RUSSIA

CHINA
AND

IN PROPHECY
RUSSIA
CHINA
AND

IN PROPHECY

RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

THIS BOOKLET IS NOT TO BE SOLD.
It is a free educational service in the public interest,
published by the Philadelphia Church of God.

© 1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2022 Philadelphia Church of God
All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Scriptures in this publication are quoted from

the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.

Cover illustration: iStock.com/ronniechua

America’s status as the world’s lone
superpower is rapidly fading.

Other nations and groups of nations

are angling to fill the void.

Rising in the East is an emerging

power bloc of tremendous potential—
in manpower, economic heft and
military might. Its growing presence
is intensifying global competition for
resources and for geopolitical influence.

Where will this trend lead? You can

know! Biblical prophecy provides a
remarkable, penetrating preview of
Asia’s future!
CONTENTS

ONE | 1
The Emerging Asian Superpower

TWO | 15
Russia Frightens Europe—
and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

THREE | 40
What the China Miracle Means

FOUR | 56
India: Asia’s Other Economic Powerhouse

FIVE | 66
Japan’s Place in the Future

SIX | 76
Asia in Prophecy
ONE

The Emerging
Asian
Superpower
I
n the next few years, there will be a staggering
turn in world events! A giant Asian superpower,
with a modernized Russia and China at the helm,
will dramatically affect the course of history. This
emerging power bloc—a conglomerate of peoples
which comprise over half of the world’s population—
will be deeply involved in the tumultuous tide of events
that will lead to the conclusion of mankind’s 6,000
years of self-rule!
How can we know this?
In Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus Christ described the
key events leading to His return. Many other passages
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

add critical details. Russia, China and their Asian allies

are prophesied to be heavily involved in these climactic
end-time events.

Biblical Identity of Asian Nations

After the Flood, God told Noah and his family to go
and replenish the Earth (Genesis 8:15-18). Noah had
three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Each son was the
beginning of a separate race. Shem was the father of the
white race; Ham, the father of the black; and Japheth, the
yellow race. Renowned educator Herbert W. Armstrong
explained in Mystery of the Ages that Japheth evidently
married a yellow woman, and Ham, a black.
Genesis 10:2-3 list the sons of Japheth: “… Gomer, and
Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech,
and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and
Riphath, and Togarmah.”
In his book Compendium of World History, Dr. Herman
Hoeh correctly identified Meshech and Tubal as fathers of
those who comprise greater Russia today. Magog fathered
the people of China and Mongolia. Gomer fathered the
Japanese as well as the Cambodians, Thais, Burmese,
Laos and Vietnamese. Togarmah also factored into the
ancestry of Japan and some of these other nations.
Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the descendants
of Noah’s grandson Cush split into two branches: a dark-
skinned, curly-haired branch that migrated to Africa and
a dark-skinned, straight-haired branch that migrated to
India. This latter group later intermarried with Aryan
settlers from Persia, producing the brown coloration
of the Indian peoples today (Herman Hoeh, “The Truth
About the Race Question,” Plain Truth, July 1957).
Mr. Armstrong concurred with Dr. Hoeh’s research.
2
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

Referring to Ezekiel 38:2, he said, “There is general

agreement among students of prophecy that ‘Gog’ in the
land of ‘Magog’ is the vast regions of northern Eurasia
extending from the Baltic to the Pacific. ‘Meshech’ is
Moscow, ‘Tubal’ is Tobolsk. The Bible margin says
‘Prince of Rosh,’ which is Russia” (Plain Truth, April 1981).
This passage in Ezekiel goes on to list “Ethiopia, and
Libya … and many people” being allied with Russia
and China (verses 5-6). Ethiopia and Libya should be
translated “Cush” and “Phut.” Portions of the tribes of
Cush and Phut migrated to African nations, while the
rest settled in areas of India. The context of this passage
shows that it refers to modern-day Indians (and perhaps
Pakistanis) rather than to the African peoples.
These identities are critical for us to understand
where modern nations fit in biblical prophecy.
At the same time, understanding the history of these
peoples will help us identify certain character traits that
resurface even in modern times.

History of Russia and China

History between Russia and China reveals a relationship
vacillating between cooperation and conflict.
Oriental influence in Russia came with the advance of
the Tartar Mongol horsemen. Under Genghis Khan and
his successors, the Mongols had, by a.d. 1250, established
the Golden Horde Empire extending across China, much
of Central Asia, and Russia.
By 1368, the empire had collapsed. Mongolia came
under Chinese domination, ruled by the Ming Dynasty.
It was not until 1480 that Ivan the Great finally ended
Moscow’s subjection to the Mongols.
Following the Middle Ages, the first Russian settlers
3
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

reached the sparsely populated areas north of the Amur

River in what is now far eastern Russia. Although the
Chinese empire claimed this territory, it never effectively
controlled it. Three hundred years of border clashes
between Russia and China ensued. Sporadic fighting
continued until 1689, when the Treaty of Nerchinsk
defined the border well north of the Amur River.
Conflict reignited in 1870, when an imperialistic
Russia seized the Chinese border province of Ili. With
China weakened by the various opium wars of the 19th
century, Russia was able to force the Chinese to sign the
Treaty of Aigun, ceding to Russia everything north of
Amur plus a large slice of land east of the Ussuri. This
established today’s frontiers.
After the Russian Civil War (1918–22), the Chinese
were driven out of Outer Mongolia. The Mongolian
People’s Republic was established in 1924, closely tied
to the Soviet Union.
For some time after World War i, Marxism gained
popularity in China, culminating in the founding of the
Chinese Communist Party in 1921. With the proclamation
of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese
government under Mao Zedong modeled its political
structures on those of the Soviet Union. This attracted
Soviet loans and boosted growth in the Chinese economy.
After Mao signed a mutual defense treaty with the
Kremlin in February 1950, he declared that the Chinese-
Soviet friendship would be “everlasting, indestructible
and inalienable.” Within 15 years, however, this
friendship dissolved and tensions deepened.
Mao launched his disastrous Great Leap Forward
in 1958. When it failed two years later, Russia openly
criticized Mao and cut off military aid to China. By 1968,
4
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

following the failed ideological initiative of the “Great

Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” China had descended
into anarchy. The government, fearing a Soviet invasion,
called in the army to restore order. By then China had
drifted far from Soviet Russia, both philosophically and
strategically.
Clashes erupted on China’s eastern border with
Russia in 1969. Emergency talks between premiers Alexei
Kosygin and Zhou Enlai in September that year curbed
hostilities, and formal demarcation talks commenced.
In 1971, China gained membership in the United
Nations, raising its status as a major world political power.
The histories of these two great powers show a record
spotted with tension and battle. Strategically, Russia has
needed to remove the possibility of war on two fronts:
Europe and China. The Russians have seen in China
a nation capable of amassing an army of unheard-of
proportions.
China has also had much to fear in Russia. Though
the Russians wouldn’t be able to field as many soldiers,
they have a sizable stockpile of superior weapons. Many
observers have speculated that the Russians would have
long ago launched a preemptive strike, conventional or
nuclear, against China to destroy its weapons-making
capability if not for the United States and other Western
powers threatening retaliation. So the Chinese have made
great efforts to match the military might of the Russians.
Throughout the Cold War, Russia and China played their
usual game of cat and mouse. At the same time, however,
another factor existed that would have the opposite effect,
drawing these two great nations together into cooperation.
This is where biblical prophecy enters the picture in
a most intriguing way.
5
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

The Spread of Communism

For decades, both Russia and China have had their
eyes fixed on conquering Middle Asia, Indochina and
Southeast Asia. Their ultimate goal, said Mr. Armstrong,
is not just frontier expansion, but global control.
Reality dictates that achieving such a goal is only
possible if these two countries cooperate.
The December 1959 Plain Truth revealed some of
their plans—including Russia and China’s goal to form a
coalition: “Russia’s program is not to take Europe and to
attack the United States, first. The Communist program,
which our leaders should know, calls first for the seizure
of Asia. Lenin wrote that the way to Paris, London and
New York is via [Beijing] and Delhi! …
“[P]art of the Communist plan [is] to place India and
Pakistan in a giant vice between Russia and China. …
“Red China insists it has a legal right not only to Tibet
but to many parts of India and Southeast Asia. [The
Mongols and Chinese people’s] constant dream for
centuries has been ultimate world conquest! … China
knows, however, that in this highly industrialized age
she can accomplish this dream only as an ally of Russia. …
“China is now ready to begin devouring the rest of Asia
with Russia’s secret military backing” (emphasis added
throughout).
Remember, that was written in 1959. It was the thick
of the Cold War, and communism was thought to be the
factor that would unite this Eastern bloc. History appears
to have since largely left that political and economic
theory behind. But the forecast of a Russia-China alliance
that would come to envelop the rest of Asia remains as
viable today as it was half a century ago! That’s because
what informed those remarkable statements, in addition
6
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

to the histories of these nations, were the biblical prophe-

cies about Asia that we will examine in this booklet.
The Plain Truth did forecast some geopolitical
changes that, at present, yet remain unfulfilled. But
based on prophecy, it warned—even while the U.S. stood
at the pinnacle of world power—of America’s impending
international setbacks in Vietnam. Notice this from the
November 1961 issue: “Having advanced virtually to the
brink of another ‘Korea-type’ war over Laos, the United
States would almost certainly have to fight a major battle
in either Thailand or South Vietnam ….”
In May 1968—seven years before the unconditional
surrender of South Vietnam to communism—the Plain
Truth stated, “Bible prophecy reveals that not even
America, with all of her nuclear muscle, can prevent
Southeast Asia from eventually being overrun by
communism”—or, more accurately, from being drawn
into a Chinese-Russian-dominated geopolitical bloc.
China, with the ussr’s help, continued to push into
Middle and Southeast Asia throughout the 1960s. In
December 1962, the Plain Truth reported on the Chinese-
Indian border conflict: “[The Soviets are] supplying the
Chinese with technical know-how and letting China’s
600 million people gobble up the rest of Asia! … It is part
of their propaganda that these areas once were under
Chinese control.”
The article also said, “A cunning two-point Red thrust
has again caught the West off guard. While Soviet Russia
was secretly establishing a missile beachhead in Cuba,
the Red Chinese were assembling immense supplies,
100,000 men and heavy armor for an attack on India.
“Red Chinese have already captured more than 50,000
square miles of Indian territory. …
7
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

“Almost no one, it seems, is aware that India is far more

important to Communist leaders than is Cuba. Cuba is
an extra prize which the Communists chanced upon. But
the next big goal in Communist thinking is India. …
“The petty jealousies between Moscow and [Beijing] are
not deterring either from their joint goal: world conquest.
“This is all part of the great Communist plan enunciated
by Lenin 30 years ago.”
The Plain Truth continued to track the Sino-Russian
affinity throughout the next several years. In July 1966, it
made this startling prediction: “India knows Red China
is completing massive troop buildups on the Indian
border. India knows Red China has the atomic bomb,
and possibly the hydrogen bomb. That means, in the
most urgent considerations of national security, India
must have the bomb! Purely as a defensive measure
against Red China, of course.
“But then there’s Pakistan! [Pakistan is] born of violent
hatreds between Hindu and Muslim. Should India build
the bombs, Pakistanis would turn in desperation to the big
powers—they would be forced to obtain nuclear weapons!”
By 1998, this forecast came to pass: Both India and
Pakistan had tested nuclear bombs, abruptly pronouncing
themselves members of the exclusive nuclear club.
In addition to pushing into Middle Asia, China would
attempt to pull some of its island neighbors into its grip.
On this issue, Western leaders have tried to appease China
through various “peace talks,” generally to no avail. The
very non-politically correct Plain Truth of the 1960s didn’t
mince words regarding this problem. “The Asiatic mind
is totally different from the occidental [Western] mind.
It doesn’t reason in the same manner. Try though we
may to delude ourselves into believing our dollars, trade
8
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

missions, military advisers and arms shipments, our

hospital ships, our missions, our food supplies are helping
stem the tide of the advancing threat of communism in
these Eastern nations—we are failing!” (November 1961).
The people of Asia, this article continued, “are
impressed with strength, not talk. They feel a much closer
kinship with other peoples of the Asian sphere than they
do with the far-away ‘Yankees’ with customs, languages
and religions so totally different from their own.”
Yes, eventually the forces pushing Russia and China
apart would be overwhelmed by forces driving them into
each other’s arms. It is rapidly happening now!
Just as the Plain Truth said it would happen—based
on the prophecies of the Bible.

Improving Relationship
Following the Cold War, Russia and China found
themselves isolated and in need of cooperation if they
were to survive. Economic and political unions forming
between the Americas, a newly united Europe and other
such cooperative efforts necessitated that the Russians
and Chinese forge a positive relationship.
Even before the collapse of the Soviet empire, in 1989
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visited China to
repair ties and revitalize dialogue on the demarcation
disputes that were still mired in 17th-century detail.
In 1991, Russia and China signed a border agreement,
beginning a practical demarcation process. In April 1997,
China and Russia—along with former Soviet republics
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—signed an
accord in Moscow on troop reduction and security-
building measures along the 4,700-mile border between
China and the former Soviet Union.
9
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

As a clear sign of surging cooperation between their

two countries, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and
Chinese President Jiang Zemin signed a declaration in
November 1997 ending disputes over the implementation
of the 1991 accord. This seemed to confirm that Russia
and China, long vacillating between a historic relation-
ship as friend and foe, were entering a new era of coop-
eration in strategic partnership to counter the perceived
dominance of Western military and economic power.
Sino-Russian relations further improved under the
leadership of Yeltsin’s successor, Vladimir Putin. In
July of 2001, Russia and China signed a “friendship
cooperation” treaty.
August 2003 saw Russo-Chinese military coop-
eration leap to the next level when armed forces from
both nations participated in joint antiterror exercises
under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (sco). Since that time, they have held
dozens of joint military, naval and antiterror drills,
often including troops from other sco members such as
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Many view these
exercises as evidence of an emerging military bloc that
could eventually rival nato.
The first military strike of this rising Asian
superpower came in August 2008, when Russia attacked
the former Soviet republic of Georgia. This marked
Putin’s first military step toward reviving Russia’s control
over Central Asia.
On January 1, 2010, Putin further advanced his revival
of the Soviet Union by building a Eurasian Economic
Union with Kazakhstan and Belarus. Moscow has since
been working to bring other former Soviet nations—like
Ukraine and Tajikistan—into the union. Kyrgyzstan and
10
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

Armenia joined in 2015. Putin has said his goal is to enlarge

the union to include all post-Soviet states (excluding the
three Baltic European Union member states).
Other key economic and military treaties have
improved trust and cooperation. Russia and China
are reaping the benefits, realizing their very existence
depends on good relations with each other.

The Only Alternative

Sino-Russian relations have evolved out of common
interests. On the same day that the Eurasian Economic
Union was made official, Russia completed an oil
pipeline and port complex that positions Moscow to
become a more powerful oil exporter than Saudi Arabia.
This pipeline, which runs from central Siberia to the
Pacific coast, unlocks a gate through which Russia’s vast
oil fields will gush into Asia’s energy-hungry economies.
For over a century, Russia’s entire energy infrastructure
has focused mainly on supplying Europe. Now Chinese,
Korean, Indian and Japanese currency will flow into
Russia, and the Kremlin will have the option of turning
off Europe’s energy taps if the situation warrants it.
Both share common defense concerns, which include
protecting against radical Islam in and around Central
Asia, challenging Western power in nato, and taking
advantage of a weakening U.S.
Trade between Russia and China blossomed in the
early 1990s. In 2000, $8 billion in annual transactions took
place between the two. By 2008, Russian-Chinese trade
had leaped to an astounding $56.8 billion. Fourteen years
later in 2022, the trade turnover was $147 billion. At the
Winter Olympics in Beijing that year, Russia announced
that trade would increase to $250 billion by 2024.
11
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

China has now been Russia’s largest trading partner

for over a decade. In fact, because economic partnerships
have proved mutually beneficial, the prospect of filling
other needs is bringing Russia and China even closer
together—especially over energy supplies. Of all nations,
Russia is uniquely able and willing to provide the secure
source of energy needed to power China’s rapid industrial
and economic growth. Russia has the oil, natural gas,
uranium and nuclear technology to provide power for the
1.4 billion inhabitants of Earth’s most populous country.
There appears to be no alternative for these great
powers. Both share common philosophies economically,
politically and militarily—and both have a common
enemy in the West.
The way that China, for decades, counterbalanced
Russia’s presence in Asia benefited the United States
geopolitically. But that equation is changing as Russia
and China march toward a military alliance.
The types of headlines that would have seemed
strange 50 or 15 or even five years ago have now become
commonplace: “Russia, China and the New Cold War”
(Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2022), “Russia and China
Unveil a Pact Against America and the West” (New
Yorker, Feb. 7, 2022), “Russia and China, Together at Last”
(Nation, March 14, 2022).
In May 2014, President Putin and Chinese leader
Xi Jinping inked a gargantuan gas supply agreement
worth $400 billion. Less than six months later, they did
it again, signing another tentative deal worth a sum of
similar immensity. These are the two largest business
transactions in human history.
The late analyst Charles Krauthammer wrote at
the time, “[Russia and China’s] enhanced partnership
12
 The Emerging Asian Superpower

marks the first emergence of a global coalition against

American hegemony since the fall of the Berlin Wall”
(Washington Post, May 22, 2014).
Gerald Walpin, former inspector general for the
United States Corporation for National and Community
Service, wrote, “[A]ny fair [onlooker would] compare
this axis to the Hitler-Japan Axis that came close to
defeating democracies (including [the] U.S.) and resulted
in 50 million deaths throughout the world. The only
significant difference is that this new axis has nuclear
weapons …” (Oct. 13, 2014).
Meanwhile, America’s relations with both Russia and
China have notably deteriorated.
In fact, for some years now, several nations, including
these two Asian giants, have shaped their foreign policy
largely around a desire to contain American power.
Russian strategic bombers have once again taken to
the skies to challenge U.S. airspace, and Russian pilots
taunt U.S. interceptors off the coast of Alaska. Russia’s
navy has also extended its tentacles into waters generally
considered America’s backyard. The nuclear-powered
cruiser Peter the Great and the submarine destroyer
Admiral Chabanenko conducted war games in the
Caribbean with the Venezuelan Navy in 2008—Russia’s
first venture into the Caribbean since the end of the Cold
War. In August 2009, two Russian attack submarines
were sighted off America’s East Coast, apparently the
first such sighting for 15 years. In June 2014, Russian
bombers were intercepted 50 miles off the coast of
California, the closest they had gotten since the Cold
War. On July 4, 2015, Russia flew nuclear-capable
bombers just 40 miles from California. The date was
not arbitrary. When intercepted by U.S. jets, the Russian
13
pilots delivered the following message: “Good morning,
American pilots. We are here to greet you on your Fourth
of July Independence Day.”
In the Pacific, conditions have been just as tense. In
2007, an undetected Chinese submarine surfaced inside
a U.S. convoy formation and within easy torpedo range of
the uss Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier that the convoy was
protecting. Other incidents, including collisions between
U.S. and Chinese naval vessels, have become increasingly
common as China has adopted a more confrontational
approach with its growing naval strength.
In 2001, after a couple of high-profile incidents that
saw the U.S. expel Russian diplomats and the Chinese
intercept an American spy plane, U.S. intelligence firm
Stratfor noted, “This period will be remembered as the
end of the post-Cold War period, and the beginning of
a new era in international relations. … At stake is the
international system’s composition” (April 10, 2001).
These are huge stakes—global stakes! It is about the
composition of the international system that governs
world business and communications, and economic,
social, political and military interaction. And the dete-
rioration of relations between the U.S. and both Beijing
and Moscow has contributed to shaping a new set of
global alliances.
It is evident that both Russian and Chinese officials
are working to form a new alliance and counter
American dominance of world affairs. Russian diplomats
want to create a multipolar world, and they know that
the most expedient way to do so is to cement relations
with their closest neighbor to the southeast.

