Global SITREP C3-24: SYRIA!

UPDATED 2 December 2024: The map above is current to the present date and represents the most current information on the advance of Islamist forces in northeastern Syria. The advance of the several allied Sunni Islamist militias southwards from the Idlib Governorate is encapsulated within the bold, red-colored borders. The military situation in this region is extremely fluid and will likely change rapidly in the coming hours and days. 

An Eschatology Today assessment of this map indicates the Sunni Islamist forces currently have two primary objectives in the wake of their blitzkrieg-like capture of Aleppo (further to the north or top of this map): 1.) The city of Hama. Islamist forces are within a very few miles of HAMA this morning, certainly within its northern suburbs. 

2.) The Russian military enclave at Khmeimim Air Base adjacent to the town of Jablah. Khmeimim AB is noted by the symbol of a black jet aircraft approximately 15 miles from the red-colored protrusion towards the Mediterranean Sea from the main axis of the Islamists southern advance.

This map also shows the main M5 north-south highway in western Syria, which runs straight from Aleppo to Hama, to Homs and south to Damascus. It is noted as the thin red line top to bottom within the red-bordered Islamist advance through newly captured territory.

Has covered the prophetic elements of the Syrian Civil War for a minimum of the past decade with the essential cores being Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27. Keep these two Scriptures close because they both clearly indicate near-future developments. The Syrian civil war is a key element in the end-times prophetic scenario, with Isaiah 18:3 as a particular standout. Jeremiah 49:23-27 brings in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the ancient region of Edom and Dedan (Arabia), Hamath (Hama), Arpad and finally Damascus.

ISW Critical Threats map of Syria 12/4/24

UPDATE 6 December 2024: Following their capture of Hama and the Hama military air base yesterday the Sunni Islamist forces continued their advance southward and toward the equally strategic city of Homs. The advance is along two axes of approach. The primary approach is via the north-south Highway 5, and the secondary is from Ismaili Shi'a town of As-Salamiye (Salamiyah) via the Raqqa-Homs Highway. 

This advance appears to be more rapid than previously seen as the local municipalities are negotiating surrender prior to the arrival of rebel troop columns. The Sunni Islamists promised no retribution against local populations and that they can continue their normal functioning. The Syrian army had all but disintegrated in front of the Sunni Islamist advance with only minor engagements or brief firefights. As of this date there are no Syrian army defensive positions along the approaches to Homs.

A potential death knell for the Al-Assad regime may be seen in Hezbollah declaring it will not send additional forces to defend Damascus as it is committed to "sheltering and rebuilding" in Lebanon; that it will abide by the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement. 

Few, if any, take Hezbollah at its word. Israel this morning sent IAF strike aircraft to destroy new missile launch sites pointed at Israeli targets. Israel has greatly beefed up the IDF forces along the Syrian border as daily and even hourly IDF re-assessments of the situation in Syria are becoming the norm.

In this light the next best hope for the survival of the Syrian regime is for Russia to airlift its forces (numbering in the several thousands) in the African Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Central African Republic and Libya) to the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria. It remains to be seen if this redeployment will take place.

Global SITREP A3-23: The Za'am

 

The Vision of Daniel 8

26 January 2023: This SITREP is a timely and necessary update and continuation of what was posted in Global SITREP E4-18 just over five years ago. It regards the vision given to Daniel and the interpretation of the vision by the angel Gabriel in chapter 8 of the Book of Daniel. Current events warrant an update.

Two days ago reliable media reports noted that two Iranian Navy vessels made a port call to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Iranian port call, not coincidentally, comes after another stolen election, opposed most strenuously by the people, has just recently restored a leftist government in the South America nation. 

The IRIS frigate Dena and the forward naval operations base IRIS Makran are scheduled to depart Rio on 30 January for the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is a nautical choke point the same as the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea. The IRIS Makran no doubt has an embarked force of IRGC marines as well as suicide drones and several helicopters. 

