(3 July 2026) It is now 10 pm MST July 3, or, 4 AM GMT, July 4. We have been watching events centered on Iran and its regime, waiting for escalation of what looks to be the Second Signpost.
The Strait of Hormuz was closed solidly for 112 days starting on March 2. It was then open for six (6) days.
As of today, it seems to be officially closed again and has now been closed for seven (7) days. Marinetraffic.com right now shows only a few ships going through the Strait at the moment.
The Three Parts of the Great City
There are three parts to the earth, the great city. The three parts correspond to the three ways in which the world at large has responded to the gospel.
China and the Eastern part of the world (India, Australia, Russia, etc) will likely be ruled by the CCP in the end times.
The Islamic Realm, Europe, and Africa will likely be ruled by the Antichrist.
Both the Antichrist and CCP leaders are or will be evil megalomaniacs.
Who or what rules the USA is becoming clearer. The Left is ruled by elites forcing an agenda of cultural Marxism. They control the government and the media.
The Russia-Ukraine War and the Lies of the Western Media
The mainstream media (MSM) is the propaganda arm of the Left. It lies about wokeism, trans, DEI, education, and our country in general.
So why do Americans—especially Christians—believe the MSM regarding Russia? Almost everything the MSM reports about Russia seems to be at odds with my own research about Russia, its history, and culture. A lot of what is reported about the war seems hard to believe.
An interview of Dr. John Mearsheimer on the Glenn Deisen YouTube channel confirms my own suspicions.
Also, he takes the position, which I agree with, is why does the West think they can continue to bomb Russia, taking out their infrastructure, and think Russia will never respond?
The video is over an hour long, but worth the watch.
Conclusion
Dr. Mearsheimer shines a light on more of the reality of the situation with Russia. Continuing to poke the bear as NATO is doing can only result in nuclear escalation and WW3.
Keep watch.
Categories: Russia in the End Times, Signpost #2: Iran, World in the End Times
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
Mark There is plenty of data that shows there is traffic through the straight.
Chris P Roberts
†God is good all the time. †
Chris,
I called it “closed” in the last few days because the global oil traffic through the Strait today is only one-tenth of what it was. And the result of that is the amount of oil cut from the global oil supply is still north of 10 million barrels per day.
Technically, you are right, it is open though.
I don’t believe the MSM about Russia (or, well, anything). Putin waves the banner of Christianity around as does Trump, but their hearts both seem far from their lips. I pray for them. I think the world as a whole is entering a time of slavery; God has placed leaders in each area that advance it, though perhaps some of them don’t believe that’s what they are doing. Slavery is what Israel entered into in Egypt. God is preparing us for Exodus 2.0: an exit from slavery to sin. Physical slavery is a good illustration of spiritual slavery; this will help many accept Jesus. God is mighty to save, but for a lot of us, that will mean some hard times during harvest.
I am the person from the country that borders Russia. You know me from our email correspondence. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think your views on Russia and Ukraine will be difficult for many readers to accept. I have tried to explain my perspective in our emails. For example, many respected scholars disagree with John Mearsheimer’s conclusions. I also disagree with the claim that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was provoked. I live less than 250 kilometres from the Russian border, so this is not just an abstract geopolitical debate for me. It concerns the security of my region and my country.
Hi TN,
Yes, I remember you. You are a dear brother living in a nation to the far north (there are only three European nations bordering the Russian mainland) with whom I’ve always appreciated perspective.
As you probably know but mentioned for readers who don’t know, this back and forth between East and West has been going on militarily for 800 hundred years, and spiritually for another 200 years before that. Russia was attacked by Sweden, and then Poland and Lithuania while the Mongols took it apart. Then Russia felt like it had to conquer its neighbors including your country to keep itself safe from attack, since Russia’s idol is itself, and feels it can’t let any Russian population live outside of Russia.
I realize my position would be difficult for many readers to accept. Chris (our dear departed brother) had much of the same reactions you do. But I believe in keeping the larger perspective that comes from centuries and continents. (After all, without that perspective the Four Signpost theory would have never been reached.)
It is tragic that the Catholic West and the Orthodox East – both Christian communities which is rare in this dark world – had to try to conquer each other without just letting the other alone.