14
TWO

Russia
Frightens
Europe—and
Fulfills Bible
Prophecy
F
or over a decade after the fall of the Soviet
Union in 1991, Russia was outside the mainstream
of world affairs. But under the leadership of
Vladimir Putin, who became president in 2000, things
have changed radically.
Putin has called the Soviet Union’s collapse the
15
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

“greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century.

He has dedicated himself to reversing that “catastrophe”
and restoring Russia to what he sees as its rightful
position as a formidable world power.
As we have seen with Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s
Crimean Peninsula and territories in Georgia and
Moldova, he has already been very successful—but he
isn’t finished.
Russia’s return to great-power status has tremendous
prophetic importance. Not only because of the role
Russia is prophesied to fulfill in world affairs, but also
because its aggressive actions are provoking alarm and
urgency within Europe—and that is the power that we
really must watch!
The Europeans still remember how violent Russia
was in World War ii, and Russia is a close neighbor with
massive piles of nuclear weapons.
Russia’s bold moves are triggering a fear that will
hasten the uniting of the European Union. This fear will
cause Germany and other European nations to want
stronger leadership. Throughout history, Germany has
often sought a strong leader. Bible prophecy says it will
do so again—for the last time!
These events are about a rapidly approaching World
War iii. You can prove this for yourself by reading our
free book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy.

Political Earthquake
In parliamentary elections in 2003, President Putin
cemented control over Russia in a way that recalled that
nation’s authoritarian history. We should remember
that Mr. Putin was shaped and molded by the infamous
kgb—the ruthless, murderous secret service arm of
16
 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

the Russian government that succeeded Joseph Stalin’s

secret police.
Clearly, Putin had used his presidential powers to
manipulate the process to ensure a victory for his United
Russia party. His strong-arm moves struck intense fear
in Europe.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (osce) complained that the elections “did
not meet international standards” and represented
a “regression in the democratization of this country.”
Stratfor wrote, “What bothers the osce is less the
hardball campaign tactics than the size of Putin’s
win. Putin has nearly a two-thirds majority in both
chambers of parliament. The liberal parties have been
devastated. … The shape of Russian politics is shifting
as anti-authoritarian parties disappear. Increasingly,
the choice is between mild or hard authoritarianism”
(Dec. 9, 2003; emphasis added throughout).
The Wall Street Journal reported how the election
expanded Putin’s power. “What the elections foretell is
a compliant Duma [lower house of parliament] imple-
menting the agenda of an essentially liberal government,
albeit one that wants more control of its single-most
strategic asset, oil. … This means that if Mr. Putin wants
to take Russia in the direction of dictatorship (or, as
fashionable jargon has it, toward ‘managed democracy’)
the Duma could speed him on his way” (Dec. 9, 2003).
Russia’s “single most strategic asset” is oil. From the
beginning, Mr. Putin has sought to control that asset, no
matter how much Western powers thundered in protest.
The soaring price of oil from 2003 through 2008 thrust
Russia back on the world stage as a dominant power.
Just before the 2003 election, the Russian government
17
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

arrested the country’s richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky,

ceo of the country’s largest oil company, Yukos. That
move eventually led to Yukos declaring bankruptcy and
the government purchasing the private company at a
fire-sale price (experts called it “scandalous,” “daylight
robbery”). These events dramatically increased the Putin
government’s control over Russia’s oil.
In 2014, Putin seized control of another massive oil
company, oao Bashneft, and jailed the billionaire who
had run it. In 2015, he quietly set a plan in motion to take
over oao Surgutneftegas, another oil and gas giant.
By seizing control over Russia’s vast oil and gas
resources, Putin gained considerable global influence.
Some analysts say his de facto ownership of Russian
energy makes him not only the richest man in the world
today, but one of the richest people in the history of the
world. Russia is the largest oil supplier on the planet,
and with global demand for oil increasing even as oil
supplies are dwindling, Putin has a lot of leverage over
other nations.
ihs Jane’s intelligence firm wrote shortly after
the Khodorkovsky arrest, “[I]t is becoming clear that
Russia is undergoing a profound political convulsion.
This amounts to nothing less than the birth of the
Second Russian Republic …. The new republic will
continue to be a mixture of market and state-controlled
economic forces. But it will be a country in which
President Vladimir Putin controls both the political and
economic levers of power. The Russian president has
staged his own coup” (Nov. 5, 2003).
Those are very accurate statements! This article
called Putin’s moves “the birth of the Second Russian
Republic”! A new Russia has been born. Mr. Putin
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

“staged his own coup”! He took over this new Russia. Now
the world has another major reason to tremble! Russia
is indeed “undergoing a profound political convulsion”—
one that will convulse Europe and many other nations!
Notice more of what Stratfor wrote after the 2003
election: “[T]hat is why the osce is getting nervous ….
Putin is, first and last, a Russian nationalist, utterly
pragmatic (or ruthless) in the tools he will use to
strengthen the Russian state. He has greater power now
than anyone in Russia since the collapse of communism.
He can reshape the regime. Consequently, the osce
and Europe are nervous about where Putin is taking
Russia. They have every reason to be: Putin is slowly and
systematically changing Russia’s direction. When Russia
changes direction, the rest of Europe should indeed be
nervous” (op cit).
Stratfor used the word nervous three times for special
emphasis. Europe has not forgotten Russia’s recent
dictatorial history. It is nervous for good reason. And it
is going to get a lot more nervous in a few short years.
Europeans are not the only people who should be
nervous. The whole world should be alarmed. Mr. Putin
is changing the course of world history. And Bible
prophecy reveals exactly where it is leading.

Pipeline Power
Vladimir Putin went on from the 2003 parliamentary
election to amass more power both at home and abroad.
In 2004, he enacted a law whereby regional governors,
rather than being elected by the people, would be
appointed directly by the president. Sergei Mitrokhin, a
former liberal parliamentary leader, called the move “a
step toward dictatorship.”
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Putin took further major steps to consolidate govern-

ment control over Russia’s natural resources—most
importantly, oil and gas. More Russian firms were
absorbed into state-controlled companies. Foreign
companies were forced to sell out or face heavy fines for
imaginary offenses. Russian oligarchs who resisted were
imprisoned or fled the country.
Putin was busy building a powerful weapon. And in
the winter of 2005–06, he unveiled it publicly for the
first time.
Early the previous winter, Ukraine rebelled against
Russia: In presidential elections, the people rejected the
pro-Russian candidate in favor of pro-Western Viktor
Yushchenko. It was termed the Orange Revolution.
Yushchenko immediately moved his country away from
Russia’s influence and toward EU membership.
Russia was not happy—and it soon demonstrated
its new weapon. In the middle of the following winter,
it cut off gas to Ukraine and said it would only resume
supply when Ukrainians paid a far higher price. Ukraine
had no choice but to cave in. The gas cutoff also affected
Europe—a timely reminder that Russia could make
European states pay if they dared cross the Kremlin. In
2006, the EU imported 56 percent of its energy, mostly
from Russia. Germany, Italy and France imported 90, 91
and 95 percent of their daily oil needs respectively, and
the vast majority of their natural gas needs.
Russia continued to grow bolder and more belligerent.
In 2007, strong evidence pointed to Russian involvement
behind a massive and organized Internet attack against
Estonia. For three weeks, the nation’s computer systems
were under constant assault in what some called the first
state-to-state cyberattack in history. In August that year,
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Air Force

would resume Cold War-style nuclear bomber flights
into international airspace. That summer, Russian
bombers entered UK airspace and flew on an intercept
course toward the U.S. military base in Guam. “The
message to the West is clear: The days of dismissing
Russia as a spent force are over,” wrote the Washington
Times (Aug. 19, 2007). In February 2008, American
fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers, one of
which buzzed the aircraft carrier uss Nimitz.
Russia also increased its power through strategic
arms sales, courting nations throughout Asia, South
America and even the Middle East. “The Russians are
not indiscriminately selling arms,” Dr. Alexey Muraviev,
a strategic analyst at Curtin University of Technology in
Australia, said. “Russia has pursued a policy driven by
strategic design. If it creates a strong client base, that can
later be transformed into a larger relationship.”
Then in December 2007, after a parliamentary
election that consolidated yet more power under Putin,
the Russian president officially rejected the Treaty on
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Thus, Europeans
no longer had any guarantee that Russia wouldn’t station
thousands of tanks on their eastern borders.
But 2008 looked like the end for Putin—at least to
some. Under the Russian Constitution, the president is
limited to two consecutive terms in office. Putin could not
continue as president beyond the 2008 elections without
changing the Constitution. So he switched jobs. He
became prime minister and kept the power, with Dmitry
Medvedev, more or less a puppet, taking the presidency.
Putin remained to continue to push his belligerent poli-
cies and returned to the presidency in 2012.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

First Military Strike!

Another alarming indication of the direction Russia is
taking came in August of 2008, when Russia attacked
the former Soviet republic of Georgia. This was the first
military strike of the rising Asian superpower!
Look at a map of the Caucasus region. Much of Russia’s
oil comes from the Baku region on the western Caspian
Sea. The Baku-Supsa oil pipeline cuts right through
Georgia, and until Russia’s invasion it transported oil
through this strategic area free from Russian control.
That is no longer the case. Russia not only owns the oil
in the ground, it now controls the pipes distributing it
to Europe, amounting to many billions of dollars’ worth
of energy!
Russia is determined to be an energy superpower
in an age when the whole modern world is hungry
for energy. If Russia sees a prime source of oil being
threatened, it is going to fight!
We can understand Russia’s violent actions within
Georgia far better in light of some recent history in the
Balkans, specifically Kosovo. There, Russia felt that
Western nations had basically declared war. Georgia was
Russia’s retaliation.
But even before that, tensions were heating up. “U.S.
Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton had
promised the Russians that nato would not expand into
the former Soviet Union empire,” wrote George Friedman
for Stratfor. “That promise had already been broken
in 1998 by nato’s expansion to Poland, Hungary and
the Czech Republic—and again in the 2004 expansion,
which absorbed not only the rest of the former Soviet
satellites in what is now Central Europe, but also the
three Baltic states, which had been components of
22
 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

RUSSIA

BALKANS

Ca
Black Sea

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CA
UC

ia
AS

n S
US

ea
Medit
erranea
n Sea

the Soviet Union” (Aug. 12, 2008). Russia was deeply

unsettled by these developments.
President George W. Bush also tried to bring
Georgia and Ukraine into nato, but failed. It seems
highly unlikely Russia would ever allow that to happen.
Making Georgia a part of nato would put that Western
organization on Russia’s doorstep, placing the security
of Russian oil on the western Caspian at serious risk. All
it would take is 30 minutes of bombing to knock out this
major source of Russian energy! So, as far as Russia is
concerned, this is a matter of survival.
But it’s not really the United States that Russia is
afraid of. The nation the Russians truly fear is Germany.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Turning Kosovo Over to Germany

In February 2008, Kosovo, a republic in the Balkans,
declared its independence from Serbia. Moscow
was against the move because it didn’t want similar
independence movements in Russian territories getting
any stronger. Dr. Friedman wrote, “The Russians publicly
and privately asked [the U.S. and Europe] that Kosovo
not be given formal independence, but instead continue
its informal autonomy, which was the same thing in
practical terms. Russia’s requests were ignored” (ibid).
Europe and the U.S. supported the separation anyway.
“From the Kosovo experience, [Moscow] concluded
that the United States and Europe were not prepared
to consider Russian wishes even in fairly minor affairs,”
Friedman continued. “That was the breaking point.
If Russian desires could not be accommodated even
in a minor matter like this, then clearly Russia and
the West were in conflict. For the Russians, as we said,
the question was how to respond. Having declined to
respond in Kosovo, the Russians decided to respond
where they had all the cards: in South Ossetia.”
Russia wanted a war—and for an important reason!
Kosovo was the breaking point.
Remember that history. In 1991, Germany supported
the independence of Croatia and Slovenia. Initially, all
the rest of Europe and America were openly hostile to
Germany’s action. But Europe caved in when Germany
threatened to pull out of the European Union. Soon,
civil war broke out in Yugoslavia. The U.S. secretary of
state at the time said Germany was responsible for the
war in the Balkans—but he quickly shut his mouth. The
“superpower” America fell in step with Germany!
This foreign-policy shift in 1991 enraged America’s
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

traditional allies Britain, France and the Netherlands.

These nations saw what Germany was doing, not only
in Yugoslavia, but all over Europe. Postwar Europe had
hoped to keep powerful Germany under control—with
help from the U.S.! Instead, America helped Germany
enforce its will on Europe!
Once the U.S. released and then supported this
European beast in Croatia and Slovenia, there was no
stopping it. It didn’t cease until all of Yugoslavia was
under its strong influence or control!
Kosovo was a turning point in the Yugoslav war. After
this state essentially came under German influence and
control, it was inevitable that the rest of Yugoslavia would
fall. When Germany’s oppressive influence moved beyond
Croatia and Slovenia, the astute observer could see that
Germany’s ambition was to control all of Yugoslavia.
German Defense Minister Volker Rühe urged the use of
force against Serbia regardless of backing from the United
Nations. “We must avoid to be dependent on a Russian
veto,” he said at a meeting of nato defense ministers.
He said that the relationship between nato and Russia
meant that “Russia has no veto whenever nato needs to
act.” Russia was going to veto it, and Germany wanted to
get around that—and convinced the U.S. to join in!
So Germany led the U.S. into breaking its promises
to Russia. You can read about this history in our free
booklet Germany’s Conquest of the Balkans.
Russia rightly blames the U.S. for what happened.
We lied to Russia about expanding nato, and then we
ignored Russia over Yugoslavia, which culminated in
Kosovo declaring independence in 2008.
The U.S. allowed itself to be a tool of Germany—and
helped its rise! America bombed Serbia into submission
25
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

and then handed it over to a German-led EU! If you

know Europe’s history and prophecy, you realize what a
shameful act that truly was! America likes to think of
itself as squeaky clean and righteous, driven by only the
purest motives. But this was truly an act of treachery—
and incredible weakness.
We have written quite a lot about this issue, and we
receive many sympathetic letters from Serbs who were
double-crossed by America. Remember: The Serbs were
America’s allies in World Wars i and ii, and Germany
was our enemy! In the Yugoslav wars, everything was
turned around.
America is one of the modern nations descended from
biblical Israel. We have a history with God. We should
be setting the example for the world! When we make a
promise, we should keep it! And we should be placing
our faith in God rather than in our enemies. Today,
Yugoslavia is gone because of our evil.
The Intelligence Digest of August 11-25, 1995, said
this: “Germany’s control of Western Europe is exercised
through the European Union (EU), and American
support for German dominance of the EU has
been evident since at least 1990. [Washington] is
following an intentional policy, the purpose of
which is to leave both east and west Europe under
complete German domination. …
“So Germany, with the full backing of America, is
to be the sole great power of Europe.”
In biblical prophecy, God condemns America for
treating the Germans like our “lovers”! He prophesies
that this relationship will end in our destruction! (See
Ezekiel 23; you can read about this prophecy in our free
book Ezekiel—The End-Time Prophet.)
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

Russia’s Revenge
Russia shrewdly evaluated these events and saw an
opportunity. After watching and not interfering as
Germany and the U.S. sponsored Kosovo’s independence,
Moscow reasoned that it had the right to sponsor the
independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from
Georgia. The populations in those two breakaway regions
are comprised mostly of Russian sympathizers. And if
the U.S. or Europe objected, Russia could say, Hey—that’s
what you did in Kosovo and the Balkans—you just went in
and conquered the whole area! Don’t accuse us for simply
doing what you did!
When Russia made its move in August 2008, the
strategy worked to perfection. “The Russians knew the
United States would denounce their attack,” Friedman
wrote. “This actually plays into Russian hands. The more
vocal senior leaders are, the greater the contrast with their
inaction, and the Russians wanted to drive home the
idea that American guarantees are empty talk” (op cit).
Does Russia fear America? Not very much. And it used
this opportunity to make the U.S. look stupid and weak
before the whole world!
Russia had been planning for this invasion for some
time. As Ralph Peters wrote in the New York Post, “Let’s
be clear: For all that U.S. commentators and diplomats
are still chattering about Russia’s ‘response’ to Georgia’s
actions, the Kremlin spent months planning and
preparing this operation. Any soldier above the grade
of private can tell you that there’s absolutely no way
Moscow could’ve launched this huge ground, air and
sea offensive in an instantaneous ‘response’ to alleged
Georgian actions. …
“Every one of these things required careful preparations.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

In the words of one U.S. officer, ‘Just to line up the airlift

sorties would’ve taken weeks.’
“Working through their mercenaries in South Ossetia,
Russia staged brutal provocations against Georgia from
late July onward. Last Thursday, Georgia’s president
finally had to act to defend his own people.
“But when the mouse stirred, the cat pounced”
(Aug. 12, 2008).
This was a war of revenge, and it was planned months,
perhaps years, in advance.
Vladimir Putin is really the dictator of Russia. He may
not appear to exercise the kind of brutality of some of his
predecessors, but he certainly is intent on using whatever
power is necessary to secure his country’s resources and
make Russia into a global power! When this former kgb
agent calls the Soviet collapse a “catastrophe,” you have to
believe he is going to do something about it! Remember
how Adolf Hitler told the world exactly what he was going
to do in his book Mein Kampf, years before he did it? Why
will we never heed such warnings?
Friedman concluded, “The war in Georgia, therefore, is
Russia’s public return to great power status” (op cit).
That is exactly right. The Bible warns us to expect a
great power rising from the East. It calls it “the kings
of the east” (Revelation 16:12). The attack on Georgia was
the first act of war from the kings of the east—but
it was not the last.

