Russia, North Korea and World Peace

 

Russia, North Korea and World Peace

The whole World seems to be in a fix that would take an immense amount of work and co-operation to solve. There are few places where true peace can be found, many no longer trust Banks to keep their money safe and life in general is for many hard and stressful. This ought to make us think – ‘what will happen next, will the world as we know it pull through?’ Students of God’s Word, the Bible, however, need not to be concerned by such ‘portents of disaster’. The Lord Jesus told his disciples clearly that just before his return such troubles would arise and although one might say that his words could apply to any age, it seems clear that today’s sad world fits perfectly with the one the Lord Jesus describes.

Luke 21:9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.
10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Nation shall rise against Nation.

A good example of Nation rising against Nation is North Korea, who though relatively tiny and in the grips of a devastating famine, is belligerently challenging one of the world’s mightiest nations, the USA. Angry at UN sanctions following its nuclear test in February and the recent military drills in S Korea, N. Korea is now in a state of war with S. Korea and has threatened ‘merciless’ pre-emptive strikes against it and the USA. The final straw was the US sending nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers in a first ever firing drill over the Korean Peninsula. Just hours later the North cut its last- remaining military hotline with South Korea and put its rocket units on combat status with a threat of targeting US bases in the Pacific region. Their Parliament endorsed plans to give nuclear weapons greater prominence in the country's defences and a recent report states that more intermediate range missiles have been moved to its east coast and pointed towards the USA.

Let the weak say I am strong

North Korea’s preparations for war bring to mind the prophecy of Joel, who spoke of the time of the end when all nations would rise against Israel and be defeated at the battle of Armageddon.
Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
Here, North Korea could be classed as a weak nation preparing for war, beefing up its Nuclear potential and saying, in effect ‘I am strong’.

Wars and commotions

The Civil War in Syria goes on unabated with March being the bloodiest month so far. One of the factors which keeps the conflict going is the involvement of Russia and Iran on the side of Syria. It was to be expected that Russia would return to its old belligerent ways for it seems clear from Bible prophecy that Russia, as Gog, or King of the North, will be the leader of the army of nations which assembles in the Valley of Jehoshaphat to attack Israel at the Time of the End. 

In the prophecy of Daniel Ch 11:40 we read 
‘And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.’

It is significant that Russia is now using its ships to bolster its presence in the Middle East. Recently a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman stated that naval manoeuvres in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean would continue and that shortly 4 large Assault ships would also be sent. He stated ominously that the size of the group and the types of ships would depend on the situation there. The Black Sea is a strategic waterway connecting to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean. Countries with shoreline along the Black Sea include Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, in addition to Russia which has been heavily involved in protecting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad . Late last year, as a protective measure, Turkey deployed a number of batteries of Patriot missile defence systems supplied by NATO allies including the USA along its border with Syria.

Surprise!

Another sign of preparation for war was the Surprise Military Exercise in the Black Sea personally authorised by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He phoned his Defence Minister at 4 in the morning with orders to activate 7,000 troops, 36 ships, up to 20 fighter jets and helicopters and 50 pieces of artillery in order to test battle readiness in the Black Sea. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stated “We are talking about major exercises, intended as a check”; but it could be seen that such preparations are for aggression rather than defence.

Signs in the Sun and moon

The Prophet Joel also prophesied that the LORD ‘would shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.’ (Joel 2:30-31) and we have just experienced two such wonders; two very close shaves in the form of visitors from Outer Space. In early February a130, 000 ton asteroid brushed past the Earth at a distance of 17,000 miles, closer to the earth than some of our satellites; and just hours before, Russia had a close encounter with a 55 foot diameter meteor. It left a vapour trail across the sky in the Ural Mountains and exploded 15 miles above earth with a force 30 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. It lit up the sky, caused shockwaves that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes, blowing out windows and setting off car alarms over a wide area. NASA scientists said the timing of the two cosmic events, both of which are unprecedented in modern times, was merely coincidental; even so it ought to make us pause to wonder if the Creator of the Universe is not telling us something!

What is the Creator of the Universe telling us?

The Creator of the Universe is the Maker of the Earth, Sun, Moon and Stars Gen1:

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
Ps 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

As all things are therefore in His power and the lights in the Heavens (stars etc.,) are for signs, isn’t it possible, that when we have TWO meteors approaching the earth at the same time we should see this as a sign. Its interesting to consider the doubling up of this sign, for when Pharaoh received two dreams as messages from God, this is what Joseph told him Gen 41:32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. A sign then of trouble to come upon the world? And when one of them causes great fear and damage to Russia, Israel’s strongest enemy, maybe we are being given a warning that God is bringing about the time described in Joel and the return of Jesus.

Signs in the world

When God judged the world at the time of Noah and sent the Flood, it was because of mankind’s wickedness Gen 6:

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth

Returning to Joel, we see that God’s Judgement will again fall again upon a world which has moved so far from the ways of mercy, love and truth which the lord Jesus preached in his Gospel.
Joel Ch 3 tells us of the gathering of the Nations against Jerusalem and God’s judgement, because of their wickedness.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

A way of escape

If the signs in the heavens and among warring mankind tell us that ‘The day of the LORD is near’ (Joel 314), what can we do about it? This was the first thing the Lord Jesus preached about when he began his ministry.
Mr 1:15 Saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
It is by repenting (having a change of mind and outlook); believing the Gospel of the Kingdom to come and being baptised that we can escape the calamities which are soon to fall upon this earth. And not only escape but also hope to reign with him over an earth which resembles the Garden of Eden before the fall. For those with such a hope, today’s troubles hold no threat but a promise of a glorious future, as the Lord Jesus said…
Lu 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.