Revived Roman Empire: Correcting a Hermeneutical Error

29 March 2014:  Where in the Word of God should one go to read a prophetic text, even so much as a single sentence, which is  descriptive of the concept of a revival of the Roman Empire?  I have searched all of the prophetic texts, of which the prophetically quintessential 2nd and 7th and 8th chapters of Daniel  plus the 13th chapter of The Revelation of Jesus Christ are the most vividly descriptive, and I came away with... nothing. These things and recent discussions with fellow students of Biblical eschatology once again have served to remind that what I believe is an error in hermeneutics that needs to be addressed at the minimum and corrected at some point. This is my attempt at a correction.

By the same token one can go online and search the phrase "revived Roman Empire" or some closely related phrase and find active links to 800,000 articles and literary works which discuss it at length. The vast majority of those articles and literary works support the concept, and even identify the revival of the Roman Empire as a sure sign of the arrival of the last days. And don't get me wrong here, I am as guilty as the next guy (or gal) in having previously made use of the phrase "revived Rome" when discussing things of an eschatological nature. It seems to be a natural and widely accepted practice. But is it purely Biblical? The short answer is no,  the eschatological concept of a "revived Rome" is not Biblical, it is a man-made assumption.

What was the key detail of the God-breathed interpretation given by the prophet Daniel to Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar about the fourth kingdom represented in his vision? In Daniel 2 the interpretation regarding the first the world empire, that of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, in contained in all of two verses (37 and 38). The next two subsequent world empires (Medo-Persia and Greece) each share one-half of the single verse within Daniel 2:39. But then from Daniel 2:40-43 the interpretive attributes of the fourth empire are given some very good detail which denotes the importance of this empire as the world's last empire. The key God-breathed detail here is that the two legs of iron resolve themselves to a pair of feet each containing ten individual toes. Those ten toes, the essential elements or nations of  the Roman Empire, exist to this day.

In Daniel 7:7-8; 23-27 even more detail is given about the fourth beast in a God-breathed vision Daniel received just prior to the fall of Babylon to the Medo-Persian Empire. These two sets of verses in Daniel 7 say absolutely nothing about the fourth beast falling only to be revived again. This beast is continuous throughout time, from its first appearance in ancient history where it supplanted the Greek third beast to its destruction in the future by Jesus Christ at the conclusion of the 70th Week.

In Daniel 8:23-26 where the angel Gabriel is providing an even more detailed interpretation of his vision regarding of the Greek conquest of the Persian Empire, once again there is the central theme of continuity from those ancient times to the present and future times of the 70th Week. I would advise the reader to continue reading the Book of Daniel, chapters 9 through 12 as the unrelenting prophetic narrative is continued to the conclusion.

Revelation 13 is the basis of the interpretive artistic imagery seen above. It is also the God-breathed reiteration of all that was revealed to the prophet Daniel through earlier visions and Gabriel's interpretations.

As a more current benchmark reference for this subject I submit to you that Don Koenig's article "In God's eyes the Roman fourth beast still rules the world" at his ThePropheticYears.Com website fulfills this role. You can also find reference my own "Daniel 7: The Key Prophecy Confirming a Roman Antichrist." Both of these articles cover slightly different aspects of the correct Biblical instruction. However, the essential element, as Don states in his article, 

"There is no other worldwide Gentile kingdom in scripture between the time of the ancient Roman Empire and the time that the latter-day prince makes a seven-year covenant with Israel at the end of the Gentile age (Dan 9:27). Therefore, in God’s eyes we must still exist in the era of the Roman fourth beast that is recorded in the book of Daniel (Dan 2:40, 7)."

The bottom line here is that as a sign that the last days have arrived one need not bother to look for a revival of something that from the Lord's perspective never ceased to exist. There is no break in the Biblical prophetic narrative where the fourth beast ceased to exist only to be revived again in the last days. You want to see the sign of a revived Rome, to see the fourth beast empire, then look outside your front door, look on a map, look no further than where you are living right now if that place is anywhere in Europe west of the Russian Federation, anywhere in the entirety of the Western Hemisphere, and also in certain nations in Africa and the Western Pacific rim. In these same locations you will also find "Tarshish and all their young lions" as declared by the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel.

So, Rome never fell, and there is no "revival of the Roman Empire" that we need to see occur prior to the 70th Week. The fourth world empire is here now and it is a global power: economically, politically and militarily. And consider this if you're interested in looking for a definitive sign of the last days. Daniel 11:21 contains a detailed precursory view of the coming Antichrist and his sudden rise to global power. That precursor was manifest in the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the supreme ruler of the Hellenic (Greek) Seleucid Empire. The man who will be the Antichrist leading the already existent fourth world empire will be one of the leaders of an existing Western nation who will suddenly, and by intrigue or the aid of a few of the elite of the peer leadership around him, take full control of the already existing reigns of power of the already existing political structure, exactly as Antiochus IV Epiphanes did with the Seleucid Empire in the Daniel 11:21 template of 2,189 years ago. That man could very well be any one of the men seen standing in front of national flags and symbols in a lineup of Western leaders at any of the numerous summits or peace negotiations seen on the evening news. He just hasn't been revealed yet.

Marana'tha!

Global SITREP B10-13: The Jordan Valley

UPDATE 27 March 2014:  Getting back to the premise of the 20 December post regarding the "great upheaval" that will have to overtake Jordan, an article published in the Winter 2012 edition of Middle East Quarterly (link is to a .pdf) is now making the intel round again. The article was authored by Mudar Zahran and it gives a glimpse of what that upheaval might look like as well as its causation.

In that article Zahran shows how the relative clam in Amman, Jordan is an illusion maintained by the Hashemite, (i.e. Bedouin) royal family and regime. Zahran effectively points out that the "Palestinians" are the largest ethnic group within Jordan, and that they have a profound hatred of the Hashemite regime whom they view as illegitimate occupiers and intruders upon the eastern half of their country. The bottom line: A full-fledged revolt in Jordan is extremely likely; it would be a revolt where the minimum 66% majority of common "Palestinians" take up arms to overthrow the regime of the minority Hashemite Bedouin elite.

Keep an eye on Jordan as this is precisely the kind of "great upheaval" in Jordan that would be a precursor to Jordan's involvement in the coming Psalm 83 finale. Islamist Palestinians in control of Amman and the rest of that land east of the Jordan River would then rapidly set their sights on Israel as a remainder to be conquered west of the Jordan River. Or so they will think according to Psalm 83.