The Ukraine Crisis

Just after Russia used military force to invade Georgia,
Gerald Flurry wrote the following in our October 2008
Trumpet issue: “Russia’s attack on Georgia in August
marks the beginning of a dangerous new era in history.
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

This was the first military strike of a rising Asian super-

power—and there will be more! … Will a crisis occur
over Ukraine? That area is the breadbasket of Russia,
and surely it is willing to wage war over that as well.”
Time proved that forecast was stunningly accurate!
For several years, Ukraine had been working to join
the EU. The plan was for Viktor Yanukovych, then presi-
dent of Ukraine, to make it official on November 29, 2013,
by signing the Ukraine-European Union Association
Agreement. But on November 21, Yanukovych abruptly
announced that he would not sign the agreement. Many
analysts were shocked. They had thought Ukraine
would make the deal and become part of the EU, or at
least become allied with it in some fashion. Why did the
Ukrainian president make such a dramatic U-turn?
Because of Russia! It emerged in late November that
Mr. Yanukovych had secretly flown to Moscow early in the
month to meet with Putin. At this secret meeting, Putin
apparently agreed to stop putting an economic squeeze
on Ukraine and he also offered Yanukovych some rich
financial rewards that would help him cling to power—if
the Ukrainian president would pull out of the EU deal.
Experts agree that it was these tactics that caused
Ukraine to pull out! “[T]he unprecedented pressure from
the Russians was the decisive factor,” said former Polish
president and intermediary Aleksander Kwasniewski.
“The Russians used everything in their arsenal.”
Instead of linking with Europe, Ukraine appeared
to then be on course to become a member of Russia’s
Customs Union. That would have placed it alongside
Moscow’s fellow dictatorships Kazakhstan and Belarus.
When the Ukrainian government made this about-face,
many Ukrainians felt betrayed and oppressed. They
29
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

feared Russia’s lengthening authoritarian shadow and

the corruption of their own government, so they staged
massive protests!
Putin applied all that pressure on Ukraine because
that nation is the linchpin of his goal of a renewed
imperial Russia! A linchpin is the pin in an axle that
keeps the wheel from coming off. Putin has long known
that if Ukraine allies with Europe, it would significantly
diminish his power. He was doing everything in his
power to keep the wheels from falling off his dream of a
new Soviet empire.
The Ukrainian people protested until Yanukovych fled
the country. Putin may not have expected this outcome,
but he used the turmoil to advance his goal even further.
He focused specifically on the federal Republic of
Crimea, which was a semiautonomous region of Ukraine.
After deploying undercover agents to destabilize the
peninsula, he arranged for a referendum to be held that
would ostensibly let the people of the peninsula decide
whether they wanted to return to Mother Russia or not.
In truth, Ukrainian law unambiguously forbids any
such referendum. Its constitution explicitly states that
Crimea is “an inseparable constituent part of Ukraine,”
and its laws are subservient to those of the central
government in Kyiv. But no one stood up to stop the refer-
endum, so on March 18, 2014, Crimea became an official
part of Russia. The borders of Europe were redrawn.
Putin is doing everything he can to prevent Georgia,
Ukraine and all other former Soviet countries from devel-
oping closer ties with Europe. He pushed the U.S. out of his
backyard in 2014 by pressuring Kyrgyzstan to kick America
off of Manas Air Base. This was America’s only military
base left in Central Asia. Russia’s deep involvement in the
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

Middle East has allowed the brutal Syrian regime to retain

power. It has also been instrumental in allowing Iran to
continue pursuing nuclear weapons.
Domestically, Putin has transformed the Russian
media into a propaganda machine. He has severely
curbed the power of democracy and emasculated
Russia’s parliament. Under Putin’s reign, nuclear-armed
Russia is also transforming its military machine into a
modern, technological, 21st-century force.
By all of these heavy-handed tactics, President Putin
has not only brought Russia back into play as a world
power, he has also secured his position at the nation’s helm.
This world has a lot of authoritarian rulers. But
Vladimir Putin is one we need to keep a particularly close
eye on. His track record, nationality and ideology indi-
cate that he will fulfill a specific, linchpin Bible prophecy
recorded millenniums ago. The time frame of his rule
makes it certain. This will be thoroughly discussed in
Chapter 6.

Russia, Germany Behind the Scenes

Things aren’t always what they seem in the world of
geopolitics. Often there is more to an event than most
people realize. Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia is an
example.
Russia has much at stake in the Caucasus and is
extremely sensitive to anyone who gets close to that
area. Again, it doesn’t fear the U.S. much—but it does
fear Germany and will do what it needs to in order to
neutralize it.
Actually, Russia and Germany fear each other. Russia
supplies quite a lot of Europe’s energy—especially
Germany’s—and that gives it power.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

By attacking Georgia, Ralph Peters wrote, “[t]he Kremlin

is telling Europe: We not only have the power to turn off
Siberian gas, we can turn off every tap in the region, any
time we choose” (op cit).
The Wall Street Journal reported, “Putin’s Russia got
its hands around the energy-needy throats of Germans,
the French, Italians and many other Europeans.”
This is a cutthroat business! “When this crisis ends,
Georgia will be either a model for a world that works
or a world whose members do business with knives,”
it continued. “If the world’s foreign ministries, ceos,
investors and policy intellectuals can’t see the impli-
cations for their world in Georgia’s fate, it’s time to
reorder our best efforts to playing by Mr. Putin’s rules”
(Aug. 14, 2008).
Shortly after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean
Peninsula and destabilized eastern Ukraine, it looked
like Germany was siding with the U.S. in condemning
the Russian moves. But by mid-2015, Germany had
shifted to what the Wall Street Journal called a “speak
no evil” policy toward Russia: “Germany of 2015 has
a stance on the big trouble to the east. … It involves
pressing old friends from the West to ease up on the
Russians. Diplomats from the U.S., Canada and northern
European countries have been admonished by a German
counterpart … to stop their ‘blame game’ in support of
Ukraine” (Wall Street Journal, Aug. 10, 2015).
In July 2015, Martin Erdmann, the departing German
ambassador to nato, said the U.S. and Europe were being
“very one-sided” by enacting protective measures against
Russia, including military maneuvers in East European
nato nations.
Why does Germany not want to blame Russia for
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

its acts of brazen aggression? Why is Berlin so soft

on Moscow regarding both Georgia and Ukraine?
History provides a sobering answer. Every time
competition between Russia and Germany heats up,
they form a deal with each other—just before going to
war! A few of these agreements came before World War i,
including German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s Three
Emperors’ League with Russia and Austria. In 1922, four
years after the Great War ended, Germany and Russia
stunned the world with a pact signed in Rapallo, Italy,
that opened complete diplomatic relations between
them. Europe’s power balance had shifted overnight.
Through the pact, the German Army could test weapons
in Russia that were forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.
Even when Hitler became chancellor in 1933 and a wave
of anti-Russianism gripped Germany, the Nazis made a
move that seemed contrary to their anti-Soviet policy.
Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop,
secretly flew to Moscow in August 1939 to sign a non-
aggression pact with Russia’s Stalin. This became
known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. With Russia
neutralized, Hitler’s eastern flank was secure. One week
later, Hitler invaded Poland, and Russia took the Baltic
states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Two years later,
Germany violated the pact and attacked Russia.
The history is quite clear. Whenever it has wanted to
expand its empire, Germany has always first removed
the Russian threat through diplomacy. Its fear of Russia
drove it to arm and become strong on the one hand, and
seek peace with Russia until it had finished dealing with
the rest of its enemies on the other.
There is evidence that such a deal may have been
struck before the Georgia invasion.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

When U.S. President George W. Bush was pushing

for Georgia and Ukraine to enter nato, Europe initially
supported the idea. But in April of 2008, Germany’s
minister of foreign affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier,
suddenly came out against the plan. He said Georgia
wasn’t qualified because of unresolved territorial
conflicts. Berlin officials also argued, off the record, that
“Russia has no veto, but Russia’s views must be taken
into account”; “Russia is a factor [in decision-making]
and this is undeniable,” and “Russian concerns cannot
be ignored if we want a real partnership with Russia”
(Eurasia Daily Monitor, April 1, 2008).
This was the opposite of what Germany said a year
before, when it wholeheartedly supported these nations’
entrance into nato. Why the sudden change? What did
the German leaders say privately to the Russians about
Georgia and Ukraine?
Germany knows Russia can be very brutal. Perhaps
Putin told Germany, We didn’t do anything about Kosovo
and the Serbs—you’d better stay out of the Caucasus!
If you give us problems over Georgia or Ukraine, we’re
cutting off your energy—or we’re going to war! And we
have a lot of nuclear weapons!
Germany may well have been complicit in Russia’s
plan to attack Georgia and Ukraine! If Russia made an
agreement with Germany over those situations, then
Russia would have known the only possible other nation
to be concerned about was the U.S. And Russia knew
America was too weak to do anything about it!
Russia has Germany—and all of Europe—over a
barrel. Cutting off part of the flow of gas to a country
would wreak havoc on its economy!
Germany’s about-face on Ukraine and Georgia
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

smells rotten! The U.S. is extremely foolish to trust

Germany—to treat it as a “lover.” That ignorance is
sure to end in the greatest possible disaster!
The fact that Steinmeier was so quick to dismiss the
idea of nato membership for Georgia and Ukraine tells
us something else: Germany sees that it doesn’t have a
future with nato. Its ultimate plan is to kick nato aside
and stand as an independent power! It doesn’t respect
America’s view on these nations. So America ends up
being a dupe all along the way.
The relationship between Russia and Germany is very
tense right now. Germany ignored Russia over Kosovo—
but Russia will not be ignored anymore. A deal between
these two nations is not a sign of peace. Like the Molotov-
Ribbentrop Pact, and so many others before it, it is a sign
of exactly the opposite. Both of these nations are looking
to secure their shared border—so they can pursue their
imperialistic aims elsewhere! It is a precursor to war!
That is the way they operate! And the U.S. has no clue.
The summer of 2008 marked the beginning of a new
era! We saw an extraordinary military strike by one of
the kings of the east. The Ukraine crisis was another
massive blow signaling Russia’s resurgence. China,
another of those “kings,” is also making inroads all
over the world. What power those kings of the east are
amassing—and so quickly! Europe can see it. And it is
formulating a counterstrategy.
The whole world should see this developing and
realize: This will inevitably end in nuclear war!

Nuclear Arsenal
Russia has publicly stated that nuclear weapons remain
key to the nation’s defense strategy—and it is not averse
35
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

to the possibility of launching preemptive strikes, if

necessary, to defend its interests!
Experts tell us that once a nuclear war starts, it
cannot be stopped.
Such a monstrous Russian nuclear power is going to
impact this world. The nuclear “genie” is out of the bottle.
We have reached the point of no return.
How can these words and events not strike fear in all
of us? Do we realize this Earth is like a ticking nuclear
bomb, waiting to explode?
This world is steeped in madness! It is precisely what
Jesus Christ prophesied, almost 2,000 years ago, it would
be in the end time. “For then shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should
be shortened, there should no flesh be saved [alive]:
but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened”
(Matthew 24:21-22). These words should cause us to
tremble—and repent!
If Christ didn’t intervene and stop the madness, there
would be no flesh saved alive. Not one person or animal
would be left alive!
Do the major media carry more weight with us than
Christ’s own words? Do we listen to our political leaders
more than we heed Christ’s own warnings?
It’s time for plain speaking and writing.

All According to Plan

Europe’s growing nervousness about events in Russia
gives us a flash of light into a terrifying Bible prophecy. It
is building now—at this moment—toward a spectacular
fulfillment! These events in Russia and Europe are
working out according to God’s master plan.
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 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

Even the Russian people don’t understand why their

nation has returned to the center of global events. But
you can know. All we need to do is understand the Bible,
which tells us to watch world events—not dates.
World events will date the Bible’s prophecies and
reveal where we are in the overall time frame. A more
dictatorial Russian government is on the scene, and you
need to know where it is leading. That power will be able
to challenge Europe when nobody else can—including
the U.S. The EU is going to become the world’s number
one superpower. So says Bible prophecy.
The Russian economy is in trouble, and time is running
out on its opportunity to cut itself a position of lasting
significance. Its conventional military and its nuclear
arsenal are both aging quickly, though it is spending
aggressively to update its armaments. Demographically,
birth rates are plunging precipitously. Vladimir Putin and
the Kremlin are running out of time to restore Russia to great-
empire status! “This is Russia’s moment,” wrote George
Friedman. America is squeezing Russia, hoping nature will
take its course, and Russian power will wane. But Friedman
said “the Russians will squeeze back hard before they move
off the stage of history” (Stratfor, July 27, 2009).
Bible prophecy says that will indeed happen!
Expect Russia to ramp up its efforts to restore the
Soviet empire. Among other activities, this will likely
mean the forging of a major agreement with Germany
and Europe that will address both European and Russian
vulnerability. Expect Russia to continue to be highly
active in defending and enlarging its periphery; Ukraine,
or at least its eastern regions, will likely continue
gravitating toward Moscow. It’s highly unlikely we will
see nato expand much further eastward.
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Behind these developments is an invisible power,

assuring that a master plan is being fulfilled. As Winston
Churchill said, “There is a purpose being worked out
here below.” The nations are blind to where these events
are leading. But they should know because this message
has been proclaimed for over 70 years. But even though
the nations fail to heed, you can have God’s protection
wherever you may live on Earth.
“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. He shall
enter also into the glorious land, and many countries
shall be overthrown …” (Daniel 11:40-41). The king of the
north is a united Europe, and the king of the south is
radical Islam led by Iran. (Request our free booklet The
King of the South.)
Europe will win this war. But that victory will trigger
other events. Europe will then ally itself with the
moderate Arabs and attack America, Britain and the
nation called Israel. Many Bible prophecies thunder
this truth.
Then Russia will lead a bloc that includes China
and other Asian nations. They know that they are
next on Europe’s hit list—the world’s new number one
superpower, which likes to attack without warning.
Germany has a history of such treachery—and Germany
leads the EU. That is the ideal way to win nuclear wars.
So Russia and China will gather their armies on the
borders of Europe. This move will make Europe intensely
nervous! So much so that it will attack Russia and China.
“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall
38
 Russia Frightens Europe—and Fulfills Bible Prophecy

trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury

to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall
plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in
the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end,
and none shall help him” (verses 44-45). This is where
the rise of Europe and Russia is leading. It is building
now even as you read this.
The “tidings out of the east and out of the north
shall trouble him”—united Europe. That means the
frightening news comes from the northeast. Look on any
world map and see who is located northeast of Europe—
Russia and China, which will soon unite.
Remember, this is an end-time book (Daniel 12:4, 9).
We must understand who these nations are today, or
Daniel will have prophesied in vain! So God gives us the
specific time factor and the direction of where Europe’s
enemy is located!
As you will see in the chapters to follow, these proph-
ecies get far more detailed. And they are being rapidly
fulfilled before our eyes. It’s all happening just as Daniel
and other prophets prophesied thousands of years ago.
Never have we seen so many prophecies fulfilled so fast.
How many people are going to believe God?
These events are hurtling toward Jesus Christ’s
Second Coming! How magnificent! How wonderful!
Will you believe God?

