Turkey and Russia friends again: implications for Israel

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Jul 2, 2016 at 02:35

Hi, Tovey.

Thank you for defining "Zionism" according to the Bible, where the very word "Zion" originated. We live in a time when people are continually moving the ancient landmarks, redefining reality as it suits them for selfish reasons; but you have stuck to the unshakable guidelines of scripture. Kudos to you for it.

Daniel does not seem to be interested in the same things I am, so it's hard to find a recent article here that corresponds to what I think are the important events of our times. The upshot of it is that if I want to talk to a Bible believer about something, you're about all I can find. and I have to talk to you on whatever thread you're on at the moment.

A case in point, is the seeming fondness Turkey's President Erdogan has shown toward not just Israel, but also Egypt and -- yes, I am really saying this -- Russia. Here's a good article on the matter:

"Moscow and Ankara unite against Washington (Our analysis)"

-- http://azeridaily.com/analytics/20312

A profound point is this:

"Both Russia and Turkey are in considerable political isolation, and it brings closer their positions. For both Moscow and Ankara the major competitor in the region is Washington, concerned, as it turned out after its unequivocal support for Syrian Kurds, and the construction of military bases in Rojava, not about ending the Syrian conflict, but its maintenance. In the case of the normalisation of relations, Russia and Turkey could discuss the Syrian issue at the negotiating table on the basis of common interests, which lie in the need to preserve Syria in its present borders, destruction of terrorism and establishing peace."

You and I have differing opinions of what the Bible says in Ezekiel 38-39, about Turkey's coming attack upon Israel. To you, it speaks about Russia being a major actor; to me, Russia isn't even in the text. Both of us agree though, I hope, that Turkey and Iran must be allies for this attack to take place. This could not come about, as long as Iran was on Russia's side, Turkey was on NATO's side, and NATO was at odds with Iran -- and especially as long as Russia and Turkey were, until now, bitter enemies. With the Turkey-Russia barrier breached, it is no longer inconceivable that the Turkey-Iran wall may come tumbling down.

When that happens, Israel should be prepared for an attack. But will it happen? Russia seems to want to be friends with Turkey, burying the hatchet over the Russian bomber shot down by the Turks; and Turkey seems to want to be friends with Israel, burying the hatchet over the Gaza flotilla. At the same time, Russia has bases and troops in Syria, supporting and supported by Bashar al-Assad; and Iran has a very similar position in that place. The Americans, meanwhile, are allied with the Kurds in Syria, who oppose both Assad and Turkey; and in Iraq, the Yanks are de facto allied with the Iranians, whose officers are fighting alongside the Iraqi national troops. One would wonder whether any of this were real, if so many people weren't killing one another in this Moebius-strip (q.v.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip ) conflict.

The thrust of the article, is that Turkey is separating from NATO and Washington, and gravitating toward Russia and Iran. At the same time, though, Turkey is making a major push to join the EU, even redoubling its efforts since the Brexit. For the most part, the EU and NATO represent the same countries (including Germany, France, Italy, etc.); so this seems like an unlikely direction for Erdogan to be moving. To me, it simply means that the Turkish President is being slyly flexible, ready to move quickly in any direction at the drop of a hat.

I hope you can receive this tolerably well. Many readers here can't see the road in front of them, because their windscreen is papered over with their own imaginations. We see the road, because the Bible reveals it to us.

Shalom shalom :-)

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