Category: syria

Posted in chemical, damascus, syria

Mysterious ‘Site 911’ in Israel Raises Eyebrows

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel National news reported last week—

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv. “Expected to take more than two years to build, at a cost of up to $100 million, the facility is to have classrooms on Level 1, an auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security. Clearances will be required for all construction workers, guards will be at the fence and barriers will separate it from the rest of the base,” The Washington Post reported. Security concerns at the site are so great that non-Israeli employees hired by the builder can come only from “the U.S., Canada, Western Europe countries, Poland, Moldavia, Thailand, Philippines, Venezuela, Romania and China,” according to a Corps notice.

“The employment of Palestinians is also forbidden,” it says.

“According to security regulations, the site “shall have one gate only for both entering and exiting” and “no exit or entrance to the site shall be allowed during work hours except for supply trucks.” Guards will be Israeli citizens with experience in the Israeli air force. Also, “the collection of information of any type whatsoever related to base activities is prohibited.”

More at link. Israel is becoming more security conscious every day. Their reliance on their military is a good thing, otherwise I’m sure that as a nation they would have been obliterated by now. And, after all, it is God who allowed their successes so far.

However, there is such a thing as over-reliance. Today at the opening of the Cabinet meeting, Israel Prime Minister Netanhyau said, “Therefore, we must – and are capable of – standing against this. We will also withstand the international pressure, were it not for which, we would not have reached this point. Today, this is what is required from leadership in Israel – to have no illusions, to stand up for the vital interests of the State of Israel and to rebuff the pressure to bring Gaza into every home in Israel. This is what we are doing and will continue to do.”

However, their continued run of success will only make them ever more reliant on their military and further from remembering that God is behind it. As a matter of fact the Israel Defense Force tweeted, “Our job is to minimize the need for a miracle, even in Hanukkah. We must always be ready.” . 

The Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39 will change that attitude. If not for God, Israel would be obliterated. I encourage you to read those two chapters, they are short but powerful in describing how God plans to show His holy face to all nations as personally He saves Israel from the surprise enemy attach that comes against them

In addition, today I read in Israel National News,

Report: Israeli Special Forces Tracks Chemical Weapons in Syria
IDF Special Forces are operating inside Syria to track chemical weapons, the London Sunday Times reported.

“IDF Special Forces are operating inside Syria to track chemical weapons, the London Sunday Times reported. The Israeli government has not commented on the report. The report from London comes hours after Syrian opposition forces released a video showing that Syrian President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons in the commercial center of Aleppo. The newspaper stated that the IDF operations across the border are part of new secret operations to locate non-conventional weapons and to sabotage them to prevent their use.”

“We have known for years the exact location of Syria’s stockpile of chemical and biological weapons,” an Israeli source told The London Times. He noted that satellites and unmanned drones have helped locate the weapons. However, “In the past week we have received signs that munitions have been moved to new location,” according to the source. The IDF ordered the maneuvers after rejecting the idea of an aerial or ground assault to destroy Syrian President Bashar Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons, most of them bought from Russia.”

“One of the objections to a frontal attack was the chance that the chemicals might be released and cause a catastrophe to local villages and cities. If evidence mounts that Assad already has used chemical weapons, the United States and Israel might coordinate to carry out a ground invasion, according to the London newspaper.”

The IDF is really amazing, isn’t it?! Well, the proof of chemical weapon use they were looking for appears to have been confirmed

William Hague confirms ‘evidence’ of Syrian chemical weapons
“…[Foreign Secretary William] Speaking to the BBC at a security conference in the Gulf on Saturday morning, Hague was asked whether he had seen proof that Syria was preparing such weapons. “We have seen some evidence of that,” he said. “We and the US, as I said in parliament this week, have seen some evidence of that and that is why we have issued strong warnings about it. We have done so directly to the Syrian regime.” Pressed on what kind of evidence he had seen, Mr Hague replied: “We absolutely cannot be specific about that because clearly those are intelligence sources that these things come from. “But we have seen enough evidence to know that they need a warning and they have received that warning.”

World, what will you do? You know, the current dictator of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad’s father reportedly used hydrogen cyanide against his enemies in an uprising in 1982 when he was retreating from Damascus. In that event, 20,000 people died.

Right now US Secretary of State Clinton, Russia’s Putin, and a UN envoy are holding talks about the situation. They are saying that a free Syria cannot include Assad and that there needs to be a political transition. And look how well that turned out for Egypt. Mushy words like “political transition” in the face of a potential harsh reality of chemical death just don’t jibe. However, “Clinton stressed that the U.S. would continue to insist that Assad’s departure be a key part of that transition.” And indeed, there are signs that the Assad regime is in its final phase. How will they make him go? How may he decide to go? What may Damascus look like after he is gone? We will see.

