Another War in Europe?

A recent report by the European Leadership Network, concerning military exercises in the Baltic and Poland, stated: “Russian and NATO military exercises are starting to look more and more like preparations for war” (The Moscow Times, August 16, 2015).

Over the past 18 months, relations have soured between Russia and NATO, and it appears both are “actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War” (The Telegraph, August 12, 2015). These large-scale, live-fire activities are testing the readiness of both NATO and Russian troops, and are directed specifically against each other! “The Russian maneuvers saw soldiers wake up on 16 March to orders which eventually drew in 80,000 servicemen… simulated an invasion of Latvia supported by attack helicopters and artillery… On the NATO side, four separate drills involved 15,000 troops from 19 member states…simulated operations against the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad… One of these exercises saw the first-ever deployment of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, a new unit designed to deter Russian aggression, in Poland” (EU Observer, August 12, 2015).

Jesus warned that before His return there would be “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6-7). One of the culminating events before Christ’s return will be a large-scale military engagement between Europe and superpowers to the East (Daniel 11:44; Revelation 9; 16:12-16). The stage is being set to fulfill these future prophecies. For more on this increasingly timely topic, read “Coming End-Time Conflicts.”