3 February 2013: Once again DEBKAfile has the confirming data regarding the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's very strong opposition to a "Palestinian" security or military presence in the Jordan valley. Jordan has once again diplomatically smacked U.S. SECSTATE John Kerry upside his head with the "Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." In particular there are two parts of the treaty King Abdullah II wants Kerry to pay attention to: Annex I (borders and sovereignty issues) and Article 9 which deals with Jordan's 'special status' regarding Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and the high priority Israel places on Jordan's historical role in negotiation regarding its final status. In effect King Abdullah II is telling Kerry that there can be no Israel-Palestinian accord without Jordan's concurrence.

06 January 2014: Contrary to most other Israeli media, this morning's news published at DEBKAfile confirms what was posted to this topic one month ago. Most Israeli media are putting a decidedly pro-Kerry spin to their reports, probably because their editorial staffs believe it is better to see whipped-cream-pie-in-the-sky reporting than the truth concerning the abject rejection of US SECSTATE Kerry's so-called "framework" has received from Israel, Jordan and the PA. The best that they can say is that Kerry spent more than 1 hour yesterday in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. However, there is not one word about Jordan's total rejection of Kerry's plan for the Jordan Valley. This is the kind of ridiculous spin one can expect from the globalist's compliant lapdog media.

20 December 2013: The "great upheaval" that will have to occur within Jordan for it to become openly hostile to the existence of Israel is any change to the status of Mount Moriah (Temple Mount) that has existed since the end of the Six Day War in June 1967. This "great upheaval" is something that could be manufactured almost overnight. And it has been. We may refer to this new situation is an Islamic demand for apartheid on Temple Mount, or a Muslim Only Temple Mount.

On the very day of my posting this topic, the issue of Jordanian control of the Temple Mount suddenly reemerged when a Muslim riot erupted in the early afternoon on 6 December was instigated by a Jordanian cleric in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. When Israeli police intervened to halt the Muslim rock-throwing riot directed at themselves, a no-brainer intervention which the Jordanian cleric knew would happen, made-up charges of an Israeli plot to make Muslim worshipers "uncomfortable" at the Mount appeared out of thin air. Even the long-term presence of security cameras on the Mount suddenly became an issue for the clerics as well as Jordanian government ministers.

Now the Muslim's have raised the bar in the control of Temple Mount they were given in great error by General Moshe Dayan some 46 years ago. The Muslim clerics have urged their deceived youth resort to violence and bloodshed in the instant they see any Jew or Christian engage in prayer, or what they believe is prayer, on the ground of the Temple Mount. Previously Christians have been allowed to ascend and to pray on the Mount, but no longer as the Muslim clerics are now declaring the Mount to be a "Muslim Only" religious site.

I am of the assessment that this new situation may well force Israeli authorities, and I mean in the Israeli Knesset, to take action to enforce a full and free access to the Temple Mount by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Per Bible prophecy, Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, will be the center of the "great upheaval" in these last days. It will likely be the largest spark in a sea of sparks to ignite this powder keg in the near-term.

06 December 2013: The geo-political and military situation in the Jordan Valley (image above) is tremendously informative as to where we are prophetically with respect to the fulfillment of Psalm 83, Ezekiel 28:24-26 and Isaiah 11:14 at any point in the near term. This present situation clearly informs that some great upheaval will have to occur within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan's official name) for it to become openly hostile to the existence of Israel as made clear in the prophecy.  

As can be determined by reading an article published yesterday morning in The Times of Israel, at the present time Jordan is resolutely supportive of Israel through the IDF maintaining total military control of the Jordan Valley and the West Bank instead of Palestinian Authority's forces. Amman wants Israel to complete a security fence along this frontier because it would be a security benefit for both Jordan and Israel. Jordan has been telling its American ally that it supports Israel's position in the ongoing negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. And US SECSTATE John Kerry's notion of an international security force for this region has already been shot down in flames, almost before it was presented to these nations.

Obviously Jordan and the PA are not reading from the same sheet of deadly music as seen in the above noted prophecies, therefore something of a sea-change will have to occur between these two nations. Isaiah 17 might be the catalyst for that change, but only time will tell. It's clear to me that Jordan will be key to how the final fulfillment of the Psalm 83 prophecy comes to fulfillment. We'll keep an eye on this for new developments.

The map above  has been added to illustrate the nations and peoples prophetically identified by Asaph in Psalm 83. This is how the region was geo-politically divided 2,900-3,000 years ago. However, at that time none of these nations or peoples were united in an alliance against Israel. Only since 1948 A.D. has this been true, making Psalm 83 a prophecy in he process of fulfillment for our time.

Why The Next Arab-Israel War Is Inevitable

UPDATE 26 March 2014: It took a while, but one of the central themes discussed below is the absolute refusal of the Arabs in the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. During the closing session today of the 25th Arab League Summit, being held in Kuwait, this central tenet of Arab foreign policy has been set in stone through a vote of the member states vowing to never recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This determining vote in a very real sense is the "sound of inevitability." Quoting the Arab League communique:

“We hold Israel entirely responsible for the lack of progress in the peace process and continuing tension in the Middle East. We express our absolute and decisive rejection to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.”

22 November 2010: Israel's outgoing Military Intelligence Chief, Major General Amos Yadlin, says the next war will be a multi-front war and that Tel Aviv will be one of the front lines.

In delivering his farewell briefing before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet yesterday, Sunday, 21 November 2010, outgoing Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Chief MG Amos Yadlin spoke of how Iran is Israel's most dangerous enemy, that other than its relentless drive for nuclear weaponry the Islamic Republic "is reaching out with octopus-like arms to anyone who acts against Israel."

MG Yadlin continued his final Cabinet-level briefing by laying out the parameters Israel faces prior to the outbreak of hostilities, saying, "In the next confrontation, there is a chance that war will break out on more than one front, and that Tel Aviv will become a front. There is also a struggle against the very legitimacy of Israel's existence, and to face it we need intelligence and to mobilize the nation. Israel's deterrent power is very strong, but the quiet should not deceive us – to the contrary. Our enemies are getting stronger and arming themselves."

Prime Minister Netanyahu concluded the briefing by saying, "I met with him every week, sometimes several times a week. We discussed the difficult problems and new challenges that face us, from the Iranian nuclear threat, through the threat of missiles and rockets against the State of Israel, the development of Hizbullah and Hamas, as well as various developments in the countries of the region. I believe that Amos succeeded in giving us the tools with which to assess these dangers and to prepare to meet them."

