The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War - The New York Times

Matt5

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The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War - The New York Times

"This brew of attitudes — complaints about Western aggression, exaltation of traditional values over the decadence of individual rights, assertions of Russia’s duty to unite Eurasia and subordinate Ukraine — developed in the cauldron of post-imperial resentment. Now they infuse Mr. Putin’s worldview and inspire his brutal war."

"The goal, plainly, is empire. And the line will not be drawn at Ukraine."

Indeed, the line will not be drawn at Ukraine. Russia plans to bring all of eastern Europe under its sphere of influence. That means war is coming to NATO (read US) at some point.

Kim Iversen: China, Russia Declare A NEW WORLD ORDER In Released Joint Statement - YouTube

The West has currently committed three acts of war against Russia:

1. Sanctions.
2. Arms for Ukraine.
3. Intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Those sit in the background. They will come into play at a later time when Putin chooses to attack the US directly.

Right now the state of war in Ukraine suggests that the only way forward for Putin is to escalate somehow. Also, there is no going back due to western sanctions. So things will be getting worse.

U.S. Says Russia's Putin Likely to Make Nuclear Threats If Ukraine War Drags - Bloomberg

Right now World War III hangs at a tipping point. It won't take much to push it over the edge and into fruition. You should now be getting ready.

‘Things Will Only Get Worse.’ Putin’s War Sends Russians Into Exile. - The New York Times

I will give you a little Bible prophecy that might help if you care. You probably don't but here goes anyway.

In Isaiah 17, Israel's neighbors get nuked by Israel. When this happens then Isaiah 18 comes into play. Isaiah 18 is interesting in that it instructs the entire world to stop and pay attention - to the events of Isaiah 17. Isaiah 18 is about the destruction of a powerful friend of Israel (America?) in the spring following Isaiah 17. It's retaliation.

How close is Isaiah 17?. I think it is entirely possible to see in months as Iran and Israel are at a tipping point for war.

The shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel | Arab News

"While the Russia-Ukraine war has attracted the attention of the international community, the shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel is escalating and increasing tensions in the region. The danger of the expanding shadow war between Iran and Israel is that it can spiral out of control, leading to a full-fledged war between the two countries."

Iran and Israel's shadow war is coming out into the open.

"In an unprecedented move, Israel reportedly destroyed hundreds of Iranian drones with an attack on an airbase near Kermanshah, in western Iran."

Naftali Bennett, current prime minister of Israel, has a much more aggressive policy concerning Iran: take the fight directly to Iran. Stop with the proxy nonsense. But this policy looks like it could lead to war very soon. And war will heavily involve Israel's neighbors, which is where Isaiah 17 comes in.
 

Petros2015

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In Isaiah 17, Israel's neighbors get nuked by Israel

I... didn't get that from the passage.
Where does Israel nuke it's neighbors in this chapter?

(I don't disagree with the general assessment that things could go very very wonky any day now above that)
 
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Halbhh

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The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War - The New York Times

"This brew of attitudes — complaints about Western aggression, exaltation of traditional values over the decadence of individual rights, assertions of Russia’s duty to unite Eurasia and subordinate Ukraine — developed in the cauldron of post-imperial resentment. Now they infuse Mr. Putin’s worldview and inspire his brutal war."

"The goal, plainly, is empire. And the line will not be drawn at Ukraine."

Indeed, the line will not be drawn at Ukraine. Russia plans to bring all of eastern Europe under its sphere of influence. That means war is coming to NATO (read US) at some point.

Kim Iversen: China, Russia Declare A NEW WORLD ORDER In Released Joint Statement - YouTube

The West has currently committed three acts of war against Russia:

1. Sanctions.
2. Arms for Ukraine.
3. Intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Those sit in the background. They will come into play at a later time when Putin chooses to attack the US directly.

Right now the state of war in Ukraine suggests that the only way forward for Putin is to escalate somehow. Also, there is no going back due to western sanctions. So things will be getting worse.

U.S. Says Russia's Putin Likely to Make Nuclear Threats If Ukraine War Drags - Bloomberg

Right now World War III hangs at a tipping point. It won't take much to push it over the edge and into fruition. You should now be getting ready.

‘Things Will Only Get Worse.’ Putin’s War Sends Russians Into Exile. - The New York Times

I will give you a little Bible prophecy that might help if you care. You probably don't but here goes anyway.

