Kings of the East Rising?

“A treaty to launch the Eurasian Economic Union spanning Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus has been signed by the countries’ presidents in the Kazakh capital. The bloc will come into being next January” (Deutsche Welle, May 29, 2014). “Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have said that they want to join the union later. The Eurasian Economic Union will base its executive body in Moscow, a high court in Belarus and a top financial regulator in Kazakhstan” (ibid.).

Other actions involve an economic and gas deal between Russia and China that was signed in Shanghai at 4 a.m., showing its urgency. The 30-year deal could be worth some $400 billion to Russia and will make up for financial resources lost due to anticipated European sanctions. “Thus this deal could symbolize an important moment of transition—when both in economic and geo-political terms, Russia’s gaze begins to look more towards the East than towards the West” (BBC, May 21, 2014).

Bible prophecies have long foretold that at the end of this age, a powerful group of “kings from the east” (of Jerusalem) will muster a large army and descend on the Middle East and possibly Europe (Daniel 11:44-45; Revelation 9:13-19; 16:12-16). We need to watch to see if these agreements between Russia, China and other Asian nations will lead to the fulfillment of these sobering end-time prophecies.

For more on the future of this dynamic region, be sure to read our article on “What’s Ahead for Russia?”