Global SITREP E2-14: 2015 Crescendo Coming

9 November 2015: I used the metaphor in SITREP D10-14 of the proverbial can having been kicked in darkness down the road as far as possible. Now I'm going to revise that to say there's more than one can, there are several of them. I think 2015 will be the year in which the real issues these cans represent either explode or are tossed into the rubbish bin of history. Many of these cans have their origins in the actions or inactions of the Obama Administration. These are the crescendos coming in 2015.

One of the most urgent is the Iranian nuclear issue. Under the U.S. Obama Administration the artifice of negotiating with Iran's Shi'a jihadists over their nuclear program may have all but resulted in the Ayatollah's possession of several Islamic bombs and Israel's realization that: a) PM Netanyahu has been thoroughly deceived, or b) the intelligence data Israel is likely to have provided to the US and IAEA was summarily ignored.

This morning all of Israel has been publicly informed in a published report in the UKs The Sunday Times that there are likely five times as many advanced design uranium enrichment centrifuges operating in Iran than are involved in the negotiation process. This means that even if Iran were to agree to halt the spinning of a thousand centrifuges, they'd still have another four thousand spinning their way to a fissile core for their weapons. The net result of this outright deception hands the Ayatollah his nukes and checkmates Israel through its acquiescing to the negotiations vice striking the Iranian program while it had every chance to do so.

This news comes from Olli Heinonen, the man who most recently was the IAEAs Deputy Director General of Safeguards. Heinonen now says Iran have have operational five times as many of the advanced carbon-fiber IR-2m centrifuges than Iran has admitted to possessing. The IR-2m centrifuges are also five times more effective than the obsolete IR-1 Iran has used in years past. 

So, where did Olli Heinonen get this new data? From "intelligence sources" which revealed that Iran had previously acquired the raw materials to have constructed several thousand IR-2m centrifuges beyond the one-thousand they've admitted to have operational, and that they have have them operational or on standby at enrichment sites beyond Natanz and Fordow. The deadline for an agreement between the E3/EU+3 (a/k/a P5+1) and Iran over its nuclear program is just 15 days away (24 November). 

Prophetically, Jeremiah 49:34-39 is the only Scripture we have to begin to understand what the future holds. On Eschatology Today we have discussed this prophecy at length previously over the past three years (SITREP B5:14; SITREP B7-13 and in "Jeremiah 49: Will a Coalition of Nations Move Against Iran?"). There is also Bill Salus' outstanding and highly recommended book published in July 2014, "Nuclear Showdown in Iran: Revealing the Ancient Prophecy of Elam."

Bill Salus & Al Gist: Rapture/Harpazo, The 70th Week, Antichrist and Salvation Before and After and The Restrainer

9 February 2014: Included here are a pair of linked Prophecy Update MP3 files in which you will hear Bill Salus and Maranatha Evangelistic Ministries Pastor All Gist discuss several Bible prophecies from Chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel, and The Revelation of Jesus Christ with an emphasis towards an exceptionally sound teaching of Paul's letter to the Thessalonians regarding the times in our immediate future, the Harpazo/Rapture, specifically 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

This topic has been discussed at length on Eschatology Today between July 2011 and September 2013 in the topic 'Daniel's 70th Week and the Harpazo' and the total of 53 comments which follow. The MP3 files linked below are an awesome addition for this teaching and you will be blessed to hear them both in their entirety.

Here is the key Scripture for reference:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 

21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
 

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Part I: Is There a Second Shot at Salvation? (26 minute MP3 audio file will load automatically)

Part II: Is There a Second Shot at Salvation (30 minute MP3 audio file will load automatically)

SPECIAL REPORT: Dateline Jerusalem: Will Israel Strike Iran?

18 January 2014: While our dear friend and brother-in-Christ Bill Salus was in Israel during November 2013 he visited with Chris Mitchell, bureau chief for CBN News. Chris interviewed Bill for his CBN TV news program Jerusalem: Dateline, and Bill interviewed Chris for Prophecy Update Radio. 

 

You are invited to listen to their fascinating radio interview. Chris Mitchell has recently published a timely book called Dateline Jerusalem, An Eyewitness Account of Prophecies Unfolding in the Middle East. Click HERE to read more about Chris Mitchell’s book at Amazon.com.

