eIght The New Axis of Evil ON JANuARY 29, 2002, IN HIS STATE Of THE uNION ADDRESS, President George W. Bush used the term Axis of Evil for the first time. He identified Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as “states . . . [who are] arm- ing to threaten the peace of the world . . . These regimes,” he said, “pose a grave threat and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred.”1 President Bush was roundly criticized for calling these nations evil, but as we will see in this chapter, his description was more than accurate. On May 6, 2002, US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton gave a speech titled “Beyond the Axis of Evil,” in which he added three more rogue states to the axis: Libya, Syria, and Cuba. Today the term Axis of Evil includes all six states. One nation on this Axis of Evil list is of special interest to us because we find that it is also on God’s list. That nation and that list are found in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel. These chapters, written some twenty-six hundred years ago, give us one of the most important and dramatic prophecies in all Scripture. 161 What in the World.indd 161 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM 162 What in the World Is Going On? It is commonly referred to as the prophecy against Gog and Magog, and it is the most detailed prophecy concerning war in the entire Bible. The prophecy predicts an invasion of Israel in the last days—an invasion comprised of enormous masses of troops from a coalition of nations led by Russia and Iran. It is likely that this invasion will occur shortly after Israel signs a covenant with the new leader of the European Union. Because of this agreement, Israel will be at peace with her Islamic neighbors. The people of Israel will believe that the European powers will protect them from any outside aggressor or invader . . . especially from Russia, which will have joined forces with Iran to develop weapons for the purpose of utterly destroying Israel. The Identity of the Nations Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horse- men, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops— many people are with you. Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.”’” (Ezekiel 38:1–7) What in the World.indd 162 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM The New Axis of Evil 163 Here we see that Ezekiel’s prophecy begins with a list of proper names. Many of these names identify certain grandchildren and great- grandchildren of Noah who were the fathers of nations that for a time bore their names (Genesis 10). These nations, which today no longer have those original names, will ultimately form a coalition that will march against Israel. As we identify these nations by their present names and locate them on today’s world map, we can see how the stage is being set for this predicted Russian/Islamic invasion of Israel. Gog is an exception on Ezekiel’s list. Gog is not one of the descen- dants of Noah listed in Genesis 10. This name, however, is found twelve times in Ezekiel 38 –39. It is not the name of a nation, but rather the title of a ruler. In fact, the word means “ruler,” or “the man on top.” It is clear that Gog is an individual rather than a nation because God addresses him as such in this prophecy (Ezekiel 38:14; 39:1). Furthermore, Gog is explicitly called “the prince” in Ezekiel 38:2 and 39:1. The next name in Ezekiel’s prophecy is Magog. In his book, The Nations in Prophecy, John F. Walvoord wrote, “Magog is best identified with the Scythians . . . The ancient historian Josephus makes that identification and we have no reason to question it. The Scythians apparently lived immediately to the north of . . . Israel, then some of them emigrated north, going all the way to the Asiatic Circle.”2 Interestingly, Herodotus records that these Scythians were of Indo- Aryan heritage and spoke an Iranian language related to Persian.3 Using these clues, we can identify Magog today as being made up of nations that were formerly parts of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and possibly Afghanistan. What in the World.indd 163 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM 164 What in the World Is Going On? The next name on Ezekiel’s list is Rosh, which is found in the Old Testament more than six hundred times. During Ezekiel’s time, the word Rosh identified a nation that included people living north of the Black Sea. In the prophecies of Ezekiel, we are told three times (38:6, 15; 39:2) that part of the force that invades Israel will come from the “distant north,” or “the remotest parts of the north.” The land that is most distantly north and remote to Israel is Russia. John F. Walvoord wrote: If one takes any map of the world and draws a line north of the land of Israel he will inevitably come to the nation of Russia. As soon as the line is drawn to the far north beyond Asia Minor and the Black Sea it is in Russia and continues to be Russia for many hundreds of miles all the way to the Arctic Circle . . . On the basis of geography alone, it seems quite clear that the only nation which could possibly be referred to as coming from the far north would be the nation of Russia.4 When the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, many thought that Russia’s days of prominence and