Though the church leaderships pf the Catholic West and the Orthodox East are both guilty of sins against humanity, I view the Catholic church also guilty of just not leaving the Orthodox church alone. This current EU/NATO vs Russia is the latest version of this spiritual war.
Looking back to history far back in time, makes me understand that concerned Russians want buffer states and satellite states around them for security. It makes me even empathise a little.
However, this pretext is used all to often by power-hungry and greedy people who have no noble motives to crush the cultures, life and desires of common people against their will who are then conquered and oppressed.
Hitler’s “Alle Deutsche Heim ins Reich” is a prime and recent example.
Xi’s conquering of Taiwan can become be another one.
Russians being concerned for oppressed Russian minorities in other countries is understandable. In the past this concern even extended to concern for oppressed orthodox believers (who were not Russian) in the Ottoman Empire. Russia threatened the Turks with war if they went too far, and even actually waged war on the Turks for this reason. I empathise with that too; humanly speaking, Russian intervention was the only hope for these believers.
From the viewpoint of the Russian Spirit / Cultural Idol it is good to add all Russians to its empire. But that is all for Its greater glory and power; not for the wellbeing of individual Russians, nor for that of other ethnicities oppressed in Its realm.
So I do not care for that Spirit / Cultural Idol. I do see it is not fond of things like wokeism etc., which I also am not fond of. But that is not enough for me to be on its side. This oppressive dominance from Russia reminds me too much of the oppressive dominance of Islam, the Beast of Beasts.
What we often call “The Western World” in the past few centuries gradually developed forms of freedom and democracy in which Christians and others were persecuted less and prospered more. The same freedom that in Europe allowed social democracy to challenge massive oppression by capitalist industrials, allowed Christians to do education, charity, evangelism and foreign mission. This freedom also allows liberalism, wokeism etc., but still I prefer western-style freedom over the oppression and persecution by Beast Empires like Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Mainland China or the present Russian Federation.
The fall of Tzarist Russia, The German Empire and the Austrian/Hungarian Empire gave openings so many Eastern European peoples reached for that freedom too, including the Baltic states and Ukraine. Even in Russia itself: The first Russian revolution tried to bring democracy to Russia. But Lenin quickly crushed it in the second revolution, and then he went on to crush Ukraine too. During WWII the Baltic states and many Eastern European came under Russia again.
Mainly because of Stalin’s deportations there came Russian minorities in the Baltic States, and there always were Russians in Ukraine, especially in its east. These Russian minorities remained there when many states got their independence from Russia again when the Soviet Union fell. Then two things happened at the same time: (1) Many newly-freed states sought to be part of Europe through membership of NATO and the EU, to not be swallowed up by Russian again. I think that was wise of them. (2) Some western people in power pushed for this too, for egoist reasons, even to humiliate and cripple Russia. This was evil. And if Russian minorities there were treated bad, that was evil too.
Still I think this western freedom / democracy is worth fighting for against these Beast empires, including against Russia. I am a Christian but I am not a pacifist. No matter how imperfect and flawed the west is, sometimes hypocritical, sometimes using double standards, sometimes oppressing people in South America and Africa even today, it still is way less bad than most empires. As CS Lewis wrote: In this fallen world everything is contaminated with evil, but some things are way more poisonous than others.
So I agree with alliances with and defence of Eastern European countries, including the Baltic States and Ukraine, against Russia. And if the Big Beast Bully Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons, either tactical against Ukraine or strategic against us all, then we must not let ourselves be bullied, intimidated and blackmailed. We must risk it and withstand it, for if we give in, the bully will never stop. Narcissistic Dictators never do, and neither will the Russian Spirit: for all its history, until 1917 Russia never left where it had come.
Adamant,
A fairly good take on the situation. But a few things to add here.
I can empathize with Russia’s plight, but I don’t side with it either. But I also am not automatically siding with the West either. My goal is to simply know what is going on, in truth.
What happened with Russia in regards to its expansion, and fending off enemies, is consistent with any white-peopled nation on the frontier of European civilization, facing a broad expanse of wilderness. Just as America was the nation on the western frontier of European civilization, Russia was the nation on the eastern frontier. What made America’s history different from Russia’s was both the ocean separating America from Europe and Russia didn’t have that benefit, and the peoples beyond the frontiers were powerful and organized east of Russia (the Mongols) but not so for America (the native Americans).