Israel attacked a similar Iranian forward base ship, the IRIS Saviz, in 2021 as it was off the coast of Yemen. Another similar Iranian ship, the IRIS Lavan, serving as an IRGC forward base attacked a mocked-up replica of Israel's naval base at Eilat about three weeks ago with suicide drones. Missile attack against a mock-up of Israel Dimona nuclear complex also occurred in December 2022. Therefore, it is conceivable that these Iranian ship could pose a threat to not only the Panama Canal, but also to coastal targets in the southern United States. A direct and often promised Iranian retaliation for the U.S. military assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander MG Qasem Soleimani has yet to occurs. Ship with capabilities such as these, in proximity to US coastlines could attempt one or more retaliatory strikes. 

As noted in the E4-18, this is about prophetic continuity. Again, in Daniel 8:17 the angel Gabriel informs Daniel that he was to understand "for at the time of the end shall be the vision." In verse 19 Gabriel also informs these last days are viewed in heaven as za'am, which conveys the meaning of the the Divine frothing at the mouth with rage and indignation, having fury in displeasure of the sins being committed on earth. I've not seen at any time previously a better characterization of the true meaning of "in that day of the wrath of God" than what Gabriel imparts in Daniel 8:19. The phrase "righteous indignation" has a much greater connotation than considered before now.

There are other factors to consider in the current situation, not the least of which are strikes against the Iranian nuclear program. As with many other things, such strikes could kick-start the vision Daniel was given for our present time.

As an addendum: A pitched battle between the IDF special forces and Islamic Jihad terrorists occurred this morning in Jenin. Many terrorists were "neutralized" in a sustained firefight. Israel is anticipating rocket fire from Gaza, and IDF paratroopers are reinforcing positions in Judea and Samaria. Iron Dome units are on alert. If hostilities do erupt on a greater scale, the new government in Israel is promising that its "full force" will be brought to bear on the enemy. 

Watching for further developments.

Global SITREP D2-22: FIVE RED HEIFERS IN ISRAEL !!!!!

16 September 2022: The Lord woke me up at 03:30 this morning to receive an important email from Donald Dolmus (our dear brother in Nicaragua), which he sent at 01:30 this morning. Now, finally, after a complete Microsoft 365 update on this machine, here I am sharing what he sent with all of you. The image speaks for itself. Halleluiah and Marana'tha! This is exciting!

Global SITREP A8-22: How Far Will God Let Russia Go in its Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine?

 

Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts of Ukraine

UPDATE 25 February 2022: Firstly, it has become painfully apparent in the past 24 hours that all of those folks who heretofore had expressed high levels of distrust of the Lame Stream Media, both foreign and domestic, and its rampant "fake news" campaigns of recent memory have had been camped at their feeding trough like hordes of people starved of information. 

Eschatology Today has warned extensively throughout the past seven years (at a minimum) that none of the MSM's product is to be trusted or taken at face value. The MSM remains controlled and staffed by Western globalist interests and elites. The rampant disinformation and pure, politically motivated propaganda coming from the MSM at present is on a scale that this observer has not seen previously. Their agenda has not changed one iota. Their objectives remain the same. Many hours of intensive data mining has proven this observation to be absolutely correct. Which devil is acceptable to these people, the one from the East or the one from the West?

The conflict in Ukraine and its end-state is a known-unknown, but as we all know God is in control. What we need to see and understand right now is that events are taking place that are leading to other events, both prophetic and otherwise. Patience of saints is called for and well as being watchmen and students of the Lord's Holy Words. Nothing else really matters in the short-term because, in the words of our Lord, "all these things must take place, but the end is not yet." Just keep looking up until He comes to take us up! Marana'tha!

24 February 2022: As of 5 AM Kyiv time on 24 February 2022 the Union State (Russian Federation and Belarus) has been engaged in a full-scale war against pro-Western Ukraine. Ballistic and cruise missiles have rocked Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and other Ukrainian cities and bases, depots and assembly areas of the Ukrainian Armed forces throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. Russian forces, backed also by the forces of Belarus have attacked into Ukraine on at least five different axes of advance. The Budapest Memorandum in which Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for a Russian guarantee of Ukrainian sovereignty, peace and security is now a worthless piece of rubbish. Israel needs to pay very close attention.