power were over. But fewer than two decades later we find a resurgent Russia seeking to reclaim the strategic ground she lost. Someone has said that since the days of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the great Russian bear has been like a mother bear robbed of her cubs.5 If Magog includes the countries of the collapsed Soviet Union, Rosh specifically identifies the nation of Russia, which is presently trying to reassemble its lost empire. Edward Lucas, a journalist who has covered Eastern Europe for the Economist for more than twenty years, has recently written a frighten- ing book titled The New Cold War. He warns that Russia is rising again What in the World.indd 164 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM The New Axis of Evil 165 as a hostile power. It is reasserting its military muscle, intensely pursu- ing global energy markets, coercing neighboring nations back into the old Soviet orbit, silencing journalists and dissidents, and laying the groundwork with modernized weaponry for reestablishing its former power and influence. The West, wrote Lucas, is asleep to the growing danger and is losing the New Cold War. I would have to agree. His Web site gives some very insightful examples: Russia’s vengeful, xenophobic, and ruthless rulers have turned the sick man of Europe into a menacing bully. The rise to power of Vladimir Putin and his ex-KGB colleagues coincided with a tenfold rise in world oil prices. Though its incompetent authoritarian rule is a tragic missed opportunity for the Russian people, Kremlin, Inc. has paid off the state’s crippling debts and is restoring its clout at home and abroad. Inside Russia it has crushed every constraint, muzzling the media, brushing aside political opposition, castrating the courts and closing down critical pressure groups.6 So successful is Russia’s return to the world stage that Time maga- zine chose Russian president Vladimir Putin as its 2007 Person of the Year for “taking Russia from chaos to a position of importance in the world today.”7 Although the Russian leader appears to have quelled chaos within his own country by use of autocratic power, he seems intent on fomenting chaos on the world stage by advancing a new cold war. He “accused the West of encroaching on Russia’s borders and starting a new arms race,”8 and “the United States of trying to impose its will on the world by military force.”9 Attempting to justify his hostility toward the West, Putin said, “We [Russians] are striving to create a fairer world based on the principles What in the World.indd 165 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM 166 What in the World Is Going On? of equality . . . Time has shown our views find support in Arab and other Muslim states.”10 In fact, “Russia is determined to further enhance its relations with Muslim countries . . . We are all allies of the kingdom in working to meet the world’s need for energy.”11 In October 2007, during Putin’s first ever visit to Iran, an Iranian newspaper reported that he “reassured Iran that the Bushehr nuclear reactor, a billion-dollar energy project being built by Russia and dogged by delays, would be completed.” The report went on to sug- gest, “Maybe the most important result of Putin’s trip is to show the independence of Russia toward America and the West.”12 Putin made other first-time-ever visits of a Russian leader to the Muslim nations of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and most currently, Libya. By all reports, his visits were successful financially, resulting in lucrative agreements and contracts for further joint efforts in the production of oil and the exploration of natural gas reserves. Apparently the Russian president was successful politically as well. In Libya, President Gadhafi and Putin agreed that the United Nations “needs to be reformed in order to face an ‘imbalance of forces’ inter- nationally,” and especially “the Security Council with which we can work together to resolve problems.”13 Europe is not blind to what is going on in Russia. European leaders have taken note of Russia’s resurgence with growing alarm and dis- may. According to a former German foreign minister, “Today, it is the Kremlin that sets the agenda for EU–Russia relations, and it does so in a manner that increasingly defies the rules of the game.”14 According to one source, “Russia appears to be winning the energy dominance game, signing individual deals with EU member states and moving forward with . . . pipelines.”15 Among these EU member states are What in the World.indd 166 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM The New Axis of Evil 167 several of Russia’s former cubs. As the mother bear regains her strength, she is actively seeking to draw her brood back into her den. Meshech and Tubal, the next names on Ezekiel’s list, are usually mentioned together when they appear in the Bible. In the past, it has been widely assumed that these were ancient names for the modern cities of Moscow and Tobolsk. But very few scholars today identify Meshech and Tubal as Russian cities. One reason is Ezekiel’s assertion that they were trading partners with ancient Tyre: “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise” (Ezekiel 27:13). It is highly unlikely that ancient Tyre (modern Lebanon) would be trading with Moscow and