Turkey Is Going to Betray America
Turkey is an important world power. Its strategic location, bridging Europe and Asia, and its control over key waterways like the Bosporus make it geopolitically vital. Its economy, while facing challenges like inflation, is one of the largest in the region, with a gross domestic product of approximately $1.3 trillion.
Turkey has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 1952, locked into an agreement with America and Europe to protect all members from enemy nations. Turkey has the second-largest military in nato after America. It is a formal ally of the United States, hosting U.S. troops at bases like Incirlik and contributing to nato missions, including one in Afghanistan.
As part of that alliance, Turkey hosts U.S. nuclear bombs designed to fit its fighter jets. It is unusual for a country to risk giving its bombs to another country, but that is what America has done. America supposedly retains control of those weapons. But do we really?
Is Turkey a good ally for America?
Bible prophecy says Turkey is going to betray America.
Trust Erdoğan?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has allied himself with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. This is the terrorist organization that spawned Hamas and al Qaeda and has connections with jihadists around the world, including those in America. Under Erdoğan’s leadership, Turkey has fought the Kurds in Syria, who are America’s allies. And he regularly and publicly expresses his hatred for the Jews and Israel, America’s number one ally in the Middle East.
Still, President Donald Trump considers him a trusted ally. “Turkish officials bet that ties with the U.S. would flourish during Trump’s second term following years of strain,” Bloomberg wrote on May 15. “And with the U.S. focused on foreign-policy aims, including ending the war in Ukraine and integrating Syria into the international system, Erdoğan is reemerging as the regional power broker.”
President Trump has proved he is willing to work with just about anyone in pursuit of a deal. This is most concerning with reference to Turkey’s president.
Erdoğan accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. He hates the Jewish state so much he wants to see it blotted out! He has publicly prayed for Allah to destroy Israel. His government has stoked anti-Israel sentiment domestically with state-controlled media campaigns. He has worked to rally the Muslim world against Israel, hosting summits and pushing for boycotts.
Erdoğan has wished mercy on the “martyrs” of Hamas. He provides safe haven and Turkish citizenship to Hamas operatives, whom he praises as “freedom fighters.”
Despite all that, America and Britain view Turkey as an ally.
They really ought to consider what God thinks.
God has strong words for Turkey in Bible prophecy. They express His view of the direction Erdoğan is taking his nation and why we should be especially wary of an alliance with it.
An Ominous Prophecy
The book of Obadiah contains one of the most ominous prophecies in all the Bible. The context shows that it will be fulfilled just before Jesus Christ returns to Earth.
Verse 1 says, “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour [a report or a prophecy] from the Lord ….” There is a report that must be revealed and delivered. This tells us that God is going to reveal the meaning of this prophecy in the end time through someone who will proclaim it for Him! It has to be done!
Where is this message in these latter days? Do you believe every word of God, the way Christ said we must? (Matthew 4:4). Or do you selectively believe what you want? Where is God’s message? These are hard questions we must answer.
The prophecy concerns Edom, which is another name for Esau (Genesis 25:30; 36:1). The late Herbert W. Armstrong said that in Bible prophecy Esau refers to Turkey. Obadiah focuses on this nation, though there is a spiritual fulfillment as well. (My free booklet Obadiah explains the spiritual application for the Church of God.)
In Obadiah 9, God says “O Teman,” speaking of the grandson of Esau. This could be where the name Ottoman came from. This nation sits astride one of the great sea gates of the world (verse 14). It is part of Europe and Asia and has great geopolitical significance that we need to understand.
Of this nation, God says, “[T]hou shalt be cut off for ever”! (verse 10). Why would God declare that He is going to physically destroy a nation? What could cause Him to make such a prophecy?
You urgently need to understand this because it is going to impact your life personally.
Esau and Jacob
Esau was the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah. He had a twin brother, Jacob, who was born just after him.
When Rebekah was pregnant with these two boys, God told her, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). These are two different nations, distinct national types. There was conflict between those two sons from the beginning, and it has continued to this very day.
Obadiah’s vision has an ominous portent of what will happen in these latter days to the descendants of Esau and Jacob.
Jacob’s name was later changed to Israel. He went on to have 12 sons, who fathered the 12 tribes of Israel. In Genesis 49:1, Jacob called all his sons together and said, I’m going to show you, my 12 sons, what’s going to happen to you in the latter days. Those tribes grew into nations of their own, and those nations remain on Earth to this day. Where are the descendants of those 12 sons?
Prophecies about Israel concern these modern nations. We must know who they are, or we cannot understand Bible prophecy. All this is explained and proved from the Bible and from history in Mr. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy, which we will send you free upon request.
People seem mystified by this, but this is what Christ meant when He said we must live by every word of God. We are to believe every word of both the Old and New Testaments.
God wants us to know who these modern nations are. He focuses on three nations in particular in this end time: the birthright nations, America and Britain, and the scepter nation, Judah or the Jews in the Middle East (verse 10).
Esau was to receive the birthright blessing, but he rejected that gift, surrendering it for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:32-34; Hebrews 12:16-17). Edom means red soup, and it is a very meaningful name. (God says there is a church in this end time that did the same thing, selling their spiritual birthright for a bowl of soup. This is explained in my Obadiah booklet.)