As of this morning, 22 November 2010, the new IDF Intelligence Chief is Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi.

3 September 2010: The next Arab-Israel war is inevitable because at least 90% of the Arabs believe that such a war is essential for achieving their purposed desire to establish a national homeland for the "Palestinians" from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. This overwhelming Arab majority is united in the necessity to destroy the State of Israel to make their dream a reality.

A just completed poll conducted in both Gaza and the West Bank by the Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) between 8 and 14 August 2010 and published on 28 August 2010 reveals the following:

• 
  
  83.5% of "Palestinians" blame the United States for the lack of progress on their agenda because of an American lack of committment in establishing a "Palestinian" state.


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  85.5% of "Palestinians" blame the citizens of Israel, believing that Israeli citizens do not want peace because peace would mean the elimination of the State of Israel. (Duh!)


• 
  
  90.2% of "Palestinians" believe it is essential for the final status peace agreement to establish "Historic Palestine" from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea as a national home for "Palestinians."

It's a no-brainer. War between the Arabs and Israel is inevitable.

UPDATE 07 SEP 10: An article in today's Jerusalem Post varifies the validity of the poll I reference and the conclusion that has been made regarding the imminent war:

Abbas: No 'historic compromise' on Jerusalem, borders

"In 'Al-Quds' interview, PA president says Palestinians won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state, accuses Netanyahu of trying to "strip" Israeli-Arabs' rights.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's talk about an "historic compromise" and said there would be no compromises on core issues such as Jerusalem and borders.

Abbas also reiterated his rejection of Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "We're not talking about a Jewish state and we won't talk about one," Abbas said in an interview with the semi-official Al-Quds newspaper. "For us, there is the state of Israel and we won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state."

Abbas said that in recent meetings with leaders of the Jewish community in the US, he made it clear that the Palestinians would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. "I told them that this is their business and that they are free to call themselves whatever they want," Abbas said. "But [I told them] you can't expect us to accept this."

Abbas said that by raising the issue of Israel's right to be a Jewish state, Netanyahu was seeking to "strip" Israeli-Arabs of their rights and turn them into illegal citizens. He said that Netanyahu's goal was also to block any chance of Palestinian "refugees" from returning to their original homes inside Israel.

Asked about the possibility of dismantling the PA, Abbas said he did not rule out such an option if he reached the conclusion that the peace talks are hopeless. However, he stressed that this option was not on the table at present."

UPDATE 13 October 2010: The expected failure of the direct Israel-Palestinian Authority negotiations has occured. According to Mahmoud Aloul, a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee which holds political power within the PA, the two-state peace process has failed. Also as expected, the PA blames the "racist policies" of Israel for this failure.

With the failure of these direct negotiations the Palestinian Authority has consulted with "Arab leaders," most probably officially represented by the Arab League. Now, if Mahmoud Abbas is true to his word recorded in bold red above, the Palestinian Authority should be dismantled and the Arab League should convene it's military committee to embark upon the long-threated war to eliminate Israel and impose a one-state Arab Islamic solution. Here we have the precise condition and objective of Israel's Arab Islamic enemies found in the openning verses of Psalm 83:1-5.

"Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;

And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.

They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You"

Concurrent with this development is the ever increasing threat of Al Qaeda terrorism. This threat runs the gamut from Mumbai-style attacks involving roving bands of suicidal jihadists attacking large groups of people while armed with assault rifles, grenades and other explosives or simply mowing down people with full-size pick-up trucks in various locations all across the United States.

Directly related to this increased threat of Islamic terrorism in urban and rural America is the fact that the former Islamic "stealth jihad" of the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimuun) has been upgraded to full-scale war (jihad) against the people and institutions of the United States. Yes, the Muslim Brotherhood has declared jihad against America. In case anyone is unaware, the Muslim Brotherhood exists in a mosque or Islamic Cultural Center near your home anywhere in America.

Very detailed reports on these threats to homeland USA are found HERE and HERE.

I believe the failure of Israeli-Palestinian Authority negotiations and the Muslim Brotherhood's declaration of war against America are directly related. In this war the Arab Muslims will be going for broke, and if that means war (jihad) being waged simultaneously against both Israel and America, then so be it, that is what they will do. It is what they long ago declared that they would do when the time was right.

The next act in the 'end times' scenario is about to take center stage. In Christ Jesus is our strength and our victory.

Global SITREP B17-14: Crunch (Slush) Time in Crimea

FINAL UPDATE 20 March 2014: For all intents and purposes the Crimean Crisis is now over. The Russian Federation won with a military invasion, but without resorting to full-scale combat. Ukrainian forces are retreating out of Crimea which is now the de facto sovereign territory of the Russian Federation. We'll now watch for Putin's gaze to settle upon the next parcel of post-Soviet territorial reconstitution.

18 March 2014: The Russian annexation of Crimea is now a cold, hard fact that will not be undone without war in Europe on a scale not seen since World War II. Russia, in the person of President Vladimir Putin, has thumbed his nose at the US/EU and NATO and declared his intent to wage war against us in defense of Russian interests. For this declaration Putin received a standing ovation by the members of the Russian Parliament. A further Russian military invasion of additional territory in southern and eastern Ukraine may very well follow in the coming hours.

With the confirmed death of one Ukrainian officer and the severe wounding of another today at their base in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, the remainder of Ukrainian troops are now in receipt of their rules of engagement as authorized by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. That authorization is to "use weapons to defend and protect the lives of Ukrainian servicemen." Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted this war, now it looks like he has achieved it.

14 March 2014: The above map has been borrowed from a FoxNews.com report published yesterday.  It correctly illustrates four indisputable facts-on-the-ground with which Russia must deal forcibly to overcome should the anticipated annexation of Crimea move forward on Sunday and Monday next week.

The first indisputable fact is that a considerable amount of Ukrainian and Russian armor face each other across 25 miles of no-mans land along the only two overland routes between pro-Russia Crimea and pro-Ukraine Kherson Oblast. Ukrainian forces have enough combat firepower at these two choke points to hold their ground and/or repel any Russian assault northwards. By no means are they merely a speed bump for the Russians as Kherson Oblast is heavily populated by Ukrainians loyal to the new government in Kiev.

