missile

last days, missile, prophecy, russia, syria

Russia plans to go ahead with Syrian missile transfer, ignoring Israel’s warnings

Posted on May 17, 2013 by elizabethprata

Russia and Syria are in the midst of completing a deal for Syria to receive a ‘new shipment of anti-ship missiles are equipped with advanced radar that makes them more potent’ reports Haaretz. Obviously this does not make Israel happy. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu met in an emergency meeting with Russia’s President Putin, and Netanyahu urged Russia to abandon the deal with Syria. He said that continuing it might just trigger a larger regional war.

Israel does not make idle threats.

The missiles that Russia is sending to Syria “Unlike the long-range surface-to-surface missiles that stand at the Assad regime’s disposal, the Yakhont anti-ship missile system allows the Syrian military to stand against potential efforts by international forces to impose a naval embargo or a no-fly zone on the country, or to carry out limited airstrikes in support of the Syrian opposition,” according to the report in Haaretz.

This is a significant increase in military capability, and seriously hinders Israel’s ability to carry out strikes in and around Syria, such as taking out forays that Hezbollah make or destroy supply convoys of Hamas.

Russia is unswayed by Netanyahu’s exhortations, and is continuing to send the anti-ship missiles to Assad. This signals a commitment to Assad. The NY Times says “Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said Thursday. “

Interestingly this is exactly what the bible says the alignments wold be in the last days. We also know from the bible that there will be regional wars, such as the one described in Psalm 83 where all of Israel’s abutting neighbors and the terrorist groups existing in those nations attack Israel. Or the Gog Magog war described in Ezekiel 37-38 where Russia, Turkey, Iran and others also attack Israel. Or the one in Isaiah 17 where Damascus is destroyed and Syria’s environs are made a waste. Or the LORD’S promise to Israel/Judah that they will finally possess Jordan in the last days just before He comes back to establish His kingdom. (Obadiah 15–21).

But back to today. Times of Israel reports, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in an emergency face-to-face meeting on Tuesday that Moscow’s sale of the S-300 missile defense system to Assad could push the Middle East into war. But Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, evidently unmoved by the dramatic Israeli warning, declared on Thursday that while Moscow was “not signing any new deals,” it would honor existing contracts with Syria, including for the air-defense systems. “We’ve already carried out some of the deal,” Lavrov said, “and we will carry the rest of it out in full.””

This antiship missile, with its described impacts on widening a military capability of chaotic Syria, does seem to be a tipping point.The Times of Israel article explains,

“An Israeli source was quoted as saying that Netanyahu had told Putin the S-300s represent a weapons system that “shatters [Israel’s] qualitative edge,” presumably since it would greatly constrain the Israeli air force’s freedom of movement above Syria and neighboring Lebanon.”

“An Israeli source was quoted as saying that Netanyahu had told Putin the S-300s represent a weapons system that “shatters [Israel’s] qualitative edge,” presumably since it would greatly constrain the Israeli air force’s freedom of movement above Syria and neighboring Lebanon.”

We will wait to see what Israel does. Perhaps the final destruction of Damascus is on the horizon, (Isaiah 17) not that I’m happy about that. Please pray for the millions of Muslims in these areas who do not know Christ and are unaware, or who disbelieve, the eternally final plans that the Lord has for them unless thay beleive on the precious name of Christ.

end time, missile, north korea, peace and security, prophecy, south korea

North Korea Loads 2 Missiles Onto Launchers, tells UK to consider evacuating ambassadors from Pyongyang

Posted on April 5, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Here is the latest from Steve Herman on the Korean peninsula, reporting for Voice of America. VOA material is in the public domain.

Report: North Korea Loads 2 Missiles Onto Mobile Launchers
“South Korea’s military is stepping up preparations for anticipated missile launches by North Korea. Meanwhile, the Cabinet minister in Seoul in charge of North-South relations says it is up to Pyongyang to keep in operation the only joint project of the two Koreas.South Korea has dispatched two of its warships, equipped with advanced missile tracking radar, amid rising concern North Korea could soon conduct provocative missile launches.One ship has been placed off the west coast of the Korean peninsula, the other is monitoring the east coast. South Korea’s semi-official news agency, Yonhap – quoting what is described as a top government official – reports North Korea has now placed a second intermediate-range missile on a mobile launcher. The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Thursday confirmed the movement of one missile. The Yonhap report says both missiles have now been hidden in a military facility near the east coast.”

Above, North Koreans attend a rally against the United States and South Korea in Nampo, North Korea, April 3, 2013. Reuters via VOA.

“They want to scare the world well enough so that after the missile test or nuclear test when we decide to convene and pass another round of sanctions against them, another round of condemnation, we would think twice, do we really want to bring the escalation by another notch up or not,” said Mansourov. South Korean officials and independent defense analysts speculate Pyongyang may time missile launches to coincide with an April 15 national holiday. That is when North Korea celebrates “The Day of the Sun” to commemorate the birth of its late founder, Kim Il Sung. At the only joint project involving the two Koreas, the Kaesong industrial complex, operations were suspended Friday, which is a national holiday in North Korea. On the two previous days, the North did not allow any cargo trucks or South Korean citizens to enter. The vehicles and the managers of numerous small factories making household goods were not given permits required to cross the border.”