The birthright then went to Jacob—and believe it or not, that is why America and Britain have had such unparalleled wealth and power for over 200 years! All those blessings would have gone to Esau if he hadn’t rejected the birthright. Genesis 25:34 says Esau “despised his birthright.” God did not take that lightly!
Psalm 83
The Ottoman Empire ruled Turkey for four centuries (1517–1917). In World War i, it allied with Germany’s emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm ii. Germany lost that war to Britain and America, and the Turks lost their empire. That foreshadowed what is yet to come upon the nation.
Psalm 83 is another prophecy that refers to Edom, or Turkey. This shows that it is in an alliance with “Assur,” the ancient capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Assyria refers to modern-day Germany. (Read “Is Germany in Bible Prophecy?” at theTrumpet.com/17944.) Turkey is going to ally with Germany.
Psalm 83 reveals a shocking alliance built on hatred for “Israel”—America, Britain and the Jewish nation in the Middle East. “They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verse 4). This prophecy reveals a plot to blot out the name of Israel. It foretells a terrible betrayal of these nations!
What we see today from Turkey—particularly the hatred for the State of Israel—is exactly what we would expect from a nation that is part of the Psalm 83 alliance!
Turkey’s hatred for Britain, America and the Jews in the Middle East is why God has a powerful prophecy against it. Turkey is prophesied to face disaster!
This same nation today has America’s nuclear bombs! This alliance has been very unstable for America and Britain, to say the least. What does this mean for the people of Britain, America and the Jewish state? What does it mean for you?
‘In the Crossway’
Obadiah 14 says Turkey is “in the crossway.” That means the crossroads of the world. Look at a map to understand what this means. Turkey controls the Bosporus Strait and the Dardanelles Strait, which connect the Black Sea to the Aegean and Mediterranean.
These are crucial gateways. Even in this age of jets and space-age technology, world trade is transported mainly by ships. Raw materials and minerals from the soil have to be shipped, and that is where the sea gate, that crossroads of the world, plays a vital role.
After winning in World War ii, if Russia had been unable to trade through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, it could never have sustained its world power. Having access to a warm-water port has meant everything to its stature and power in the world.
These critical sea gates are controlled now by Turkey. A big reason is that the U.S. has backed and supported it. Russia would likely have taken control of them if not for America. But how much geopolitical influence do America and Britain now have in this crossroads of the world and in the Middle East and that surrounding region?
History shows that if you lose out in that region, you can lose everything! Russia came to power as the Soviet Union because it had access to that sea gate. Britain lost that access, and it lost its empire! America is doing the same, and look what is happening: America has almost no influence in the Middle East.
We don’t understand the geopolitical implications of events in this region. Turkey is geopolitically critical. If we lose this ally, we are going to suffer mightily.
Betrayal
Edom, or Esau, has a history of betraying the nations of Jacob, or Israel. The historian Josephus recorded that 20,000 Edomites were received as defenders of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. Once inside, they betrayed the Jews by robbing and killing them—their own brothers!
This is getting to the heart of why God is going to punish Turkey so severely. Obadiah 5-6 describe how it is going to be utterly ravaged and picked clean. Verse 10 says, “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee ….” God does hold us accountable for our sins! He says, Vengeance is mine! (Romans 12:19).
Obadiah 11 says Esau was “as one of them.” That means he was allied with Germany and other nations, probably European nations—but as one of them, not a member. Turkey has tried to join the European Union, but EU leaders have never accepted them. I believe this shows they never will.
“But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah [the Jews] in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress” (verse 12). God condemns the Edomites for rejoicing at their brothers’ fall!
Now look at the context of verse 14: “Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.” This is describing Jacobite refugees coming through those sea gates at the crossroads of the world and the Turks killing them and delivering them up to the Germans! God takes that personally!
This is prophesying of a battle over rulership of the world! Evil nations want to destroy America, Britain and the Jewish state, and we ought to be able to see that!
God foretells a time of unparalleled suffering just ahead of us. Jeremiah 30:7 calls it “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” The end-time nations of Jacob—America and Britain—are going to have a lot of trouble! And the Jewish state will face the same fate (Hosea 5:5). Three nations in particular are singled out because they received such special blessings and will be held accountable for them.
Turkey has a massive coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, a lot of islands and a powerful navy. What happens if we lose control of the eastern Mediterranean to an aggressive enemy? In a way, it is already happening, and Germany is quickly moving in.
Turkey is going to betray America! This is clear in Bible prophecy. And we must understand it.
Christ’s Return Draws Near
Obadiah 15 says, “For the day of the Lord is near ….” This is about the catastrophic final days of the age of man that precede the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The unhappy world we live in is going to be transformed into a wonderful new world under Christ’s rule as King of kings. And when you see this prophecy in Obadiah transpire—which events today are rapidly leading into—that day truly is near!
Obadiah’s prophecy concludes with a truly inspiring vision: “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (verse 21). All these events are leading right into the establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth. And this verse says saviors, plural—speaking of the people who serve God and proclaim His prophecies and warnings to the world today—will be right there with Jesus Christ, helping Him bring salvation to the whole world!
This prophecy, and all of God’s prophecies, truly is aimed at saving lives! Will you turn to God today and get behind His work so you can be among those saviors?