Bill asked Chris, “Will Israel strike Iran’s nuclear program?” Click HERE to listen to the 30-minute MP3 audio presentation to discover Chris Mitchell’s qualified answer to this question and many more.

The 4 minute 37 second video presentation:

CBN News: Does Psalm 83 Predict an Imminent War?

In Defense of Isralestine: The Errors of Dr. Thomas Ice in "Consistent Biblical Futurism (Part 10)"

8 September 2013: I'm taking a very brief time-out from the Global SITREP series in order to properly address what I consider to be an important issue among dispensationalists. Very recently I came across Part 10 of the "Consistent Biblical Futurism" series published by Dr. Thomas Ice of the Pre-Trib Research Center. As postulated in Part I, this multi-part series of articles by Dr. Ice was predicated upon his identifying and discussing the various but significant differences in the literal prophetic interpretation strictly among fellow dispensationalists of the historicist and futurist views, as well as Dr. Ice's personal suggestions on which of these interpretations are correct and why certain individuals within the whole of literalist dispensationalism hold to viewpoints different from his own viewpoint. Dr. Ice also made clear in his introduction that both Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 would be dealt with relative to their potential fulfillment either prior to or within the final 7 years of the 70th Week.

Consistent with Dr. Ice' request that these issues be subjected to the peer review process of public discussion and based upon what I found within his "Consistent Biblical Futurism (Part 10)" I find it necessary to respond with my own views on what Dr. Ice has written. 

Firstly, whether a particular interpretation can be labeled as "historicist' or "futurist" is very subjective in my view because ALL unfulfilled Bible prophecy is clearly in the future from the here and now, irregardless of that fulfillment is prior to the 70th Week, during it and afterwards during the Millennium of Christ's rule on Earth. 

Secondly, I must point out that Dr. Ice makes it abundantly clear that he regards the views of others as "speculation" instead of their being a specific prophetic interpretation worthy of truly brotherly discussion. It is this apparently ego-driven and unwarranted adoption of an interpretive superiority over the views of his brothers-in-Christ which constitutes an appalling error on the part of Dr. Ice right from the get-go.

To the case-in-point, the essence of Part 10 is the 2008 book Isralestine by author Bill Salus, the crux of which is a study of Psalm 83. I will leave the gross distortions of what Dr. Ice has written concerning the views expressed in Isralestine by Bill Salus for others to address should they so desire. I am going to focus on two items: the manner in which Dr. Ice discusses this issue, and the fact that Dr. Ice has made what I believe is a very significant Scripture-based error in his argument against Isralestine.

The first item is the manner in which Dr. Ice treats Bill Salus' work in Isralestine has the distinct intonation of a direct personal attack upon the author in that he casts serious accusations on the manner in which Bill Salus' mind operates, thereby impugning the mental well-being of Bill Salus. Here are the specifically offensive phraseology used by Dr. Ice: "...this scenario is merely manufactured from the speculative mind of Bill Salus... his thinking on this matter... is merely a speculative belief."  This is not how one brother discusses the work of another brother. It is rude, condescending, arrogant in the extreme and unbecoming of a brother-in-Christ in my opinion.

The Scripture-based error made by Dr. Ice is with respect to his identification of the Philistines per Psalm 83:7. Dr. Ice writes: (emphasis is mine) "The first problem with this view is that "Early Palestine was dominated by white Caucasians from the eastern Mediterranean area."

Dr. Ice continued with: "By the time of the intertestamental period, the Philistines disappear from history. Why is this important? This is important since it is legitimate to trace a modern people group from their ancient ancestors mentioned in the Bible if that people group remains the same over the years. The fact that the Philistines have totally vanished from history, while the Palestinians, who take the name from the ancient Philistines are ethnically unrelated to them. Since there is not ethnic relationship, this disqualifies one from identifying them as the same people group today. Modern Palestinians are generally made up of Arabs from all of the surrounding counties that have immigrated to Israel over the years."

Dr. Ice got his cited "facts" wrong here, and that leads to the greater error of his conclusion of who exactly the Philistines were and are to this day.

In Genesis 10 the Lord instructs us very clearly that the Philistines did not come from the line of Noah through Japheth (the so-called white northern peoples, a/k/a Caucasians).

Genesis 10:6 and 13-14 instructs us that the Philistines came from the line of Noah through his son Ham who begat Mizaim who begat Casluhim -- whence went forth the Philistines.

