News and Trends 14/08/2013

Nuclear Strike on Syria

 

The fight against Assad’s brutal regime has taken an unexpected turn late Thursday afternoon when a large weapons cache belonging to the so-called national protection force in Homs city, an arm of Assad’s Shabeeha, was destroyed.

War in the Middle East

With the Middle East spinning around at present faster than a Hanukkah dreidel, some have been writing to seek my opinion on the possible prophetic implications of the escalating warfare in Syria and the dramatic Muslim Brotherhood advance in Egypt. Although I am a journalist by profession, having reported the news from Israel and the region since the early 1980s, I also have a longtime personal interest in eschatological biblical prophecy. This is evidenced by my authorship of two prophetic novels, THE END OF DAYS and MILLENNIUM: THE LORD REIGNS. I also touched upon some prophetic themes in my 2001 book, ISRAEL IN CRISIS: WHAT LIES AHEAD? Plus there is the fact that the essence of all biblical prophecy is nothing less than news that has not yet transpired. It is history (His story) revealed before it has actually unraveled on the world stage. In other words, it is hardly divorced from the news.

High Alert as Syria's Assad Goes Missing

The following is an excerpt from an Arutz Sheva news report (emphasis added mine):

The IDF raised its alert level and canceled weekend leaves in some units on Thursday as the situation in Syria continues to destabilize.

A bomb in Damascus on Wednesday killed several members of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, including Defense Minister Daoud Rajha, General Hassan Turkmani, and Assad's brother-in-law Assef Shawka, who was Syria’s Interior Minister.

Several other key officials were seriously wounded in the attack, and Assad's whereabouts are presently unknown.

For Israel, this raises several potentially dangerous scenarios, not the least of which involves the security of Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles. Jerusalem is concerned they could end up in the hands of the Hizbullah terror organization.

Syria Moving Scuds to Israel, Turkey Borders

A recent report by a Jordanian news site indicates that Syria is currently in the process of moving hundreds of SCUD missiles to the border with Turkey and Israel. Turkey has been a sore point for Syrian President Bashar Assad as the Turks have insisted that the nearly 14 month old civil war stop immediately. Turkey has in the past moved military assets to their own border with Syria to help fleeing refugees from Assad's reign of death. The Israel National News website is reporting:

The Dual Prophecies of Iran – Part Two

 

Welcome to part two of this study regarding Iran in Bible prophecy. Part one, called "Why Iran's Absent from Psalm 83," lodged logical explanations as to why Iran is not part of the Psalm 83 Arab – Israeli war. Part two provides logistical reasons by demonstrating that Iran seemingly faces a double jeopardy in the days to come. This entire study is taken from the commentary of Revelation Road, Hope Beyond the Horizon.

Even though Iran appears to be absent from the climactic, concluding Arab-Israeli War, they are not excluded from two other significant end-time's events. The one most widely taught among eschatologists today is described in Ezekiel 38, and is commonly called the Gog of Magog invasion of Israel. In Ezekiel's prophecy modern day Iran is represented by ancient Persia, and is clearly identified militarily "with a shield and a helmet," in Russia's coalition.

Why Iran's Absent From Psalm 83 – Part One

As the Psalm 83 confederates image depicts, Syrians and Iraqis find association through Assyria, Hezbollah via Tyre in Lebanon, and Hamas hailing from Gaza connects with Philistia. However, there is no mention of Iranians by their three primary historical names, Elamites, Medes, or Persians. This is puzzling, considering Iran reportedly formed bona fide war-pacts in December, 2009, with Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Because Iran is presently providing weapons to Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas, some suggest Iran may be included in Psalm 83 as part of the Assyrians. The Assyrians seem to be among the stronger members in the psalm, because they support the Jordanian army referred to as the children of Lot (Moab and Ammon) in Psalm 83:3

Psalm 83 – A Prophecy In Process

A Google search of "The Psalm 83 prophecy" on March 31, 2012 displayed 1,380,000 results. Another Google search on the same day under "The Psalm 83 war," uncovered 2,460,000 results. These numbers reflect approximately fifty-times as many results than there were in the same month 4 years prior. I recall, because in 2008 my book, Isralestine the Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, was published and I had attempted to find research over the Internet on these two subjects.