By Mark Ellis —
‘Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.’ Revelation 16.12
A monumental $400 billion, 25-year economic and weapons deal between Iran and China will be announced soon, sending shock waves into Israel.
The proposed agreement, leaked to The New York Times, will include joint military exercises, research and weapons development, along with intelligence sharing. It will pump Chinese investments into Iran’s banks, telecommunications and transportation systems.
In return, China receives a hefty discount on Iranian oil.
The deal effectively thumbs its nose at Trump administration’s efforts to isolate the Iranian government and suffocate its economy because of its nuclear ambitions and military adventurism throughout the region and sponsorship of terrorist activities.
The partnership was first proposed by China’s leader Xi Jinping during a visit to Iran as early as 2016, according to The Times. It was approved by President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet in June.
Chinese officials have been circumspect about the terms of the agreement, and have not said publicly if Xi’s government has signed it or when it might be announced.
In defiance of the Trump administration, Tehran’s deteriorating economic condition pushed it into China’s embrace, which has a wealth of stolen technologies sweetening the pot and and an insatiable demand for oil.
China receives 75 percent of its oil from abroad and is the world’s largest oil importer, according to The Times.
“Two ancient Asian cultures, two partners in the sectors of trade, economy, politics, culture and security with a similar outlook and many mutual bilateral and multilateral interests will consider one another strategic partners,” the leaked document states.
Some may view this as an ominous portent for the fulfillment of Revelation 16, referenced above.
“The United States will continue to impose costs on Chinese companies that aid Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism,” a State Department spokeswoman told the Times. “By allowing or encouraging Chinese companies to conduct sanctionable activities with the Iranian regime, the Chinese government is undermining its own stated goal of promoting stability and peace.”
As many as 100 joint projects are listed in the draft agreement leaked to the Times, which is in keeping with the Chinese leadership’s “Belt and Road Initiative,” a huge investment program designed to worm their way into smaller, weaker countries.
“The agreement also includes proposals for China to build the infrastructure for a 5G telecommunications network, to offer the new Chinese Global Positioning System, Beidou, and to help Iranian authorities assert greater control over what circulates in cyberspace, presumably as China’s Great Firewall does,” according to the The TImes.
In December 2019, there was a joint military exercise that included a Chinese missile destroyer, the Xining, along with the Russian and Iranian navies in the Gulf of Oman.
Adding Russia to this unsavory alliance raises the specter of the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Some Christians believe one of the next events on the prophetic calendar is an attack on Israel led by a coalition of countries – including Russia, Iran (and China) – with recent events setting the stage for that invasion.
“We know from Ezekiel 38 and 39 that when the Russian coalition invades Israel nobody will support Israel,” according to Bob Morris, with Hadavar Ministries.
A U.S. weakened by the global pandemic or a change in leadership may be unable or unwilling to support Israel when that happens, other than to lodge verbal complaints.
“The things that scripture talks about we are beginning to see bubble up to the surface,” Morris noted. “The storm is building.”
