The rise of Turkey

The following article from CNN chronicles the rise of the influence of Turkey in the Middle East. It also details the turn of Turkish foreign policy from being friendly toward Israel to more antagonistic. This article is interesting for a couple of reasons.

1. Turkey is prominently mentioned in Ezekiel 38 & 39 as one of the nations that will be part of the Russian led alliance that will come against Israel. This would have seemed unlikely just a few short years ago, but now it seems entirely possible.

2. Much is made of the fact that the Antichrist will come from a "revived Roman empire." While many people assume this means western Europe, much of the original Roman empire was in the Mediterranean region around the Middle East including Turkey. In fact the capital of the empire was eventually moved to Constantinople which is modern day Istanbul, Turkey.

Could it be possible that a revived Roman Empire could spring up from this area of the original Roman Empire? Could Turkey lead the formation of a ten nation Islamic empire that would produce the Antichrist (Revelation 13:1, Revelation 17:12, & Daniel 7:7-8)? Only time will tell, but Christians interested in the end-times should keep an eye on the actions of Turkey.