the Siberian city of Tobolsk. The more probable identification of Meshech and Tubal is as part of the present nation of Turkey. The next country Ezekiel names is Persia, a name that appears thirty-five times in the Old Testament. Persia is easy for us to iden- tify because it retained the name it had held since ancient times until March 1935, when it became the nation of Iran. Nearly four and a half decades later, Iran officially changed its name to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today, with its population of 70 million people, Iran has become the hotbed of militant Islam and anti-Semitic hatred. Iran’s government is officially a theocratic republic whose ultimate political authority resides in the supreme leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This fact surprises many people who assume that the per- sistently vocal and visible president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the top man in Iran. But despite his virulent verbalizing, threats, and saber rat- tling, Ahmadinejad is only a figurehead under Khamenei. Iran’s geographical location on the Persian Gulf and the vital Strait of Hormuz gives her great power. According to CIA reports in 2007, vast What in the World.indd 167 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM 168 What in the World Is Going On? oil reserves and the upwardly spiraling price of crude oil gave Iran sixty billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves. Yet her people continue to live with high unemployment and inflation. Iran is identified as a prime player in the human trafficking trade. It is also a “key transship- ment point” for heroin into Europe and has the “highest percentage of the populations in the world using opiates.”16 Additionally, the United States has identified Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. In a cat-and-mouse game that’s been going on since August 2002, world governments have been in a continual on-again, off-again con- frontation with Iran over its uranium enrichment capabilities. But world opinion seems to have no more effect on Iran than water on the back of a duck. As a US State Department spokesman recently com- mented, “the Iranian regime is continuing on a path of defiance of the international community.”17 Despite two rounds of sanctions and the possibility of a third, in February 2008 a defiant Ahmadinejad thumbed his nose at the UN Security Council’s demand that Iran suspend uranium enrichment. He said, “With the help of Allah, the Iranian nation with its unity, faith, and determination stood and defeated the world powers and brought them to their knees.”18 In a surprising reversal, the United States announced in early December 2007 that while Iran did have a secret nuclear weapons program at one time, the program had been abandoned, and Iran was no longer pursuing nuclear capabilities. Perhaps emboldened by the US announcement, in January 2008, five armed Iranian boats menaced three US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The tense confrontation prompted a White House warning: “We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to a danger- ous incident in the future.”19 The Iranian regime is well known for its hatred of Israel and its What in the World.indd 168 2/26/09 1:41:55 PM The New Axis of Evil 169 desire to eliminate her. In October 2005, the newly elected president Ahmadinejad declared to the World Without Zionism audience, “As the imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map . . . Anybody who recog- nizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.” He went on to say that any Islamic leader “who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world.”20 Iran’s militant influence extends beyond her own borders. In March 2008, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah railed, “The presence of Israel is but temporary and cannot go on in the region. We will see you killed in the fields, we will kill you in the cities, we will fight you like you have never seen before.”21 Hezbollah leaders do not have the authority to make such threats on their own. Hezbollah is an Islamic fundamentalist group, and though its base of operations is Lebanon, its authority comes from a source higher in the Islamic hierarchy. As Hezbollah’s deputy chief, Sheikh Naim Qassem has said, “Even when it comes to firing rockets on Israeli civilians, that decision requires an in-principle permission from [the ruling jurisprudent].”22 In this case the ruling jurisprudent would be the supreme leader of Iran— Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We ask, receive answers, and then apply. This is even true for acts of suicide for the sake of Allah—no one may kill himself without a jurisprudence permission [from Khamenei].”23 Thus we can see that the aggressive and threatening influence of Iran infects and controls other Islamic terrorist organizations. In reply to the Iranian-Hezbollah verbal bullying, UN secretary- general Ban Ki-Moon stated, “I am concerned by the threats of open war against Israel by the secretary general of Hezbollah.”24 Such deadly threats and utter disdain for world opinion is pretty convinc- ing evidence that our national leaders are right on target in including Iran as a member of the Axis of Evil. 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