The Final Countdown

Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said today that the number of nations capable of quickly assembling nuclear warheads could triple very soon, particularly among Middle Eastern states.

(ElBaradei) predicted that the next wave of proliferation would involve “virtual nuclear weapons states”, who can produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium and possess the knowhow to make warheads, but who stop just short of assembling a weapon. They would therefore remain technically compliant with the NPT while being within a couple of months of deploying and using a nuclear weapon.

“This is the phenomenon we see now and what people worry about in Iran. And this phenomenon goes much beyond Iran. Pretty soon … you will have nine weapons states and probably another 10 or 20 virtual weapons states.” ElBaradei pointed to the spread of uranium enrichment technology around the world, but he was most concerned about the Middle East.

“When you see a lot of concern about the Middle East, it’s a result of people feeling totally repressed by their own government and feeling unjustly treated by the outside world. This combination makes it a ticking bomb.”

In Russia, a National Security Strategy memo contained a revealing quote. From the Assosciated Press:

The document, which has been signed by President Dmitry Medvedev, listed top challenges to national security and outlined government priorities through 2020.

“The international policy in the long run will be focused on getting hold of energy sources, including in the Middle East, the Barents Sea shelf and other Arctic regions, the Caspian and Central Asia,” said the strategy paper that was posted on the presidential Security Council‘s Web site.

While these two stories may seem to have little to do with each other, they are actually very much connected. Russia wants the energy resources from the Middle East, while most of the Arab nations of that region want Israel obliterated. That is why the will join together in an attempt to destroy Israel (Psalm 83:4-5), and nuclear weapons will be used by both the Russian-led confederation (Joel 2:3) and Israel (Ezekiel 39:6).

It was a big weekend for the key Biblical players from the East, beginning Friday with a minor dust up between American and Chinese naval vessels, the fifth such “clash” since March. Friday’s incident was seemingly innocuous, with a Chinese military ship responding to a situation between the US vessel and a Chinese fishing boat. However, tension escalated after a Chinese spokesman berated the US for its involvement, adding more stress to a situation that has been building in recent months. Over in North Korea, there has been heavy activity at a nuclear testing facility, the same site where North Korea first detonated a nuclear device in 2006. After the news leaked, North Korea took the opportunity to reiterate its promise to bolster its nuclear weapons arsenal.

The biggest news, however, comes from Russia. In the wake of the failed (and supposedly Russian-backed) mutiny in the former Soviet state of Georgia, as well as heightened angst between Russia and the European Union, Russia put its military might on display, parading nuclear capable missiles, heavy artillery tanks, and tens of thousands of soldiers through the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities.

Russia, China, North Korea, and the EU play critical parts in the greatest war in the history of the world. It all begins when Russia forms a confederacy of Jew-hating nations (Psalm 83:4-5) and launches an attack against Israel (Jeremiah 10:22, Ezekiel 38 & 39). The Russian led armies will face a great defeat (Joel 2:20; Ezekiel 39:6), so much so that even with every available man working, it will take 7 months to bury the dead (Ezekiel 39:12-13). But there is a second part to this invasion, and that is led by China, who brings with them North Korea and other nations (Revelation 16:12). This is when the largest army ever assembled (Revelation 9:16) marches down the Euphrates River (Revelation 9:14, 16:12; Isaiah 11:15) and into the Middle East, where they meet the Antichrist and his forces, who comes against Russia and China (Daniel 11:44) for breaking the peace contract he forged (Daniel 9:26-27; Ezekiel 38:11).

It’s happening, and happening soon.

Russian Colonel General Vladimir Popovkin said today that the Russian military will conduct at least five tests of the Bulava nuclear missile this year. This is an important weapon for the Russians to have at their disposal because the submarine-launched missile carries six independently targeted warheads, which means any missile defense shield employed by the United States or other western nations would be rendered useless.

At the midpoint of the Tribulation, Russia will lead a confederation of Arab and former Soviet controlled nations (Psalm 83:4-5; Ezekiel 38:8, 16) against Israel (Ezekiel 38:15; Luke 21:20).  At this time Russia will probably launch a sneak attack (Jeremiah 50:24, 51:12) against the United States (Jeremiah 50:9, 41; 51:48) using precision missiles (Jeremiah 50:14, 29; 51:3, 11).