The Philistines are the same stock, the same ethnic peoples, the same relative family of people as are the rest of the Hamites, such as Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan!  White Caucasians? Absolutely not!

6 And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan.
13 And Mizraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim--whence went forth the Philistines--and Caphtorim.

Then turn to Exodus 13, verses 17-18 where God instructs:

"Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea."

The Philistines lived in that coastal strip of eastern Mediterranean land through the time of when Israel was being ruled by her Judges (the Book of Judges) and by her Kings (the Books of Kings) and they continued to live here until the Assyrian conquest. Then the Philistines gradually intermingled back into the same genetic stock of the Hamite-Mizraimite family of this same region from which they originated.

The Philistines haven't gone anywhere, they have not disappeared from history, they still live in the same place where their ancestors lived, and have intermingled even further since the Islamic conquest of the region in the 7th century AD. There are even greater details that I could cite  from the text of Moses in Genesis and of Asaph in Psalm 83, but this should serve to make the point I have made sufficiently.

Now, to be clear, I have assumed Dr. Thomas Ice actually wrote and is therefore responsible for the whole of "Consistent Biblical Futurism (Part 10)" and the errors I have cited here; that Part 10 wasn't just some cut and pasted work done by an intern within his ministry. Nevertheless, the error is a significant one in my opinion, and should preclude Dr, Ice's from publishing and widely distributing a personal attack and Scripturally-incorrect article like his "Consistent Biblical Futurism (Part 10)" has turned out to be. This is something I ordinarily would never have expected to see published on the Pre-Trib Research Center's website, and that is truly just a crying shame.

Global SITREP A14-13 Special Edition: Christ in Prophecy TV Presents: 'The War of Psalm 83- Past History or Future Prophecy'

L to R: Dr. David Reagan, Bill Salus, Nathan Jones on the set of Christ in Prophecy TV

20 June 2013: Since the last Global SITREP was posted we have witnessed the defeat of the heavily out-gunned Sunni rebel jihadist forces at the near-epic siege of al-Qusayr, Syria by a coalition of Alawite-Shi'a forces from Bashar al-Assad's rump national army and air force, Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian IRGC troops North Korean military advisers were also reported to have been in the mix on that side of the battle. This was followed immediately by ominous military movements occurring on both Israeli and Syrian sides of the Golan no-mans-land, and by an extraordinary meeting of 19 Islamist scholars of the Sunni Arab League and Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in Cairo, Egypt which resulted in Mursi accepting the Islamist scholars diktat and the immediate the breaking of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Syria and a de facto declaration of war between Egypt and Hezbollah. Accordingly, Egypt, as the leader of the Arab League, has abandoned its embassy's functions in Damascus and closed the Syrian embassy in Cairo. The Islamic scholars also read Mursi the proverbial riot act regarding the tremendous Shi'ite threat to Sunni dominance in the Middle East, particularly in the Levant, and that all Iranian ships must be banned from transiting the Suez Canal which are enroute with arms for the Syrian regime.  The Arab League can now be expected to strike at Iran's Achilles heel through the 20 million Sunni's who live within the Islamic Republic. In addition to all of this action, battle lines are also being drawn between the US-led NATO alliance in Europe who support the Sunni's and the Russian Federation and its allies who support the Alawite-Hezbollah-Iran military confederation.

Against this backdrop I would now like to present the most recent edition of the Lamb & Lion Ministries Christ in Prophecy TV program. In this program Dr. David Reagan and Nathan Jones discuss the Psalm 83 War with author/lecturer Bill Salus (Isralestine, Revelation Road:The Missing Prophecy Revealed). On this program they interview Bill Salus about the War of Psalm 83. Some say this war was fulfilled in past history, but Bill points why that’s not the case. Additionally, David, Nathan, and Bill answer all the other questions about the timing of Psalm 83, like is it part of Ezekiel 38 or the Armageddon scenario. Some have suggested that this may be one of Bill’s best TV interviews, even though he was feeling a bit under the weather that day in the studio.

Click HERE to watch this informative Christ in Prophecy TV show.

"Psalm 83: The Missing Prophecy Revealed" by Bill Salus

28 January 2013: Bill Salus' newest book "Psalm 83: The Missing Prophecy Revealed– How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower" has been published and is available just about everywhere. If you never purchased Bill's first book (published in 2008), "Isralestine: The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East,"  then your opportunity to purchase it in a greatly expanded and updated version has arrived with this new book. There are a total of 8 new chapters and 10 new appendices and you can receive a signed copy from Bill Salus for less than $22.00 shipping included, just follow the above embedded link. I just ordered my copy, so join me and order your own as this peerless book is certain to be a topic of discussion on Eschatology Today in the very near future.