The second, third and fourth indisputable facts are the water, electric and natural gas supplies that Ukraine controls and has heretofore provided to the Crimean populace. A vote to join Russia will be a vote to cut off these supplies. Hence it will be utilities crunch time in Crimea thereafter. The Crimean economy will come to a screeching halt and the tens of thousands of Russian soldiers now there will become a burden upon the populace because they will be consuming a large portion of whatever water, electric and natural gas reserves are in Crimea. Hopefully they thought ahead and have been saving them for a rainy day, but I would not bet my next paycheck on it.

That will leave Vladimir Putin and his military commanders two unsavory options. Evacuate Crimea and return it to the status quo which existed prior to their invasion, or to get all froggy and jump with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Frogs usually do not realize when they have jumped into boiling water that death will come swiftly, so a retreat back to their barracks of origin seems to be the best option. Again, I would not bet my next paycheck on Vladimir Putin and his generals being that smart either. The risks are enormous. However, let us pray cooler heads prevail this time around.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

The missing Boeing 777-2H6ER Departing Rossy-DeGaulle Int'l Airport, Paris, France

UPDATE 20 March 2014: A word of caution -- as tempting as it may be, do not fall hook, line and sinker for the deception which appears to be emerging this morning based upon what may or may not be floating in an extreme southern part of the Indian Ocean. Just like the Chinese, Malaysian and other families of the passengers, I am also sick and tired of having, inept governments, their spokesperson and their media lapdogs jerk the chain in a different direction every day. As far as I am some of my friends in the Intelligence Community are concerned, we got too close to the truth of the matter as seen in yesterday's update; and the relatives of the passengers must have something because they are just about at the end of their ropes. So the 'powers that be' will provide something immediately, as if on cue, and I believe that something will be the headline today. Don't believe it. What retired General McInerney has stated on FoxNews and what I posted here yesterday is on the right track.

19 March 2014: I believe the initial radar track discussed below 6 days ago was 100% correct: MH370 flew into the wide expanse of the Indian Ocean. I now believe, as unlikely as it has appeared to me since then, that whoever was piloting the aircraft did what was necessary to avoid radar detection by both Indian air defense and the US radar at Diego Garcia.

I think the pilot(s) made it to the Maldive Islands just prior 6 AM there local time, were slightly off their anticipated course of paralleling commercial route P756 to the west, and thereby over-shot a planned landing there.

A news report today originating from one of the Maldives Islands has very interesting data in it. On 08MAR14 at 06:15 local time numerous eyewitnesses on the Maldives Island known as Kuda Huvadhoo saw what they described as a "low flying, white colored jumbo jet with red stripes" pass overhead and moving from the northwest to the southeast. That's a pretty good description of what could well be MH370 passing by at low altitude and at a good rate of speed. At that time and at that range the aircraft was very likely low on fuel and was passing over Kuda Huvadhoo on a return leg after missing a planned landing on Gan Island, Addu Atoll, which lies to the immediate south of Kuda Huvadhoo. Gan Island is pretty much nothing more than a runway attached by causeways (Link Road) to other islands to the north.

A quick refueling of MH370 by on the ground accomplices and once again this aircraft could have been gone to parts unknown in short order, possibly even to the current speculated destinations of Pakistan or Iran. At a minimum I would hope authorities have or will shortly check this place out by all means possible.

15 March 2013: Here are FOUR more established facts:

1.) The Aircraft Communications and Reporting System (ACARS) installed on board MH370 continued to function after someone onboard deliberately attempted to shut if off a full 14 minutes after BOTH OF THE REDUNDANT Flight Data Transponders were disabled.

2.) The attempt to shut down the ACARS was only partially successful, and the radio continued to transmit engine performance data in real-time. Extrapolation of specific parameters within the transmitted data will aid to locate the flight path of MH370 until the ACARS stopped transmitting, which by all current indications appears to be when the engines were shut down.

3.) At no time was there any indication from ACARS of any malfunction in either of MH370s engines, nor was there any parametric data transmitted by the aircraft which indicated catastrophic malfunction.

4.) More fuel, a lot more fuel, than was needed for the originally scheduled KL-Beijing flight was loaded onboard MH370s tanks prior to take-off. So much more fuel that Malaysia Airlines officials are now on record saying the aircraft had more than 7 hours worth of fuel onboard when it disappeared. 7 hours! That means the aircraft could have been flown completely across the Indian Ocean as far as Somalia, Yemen and even as far as Iran. Or, it could have landed at some remote, covert landing strip and still have enough fuel for another more sinister flight in the near future.

All of these facts combine to indicate that deliberate human actions were directly involved in the disappearance of MH370 from its scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and that all of the incredible risks taken to secure this aircraft make its next intended purpose well worth it to whom ever has possession of it today.

13 March 2014: Yes, I have been very closely monitoring the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines FLT 370 (aircraft image above: Malaysian Registration Number 9M-MRO clearly visible) from the get-go.  And, yes, I have my own theory to account for the extraordinary amount of high strangeness surrounding the total disappearance of this aircraft, its crew and passengers. However, I have not, until now, posted anything about this because it has nothing to do with Bible prophecy. That aside, there are enough folks inquiring about what I know about this that my silence is no longer golden. In fact, some may take a very dim view of my theory.

Straight up. I believe the senior Malaysian military authorities who reported that their radar had a track on MH370 after its flight transponder was deliberately disengaged. I believe they tracked it crossing east to west back over the Malay Peninsula and on out into the Malacca Strait, just past an island in the northern part known as Palau-Perak. The bearing of this Malaysian military radar track had FLT MH-370 on a bearing for northern Sumatra. 

On a straight line bearing from that specific point I found that the next airport it would come to was the airstrip at the British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia. That had me speculate, and deep down I hope I am wrong about this, that this event was a super-duper, super-extraordinary rendition of persons or cargo aboard the aircraft. And I speculate that the US government is either responsible or fully aware of it. Iranians with false passports, other Iranian person or persons paying for the one-way tickets for the fraudulent passport holders, and a continuing CIA assessment that something extraordinary was still in progress. All of these factors, and a couple of others, have combined to keep my speculation intact and alive. I believe and continue to pray that all passengers and crew will return to their loved ones safe and sound when this saga comes to a close.