I’m not saying Russia’s idol of Russia is good or bad. But regarding evil, since Russia was spiritually the disciple, or child, of Greek Orthodoxy, I believe it received the same evil hate that the Catholic west gave Greek Orthodoxy.
Why did the Papacy bless the crusaders sacking Constantinople in AD 1204, 150 years after the Great Schism? Why did the Papacy have the crusaders force Poland and Lithuania to accept Catholicism at the point of the sword (the “northern crusades”), and then have Poland and Lithuania slice off chunks of East Slav (Russian) territory (which today form Ukraine and Belarus)? I believe it was an evil in the Papacy that could not stand for part of Christendom to NOT be under the rule of the Pope. It was after the Schism that the Pope even declared himself the only representative of Jesus on earth.
I believe that spiritual and physical war from AD 1054 to AD 1500 or so, set the stage for the 500 years after that. Instead of Christian civilization being united and converting the world, the Catholic West could not leave the Orthodox East alone. Even as late as the mid-1800’s, Britain and France teamed up with Islamic Ottoman Empire to subvert Russia on its Black Sea coast.
To further agitate the situation, the Bolsheviks/Soviets using communist ideology as an excuse, presented a real danger to all of Christendom.
Europe, by naming Russia as an evil bully even after Russia had asked the US to join NATO back in 1991 and was soundly rejected, it illogically cut itself off from the energy (oil/gas) provided by Russia, setting itself up for takeover by the coming Antichrist.
Will Russia and Europe engage in a nuclear WW3? It seems like things are headed that way. If Russia and Europe were to ally, they could potentially prevent Antichrist from taking Europe. But since Russia and Europe may be headed for a devastating war, it may very well be that Antichrist takes Europe, and China takes Russia. It wouldn’t surprise me. It’s as if God was handing out consequences for His church not staying united and not getting along.
We will see.
Mark,
You said, “Even as late as the mid-1800’s, Britain and France teamed up with Islamic Ottoman Empire to subvert Russia on its Black Sea coast.”
To be sure, Catholic-Orthodox enmity and conflict is very harmful and destructive. I’m just trying to figure out how much that particular schism, East-West, has to do with the Crimean War. Britain isn’t Catholic, and neither were the Ottomans. The British Empire spent more time, blood, effort and treasure fighting other Protestants, Catholics and non-Christians than fighting against Orthodox peoples. If the Russian empire had been islamic or some other faith and still done the same things, Britain probably still would have stopped them if they perceived it as being in their interest and means to do so in the Crimean War.
K,
This is why I said this enmity has its basis in the spiritual realm. True, Britain is not Catholic, but it was Catholic until the time of Henry VIII, and afterward is still “Catholic” having the same religious culture and background, just owing allegiance to a different bishop wearing a different hat.
In the 1850’s, a big concern of the European governments was the balance of power, that no one nation should achieve hegemony or near-hegemony over Europe. (Of course Napoleon, Hitler, and the Soviets all broke that for a while in their own time.) When Christian Russia was fighting the Islamic Ottoman Empire, Russia had taken over some of the Balkan provinces of the Ottomans, successfully pushing back the frontier of Islam. While Russia may have been having Islam as its enemy in the forefront in its agenda, Britain and France feared that Russia would be in position to also dominate Europe, so anti-Christian (in this case, anti-Orthodox) forces banded together to fight and defeat Russia in Crimea.
It’s the same today. Why does the Left in the USA (and Western Europe for that matter) band together with Islam? Answer: To defeat Christianity. The Left does this despite the fact that Islam would throw many of them off rooftops in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.
The Pope did the same thing in the 1200’s.
I can empathise with Russia’s plight, but I don’t side with it either. But I also am not automatically siding with the West either. My goal is to simply know what is going on, in truth.
Thanx for clarifying.
