- Book of Zechariah 12 : 9 NIV
Vladimir Putin of Russia did it, so did Erdogan of Turkey and so has Xi Jinping of China and that is to : amend/tamper/find loopholes with their respective countries constitution so that they can extend and remain in power indefinitely !!! Russia's Putin has now been in power since 1999; Putin first became Prime Minister under the very alcoholic dependent Boris Yeltsin and just recently announced ( to no one's surprise*) that he will seek re-election as President of Russia for a 4th Term ( 6 more years*). Initially, Mr.Putin was just another Russian bureaucrat, there was nothing much special about him; Boris Yeltsin put him there exactly because Mr.Putin didn't seem at the time to be any kind of a power hungry 'backstabbing' political foe. On the other hand, Mr. Erdogan of Turkey meanwhile has almost disassembled the 'secular democracy' that Kemal Ataturk had set up after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey and Mr.Erdogan like Stalin has been purging the military as well as the political institutions of Turkey to eliminate all potential political threats very undemocratically. While it is true that : Putin, Erdogan and Xi are 'NOT' yet in a category anywhere near as Totalitarian as Hitler or Stalin were at their prime; these 3 have learned to 'Tone it Down' somewhat because of global mass communications; they have themselves learned to become very 'Smooth Operators' who little by little long ago began to : control, manipulate and suppress the mass media of their respective countries !!!
Meanwhile in the Far East, in China, Xi Jinping is almost following in the footsteps of both : Putin and Erdogan, ( The CCP has recently amended the Chinese constitution so that Mr.Xi will be able to serve for a 3rd Term*) Mr. Xi together with his Communist Party have continued to 'Reform' and have continued to root out the massive corruption of the Chinese armed forces ( PLA ) as well amongst very powerful and entrenched fellow Communist Party leaders ( CCP suffers rampant corruption*) 'BUT' it is also no secret that along the way, Mr.Xi is also 'Smashing' any potential dissent from Chinese Generals and others; to some degree; Mr.XI has done what his fellow authoritarian friends in Russia and in Turkey did over a year ago. In sum, all 3 have somewhat modified / trampled upon their respective countries constitutions to extend their term in office and in power almost indefinitely and very possibly into the Tribulation period should none of them suffer from any mysterious illness or an 'accidental death' along the way !!!
What does this all mean in light of Bible Prophecy and this Final Generation ??? It actually means a lot !!! According to the Prophecies of Ezekiel and Revelation, the countries that all 3 of these 'Authoritarians' represent will play a major role in the coming WARS that will lead up to the Battle of Armageddon. According to the chronology of the Biblical Prophecies both : Russia and Turkey will attack Israel 'FIRST' and both will fail and find defeat upon the hills and mountains of Israel. China for its part will go down last as it leads the Kings of the East into the Middle East during the global chaos that will lead to the Battle of Armageddon.
Prior to World War I, the Imperial / Colonial Empires of Europe dominated a great part of the world. The powerful navies of the : British Empire, the Spanish Empire and the French had colonized the America's as well as the African continent and even parts of Asia too !!! It was mainly because of WAR amongst themselves that eventually all of these once mighty Imperial European powers collapsed upon themselves and World War II absolutely would erase the global DOMINANCE that the European powers once yielded throughout this planet; their IMPLOSION and DEMISE would create two new world super powers in : The Soviet Union and the United States of America.
Mario Romano is 'NOT' totally against authoritarianism ( depends how it is defined and executed*) because as the MILLENIUM comes to a close after Armageddon; you and I know that Satan is going to be let loose once again so that he can sell his lies once again to a world who had enjoyed no contact with him nor his lies for over 900+ years and one of the lies that Satan is going to sell those who were born in the Millenium is that our LORD Jesus Christ is an Authoritarian who doesn't allow 'democracy' nor dissent of any kind. There have been a few 'good' authoritarians/king's throughout human history who did 'NOT' seek : power, fame and fortune at any and all costs; but that sought power to better their societies and Kingdoms. In the case of Putin it is 'NO' secret that he has killed in the past to get to where he is at and so has Erdogan of Turkey. ( 10+ past critics of Putin in the past have all 'accidentally' all wounded up mysteriously dead !!! ) Yes, the Holy Bible reveals to us that our LORD Jesus Christ is going to rule with a 'Rod of Iron' ( Revelation 2 : 27 ) but not in the same way as the extremely CORRUPT and power hungry world leaders such as : Putin, Erdogan and Xi are presently pushing their way into absolute power. There are societies and countries where 'ALL' governmental institutions of power have so corrupted themselves that the only way that they can be fixed is by a very strong leader who does 'NOT' seek to exploit his own people any more than they have already been by the former leaders !!! ( I could give you a long list of countries who are in that position right now in this 2018 !!! )
This student of world history fully understands and acknowledges that most people throughout this planet today have the perception that China is this 'Exploding, Beautiful Utopia' "BUT" nothing could be further from the truth !!! While it is true that China has undergone a massive economic and industrial revolution in the past 20+ years it has done so at a great : social, political and religious expense and price !!! Although China's one child policy has been somewhat eliminated the reality is that there are some 200 million Chinese males without the possibility of marrying a Chinese women anytime soon. Additionally, in its great leap forward China industrialized itself at a very heavy cost; today great parts of China are known to have very heavily contaminated toxic rivers ( water supply*) as well as having some of the SMOGGIEST cities in this planet !!!
