The points keep lining up. Daniel 8:23 identifies three
characteristics of the "king" that will stand against the Prince of
princes and brings to ruin the "people made up of the holy ones".
The three characteristics are as follows:
1. Stern faced or having a fierce countenance
2. Master of deception -
3. Becomes powerful but not by his own power.
Mistakes:
In 1994 Zhirinovsky gained great prominence. He was fascist, anti-
semitic, nationalistic. His party was second only to the
communists. He even wrote a book "The Last Push to the South"
wherein he spoke of his intentions to have Russian soldiers soak
their frigid feet in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Surely,
here was the man that would eventually lead Russia at the time of
the end. History has shown him to be a clown. His power base
dissolved and he may soon fade from Russian politics. Since he
never came to power it couldn't be said that "he became powerful
but not by his own power".
In 1996 General Alexander Lebed skyrocketed to prominence. Here
was a man with the meanest face in all of Russia. He even had a
boxers nose from fighting in the military. His voice sounded like
the rumble of artillery. In the 1996 elections his "truth and
order" campaign was so successful that he drew enough votes which
combined with Yeltsin was sufficient to squelch the communists.
His reward was appointment as Yeltsin's security advisor. It wasn't
long before his popularity was perceived by Yeltsin as a threat.
Lebed was dismissed and slowly disappeared into the Governorship of
Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Lebed never came to power.
In 1999 the "family" (reference to Yeltsin and his buddies) was
under investigation for numerous illegal activities. Yeltsin was
afraid. The constitution only allowed him 2 terms and he was in
his 2nd term. The "family" needed someone in power who could be
trusted NOT to prosecute anyone for wrongdoing. Yeltsin's "family"
decided Putin, head of FSB (former KGB) was the one. He had a
reputation for loyalty. But how do you turn a person who never
held political office into an electable vote-getter? Very simple -
you start a war. War drapes a mystical shroud of greatness over
the shoulders of a leader.
The Chechens had beaten back the Russians and even squeezed out
concessions of independence just so the Russians could leave
Chechnya without being shot in the back. Chechnya was a
humiliation for the Russian military. The Chechens were happy with
their independence and were struggling to build their nation and
credibility on the world scene.
But the Russians needed a war. What more convenient enemy than the
hated and despised Russian folk-devils- the Chechens. Then a
miracle happened. Four bombs exploded in Moscow apartment complexes
killing 300 people. Although no one claimed responsibility the
Russians blamed the Chechens. Putin had been appointed prime
minister only for about a month and now he had his war.
As could be predicted the people of Russia rallied around their
Prime Minister Putin. Putin boldly declared that he would kill
Chechens even in their out-houses. There were a lot of unanswered
questions about the bombs. Why would the Chechens bomb apartment
buildings knowing that this would arouse the anger of the Russians?
Why were the bombing sites cleaned up in less than a week? No
effort was made to systematically collect evidence. Yeltsin's
scandalous dealings suddenly were on the back burner. It was clear
who benefitted from these explosions. There was a fifth bomb that
never went off. Citizens in the city of Ryazan caught FSB agents
carrying explosives into the basement of their apartment complex.
People were evacuated and were later told that it was just a
training exercise to test peoples vigilance. Space doesn't allow
for the full report on this incident but it is bone chilling.
On New Years Day Yeltsin resigned as president and appointed Putin
his successor. Elections were set for May. Upon being appointed
president Putin immediately granted Yeltsin immunity from
prosecution. The deal was complete. But the question remains -
how much did Putin know about the bombings?
Last week TV6 was shut down in Russia. It was owned by billionaire
Berezovsky who had extensive contacts with questionable elements of
Russian society. He is now threatening to reveal that the
government & Putin himself were involved in the bombings. Some say
that Berezovsky may have arranged the bombings at the request of
Yeltsin's inner circle. He is being taken seriously. The FSB has
accused Berezovsky of paying off terrorist and are trying to get
him extradited to Russia where he can be muzzled.
The point in all of this is that Putin fits all three points. He
is 1.Sternfaced 2. Master of Deception (former spy) 3. Became
powerful but not by his own power. He had no natural constituency.
He owes his political power to Yeltsin.
This is NOT coincidence.
More info at http://members.aol.com/~proplog2/Page1.html