Some Facts:

The Boeing 777-2H6ER (ER = extended range) aircraft routinely makes trans-oceanic, intercontinental flights in excess of 7,400 miles with a full tank. Flight MH370 was a scheduled Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight, a distance of 2654 miles. From where MH370 last returned a final long-range Malaysian radar pulse (Palau-Perak island) Diego Garcia airport is just about 2000 miles away. There was plenty of fuel to make that journey since MH370 is a Boeing 777-236ER aircraft capable of remaining airborne 3 times that distance with a full fuel load, or twice that distance with a 2/3 fuel load. Had MH370 actually reached Beijing on the scheduled flight it could have immediately turned around, taken off and flown back to Kuala Lumpur without refueling. 

Some Questions: 

It is possible that some other nation has hijacked this aircraft? Absolutely. Iran immediately comes to mind, and I hope I am not wrong in this speculation. The aircraft could have simply been flown around air traffic control/air defense identification zones near India and Sri Lanka and covertly continued on to a destination of their choice. Did this aircraft blow up in mid-flight where originally thought? No, I think US satellite IR reconnaissance sensors would have easily detected that and the search would have become localized on that point. Addendum: Here is corroboration that US "national technical means" did not detect any mid-air explosion associated with  Flight MH-370.

Global SITREP B18-14: Israel Strikes Syrian Military, Warns Damascus of a "Heavy Price" to be Paid

19 March 2014: In the overnight hours and this morning Israel fingered Bashar al-Assad's army as complicit in the roadside attack on IDF troops yesterday on the Golan. The IAF promptly went into action by launching strikes on a Syrian C2 (Command and Control) headquarters, a training site and Syrian artillery positions on their side of the Golan Line-of-Control (LoC). 

Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon then launched his own strike on Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad as bearing full responsibility for the action of his forces in aiding and abetting the attack on the IDF patrol yesterday. Ya'alon declared, "We won’t tolerate any breach of our sovereignty or attacks against our soldiers and civilians. We will react with might and resolve against anyone who acts against us, no matter where and when, as we demonstrated last night. Anyone who tries to attack us will be signing their own death sentence.”

Those are words someone with national authority should have spoken to Vladimir Putin in late February, but I digress. Wars and rumors of wars. Check. Stay tuned, and don't blink because just about anything could set any of several powder kegs off, the most devastating of which is the one prophesied to occur against Damascus. At this point I am wondering if Isaiah 17 is both a prophesy and a promise.

Global SITREP B16-14: The End of Islamic Terror From Gaza is Coming Soon

IDF Merkava MBTs on the Gaza border, Thursday, 13 March 2014

13 March 2014: The latest round of Islamic rocket attacks on Israeli civilians might well be the harbinger for the annihilation of all terrorist groups in Gaza if certain members of the Israeli government prevail upon Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

I quote Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz:

“Sooner or later we will have to take control of Gaza, in order to get rid of the Hamas regime. We do not need to reoccupy it permanently, but we do need to remove from Gaza the option of (terrorists) firing rockets on us. If and when the moment comes when we must retake Gaza, and that moment is coming soon, the operation will have to be a very quick one.”

I also quote Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman:

"We cannot allow the areas that Israel evacuated to be used for terror attacks on us. The only solution is a reversal of the process, a retaking of Gaza."

So, while the final decision is clearly up the PM Netanyahu, he will get no great argument against a lightning war against the terrorists in Gaza from his cabinet, or from the government of the United States for that matter. I believe the paradigm has finally changed due to the fact that the era of diplomacy not backed by brute military power is presenting Israel, NATO and other nations with very clear evidence of why it is essential and necessary from time to time. Israel has to retake Gaza and really clean it out for the sake of its people. That time has come.

Global SITREP B15-14: Some Important Military Deployments

Ukrainian 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade

UPDATED 10 March 2014: In the first known major Ukrainian military deployment since the Russian invasion of Crimea, the 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade of the 8th Ukrainian Army Corps has deployed from its garrison in the northern city of Zhytomyr for an unknown operation. The 95th consists of 3 battalions, of which the 13th Airmobile is composed of professional volunteer soldiers. It is considered to be the elite of Ukraine Special Forces (Spetsnaz) and is the most experienced, most interoperable with Western/NATO/US military forces and most battle hardened having served with Coalition Forces in Iraq during OIF-I from 2003-05. I remember these paratroopers and their professionalism during OIF-I. Whatever their mission is I have no doubt it is of the most critical importance to the new government in Kiev which has assigned their finest to see to its completion.

MV KLOS-C in the Red Sea

This past week the elite Israeli special forces unit Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13), operating from an Israeli Navy Sa'ar C class missile corvette with IAF F-16I Sufa providing over-watch, completed a covert mission in coordination with U.S. intelligence and military forces in the seizure of the illicit, Panamanian-flagged, Iranian weapons carrying merchant vessel MV KLOS-C. The intercept and takeover occurred about 24 hours prior to the merchant vessel's arrival at Port Sudan where the illicit cargo of dozens of Syrian-manufacture 302mm medium range artillery rockets was captured. 

The Iranian smuggling operation was quite complex in its movements. In the first leg, the missiles were flown from Damascus, Syria to Tehran, Iran and then to Iranian port facilities at Bandar Abbas where they were loaded on board the KLOS-C. The merchant ship then sailed to the Iraqi port at Umm Qasr where bags of cement of Iranian manufacture were placed on top of the missiles. The ship then began its voyage to its point of capture in the Red Sea. The truly amazing thing about the seizure of the clandestine Iranian operation, and this has to weigh heavily on the elite commanders of the IRGC as well as Ayatollah Khamenei, is that their entire smuggling operation was literally an open book to Israeli and American intelligence and special forces. One can imagine, and so can Iran's leaders, what we know that they don't know that we know. It also appears obvious that a sea-change has occurred in just a very short time in the US-Israel-Iran dynamic. It appears to this observer that Iran has been put on notice by this operation that our direct military operations against their military operations is now a standing order and all that that implies. Can you say Jeremiah 49:34-39?

UPDATE:  At this point I can reference back to Global SITREP A7-13 as the requisite background reading material. It is that SITREP which goes a long way to explaining the detail behind the dire warning that came from Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu today, as noted in this DEBKAfile article also posted today. Interestingly enough, the original material I wrote about back in 2005 had its origins in Ukraine, with Russian involvement. The Ukrainian government that came to power after the "Orange Revolution" of that same year confirmed all of the details I wrote about, and which, unfortunately, DEBKAfile has gotten incorrect in some key aspects. This is why SITREP A7-13 is critical material to understand why the US and Israel have paid such very close attention to Iranian shipborne movements such as the KLOS-C.  Delivery of a nuclear warhead to a target does not require an expensive missile program when any nondescript Iranian freighter can pull into a port facility and 200kT worth of fission later that port facility and the city it was a part of will have ceased to exist.