In Isaiah 17, Israel's neighbors get nuked by Israel. When this happens then Isaiah 18 comes into play. Isaiah 18 is interesting in that it instructs the entire world to stop and pay attention - to the events of Isaiah 17. Isaiah 18 is about the destruction of a powerful friend of Israel (America?) in the spring following Isaiah 17. It's retaliation.

How close is Isaiah 17?. I think it is entirely possible to see in months as Iran and Israel are at a tipping point for war.

The shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel | Arab News

"While the Russia-Ukraine war has attracted the attention of the international community, the shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel is escalating and increasing tensions in the region. The danger of the expanding shadow war between Iran and Israel is that it can spiral out of control, leading to a full-fledged war between the two countries."

Iran and Israel's shadow war is coming out into the open.

"In an unprecedented move, Israel reportedly destroyed hundreds of Iranian drones with an attack on an airbase near Kermanshah, in western Iran."

Naftali Bennett, current prime minister of Israel, has a much more aggressive policy concerning Iran: take the fight directly to Iran. Stop with the proxy nonsense. But this policy looks like it could lead to war very soon. And war will heavily involve Israel's neighbors, which is where Isaiah 17 comes in.

While the first part of your post has some good points,

Isaiah 18 is about Cush (historical: South of Egypt, now largely Sudan) --

A Prophecy Against Cush

1Woe to the land of whirring wings
along the rivers of Cush,
2which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.
Isaiah 18 NIV

At that time, in the past.

And 17 is about Damascus being destroyed in that time, back then:

17:
1 A prophecy against Damascus:
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
Isaiah 17 NIV

A commentary:
"Verses 1-3. - THE BURDEN OF DAMASCUS. The eye of the prophet travels northwards from Moab, and, passing over Ammon as an enemy of small account, rests once more upon Damascus, already threatened in Isaiah 7:1 - 9, and probably already partially punished. Damascus is seen once more in alliance with Ephraim (ver. 3), and the two are joined with a new power, Aroer (ver. 2), which possesses several "cities." Woe is denounced on all the three powers: desolation on Damascus and Aroer; on Damascus and Ephraim, the complete loss of the last shadow of independence. The Assyrian inscriptions point out, as the probable date of the prophecy, the commencement of Sargun's reign - about B.C. 722 or 721. Verse 1. - Damascus is taken away from being a city. According to Vitringa, Damascus has been destroyed oftener than any other town; but it has a wonderful power of rising again from its ashes. Probably a destruction by Sargon is here intended ('Records of the Past,' vol. 9. p. 6)."
-- Pulpit Commentary
Isaiah 17:1 This is the burden against Damascus: "Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
 
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Petros2015

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“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins."

I feel like it's a bit of a stretch to go from that to "here's where Israel nukes it's neighbors" [in retaliation] for [whatever happens to] [whomever] in the following chapter.

But, yeah, I can see what the weather is looking like. I don't need Isaiah for that.
 
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Matt5

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While the first part of your post has some good points,

Isaiah 18 is about Cush (historical: South of Egypt, now largely Sudan) --

A Prophecy Against Cush

1Woe to the land of whirring wings
along the rivers of Cush,
2which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.
Isaiah 18 NIV

At that time, in the past.

And 17 is about Damascus being destroyed in that time, back then:

17:
1 A prophecy against Damascus:
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
Isaiah 17 NIV

A commentary:
"Verses 1-3. - THE BURDEN OF DAMASCUS. The eye of the prophet travels northwards from Moab, and, passing over Ammon as an enemy of small account, rests once more upon Damascus, already threatened in Isaiah 7:1 - 9, and probably already partially punished. Damascus is seen once more in alliance with Ephraim (ver. 3), and the two are joined with a new power, Aroer (ver. 2), which possesses several "cities." Woe is denounced on all the three powers: desolation on Damascus and Aroer; on Damascus and Ephraim, the complete loss of the last shadow of independence. The Assyrian inscriptions point out, as the probable date of the prophecy, the commencement of Sargun's reign - about B.C. 722 or 721. Verse 1. - Damascus is taken away from being a city. According to Vitringa, Damascus has been destroyed oftener than any other town; but it has a wonderful power of rising again from its ashes. Probably a destruction by Sargon is here intended ('Records of the Past,' vol. 9. p. 6)."
-- Pulpit Commentary
Isaiah 17:1 This is the burden against Damascus: "Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.

Verse 3 is instructing the ENTIRE planetary population to pay attention. I guess Cush (Ethiopia) is pretty important.

I mentioned there are currently three acts of war outstanding against Russia. If Israel nukes Syria then Russia has an overwhelming number of excuses to nuke America:

Russian Nuclear Doctrine: If a Russian ally (Syria) is nuked then Russia can nuke back.