39
THREE

What the
China Miracle
Means
R
ussia knew exactly what it was doing by
timing its invasion of Georgia for August 7, 2008.
It so happened that the world was engrossed in
an apparently far more compelling drama at the time:
the imminent start of the spectacular Olympic Games
in Beijing.
China used the occasion to announce itself to the
world as a power every bit as vibrant and muscular as the
athletes it hosted. Unabashedly confident, radiating with
national pride, exploding into modernity—China is on fire.
“There are simply no words adequate … to describe
this phenomenon, especially as seen by the eye at street
40
level,” one of our readers wrote us from Beijing after the
Olympics opening ceremony. “Economic growth figures,
China’s purchase of U.S. treasury bonds and takeover of
British companies—[these] can’t capture in words what
is visible to a person in this city. Ordinary people who
still regard China as [backward] would be stunned into
silence if they laid eyes on Beijing (which … is not as large
as the main commercial city, Shanghai). In fact, judging
by what I see, the day China surpasses the U.S. as the
world’s largest economy is much nearer than all the
forecasts indicate.”
Critics grouse about China’s poor human rights, its
authoritarianism, its support for corrupt regimes, its
pollution. Correct as they are, their criticisms simply
aren’t going to stop this bullet train. This country is
barreling into the future—and, in the process, changing
the world.
This is a revolution. It is, in fact, a prophecy—a look
at the future.

America Plus a Billion

In one sense, it’s a question of simple math. China has 1.4
billion people—1 out of every 5 people on Earth. That’s
America’s population plus a billion. Now, multiply any
trend—relating to society, economy, technology, food
or anything else—by 1.4 billion, and you will see a huge
global impact. And the trend in China is definitely
toward bigger, faster and more.
China uses about 56 percent of the world’s cement.
From having no highways just 35 years ago, today it has
almost 104,000 miles of them. And those roads bear the
weight of over 71,000 more cars every day—26 million
more per year. China is already the world’s biggest
41
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

market for new cars, and also its largest carmaker. It

consumes about half of the world’s iron and steel.
In 2005, China had 135 civil airports. By the end of
2021, the number had grown to 248.
China is pushing ahead with a plan to move
250 million people from the country to the city over
the next 12 years. This urban migration has driven the
construction of more than 50 ghost cities across China.
These huge metropolitan areas are designed for millions
of inhabitants, but are currently occupied by about
100,000 people while the Chinese government prepares
for a huge urban migration. Today, the United States has
10 cities of over 1 million people. China has more than
160 and is expecting more.
China’s mushrooming economy is growing 42 percent
faster than America’s, and China has passed Japan as
the world’s second-largest national economy. By some
measures, China already has a larger economy than the
United States. In a single generation, China has lifted
800 million people out of poverty, half of them into the
middle class. Such development is simply jaw-dropping,
historically unprecedented.
Here’s why this trend is so earthshaking. It takes a lot of
resources to fuel such explosive growth on such an enor-
mous scale: more food, more electricity—more every-
thing. That’s a crushing reality when over a billion people
suddenly start gaining an appetite for consumption.
The trouble is, some of those resources are already in
short supply on our planet.
An abc News report, China Inside Out, quoted one
expert saying that for China’s mammoth population
to enjoy affluence as great as America’s, the necessary
resources would demand another planet.
42
 What the China Miracle Means

And that is why, with just a pinch of foresight, you can

see where this trend is headed.

The World’s Hungry Teenager

In 2010, China passed the U.S. as the world’s largest
energy consumer. Between 2000 and 2006, China’s
increase in energy demand exceeded all the electricity it
had used to that point in history. Some Chinese factories
have to shut down several days per week simply because
they don’t have enough voltage. The nation is making a
valiant effort to keep pace with demand: In 2020 alone,
it built new power-generating capacity equivalent to
what all of Italy uses. It commissions a new power
station every four days. Besides the 47 nuclear power
reactors in operation and 11 nuclear power plants
under construction, China plans to build at least 150
new reactors over the next 15 years. As of 2022, China
operates 1,100 coal-fired power stations—13 percent of
the world’s total. It consumes more than half of global
coal production.
Meanwhile, those 26 million new Chinese cars each
year need gasoline. China already imports 565 million
tons of oil per year, and this demand is skyrocketing,
which puts additional, unwelcome strain on global oil
supplies. In 1998, China was a net exporter of oil; by 2013,
it had become the number one importer.
China is the world’s hungry teenager. In order to
fill these colossal cravings, Beijing has launched an
extraordinary outreach program into the rest of the world.

Forcing the Issue

In September 2013, newly appointed Chinese President
Xi Jinping unveiled his plan called “One Belt, One
43
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Road”—a land and sea version of the Silk Road trading

route that would run through Asia, Europe and Africa.
The initiative would cover an area that holds 55 percent
of the world’s gross national product, 70 percent of
the global population and 75 percent of known energy
reserves. DefenseNews wrote, “China’s ‘one belt and
one road’ initiative could usher in a new era that sees
China as the undisputed geopolitical powerhouse in the
region” (April 12, 2015). The idea is mainly economic,
but as Zhuang Jianzhoug, vice director of Shanghai Jiao
Tong University’s Center for National Strategy Studies,
said, it “has political and strategic components and
implications.” China is extending its influence and reach
to create what Quartz called “the most extensive global
commercial-military empire in history” (June 9, 2015).
Beijing is making a “resource grab” wherever it can,
creating economic alliances to fund its global ambitions
of becoming a superpower.
China started by being an invaluable neighbor,
making itself the top or number two trading partner
of virtually every nation in Asia. “Seeking strength
in numbers, Southeast Asian governments strive not
only to tap into China’s new wealth, but also to embed
Beijing in a thicket of organizations and dialogues in the
name of ‘community-building’ and closer integration,”
wrote Ellen Frost in Global Politician. “Conscious of
residual wariness, Chinese leaders go out of their way to
reassure their Asian neighbors that Chinese intentions
are entirely peaceful. Unlike Washington, China has
projected a sympathetic and listening attitude, offering
aid and trade deals without immediately demanding
anything in return” (May 14, 2008).
Beijing is also extending itself diplomatically,
44
 What the China Miracle Means

economically and even militarily into anywhere and

everywhere in the world with resources for sale. It has
significant economic ties with every African nation
except Swaziland.
China overtook the U.S. as Africa’s top trade partner
in 2009. By 2022, bilateral trade between China and
Africa reached $254 billion. China is now helping to
build railroads, roads and airports to link every African
country. Some have raised concerns over China’s rapid
invasion into Africa, calling the Chinese “the new
imperialists.” Some debate whether China is genuinely
trying to stabilize Africa or just selfishly exploiting its
natural resources.
China has also stormed virtually the whole of the
Caribbean and Latin America. As the U.S. has retreated
from this region, China has been the main player to
move its way into the void. From 2000 to 2020, trade
between China and Latin America increased by a
staggering 2,600 percent. According to data provided
by the Americas Society and Council of the Americas,
China surpassed the European Union in 2016 to become
Latin America’s second-largest trade partner. China’s
push into Latin America also includes an increasing
amount of investment. Since 2005, China's three largest
state investment banks have loaned $140 billion to
Latin America and General Secretary Xi Jinping has
pledged to invest billions more over the next decade.”
“The region is ripe for investment, for engagement,
with a partner of China's size in different sectors,” said
Heritage Foundation research assistant Mateo Haydar.
“And [China is] capitalizing on that in ways that I think
we're failing to recognize and at a speed that I think we’re
failing to respond to” (Jan. 2, 2022).
45
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

China has also laid inroads throughout the Middle

East. Trade has risen from around $20 billion a 15 years
ago to an estimated $245 billion in 2021. In 2021, China
imported 10.3 million barrels per day and the Middle
East accounts for more than 47 percent of that supply.
And Beijing exhibits none of the qualms that many
Western nations have over doing business with corrupt,
authoritarian, dictatorial, even genocidal regimes. It
doesn’t sermonize—it just floods other nations with
cash, workers, infrastructure, weapons and whatever
else they need. Usually, it leaves with resources. And in
some cases, it leaves behind a political mess.
Look at what is happening here. China’s meteoric
growth and aggressive chase for resources are forcing
the issue on the rest of the world.
Ethical hang-ups, anemic ambition, bureaucratic
sluggishness—these factors are starting to leave other
nations out in the cold in the intensifying contest
over Earth’s wealth. China has upped the ante. Its
success—in what could be viewed, at this stage, as
soft imperialism—obliges other nations that want to
remain competitive to step up. You can already see it
happening.
This is what makes these trends so prophetic.

China’s AIIB
January 16, 2016, marked a radical turning point for the
global economy, particularly America’s economic domi-
nance. On that date, at a lavish ceremony, President Xi
officially launched the massive Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (aiib)—a new, Chinese-run inter-
national bank that directly challenges U.S. global
economic leadership.
46
 What the China Miracle Means

This bank’s official role is to help finance development

of infrastructure in Asia. It will facilitate the completion
of energy and power projects, transportation and
telecommunications networks, rural infrastructure and
agriculture development, water supply and sanitation
utilities, and urban development and logistics programs.
The goal of the aiib is to become the premier source of
development funding in Asia.
Unofficially, the goal of the bank is to reduce Asian
dependence on the American-controlled World Bank—
and replace it with dependence on China. And ultimately,
it is to replace the U.S. dollar with the Chinese yuan as
the medium of finance.
Astoundingly, America’s allies appear willing to
play along as long as they get a piece of the economic
pie. When China proposed the launch of the aiib in
March 2015, America tried to convince other nations
not to join. But it failed—even with its closest allies. It
was “a diplomatic debacle for the U.S.,” wrote Financial
Times columnist Gideon Rachman. “By setting up and
then losing a power struggle with China, Washington
has sent an unintended signal about the drift of power
and influence in the 21st century” (March 16, 2015). The
global embrace of the aiib was a major embarrassment
to America and a colossal victory for China.
China can now use the aiib as a means of pressuring
other nations. For example, since the Philippines
expressed interest in joining, Manila now has a
compelling reason to turn a blind eye to China’s illegal
construction of islands in Philippine territory. By
hushing up about the Chinese expansionist project, the
Philippines is likelier to gain favor and funding from
China’s aiib for any number of economic initiatives.
47
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

The same kind of motivation may have factored into

Australia’s decision in 2015 to give China 99 years of
control of the vital Port of Darwin.
The aiib marks a huge step toward making the yuan
a reserve currency that could potentially compete
with the dollar. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry
Summers called the introduction of the bank the most
important financial event since America led the world
off the gold standard in 1971. It signals a seismic shift
in financial power away from the United States and
demonstrates the tremendous economic clout China
has gained.

China and Taiwan

Ties between Taiwan (officially named the Republic of
China) and China have been icy for as long as the two
have existed as separate nations. That separation was the
result of a bloody civil war between the Communist Party
and the Kuomintang nationalist party. The war raged
in mainland China from 1927 until 1950, with a brief
intermission during World War ii when both sides fought
against Japan. By 1949, the Communists had defeated
the Kuomintang, forcing its members to flee to the island
of Taiwan—about 110 miles off the coast of mainland
China. Ever since, China, under the Communist Party,
has actively claimed ownership of Taiwan. China views
Taiwan as an offshore rebel province and has often
vowed to use force to dominate it.
For decades, the Taiwanese have lived in fear of
invasion from Chinese forces. But this tiny island has
stayed independent thanks to military equipment,
political support and a promise from an ally that also
happens to be a superpower: the United States.
48
 What the China Miracle Means

Now, however, America’s support for Taiwanese

independence has diminished. In 1998, Bill Clinton
became the first American president to publicly
oppose Taiwanese independence. Trumpet editor in
chief Gerald Flurry said Clinton’s opposition meant it
was only a matter of time before Taiwan would come
under China’s rule. “The Chinese leaders pressured
the president and America to speak against our
freedom-loving friends” in Taiwan, Mr. Flurry wrote.
“The people of Taiwan fear for their future. They feel
betrayed. … Once again, America has showcased its
broken will to the whole world. … How could anyone
fail to see that Taiwan is destined to become a part of
mainland China? These 21 million people are going
to be forced into the Chinese mold; and it is going to
happen for one reason: because of a pitifully weak-
willed America. Does freedom really mean so little to
us?” (Trumpet, August 1998).
At the time that was written, the idea of Taiwan
becoming assimilated into China may have seemed likely
only in the distant future. But not now.

Bowing to China
Throughout his term as Taiwan’s president—from 2008
to early 2016—Ma Ying-jeou prioritized improving
Taiwan’s relationship with China. He accomplished
that largely by giving in to Beijing. Many Taiwanese
were furious about Ma’s capitulations. Hundreds of
thousands took to the streets to protest trade deals he
made with China on the grounds that they gave Beijing
dangerous economic and political leverage over Taiwan.
But in light of America’s track record of weak foreign
policy, especially under the Obama administration,
49
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Ma’s actions were logical. He saw the U.S. retreating

from its role as global stabilizer. He saw America
abandoning its allies and kowtowing to its enemies.
And Ma may well have concluded that the U.S.’s security
assurances are worthless and that prudence required
appeasing China.
However, Ma’s presidency ended on January 16, 2016,
and Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (dpp) came
into power after a landslide victory. When the dpp was
previously in power, it took a stance opposite Ma’s. It
aggressively pushed a pro-independence agenda. Now
under President Tsai Ing-wen, the dpp is set to follow
the same path. Tsai has always refused to endorse the
so-called “one China” principle. And with the landslide
victory, the people of Taiwan signaled that they are tired
of giving in to their giant Communist-run neighbor.
Tsai’s early rhetoric after the victory suggested that
the dpp will likely try to reverse some of Ma’s moves
toward China.
The question is, how long will Beijing tolerate a
less-cooperative Taiwan? Likely not for long. After the
election, China’s official Xinhua news agency said there
was “no denying that the dpp’s return rule poses grave
challenges to cross-strait relations.”
It is possible the dpp may acknowledge that the
new reality of a broken-willed America requires that
Taiwan continue on the path Ma was taking—the path of
submission to China. Or if the dpp decides to stay tough
against China, it could prompt Beijing to react with force
and swallow Taiwan. If that happens, as Mr. Flurry said,
“it is going to happen for one reason: because of a pitifully
weak-willed America.” This is certainly a prophecy worth
continuing to watch.
50
 What the China Miracle Means

Military Rise
To add teeth to its aggressive economic and political
policies, China is working diligently to upgrade its
military capabilities.
In 2008, China overtook the United Kingdom as
the world’s second-largest military spender. Though
far behind America’s $731 billion of military spending,
China is quickly closing the gap. In 2022, the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute estimated that
China spent $229 billion on its military. The People’s
Liberation Army (pla) is the largest standing army in the
world, with 2.2 million troops, and China has 313 million
men fit for military service. The pla Ground Force has
975,000 men. Experts say this number can be quickly
augmented by a 500,000-strong reserve force, 1.5 million
armed police and 8 million militia men.
One of the biggest growth areas in China’s military
is the pla Navy (plan). As China looks further afield for
resources, it needs a robust navy to defend its maritime
lifelines. April 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of
China’s navy, and China celebrated by showcasing 32
naval vessels and 39 naval warplanes. “The pla Navy
ship and aircraft to be revealed are the Liaoning aircraft
carrier, new types of nuclear submarines, new types of
destroyers, as well as fighter aircraft,” Deputy Cmdr. Qiu
Yanpeng told reporters. “Some ships will be revealed for
the first time” (April 19, 2019).
Since 2000, China has focused on modernizing its
Navy. Research conducted by rand suggests that China
only had 57 battleships and 80 submarines in 1996, but
now has 335 battleships (including two aircraft carriers)
and 79 submarines. While China’s navy is obviously
less technologically advanced than the U.S. Navy, it
51
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

technically now has more deployable ships. It plans

to arm its submarines with intercontinental ballistic
missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads up to
7,500 miles. It could also decide to equip its over 7,100
merchant ships with ballistic missiles.
In 2014, China ramped up its territorial claims in the
South China Sea when it began creating artificial islands
in disputed waters and militarizing them. Some of the
islands are as far as 800 miles from mainland China,
but only 150 miles from the Philippines. According to
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
such turf belongs to the Philippines. But who is around
to enforce “international law”? Despite complaints from
America, the Philippines and other nations, China keeps
building these islands, thereby bolstering its claims to
almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing saw from
America’s weak response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
that the U.S. is no longer willing to confront aggressors
with any real power. It wasted no time taking advantage
of the new reality.
Of course, despite its growth, China still lags far
behind the U.S. and remains less advanced than
Europe militarily. This is why China is looking for
unconventional ways to level the playing field.
China sees cyberwarfare as an important tool for
“undermining the U.S. military’s technological edge,”
according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s 2007
Annual Report to Congress on China’s military power.
One of the largest breaches in American military
history happened in 2013 when, in a single attack, China
stole two dozen major weapons systems from the United
States. The next year, National Security Agency (nsa)
Director Mike Rogers said China and one or two other
52
 What the China Miracle Means

countries could invade and shut down U.S. utilities, avia-

tion and financial networks. That same year, Chinese
hackers penetrated U.S. Transportation Command
contractors 20 times, and the Chinese military flaunted
its new J-31 stealth fighter jet—made from technology
it stole out of American servers. In 2015, China hacked
as many as 18 million current and former government
employees’ personal information. Mike McConnell,
former director of the nsa, said, “The Chinese have
penetrated every major corporation of any conse-
quence in the United States and have taken information”
(March 12, 2015). These hacks included the U.S. Congress,
the Department of Defense and the State Department.
Space warfare is another way China is trying to level
the playing field. On January 11, 2007, China took the
space race to a new level. By shooting a warhead from
a ballistic missile into space, destroying an old Chinese
weather satellite, China exploded more than a satellite.
It exploded the myth that China’s space program does
not threaten America. Christopher Bodeen, writing
for the Associated Press, observed, “The test is a shot
across the bow of U.S. efforts to remain predominant in
space and on the ground, where its military is heavily
dependent on networks of satellites …. [A]ny potential
conflicts in space would put much of the industrialized
world’s economies at risk …” (Jan. 23, 2007). China blew
up another satellite in 2010. High-tech militaries like
America’s and the EU’s are heavily dependent upon
satellites. Dr. Ashley Tellis, an expert on China at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank,
stated that China’s space program is aimed at America’s
“soft ribs” in space, and that China could carry out a
“space Pearl Harbor.”
53
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