Is Ezekiel 38 Imminent?

Is Ezekiel 38 Imminent?

By Bill Salus
ProphecyDepot.com

20 June 2010: Current Middle East events are definitely stage setting for the final fulfillment of the Israeli War prophecies of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39. Turkey's recent newsworthy gyrations against Israel has got the “EZEKIEL 38 NOW” advocates rightfully at the edge of their seats. Now, Turkey and Iran, both members of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy, share a common enmity toward Israel.

Mainstream media has seized the opportunity to make Turkey’s bid to embarrass Israel and Iran’s nuclear aim to destroy Israel front page news. This media blitz has played an instrumental part in creating a significant amount of recent Ezekiel 38 newspaper exegesis.

Certainly, there is just cause to consider the Ezekiel 38–39 prophecy in light of recent events, however, what about Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas, and the Palestinians? They also are at odds with Israel and likewise frequently dominate current Mideast headlines. Curiously, Ezekiel 38 describes nine distinct populations by their ancient names including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Libya but omits the historic name equivalents of Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas, and the Palestinians.

CLICK HERE to read Bill Salus' entire Bible prophecy Today article

Psalm Buried in Bog Soil Predicts Promised Land Warzone!

14 May 2010: What is Bible prophecy and what does it predict next? Bill Salus warns an ancient Psalm buried for centuries under Irish bog soil predicts the Promised Land will soon turn into a HOLY WARZONE!

Bill is interviewed on Southern California’s largest Christian radio station, KBRT 740 AM, about the importance of Bible Prophecy in these last days. In part one Bill discusses the potential prophetic relevance of the mysterious discovery of Psalm 83 buried in Ireland. The Psalm predicts the coming of a holy war between the Arabs and the Jews. Additionally, Bill locates terrorism and the Israeli Defense Forces in Bible prophecy.

Click HERE to go to Bill's ProphecyDepot.com website for Parts I & II of this series and much more, or click HERE for the MP3 of Part I and HERE for Part II.

The Psalm 83 Revealing: Coincidence or Providence?

UPDATE 31 March 2010: I read Jack Kinsella's latest article earlier today and it really struck a spiritually resonant chord. The spiritually resonant chord aspect is that I have not heretofore considered that the Harpazo of the Bride of Christ could actually be a part of the Lord's judgment upon the United States for our abandonment of Israel. I have always believed that the Harpazo would have a devastating effect on the United States, but that devastation never rang a bell with me with respect to Divine judgment. The Harpazo has always been an imminent, signless event tied to a certain season of the Fig Tree. That season is undoubtedly upon us. Maranatha.

Please read Jack Kinsella's Brits Abandon 'Special Relationship' with America

25 March 2010: Isralestine author Bill Salus' blog Prophecy Newstand has a new must read article "The Psalm 83 Revealing: Coincidence of Providence." You'll also find a link to both of Bill's blogs in the 'Favorite Links' list to the right. In this new blog article Bill Salus references the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war as an on-going, real-time reminder from the Lord that the literal fulfillment of the Psalm 83 prophecy in the very near future is an imminent probability.

As readers of the Northeast Intelligence Network website, the NEIN Blog and this Eschatology Today blog are by now well aware, I absolutely agree with Bill Salus' brilliant, in-depth exegesis on this subject. The same Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) dwells within and speaks the same prophetic truths to all of us.

On 9 February 2007, just six months after the end of the 2006 war, I wrote a short article on the NEIN website entitled "Lebanon, Syria & Israel: The Coming War." In that article I detailed the previously unthinkable attack upon an Israel Defense Forces armored unit by the Lebanese Army at the outset of the war. At the moment of the Lebanese Army attack upon the IDF armored unit all Israeli units were on Israel's side of the Blue Line, which is to say that the IDF had not crossed into Lebanese territory but was conducting necessary operations on sovereign Israeli territory. The Lebanese Army commander had been expressly assured by the IDF commander that he had no intention of crossing the border. Yet the impotent and virtually useless Lebanese Army lay in waiting, fully prepared to ambush the IDF armored unit which had no choice but to clear Hezbollah-placed landmines on Israel's soil. This war began as a cleverly designed trap, an ambush, a kidnapping. The government and military of Lebanon were full participants in it.

