‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you. (Ezekiel 38:3-6)
The LORD God told Ezekiel to record a prophecy about the last of the last days. Russia and other nations will attack Israel. The allied nations that will join Russia in this surprise attack will be Iran, Ethiopia, other northern African states, Armenia, part of the Baltic States (the -stans), and Turkey.
Turkey has spent the last 20 years aiming to meld with the west, to show the West up, even, diplomatically, politically, and economically. In past decades, the nation of Turkey had subdued its rabidly Muslim religious tendency in favor of a more tolerant, democritized attitude. It had sought to join the European Union, revive itself as a player in the Middle East, and to be friend to both Muslim nations and democracies near and far.
It has failed.
During the time of Turkey's upward trajectory, it seemed impossible that the nation would join in a dastardly alliance and attack the only other democracy in the Mid-East. Their pinnacle of world favor was reached a few years ago, but now it seems all of Turkey's goals are slowly unraveling. Since Turkey is a major player in the area specifically concerned with last days prophecy, let's take a look at the following news stories and see how Turkey is doing:
Turkey’s once-worldly aims falter, even close allies concerned
From a political perspective, defending Turkey's blend of political Islam and neoliberal economic policies was not terribly difficult a decade ago. After all, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped build the 17th largest economy in the world and what would be the sixth largest among European Union countries. His plan was to be a top-10 economy by 2023, and operating under free-market fundamentals, Turkey was quickly tacking toward that goal. Externally, Turkey seemed to be the perfect partner for Washington. She was the second-largest troop contributor to Afghanistan, backed the invasion of Libya, armed the rebels in Syria, denounced the military coup in Egypt and came to the rescue of countless Tsunami-stricken regions from Indonesia to Japan. Internally, however, the country was falling apart."
The article goes on to show that internal corruption, crackdowns and a power-hungry Prime Minister has all combined to plummet Turkey's standing with other nations in both the east and the west.
In the economic areas, Turkey isn't faring much better.
A Leader Shows Vulnerability in Turkey’s Cash Crisis
"First, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the bold move by Turkey’s central bank this week to raise interest rates sharply to halt the decline in the country’s currency, telling reporters that higher borrowing costs would lead to inflation — an argument that contravenes accepted economic logic. Mr. Erdogan’s economic adviser, Yigit Bulut, then did little to reassure skittish investors, suggesting that the prime minister would do something that would be “very positive for the markets,” but did not say exactly what Mr. Erdogan’s plans were. The remarks only added to jitters in financial markets, which have battered the Turkish stock market and in recent weeks sent the currency, the lira, to historic lows."
"Officials in Western capitals, including President Obama, came to see him as the prime example of a leader who could meld democratic values, Islam and economic prosperity. But much of the money was funneled to a group of insiders who made fortunes while building malls and other developments that increasingly lacked sound economic underpinnings. Now, with bond investors fleeing and interest rates rising, Mr. Erdogan’s economic turnaround is in jeopardy of unraveling in a toxic stew of bad loans, accusations of cronyism and the appearance of seat-of-the-pants economic stewardship."
Turkey is a powerhouse in the region. Its fortunes are changing, and in my opinion the new conditions for Turkey show more closely it is being readied to fulfill prophecy. Any nation at this junctue in time on a downward spiral should be watched closely, and more so becase of the ptomise of Turkey's activity in coming against Israel inthe last days.
Keep an eye on the nations that are specifically mentioned in prophecy (Ethiopia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, etc) and also of course keep an eye on the region in general. (the peace talks between Israel and Palestine led by Secretary of State Kerry, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda...). God is always at work and it is a wonder to know that he is, and when it's possible, to actually see His works.
But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." (John 5:17)
God raised up Pharaoh so that God's glory would be shown. Pharaoh lived many, many years and who would have guessed at the time of the plagues and the confrontation of Moses that all the prior years of raising up it was for a specific time such as that and for the specific reason. It is the same now with the kings of the earth earth.
But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16)
Has God raised up Erdogan...Putin...Netanyahu...Morsi...to show His works and His glory for the fulfillment of the long-ago prophesied deeds? Or will they be other men at a future time when the prophecies come to fulfillment? Time will tell, but never fear, the Father is working.