Posted in syria, wmd

Report: Syria has loaded nerve gas into bombs

Posted on by elizabethprata

“NBC News reports that Syria’s military has loaded nerve-gas chemicals into bombs and is awaiting final orders from President Bashar Assad. U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday to NBC that bombs had been filled with precursors for deadly sarin but that they had yet been loaded onto planes. Fox News cites a senior U.S. official as saying the bombs must be used within 60 days or the chemical expires and must be destroyed. At least three Syrian facilities produce chemical weapons, according to Global Security. They are located near Damascus, Hama, and Safira, near Aleppo, the heart of the opposition.”

Wikipedia explains that sarin gas “is estimated to be over 500 times more toxic than cyanide. Sarin has a high volatility relative to similar nerve agents. Inhalation and absorption through the skin pose a great threat. Even vapor concentrations immediately penetrate the skin. People who absorb a non-lethal dose but do not receive immediate appropriate medical treatment may suffer permanent neurological damage. Even at very low concentrations, sarin can be fatal. Death may follow in one minute after direct ingestion of a lethal dose…”

NPR: “Activists Tell Damascus Residents To Prepare For The ‘Zero Hour‘ “
“With increased fighting in and around Damascus in recent weeks, Syrian activists have posted a video that calls on residents of the capital to prepare for what they say is a looming collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime. The YouTube video, called “Zero Hour, Your Final Chance,” promises an imminent battle in Damascus aimed at ousting Assad. It is filled with instructions on what to do to prepare for and survive such a battle.”

Pray, people. Isaiah 17 says Damascus will be destroyed and the cities of Aroer will be a wasteland. Will desperate dictator Assad, who reportedly is looking for an escape country to flee to in South America, lay Damascus to waste in an attitude of ‘if I can’t have it no one will have it’? Or will the rebels mishandle the weaponry and loose devastation upon the city themselves? Or will Israel finally go ahead and raze Damascus’s chemical sites as they have been itching to do for two months? Will the US go in and take Syria?

It is devastatingly unsettling times.

Posted in egypt, morsi, syria

Egypt erupts: protests, President flees palace; Syria reportedly readying chemical weapons

Posted on by elizabethprata

This is an excellent article analyzing what is happening in Egypt. It covers President Morsi’s power grab, the constitutional amendments and changes, why Al-Azhar is important, why the omission of the ban on slavery portents ill for the Egyptians in the context of conservative Shariah, and what lay ahead for the Egyptians. It is called ” Egypt and the Death of the Arab Spring“. I highly recommend the article. It begins this way:

“Nearly two years after the “Arab Spring”  began in Egypt, the nation’s Muslim Brotherhood president has arrogated to himself dictatorial powers, and is ramming through a new constitution that will effectively extinguish the last vestiges of Egyptian democracy and establish Egypt as a Sharia state. Just as I said back in January 2011, when the uprisings against Mubarak began, for the people in Egypt who had real power to affect change, the “Arab Spring” was never about democracy and pluralism, despite the ululations of the Western press; it was always about imposing Islamic law upon Egypt. And now, with the new constitution, here we are.”

There are reports today that the protests in Egypt are getting more violent and larger. Crowds surrounded the Presidential Palace and even breached the fence to reach the perimeter wall. Egyptians are furious at Morsi’ power grab and the sudden and not-representative changes to the Constitution. Reportedly, Morsi fled the palace but is not backing down on his power grab nor the extreme conservative changes to the constitution. There will supposedly be a referendum on these changes on December 15. I wrote about the changes yesterday, here. Remember the Isaiah 19 prophecy that Egyptians will be against each other:

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” (Isaiah 19:2)

In Syria, it seems that the intelligence reports show Bashar Al Assad is moving chemical weapons. Not moving as in moving across country to get them out of the way, and not moving as in getting them over to Hezbollah in Lebanon, but moving within their compounds as in getting ready to USE.

Huffington Post reports
“The White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria’s chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them, U.S. officials said Monday.”

Fox News Reports in video:

Isaiah prophesied:
An oracle concerning Damascus.

“Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
The cities of Aroer are deserted;
they will be for flocks,
which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,
and the kingdom from Damascus;”
Isaiah 17:1-3a

Posted in israel, jerusalem, jesus, syria

Israel wants to bomb Syria’s chemical sites

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel has repeatedly asked Jordan for permission to bomb Syria’s WMD sites. Apparently some of the sites are very close to the Jordanian border. Up until today, Jordan has repeatedly answered “the time is not yet right.” But that all may change. Here are two news articles for you:

‘Israel sought Jordan’s permission to bomb Syria‘
‘The Atlantic’ reports Jordan rebuffed Israeli requests to hit chemical stockpiles; Israel: We reserve right to preemptive action.
“Israel asked Jordan on a number of occasions “permission” to bomb Syrian chemical weapons sites, The Atlantic reported Monday, citing intelligence sources in both countries. According to the report, Jordan turned down requests a number of times in the past two months, saying “the time was not right.” Jordan is reportedly wary of allowing Israel to bomb the sites in Syria, fearing a military response on Jordanian territory. “A number of sites are not far from the border,” the report quoted a foreign source as saying.”

