupling.' So the ‘decoupling’ is something that’s been underway for quite a long time - and it is not driven by the United States." zerohedge
It is not just government, the Merchants of the western English speaking world were dismayed at how their supply chains proved to be so fragile.
COVID-19 is the opportunity many businesses have been looking for to justify a move away from the production behemoth. Patrick Von den Bossche, a partner at global manufacturing consultancy Kearney, told Forbes last week that it’s an option businesses have been considering for a while.
“People have been talking about leaving China for many years now,” Bossche told Forbes. “What we are seeing now is that companies are taking a hard look at it… Many will see that they must diversify away from China.” thepostmillennial
In the past 100 years China may have been considered unimportant by Bible students, relegated to unseen by its own isolationist policy, or by its destruction in Communism. But recently this was not the case. China is now beginning to slot into its allotted place of the end time – that of the missing national power in prophecy, that of a billion people, with a strong military and powerful manufacturing base, being of no account one way or the other. Considering the recent extent of power of the Chinese, this may well be the most remarkable fulfilment of prophecy of all: precisely because it is the fulfilment of a void, an absence.
