Matthew 24:6-8 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Mark 13:7-8 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Increasing Threats and Rumours of Wars; Naval diplomacy heats up in the Mediterranean. Turkey’s goal is to stoke crises with Europe as well as also in Libya, Iraq and Syria.

By SETH J. FRANTZMAN   AUGUST 20, 2020 Jerusalem Post

Turkish actions in the Mediterranean have caused European countries and the US to increasingly take notice. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to the Dominican Republic this week to speak to his Turkish counterpart, who happened to be there, to see if he could appease Turkey’s ambitions at sea.

Ankara said it would “not bow down to colonialists” in the Eastern Mediterranean, an apparent jibe at European countries and the US.

At the same time, the American warship USS Hershel Woody Williams, a 230-meter floating base for operations, arrived in Crete as part of a mission to look in on the tensions between the Greeks and Turks. Turkey claims it is merely conducting “research” at sea and doing surveys as part of an agreement with the embattled Libyan government in Tripoli.

Ankara signed a deal with Tripoli last November that resulted in Turkey recruiting Syrian mercenaries to prop up the failing Libyan government in Tripoli. Turkish drones and ships deployed to Libya to take part in the civil war, and soon Egypt, which backs the rival Libyan government in Benghazi, was threatening Turkey and Tripoli.

Turkey’s actions have led to a domino effect. Greece, Israel and Cyprus signed a pipeline deal in January that had been in the works for years. Greece and Egypt recently signed a deal regarding their claims to the sea.

Turkey has now sent out its whale-like research ship Oruc Reis and a fleet of warships to waters between Cyprus and Greece to show it can sail where it wants. A Greek ship is shadowing the Turkish fleet, satellite images from Image Sat International show.

Turkey does not actually need to drill for energy reserves hundreds of miles from its shore. It has not even bothered to look for energy closer to home where there are fewer disputes. The overall goal is to redraw borders and strategic power in the Eastern Mediterranean, Ankara said Tuesday.

THE EU is concerned. Turkey has threatened to send refugees to Europe. It made the same threats in February, sending Syrians to the Greek border. Turkey’s goal is to stoke crises with Europe as well as in Libya, Iraq and Syria. In Libya, Turkey has come up against Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

But France also cares deeply about Libya and security relationships in the Mediterranean. It condemned Turkey’s activity earlier this year, along with the UAE, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. Israel also has now openly backed Greece.

But Turkey has some tricks up its sleeve. It has gotten Italy and Germany on board to back its ambitions, and it likely has the United Kingdom as well. Germany and the UK are key trading partners for Turkey, and in the COVID-19 crisis, trade is important.

Ankara has economic problems, but it is gambling that the Europeans need Turkey more than it needs them. The Austrians are nonplussed and this week said they stand with Greece.

Turkey’s media is fanning the flames of conflict. The pro-government media highlights the populist and militarist position of the country’s leadership. Ankara is the largest jailer of journalists in the world, so there is no critical media in Turkey that asks questions about what the country’s goal is.

Meanwhile, Ankara has also threatened the UAE after Abu Dhabi agreed to normalize ties with Israel. This puts Turkey on a collision course with Greece and a network of Greek allies that are angered by its moves in Libya and elsewhere.

Turkey says its fight for the sea is a fight for the future. It is not clear if the real goal is just to get more concessions from the Trump administration, as it has received in the past, or if it will continue to press its claims. That it put to sea its research vessel and seven naval vessels shows this is a real display of force.

Ankara has also recruited lobbying firms in Washington as well as think tanks and experts to push its case via various media. This is a full-court press by Turkey that combines, in a Clausewitz-like style, the military, research vessels, energy claims, politics, foreign policy, Syrian mercenaries, lobbyists and media.

Whether France, Greece, Egypt and others can actually work together to deal with this issue and get the US to take it seriously, rather than give in to Turkey’s unclear demands, remains to be seen.

In His Service,

Night Watchman

Paul Rolland

Night Watchman Ministries

Make Your Decision for Christ NOW!!!!!!! Time is Up!!!!!!!

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

True Church / Bride of Christ Spared from God’s Wrath:

 Romans 5:8-10. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 12:19. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Jeremiah 30:7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.