A Terrifying Reality
Watch. The rise of the Chinese juggernaut graphically
presages a developing—and terrifying—reality: More
and more, the nations reaping the richest rewards in this
rapidly developing resource war will be the more asser-
tive, enterprising nations—the more rapacious nations.
They will also be the more autocratic nations—those
governed by tough, politically empowered leaders; those
least encumbered by political correctness and bureau-
cracy. These are the nations that will strike aggressively,
ruthlessly to stake their claims and defend them.
This trend portends more than just a world dominated
by more aggressive nations. As soon as you have
more than one power acting this way, you have all the
makings for intensifying competition—and ultimately,
out-and-out war.
Now, align these trends with biblical prophecy. Read
Revelation 17 and 18. There you see a detailed, horri-
fying picture of an emergent empire of unprecedented
rapacity. In order to fuel its furnaces and drive its impe-
rialist machinery, it will conquer nations, establishing
colonies and protectorates the world over and raping
them of their resources. In its opulence it will seduce
and deal with the globe’s wealthiest corporate moguls,
riding their backs and enriching itself at the expense of
the rest of the world.
Those biblical prophecies speak of our day today—
this time of America’s decline, of China’s rise, of global
economic instability and proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction. We are about to see the sudden,
violent surfacing of this superpower.
But this empire will not be China and Russia! It will
not be Asian at all.
54
 What the China Miracle Means

In fact, in light of biblical prophecy, we must view

Russia’s and China’s rise as a likely trigger for this empire
to rise up and strike!
This passage in Revelation—along with dozens of
others that provide more vivid details—is speaking of
an emerging European empire, a resurrection, in fact, of
the Holy Roman Empire! You can be sure it is watching
intently what China and Russia are doing today and,
behind closed doors, plotting its retaliation. It simply
will not be left behind in the coming resource war.
You need to understand these prophecies—their
fulfillment is going to rock the world off its axis. Request
free copies of Herbert W. Armstrong’s masterful booklet
Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast? and our book The
Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy for a riveting study of
this vital subject.
The rise and cooperation of Russia and China that
we are witnessing is prophecy being fulfilled! For not
only is it certain to provoke Europe to assume a far
more combative posture in securing its much-needed
resources, but these Asian nations have a significant
role to play in the events prophesied to unfold shortly.
Keep your eye on China. Within a few short years, this
nation—the ascendant, proud China that has emerged
today—will dazzle the world. Watching its vault into
great-power status truly is a look at the future.

55
FOUR

India:
Asia’s Other
Economic
Powerhouse
I
ndia—with its population of more than 1.4
billion people—is almost certain to join the Asian
bloc that is prophesied to congeal in the end time.
In May 2014, after five weeks of voting and more
than 800 million ballots cast, India’s Bharatiya Janata
Party won a landslide victory. It was the largest elec-
tion in mankind’s history. The new government run
by Narendra Modi achieved the first absolute majority
in India’s lower house of Parliament in over 30 years.
56
This gave Modi powers his predecessors could have only
dreamed of.
During his victory speech, Modi said, “Good days are
coming. The journey has started.” This “journey” holds
great geopolitical significance because it is one that is
steering India ever further from the United States and
Britain—and ever nearer to Russia, China and other
Asian states.

Away From the West, Toward the East

Back in 2005, the U.S. revoked Modi’s visa on the grounds
that he had played a role in one of India’s bloodiest
episodes of religious violence. The violence had taken
place in the state of Gujarat, where Modi was chief
minister at the time. Hindu rioters there killed more
than 1,200 Muslims and forced another 150,000 to flee
their homes. Modi was accused both of failing to stop the
violence and encouraging it. His involvement was never
proved, but the U.S. slapped sanctions on him, and the
EU quickly followed suit.
Modi responded to the Western snub by looking east.
Ever since, he has been making friends and forging
alliances with China, Russia, Japan and other Asian
countries. The South China Morning Post explained that
his ascension as India’s prime minister represented a
bane to the U.S. and a boon for Eastern powers: “Modi
is also known to have an Eastern bias, with Asian
nationalism forming the core of his worldview. Apart from
China, that also draws him closer to Japan and Singapore,
with whose leaders he has struck up a similar rapport. …
Modi’s unimpeachable conservative background and open
admiration for China has in the past raised hopes of him
becoming a sort of Indian Richard Nixon” (May 16, 2014).
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Nixon is not the only world leader Modi has been

compared to. The Diplomat called him “India’s Shinzō
Abe” because some of his nationalistic leanings mirror
those of the former Japanese prime minister. India’s
Economic Times reported, “Many Chinese officials who
have dealt with Modi compare him to their present boss
Xi Jinping” (May 14, 2014). Oneindia skipped to the chase,
likening Modi to Asia’s big man himself: “[He is] India’s
Putin,” the website stated. His heavy-handed leadership
“may revive India as Putin did in Russia [because] Modi
has similar Putin-like capability to metamorphose India
into an economic and military powerhouse through a
series of tough measures and steps, which would help
India leverage and unleash its real potential” (May 6, 2014).

A Resilient Friendship
Modi has made his fondness for Russia especially clear.
During the 2014 brics summit, he said: “Even a child in
India, if asked to say who is India’s best friend, will reply
it is Russia because Russia has been with India in times
of crisis.”
A look at the long history between India and Russia
reveals why he would make such a statement.
Starting back in the 17th century, Indian merchants—
mostly from Sindh and Multan—regularly crossed into
Russia and began building the foundation of the Russo-
Indian relationship. By the early 18th century, Indian
traders were living not only in Russia’s southern city
of Astrakhan, but also as far north as Moscow. By the
1900s, Indians were dispersed throughout Kazan and
St. Petersburg, and many had been assimilated into
Russian society. It looked as if the peoples of India and
Russia were on course to build a lasting bond.
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 India: Asia’s Other Economic Powerhouse

But then came the British.

Britain colonized India in 1858 and brought rule of
law and governance to the subcontinent. British rule
was far from perfect, but it lifted millions from squalor
and oppression. Its influence also replaced Russian
influence, aligning the subcontinent with London rather
than St. Petersburg.
Russian leaders were never indifferent about Britain’s
colonization of India. They were outspoken in their
desire to see the British pushed out of India.
Vladimir Lenin, who later became ruler of the
Soviet Union, said in 1918: “There can be no general
peace without a free independent India. … We, Russian
Revolutionaries and International Socialists, feel it our
duty to rejoice at the announcement of a revolution in
India but also to support this revolution by direct or
indirect means and with all our powers.”
Thanks in part to Soviet support, anti-British
sentiment took firm root throughout India.
Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, the primary architect
of India’s independence movement, acknowledged
Russia and its revolution as a source of inspiration to
him: “We, too, can resort to the Russian remedy against
tyranny. … Our shackles will break this very day if the
people of India become united and patient, love their
country and think of the well-being of their motherland
disregarding their self-interest. … We also can show the
same strength that the Russian people have done.”
Shortly after Russia’s February 1917 revolution,
Gandhi said, “Bolshevik ideals sanctified by the sacrifice
of such master spirits as Lenin cannot go in vain.”
India’s struggle continued to intensify, and in 1947 the
British granted it independence. The Soviets wasted no
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

time moving into the void and fostering close relations

with the newly independent Indians. In fact, the Russians
had taken some key steps toward rebuilding a Russo-
Indian bond even before India’s independence was official.
In April 1947, two months before independence, India
and the Soviet Union announced the establishment of
formal diplomatic relations. By 1951, India had adopted
the Soviet Union’s Five-Year Plan economic model,
complete with Communist-flavored heavy centralization.
Under this framework, India’s growth and progress was
extremely slow.
Officially, India was nonaligned during the Cold War.
Unofficially, however, both sides viewed it as an ally
of the Soviets. When the U.S. tilted toward Pakistan,
India’s rival, relations between India and the West grew
even more strained. The camaraderie between Russia
and India took a great leap forward in 1974 after India
conducted nuclear tests and the Soviet Union emerged
as the only major nation to support India’s right of
“self-defense.”
Throughout this era, India remained weak. The Soviet
economic model stifled its growth and progress. The
nation suffered from high unemployment, rampant
corruption and prolonged periods of stagnation. But the
weakness would not last!

The Elephant Rises—and

Leans Toward Moscow
After the fall of the Soviet Union, India moved away from
the Soviet-inspired economic model. It took steps to
liberalize, privatize and reform its economy. It quickly
began to undergo staggering growth.
In retrospect, it was clear that India’s earlier adoption
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 India: Asia’s Other Economic Powerhouse

of a Soviet-modeled economy had hindered the nation’s

growth. But India seemed to harbor no ill will toward the
Russians. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Russo-Indian
relations remained warm and were soon after transformed
into what was labeled an “Indo-Russian partnership.”
In 2000, India and Russia signed the Declaration on
the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, and the two
nations entered new levels of cooperation in such areas
as defense, economy, technology and security. Around
that time, India became the largest purchaser of Russian
military gear.
India’s unwavering support of Russia was made plain
in 2008 after Russia invaded Georgia. The Western world
decried Moscow’s expansionism, but India refrained from
all criticism. By the end of the year, India signed a joint
declaration with Russia, showing that the two were in
agreement over the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
In 2010, Putin elevated the Indo-Russian partnership
to a “special and privileged” strategic partnership. And
he began issuing calls for India to be given a permanent
membership in the United Nations Security Council.
In 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, India openly
backed Moscow while Western powers condemned
Russia’s actions.
Meanwhile, India’s economic growth continued to
surge. At the end of the Cold War, India’s gross domestic
product was $274.8 billion. By 2014, it was over $2 trillion—
the seventh-largest in the world. By 2015, India had
become the world’s fastest-growing large economy.
And it is set to keep on mushrooming. “India is the most
promising story in Asia on a five- to 10-year view,” said
strategist Christopher Wood in 2015. “Mr. Modi is the most
pro-business, pro-investment political leader in the world.”
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

During a March 2015 lecture in New Delhi, International

Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde said: “Indeed,
a brighter future is being forged right before your eyes.
By 2019, the economy will more than double in size
compared to 2009. When adjusting for differences in
purchase prices between economies, India’s gdp will
exceed that of Japan and Germany combined.”

Can India and China Get Along?

Relations between India and China have historically
been frosty and fraught with competition and border
disputes. But since both nations heartily support Putin’s
Russia, and since both are driven by increasingly anti-
Western ideologies, it is not unreasonable to anticipate
a great thaw in the future of Indo-Chinese relations.
Already, many signs point to such a shift.
During nato’s Kosovo campaign, Russia wanted to
challenge America’s dominance by suggesting a Russia-
China-India axis. Neither India nor China ruled the notion
out. This was a powerful signal that China’s and India’s
desire to see the era of Western dominance come to an
end overrides the grievances they have against each other.
Then from 2000 to 2014, bilateral trade between China
and India surged from under $3 billion to $71 billion.
And all of that was before Modi became prime
minister. Since the Chinese knew that Modi shared
their anti-Western ideologies, they were delighted
when he was elected. “This has caused worries from
the West,” China’s state-run Global Times wrote.
“Western countries like the U.S. hope to use India to
counterbalance China, but they don’t support India on
issues of the country’s core interests” (May 5, 2014).
Within days of his election, Modi invited Xi to visit
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India. In September 2014, Xi traveled there and promised

$20 billion worth of investments in India over the next
five years. More visits occurred in subsequent years.
On October 12, 2015, the Chinese People’s Liberation
Army and the Indian Army began a joint counterterrorism
exercise, code-named Hand-in-Hand 2015. It was the fifth
of such counterterrorism drills the two sides had held
since 2007. The goal of the exercises, according to India’s
Ministry of Defense, was “to develop joint-operating
capability, share useful experience in counterterrorism
operations, and to promote friendly exchanges between
the armies of India and China.”
The Global Times said, “There is no need to be
astonished over the joint drill, for the idea of peaceful
coexistence has already been deeply rooted among
people from both China and India” (Oct. 11, 2015).
The Times article said “a joint military exercise is a
barometer of bilateral relationships.” The article acknowl-
edged the historic tensions between China and India,
but said the new wave of military drills means these are
mostly superficial. “Confrontations in recent years were
not created on purpose but happened by accident. Leaders
from both China and India have consensus and enough
means to take divergences under control” (ibid).
Another remarkable indication of Indo-Chinese
cooperation came in July 2015 when China allowed Modi’s
India to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

A Rising Military Powerhouse

Many view India as a pacifist culture bound by a creed
of Gandhian nonviolence, but the nation has astounding
military potential. And in recent years, India has worked
to expand that potential.
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From 2004 to 2009, India’s military expenditure

increased by 45 percent. According to ihs Jane’s 360, India
imported $200 million in military equipment in 2009 just
from the U.S. By 2013, that figure had risen to $2 billion.
In May 2014, when Modi was elected, India began a
rapid military modernization and buildup. By November,
the new prime minister had approved $19 billion of
arms procurement proposals. Within six months, he
had approved 41 deals from heavy guns to submarines
to build up the Indian military. India had never before
undergone a buildup on that scale.
In 2015, India became the world’s top arms importer,
and the bulk of those imports came from Russia. From
2009 to 2013, Russia provided roughly 75 percent
of India’s military imports. “Russia has been India’s
foremost defense partner through the decades,” Modi
said on December 11, 2014. “Even as India’s options have
increased today, Russia will remain our most important
defense partner.” The two countries have also agreed
on joint development and production of future, cutting-
edge weapons systems.
In 2021, India spent around $71 billion on its military and
operated no fewer than 1,100 Russian T-90 tanks.

India’s Future
In an article titled “America’s New Nightmare: India,
China Plus Russia,” Russia’s Svobodnaya Pressa wrote
about the congealing bond between these three nations:
“For Russia, the rapprochement between India and China
is an issue of paramount importance. For a long time, the
concept of a strategic triangle between Russia, China and
India has existed, but until recently it has not appeared
particularly viable. The ric [Russia, India, China], as the
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 India: Asia’s Other Economic Powerhouse

group is known, has been largely an economic forum,

without much to show in strategic terms” (May 14, 2015).
But somewhat suddenly, things are different. The
three are the top shareholders in China’s aiib, all are
part of brics bank, and all are members of the sco. All
of these massive institutions are designed to diminish
and eventually end the era of Western dominance. In
February of 2015, ric held its 13th meeting during which
members called for a new world order and vowed to
“build a more just, fair and stable international political
and economic order.”
Many signs today show that global power is shifting
from West to East. India has been a key part of that shift,
and if it continues to cooperate with Russia and China,
it is likely to take on an even greater role.

65
FIVE

Japan’s
Place in
the Future
A
fter World War ii, a strong relationship
between the U.S. and Japan had guaranteed
economic and military security in East Asia. But
Japan’s leaders have been increasingly edging away from
that partnership.
Unable to fix its own deflationary economic spiral,
might Japan try to revive its economy by taking a more
independent approach to security in East Asia? Any
separation from the U.S. would require Japan to crank
up its defense spending. This could be just what Japan
needs to mend its economic sickness.
The problem is, Japanese militarism has a dangerous
66
history. Its most recent resurgence was only halted by
two atomic bombs in 1945.