The subhead above says Israel reserves the right to take preemptive action:

“The source said Israel has been saying for months that it was concerned about the possible transfer of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons – the third largest in the world – to “unsavory actors” such as Hezbollah, Hamas or al-Qaida. He said Israel “reserves the right to preempt” if this is done.”

This article from Haaretz says the same as the Jerusalem Post article, except that the Jordanian foreign minister is talking with other neighbors in the region-

Report: Israel requested Jordan’s ‘permission’ to attack Syria chemical weapons sites
“Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh declined to comment on the report that Israel had sought Jordanian permission to strike Syrian WMD sites, but did say his country was monitoring the situation closely and that his government was talking to countries in the region. “We have to be prepared for different scenarios,” he said at a press conference Monday, adding that the Syrian regime is currently in control of these weapons and understands that using them would be a “game changer.” The New York Times reported Sunday that western intelligence officials said they have been seeing new signs of activity at Syrian sites used to hold chemical weapons.”

The concern is huge. Syria is unstable, and getting worse by the day. The statehood given to the PA by the United Nations emboldened them, and it emboldened Hezbollah in Lebanon as well. The entire “epicenter” as Joel Rosenberg says, is one big tinderbox. Near-use of chemical weapons may be the fuse to the final Armageddon. Remember, Damascus will be destroyed… (Isaiah 17:1).

Posted in damascus, gaza, isaiah 17, israel, prophecy, rockets, syria

Israel getting hit from the north & south, and squeezed from east to west

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel, O Israel… we cry for you!

“They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me.” (Hosea 7:14)

“But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him.” (Hosea 8:3)

The situation in the Middle East is deteriorating quickly. The tensions have permeated all the nations around. This weekend in the south,

In the south, Gaza terror factions pound Israel with around 70 rockets
“Over 100 rockets, mortar shells hit South in past 24 hours, Israeli officials weigh “dramatic response”; PMO refuses to comment on reports of Egyptian mediated ceasefire.”
“Israel won’t hesitate to launch a large-scale IDF operation against Gaza-based terror factions if necessary, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Sunday, after southern Israel was pounded by some 100 rockets over the past 24 hours.”

Joel Rosenberg landed in Israel this weekend and reports from the ground,

Rockets fired from Gaza
“It’s been a challenging 24 hours here since arriving in Israel. Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have fired more than 80 rockets and mortars at civilians living in southern Israel. The IDF has fired back. There are injuries on both sides of the border. Terrorists also fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF jeep, wounding four Israeli soldiers. The Iron Dome has been fired to shoot down rockets. Israeli forces are on high alert in the south. Schools are closed. Businesses are closed. Tensions are running high as Israelis wonder if Hamas and Iran are trying to draw Israel into a war in Gaza. “The IDF is striking and will continue to strike Gaza,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. “Terrorist organizations are suffering grave setbacks at the hands of the IDF. The world must understand that Israel will not sit idly.”

Keep in mind Isaiah 19, another prophecy that has not been fulfilled yet. Egypt will become a bitter enemy of Israel. Below, map of Gaza.

Gaza is home to Hamas. Since 2007, Hamas has been in de facto control of the Gaza Strip after seizing power from Fatah gunmen in a series of bloody clashes. Psalm 83 says that Hamas (Philistia) will be one of the groups which attack Israel in a prophesied war that hasn’t occurred yet. With tensions riding so high, we must understand the times.

“He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:2-3)

Israel drawn into Syria fighting for first time
Israel was drawn into the fighting in neighboring Syria for the first time Sunday, firing warning shots across the border after an errant mortar shell landed near an Israeli military installation in the Golan Heights. While Israel appeared eager to calm the situation, its response was a potent reminder of how easily the Syrian civil war — already spilling across borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan — could explode into a wider regional conflagration. Tensions are also higher than normal in the north. Several days ago, three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone near the Golan Heights. Today, Syrian forces have fired three mortar shells at Israelis on the Golan Heights. One actually crossed into Israel, a 120mm shell. Within the past hour, the IDF has fired back at Syria for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.”

Isaiah 17 is another prophecy for the times, that Damascus will be destroyed. When the shelling from Syria into Israel began today , an Israeli Defense Force rabbi tweeted Isaiah 17.

Damascus destroyed is on everyone’s mind. Jerusalem Post reports on the situation,

IDF fires warning shot into Syria after shelling
IDF targets Syria for first time since Yom Kippur War.
“The IDF fired a warning shot, in the form of a guided missile, at the Syrian military on Sunday after a Syrian shell exploded in the Golan Heights for the second time in recent days. Israel has not fired at Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. “In the midst of Syrian infighting, a mortar shell fired by the Syrian army struck near an [IDF] outpost at Tel Hazeka,” IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. The shell failed to cause injuries or damages, but was one of a series of shells that landed in Israeli territory.”