Do you want to stick around to find out how it plays out?
 
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Petros2015

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Harpazo maybe? :)

Heh. There's more than 1 way to be "caught up into the air"
And if there was a rapture during a nuclear attack, it would explain why no one left behind is wondering "where did everyone go??"
 
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Petros2015

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According to Vitringa, Damascus has been destroyed oftener than any other town; but it has a wonderful power of rising again from its ashes. Probably a destruction by Sargon is here intended

If you have 2,000+ years of history, 1 of those years is going to be the worst year you had.
I'd wager Damascus has had some pretty bad years in it's day.
 
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In Isaiah 17, Israel's neighbors get nuked by Israel. When this happens then Isaiah 18 comes into play. Isaiah 18 is interesting in that it instructs the entire world to stop and pay attention - to the events of Isaiah 17. Isaiah 18 is about the destruction of a powerful friend of Israel (America?) in the spring following Isaiah 17. It's retaliation.


I don't think so... you mean Aroer?


Aroer (Hebrew: עֲרוֹעֵר, עֲרֹעֵר) is a biblical town on the north bank of the River Arnon to the east of the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The town was an ancient Moabite settlement, and is mentioned in the Bible.

Aroer is identified with the modern village of 'Ara'ir in Jordan.[1]
 
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The Grand Theory Driving Putin to War - The New York Times

"This brew of attitudes — complaints about Western aggression, exaltation of traditional values over the decadence of individual rights, assertions of Russia’s duty to unite Eurasia and subordinate Ukraine — developed in the cauldron of post-imperial resentment. Now they infuse Mr. Putin’s worldview and inspire his brutal war."

"The goal, plainly, is empire. And the line will not be drawn at Ukraine."

Indeed, the line will not be drawn at Ukraine. Russia plans to bring all of eastern Europe under its sphere of influence. That means war is coming to NATO (read US) at some point.

Kim Iversen: China, Russia Declare A NEW WORLD ORDER In Released Joint Statement - YouTube

The West has currently committed three acts of war against Russia:

1. Sanctions.
2. Arms for Ukraine.
3. Intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Those sit in the background. They will come into play at a later time when Putin chooses to attack the US directly.

Right now the state of war in Ukraine suggests that the only way forward for Putin is to escalate somehow. Also, there is no going back due to western sanctions. So things will be getting worse.

U.S. Says Russia's Putin Likely to Make Nuclear Threats If Ukraine War Drags - Bloomberg

Right now World War III hangs at a tipping point. It won't take much to push it over the edge and into fruition. You should now be getting ready.

‘Things Will Only Get Worse.’ Putin’s War Sends Russians Into Exile. - The New York Times

I will give you a little Bible prophecy that might help if you care. You probably don't but here goes anyway.

In Isaiah 17, Israel's neighbors get nuked by Israel. When this happens then Isaiah 18 comes into play. Isaiah 18 is interesting in that it instructs the entire world to stop and pay attention - to the events of Isaiah 17. Isaiah 18 is about the destruction of a powerful friend of Israel (America?) in the spring following Isaiah 17. It's retaliation.

How close is Isaiah 17?. I think it is entirely possible to see in months as Iran and Israel are at a tipping point for war.

The shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel | Arab News

"While the Russia-Ukraine war has attracted the attention of the international community, the shadow war between the Iranian regime and Israel is escalating and increasing tensions in the region. The danger of the expanding shadow war between Iran and Israel is that it can spiral out of control, leading to a full-fledged war between the two countries."

Iran and Israel's shadow war is coming out into the open.

"In an unprecedented move, Israel reportedly destroyed hundreds of Iranian drones with an attack on an airbase near Kermanshah, in western Iran."

Naftali Bennett, current prime minister of Israel, has a much more aggressive policy concerning Iran: take the fight directly to Iran. Stop with the proxy nonsense. But this policy looks like it could lead to war very soon. And war will heavily involve Israel's neighbors, which is where Isaiah 17 comes in.
I have no doubt Russia plays a role in biblical prophecies but we could have all had the same conversation 50 years ago. I file this under "interesting" but I'm not holding my breath.
 
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Zechariah 14 does suggest some kind of nuclear event around Israel, but I'm unsure of the timeline. Could be tied with Ezekiel 38? In that one, Gog (Russia) and Persia (Iran) are aligned.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. Zec 14:12

(your tongue and eyes melting in their sockets before your body hits the ground isn't conventional warfare, anyway)
 
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Halbhh

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Chances are that I'd die in the first moments of nuclear war, due to my location being a primary target, so I'd not be sticking around.

