Global SITREP E4-18: Daniel 8

The Vision of Daniel 8

27 December 2018: In watching current events point to and even fulfill Bible prophecy literally in this generation, it suddenly struck home that with the exception of Jeremiah 49:34-39 there are no others that deal with the current and growing greatest problem in the Middle East - the Shi'a apocalyptic regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

So, I asked the Lord, why is it that Iran is so strong in Lebanon, in Syria and even in Iraq; that Iran is the leading threat to Israel and all of the other regional nations, and even to nations that are thousands of miles distant (think: Argentina and Venezuela), and yet there is no distinct prophecy we can look to that gives some hint as to how Iran is reduced to a smaller or secondary role in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39?

Within just a few moments later I found myself directed to Daniel 8. This is a purely prophetic chapter that has been read, written about and discussed quite extensively on Eschatology Today. It is a chapter I've always considered to have been fulfilled circa 330 BC in the time of Alexander the Great and the four successor empires led by his generals. I had never so much as considered Daniel 8 as constituting a prophetic duality; a two-fold prophecy, a prophecy where the past is prologue for the future.

I am now seriously considering this as a distinct possibility, if not another imminent prophetic fulfillment. Israel is in the midst of an ever widening kinetic war against Iran in Syria, and against Iran's Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon for the better part of the past four decades. America has been in a hot and cold war with Iran for most of that same four decades, and now it's become a heated economic war (sanctions) that could easily morph into a direct conflict.

Instead of Alexander the Great being the he-goat attacking the ram that is Iran, the modern type would be President Trump as the he-goat going after Iran that is the ram. As this may play out in the near future I would note the subsequent appearance of the coming true Antichrist following in the type example that was Antiochus IV Epiphanes from one of Alexander's successor empires (the Seleucid). 

But what is it that piqued my interest in Daniel 8 being a two-fold prophecy; one that sees its ultimate fulfillment in this generation? There are two explicit sets of verses for this. The first is found in Daniel 8:5-7, where the he-goat travels into combat against the ram from a distant land in the west, never touching the ground across the whole surface of the earth. This is a modern military capability only the USA possesses. The second set of verses are Daniel 8:15-17 where the angel Gabriel informs Daniel, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end." Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia (Iran) was not an 'end time' event; it occurred about 2,350 years ago. 

This is just the beginning of a new study on the prophetic duality of Daniel 8; a prophecy that must be fulfilled in this generation.

28 December 2018: Another key set of verses begins at Daniel 8:18 where Gabriel says to Daniel, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the [Divine] indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be." Gabriel then identifies the two symbols, the ram and the he-goat, as the kingdom of Medo-Persia and the kindom of Greece. Once again, and as discussed previously on Eschatology Today, verse 23 is a critical verse because this it evidences a definitive continuity from over 2,300 years to ago to the present time. 

How does the West as a whole regard itself? Obviously as the heirs of the ancient Greek and Roman Empires! One look at the great buildings of Washington D.C. and the classical Greek and Roman architecture is seen throughout this globally dominant seat of government. "In the latter time of their kingdom..." is expressly literal! The modern-day versions of the ancient empires are once again deadly enemies in these 'last days.'

29 December 2018: Not wanting to dwell on this much further because the "time of the end" aspect remains unfulfilled. Iran will not quit their push into Syria because Israel hits their bases and depots every couple of months or so. Ditto for Hezbollah. Ditto for HAMAS and the PIJ in Gaza. It will take a superpower and its coalition to suddenly strike and drive Iran out. Hezbollah, HAMAS, the PIJ, plus Islamic State in the Sinai, will be Israel's to deal with in finality. This is what the Lord's prophetic word teaches. 

UPDATE 30 December 2018: Not sure if this will be the final update to this last SITREP of the year, but there is an I&W (Indication and Warning) that another Israeli strike may occur shortly in Damascus region. As stated directly above concerning the fact that Iran, short of massive direct military action, will not quit their push into Lebanon and Syria, the news this morning is that Qeshm Fars Air, the false-front IRGC-QF Boeing 747-281F Cargo aircraft (the ONLY aircraft operated by Qeshm Fars Air) departed Tehran and arrived at Damascus International Airport at 10:30 AM IST this morning. US and Israeli intelligence collection aircraft orbited over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Syria and Lebanon respectively, awaiting the arrival of this IRGC-QF cargo aircraft which is known to have transported Iranian military hardware to Syria and Hezbollah several times since November. The most recent IAF strike in Damascus occurred within minutes of this aircraft departing Damascus back to Tehran the night of December 25th.

Also, in data mining for the above intel, I noticed some social media sites are rife with many recent reports of Russian forces preparing for chemical warfare in the Donbas region of Ukraine.