Below, a photo of and a map of the Golan Heights, border with Syria. Geographically, the Heights are incredibly important to Israel. I wrote about that on November 5th at length here

Wikipedia source

Always watch the superlatives. ‘Highest’…’biggest’…most’… “First time” comes into play here. Any event that is happening for the first time, or the first time in a long time (in this case, 40 years) is worthy of examining closely. It is a big deal that Israel fired back.

Now for the squeeze from east to west…

Palestinian president rejects US pressure to drop UN initiative despite call from Obama
“A spokesman for the Palestinian president says the Palestinians will proceed with asking the U.N. General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state, despite a personal call from President Barack Obama to abandon the bid.”

Joel Rosenberg said in his warning piece I’d linked to above,

“Please pray for peace and security to be restored on both borders. Pray for Israeli leaders to have wisdom to know how best to respond. Pray for the innocent civilians — Jews and Arabs — on both sides of the border that are caught in the crossfire. I’ll keep you posted as best I can.'”

Joel the Prophet of the Old Testament said,

“I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,” (Joel 3:2).

God will judge all nations because they messed with the Land. Israel has been divided and divided and divided and will be divided again. Judgment for that will be severe.

The scriptures which are closely related to the very active things going on in and around Israel today are Isaiah 17, Isaiah 19, Joel 3, and of course Zechariah 12:3-

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people

Posted in imminence, rapture, syria, war

Syrian tanks in Golan Heights?

Posted on by elizabethprata

On Twitter I read Steve Schippert’s note. It got my attention. “@SteveSchippert, Good Morning! While you were sleeping, Syrian tanks violated Golan Heights. Q is how localized decision was.” Here is the news of it-

Syrian tanks enter demilitarized Israeli frontier
BEIRUT (AP) — Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel said, raising concerns violence from Syria’s civil war could heat up a long-quiet frontier that has not seen such an incursion in nearly 40 years. Israel complained to U.N. peacekeepers present in the area, a relatively low-key response that suggested it did not see the Syrian armor as an immediate threat. But the entry marks the most serious spillover of Syria’s turmoil to date at the frontier, where stray ordnance has exploded on the Israeli side in the past.”

The Golan Heights are strategically important to Israel. The Israel Project explains a brief history of the Golan Heights, situated at Israel’s north along the border with Syria:

“The Golan Heights were captured from Syria in 1967 as a valuable military asset. Prior to 1967, Israelis living in the valleys below the Golan Heights suffered rocket fire and terrorist attacks from Syria for more than a dozen years. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all of the Golan Heights in Israeli control, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control. Since losing control of the territory, Syria has made clear that any peace negotiations with Israel would require a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory to the pre-1967 borders.”

The Israel Project explains why the Heights are so important. If you go to their site you can click on their footnotes for verifications of all facts.

“The topography of the Golan serves as a natural blockade against any military attack from Syria. The Golan is essentially one high-altitude plateau that overlooks southern Syria and serves as an excellent vantage point for Israel to keep track of Syrian military movements.”

‘Advances in ballistic technology in recent years have increased the importance of keeping control of this strategic high ground and maintaining geographic depth. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, control of the eastern mountain ridge of the Golan helped 177 Israeli tanks to repel 1,400 Syrian tanks.”

“The Sea of Galilee borders the southwestern Golan and provides one-third of Israel’s fresh water supply. In 1964, the Syrians attempted to impair Israeli access to fresh water through a damming project, which the Israel Defense Forces ultimately thwarted. Israel has utilized the fertility of the Golan landscape to enrich and expand Israel’s agricultural sector. About 40 percent of Israeli beef, 30 percent of Israeli fruit and 38 percent of Israeli wine exports come from the Golan.”

So you can see that any incursion into Israel’s Golan Heights is cause for concern. Israel’s response was immediate. Today Al Arabiya reports,

Israeli army on high alert as Syrian tanks enter Golan Heights
“Three Syrian tanks entered a demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights, which was set up in the 1974 disengagement treaty, raising Israel’s high alert as the Israeli military chief observed the area a day after the entrance of the tanks and warned his soldiers to be on high alert. On Sunday, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz warned Israeli soldiers, occupying the heights area, of the escalating violence in Syria and expressed concerns of possible spread of the Syrian conflict across the border.”

“This is a Syrian affair that could turn into our affair,” the army’s website quoted Gantz during his visit to the troops on the frontier.”

“Marco Carminjani, an official with the U.N. body supervising the zone, said he could not immediately confirm the entry of the tanks. But if the report is true, he said, it would be a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement between Syria and Israel. He said it would be the first such move in the zone since the accord.”