Media reports ever since have made reference to that 2006 war as the Hezbollah-Israel war, yet the war was also fought directly between the Lebanese Army and the IDF. Moreover, I have subsequently been convinced that the Lebanese Army acted as a force multiplier for the Iranian and Syrian equipped Hezbollah forces. I knew three years ago that what we had just been witness to was a preview of the coming Psalm 83 war prophecied by Aspah over 3,000 year ago. I concluded my article saying, "There is war coming to this border region, a very big war is coming. Iran and Syria with their terrorist proxies are spoiling for a very big war. I see no other tactical explanation which makes an iota of sense."

There is a very high probability that Psalm 83 war is about to erupt and we will yet again be witness to the literal fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Sadly, this will be a war in which America under the Obama Administration will abandon and betray our long-time Israeli ally. In a few hours I will be posting additional details on the specific intelligence items we have collected which forecast such a betrayal.

Conclusion:

The full range of current events in this region is viewed as a whole by this author as constituting severe indications and warnings that the Psalm 83 war is an imminent probability. Whether the spark is a clash on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, or another missile-borne provocation coming from Hezbollah or HAMAS on Damascus’ or Tehran’s directive is probably immaterial because this next war will be a war that includes all of Israel’s enemies coming against her simultaneously, from without and from within. And unlike all the previous wars between Israel and its neighboring Muslim Arab enemies of the past 60 years, in this war it appears very likely that America will betray its Israeli ally and side with the Arabs. This is the unfortunate and entirely avoidable situation we are in at this time, a situation which until very recently has been festering quietly in small newspaper snippets buried deep in the back pages of newspapers. Yet nothing is more important to America’s future well-being than what this nation does in this war. For when it comes to modern day Israel the blessing or curse promised by the God of Abraham in Genesis 12:3 is in full effect.

Make no mistake, what is presently occurring between the State of Israel and the United States of America is quite different that what is being described in the global lame-stream media as constituting a “rift” or a “crisis,” or as being “strained” or even as “heightened tensions.” No, what is occurring now is nothing less than the execution of a long-planned, intricately manipulated betrayal of Israel by the godless Western elite, the "Global Oligarchy," as orchestrated through the socialist regime currently occupying the White House.

Over the past year Northeast Intelligence Network Director Doug Hagmann had a series of conversations with a former highly-placed U.S. intelligence official which were reported in a series of articles on this website between December 2008 and March 2009. All of these articles contain information vital to the future of the nation, particularly if the pace of events in the Middle East allows us to reach the November 2010 mid-term election and rectify and impending Divine judgment and disaster on America. The first was “US Intelligence Official About Israel: This is just the beginning” which was followed by the second installment titled “The Coming War.” The phrase we were advised by that intelligence officer to keep in keen focus was “malicious intelligence” and which was to be viewed as integral with the actions of our own government in withdrawing our long-standing support of Israel.

The details I found most disturbing, and have kept front and center in my mind since their publication last March, were contained in Doug’s article entitled “The US Abandonment of Israel.” The detailed statements from the former intelligence officer are imperative reading in light of the events and news reports of the past week primarily due to their stunning, off-the-chart accuracy. In expounding upon a statement that something worse than mere American abandonment of its alliance with Israel would be forthcoming the intelligence officer added that the Obama Administration would provide more financial and military support to Israel’s enemies and would undercut Israel’s defensive efforts while simultaneously “pushing Israel to succumb to the pressure of unreasonable demands designed to end with their political annihilation as a nation.” In the past two weeks this is exactly, precisely what the Obama Administration has done to Israel. There is every indication these efforts will continue unabated and inevitably increase over time.

It cannot be possibly be any clearer at this juncture, the administration of Barack Hussein Obama has a clearly defined pro-Muslim anti-Israel agenda and only “We the People” stand between it and a future no voting American parent wants for his or her children or grandchildren. Moreover, no American wants to stand before God and give account on why he or she failed to bless Israel in her greatest time of need.

Are Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 Imminent?

27 December 2009: Readers should be aware of Eschatology Today's four-part series entitled "The Prophetic Road to Revelation (hereafter TPRR for short)." I have added a new direct-link feature in the upper right-hand column to make access to the 5-part series that much easier.