Meanwhile, North Korea is now threatening to test new missiles and nuclear technology, and to commence a new uranium-enrichment program. North Korea is one of the “kings of the east” who joins with China (Revelation 16:12) to form a 200 million man army (Revelation 9:16) that marches down the Euphrates River (Revelation 9:14, Isaiah 11:15) to the Middle East after Russia is beaten back during its invasion (Joel 2:20; Ezekiel 39:6). During this Chinese-led invasion nuclear weapons will be used (Revelation 8:7; 9:18).

Russia and China are the key players in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which will be the main nemesis of the Antichrist during the first half of the Tribulation (Daniel 11:44). The Southeastern Anatolia Project will make it possible to dam the waters of the Euphrates so that this massive army can march down it on dry land (Isaiah 11:15).

There are a lot of smaller stories in the news today, so instead of making several shorter postings, let’s combine some of the more appropriate stories into one post.

Lebanon wants to keep strong ties with Egypt while Jordan continues to push for Palestinian statehood.  Lebanon (Psalm 83:7), Egypt (Daniel 11:40), Jordan (Psalm 83:7), and a Palestinian state (Psalm 83:7) are all part of the Russian confederation that tries to eliminate Israel (Psalm 83:4-5) halfway through the Tribulation (Daniel 9:26-27; Ezekiel 38:11).

North Korea proclaims it has restarted its nuclear facilities and is said to be harvesting plutonium. North Korea is also reprocessing fuel rods at a time when three of its national companies have been blacklisted by the UN for their role in developing ballistic missile technology. North Korea will be one of the Oriental nations to join with China in a march to the Middle East (Revelation 16:12). This follows the Russian led march against Israel mentioned above. In both instances nuclear weapons will be used (Revelation 8:7, 9:18; Isaiah 13:10-13; Joel 2:3, 30; 2 Peter 3:10-12).

Great Britain has announced a plan to monitor every email and listen to every internet phone call that comes through its borders. The Antichrist, whose headquarters will apparently be in Europe (Daniel 7:20, 24; 9:26), will use similar technology to monitor and track every human on earth, but at an even deeper level (Revelation 13:16-18), enabling him to gain control over the whole earth (Daniel 7:23; Revelation 13:7). The technology exists for this now, and it is already in use in some instances.

Two Christians were executed by the Taliban for protesting Muslim graffiti that demanded they renounce Christ. There have been more Christians murdered for the faith in the last 100 years than in the previous 1900 years combined, and it will continue to get worse. During the Tribulation, millions of souls will be saved (Revelation 7:9-14) thanks to the preaching of the 144,000 converted Jews (Revelation 7:4-8). Most (not all) of these new believers will face death by beheading, just as it is done in Muslim countries today (Revelation 20:4). It is often done at the hand of one’s own parents or children (Mark 13:12-13), because they think that by obeying the Antichrist, they are doing God’s work (John 16:2), because he claims to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 11:36).

Also of note, the group responsible for the murder of these Christians, the Taliban, is gaining traction in Pakistan, a nuclear power nation. They could get access to nuclear weapons and nuclear technology, helping to fulfill the above prophecies concerning the Arab states.

World leaders are looking to the United States to spark the recovery out of the current global recession. The US will still be the world’s creator of wealth into the Tribulation (Jeremiah 51:3; Revelation 18:11-15), at which time she appears to be laid desolate (Revelation 18:10) by Russia (Jeremiah 50:9).

Russia has test fired an aging Topol rocket that is capable of defeating missile defense shields.

Russia successfully test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday as part of checks needed to extend its service life for up to 22 years, Russian media reported.

The Topol was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, nestled among the forests of northern Russia, and successfully hit the test site on Russia’s Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to the east.

…

Test launches of new missiles have become routine in recent years, and the Kremlin says the financial crisis will not discourage it from spending as much money as needed on defense. The Topol, which entered service in 1985, was last test-fired last October.

Russia has extended the highly mobile Topol’s use way past the 10-year guaranteed operational life set by the manufacturer. It is designed to pierce anti-missile defense systems such as those that the United States has said it wants to build in Eastern Europe.

The RS-12M Topol, called the SS-25 Sickle by NATO, has a maximum range of 10,000 km (6,125 miles) and can carry one 550-kiloton warhead.

In the last few years, Russia has ramped up development and testing of weapons designed to penetrate US and European defense shields, including the impressive Iskander MIRV, which is capable of separating into 10 different nuclear warheads mid-flight, rendering any air defense system useless. This will enable Russia to shoot “(its) arrows like those of an expert warrior” (Jeremiah 50:9) when executing a surprise attack on what appears to be the United States (Jeremiah 50:24).