???On October 27, 2005, The New York Times published an article quoting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, who declared that the state of Israel must be "wiped off the map." Later, Ahmadinejad made his message even clearer when he shouted, "Death to Israel!" in a speech during a rally in Iran (Iranian News Channel, Aug. 2, 2006). But this is nothing new. Rafsanjani, who served as President of Iran from 1989 to 1997 and is currently Chairman of Assembly of Experts and of the Expediency Council of Iran, suggested that a nuclear attack be launched on Israel that would "annihilate Israel" (Iran Press Service, Dec. 14, 2001). All of this leaves little room for doubt regarding Iran's intentions against Israel.
???In the early 1990s, a new and surprising development began to take shape: Russia began to build an alliance with the country of Iran. Just recently, Russia agreed to a $1 billion arms deal with Iran, and today Russian President Putin is defending Iran's nuclear program to the rest of the world.
???To make matters worse, Russia apparently has an agenda of its own. In 1982, Israeli troops stormed Lebanon and discovered a massive storehouse of Soviet weapons, preventing what analysts believe would have been a full-scale invasion of Israel and other nearby countries. Although Russia's plot was exposed, she did not back down. Volfovich Zhirinovsky, an influential Russian leader and politician, wrote in his 1993 book that Russia must carry out a military expedition known as "The Final Thrust South," in which it will take over the Middle East and become rich. Most recently, President Putin has declared that his "historical mission" is to "prevent the collapse of the USSR," in an interview that can be read in the book First Person (2000).
???Two seemingly unrelated countries - Russia and Iran - with two different agendas are now allied with one another and can use the other's goals to their own advantage. Israel has become a common target.
???But hold on to your seats, everyone. A Russian-Iranian invasion of Israel was predicted over 2500 years ago by the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel in the Bible, Chapters 38-39. Ezekiel envisions a massive multi-national attack on Israel headed by Russia, with aid from countries such as Iran (called "Persia" until 1935), Libya, Ethiopia, Turkey and even some European countries. According to this prophecy, God himself will come to Israel's rescue and the enemies of Israel will be wiped out by a catastrophic downpour of fire, hail and Spectrum issues.
???Looking back, events in the 20th century have transpired exactly as the Bible said it would; the rebirth of the nation of Israel (1948), the recent oil discoveries (Givot Olam site) and economic growth of Israel should not have taken Bible-readers by surprise. Everything is happening right on schedule, and the next predicted event - a Russian attack on Israel - may be on the near horizon. This correspondence of current developments with Bible prophecies points to the fact that the Bible is not merely a man-made book and that the God who wrote the Bible is in control of world history.
???For more detailed information about the Biblical prophecy of the Russian invasion of Israel, go to www.joelrosenberg.com or read Joel C. Rosenberg's book, Epicenter.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