Awakening the Samurai

Today, Japan boasts one of the top 10 military arsenals
in the world and the fourth-largest navy. Despite all its
industrial, economic and naval strength, Japan has until
quite recently been seen as a benign power, constrained
by memories of the nuclear disaster that ended its past
imperial exploits. But as has been the case with so many
other nations, the events of September 11, 2001, altered
the Japanese mentality.
Just one month after 9/11, then Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi adopted antiterrorism legislation in
the Diet that enabled the Japanese military to supply
logistical support for America’s declared war on terrorism.
Why was Japan able to enter the battle theater so
readily? Look beneath the surface and you will find that
Japan has not, in reality, been the benign power it has
projected itself to be since its defeat in World War ii.
For decades Japan has evaded the strict enforcement
of Article 9 of the constitutional law imposed by America
after World War ii, which states unequivocally that “the
Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right
of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of
settling international disputes. … [L]and, sea and air forces,
as well as other war potential, will never be maintained”
(emphasis added throughout). Japan’s military began to
be resurrected as early as 1950, when a National Police
Reserve was established as a replacement for American
troops who were sent into the Korean War. The Japanese
government transformed this police force into the Self-
Defense Force (sdf) in 1954, with the full support of the U.S.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

As time went on and memories of World War ii faded,

the force gradually expanded its scope. In 1992, Japan
passed the UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law, which
allowed the sdf to take part in certain nonmilitary
aspects of UN missions. Japanese soldiers could now be
stationed outside Japan’s borders.
Events stemming from September 11, 2001, brought
about what the New York Times called “the most
significant transformation in Japan’s military since
World War ii” (July 23, 2007). Japan’s military is looking
less and less like a “self-defense” force. In 2004, Japan
sent noncombat troops to Iraq. At the end of 2006,
Japan’s Defense Agency was upgraded to become a full-
fledged ministry, giving it a louder and clearer voice in
Japan’s cabinet. In 2007, Japan’s F-2s flew 1,700 miles
without refueling and dropped 500‑pound live bombs
as part of a training exercise. Now Japan is even looking
to use space for military purposes.
With many of the taboos already broken, it would be
a small step for Japan to amend its pacifist Constitution.
“For many years Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have been
laying the groundwork for this new era. Japan has a small
army—although it is larger than most people imagine—
but more importantly, Japan’s military industrial
capability is much greater than is generally assumed.
“Japan has already created some of the most advanced
weapons in the world and knows how to mass-produce
them. Japan’s emergence as a great military power in the
future depends more on its will than its ability. In order to
have a world-class military force in a few short years, Japan
merely has to decide that it needs one” (George Friedman
and Meredith Lebard, The Coming War With Japan).
In April 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe
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 Japan’s Place in the Future

removed the weapons-export ban that was enacted

in 1967. The embargo had banned weapons exports to
Communist bloc nations, countries subject to arms-
export embargoes under UN Security Council resolutions,
and nations involved in or likely to be involved in
international conflicts.
A few months later, Tokyo made the decision to
“re­interpret” a key section of its pacifist Constitution:
the ban on collective self-defense. For 70 years, it had
interpreted this section as limiting Japan’s forces to
acting in its own defense, and never in defense of its allies,
and never in any conflict outside Japanese territory. The
reinterpretation meant Japan could use its large, cutting-
edge military in ways that would have been unthinkable
just a few years earlier. Now, if a U.S. ship is under fire,
Japan can assist it; if a North Korean missile is aimed at
an Australian ship, Japan can shoot it down; if the United
Nations is involved in a “gray zone” activity, Japanese
troops can participate.
The landmark reinterpretation paves the way for
greater changes to Japan’s Constitution.
Adding to the worry is the fact that Mr. Abe is a
member of the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership
(sas), which is the political arm of the Association of
Shinto Shrines. Besides working to scrap Article 9, the
sas is also committed to blurring the separation of
religion and state. It is dedicated to “educational reforms”
that would better nurture a “love of country” among
Japanese youth.
sas Director Yutaka Yuzawa believes it is time to undo
the changes brought about during the U.S. occupation.
“After the war, there was an atmosphere that considered
all aspects of the prewar era bad,” he said. “Policies
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

were adopted weakening the relationship between the

imperial household and the people … and the most
fundamental elements of Japanese history were not
taught in the schools.”
Abe also serves as supreme adviser to the Nippon
Kaigi, a lobby group committed to restoring lost
Japanese values. University of Auckland’s Prof. Mark
Mullins told Reuters that both “Nippon Kaigi and the
Shinto Association basically believe the occupation
period brought about … the forced removal of Shinto
traditions from public space and public institutions. For
them, this was authentic Japanese identity … and to be
an independent and authentic Japan again those things
need to be restored” (Dec. 11, 2014).
Would Abe really endorse a return to something as
arcane and archaic as emperor worship? A clue to the
answer came in October 2013 when he became the first
Japanese prime minister since World War ii to participate
in a ceremony at the Ise Shrine, the holiest of Japan’s
Shinto institutions. The ceremony entailed rebuilding
the shrine and bringing idols to it that represent the
emperor’s divine ancestry. John Breen, a professor at
the International Research Center for Japanese Studies
in Kyoto, said the implications of Abe’s participation in
the Ise Shrine ceremony are enormous. “Without anyone
blinking an eye … it became a state rite,” he said.
Japan’s nationalist leaders continue to make strides
as they work toward a constitutional revision and a
restoration of Japan’s “lost values.”
These “lost values” were a big part of what drove
Japan’s tragic wartime fanaticism. Efforts to restore
them should be cause for alarm.
The continued restructuring of Japan’s security
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 Japan’s Place in the Future

policy turned a new corner in April 2015 when its new

defense guidelines were released. This marked the
second time a revision has been made to the country’s
security policy since it was first issued in 1978. At that
time, Japan was essentially restricted to relying on the
U.S. for protection. In 1997, it was updated to allow both
nations to cooperate regionally in situations and areas
immediately surrounding Japan. Under the newest
revision, Japan’s geographic limits on sdf activities are
entirely eliminated.
With North Korea’s perennial and increasingly warlike
threats to “destroy the world” via its nuclear capability,
Japan is taking advantage of this serious regional security
problem to strengthen its position as America’s power
declines. Washington has given Japan’s march toward
remilitarization full support since U.S. leaders want
Tokyo to shoulder some of the burden of stabilizing
global conflicts. It would not be surprising to see the U.S.
even encourage Japan to gain nuclear capability under
the guise of self-defense!
Since World War ii, Japan has willingly submitted to
having America bear the load of maintaining its security
by U.S. naval and air presence in the greater Asian region.
Meanwhile, Japan has steadily built up one of the largest
peacetime navies in the world. But perceptions of U.S.
overstretch, coupled with North Korea’s development
of nuclear weapons capacity and China’s increasingly
aggressive behavior in the region, are motivating Japan
to build its capacity to more independently secure its
waters and airspace.
In recent years, Japan has done much to quash the
results of some of its past quarrels with Russia and China.
At the same time, Japan has developed a close relationship
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

with Germany in trade, cultural affairs and, more recently,

security and defense issues. Ultimately, as the European
Union’s motive for global hegemony becomes apparent,
Japan will most likely, as Bible prophecy indicates, join
in a grand alliance with Russia and China as one of the
leading powers in the greater Asian sphere.

Global Power Bloc

Across the China Sea from the land of the rising sun, a
dragon awakens. Mythological dragons may be known
to fall asleep at the entrance to their caverns, but they
are certainly not known for their weakness. The Chinese
dragon has long been, it might seem, slumberously
watching as U.S. global dominance wanes. But it seeks
to build a global power bloc in the East to replace it.
To create such a bloc, China needs more than just
Russia. As Stratfor wrote, “China and Russia, bound
together into the tightest alliance, can change the
regional balance in Eurasia but cannot affect the global
balance …” (April 16, 2001). To be able to truly alter the
global balance of power, this alliance likely needs Japan
to add its technological prowess and naval might.
Such an alliance would have seemed all but
impossible just a short time ago. But we’re seeing the
trend shift in Asia.
The first step came in the form of a proposal in
November 2001 to create a free-trade area between
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(asean). Then, at the China‑asean summit in November
2002, a framework agreement on comprehensive
economic cooperation was signed, with more trade
agreements signed since then. This new Asian bloc was
made official in 2010, and with over 2 billion consumers
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 Japan’s Place in the Future

having a combined gross domestic product of about

$11 trillion, it is the world’s largest free-trade zone, in
terms of population.
Japan, though it has one of the world’s largest
independent economies, continues to be hamstrung by
the failure of successive governments to confront the
need for painful economic restructuring. As much as
it may resist being relegated to a follower role behind
Russia and China, Tokyo knows that it needs to work
toward this pan-Asian future if it is to have anywhere
near the influence in the East Asian sphere that the size
of its economy and industrial weight demand. It wants to
forge a trading bloc that would emerge as a major driving
force within the global economy.
All it would take is a major regional crisis to spur the
Japanese into action to offer their naval might in particular
as a guarantor of security to their neighbors. Japan has
this powerful tool to use as a trade-off in negotiations for
economic cooperation from the rest of Asia.
The prospect of the continued expansion of the EU
into a combined bloc larger and more powerful than
the U.S. and Russia, and the perceived weakening of U.S.
global influence, is driving China and its Asian neighbors
to position themselves as the next great global power
bloc. Russia, China and Japan will likely combine in
Asian alliances, with the ultimate intention of forcing
the U.S. out of the Russian “sphere of influence” and out
of the western Pacific. Then, as has been the strategy of
the EU, Asian political and economic cooperation will
ultimately progress to a military and security alliance.
The West is in decline. Islam is on the rise globally.
The European beast power is almost ready to roll. The
kings of the east are becoming restless. U.S. influence in
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

and access to the Korean Peninsula, Chinese and Soviet

coasts, Asia-Pacific sea-lanes, Malaysia, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Micronesia, Polynesia and Papua New
Guinea are declining.

Filling the Power Vacuum

Who will fill the power vacuum?
China’s economy overtook Japan’s in 2010 to become
the world’s second-largest, but Japan is still ahead of
China in terms of the quality of its growth. Japan has its
(presently underutilized) industrial capacity developed
to the point that it could easily match the U.S. and the
EU in high-tech weapons development and production.
Eighty years ago, Japan sought to extend its empire
via military might. After decades of decolonization,
development and growth in the Far East, Japan now faces
a vastly different and more powerful China and a much
more industrialized collective Asian sphere. It must fulfill
its goals using very different means from those it used in
the 1940s. Any dominance Japan now seeks in the Eastern
Hemisphere must be done via alliances and treaties.
This effort will result in a nuclear alliance!
If Japan decided to do so, it could become an
independent nuclear power within a single year. Voices
within Japan calling for such action are getting louder.
The Plain Truth magazine foretold an alliance between
China and Japan years ago. An article in the February
1963 issue stated, “There is an utter inevitability of the
ultimate tie-up between Japan and Red China! The big
question is how long China will remain ‘Red’ and survive
without a tie-up with Japanese capitalism.” Today, China
is not as “Red” as it once was, and it is ready for a closer
union with Japan.
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 Japan’s Place in the Future

An article in the April 1968 Plain Truth said, “Despite

its many national, religious and political differences,
Asia will ultimately be welded together into a common
power bloc. It will ultimately send its military muscle
into the Middle East at the return of Jesus Christ. This
prophecy is recorded in Revelation 16:12 and 16. Japan
will play a vital role in this battle.” We will cover that
prophecy in detail in the next chapter.
Watch for the East Asian alliances to develop economi-
cally and militarily. Watch for coming agreements
between Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and others
to harness the maverick North Korea and muscle the
U.S. out of Oriental diplomacy in Korea and Taiwan.
Watch for a third great power bloc to emerge in the East
to balance the power of the expanding European Union
and the volatile Islamic tide.
The new order of global powers is emerging precisely
as depicted in Bible prophecy.

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SIX

Asia in
Prophecy
H
erbert W. Armstrong said that about one third
of the Bible is devoted to prophecy. The framework
of all prophecy, he explained, is found in two
prophetic books—the books of Daniel and Revelation.
And only in Revelation “do we find events of the various
other prophecies correlated in order of time sequence,”
he wrote in The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last!
The book of Revelation details events that lead to
the return of Jesus Christ. The events are symbolized
by seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials. These
portray a progression of catastrophic plagues God will
inflict on mankind.
Mr. Armstrong categorized these prophetic happen-
ings in three major events. “So here we have three succes-
sive world-shaking events to come—first and, now, next
76
to occur in possibly this decade or the next, the Great
Tribulation. Second, immediately after the Tribulation,
the heavenly signs in the sun and moon and stars. Third,
following the supernatural signs in the heavens, the
terrible Day of the Lord!” (ibid).
The first four seals in Revelation 6:1-8—false religion,
war, famine and pestilence—lead to the fifth seal, the
Great Tribulation—the time of Satan’s wrath. Many
scriptures describe the Great Tribulation, including
verses 9-11. The Tribulation will last 2½ years.
Next, in verses 12-14, we read: “And I beheld when
he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of
hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of
heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And
the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;
and every mountain and island were moved out of their
places.” These are the heavenly signs Mr. Armstrong
highlighted as the second of the three successive events.
Finally, we come to the Day of the Lord—the time of
God’s wrath. This is when God punishes mankind for its
rebellion against Him and His government. God will send
plagues upon all sinners to bring them to repentance.
The inhabitants of Earth who survive the previous
disasters will know that they are entering the time of
God’s wrath (verses 15-17).
The Day of the Lord lasts for one year. Because it takes
place during the last year of a 3½-year period the Bible
frequently refers to, some have supposed the Day of the
Lord is synonymous with the Great Tribulation—but it is
not. The time sequence is this: first the Great Tribulation,
then the heavenly signs, and then the Day of the Lord.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Those three shattering events fall within a 3½-year

period the Bible calls “a time, and times, and half a time”
(Revelation 12:14). It is critical we understand this time
sequence.

Start of Great Tribulation

The time of “great tribulation” is an end-time period of
suffering on a scale never experienced in human history
(Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1). Many scriptures show that
the nations devastated the most will be America, Britain
and the Jewish nation of Israel.
In the past, we believed this Tribulation would begin
when these three nations were attacked militarily.
But the Prophet Ezekiel describes the Tribulation as
beginning with an economic siege against these nations.
Notice the specifics: “Thou also, son of man, take thee
a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray [or engrave]
upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against
it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against
it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams
against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee
an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee
and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be
besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be
a sign to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 4:1-3).
The “house of Israel” primarily refers not to the Jews,
but to the modern descendants of Israel, specifically the
United States and Britain. Here is pictured a siege against
the house of Israel. It is a prophecy that one third of
these nations will be destroyed economically and socially
by a siege! Other prophecies show that this siege will
cause an economic cataclysm that will develop into race
wars and fighting for food and survival!
78
79
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

The Prophet Isaiah discusses a powerful “mart of

nations” that includes both European and Asian nations,
including Russia, China and Japan (Isaiah 23). Events
are moving toward the fulfillment of this prophecy.
In recent years, the European Union’s economic
powerhouse overtook the U.S. and Japan to become
China’s biggest trading partner. China and Europe
have undertaken many joint ventures in recent years,
including a 2015 landmark deal between Germany’s
largest exchange and China’s Foreign Exchange Trade
System, which is significantly strengthening financial
links between the two sides.
A top German banker, Folker Hellmeyer, former chief
economist at Bremer Landesbank, predicts that the
Moscow-Beijing economic axis will prevail against the
United States. He also warns that economic damage for
Germany and the European Union will be significant if
they continue to follow U.S. policy in opposition to the
brics alliance (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa). Germany has already joined the China-led Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank. Financial analysts
like Jim Willie are warning that Germany may
already be planning to ditch the dollar and join
the brics nations!
The relationship we see developing between “the king
of the north” and “the kings of the east” is exactly what
Isaiah prophesied over 2,700 years ago! Think about the
role that this alliance will likely play in the economic
besiegement of America!
Mr. Armstrong prophesied for many years that the
alliance between Europe and South America would
grow extremely strong. The most significant factors that
will cement this connection are religion and language:
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Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion of Latin

America; and after Chinese and English, Spanish is the
next-most spoken language in the world. But it will not
be a union of equals: The Latin American countries will
become vassal states of Europe!
With a German-led Europe (referred to in prophecy as
“the king of the north”) possessing great maritime power,
North America will be flanked on the east by Europe and
on the south by Latin America.
The Bible contains many prophecies of that
European power attacking America. This is where
China and the other giants of Asia enter the picture.
Considering that China now possesses most of the
world’s strategic sea gates (at one time held by Britain
and America), the German-led Holy Roman Empire
will need to form a brief alliance with the Asian powers
identified in Isaiah 23 (Russia, China, Japan—“the
kings of the east”).
If Europe finds a way to take advantage of key
resources and strategic holdings of China, Russia and
Japan—even for a short period—then it would have more
than enough power to besiege the Anglo-Saxon nations.
The United States and Britain are going to be left
out in the cold as two gigantic trade blocs, Europe
and Asia, mesh together and begin calling the
shots in world commerce. These nations of Israel
are going to be literally besieged—economically
frozen out of world trade!
This economic siege is all part of the fifth seal
of Revelation—the Great Tribulation that Ezekiel
prophesied. It will usher in the crisis of crises—the
worst ever on Earth! Time is extremely short. Do we dare
scoff at the living God?
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Superpower Under Siege

The Prophet Ezekiel further reveals that one third of
the people inside America and Britain will die during
this Euro-Asian trade siege. That equates to more than
100 million people in the U.S. and more than 21 million
in Britain.
Notice what God commanded His prophet Ezekiel to
do: “Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity
of the house of Israel [primarily America and Britain]
upon it: according to the number of the days that thou
shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have
laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to
the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days:
so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel”
(Ezekiel 4:4-5).
God is getting very detailed and specific here. He
doesn’t want people to suffer any more than they have
to in order to realize they don’t know the way to peace
apart from God’s law. The Tribulation starts with an
economic siege, and this siege will last exactly 390
days—about 13 months!
Verses 6-8 specifically address the house of Judah—
the Jewish nation—not the house of Israel, or America
and Britain: “And when thou hast accomplished them, lie
again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of
the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each
day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward
the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered,
and thou shalt prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay
bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one
side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.”
The main prophecy here is that the much longer siege
happens against the United States and Britain. I’m sure
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the worst of the siege is against the U.S. because it is

the superpower. While the siege against America and
Britain lasts 13 months, the siege against the Jews will
only last 40 days.
The siege against the Jews will begin 350 days after
the siege against America and Britain has begun. Both
sieges end at the same time, when all three nations
are invaded militarily. Hosea 5:5 says that America,
Britain and Judah will fall together. That is referring to
the military attack!
The story flow now continues into Ezekiel 5, where
Ezekiel discusses the three successive parts of Israel’s
destruction.
When fire begins to burn the cities, that concludes
the siege. The siege will keep intensifying until the cities
burn with fire. It concludes with the economy being
absolutely destroyed, and with a lot of burning, race wars
and other forms of societal meltdown.
A lot of mind-splitting terror faces this land! This is
building even now—you can see it!
When the siege ends, then comes the attack, so the situ-
ation gets far worse. The siege of these three nations leads
to an attack that will leave cities without inhabitant!
America is weak and bitterly divided already. This
makes it extremely vulnerable for a foreign power to
lay siege to it. With the threat of terrorism and racial
hatred, it is easy to see how the siege will lead to a third
of Americans dying. One third of Britain will die at the
same time. The siege of Judah will end at the same time,
but it begins later and is much shorter. Yet one third of
the Jewish nation will still die.
This devastating military attack of Hosea 5:5 will
occur 13 months after the German-led European
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Union forms an alliance with the nations of Asia to

besiege the Anglo-Saxon nations. This military attack
will come from the revived Holy Roman Empire!