In other news,

“Iran has built an advanced drone which can take off vertically without a runway, Iranian state media says“
(Reuters) – Iran has built an advanced drone that can take off vertically and without a runway, Iranian media reported. Iran’s military regularly announces defense and engineering developments, though some analysts are skeptical of the reliability of such reports. Abbas Jam, researcher on a project for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone, said on Saturday that the drone would be tested that day and “unveiled” next year, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.”

Israel has been responding to each Iranian military and technological advance with an advance of their own. At some point the men in charge of these toys are going to want to try them out. And Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39, (and don’t forget Zechariah 12-14) tells us that they will. The only question is wondering how many of these battles will occur on this side of the rapture and how many after we are gone. We do not know. That is one reason the tension among Christians is so high. However, we all feel the imminence.

Iron Dome Upgraded to Meet Iranian Missile Threat
“The Ministry of Defense officially announced Sunday that a series of tests to the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system has been successfully completed, in an important step in the IDF’s plans to upgrade the system. Following the tests, IDF forces will acquire an additional Iron Dome battery, this one with improved capabilities. The new battery, which will be the IDF’s fifth, will soon be transferred to the IAF. The series of tests was designed to broaden the activities of the Iron Dome system and to improve its capabilities against an unprecedented variety of threats. The advancement of the system will enable it to handle the threats posed by Iran’s Fajr and Zelzal missiles.”

Imminence spoken of by John McTernan
“For you that followed this blog for a long time, I can tell you that there is a strong dread over me for America. It is as if the nation was already judged, Something has radically changed in the heavenlies.”

And Todd Strandberg:
“We are now at a point where disasters have become so frequent and massive is scale, the news life cycle of an single event is very brief. Tropical Storm Irene was a bad storm, but it has been wiped from everyone’s memory by Hurricane Sandy.God is clearly trying to get man’s attention with all these calamities. The Lord is very patient, but He is no fool. Eventually, the warnings will end and the final judgment will begin. “Am I truly ready?” is the question everyone needs to ask themselves.”

And Joel Rosenberg:
“That said, we also need to pray for the peace and protection of the nation of Israel, and all of the inhabitants of the epicenter, be they Jews or Arabs. Given all the sins we are committing as a nation — and the danger we face of God’s judgment — the last thing we dare do is forget, or abandon, or turn away from, or stand against the nation of Israel.”

And John MacArthur:
“I don’t know how much time America has left, I really don’t. But we’re on a course described here as God casting us out. The land has become defiled. “I’ve brought its punishment upon it,” verse 25, “so the land has spewed out its inhabitants.”

The most important thing is to continue to pray. Stay connected to Him. He is a Mighty Rock in a weary land! 

“Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2) 

Posted in middle east, syria, turkey

Did Turkey Just Declare War On Syria?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Michael T Snyder blogged over at The End of the American Dream,

Did Turkey Just Declare War On Syria?
“The Turkish Parliament has “authorized military operations” against Syria. So exactly what does that mean? Did Turkey just declare war on Syria? For now, the government of Turkey is making a clear distinction between “military operations” and “declaring war”. If Turkey were to “declare war”, that would likely involve Turkish troops actually entering Syria, and the war would not be considered “won” until certain objectives are achieved. So by just authorizing “military operations” against Syria, Turkey can sit back and fire off artillery rounds (and potentially call in air strikes if necessary) without being committed to entering Syria or attacking Damascus.”

“Turkey is not too keen on invading Syria by itself anyway. Turkey would want the help of NATO in such an event, and right now Barack Obama has made it abundantly clear to the Turkish government that he is not going to participate in an attack on Syria before the election. Obama has been leading in the polls and he has way too much to lose by starting another war. But what all of this does show us is a couple of things. First of all, once again we see that the Middle East is a tinderbox that can erupt at any moment. Second of all, just the rumors of a war between Turkey and Syria sent the price of oil absolutely skyrocketing on Thursday. It is frightening to imagine what a real war in the Middle East might do to the price of oil.”

“So what precipitated this move by Turkey?”

More at link. Very important developments. Snyder said, “That is one reason why it is so important to keep a close eye on this conflict. What is starting out as a conflict between Turkey and Syria could end up drawing in the United States, the rest of NATO, Iran, Hezbollah and potentially even several other countries in the Middle East.”

Isaiah 17
An Oracle Concerning Damascus

Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.

