Turkey: A Model of the Changing Middle East?

First of all, we know that Turkey is part of the coalition who invades Israel in the battle/war described in Ezekiel 38. This story has been interesting to watch evolve, because Turkey's turn to radical Islam and their anti-Israel position is relatively new, but also predictable based on biblical prophecy.

The concerning issue has to do with the current turmoil in other relatively "stable" regimes throughout the Middle East, and how these changes are ushering in radical Islamic elements, also predictable based on biblical prophecy.

Once again, Caroline Glick provides a highly germane commentary:

Turkey's Cautionary Tale

Today's Turkey is a cautionary tale for the West. But Western leaders are loath to consider its lessons.

Unfortunately, nine years into the AKP's "democratic" regime it is clear that Erdogan and his colleagues' embrace of the language and tools of democracy was a mile wide and an inch thick. They used democracy to gain power. Now that they have power, they are systematically destroying freedom in their country.

TURKEY'S DESCENT into Islamist tyranny has not simply destroyed freedom in Turkey. It has transformed Turkey's strategic posture in a manner that is disastrous for the West. And yet, in this arena as well, the West refuses to notice what is happening.

Turkey supports Hamas and Hizbullah. It has begun training the Syrian military. It supports Iran's nuclear weapons program. It has become the Iranian regime's economic lifeline by allowing the mullahs to use Turkish markets to bypass the UN sanctions regime.

In less than 10 years, the AKP regime has dismantled Turkey's strategic alliance with Israel. It has inculcated the formerly tolerant if not pro- Israel Turkish public with virulent anti-Semitism. It is this systematic indoctrination to Jew-hatred that has emboldened Turkish leaders to announce publicly that they support going to war against Israel.

What I find interesting about Turkey's transformation into a radical Islamic regime is the fact that Bible prophecy watchers predicted this - even years ago when Turkey appeared to be on the road to a democratic form of government and possible entry into the EU. Not now.

But perhaps more importantly, is how Turkey can be seen as a model for radical Islam, who is in the process of seizing control of the few moderate countries left in the region - and this process is occurring at light speed:

TURKEY IS a cautionary tale for the West, which is now faced with the prospect of AKP-like regimes from Egypt to Tunisia to Jordan to the Persian Gulf.

And the real issue that Western leaders must address is how things in Turkey were permitted to deteriorate to the point they have without any US or European official lifting a finger to stem the Islamist tide? The answer, it would seem, is a combination of professional laziness and cultural weakness. This mix of factors is also on display in the US's behavior toward the revolutionary forces active throughout much of the Arab world.

Professional laziness stands at the root of the West's decision not to contend with the unpleasant truth that the AKP is an Islamist party whose basic ideology has more in common with Osama bin Laden's values than with George Washington's

The West chose not to pay attention because its senior officials knew if they did, they would have to do something. They would have had to distance themselves from Turkey, remove Turkey from NATO and seek to contain the power of the Erdogan regime. And this would have been hard and unpleasant.

This seems obvious to anyone who has watched this evolution in real time and willing to seek the truth.

Now we see the parallels to Egypt and other countries in the region:

Likewise, in post-Mubarak Egypt, it is easier to believe fairy tales about Facebook revolutions and Westernized student leaders than face the harsh truth that from Amr Moussa to Mohamed ElBaradei to Yousef Qaradawi there are no leaders in post-Mubarak Egypt who support the peace with Israel or believe that Egypt has common interests with Israel and the US. There are no potential leaders in Egypt who share Western values of individual liberty and human rights.

Ouch. That hurts - but the truth often does. More below:

Rather than do any of these hard things, Western leaders have lied to themselves about the nature of these forces and regimes. They have told themselves that there is no problem with the likes of Erdogan and his Egyptian cohorts, and opted to limit their meddling in the internal affairs of others to endless attempts to undermine and overthrow successive pro- Western, democratic, non-leftist governments in Israel.

These governments, they have argued, must be replaced by leftist parties in order to feed the West's fantasy that all the problems of the region, all its Qaradawis and Erdogans, will magically become Thomas Jeffersons and John Adamses if Israel would just cut a deal with the PLO.

This fantasy is convenient for lazy Western cultural cowards. They know that there will be no pushback for their policies. Israel won't attack them. And by pretending the Islamists share their values and strategic interests they are free to take no action to defend their values and strategic interests from Islamist assault.

But while this strategy has been convenient for policymakers, it has done great damage to their countries. The growing menace that is Islamist Turkey teaches us that professional laziness and cultural squeamishness are recipes for strategic disasters.

And thus, with the above mindset, we continue to see the biblical coalitions forming - coalitions who will invade Israel in attempts to destroy the nation and bring forth Sharia Law throughout the land, and ultimately the world, via the Mahdi who is predicted to "return" in the midst of such violence in the Middle East.

Its all happening exactly as a literal view of the prophetic scriptures would dictate.

Just as we have observed for thousands of years of literal fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Would we expect anything else?
After all, we already know how prophecy is fulfilled and confirmed by the apostle Peter:

"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place...Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophets own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God..."
(2 Peter 1:19-21)