As this student of Bible Prophecy and World History let's it all 'Sink In' so to speak; he is pre-witnessing how the future collapse of : Russia, Islam, China, the U.S.A and others is going to allow the final 10 Horned Beast of Revelation to rise to power and fill in the : Military, Political and Economic vacuum that will be left behind after these presently powerful countries 'Self-Destruct' one another and 'Implode' both financially and politically in the not too distant future !!!
According to Biblical Prophecy and especially by the very words of our LORD Jesus Christ things in this 'Final Generation' are going to exponentially get worse and worse !!! This student of Bible Prophecy does 'NOT' believe that our LORD's very own Prophecy about : 'Nation rising against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom' ( Matthew 24 : 7 ) has been fully fulfilled 'YET' !!! Unfortunately, there will be a World War III as symbolized by the upcoming 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse; some teachers of Bible Prophecy on Youtube were recently debating that the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse don't really KILL 25% of the world's population but that it may just mean that it will affect some 25% of the world; the truth is that 'REGARDLESS' more people will die because of the 4 Horsemen than the estimated 120+ million that died in World War I and WW II PUT TOGETHER, hands down !!!
Meanwhile, as Russia's Putin, Turkey's Erdogan and China's Xi consolidate more and more power; it appears that no one could be happier that Germany's : Angela Merkel won another term as Chancellor of Germany than France's : Emmanuel Macron; as SPD Party votes were counted in Germany this past Sunday March 2, 2018, Ms. Merkel was assured of governing Germany together with the SPD Party for one last term after members of the SPD backed a 'Coalition Deal' with Ms. Merkel. Merkel has promised to work with Macron in order to reform / revamp the European Union especially as : Russia's and China's growing military and economic clout seem to want to overshadow the European Union and especially as : Brexit, the Immigrant Crisis, NATO's future and the questionable sustainability of the $ EURO threaten to destabilize this European experiment that has survived over 50+ years now !!! Individually, Germany and France are NOT so much of a match for an ever growing $$$ China nor for a militarized nuclear Russia; 'BUT' together Germany and France leading the EU do have a CHANCE against other emerging powers/beasts who threaten to : Devour and Dominate a disunited Europe and you and I know what Bible Prophecy has to say about it all !!! This student of International Relations can't think of two other politicians that NEED each other more if they are to 'REVITALIZE/ REFORM' the European Union and the EuroZone in the midst of a looming Brexit !!!
Dates such as September 7, 1941 ( Surprise Pearl Harbor Attack*) or August 6, 1945 Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bomb attack and others 'have come and gone' and those dates/events would forever change world history as well as the entire 'World Order' !!! This student of Bible Prophecy 'INTERPRETS' several upcoming events that will 'hands down' eclipse the events of : September 11, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima & Nagasaki and even those of World War II !!! ( Matthew 24 : 21 )
In conclusion, Mr. Putin, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Xi will all have a very embarrassing end. ( They will all be defeated militarily*) According to the Prophecy of Revelation 17 : 13, it states that the 10 endtimes King's will have 'One mind, One purpose' and that they will give all of their power and authority over to the Beast; in all my years studying political science and numerous biographies of : Tyrants, Dictators, Totalitarians and others it is rare and virtually impossible to find men like a : Putin, Erdogan and Xi, yield any of their national sovereignty and military power over to a foreign individual, agent or alliance !!! On the other hand, authoritarians like : Putin, Erdogan and Xi are power hungry individuals who seek to EXPAND beyond their national borders and isn't that the case of Russia in the Ukraine, of Turkey against Syrian/Iraqi Kurds and of China in the South China Sea against Taiwan, Vietnam and others ?