In preparation of going forward into the year 2010 AD it became very apparent that while I've referenced the prophecy of Isaiah 17 on many items and comments within this blog, the overall significance of the prophecy has not been given the full exegesis in the TPRR series that it should have been given. In fact, I barely mentioned Isaiah 17 in TPRR Part III, but merely posted a link to the online BibleGateway.com NIV translation. I am now going to rectify that oversight.

The Hal Lindsey "War Imminent" video from May 2009 embedded above provides very a similar if not the same context as the TPRR series provides, yet Hal makes mention of a specific item that has become the focus of my own recent research into Isaiah 17. Hal speaks to the numbers of casualties in both Israel and Syria in the event of an all-out WMD war between them. I believe this is precisely one of the key prophetic insights of Isaiah 17.

First, elemental to the necessary rectification, I believe Isaiah 17 should be consided as an integral part of the Psalm 83 prophecy, if not the lead element in the cause, conduct and course of the warfare described by the prophet Asaph in the Psalm. The first three verses give us this overarching context and link three key combatant nations of Syria, Jordan and Israel into this prophetic event.

The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria (Aram); they will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” says the LORD of hosts.

Everyone is aware of the primary destruction of the city of Damascus which has been the traditional focus of this prophecy. However, it is clearly seen that the cities of Aroer are directly involved in the warfare; they are abandoned by their populations, forsaken, and in which animals exist alone without human care. The (map link) "cities of Aroer" named here by Isaiah are specifically identified in Joshua 13:24-28. This is the part of Israel which has been given to the tribe of Gad. This land lies in what is today northwestern Jordan

"Moses also had given an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families. Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, which is before Rabbah, and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir, and in the valley Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as its border, as far as the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of the Jordan eastward. This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages."

Keep Joshua 13 handy as it reflects very nicely the full territorial extent of the land which will become Israel proper once Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 have been completely fulfilled in the near-term future. Pay close attention to verses 1 through 7, and notice all of Lebanon is included in the full scope of the land Israel will possess.

The next sentence we read in Isaiah 17 begins with the statement "The fortress also will cease from Ephraim." Locate Ephraim on this map. Save this map as a .jpg image to your hard drive and compare it with this map and this map. The first thing that one should notice is that Ephraim comprises the heart of the territories of the West Bank, now under the control of the terrorist Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, and is desired to be controlled by his rivals in HAMAS, with Israeli outposts and settlements existing throughout the territory. Seeing these maps should bring a keen new insight as to the specific meaning regarding the "fortress ceasing from Ephraim." This land is destined by God-given ordinance to belong only to Israel, and should there be, as is the current agenda of the West at this point, the establishment of a Palestinian state on this land, it will be a very short-lived state at that.

The next three verses of Isaiah 17 (4 through 6) reveal the initial damage done to Israel as this war commences:

In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob (Israel) will wane, and the fatness of his flesh grow lean. It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain, and reaps the heads with his arm; it shall be as he who gathers heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches,” says the LORD God of Israel.

Although Israel will be overwhelmingly victorious in this war, she will suffer significant casualties. The Valley of Raphaim is specifically mentioned. This is a valley which lies west of Jerusalem, in the hills of Judea and progressing southwestward toward the coastal plain adjacent to the Valley of Elah, the site of the Israelite encampment when David slew Goliath. This region is the primary approach for Israel into the city of Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and Ashdod to the west.

These wartime events will bring about a common theme found in much of the Bible’s “end of the age” prophecies. The common theme, beginning in verses 7 and 8, is that through these events Israel, which is represented by the gleaning grapes and olives of the uppermost bough and outmost fruitful branches, will at that time again look upon the "Qadowsh Yisra’el," the Holy One of Israel. This the same theme as found in the “end of the age” message from Paul in Romans 11; these are at a minimum some of the men of Israel who will become the 144,000 global evangelists of Daniel’s 70th Week. They will have absolutely no regard for and completely forsake all the things of this world and will then clearly see the Deliverer of Zion and serve God only. Israel will have its blindness removed and the root which supports all of us as the grafted in branch are themselves grafted back in to the olive tree.

At verse 9 through 11 we once again see the overwhelming demise of Israel’s enemies, consistent with the theme of Psalm 83, these enemies have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide; their “strong cities” shall offer no refuge and there will be widespread waste and desolation. Such is the fate of the descendants of Ishmael who turned their back on the true God who is the only source of salvation and embraced Islam and its false god instead. The harvest they shall reap from this devotion to a false religion and a false god will yield them nothing but a heap of grief and incurable sorrows.