The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,
but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,
chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind
and whirling dust before the storm.
14 At evening time, behold, terror!
Before morning, they are no more! (Isaiah 17:1, 13-14)

Posted in jesus, middle east, prophecy, syria, turkey

UPDATED. The Obama debate failure, and Turkey-Syria tensions climb to unbearable levels

Posted on by elizabethprata

Another mortar has fallen into Turkish territory, and Turkey is even more incensed now. Turkey is a member of NATO. NATO nations are allied by treaty and must come to each other’s defense if attacked. The Lebanon Daily Star reports this afternoon, “Israel says Syrian mortar strike was attack on NATO. Says attack on one NATO member attack on all“

“PARIS: Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor said on Thursday a deadly Syrian mortar strike on a Turkish town had to be considered an attack on a member of the NATO alliance. Israel is technically at war with Damascus and occupies the Golan Heights that it seized in the 1967 war and later annexed, but it has generally taken a cautious line on the uprising in its Arab neighbour. “One has to say that according to the NATO treaty, it was an attack on a member of NATO, and that means France,” Meridor told reporters during a visit to Paris, referring to France’s membership of NATO. Syria and Israel have not exchanged fire in three decades, and a parliamentary briefing in July by the Israeli armed forces chief about the risk of “uncontrollable deterioration” in Syria were interpreted by local media as a caution against opening a new fighting front with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”

—————
As reaction to the Presidential candidate debate last night, The Washington Times reports,

HURT: Obama the debater: Making Jimmy Carter look awesome
“Bewildered and lost without his teleprompter, President Obama flailed all around the debate stage last night. He was stuttering, nervous and petulant. It was like he had been called in front of the principal after goofing around for four years and blowing off all his homework.”

It is so interesting to see what the Lord has in store for us here in America through these next weeks and months (Until January’s inauguration). Which king will he set up for us? Which King will he take down? How will we give an account to Him, individually, for our decisions?

It is also interesting to see the Lord’s work in the Middle East. This past June, Syria downed a Turkish jet. Turkey was angry and with their hair-trigger, almost retaliated militarily. NATO and the UN calmed Turkey down. The Reuters article about the June incident opened this way:

“Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean on Friday and Ankara warned it would respond decisively to the incident that threatened to open a new international dimension in the 16-month revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria said the Turkish aircraft was flying low, well inside Syrian territorial waters when it was shot down. With the second biggest army in NATO, a force hardened by nearly 30 years of fighting Kurdish rebels, Turkey would be a formidable foe for the Syrian army which is already struggling to put down a 16-month-old revolt.”

Always remember that. Turkey has the 2nd largest military in NATO, after America. They are hardened from fighting Kurds in the desert and they are less and less secular as each year goes on. The country is Muslim.

Then yesterday Syria shot mortars into Turkey. The spill-over of the revolution in Syria has affected Turkish citizens along the border. Turkey had been wary these last two years of the Syrian unrest, and then became inflamed ever since the June jet incident. The Turkish Parliament and the President became incensed after the shelling crossed into Turkey this weekend, and have been consistently retaliating.

map

The BBC reports, “Turkey’s territory has been hit by fire from Syria on several occasions since the uprising against Mr Assad began, but Wednesday’s incident was the most serious…. The Turkish parliament is discussing authorising troops to cross into Syria. But government sources say Turkey is not planning to declare war on Syria. … Nato has held an urgent meeting to support Turkey, demanding “the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally”. The US, the UK and the European Union have already condemned Syria’s actions.”

In Isaiah 17 it is prophesied that Damascus is destroyed in one night, Poof, it’s done, razed to the ground and uninhabitable. The rest of Syria becomes desolate. It is interesting that the prophecy doesn’t say how Syria becomes desolate, nor who does it. It could be Israel, making sure that chemical weapons don’t get released into the hands of Hezbollah. It could be the rebels themselves, on purpose or accidentally. It could be Turkey, now that we see this new tension. We just don’t know how it happens. Some have speculated that Damascus’s demise happens via nuclear bomb, because what other weapon can raze a thriving, ancient city of 3 million so quickly and so permanently? On the other hand, maybe it will be a ‘natural’ incident, like an earthquake. With the current tension in the area ongoing, we just don’t know the details or the timing. Only the results. And that is what makes it so unbearable.

In the Gog Magog war prophesied by Ezekiel in chapters 37-38, Turkey is one of the participants which take part in a surprise attack on Israel. Other nations in the military alliance are Russia, Iran, and parts of northern Africa, including Libya, Ethiopia, and Sudan. Syria is not mentioned in that battle, nor are they mentioned in the Psalm 83 war. It is therefore thought that the prophecy about Syria’s destruction prophesied in Isaiah 17 had already come about. It is thought that something has to happen to ally these disparate nations, which are enemies now (Russia is on Syria’s side and has asked that Turkey remain neutral in this latest cross-border military incident.)

But something has to change to make these nations that are culturally and religiously opposed, come together and attack their common enemy, Israel.

In the Middle East, Turkey and Iran are the two powerhouses, each with a different flavor of Islam and each vying for top dog status in the region. Just because they are Muslim, or are neighbors, does not make them friends. They have their cultural differences, internal and external skirmishes, and ego-driven needs, too.

The region was already stressed to the max from the Arab Spring, a shift from the US to China for world’s dominating superpower, and internal unrest they have had to deal with. The tectonic plates of geo-political power have been shifting under their feet (as well as ours) and they are trying to deal with a new world order that is being formed before our eyes.  That is why I say it is so interesting to see what the Lord is doing.