22 February 2022: Leading the way for news and information of prophetic consequence, the obvious detail not seen as yet in MSM or 99.99% of other reporting, is that the "occupied" territory of Ukraine's two oblasts (provinces) of Luhansk and Donetsk is less than half of their full-size territory as the map above illustrates. Dark blue is occupied, medium tan is un-occupied and still under Ukrainian government control, and the light tan is the rest of Ukraine's territory.

This leads to the question Eschatology Today is now considering: How far will God allow Russia to go before the prophetic hooks are put in Gog of Magog's jaws (Ezekiel 38:4)?  Will Russian armor press forward beyond the current "line of control" which is marked by WWI-like trenches along the entire length of the blue-medium-tan divide to take all of Luhansk and Donetsk? Or will the invading Russian armored forces sweep west through the important port of Mariupol and along Ukraine's Sea of Azov coastline to link up with the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula? 

Ukraine in full

And why stop there? Why not continue westward to Odessa to link up with Russian forces in the sliver of land in eastern Moldova known as Transnistria seen in the map below? If you heard Vladimir Putin's nonsensical speech yesterday, what he said included all of these other locations. In fact, what he said includes the whole of Ukraine! And depending on how far this goes, be mindful that Romania is NATO, and Moldova is a member of NATO's "Partners for Peace" program and has a mutual defense pact with Romania. Moldova and Romania were, not so long ago, one country known as Bessarabia, and they could be again. 

Transnistrian Region Map

This, in a nutshell, is where the MSM news and analysis of the day will eventually go. As usual, you've seen and heard it here first, in cutting edge graphic format. What we also are aware of is what the MSM is currently ignorant of - the prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39. Yet still, and what is more, major events and great conflict will now have to take place in and around Israel. Our eyes are wide open and we watch as our Lord has commanded us because "these things must take place."

Global SITREP F1-21: The Next War Will Be The Psalm 83 Finale War

24 November 2021: For nearly a full twelve years Eschatology Today has been keyed to the the Psalm 83 war scenario as a paradigm shifting event. The major domino to fall in a series of rapid events on the proverbial Road to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, a/k/a the '70th Week of Years.'

The sum of this prophetic scenario is the combination of Psalm 83 and its parallel prophecies by Isaiah (11:12-14) and Ezekiel (28:24-26) as well as Isaiah 17 and Joshua 13:1-7. To these we also add Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Jeremiah 49:34-39. All of these should be read as being part of a whole prophetic narrative to be fulfilled prior to the '70th Week of Years' which we also know as the Thlipsis and Megas Thlipsis (Tribulation and Great Tribulation). These prophecies are kinetic warfare enabled by the technology of the 21st century. These are lightning-quick missile warfare.

There is a member of the Israeli Knesset from the Likud by the name of Nir Barkat. He spoke today at a conference held at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel. Eschatology Today views statements he made there as being a very precise summation of the prophetic scenario about to be fulfilled in the near-term as has been discussed on this blog over the course of the past twelve years.

"In the next attack, with missiles coming from Lebanon, this will not be the Third Lebanon War, this will be the First Iran War. I think we are not properly assessing the threat coming from Iran that plans to act against us in six arenas: The Lebanese, the Gazan, the long-range missiles, the attempt to establish itself in Syria, Judea and Samaria and there is also a new threat from home - some residents of the State of Israel." 

MK Nir Barkat continued with, 

"The Iranian conventional threat requires us to rethink how we not only harm Lebanon when we are attacked by the Iranian proxy sitting in Lebanon, but how we harm Tehran. So that when the Iranians in Tehran want to order Hezbollah to open fire against Israel, their voice will tremble because they will know that they themselves would be harmed in Tehran - and they are no longer protected."

That's quite a summation from the former mayor of Jerusalem of ten years (2008-2018). In the view of Eschatology Today the above quotes are prescient and descriptive in an almost peculiar prophetic yet secular sense. That may be the net result of Barkat's in-depth knowledge of modern military tactics due to his six years of service as a former elite IDF paratrooper. Major Nir Barkat was wounded during combat operations in Lebanon, and knows of what he speaks. He may also be aware of the above Old Testament prophecies as well. Whatever the case, his words have a profound resonance.

