Le ROI -- the KING, in French.
R.O.I. -- an acronym for Return on Investment.
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Le ROI invested, not silver or gold,
But breath in your soul, your life to unfold.
No rate of interest for His breath was applied,
By a good R.O.I., He’d be satisfied.
Before you were born, He had a GREAT plan,
To bless and guide you, as only He can.
Returns that He seeks on life-giving breath?
‘Reflecting His Light, till the day of your death.’
Chapter 2 of The Book of Daniel is one of THE most significant prophecies in The Bible! In it, Daniel (a young Jewish lad who was captured during one of Babylon’s sieges against Judah) found the faith and boldness to approach his captor, Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonian Empire, when doing so risked not only Daniel’s life, but the lives of EVERY wiseman in the kingdom! My, my…….
The king had a dream that greatly troubled him to the point that he could not sleep, then he forgot the details of the dream. So he summonsed all of the wisemen to recount the details of his dream to him. He promised them gifts, rewards and great honor if they could recount the dream. If not, he would have them all dismembered, and their homes burned. My, my, my…….
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, intended to be over quickly, is heading to its 4th year! I have pondered what, if anything, might that signify from Heaven’s strategic perspective? From the start, I considered this war from the perspective of Ezekiel 38, which predicts a Russia-led coalition invasion of a then defenseless, potentially overcrowded Israel, when no allies will be able or willing to come to its aid. Verse 13 signifies that invasion will likely be out of desperation for the basics of life! Curious? Indeed!
How Wars End
Wars either end with a win for the aggressor, a win for the victim nation, or a draw, when no side wins. The latter may be more rare than the former. This is the broad pattern of how wars end, irrespective of the engagement of allies on either side of a conflict.
In Ukraine Never Ceases to Amaze Me, a YouTube video, Paul Warburg , an open-source, independent geopolitical analyst, reminds us that aggressor nations tend to win wars that are resolved quickly, but they tend to lose wars that are long and drawn out. Quick wars, as Russia intended its invasion of Ukraine to be, tend to sustain the aggressor’s ‘foundation’ that supports its war effort—its financial, political, socio-cultural, military, economic, industrial, institutional, allies, etc. That foundation becomes the context that feeds the spirits of pride and aggression. Long, drawn-out wars, however, gradually erode, then seriously threaten that foundation, greatly increasing the risks of an embarrassing loss of the war it initiated.
I intuit only when Heaven intervenes, might this well-worn pattern be interrupted. When it intends war as a judgment for persistent, unrepented sinfulness, no amount of aggression or resistance to aggression will ensure its win! The Bible and history are replete with such examples, e.g., when The Lord sent foreign armies against Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, Israel, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, and Judah, as judgments against their persistent sinfulness.
It is instructive to recall how the USSR and the US, two global hegemon nations, both lost long, drawn-out wars of aggression against Afghanistan! This happened about 3 decades apart. 1 Ponder that…
Roughly 3 decades after Russia recovered from a DOUBLE WHAMMY—its loss in Afghanistan (1989), and 2 years later, the collapse of the USSR (1991)—observers around the world began to track how its second invasion of Ukraine (the first in 2014, the second in 2022) might impact its ‘foundation’. Currently, after 4 years of fighting, reports are that the combined impacts of broad western economic sanctions, allied support for Ukraine, the freezing of Russian foreign reserves in banks in Amsterdam, Ukraine’s successful adaptation of hybrid warfare tactics, and Russia’s out-sized manpower losses, have substantially degraded just about every aspect of Russia’s ‘foundation’. If this trend continues, Warburg suggests a leadership change in Russia, or Ukraine’s ability to ‘hold out’, might result in a win for Ukraine, the clear ‘underdog’ in this ‘David and Goliath’ war.
Heaven’s Strategic Plans?
Bottom line: We don’t know what Heaven intends re. this current war in Ukraine. But this we do know: In Ezekiel 38 and 39, The Lord declared He is ‘against Gog!’ I continue to intuit that Gog may be, not a man, but possibly a demon/principality—satan’s top general. 2 If so, and if he is currently, or will become the influencing spirit over Russia during the 4th age of our history (the tribulation age), then the following scenario may be worth considering.
What Ifs…?
For aggressor nations that typically need to sustain a high-profile of aggression throughout wars it initiates, history proves it can take several decades for them to recover from war. This may be especially true for an aggressor nations whose ‘foundation’ was seriously degraded during such a war.
So whether it wins or loses,
how long could it take for Russia
to recover from its war in Ukraine?
What if… history were to repeat itself in an escalated form? Russia has already experienced a devastating DOUBLE WHAMMY once before: the loss of a long, drawn-out war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), followed just two years later by the collapse of the USSR itself (1991). What if, before Russia can recover from its war in Ukraine, (a) the predicted, cosmic impacts of The Lord opening the 6th seal on His scroll, and perhaps a few years later, (b) the initial trumpet judgments of the apocalypse, both erupt globally?? To be sure, none of us knows when these 3rd and 4th ages ending events will occur! But we do know, thus far, The Lord God has a perfect record in achieving His strategic objectives across creation. Either way, Ezekiel 38 seems to be abundantly clear that the country in the far north of Israel will, one day, lead a coalition of Iran, possibly Turkey and probably mercenaries from Libya, S. Sudan/Ethiopia, to invade a then defenseless, possibly over-crowded Israel.