In the region, the trigger fingers of each President or Leader already itching. The Turkey-Syria shelling deepens the tension to a degree I feel is worth noting. If things were teetering before, this incident pushed it to crazy teetering.

The Jerusalem Post reports this morning, “Turkey strikes back at Syria, vows to protect its borders.”
“Ankara seeks parliamentary approval for foreign military operations after a mortar shell kills five in Turkish border town; NATO ambassadors meet to discuss the threat to a member state.”

Please continue to pray for our Christian friends in the affected regions. Also pray for the lost over there, who are close their eternal destiny of death and separation from Jesus forever every day. The area is going to erupt any moment, and we will see (or not see, if the rapture comes first) Isaiah 17 lived out, and Damascus destroyed. Psalm 83 lived out, and Israel victorious. Perhaps we will even see the beginning of the Gog Magog battle, should the Lord tarry.

Though times are stressful and tense, we do rejoice that the Lord is in control. It is all happening exactly as He said it would, lo those thousands of years ago!

Posted in damascus, syria

Syrian Rebels Claim to Take Over Chemical Weapons

Posted on by elizabethprata

Israel National News reported overnight, A statement published by the Syrian rebels says that they have taken over a military base and found missiles with non-conventional warheads.

“The Supreme Military Council of the Syrian rebels released on a statement on Tuesday which said that the rebel forces took control of an army missile base in Damascus, in which ten ready-to-launch missiles were found. Some of the missiles, according to the statement, were converted to carry non-conventional warheads.”

“During the successful operation, the operatives of the Free Syrian Army found a large number of rockets ready for launching, with enormous destructive capability, and they were very surprised to find missiles that were converted to carry non-conventional warheads and which can be equipped with chemical or biological warheads,” said the statement which was translated by Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi.”

“The Supreme Military Council of the rebels went on to claim that it had confirmed the report by examining photographic documentation of the scene.”

—more at link—

If this is true, it portents an ominous next phase. Prophecy students know that one of the most compelling, clear, and unfulfilled prophecies is that  “Damascus will be destroyed, it will become a ruinous heap.” (Isaiah 17:1.)

This is a clear prophecy because it apparently has no ‘double fulfillment’ than from which non-prophecy students and the secular world can argue to cloud the issue. Damascus is one of the world’s oldest cities, if not THE oldest, and it has never been razed or destroyed in 5000 years. Therefore when it is destroyed, it will be a clear sign to the world that biblical prophecy is unfolding before our eyes. Not to mention being a tragedy of unimaginable proportions, seeing that millions of people live in the Syrian city.

The first thing this means is that Assad’s assurances that he wasn’t using chemical weapons nor readying them to use on his own people is a false statement.

Secondly, will Israel allow this situation to go unaddressed? If  Israel addresses it, how will they do so? A diplomatic attempt, a covert attempt, a blasting strike such as will fulfill the prophecy? However if you read the prophecy, it does not say who or how the city becomes a ruinous heap and ceases from being a city. It is in the passive tense, no matter what translation you read it in.

So is it that the rebels mishandle the weapons and they go off more or less accidentally? Will it be that the Syrian Assad supporters of the regime set them off? We do not know, and the waiting is agonizing.

On the one hand, we want prophecy to continue quickly because each fulfillment brings us closer to our blessed hope and a world released from the curse and Jesus openly worshiped by all, as he should be. On the other hand, to get there, billions will die, and no one is eager for that.

Jesus has it all under control, and He has since the foundation of the world. Our trust is in him, no matter the external circumstances. We know and understand prophecy will come to pass in His timing. While we celebrate prophecies like the babe Christ’s birth, we mourn prophecies that will mean the destruction of millions of people, yet we trust in Him always. Our part is to be a light-filled witness, and to pray.

Posted in isaiah 17, syria

Syria and its chemical weapons

Posted on by elizabethprata

There is much talk today of Syria and its chemical and biological weapons. Syria promised to unleash chemical weapons if they are attacked. This open admission sparked a flurry of discussions, concerns, and reports. Lebanon, and the world, attacked Syria’s threat as monstrous. The US weighed in with saying that Syria’s threat was unacceptable. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper engaged in some hand-wringing, “Israel is unprepared to face the threat of Syria’s chemical weapons”, Netanyahu warns against Syrian weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, but in practice 47 percent of Israelis do not have protective kits and it will take two years to make all the needed ones.” There are warnings from the US to Syria not to use chemical weapons as a last-ditch effort to maintain Assad’s hold on the regime. HuffPo reports that Israel would strike Syria to secure their chemical arsenal. A few days ago, US and Israel discussed destroying Syria’s chemical weapons.

Suddenly it’s all about Syria and its arsenal of chemical weapons. But is it really so sudden?