What happened with Russia in regards to its expansion, and fending off enemies, is consistent with any white-peopled nation on the frontier of European civilisation, facing a broad expanse of wilderness. Just as America was the nation on the western frontier of European civilisation, Russia was the nation on the eastern frontier. What made America’s history different from Russia’s was both the ocean separating America from Europe and Russia didn’t have that benefit, and the peoples beyond the frontiers were powerful and organised east of Russia (the Mongols) but not so for America (the native Americans).
Russia’s eastward exploration and subjugating of Siberia and even Alaska, in a centuries-long process, is very similar to the 13 US states taking everything westward of them. Both did not meet very powerful adversaries there.
I’m not saying Russia’s idol of Russia is good or bad. But regarding evil, since Russia was spiritually the disciple, or child, of Greek Orthodoxy, I believe it received the same evil hate that the Catholic west gave Greek Orthodoxy. Why did the Papacy bless the crusaders sacking Constantinople in AD 1204, 150 years after the Great Schism? Why did the Papacy have the crusaders force Poland and Lithuania to accept Catholicism at the point of the sword (the “northern crusades”), and then have Poland and Lithuania slice off chunks of East Slav (Russian) territory (which today form Ukraine and Belarus)? I believe it was an evil in the Papacy that could not stand for part of Christendom to NOT be under the rule of the Pope. It was after the Schism that the Pope even declared himself the only representative of Jesus on earth.
Yes, when the Roman Empire “became Christian” under Constantine, in the same time, unfortunately, the Church “became Roman”. Both the Latin West and the Greek East became mixtures of the Way of Jesus and the Way of Empire. Both ruthlessly strove for absolute power and domination on many occasions; against each other and against others.
The Greek East was not better than the Latin West. It violently persecuted everything that deviated from Byzantine Orthodoxy, including what were called “the Nestorians.”
This was the giant “Church of the East”, which language was Syriac (Syrian Aramaic). This was the most missionary church there ever was, and it was not tainted by fusing with “empire”.
It consisted of big Christian minorities from Syria all the way through Mesopotamia, Persia, Central Asia, China and Mongolia. For centuries, this Church counted more believers than the Latin West and the Greek East together. It was ousted by Byzantium and forgotten by both the Latin and Greek Churches. Yet it remained until it was almost completely annihilated by Tamerlane and his hordes of mongols-turned-muslims.
Far to the West there was another Church that was untainted by Empire: Celtic Christianity. It too was persecuted and dominated by Rome by brute force.
In this both Anglicanism and Protestantism, grown out of Rome, did not get rid of Empire. They mostly became State Churches and persecuted other minorities (like the Anabaptists) with the force of the state.
Europe, by naming Russia as an evil bully even after Russia had asked the US to join NATO back in 1991 and was soundly rejected,
This is part of what I wrote: “Some western people in power pushed … for egoist reasons, even to humiliate and cripple Russia.”
it illogically cut itself off from the energy (oil/gas) provided by Russia
This was and is very logical and makes total sense, even today, for Russia could and did blackmail Europe with this dependence, and kept influence in European countries that remained dependent on it.
setting itself up for takeover by the coming Antichrist.
Only very few people believe this, and the European people in power certainly do not, so this is no reason to call getting rid of dependence on Russia illogical.
Will Russia and Europe engage in a nuclear WW3? It seems like things are headed that way. If Russia and Europe were to ally, they could potentially prevent Antichrist from taking Europe. But since Russia and Europe may be headed for a devastating war, it may very well be that Antichrist takes Europe, and China takes Russia. It wouldn’t surprise me. It’s as if God was handing out consequences for His church not staying united and not getting along. We will see.
This all makes total sense to me, even though it is not a nice prospect.
Staying united and getting along would always have been difficult because of differences in culture and language. I think it was the fusion with Empire that made preserving unity impossible.
Nuclear war at the moment does not seem imminent. It looks like Russia’s present preparations for full mobilisation are not meant for Ukraine alone, but for conventional war against Europe. Russia is expected to be ready in 2 to 3 years from now. Europe is now rearming and preparing as fast as it can.
I think that war will start conventionally. But if Europe starts to win and Russia perceives it will lose, I think it will go nuclear.
Adamant,
“. . . the fusion with Empire that made preserving unity impossible.” – well said.
Adamant,
Thanks for giving an overview of the Nestorian Church’s contribution. Many people have never heard of them.