F-15C on full aferburner take-off RAF Lakenheath, England

There has been a direct US-NATO military response to the Russian invasion of Crimea. From the RAF Lakenheath deployment of six American F-15C all-weather air-superiority fighter aircraft and 50 support personnel to Lithuania, to the deployment of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Truxton (DDG--103) into the Black Sea opposite Crimea, NATO forces have begun to assume a more aggressive, forward leaning posture towards a increasingly militarily belligerent Russia under Vladimir Putin. At the minimum these two forward deployments symbolize a NATO flanking maneuver and trip-wire in opposition to Russian military aggression across the breadth of Eastern Europe. This is precisely the type of positive, measured response to continuing Russian military aggression capped by their ICBM launch last week that this observer was hoping to see instead of the initial waffling and weakness first exhibited as the crisis began.

Global SITREP B14-14: A Primer on the Crisis in Ukraine and Crimea

6 March 2013: Since 1991 Crimea has  been an autonomous republic within the framework of the unitary post-Soviet Ukrainian state. There are many autonomous republics  throughout the territory of the former Soviet Union, most are in Russia itself, and Ukraine has one - Avtonomna Respublika Krym / Autonomous Republic of Crimea.  

Crimea is an  autonomous parliamentary republic that is governed by the Constitution of Crimea which established its autonomy and authority within Ukraine. The Crimean Autonomous Republic has its own independent budget and manages the sum of its territory as its own property.

On May 5, 1992 the Crimean parliament declared itself to be independent; its Constitution became the law of the land on the same day. Ukraine unilaterally annulled this declaration seven days later. Ultimately in 1992 a compromise was agreed to between the Ukrainian and Crimean parliaments and Crimea reverted to being an autonomous republic within Ukraine.

In 1994 the Crimean parliament wrote a new Constitution for itself. In 1995 Ukraine under pro-Russian president Leonid Kuchma began direct rule of Crimea by presidential decree. Thus the Crimean people's desire to see to their own affairs was quashed by totalitarianism from Kiev. Later in 1995 a new Crimean Constitution was drafted and ratified by all parties in December 1998. Article 135 of the Ukrainian constitution mandates that any Crimean constitution must be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.

Herein lies the crux of Vladimir Putin's claim of indigenous Crimean forces (ethnic Russians for the most part) overthrowing totalitarian rule from Kiev.  What we know about this is that Russian Spetsnaz (Special Forces) made this overthrow possible. The Russian actions constitutes preemptive foreign military intervention in the affairs of a foreign state and one of its autonomous republics.

In my assessment what this crisis is about is an undemocratic coup d'etat in Ukraine that was followed in very short order by another undemocratic coup d'etat in Crimea which was born of over 20 years of totalitarian struggles between former Soviet Republics.

In my opinion we (NATO/US) do not have a dog in this fight. This is about former Soviet states continuing to sort their own affairs out. All of Ukraine should put its existence to a referendum, let the individual Oblasts and autonomous regions and cities of Ukraine decide who they want to be a part of, or not be a part of, and let them do it peacefully.

Ukraine Invasion Update: Russian Disposition of Forces with A Nuclear Threat!

UPDATE 5 March 2014: The nuclear warfare message from Russia last night was clear as a bell. It is a message that Vladimir Putin delivered with the launch of a Cold War era, road mobile RT-2PM 'Topol' (NATO Name: SS-25 'Sickle') ICBM. This ICBM is normally armed with a single 550kT nuclear warhead and multiple decoy warheads. Russian Strategic Rocket Forces launched the SS-25 (image below) from their Kapustin Yar site on the Volga River, some 280 miles east of the Ukrainian border, towards a target that was successfully impacted 1,230 miles distant at the Saryshaghan range in eastern Kazakhstan. On a reciprocal bearing this SS-25 would have made impact in the heart of Poland or one of the other newer member NATO nations in Eastern Europe. The message from Putin to the West: Is Ukraine worth fighting a nuclear war over?

4 March 2014: For their part the Ukrainian military is doing more than just calling up a million men from their reserve forces. Reports have come in of on-the-move Ukrainian armor. Whether they are the brand new Ukrainian-made BMP-64 Infantry Fighting Vehicles or older BMP-2 versions is unclear, but they are definitely enroute to a deployment in the south of the country. Other Ukrainian BMP-2 armor and troops have been noted maneuvering to fighting positions within their garrison at Perevalnoye. This garrison is currently surrounded by Russian special forces troops from the initial invasion last weekend. There were also Ukrainian Sukhoi-27 (Su-27, NATO-Name "Flanker") flying heavily-armed combat air patrol (CAP) missions out of their base at Mirgorod. Below is an image of an Ukrainian Su-27, callsign "45 Blue," as it went wheels-up on a CAP mission two days ago from Mirgorod. The heavy weapons loadout on "45 Blue" consists of a total of 10 air-to-air missiles, five each of the Vympel R-27 long-range, and Vympel R-73 short range IR homing air-to-air missiles, plus the internal 30mm cannon which always means nasty business.

For what its worth, IF, and as you can see that's a very big IF, there were to be a show of American military support it would come in the form of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) which is now in the Mediterranean Sea with her Carrier Strike Group (CSG-2). Also in the Med are the Marines of the 22nd MEU embarked on the USS Bataan (LHD-5) and ESG-2. There are also the Army 173rd Airborne Brigade at Vicenza, Italy and at least one battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division which is on-call to deploy anywhere in the world on very short notice. These forces would constitute a trip wire that could conceivably bring the entire U.S. arsenal to bear if full-scale warfare were to erupt over Ukraine. In any eventuality these are the US forces that would be the first on the scene if the currently unthinkable became a reality in the short term.

03 March 2014: A graphic (click on map to enlarge) presentation of the current disposition of Russian combat forces and their actions against Ukrainian military forces in Crimea over the past 60 hours. Notice the disarming of Ukrainian Surface-to-Air missile batteries in Yevpatoriya, the disarming of Ukrainian troops in Balaclava, as well as operations intended to secure and defend the entire peninsula. This graphic is from the CIGeography website.

