Kings of the East Gathering?

President Duterte of the Philippines recently stated that “if China and Russia decide to create a new world order, he would be the first to join them and leave the U.N.” (Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2016). “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey should not be ‘fixated’ on joining the EU and has reiterated the idea of joining Russia and China in a Eurasian security group” called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) (The Saudi Gazette, November 21, 2016). This loose security and economic bloc is “led by Russia and China. Other members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan” (ibid.). Turkey’s declaration was met with optimism by Russian and Chinese officials in hopes that Turkey will move in that direction (Daily Sabah, November 21, 2016). India and Pakistan are also formally joining the SCO at its next summit and are expected to play key roles in the “military cooperation between the member states” which “involves intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia and joint work against cyber terrorism, among other things. It is seen by some as a counterweight to the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)” (Deutsche Welle, November 22, 2016).

Bible prophecies have long foretold the emergence of an end-time Asiatic superpower capable of producing a huge army that will ultimately fight against a European beast power stationed in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:44; Revelation 9:13-17). The SCO could contribute to the formation of this prophesied eastern superpower. To learn more about Asia’s challenge to the West, read our article “Is This China’s Century?”