End VOA Report. There is more at the link. Next, in the UK Telegraph we read,

North Korea tells Britain to consider evacuating Pyongyang embassy
“We can confirm that the British Embassy in Pyongyang received a communication from the North Korean government this morning,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. “It said that the North Korean government would be unable to guarantee the safety of embassies and international organisations in the country in the event of conflict from April 10,” he added.”

In the Telegraph article above, the UK spokesman said that Russia also said it had received the same notice. Though we understand that North Korea blusters annually every spring, this time seems different. As the official is quoted in the Telegraph article, “Unfortunately, the situation (on the Korean peninsula) is not developing in the way that we would like.”

Amen to that.

The world is certainly paying attention. In separate Voice of America tweets (@W7VOA) today, ‘Australian Prime Min. Gillard tells Pres. Park her nation fully supports efforts to cope with North Korean threats and Australia’s heart is with South Korea’ and ‘The Philippines foreign minister tells reporters his country considering offering U.S. use of military bases there if North Korea attacks.’

I don’t know if this is accurate, being from a lay-person in Florida on Twitter, but it seems so, “Thank you to our troops supporting the United Nations Command (S.Korea). Army: 19,755 Navy: 274 Air Force: 8,815 Marines: 242.”

We have focused our attention on our troops in the Arabian deserts so long that we also need to

remember the troops in the Asian sphere; Hawaii, Japan, Guam, South Korea.

However, if the situation is not moving in the direction the officials would like, is it moving in the direction as Jesus would like? Of course. Jesus said that there would be wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6). He goes on in the first part of verse 24:7 to say, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Photo caption, Juche Tower Monument to the philosophy of Juche = self-reliance. Wikipedia).

His dialog in Matthew 24 with the Disciples is a Tribulation discussion. Jesus is speaking to them about what will happen to the Jewish people and the world in the future “Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” (Jeremiah 30:7). There will be wars because in Revelation 6:4 we read that peace will be taken from the earth and to the rider of the war horse “he was given a great sword.”

If the rider is to take peace from the earth, peace must have existed upon it prior. This is the peace and safety spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, that “While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” It is the peace spoken of in Ezekiel 38:8b before the Gog-Magog alliance attacks Israel, “Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them.”

In Barnes Notes, we read of the Revelation verse where peace is taken from the earth by the rider on the red horse,

The characteristics of the period referred to by this are:

(a) that peace and tranquility existed before;
(b) that such peace and tranquility were now taken away, and were succeeded by confusion and bloodshed; and,
(c) that the particular form of that confusion was civil discord, producing mutual slaughter: “that they should kill one another.”
(d) The presentation of a sword: and there was given unto him a great sword. As an emblem of what he was to do, or of the period that was referred to by the opening of the seal.
The sword is an emblem of war, of slaughter, of authority Romans 13:4, and is used here as signifying that that period would be characterized by carnage.

I’m interested in the ‘great sword’. Sword is a symbol of war in the bible. This time it is a great sword. In the Greek great means ‘great, in the widest sense.’ A great war tool that brings great carnage…could it be thermo-nuclear? Very likely. But that is then. What about now?

Wars and rumors of wars are nothing new in the Age of Grace. For the past 2000 years, there have been wars and rumors of wars. However the context of these rumors and threats from North Korea if placed within the context of everything else happening, makes the situation more closely aligned, in my opinion, to the coming prophecies in Matthew and Revelation (And Zechariah 10).

All the officials seem to believe that though North Korea’s bluster is annual, this time is different. And that difference is causing them to make troop deployment and war materiel movements based on their collective assessment of the Korean situation being of a more threatening color than previously. If we look at Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 and 1 Thessalonians 5, for there to be such worldwide peace, perhaps it is brought on by war. Perhaps something occurs first to shake the world into shock and push them over the edge into wanting peace at all or any cost. Perhaps this is that moment.

Perhaps not.

But we still watch, wait, and look up for our Redemption.

After relating that there would be wars and rumors of wars, Jesus went on to say, “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

How much less should we be alarmed given that we are dwelling in the Age of Grace? Jesus advised the disciples not to be alarmed, and that would be taking place after terrible wars that thrust Israel into the clamor for peace we discussed above, after the rapture, after mystifying cosmic incidents, massive storms… seems pretty alarming! But don’t be alarmed in that context is “Don’t be scared because it is all unfolding exactly as I wish. Have no fear, I am in control.”

We live in a beautiful time. It is a time of Jesus. We read in the bible of the heroes, Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, David, Daniel, Rahab, Jael…but what of the decades and centuries in between where multitudes of Israelites just lived their lives in regularity an anonymity? There are countless men and women who lived, worshiped the LORD and died, of whom we know nothing. Yet Jesus put us here, now, at a time such as this, when His mightiest works will be shown, prophecies unfold and the rapture occur. We are His ambassadors for that time when we can call people to repentance, share the Gospel, and be His lights in the darkest time as yet.

