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• An Arabian game...

• How an ancient prophet foretold exactly what is happening today...

A favorite pastime in ancient Persia was a board game, in which exquisitely carved characters were moved about a checkered board, plotting war strategies with the ultimate goal of defeating the opposing Shah.  The “Shah’s Game” it was called, and while it may have originated in India or China, we know that it was developed and fine tuned in Persia.  The Arab world relished the game, and eventually introduced it to the western world where shah morphed into chess and the characters changed from elephants and camels to bishops and knights.

Today we are playing a high stakes chess game of sorts in which the principle players were identified centuries ago in an ancient piece of literature, the book of Ezekiel in the Bible.  One of the key players is Persia, officially known as Iran since 1935 and today as the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Another “player” also identified by Ezekiel, is Russia, whose connections to Iran are more significant and serious than many of us realize. 

At the center of this deadly game is one small country, around whom all the controversy swirls—Israel. Iran’s radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to destroy Israel, to wipe her off the map, and he has a lot more support behind the scenes than most people know.

An article titled “UN Ceremony Includes Map of ‘Palestine’ In Place of Israel” was published December 9, 2005. Here is how it begins:
The United Nations held a "Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" last week. A large map of “Palestine,” with Israel literally wiped off the map, featured prominently in the festivities. The ceremony was held at the UN headquarters in New York and was attended by Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Presidents of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.1

Think about it. A meeting held in the UN, attended by the secretary general of the United Nations, displaying a map of the Middle East – without Israel. 

Ezekiel 38 makes it clear that one day Russia will attack Israel—and not alone. The Russians will build a military coalition.  Though he wrote his prophecies over 2,500 years ago, the intelligence information Ezekiel offers us is extraordinary! He gives us a detailed list of countries that will join Russia’s anti-Israel coalition, and the first specific country he named is Persia (Ezekiel38:5). A military alliance between Russia and Iran is emerging for the first time in history, beginning in the 1990s. Tehran was desperate to rebuild its forces after Iran’s eight year war with Iraq.  Moscow was desperate for cash after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “It was a match made in hell,” says author Joel Rosenberg. 2

A deadly game, being played out with very deliberate moves, with a specific goal – to wipe out Israel.  And all of it is described in Ezekiel 38.

When the Soviet Union collapsed and the threat they once posed seemed diminished, prophecy students began to wonder if everyone had misinterpreted Ezekiel’s prophecy. But the headlines over the last few years tell the true story:

RUSSIA PLANS 5 MORE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN IRAN
Washington Post, July 27, 2002

NEW RAILWAY TO LINK RUSSIA AND IRAN VIA AZERBAIJAN
Agence France-Presse, May 22, 2004

RUSSIA FAVORS IRAN ROUTE FOR CRUDE EXPORTS
Tehran times, June 14, 2004

PUTIN: IRAN DOESN’T PLAN TO BUILD ATOMIC ARMS
Aljazeera, February 18, 2005

PUTIN DEFENDS ARMS SALES TO IRAN
Associated Press, April 28, 2005

IRAN REGARDS RUSSIA AS POSSIBLE PARTNER TO BUILD 20 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
MosNews.com, September 7, 2005

KREMLIN READY TO DEFEND IRAN
MosNews.com, September13, 2005

RUSSIA AGREES TO $1 BILLION ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN
Associated Press, December 2, 2005 3

And just a few days ago, while the world demands stiff UN sanctions against Iran, this article appeared:

PUTIN TELLS AHMADINEJAD THAT RUSSIA WANTS IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS TO CONTINUE
Associated Press, October 30, 2006.

RUSSIA CALLS FOR GAS ALLIANCE WITH IRAN
Daily Telegraph, October 31, 2006

RUSSIAN MISSILES DELIVERED TO IRAN
Tue Jan 16, 2007

While this relationship was building steadily, Iran’s new president, Ahmadinejad, began to stun the world with a rapid succession of alarming statements: 

Speaking at the “World without Zionism” Conference in Tehran, the president told his fellow Islamic radicals that “Israel must be wiped off the map,” and that “anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury...is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism?...You had best know that this slogan and goal are attainable and surely can be achieved.”4

The late Caspar Weinberger, U.S. defense secretary from 1981-1987 said in an interview that he believed Iran has already gone nuclear, and that Russia is behind them because Russia has “never accepted the idea that they were destined to be a second or third class power.  They want their superpower status back...”5  The Kremlin sees Iran as the perfect pawn to help achieve that goal– but do they realize the spiritual implications of what they are doing?

As I wrote before (see article here) president Ahmadinejad believes that the world is ready to end with the coming of a messiah like figure, the Hidden Imam, Shia Islam. Ahmadinejad is ready to bring it on, with no fear of the repercussions.

If you are close to my age, you grew up, like me, fearing the Russians.   The Cold War and movies like  “The Russians Are Coming” dominated our political and social landscape.  Then Communism fell, and the enemy disappeared, only to be replaced at the beginning of the new millennium by radical Islam.

But now I realize, Islam has always been there, since the days when Isaac and Ishmael were born and two nations rose up to become part of a great spiritual war.  Now, Russia has returned, the Magog of Ezekiel 38, and its influence is infiltrating the Arab world, as forces gather against the tiny nation of Israel— once again. In that sense, history is repeating itself; Israel has been battered, bruised, and broken over and over throughout history.  But eventually, when the nations gather against Israel one last time, and all the pieces and players are in place, Ezekiel 38 will be fulfilled, setting the stage for the final conflict called the battle of Armageddon, and the return of Jesus to the earth.  That’s the end of the game!

This subject is so fascinating and prophecy is profitable to study. And we have been told in Scripture to watch and pray, to not be surprised by the events that are coming. My prayer is that this knowledge will encourage you to deepen your relationship with the Lord, to live for Christ, to be about our Father’s business, sharing the Gospel and the message of His love to those around us —and to watch and pray!

Please send you comments and feedback to:  media@maranthachapel.org


1.http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=94461, December 9, 2005, quoted by Roger Oakland : www.understandthetimes.org
2. Rosenberg, Joel C., Epicenter, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Illinois, 2006.
3. Ibid., p. 106.
4. Iranian President at Tehran Conference,” Special Dispatch Series, No. 1013, Middle East Media Research Institute, October 28, 2005, quoted by Rosenberg, Joel, Epicenter, p. 110.
5. Ibid.