Tidings Out of the East

The Prophet Daniel shows us what will happen to the brief
Euro-Asian alliance: “And at the time of the end shall the
king of the south [this is a radical Islamic Middle Eastern
power, led by Iran] push at him: and the king of the north
[a revived European Holy Roman Empire, led by Germany]
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.
He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many coun-
tries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his
hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children
of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the
countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he
shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans
and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out
of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:
therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and
utterly to make away many” (Daniel 11:40-44).
The king of the north—the Holy Roman emperor—
will hear troubling tidings from the east and north.
These tidings come after the king of the south has
been destroyed. They come from the Asian axis! The
Holy Roman emperor will be disturbed about what the
Russians and Chinese are doing.
Before this, when the Tribulation began, this emperor
was cooperating with the Russians and Chinese to
besiege the Anglo-Saxon nations economically. But
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perhaps he hears rumors that the Asian axis is planning

to invade North America and conquer it for its own.
(Such an invasion would also cut off the Holy Roman
Empire from its strong alliance with Latin America!)
Regardless of what the exact tidings are, the Bible is
clear that it will be the Holy Roman Empire that single-
handedly invades North America. And this passage is
clear that these tidings will provoke the emperor to go
forth with great fury to destroy!
This is the big picture! This is what will happen
at the end of the 390-day siege. Europe and Asia may
work together to economically besiege America,
but their alliance will fall apart once the revived
Roman Empire conquers America, Britain and Judah.
Back in World War ii, Nazi Germany and Imperial
Japan worked together to conquer the world. After the
war ended, however, historians found that each empire
had plans to go to war with the other after the Allies
were defeated. Let’s not be naive: This is the way it has
always been with these powers. That is why, in biblical
terminology, the “times of the Gentiles” is so horrific!
This is what we have to be concerned about! Two
empires are building right now that are out to conquer
the world!

The Day of the Lord

After the 390-day siege is ended and the Holy Roman
emperor has conquered North America, the Tribulation
will continue for 510 more days until the 2½ years are
fulfilled. According to the prophecy in Ezekiel 5, another
one third of the people inside America and Britain will
die during this military invasion. Those who are left alive
will be taken as slaves to foreign lands!
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At the end of the 2½ years, the sixth and seventh

seals will be opened. Again, the sixth seal represents the
heavenly signs and the seventh seal marks the beginning
of the Day of the Lord.
Consider the words of Revelation 8:1-2: “And when he
had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven
about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels
which stood before God; and to them were given seven
trumpets.” All seven trumpet blasts occur after the seventh
seal is opened, during the Day of the Lord. These trumpets
symbolize plagues sent from God as He directly intervenes
in the affairs of mankind. God will plead with mankind in
the only language we seem to understand—violence! This
is the result of people refusing to listen to God now and
believe the warnings He is sounding through His Church.
The first four trumpet blasts make living conditions
on the Earth unbearable as God destroys the environ-
ment. They are described in Revelation 8. The fifth
trumpet signifies world domination by a European beast
power. The Bible also gives the fifth trumpet another
name—the first woe.
The book of Daniel sets the stage for the first woe.
Daniel 11:40-41 reveal that after the king of the north
conquers the king of the south, this European beast
power will be invited into the glorious land (called
Israel today), as a peacekeeper! This occurs just before
the Great Tribulation. Putting this verse together with
another prophecy in Hosea 5:13, both Britain and Judah
went to the king (dictator) of Germany and the Holy
Roman Empire. But he could not heal Britain of its
sickness or Judah of its wound. Within a month of this
invitation, the Euro-Asian trade siege of Isaiah 23 begins.
This is the start of Great Tribulation!
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Shortly after the victories of the king of the north,

tidings out of the east and north will trouble the beast
power (Daniel 11:44). The king of the north is disturbed
by the power it sees Russia and China amassing! This
could well refer to Europe recognizing that Asian powers
are about to conquer America. Rather than allow that—
which would leave Europe flanked in both hemispheres
by an Asian alliance—Europe makes the first move.
You can already see the fulfillment of this prophecy
occurring in embryo today! Europe is deeply troubled
by the increasingly expansionistic and aggressive behavior
of Russia and China. Europe is plotting what to do about it.
Daniel’s spectacular prophecy continues: “therefore
he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly
to make away many.” Rather than let the Asiatic armies
have the advantage of striking North America first, the
European beast power will turn its full attention to
conquering America, Britain and the little nation in the
Middle East called Israel!
Approximately 17 months after this attack, we come
to the first woe—the beginning of all-out war to
determine who will rule the world!

The First Woe

This first woe is described in Revelation 9:1-11. The
Apostle John prophesies here that the beast power will
launch a preemptive military strike against the kings of
Asia. Just like Kaiser Wilhelm ii launched a preemptive
strike designed to halt Russia’s ascension to superpower
status during World War i, this German empire will
strike out in a desperate attempt to thwart Russia and
China from achieving world domination.
The language of the book of Revelation is symbolic.
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FIRST
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

WOE

THE BEAST POWER STRIKES The revived Roman Empire makes a

preemptive strike against its enemies to the northeast, dealing death to millions.

In describing this battle, which God showed to him in

prophetic vision, John described the events he saw in
terminology he was familiar with. For instance, verses 3
and 7-10 say locusts came upon the Earth with power
in their tails like a scorpion. This describes modern
military equipment—perhaps thunderous helicopters
that fire missiles.
During this first woe, the military beast power is
unleashed on the inhabitants of the Earth. For five
months, it torments mankind—but it doesn’t kill
everyone. Its attack is so cruel that its victims actually
seek death in order to escape their misery (verse 6).
The invisible force behind this ruthless army is actu-
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ally Satan. Verse 11 explains the king over these soldiers

is Abaddon or Apollyon—names of Satan. He is a destroyer
and full of wrath as he wreaks havoc on Earth and its
inhabitants. But this is only the first woe. More destruction
will follow, as God works to bring all men to repentance.

The Second Woe

Continuing in Revelation 9, the sixth trumpet then sounds,
which is also called the second woe (verses 12-13). Four
angels are released specifically to amass an almost incom-
prehensibly large, 200 million-man army (verses 14-16).
Imagine how stunningly enormous this 200 million-
man army sounded to John about 2,000 years ago! But
he knew that God’s prophecy would come true.
Most Bible critics today argue that it would be
impossible to assemble an army this size. Yet consider
the numbers. The current population in China is over
1.4 billion. Russia has 146 million. Other Asian nations
are prophesied to join this alliance—among them,
India, with its 1.4 billion people and third-largest army
in the world. Japan, the nations of Southeast Asia, and
the former Soviet republics are all definite or probable
participants in this alliance. With these staggering popu-
lations, it is easy to see that the family of Japheth—the
father of the Asian peoples—has indeed been “enlarged,”
just as God prophesied through Moses that it would be
(Genesis 9:27).
There will easily be a total approaching 4 billion
people from which to make up an army of 200 million!
Further, consider the fact that they would have just been
attacked by the beast power. They would be engaged in
the fiercest battle ever fought! Now, to muster an army
of 200 million men, these Asiatic masses would likely
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SECOND
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

WOE

COUNTERATTACK A collective Asian army of 200 million soldiers

will counterattack, devastating the cities and armies of the beast power.

only have to call upon a small fraction of their combined

populations to fight this battle—hardly unrealistic.
Mr. Armstrong wrote, “The second woe … is also
referred to as an event in the Day of the Eternal in
Joel 2:4. This refers to a tremendous military power—
also to the north—due north! … World events are
now moving rapidly to make possible the creation
of a Communist Eurasian army of that unbelievable
manpower! Yes, it’s time to wake up to what’s taking
place today—the true significance of the time in which
we live, and where it is leading!” (ibid).
In Joel 2:11, this Asian army is actually called God’s
army. The great Creator God will inspire it to wreak
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havoc on the European beast power. This astonishingly

enormous Asian army is going to counterattack against
Europe and obliterate it.
This Asian conglomerate will unite to “slay the third
part of men” (Revelation 9:15). That has never happened
in history. In fact, it would not be possible without the
superweapons of this modern age. This is warfare like
this world has never seen. And the Bible also reveals vital
details about an individual who will lead this gargantuan
Asian force!

A Prophesied ‘Prince’
Ezekiel 38 gives us some of these important details about
the 200 million-man army. “And the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog,
the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal,
and prophesy against him” (verses 1-2). These verses begin
in the latter days (verses 8, 16) before the Great Tribulation,
the Day of the Lord and Christ’s Second Coming.
In Chapter 1, we explained that Meshech and Tubal
were the fathers of those who comprise greater Russia
today. One other Russian people is mentioned in
Ezekiel 38:2. There is controversy over how the Hebrew
word rosh should be translated in this verse. The King
James Version uses the adjective “chief.” But the correct
rendering (used by the Moffatt, New King James Version
and others) uses the word not as an adjective, but as a
proper noun: Rosh. Thus, that verse should read, “the
prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.”
Rosh was the ancient name of Russia. Many
encyclopedias and commentaries (such as the Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown Commentary) recognize this. So who
is this “prince” of Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk? The use
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of all three names shows that this is an individual ruler

of all the peoples of Russia, from the west to the east.
Ezekiel’s command to “prophesy against him” further
indicates a specific individual.
When you study these scriptures alongside current
events revealing modern Moscow’s imperialist direction,
you see that Vladimir Putin could well become the leader
of that gigantic army of the East. We strongly believe
Vladimir Putin is going to lead the 200 million-man
army (request our free booklet The Prophesied ‘Prince
of Russia’). Just look at the power he already has.
Can you think of any other Russian politician who
could become so powerful and have the will to lead
Russia into the crisis of crises? Such a man doesn’t
appear overnight. It takes years for even a strong-willed
leader to gain such control. Vladimir Putin already has
the power—and the will to use it. There is not enough
time for a competitor to arise and challenge him.
When Russia took Crimea, world leaders and even
some top-notch analysts were convinced that the nations
of the world would side with the West against Moscow.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the international
community was “largely united” in its belief that Putin
had violated Ukraine’s territory. But in a stunning
fulfillment of Bible prophecy, China and India made
clear that they supported Putin.
“Backing Russia is in China’s interests,” said the Global
Times, a mouthpiece for China’s Communist Party, on
March 5, 2014. “We shouldn’t disappoint Russia when
it finds itself in a time of need.” The next day, a senior
official from India said, “There are legitimate Russian
and other interests involved [in Ukraine]. We hope …
there is a satisfactory resolution to them.”
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In his March 18, 2014, address to the Duma, President

Putin singled out these two nations to thank for their
support. “[W]e are grateful to all those who understood
our actions in Crimea; we are grateful to the people
of China, whose leaders have always considered the
situation in Ukraine and Crimea taking into account
the full historical and political context, and greatly
appreciate India’s reserve and objectivity.”
This is an early fulfillment of the Asian nations
falling in line behind and in support of the “prince
of Rosh.”
When these Asian nations—extremely powerful,
nuclear-armed countries—begin to show solidarity
with each other regarding moves like that, what does
that portend for the world? It is woe to the world! It will
cause many serious problems. And it is going to affect
everyone.
This Asian cooperation blindsided many in the West,
but the Trumpet and the Plain Truth before us never
made that mistake. Actually we have been proclaiming
for over 50 years that Russia, China and other Asian
nations would ally themselves in the end time. And we
are in that end time now.
Mr. Obama and even top-tier analysts thought the
idea of a revived Russian empire would pose too great a
danger to China and India for those countries to support
it. But that perspective fails to recognize a significant
truth: To India and especially to China, the West is a far
greater enemy. More importantly, that perspective fails
to recognize the prophecies of the Bible.
We now turn to another critical passage of Scripture
that describes this massive counterstrike against the
beast power.
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The Fall of Babylon

Jeremiah 50 adds many details to the progression of end-
time events. God warns Babylon in verse 1. Babylon is the
name God gives the political-religious system that sprung
from the ancient city of Babylon. Historically, Satan has
perpetuated that system primarily in Europe as the “Holy”
Roman Empire, though Satan’s influence on this world
stretches much further than that (see Revelation 12:9). The
fall of Babylon described here in Jeremiah 50, however,
refers to the destruction of the end-time European union
of church and state—the beast power.
In verse 3, God says, “For out of the north there
cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her
land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall
remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.” The
beast power will attack first. But the massive Asiatic
counterattack will overwhelm the beast power. This is
the second woe.
Now verse 9: “For, lo, I will raise and cause to come
up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from
the north country: and they shall set themselves in array
against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows
shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return
in vain.” An “assembly of great nations from the north”
could only be Russia and China, along with various
other nations that will join this power bloc. The end of
the verse illustrates how effective the attack will be—
without any munitions spent in vain! The devastating
collapse of the Babylonian system, the beast power, is
further described in Revelation 18:2-19.
“Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about:
all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows:
for she hath sinned against the Lord. Shout against her
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round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations

are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it is the
vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; as
she hath done, do unto her” (Jeremiah 50:14-15). God is
behind this Asiatic counterattack. These armies spare
nothing. The Russians and Chinese both possess nuclear
weaponry. When we read about the level of destruction
upon Babylon (it will “slay the third part of men”), there
can be no doubt that it will be attacked with nuclear
weapons! Notice that this attack is provoked because the
people of this beast power have sinned against God. God
says in verse 15 that this is His vengeance. He instructs
the Asiatic hordes to attack Babylon in the same way
Babylon attacked others.
God says in Revelation 18:5-6, “For [Babylon’s] sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered
her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you,
and double unto her double according to her works: in
the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.” God’s
anger is so full that He has the Asian armies deal a
doubly destructive attack against the beast power.
Reading through Revelation 18, we see that Babylon is
destroyed in the space of one hour! Again, we find the
reason for this in Jeremiah: “Call together the archers
against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against
it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense
her according to her work; according to all that she hath
done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the
Lord, against the Holy One of Israel” (Jeremiah 50:29).
Verses 18-20 of Jeremiah 50 speak of the reward
measured unto the kings of Babylon and Assyria, or
Germany. Further, they describe the time of restoration
of physical Israel to the land God gave it millenniums ago.​
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Two Individuals
N otice that there is a second individual discussed
in Ezekiel 38:1-2. This is an Ezekiel-type that God
calls “son of man.” God tells this individual to proclaim
the message of Ezekiel 38 in the end time.
So there are actually two specific individuals
discussed here: the prince of Rosh and the man
commanded to proclaim the message about him. Can
you believe that God would get that specific in the Bible?
And He tells us we are to live by every word of God
(Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
Ezekiel 33:33 says that at a certain future time, people
will finally “know that a prophet hath been among them.”
They will know it after these events come to pass. At
that point it will be too late for them to be protected
physically, but they can be protected spiritually.
Verse 7 of that same chapter speaks of a “watchman.”
This same individual who is called a prophet in
verse 33 is called a watchman here. He is also the same
individual God commands in Ezekiel 38:2 to watch what
is happening in Russia, Ukraine, Europe and elsewhere,
and to warn people about it. In Ezekiel 33:7, God says,
“I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and
warn them from me.” This is not the word of man—it
comes right from God’s mouth! That is really significant.
The Bible comes alive when we can understand
specific prophecies like this.
On November 13, 2013, we recorded an episode of the
Key of David television program that was broadcast on
November 24. In that program, presenter Gerald Flurry
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 expressed, for the first time, his belief that Russian
President Vladimir Putin was almost certainly going
to be the “prince of Rosh” that biblical prophecy says
will rise up in this end time, revive Russian power, and
“trouble” Europe (Daniel 11:44).
In the days after that episode was recorded, earth-
rattling events took place in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Is it just coincidence that Putin yanked Ukraine away
from the EU right after Mr. Flurry delivered that
program and just around the time that it aired? Maybe
it was. But if you are proclaiming God’s prophecies, then
God is going to work with that message and bring events
into sync to support His messenger.
After all, it is God who tells this “son of man” to warn
the world of what is happening in Russia and what is
coming upon the world. If a man is proclaiming God’s
prophecies, you can be sure God is going to help him in
many ways. Much of what happened was orchestrated
according to God’s perfect timing.
To those watching these events, the identity of the
second individual in Ezekiel 38:1-2 is hard to deny. God’s
loyal servants surely will know who these two individuals
in that passage are. And that will tell them where God’s
Work is, where God’s message is, where God’s fulfilled
prophecy is, and where God’s revelation is!

