Global SITREP D1-18: The End-Game in Syria?

Russian IL-22M Coot-A ELINT Aircraft (a/k/a IL-18D-36 Bizon)

18 September 2018:  At approximately 11 PM IDT a very large-scale Israeli missile attack from the Mediterranean Sea against Syrian-Iranian targets in the area of Latakia, Syria commenced. Huge fireballs erupted in the area around a technical facility linked to the production of missiles and chemical munitions and storage warehouses used by Iran to transfer war materiel to Lebanese Hezbollah. 

Iran uses this location adjacent to the Russian Hmeimim Air Base and its air defense system in an attempt to cover their preparations for war against Israel. Israel immediately recognized the critical and intolerable nature of what the Iranians were doing with Syrian government acquiescence in the area adjecent to Hmeimim Air Base.

As the IAF strike mission completed and the Israeli F16I Sufa's had recovered back into Israeli airspace, a Russian IL-22M Coot-A ELINT aircraft enroute to recover at Hmeimim Air Base following an intellgence collection mission over Idlib goverorate, was shotdown with 15 crew members on board by "excessive and inaccurate" Syrian air defense fire. 

Initial Russian comments made by Ministry of Defense personnel blamed Israel for the loss of their aircraft, stating that the IAF strike was an "irresponsible action" in that the IAF had deliberately used the IL-22M as cover against Syrian anti-air fire. The Russian MoD spokeperson, Igor Konashenkov, made a threat of retaliation against Israel in what he termed wered "irresponsible actions of the Israeli military," and a "hostile act."

A Russian MoD flight profile map as published by the BBC can be seen below. Subsequent reports say that Russian President Vladimir Putin has characterized the shhotdown as "a chain of tragic and chance circumstances." What it means is that the Syrian anti-aircrat system operators were completely spooked by the intense middile of the night IAF strike and continued to fire wildly at anything in the air off the Syrian coastline. In U.S. military parlance, this was a 'Murphy's Law" event. Tragic, completely avoidable, but the direct result of Iranian war preparations within Syrian territory for which the Syrian government bears full responsibility.

Also concurrent with the aftermath of the IAF strike the Russian media were also reporting that the recently commissioned French FREMM-class frigate, FF-D654 Auvergne, was also launching missiles into Syria. The French Ministry of defense has vehemently denied any role in the downing of the Russian aircraft or that their frigate launched missiles of any kind. The Russian reports have been characterized by the French Ambassador to the United States as Russia having gone mad with their "fake news" reports.

These are the type of events in northwestern Syria and off its coastline that Eschatology Today has for the past three years put forward as a strong potential leading edge in the fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:23-27, and Isaiah 17. From Global SITREP D6-15, posted on 15 September 2015, we have the following excerpt:

"15 September 2015: I believe it would serve us well to look closely at the passage below from Jeremiah 49. Verse 23 is referring directly to that swath of territory in northwestern Syria adjacent to the Eastern Mediterranean seacoast, from the Turkish border to the Lebanese border, and which is currently known as the Governorates of Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Latakia and Tartus. Hamath is the modern-day the city of Hama, and Arpad is located in the present day city of Tell Rifaat in Aleppo.

Jeremiah 49:23-27

 Against Damascus.

“Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They are fainthearted;
There is trouble on the sea;
It cannot be quiet.
²⁴ Damascus has grown feeble;
She turns to flee,
And fear has seized her.
Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor.
²⁵ Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy?
²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets,
And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts.
²⁷ “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”"

By now virtually all regular readers here are very aware of this. The question now is, have we arrived at the point of no return; the point where the war in Syria, in which many nations are militarily directly involved, makes a turn from an active process to actual fulfillment? Based upon the final words of verse 23, there will be more to come in terms of "trouble on the sea" where two opposing naval armadas may find themselves in recept of legitimate or illegitimate orders to push buttons in hostile or pre-emptive strikes against the other. 

Final Word 19 September 2018: Russia will be looking for retribution. Despite the good cop (Putin) bad cop (Shoigu) PR act of yesterday, Russia will want retribution. Here's our link within this situation to Ezekiel 38/39. This will require a good amount of patience from fellow eschatologists. Several other prophetic events must take place first.