How great is that? Jesus said how great it is to serve Him:

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:26).

israel, missile, prophecy, UFO

Middle East UFO or meteor sighting turns out to be Russian missile

Posted on June 8, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Israel was in havoc last night. So was Lebanon, Iran, Syria (for a different reason), Armenia, Turkey, Georgia, Jordan and other countries. Twitter came alive with panic and wonder. Dozens of phone calls were made to police stations. Youtube videos popped up with blaring headlines and triple question marks. Why? At dusk and into dark luminous lights began appearing in the sky over Lebanon. Many thought they were UFOs, others wondered if they were missiles. Some said they were meteorites, but Israel authorities said they were not. Information was conflicting and as long as the lights remained unidentified, panic rose.

Here is one example from Twitter:
BREAKING: Luminous bodies and meteors appear over North #Lebanon, #Marjaayoun and many areas in the #Bekaa.

Twitter/Yfrog/Instagram came alive with photos, some real,

And some fake,

Syrian State News reported “An aerolite piece flickering over the sky of Damascus was observed yesterday around 8:30 P.M. Chairman of the Syrian Society of Astrology, Dr. Mohamad al-Assiri, asserted that a 20 to 30 centimeter diameter aerolite piece burnt in the troposphere near the Earth sending light flickers for about 30 seconds. Al-Assiri added that the aerolite appeared as a strong light spot observed by the inhabitants of Damascus and the sparkles stretched to Aleppo and to some parts of Lebanon. No damage from the aerolite, none of its components fell on the earth, was reported.” Aerolite is another name for meteorite.

But then they inexplicably used the following graphic to illustrate the news story!!!

Ynet News more soberly reported: “Lebanon: Unidentified objects – meteors
Lebanese media also reported that an unidentified object was observed in the sky. They quoted scientists who claimed the “explanation was scientific” and that the object was most likely a “large meteorite.”The LBCI network reported that: “Luminous objects and meteor bursts appeared over north Lebanon, Marjaayoun, the Bekaa and the Syrian-Turkish border.”

And a short while later reported this:
Israelis nationwide report seeing UFO
“Hundreds flood police with reports of UFO in nation’s skies; Astronomical Association chairman says object isn’t a meteor, flew above Lebanon. Similar sighting in Norway in 2009 turned out to be failed missile test.”

RT’s summary is excellent and is accompanied by good photos.

Today, the Kuwait State News reported this:
“Russian military announced Thursday they have successfully test-fired a new version of the TOPOL-M series, code-named RS-12M. The rocket, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was test fired from a Russian military base in Southeast Russia, Interfax news quoted military sources as saying. The missile hit its target in Kazakhstan in central Asia precisely…”

Meanwhile, also being Tweeted at the same time the mysterious lights were seen over half the nations in the Middle East, were reports of a white powder drifting down on Syrian citizens. Subsequent reports of people entering emergency rooms with symptoms of burning and choking appeared and it was strongly suspected that Syria officials had used a chemical weapon.

Report: Unidentified gas used in Syria
“Syrian opposition says Assad’s Air Force planes bomb towns with unfamiliar substances he unidentified gas caused suffocation among residents, the activists said.”

The overwhelming feeling as all this chaos was occurring is disorientation. People in the Mid East are living with warfare threats today that will soon be realized. Christians know they will be due to prophecy and the integrity and certainty of God’s Word. For those who do not believe in God’s word, knowing that the multiple threats will likely result in ignition of the Middle East tensions is also a no-brainer. It happened before, and today there are even more threats, more missiles, and less economic stability than ever before. It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.

When the Mid-East lights up like that, one cannot help but say, “Is it happening now? Is this it?”

After the furor dies down and facts are sorted out, and it becomes apparent that God’s hand has stayed us fallen humans from the brink [for the moment], so the secondary thought turns to man’s hubris. At least it does for me.

As an example, the New York City Municipal Archives were recently opened online and gave access to a gallery of over 870,000 images from the 1880s to the 1980s. One hundred years of municipal photographs include stunning photos of city projects undertaken such as the Manhattan Bridge construction, highways, and subways. As I looked through the NY Municipal Archives and saw photos like this, of the Manhattan bridge under construction in 1909,

Source

Or this photo of the Holland Tunnel power station in 1925,

Source

I could not help but think, “Wow! We have accomplished so much! Man can do anything!” I do have a justifiable feeling of pride that human engineering has made our lives more smooth and transportation more feasible. It seems that man has conquered the seas, the sky, the earth. We dig tunnels and drive under rivers, we build bridges and drive over the air. We go where we want to go and we build what we want to build, the earth is being remade to our specifications. It seems as if everything will go on as before, and that man’s accomplishments will last forever.

This, of course, is untrue. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1)

It was real-time events like last nights that really brings home the tension we are all living under, and the fact that one day, soon I think, the events we witness like last night’s will be the last ones we Christians will see on this side of the veil … before we are called home to glory.