May 8
Is the Cold War Back On?
Vice President Dick Cheney has set off a media firestorm by accusing Russia of backsliding on democracy reform. In a summit
speech to Baltic and Black Sea leaders in Vilnius, he warned that Russia was "seeking to reverse the gains of the last
decade" by restricting democratic rights, and he warned President Vladimir Putin some of Moscow's actions could hurt relations
with other countries.
Cheney took specific aim at Moscow's use of its vast energy supplies as a political leverage against its neighbors.
"No legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply manipulation
or attempts to monopolize transportation," he said.
In January, Russia was sharply rebuked when it briefly turned off its gas taps to Ukraine and large areas of Western Europe
over a pricing dispute. The Russian state-controlled company Gazprom halted deliveries to Ukraine because Kiev had refused
to meet its demands for a fourfold price increase.
Another indication of the increasingly chilly relations between the United States and Russia is the conflict over Iran's
nuclear program. Washington cannot escape the fact that Russia is the main supplier behind the Iranian nuclear program.
Foreign policy watchers are wondering what will happen when America pushes for UN sanctions against Iran for its
noncompliance with several resolutions. Russia holds a veto in the UN Security Council, and it opposes any sanctions.
Cheney's speech has been compared to a 1946 speech by Winston Churchill in Fulton, Missouri, when he said Europe was
divided by an "Iron Curtain." Churchill is given credit for being one of the first political leaders to recognize what would
become the great divide between Eastern and Western Europe.
The Russian press has been very active in highlighting the possibility of a new Cold War. "Enemy at the Gates. Dick Cheney made
a Fulton speech in Vilnius," said business daily Kommersant's front page headline. "Vice President Dick Cheney made a keynote
speech on relations between the West and Russia in which he practically established the start of the second Cold War ... The
Cold War has restarted, only now the front lines have shifted," the article said.
Russia increasingly views itself as being isolated from the mainstream. Because that nation's media is largely state-controlled, news reports give us a clear insight into what its leadership is thinking. "What can Russia do? It would appear it will have to strengthen ties with Belarus and Central Asia. And get close to China, to balance this Western might." said Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia's top-selling daily paper.
Over the past few years, I've noticed that Russia has begun to closely match the prophetic scenario described by the prophet Ezekiel. President Vladimir Putin has been rapidly consolidating power, political opposition has been methodically silenced, and Russia has a friendly relationship with every key Arab nation describe in the Gog invasion of Chapter 38 and 39.
One factor that has prevented Russia from being openly hostile to Israel is its desire to maintain a good relationship with the West. Now that a chill has developed between Washington and Moscow, it is now conceivable that Russia could join in an Arab military campaign against the Jewish state.
In one of his speeches to leaders of post-communist nations, Cheney said "None of us believes that Russia is fated to become an enemy." If the Vice President understood Bible prophecy he probably would refrain from making such an optimistic statement. It is Russia's fate to become an enemy of America. We may be the "young lions" that are surprised by the army from the far north.
"Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13).
--- Todd
Any other gospel…
Perhaps no other classification of prophetic indicators exhibits more ubiquitous/prolific such end-time signs in this generation than the category “other gospels.” The Scriptures are found back-to-back, and are repeated by the Apostle Paul for emphasis.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9).
This specific prophetic warning for the last generation just before Christ’s return is again given by the great Apostle and prophet, Paul:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Satan comes at this generation with a full, frontal assault that no Christian should fail to recognize. Tragically, most do miss the attacks, so wrapped in the entertainment hyperbole of the day are they, their eyes on the glitter and glitz of the Hollywood hucksters of lasciviousness. The two most recent of the frontal assaults are the novel, The Da Vinci Code, and the archaeological artifact and subsequent documentary film, The Gospel of Judas.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is at 40-million-plus copies in sales as of this writing. A major motion picture of the same title is set for release soon, and is expected to, perhaps, set an all-time record box office draw. In essence, the work is a clever, but complete fabrication of matters surrounding Roman Emperor Constantine and his treatment of and interaction with Christianity. The story distorts and totally misrepresents the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. It gives Jesus greatly diminished status and a nature that is willing to enter into collusion with those who would fake His death, burial and resurrection. As if those blasphemies were not enough, Brown takes up the line of fiction that follows the trail of the search for the Holy Grail from the Holy Land into Europe, where the British Israel theory was hatched –the preposterous notion that Jesus and Mary were married and issued forth offspring that still can claim royal lineage to Christ today.
Sadly, much of the replacement theology of our time is based in this satanic tripe because of the ignorance of those who hold to the belief that Israel no longer is heir to God’s promises to them. The blasphemy of claiming God would ever renege on an unconditional promise is held as doctrinal truth by major denominations within Christianity today. I believe it is one of the key elements of doctrinal integrity that will one day separate the Philadelphian Church from the Laodicean (read Rev. 3:7-19).
The second most overt frontal assault is currently being made by Satan and his minions through The Gospel of Judas. This is a complete upside-down lie that makes Judas not Jesus’ worst human enemy, but His best friend! It is incredible that we could come to this point in the perversion of God’s truth. But, here we are, right on schedule in relationship to all other prophetic signs of the times, so far as God’s prophetic Word is concerned.
One writer of a major publication framed The Gospel of Judas like this:
“…What will make this gospel famous—or infamous, perhaps—is that it portrays Judas quite differently from anything we previously knew. Here he is not the evil, corrupt, devil-inspired follower of Jesus who betrayed his master; he is instead Jesus' closest intimate and friend, the one who understood Jesus better than anyone else, who turned Jesus over to the authorities because Jesus wanted him to do so. This gospel has a completely different understanding of God, the world, Christ, salvation, human existence—not to mention of Judas himself—than came to be embodied in the Christian creeds and canon. It will open up new vistas for understanding Jesus and the religious movement he founded" (Bart Ehrman, et al., "The Gospel of Judas," National Geographic, 2006).
As disturbing as these blasphemies are, there are others far more troubling, in my view. They are far more troubling because they come, supposedly, from within Christianity. The most egregious examples are the new Bible versions based upon texts other than the authorized.
There isn’t space to go into detail here, but the new “Bibles” that tone down the blood atonement of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection, or that relegate God to gender-neutral status rather than acknowledging Him in the masculine –that try to present a message that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with things like judgment, punishment, or Hell --that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with Christ’s coming again and the prophetic Word, are not Heaven-sent, but hell-spawned.
Let us not be deceived by those who seek to diminish Jesus Christ in any form. Let’s not fall for any other gospel, but be fortified and edified by that once given –the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). That is essential to understand in this last time.
--Terry