I’ve been concerned about this for a long time. Two years, as a matter of fact. Let’s go back one year first:

One year ago I wrote the following:

If Syria’s regime fails, what happens to its chemical weapons? In that blog essay I excerpted the following news piece from the Washington Post–

Syrian unrest raises fears about chemical arsenal
“The Middle Eastern state with the dangerous chemicals was not Libya, whose modest stockpile was thrust into the spotlight last week because of fighting there. It was Syria, another violence-torn Arab state whose advanced weapons are drawing new concern as the country drifts toward an uncertain future. A sudden collapse of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could mean a breakdown in controls over the country’s weapons, U.S. officials and weapons experts said in interviews. But while Libya’s chemical arsenal consists of unwieldy canisters filled mostly with mustard gas, the World War I-era blistering agent, Syria possesses some of the deadliest chemicals ever to be weaponized, dispersed in thousands of artillery shells and warheads that are easy to transport.”

The article goes on to explain that Syria does indeed have sophisticated weaponry of the chemical and biological kind. We read:

“Deadly, large cache: “Syria first developed chemical weapons in the 1970s and slowly amassed a sophisticated arsenal under the close supervision of then-President Hafez al-Assad and, later, his son Bashar, the current president. Using technology obtained in part from Russian scientists, the Assads sought to create a strategic deterrent against Israel, its vastly more powerful southern neighbor, whose forces humiliated Syrian troops in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and captured the strategic Syrian plateau known as the Golan Heights. Many countries, including the United States and Russia, gradually eliminated their chemical-weapons arsenals, but Syria refused to sign the U.N. Chemical Weapons convention and proceeded to develop an ever larger and deadlier stockpile.”

In that same blog essay I also quoted a Jerusalem Post editorial that posed the scenario which we are seeing coming to the fore today:
“Further, a desperate Assad (or even post-Mubarak Egypt) might escalate to non-conventional weapons in a bid to retain power: the massive Israeli retaliation would end internal uprisings.”

BINGO! Last year’s speculation is exactly the news today. Most people do not know how sophisticated Syria’s bio & chemical arsenal is. Two years ago, on July 9, 2010, I wrote about these exact concerns from consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism expert Dr. Jill Dekker regarding the Syrian chemical stockpile. She stated,

“Contrary to how the US State Department and other agencies tend to downplay the sophistication of the Syrian biological and nuclear programs, they are very advanced. Syria has always had the most advanced chemical weapons program in the Middle East.”

At that time, Dr. Dekker said that Syria had shifted in their philosophy of using bio-weapons from special weapons to conventional arsenal, and they have the will to do it. “Why? Realizing they have no practical opportunity to reach parity with Israel or the US on conventional weapons, they decided to pursue bio-weaponry and were at that time fixing conventional missiles with a highly virulent anthrax germ with the help of Russian scientists. Ominously for the world, the US nor the UN were particularly reactive to the Syrians’ re-definition of bio-weaponry as conventional and offensive. Ominously for prophecy, the Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus.”

I had linked to the entire interview with Dr. Dekker. It is in the New England Review, and you can read it here. It is chilling. Some more excerpts:

“Dr. Dekker’s answers give a foreboding picture of how large and refined the Syrian bio-warfare programs are and how little Western Intelligence knows about how the programs were developed. The potential exists for a significant WMD threat in the Middle East and the West, especially, against America.”

And this:

“Syria’s biological weapons capability today is closely tied to the former and current Soviet and Russian programs respectively, the DPRK, Iran and the former Iraq regime. A major concern is their strategic concept of use – which has gone from one of ‘special weapons’ to incorporation into their ‘conventional arsenal.’ That is a significant shift and one that seems to have eluded the US.”

“The Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus. They have separate wings for separate pathogens. They also have a number of programs running in Aleppo. The Syrians are 100% committed to deniable operations as their modus operandi. Biological weapons, particularly those which might occur naturally, are the ultimate in deniability, for example, their cryptosporidium program for force reduction. The Wednesday Report noted a few years ago that in terms of the Syrian anthrax program, Syria has extensive expertise in the industrial cultivation of germs and viruses for the civilian production of anthrax (and smallpox) vaccines.”

“It also noted that Russian experts, contracted by Syria, are apparently helping them to cultivate a highly virulent anthrax germ for installation in missile warheads. Their pharmaceutical infrastructure is fully integrated with their defense structure. Syrians cannot reach parity with US and Israeli conventional weapons. However, they view their bio-chemical arsenal as part of a normal weapons program. This is a huge shift in thinking by the Syrian military. It means they condone the use of biological pathogens as ‘offensive’ weapons. NATO and the United States should be very concerned about that re-designation.’

I’m more than a little stunned and dizzied by these things coming true now. Remember, Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins. (Isaiah 17:1).

“At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more!” (Isaiah 17:14a)

Is now the time? Only the Lord knows. But the global concerns of Syria’s open admission and the heinous threat from Damascus just brought us that much closer.