ISRAEL - Balancing Russia and China
Iran is reportedly in the final preparations for an attack, its revenge for Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh. According to several media outlets, Russia has already begun delivering air defense systems to the Islamic Republic as it prepares to defend itself from possible Israeli retribution.
Just hours after Haniyeh’s killing, Russia issued a sharp condemnation for the act that Israel did not take responsibility for. China was also quick to condemn the act, with the foreign ministry spokesman saying the country was “deeply worried” about the developments.
Israel has been maintaining a delicate balancing act with Russia and China for many years. It has been under American pressure to distance itself from its two rivals and align more clearly with the West. A wide range of Israeli interests has led successive governments to resist this pressure, often putting the Jewish state in a tricky position.
The current conflict comes at a time when global tensions between the US, China, and Russia have been mounting, raising the stakes in the Middle Eastern conflict. The protracted Russia-Ukraine war and discord between the US and China regarding defense and trade matters have contributed to the fraught relations. The Middle East is yet another arena for these tensions to manifest.
-themedialine.org, 7 August 2024
Arno's Commentary
Israel was, is, and always will be different than all other nations on planet earth. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declares: “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:21-22). We note that this promise is more than 2,700 years old, but what God promises will come to pass in due time.
For the rest of the nations of the world, we read: “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity” (Isaiah 40:17).
Indeed, Israel is under pressure from the USA to align themselves more with the West and decrease their relations with Russia and China. That is most probably not going to happen, because Israel is a nation destined to be superior. Moreover, the apostle Paul declares in Romans 9:4: “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.”
What a mighty testimony for us believers. We reside on all five continents, and the Church is to be found in all of the over 200 sovereign states on planet earth. Here the promise: “But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:31-32).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