We Were Told This Would Happen in 2008 and 2012

03 March 2014: A set of video's to remind folks that electing their Chief Executive Officer is a critical undertaking having profound repercussions on future events, the electors themselves and their children, or their children's children. We, the Ukrainian people and the world are in the potential nuclear war crisis we are in today because of a pair of decisions We The People made in 2008 and in 2012. We were clearly and succinctly warned on two occasions, four years apart from each other, against making that decision. Now there will be a very costly price to pay for it. Some say American is not found in Bible prophecy. Well, perhaps some of us help to make that possible.

Global SITREP B13-14: Ukraine (Russia Invades)

 Russian armored convoy in Ukraine

UPDATE: 2 March 2014: A column of Russian Army BTR-80 armored personnel carriers enroute to Simferopol can be seen in this this Video taken by Ukrainian citizens. They are identical to the Russian armored column in the image above. Over 80 Russian helicopter gunships (the MI-24 'Hind', MI-28 'Havoc' and Ka-50 'Black Shark' among them) were caught on video invading Ukraine two days ago. In the face of this invasion the new Ukrainian government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev has called up 1 million reservists to join the regular army this morning saying that Russia's actions in the past two days are a "declaration of war."

NATO SecGen Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for an emergency meeting in Brussels, Belgium for Sunday morning. Rasmussen declared the Russian actions in Ukraine are a "violation of the principles of the U.N. Charter." Ukraine's military is no match for Russia which has now deployed 15,000 of its best troops into Crimea. Crimea has been lost before Ukraine could fight for it with Ukrainian troops now out-numbered by a 5:1 ratio. The Donetsk region of the Ukraine is also on Putin's priority hit list and its only a matter of time before Russian troops cross the border in large numbers. it should be another interesting day full of rapid developments.

For Christians these events should be a klaxon blaring yet another very last days wake-up call. These events provide crystal clear evidence that the geographic-political-military divide between the Western and Eastern alliances spoken of by God to the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 38:13) is staring all of us directly in the face. Here we have "Gog of Magog" coming to take Ukraine as a spoil of war by means of a military invasion, and the West offering nothing more than meeting and meeting among themselves and empty rhetoric. No example of this nonsense was more poignant than that of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's appearance on NBC's "Face The Nation" program this morning! Once again, at a time of acute crisis, Barack Hussein Obama has performed his disappearing act. None of us should have any illusion about what time it is.

1200 EST 1 March 2014: About one-half hour ago (11:30 AM EST), as I was typing the "My Forecast" at the back end of this update (an update of the 27 February update assessing "an intact and independent and Pro-Western Ukraine might not survive to see the dawn on March 3rd," when the alerts arrived noting that the Russian Parliament had just approved Russian President Vladimir Putin's request, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the  Russian Federation, for military intervention in Ukraine.

At the same time the Russian Parliament has issued a demand for President Putin to immediately recall the Russian Ambassador from his post in Washington, D.C.  I suspect the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Sergei I. Lislyak, a hold-over career diplomat of the former communist Soviet Union, will be wheels-up and airborne on his way back to Moscow before the sun sets in Washington, D.C. today.

As forecast, the next military phase of the Russian invasion and conquest of independent Ukraine has now commenced. In less than 24-hours Vladimir Putin has called both President Obama's incredibly impotent warning about the un-named "costs" to be borne by Russia for its continuing aggression against the Ukraine, as well as the equally anemic warning from Secretary General Rasmussen of NATO concerning the ongoing invasion of a NATO partner.

Perhaps they all need to be reminded of the mutual defense treaty (a/k/a The Budapest Memorandum) between the US, UK and Ukraine to defend its borders signed in Budapest on 4 February 1994 by (left to right in the image below) Boris Yeltsin (Russia), Bill Clinton (USA), Leonid Kuchma (Ukraine) and John Major (UK). Since the first Russian troops (Spetsnaz) crossed into the Ukraine at midweek, followed by the airlift of reinforcements that arrived yesterday morning, Russia has been in blatant violation of the specific clauses of The Budapest Memorandum. Funny how neither the American President or the British Prime Minister have referenced this treaty in any recent public comments. For its part Ukraine has clearly called for it to be upheld.

0700 EST 1 March 2014: Most media have been reporting that 2,000 Russian troops were deployed into the Crimean Autonomous Republic of Ukraine over the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian defense ministry is saying the number is closer to 6,000 troops.

What I have been able to determine through independent data mining is that Crimean airspace was suddenly closed early yesterday morning and all scheduled commercial flights were cancelled. Shortly after this between 800 and 1100 Russian combat troops onboard a minimum of five IL-76 (NATO Name: Candid) transports landed at the Gvardeyskoye military airfield just north of Simferopol. One intrepid and very brave Ukrainian actually took a relatively close up cellphone image in the dark of night of the IL-76 aircraft to confirm the internet report of the landing at Gvardeyskoye. Other Russian troops, possibly as many as 2,500 onboard a minimum of eight additional IL-76 Candid aircraft, landed at another military airfield near Sevastopol. Add in the number of Russian naval commandos that deployed into Crimea and the Ukrainian defense ministry figure of 6,000 "invading" Russian troops becomes quite credible.

These were the last internet reports that came out of Crimea yesterday as what I believe were Russian Spetznaz (Special Forces) operations simultaneously shut down several Ukrtelecom communication stations at various locations in Crimea thereby eliminating all telephone, cellphone and internet links to the outside world. This action was confirmed by the UNIAN (Ukrainian Independent Information Agency) news agency before it began to censor its content, as well as by reports that US military and intelligence community is also scrambling to learn what is going on in Crimea and southern Ukraine.

Perhaps most telling that all is not as serene in southern Ukraine as Moscow would have the rest of the world believe, here is an English-language translation of something I found on what I believe was the Russian Foreign Ministry website. This confirms that armed resistance to the Russian takeover occurred early this morning at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Simferopol, Crimea (via Bing Translator):

"The Russian FOREIGN MINISTRY statement on the events in Crimea

In Russia  are extremely concerned about recent developments in the Crimea.

On the night of 1 March, unidentified gunmen aimed from Kiev, an attempt was made to capture the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As a result of blatant provocation there are affected. Thanks to the determined action of the militia attempted seizure of the POLICE was averted. Most confirms the desire of prominent political leaders in Kiev to destabilize the situation on the peninsula.

Encourage those who give such orders from Kiev to show restraint. Believe it is irresponsible to further aggravate the already tense situation in the Crimea."

My forecast:

1.) This is so much like Hitler and the Sudetenland in 1938 - Russia NEEDS the Crimea to fold the whole of Ukraine back into its reconstituting empire. 