Speaking of Ethiopia, isn't it kind of hypocritical that nobody cares about, or is even seemingly aware of, the war there?

About why the war in Ukraine is so significant, it's because it's a large scale war which isn't only a border skirmish and both Ukraine and Russia are nations with larger populations, and for the first time one of the few nuclear powers in the world has launched a major war against a large nation.

(in comparison India vs China and India vs Pakistan after Pakistan got nuclear weapons (1998) -- those have been skirmishes and not major wars).

Additionally, Ukraine has been a democracy for about 30 years, and it's a huge development when a large population functioning democracy is being attacked in order to end democracy in it. (if someone attacked India for instance to end democracy that would be a huge development, and probably even bigger news than Russia's war on Ukraine.)

A useful analogy would be if France became (very unlike it is) a militaristic authoritarian state, and then attacked Austria to replace Austrian democracy with a French puppet regime.
 
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Halbhh

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Well, that stands against all the faux-moralizing of 'oh, Putin is literally Hitler' or 'oh, the Russians are so evil for seeking the interests of their own people.'

Putin used the rhetoric that Ukraine was doing 'genocide' against Russians in the Donbas (meaning in the war against the separatists from 2014-2021).

But, no one in the world that merely looked accurately at the details of the war in the Donbas since 2014 would consider the word 'genocide' to be accurate --

In her Facebook statement, [Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson] Maria Zakharova also said that at least at least 13,000 people had been killed in the war in eastern Ukraine [Donbas] since 2014. She also claimed that there was a "systematic extermination of the Donbas population." There is no evidence, however, that proves a "systematic extermination" of the civilian population is occurring. An OSCE monitoring mission active in Ukraine since 2014 has found no evidence of mass targeted killings of civilians in the Donbas region. So far, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not provided any proof to back up its claim that the people of eastern Ukraine are subject to "systematic extermination."
Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war | DW | 03.03.2022


But, having accused Ukraine falsely of genocide, now Putin is in danger of actually getting closer to doing that himself in Mariupol, if he continues without changing. Unless Putin changes course, it may turn out he will be rightly accused to have done ethnic cleansing in Mariupol, unless there is a change. Currently, 130,000 civilians remain, and are being intensely shelled. So, Putin will have to change course to avoid doing what he wrongly accused Ukraine of doing.

The danger to Putin is in ignoring the teaching Christ our Lord gave on judging others in that way:

Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 7:1-5 - New International Version

And as repeated in Romans 2 also --
Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:1-4 - New International Version

But, to heed this urgent warning about his own soul, Putin would need to believe in God, and fear God, and take the words seriously.
 
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Halbhh

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You say genocide was not done in Donbass, but claim Russia is at the edge of it in Mariupol.
I didn't say "edge" at all, as I think if that historically huge tragedy would even happen, it would still take several more weeks to get there.

But, also, I don't expect it will happen, with all the intense world wide attention that is already happening. Usually actual genocides don't have the attention of most of the world at the moment they are happening, but only later. But, Putin will have to change course there, to avoid it.
 
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Halbhh

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So, it'd take weeks of shelling Mariupol to be genocide, but not 8 years in Donbass.
I'm not sure how long it would take to kill 100,000 in Mariupol with no possible way to flee, escape routes blocked. I don't know if that could happen in 1 week or 3, or 5. It may depend on things like food and water.

Are you thinking Putin will try to approach that edge?
 
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Halbhh

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No, I think your claims are ridiculous. Barely 1000 civilians have died in the Ukraine according to the United Nations - if Russia were targeting civilians, it'd already be a magnitude higher than that.

Meanwhile, Ukraine did shell the Donbass region, rape women, and commit other barbaric acts for 8 years.

The contrast between the two makes your claims revealed to be absurd.

Sorry, to tell you the bad news. While Ukraine is like any nation: imperfect, doing some wrongs.

Putin has lately been doing worse.

But it's for the best to say the hard truth. It's not good to pretend evil doesn't exist when it's near to home.

You can't pretend that since the Russian Orthodox leader has endorsed Putin's war that means the war is holy or good in reality....

Not if you want to be truthful with yourself, or others.

LVIV, Ukraine, March 28 (Reuters) - Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol since Russian forces laid siege to it, a spokesperson for the city mayor said on Monday.

The spokesperson quoted data from the mayor's office that said about 90% of buildings in Mariupol had been damaged and about 40% had been destroyed.
 
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