If-IF that happens, and if the world learns that Israel might somehow be sheltered from the apocalypse judgments, I wonder…
Could that untenable situation possibly motivate Gog
to inspire Russia to lead a coalition, as it did against Ukraine,
to invade then defenseless Israel for its abundant, basics of life?
NB: If Gog is indeed satan’s top demon general, or a high-ranking spiritual principality that operates through national leaders, then one thing must be clearly understood: No part of satan’s kingdom favors any part of humanity. Unlike most of us, evil spirits know and believe Biblical prophecy, because they know Who inspired it, and Who will enforce it—Jesus, The Lord God! They manipulate national leaders, not to achieve geopolitical victories, but to ensure as many humans as possible will share their declared fate in The Lord’s brimstone-lit lake of fire. Period.
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1 The USSR withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989. The US withdrew in 2021.
2 See: Favoring Gog! (Part 1). Gog may be to satan, what the anti-Christ’s ‘false prophet’ will be to the anti-Christ—his #2 in charge.
Living In Systems We Didn’t Create
Most of us live inside systems we didn’t design, don’t control, and couldn’t survive without. These systems supply things so basic that we just take them for granted—breathable air, food, roads, utilities, digital networks, legal frameworks, etc. But we definitely notice them when they fail!
And yet, whether we like these systems, agree with them, generously benefit from them or not, one fact remains constant: Living in them means living under their explicit or implicit authority structures. Those structures exist for our common benefit and participation. As such, they don’t depend upon our personal agreement, affection, or approval.
We don’t wake up thinking, ‘I’ll gladly submit to layered networks of authority today.’ But we generally do submit to them—by driving on roads they create, using money they circulate and protect, relying on utilities they distribute, calling emergency services when necessary, entering into contracts they design and enforce, boarding airplanes, buying food, etc.
See the series here
Part 1 reviews key examples of how The Lord applied/will apply His ‘pre-entry purging pattern’ to various types of groups across our history. Let’s review a more familiar pattern that He applies and benefits from types of purging that He, Himself, did/does not initiate.
Sidelined Purging
Here is a rather curious affirmation Jesus made during His life as a man:
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
The Lord has a bifurcated ‘peace agenda':
See the series here
The Church-types Reimagined (Series) explains how it appears The Lord applied a repeating strategic pattern to conceive, create, and commission successive ‘army-like church-types'—both before and after the creation of humanity. I perceive they would sustain righteousness first, in Heaven, then on Earth, and eternally in Heaven. Here’s the list of these groups as I perceive them:
1. An innumerable company of holy angels
2. Adam—and through him, humanity in general
3. Seth and his 1st-age righteous descendants 1
4. Israel, as a set-apart “holy” nation
5. The post-cross, 3rd-age church 2
6. The tribulation, 4th-age church
7. The post-Millennial-Reign, 6th-age church
So far, The Bible and history show how significant parts of these early groups unduly ‘re-imagined themselves’—and therefore failed to honor The Lord’s commissions and commandments.
Jesus Christ, The Lord God, LOVES repetitive patterns! Period. I recently began to perceive them as the equivalent of His ‘pictures on the box’ of His strategic puzzle pieces strewn across the pages and ages of The Bible. Scripture demonstrates two striking, opposite patterns that He apparently applies to nations, infrequently, to families, occasionally, and to individuals, frequently.
1. The Lord directly or indirectly purges individuals, families, societies and nations before allowing them to enter a new season of His peaceful blessing. 1
2. Families, communities, or family-like groups purge individuals—but The Lord gleans the benefits.
These are uniquely different, cousin-types of purging. One is initiated by The Lord; and the other is beneficial to achieving His purposes for us.
Divine Pre-entry Purging
From presidents-to-paupers,
And everyone in between,
By presidents-and-paupers,
And evil spirits, unseen,
As useful idiot serfs,
We have all likely been screened! 1
It seems, knowingly or un-,
Most of us were recruited,
Then prepped for more deception.
Few of us were unsuited,
And our tasks, we abandoned.
Most enjoy their conscription!
People who seem ‘above-board’,
Use other people to do,
Things considered ‘untoward’.
Neither group fears The One Who,
Will curse, or bless with rewards,
All, in this life, we will do! 2
Stop!
Ask yourselves these questions:
By whom were we recruited,
Whether people or demons?
What tasks we’ve not resisted?
To whom are we beholden,
Useful idiot they’ve won?
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1 Useful idiots - a derogatory term for a naive or credulous people who are unknowingly manipulated and deceived to advance a cause or political agenda; people who support a cause, but who are actually being exploited by its leaders or others. Yes, history and current events prove top leaders, even presidents, are not immune from this devilish trap. This becomes an ‘equal opportunity, 2-way street’ when people who are being manipulated, themselves find others to manipulate!
2 Jesus Christ, The Lord God Who promises, and has demonstrated His power to bless or judge every righteous or unrighteous thing we say and do, in His own manner and timing.