2.) There is no way Ukraine gets to keep Crimea and most of southern Ukraine; in fact, I think Ukrainian survival as an independent nation is about as assured as was Poland's independence at 4 AM on the morning of September 1, 1939. Nazi Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine units opened fire 45 minutes later, and by 8 AM the Wehrmacht Heer crossed the Polish border at the village of Mokra; the rest is recorded history.

27 February 2014: A Russian Spetsnaz-led "false flag" operation has obviously been in execution for the past 24 hours. Unless loyal Ukrainian military forces begin to intervene against this invasion of Ukrainian sovereignty, an intact and independent and Pro-Western Ukraine might not survive to see the dawn on March 3rd. The Polish government will likely react with more vigor to these new facts on the ground than the Obama Administration.

24 February 2014: The Ukrainian crisis has entered a very dangerous phase and has become a focal point of a new EU/US confrontation with the Russian Federation.  The image above illustrates the potential for a division of the Ukraine along a North-South axis. This image is based upon a 2001 census of native Ukrainian language speakers (bold yellow) as opposed to areas (oblasts) where the Russian language predominates (light yellow or white). In the current scenario the North is seen as aligning itself with the EU/US/NATO and the South  is seen as aligning itself with Russia.

As side from the civil and demographic sectors there are forces at work in this current scenario. 

The energy sector: There was recently a major oil/natural gas discovery in the Ukraine which has a great potential once developed of carrying the country into becoming energy independent from Russia. Europe would be the most likely export market for this new source of petroleum energy.  

The military sector: the Ukrainian military and internal security forces are reportedly split 70/30 in favor of the new government forming in Kiev. The Russian-majority Autonomous Republic of Crimea has formally requested military protection of its territory by Russia.  This  is the most critical area of the current crisis. A Russian military build up was noted in the past 72 hours in the Southern Military District HQ of Rostov on Don. To this end the HQ 49th Army at Stavropol appears to be coordinating with the HQ 20th Army at Voronezh. This activity prompted the report of a US/EU warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin to desist from any military intervention in the Ukraine. 

This leads us to the potential for a Russian "false flag" operation against Ukraine. Anything from an assassination of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych (who has become a major liability to Russian President Putin), to a perceived threat to Russian nationals who predominate in southeastern Ukraine and the Crimean Autonomous Republic. To say this crisis is volatile would be a gross understatement of the current situation.

UPDATE Part II - The Ezekiel Factor:  In these last days whenever a significant number of Russian military forces are reported to be OTM (On-The-Move) I will always pay very close attention to it and there is a very specific prophetic reason to do so. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum has long taught, and I have long agreed with him, that the meaning of Ezekiel 38:4 relates to a sudden change in the strategic objective for Gog's confederation of forces.

"I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords."

Gog's military intent is to move his marshaled forces in a direction other than south towards Israel, but God suddenly and directly intervenes and turns Gog around with the symbolic hooks (chach lechiy - plural, more than one hook!) in his jaws and leads them to destruction on the mountains of Israel. Taken from my "The Prophetic Road to Revelation (Part IV):The War of Gog of Magog," in the subsection entitled "When God Goes to War," I wrote the following: 

"I am compelled to make a specific note at this point that there is not just one hook or one jaw, but plural "hooks" and "jaws." There are more than one hook and more than one jaw, or many hooks and many jaws. Secondly, the "hook" is not necessarily a "fish hook" as we might imagine. The Hebrew word is chach can mean a ring, like a nose ring as found Ezekiel Ch 29:4, or a bracelet, and both of which were run through the nose of wild animals in order to tame them. Often in Old Testament times a rope was attached to the ring or the bracelet to lead the animal to where the trainer wanted it to go. The next Hebrew word to note is lechiy which is a reference to the cheek of a man, or the jawbone of an animal."

It's not much of a war in that the Gog confederation's forces arrive over Israel like a cloud covering the land and just as suddenly are dispatched to their eternal fate. So it is, I believe, that it will be with the suddenness of the re-direction of Gog's forces. This scenario conforms to what I also believe about Ezekiel's prophecy occurring prior to the 70th Week. There are indeed other factors involved in the fulfillment of this prophecy which have not yet been met, but the marshaling of Russian forces for one potential objective makes this current event one to keep a very close eye on because undoubtedly it will occur again when all of the Ezekiel 38/39 circumstances are properly aligned in the near future.

I also have no doubt that in this era of high resolution satellite reconnaissance an extremely large force as described in the prophetic word of Ezekiel simply cannot go undetected as it is assembled, even at the lesser force component (brigade and battalion) levels. Once massed and OTM (On-The-Move) such a force would be simple to detect via a plethora of electromagnetic, infrared and optic sensors. Large forces cannot and do not go into movement without these signatures.  This is what is now occurring with respect to Russian military forces and the situation in Ukraine.

19 February 2014: The above image may invoke thoughts about the apocalypse, but is actaully an image taken this morning in Independence Square, Kiev, Ukraine.  Here is my periscope view on what is occurring in the Ukraine, a brief recent history on what has led to this, and the result likely to be witnessed in the prophetic fulfillment of Ezekiel 38/39.

The violence in Ukraine today is all about a forceful Russian-led usurpation of Ukrainian sovereignty and political independence that was achieved after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Make no mistake, this is a full-scale revolution against Russian designs on the Ukraine. 

Although a holdover totalitarian communist regime remained in power for the next 13 years (1991-2005), a simple majority of the Ukrainian people's desire for integration into the Western community of democratic nations, with the EU and with NATO led to a showdown with the neo-communist government of Leonid Kuchma.  

 In 2004 and 2005 the peaceful "Orange Revolution" led to the removal of the old communist order and the instllation of the very Pro-West/Pro-EU/Pro-NATO government of Viktor Yushchenko. In 2010 a new election was won by Viktor Yanukovych who began rolling back the Pro-West/Pro-EU/Pro-NATO aspirations, but he could not completely overcome them.  

Russia exerted its  economic power over Ukrainian aspirations by shutting of natural gas supplies (economic warfare). This pressure and the unilateral Ukrainian government cancellation of a Pro-EU treaty has since turned the peaceful "Orange Revolution" into a violent confrontation and near armed revolution between the people and the Ukrainian state which has both Russia and Belarus supporting it against the Ukrainian people. Long story short from the prophetic perspective... Gog of Magog is re-building his empire prior to Ezekiel 38/39.