Finally, the prophecy of Isaiah 17 culminates with verses 12 through 14 which clearly illustrate the global nature of this war and its effects on many nations, meaning the whole world. Again, the parallel to the warfare and results of Psalm 83 are unmistakable. These prophecies are a God-breathed foretelling of the same event. The cry of “Woe!” leaps out from the opening of verse 12 and goes out to the nations of the world who make a tumult like the rushing of flood waters as they rush in against Israel only to be rebuked by God which is expressed in language very similar to that given by Asaph in Psalm 83. They are driven back like chaff before a Divine wind which is likened to irresistible force of an off-the-scale tornado.

It is at this point I would direct the reader to the prophecy of Zechariah 9, verses 1-8, which paints a prophetic picture of how these coming events will unfold and the scope of the Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 war; how it involves the rest of Syria, north to Hamath, all of Lebanon, and the terrorist stronghold of Gaza. This series of prophetic verses begin as does Isaiah 17 with a burden against Damascus and the land of Hadrach. The mention of Hadrach, the Hebrew Chadrak, meaning Lebanon, occurs only once in the Bible, right here in Zechariah 9:1. Again, the reference above to Judges 13 should be considered as intimate reference material to these coming conquests of Israel’s enemies.

So, what we see here in Zechariah 9 is that the burden (oracle) against Damascus is directly linked to a burden (oracle) against, all of Lebanon. Lebanon, as we all know, is the domain of the terrorist group Hezbollah, and a client state of both Syria and Iran. These verses also single out Tyre and Sidon, making the direct connection to Lebanon a cinch. Lebanon’s fate is spelled out in verse 4 as her sovereignty is lost, her commerce via sea power is destroyed and the land consumed by fire. In verse 5 the prophecy moves south to Gaza, the stronghold of the terrorist HAMAS, which are a virtual duplicate of Hezbollah, or as some hold the view that Gaza is “Hezbollah South.” Both Hezbollah and HAMAS are proxies of Iran and Syria.

Also, please note that HAMAS is not only in Gaza, but has the distinction of being the armed wing of the Islamic terrorist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimuun) or MB. The MB are present here in the United States under the disguise of front organizations such as CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations), ISNA (Islamic Society of North America, and the now defunct HLF (Holy Land Foundation), among other closely related Islamic organizations.

In Zechariah 9:7 we see the Palestinians of Gaza, referred to as living in Ekron (southern Judah) and along the coast (Gaza), and their being “torn up by the roots” from these lands. The survivors of the onslaught will worship the God of Israel. This is consistent with the concluding verses found in Psalm 83:16-18:

“Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth. “

The final result is seen in Zechariah 8:9 where all of these lands, from Lebanon through to Gaza in the south, become the sovereign territory of Israel, never again to be the home of an oppressor of Israel. Additionally, there is no mistake in realizing that Israel will recognize these verses as a call to recognize Jesus the Messiah as we see in Zechariah 9:9. The overwhelming victories given to Israel, and harken back to what we saw above in Isaiah 17:7-8. This and the verses which follow speak to a conquering Messiah in the region and to the ends of the whole earth. This is a clear prophetic picture that we see in all “end times” prophecy – the coming Millennial Kingdom of Christ.

And, without going into much detail because it has been covered so well by other expositors, parallels of these same prophetic images are seen in Jeremiah 49.

As an end note to this article, I would remind the reader that while this war against the “inner ring" Arab Muslim states appears to be imminent, and I truly believe all of these prophecies are pointing to the same unprecedented scale of warfare in the Middle East, we are to be ever mindful of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ regarding wars and rumors of wars, that they must take place. And when they do they will come like a flood, meaning they will occur in a very rapid and powerful sequence of geo-political paradigm shifts which are brought about primarily through warfare, for it is warfare which is the central theme of all things connected to “end times” prophecy.

Maranatha, Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

"A Ruinous Heap"

31 January 2009: The embedded link below will allow you to download and listen to Part 1 MP3 file of Bill Salus' discussed the political and prophetic ramifications very likely to result from the current Israel-Hamas conflict with Frank Pastore on KKLA 99 FM.

The Geo-Political & Geo-Prophetical

Ramifications of the Israel-Hamas War