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The repentant people, collected from their former

captivity under the beast power, will turn to God and His
law in their lives. “In those days, and in that time, saith the
Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there
shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be
found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve” (verse 20).
Babylon’s complete destruction is detailed in the
remaining verses of Jeremiah 50. Verse 31 reminds us,
“Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the
Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I
will visit thee.” God is personally against the people of
Babylon for their treatment of His chosen people. He
expresses His anger through the Day of the Lord.
To review: The first attack of the beast power against
the Russians and Chinese makes up the first woe. The
second woe is the Asiatic counterattack. Read through
all of Jeremiah 50 and 51 to better understand the level
of destruction God is going to exact through Russia and
China. His anger will never be fueled like this again
because Babylon will be utterly destroyed—never to
rise again! (Jeremiah 51:60-63). “And thou shalt say, Thus
shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that
I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far
are the words of Jeremiah” (verse 64).

Mankind Still Doesn’t Repent

Revelation 9:13-21 describe this second woe within its
proper time sequence. Verse 16, as we have seen, says
there will be 200 million men in the massive army.
Verses 17-19 describe the bloody destruction to occur
during this second woe.
Yet the last two verses of the chapter reveal just how
hardheaded and stubborn man can be, even after such
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severe correction: “And the rest of the men which were

not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works
of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and
idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of
wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither
repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,
nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (verses 20-21).
Even after most of the Earth’s population has been
personally afflicted by nuclear war and complete destruc-
tion, they still are not willing to turn to God and His law!

The Third Woe

As we keep in mind the time sequence, let us move ahead
to Revelation 11:14-15: “The second woe is past; and, behold,
the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel
sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying,
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever.” Two of the three woes are complete. After that, the
kingdoms of this world are to become God’s Kingdom. At
this stage, Christ will return, and God’s government will
again take over the Earth—with God at the head!
This announcement will cause the angels to rejoice
(verses 16-17), but the world will not, even after all the
destruction. Verse 18 says the nations will be angry and
wrathful toward Christ. And difficult as it may be to
believe, what’s left of the beast power and the Asiatic
army will actually gather to fight against Christ! This
battle at the last trumpet blast will determine the final
outcome of World War iii.
Revelation 15 and 16 describe this third woe in greater
detail. Just as the seventh seal was divided into seven
trumpet blasts, the final trumpet blast is divided into
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THIRD
RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

WOE
ARMAGEDDON
Nations will gather their
armies at Megiddo, and then
converge on Jerusalem to
challenge Christ, who will
ARMAGEDDON
utterly defeat them.
JERUSALEM

seven vials of God’s wrath—the last seven plagues

(Revelation 15:1, 6). At Christ’s return, God sends seven
plagues upon mankind because of its hardheadedness.
In Revelation 16:12, we see that God dries up the
Euphrates River to prepare the way for the Asiatic
hordes to gather with what remains of the beast power
near Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. God gathers them in
a place called Armageddon (verse 16), the Greek name
for Mount Megiddo. A spacious, bowl-shaped valley,
Megiddo is located about 55 miles north of Jerusalem.
After Christ returns to Jerusalem, the gathering armies
at Armageddon will turn their attention toward their one
common enemy—the King of kings.
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There is wonderfully good news in the midst of

all these horrors. Both of these armies will gather in
Armageddon to fight each other, but will end up fighting
Christ at His Second Coming!
The “king of fierce countenance”—the leader of the
beast power—will try to fight Christ, and will be “broken
without hand” (Daniel 8:23, 25). The armies will make
war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them
(Revelation 17:12‑14). All of these evil forces will be
soundly defeated!
The conclusion of that battle will mark the
beginning of a new, peaceful age for the whole Earth!
But realize what horrifying blackness will occur
before the dawn of that day. It will be a time of suffering
unlike any in human history. And we are already seeing
the beginnings of that blackness!
Are you awake to what is really happening in this
world?
Think about this: The soldiers of Europe, Russia
and China today are some of the same soldiers
that will march from Megiddo to Jerusalem to be
destroyed by Jesus Christ Himself!
That is how close we are getting to the end of this age
of man! Are you ready for what is about to occur?
Revelation 19 describes Christ’s triumph over the
evil forces of man. This victory ushers in the World
Tomorrow, when Jesus Christ will rule this Earth with
His saints! For 1,000 years, the world will blossom in
abundant peace and prosperity!

Ezekiel’s Prophecy
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Christ will begin
the Millennium by gathering His scattered people—the
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end-time descendants of Israel. They will gather, like

they did anciently, around Jerusalem, in what the Bible
calls the “glorious land.” Yet all will not be glorious—at
least not at the start. Mankind’s rebellious spirit will not
disappear at once.
To finish our story, we turn to the Prophet Ezekiel,
who describes Israel’s gathering in great detail. Ezekiel
also tells us about yet another burst of rebellion to
spring from northeast of Jerusalem. That’s right. With
the Millennium only just begun, and Jesus Christ ruling
the world from His throne in Jerusalem, the people of
Asia will muster their forces for one final attempt to
overthrow Christ’s rule!
Let us first get the background. Ezekiel’s prophecies
were written 130 years after the house of Israel was
taken captive by the Assyrians (Ezekiel 1:1-2). Yet God
told him, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman
unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my
mouth, and give them warning from me” (Ezekiel 3:17).
God’s message, through Ezekiel, was for the nations
which make up Israel in this end time. The warning
could not have been for ancient Israel. These prophecies
were written for our time today. These messages were
prophecy for the end time, and are directed at the house
of Israel (Ezekiel 2:3; 3:1, 4-7).
In chapter 4, Ezekiel pictured war against Jerusalem.
This was to be a sign to the house of Israel. Then, in
chapter 5, we find a prophecy about the future destruc-
tion of the house of Israel. Consider the wording of
verse 4: “Then take of them again, and cast them into the
midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof
shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.” That is
future tense. This prophecy is soon to be fulfilled.
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 Asia in Prophecy

Ezekiel 7 speaks of the Day of the Lord (verses 17-19).

Parallel scriptures can be found in Isaiah 13:6-8 and
Zephaniah 1:14-15, 17-18. To better understand these
accounts, request our free booklets Isaiah’s End-Time
Vision and Zephaniah’s Day of the Lord. Verse 26 of
Ezekiel 7 reveals the people searching and crying for a
true minister of God after the destruction comes—but
it is too late! During the Tribulation and the Day of the
Lord, the famine of God’s Word, spoken of in Amos 8:11,
will be fulfilled.
Chapter 11 of Ezekiel brings a warning from God that
He will execute His judgment upon the house of Israel.
Then, chapter 12 gives the account of Israel being taken
captive (verse 11). “And they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and
disperse them in the countries” (verse 15).
Notice what Mr. Armstrong wrote in the April 1981
Plain Truth: “The expression ‘They shall know that I
am the Lord’ is used repeatedly through the book of
Ezekiel—always referring to the time of the Second
Coming of Christ and Israel’s final restoration back to her
original land. Many prophecies show that the modern
nations descended from ancient Israel are to be scattered
in this latter-day captivity when Christ comes to restore
them back to that land.”
As we progress through the book of Ezekiel, we see
how God warns His sinning and rebellious people. But
they refuse to repent, even after repeated warnings. This
did happen anciently. After the Israelites had rejected
repeated warnings, God allowed them to be conquered
by their enemies, who burned their land. The captives
were taken and scattered from their own land.
Ezekiel 13 describes problems with God’s own
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ministers. These lukewarm ministers bring false

messages that they conjure up by themselves (verses 1-10).
Our books Ezekiel— The End-Time Prophet and Malachi’s
Message more thoroughly explain the meaning of these
prophecies. God is speaking against the prophets and
priests of Israel who cry, “Peace; and there was no peace”
(verse 10). This is a common cry today, which is almost
always followed by a breach in that peace.

God’s Flock
In chapters 25-32, Ezekiel digresses to prophesy against
several Gentile nations.
Then in chapter 33, Ezekiel and God both plead with
Israel to turn back (verse 11). Again, in chapter 34, God
has a message for ministers in this end time. Notice:
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God
unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? … And they were scattered, because there is
no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of
the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered
through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea,
my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and
none did search or seek after them” (verses 2, 5-6). God
blames His unfaithful ministers in this end time because
they sought their own will, not God’s.
Reading through the remainder of chapter 34, we
find that, after the Day of the Lord, God will gather His
sheep—those enslaved Israelites left alive after that
terrifying time—and rescue them from captivity. This is
when God will remove the spiritual blindness from their
eyes, and they will seek God’s ways. God’s Kingdom will
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be set up to finally establish lasting peace (Isaiah 11:9;

Romans 11:25‑26; Micah 4:2-3).
Ezekiel 36 pictures the remnant of Israel returning
to the land God originally promised them. Yet they do
not return to the Promised Land wealthy and prosperous.
They return as former slaves and captive people. They
will be humble. God will finally be able to teach His
people. Dozens of prophecies refer to the end-time
descendants of Israel being scattered around the world
during the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. But there
is a happy end for the Israelites. God will gather them to
one place, as Ezekiel confirms.
Chapter 37 contains a well-known prophecy, referred
to as the valley of dry bones. Verses 1-11 speak of the
rebirth and resurrection of the whole house of Israel
(Judah and Israel). They are saved from captivity,
dispersion and slavery. (This prophecy also pictures a
literal fleshly resurrection of those who had long since
died, never knowing the truth. They too will finally
have access to God’s Spirit and His truth—spiritual
knowledge. This resurrection occurs at the end of the
thousand-year reign of Christ.)
Beginning in verse 15 of chapter 37, God pictures Israel
and Judah as two sticks that will be united together in the
land of Israel after Christ’s return. God says in verse 21
that He will take the children of Israel from among the
heathen and gather them into their own land. He will
make them one nation (verse 22). A spirit-born King
David, resurrected with the rest of the saints at Christ’s
return, will be king over Israel (verse 24). David will rule
forever (verse 25). God will make an everlasting covenant
of peace with His people—the New Covenant (verse 26).
We now come to the critical 38th chapter of Ezekiel.
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

Punishment of Gog and Magog

“Notice, now, the story flow,” Mr. Armstrong wrote, “the
time sequence: The prophet has carried us through the
sins of his people, the coming invasion and captivity
and dispersion, and the coming of Christ as Deliverer
to restore the fortunes of Israel. We have come to the
time when both the houses of Israel and Judah shall be
reunited into one nation, rescued from captivity and
dispersion, and regathered again in their land, once
again made prosperous, having learned our lesson, now
living God’s way, under His laws, enjoying His richest
blessings, both material and spiritual!” (ibid). So the
events of Ezekiel 38 and 39 take place after the return
of Jesus Christ. (Jeremiah 50, on the other hand, shows
us what Russia and China are prophesied to do before
Christ’s return.)
The battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 takes place in the land
today occupied by the Jewish state of Israel—not in the
United States, Britain or Europe as many have falsely
assumed. The final battle takes place in the Holy Land,
after Jesus Christ has returned!
“Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of
Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord
God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince
of Meshech and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2-3). Gog and Magog
primarily refer to the Russians and Chinese. The chief
prince of Meshech and Tubal is referring to the ruler in
Moscow: Vladimir Putin.
This prophecy indicates that the prince of Russia
becomes the leader of the 200 million-man army that
is formed before the Great Tribulation—it is virtually
formed already. A part of this vast army even extends
106
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into the first few years of Christ’s rule. When this mighty
army comes against an unarmed Israel, Christ will
destroy it with great hailstones and fire from heaven.
Vladimir Putin will lead the remainder of that army
to its death.
It takes time to amass the kind of power that Mr. Putin
has today. And there is a small space of time left to build
such a powerful military.
When you look at the big picture here, who else could
be the prince of Russia but Vladimir Putin?
Ezekiel was told to record an end-time prophecy for
Russia and China. God’s anger is against them—just as
it was against the Babylonians! Before Christ’s return,
God uses the Russians and Chinese to punish the beast
power. As a result, they too become proud and haughty,
therefore needing correction from God.
God sets His face against Gog and Magog due to their
rebellion. God even tells these nations to prepare for
a coming battle with Him (verse 7). Remember, this is
after Christ has returned. Notice that verse 8 says Israel
has been “brought back from the sword.” In this chapter,
we find the people of Israel dwelling in villages “having
neither bars nor gates” (verse 11). They are living in
peace, totally unprepared for war! Verse 13 shows that
these villages, because the Israelites are now obedient,
begin to prosper.
Gog and Magog will see how God has blessed His
people. They, too, want to live under these conditions,
but on their own terms—not God’s! The Russians and
Chinese think they have found an easy target to spoil: a
blessed land that is undefensed!
This passage is astounding! It is common to think that
after Christ returns, peace and abundance will overflow
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throughout the Earth immediately. But that is not what

the Bible teaches. There will still exist those who haven’t
submitted to God’s law and government. They will learn
the “hard way” that God’s system is the only one that will
yield such blessings in life!
God issues a challenge to the Russians and Chinese
in verses 14-16: “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and
say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when
my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know
it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north
parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them
riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as
a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days,
and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen
may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog,
before their eyes.” God has a purpose for bringing them
to battle against His people.
Mr. Armstrong said the time of this battle is “not
before, but after the Second Coming of Christ—after
the great Deliverer has come and rescued our people and
restored us to the land of Israel—after Israel and Judah
are reunited” (ibid).
It is true that some of the Asiatic hordes will gather at
Armageddon and be destroyed during the third woe when
Christ returns—but not all. The rest of these forces will
descend upon the glorious land a short time after it has
been occupied by the regathered Israelites. It will only be
a land of villages at this point, early on in the Millennium.
What is recorded in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is the last
great rebellion this Earth will experience for
1,000 years! (There will be another at the end of the
Millennium when Satan is loosed for a little season—
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 Asia in Prophecy

Revelation 20:7-9.) Through this battle, God will not only

defend and deliver His people once again, but He will
make one final statement to all of mankind that He is the
Eternal! God will prove to the Israelites, and to Gog and
Magog, that He fights and wins our battles for us. The
people who live in Israel will have to totally rely upon
God to defend and protect them. God will utterly crush
this final rebellion against His government.
The tremendous wrath of God will be felt and
witnessed throughout all the Earth (Ezekiel 38:18-20).
God will have the angry nations of Gog and Magog
destroy themselves (verse 21). He once again pleads with
mankind in the only language we seem to understand:
“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with
blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and
upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing
rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will
I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known
in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I
am the Lord” (verses 22-23).
Notice the last part of that passage! Through blood,
pain and suffering, God will get His message across to
rebellious mankind that He is the Eternal! All nations
will finally come to this understanding. All peoples will
finally come to know God. What a hope-filled prophecy.
This, in itself, dates the prophecy. It’s at the beginning
of the Millennium when there are still skeptics—those
who do not accept Christ’s rule; those who do not know
God. Christ must eradicate the spirit of rebellion from
mankind. When He does, mankind will, for 1,000 years,
finally come to know its Creator.
C h apte r 3 9 p rov id e s m o re d eta i l ab out th e
destruction of Gog and Magog. God says that those
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RUSSIA AND CHINA IN PROPHECY

who come to attack Israel will be destroyed. He gives

this warning specifically to those nations, yet they still
come to fight this battle. God must again teach them a
lesson. “So will I make my holy name known in the midst
of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my
holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I
am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel” (verse 7). God will
achieve something here which has never occurred in the
past. All nations will finally know that He is the Eternal.
Yet consider the price mankind must pay to learn this
lesson. We could learn it much easier if we would simply
believe God’s Word and submit ourselves to His loving,
family government now. Why must we learn through
pain and suffering?
The number of dead will be incalculable. God will
burn and destroy their weapons of war. He will allow
Israel to spoil this defeated people. The people of Israel
will be called upon to bury the fallen fighters. “And seven
months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that
they may cleanse the land” (verse 12).
What a lesson for all of us to learn. God will prove
that He is the Eternal and that He, alone, possesses the
knowledge of how to achieve lasting peace!

Do You Believe?
Jesus said, “For these be the days of vengeance, that all
things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke 21:22).
God is working out a purpose here below. We have been
blessed with an advance warning of events which are
yet to occur and which will shape our lives for eternity.
God gives us a choice: “I call heaven and earth to record
this day against you, that I have set before you life and
death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that
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both thou and thy seed may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

We have a choice to learn a vital lesson now through the
warning God gives in prophecy, or we can learn from the
language God has to use to shake this world to its senses:
blood and suffering!
God wants us to choose life! He doesn’t want to inflict
His wrath—but this world is going to force Him to do
so. Do we believe this is all going to happen? Will we
listen to God’s warning message from His true Church?
Individually, you can still be protected from the horrors
to come.
History shows that God’s prophets and ministers have
almost always stood alone. But they have stood with God!
Where will you stand?

111
You Can
Understand
the Bible!
B
elieve it or not, the Bible was written for our
day—this generation! No book is as up to date as
the Bible. It explains the causes of present world
conditions; it reveals what is ahead in the next few years.
Within its pages are the solutions to every problem we
face in life—from personal and family relationships to
national economics and foreign policy.
Yet ironically, this incredible book is the least
understood of all books. Most people, when they try
to read it, find that they simply cannot understand it.
Many assume it is irrelevant and out of date for our
modern age.
But you can understand the Bible!
Herbert W. Armstrong College has been helping
thousands to learn both the meaning of current events
and the true purpose of life through the Herbert W.
Armstrong College Bible Correspondence Course. Over
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VLADIMIR PUTIN
is playing a key role in Bible
prophecy. Every world leader
needs to understand how critical
that role is going to be. We are
entering into the worst crisis ever
in man’s history. This prophecy
is woeful and superinspiring at
the same time. To learn more,
request our FREE booklet
The Prophesied ‘Prince of Russia.’
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