As has been stated before, any one of Israel's strikes at Iranian or Hezbollah targets in Syria could be the one which begins the toppling of the precisely arranged prophetic dominoes. There was another IAF strike in Homs, Syria mere hours ago as this SITREP began being composed. There were casualties in the strike. Eyes on continued developments, updates as they occur.

Global SITREP D3-19: Missing Pieces for Prophetic Fulfillment

Jordan Valley

Update 6 October 2019: All the speculation about the revealing of the Trump Administration "Deal of the Century" is pretty much a moot point. We recall that it was to be revealed in full a few months ago. Avigdor Lieberman essentially put a stop to that ongoing process with his resignation as Defense Minister, a portfilio that PM Bibi Netanyahu continues to hold himself. Lieberman's resignation has since resulted in two elections, with possibly three or even four, national elections to come. And since the "Deal" was to be announced after the new Israeli was formed and stabilized, obvious the deal is in haiatus indefinitely. 

Curious thing we have here then. God is in complete control, and so no government, no leader, means no "Deal." And that means this plan to divide the land has not progressed any further than from the paper or computer program it has been written on. Eschatology Today is of the mind and believes at this point it is obvious that God is quite definitively expressing His will, the understanding being that His supremely appointed times are the determining factor not only on the non-formation of a new government for Israel, but also on the fact that the Trump Administration's "Deal" has been prevented on being brought forward in any meaningful way.

But this is not to say that there is no movement going on. The U.S. Ambassador is reported in a Times of Israel report today as saying that PM Netanyahu's previously announced plan to annex the Jordan Valley (image above) "does not preclude a political solution." The "Deal of the Century" is precisely that, a political solution. I suggest those with a keen interest read the linked ToI article and ask yourselves if it does not reflect the express will of God. 

A Netanyahu decision to enact Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley could happen, probably will happen, now that the U.S. has made public it would be no obstacle. Recall that the Jordan Valley, and the political situation in Jordan (the expected "great upheaval), have been key SITREP topics every now and then for nearly 6 years, always looking for an expected breaking point. Keep an eye on this as well.

And it should not go without saying that Israel remains on very high alert for an Iranian attack. Also, do not be distracted by Iran's ongoing political destabilization of Iraq. The Iranian Shia (IRGC-QF in particular) are committing horrible crimes against humanity in Iraq as we speak. The Iraqi Shi'a who are not part of the pro-Iran militias are fully aware of the Iranian pilfering of multiple millions of dollars worth of Iraq's oil revenues, and that nearly five million Shi'a Iraqis live in abject poverty because of it. Iran's attempt to turn Iraq into another Lebanon will backfire.

2 October 2019: As the Israeli political situation continues to be sorted out, it occurrs that there is something to be said about the still missing pieces, or specific prophetic dominos, which have yet to fall into place.

1. The Islamic Republic of Iran (Parac according to the text of Ezekiel 38:5 and Daniel 6:28, Persia and Persian, respectively.)

The first and most apparent is the agressive role the Islamic Republic of Iran is playing accross the entire MIddle East. According to all of the prophetic texts that relate to the current pre-70th Week period of wars and rumors of wars, the Islamic Republic of Iran is absent from thos texts. What is present is a militarily reduced Iran of Ezekiel 38:5 in the company of other lesser military powers, namely Libya and Sudan, that are part of the larger Magog-led (Russian-led) military expedition that will move against Israel.

What does Ezekiel's prophecy relate? That Persia comes with "shield and helmet." Shields and helmets are the warfighting implements of foot soldiers. This is no further reference in this verse to the other common implements of modern warfare like armor, missiles and artillery. Footsoldiers. So this is is why Eschatology Today interprets Ezekiel 38:5 and referring to a militarily reducing iranian threat, and as we can all see today, Iran is currently the most heavily armed nation in this region. Therefore some kind of military engagement is necessary to reduce Iranian military power to the level of support it will provide to the Magog expedition. We believe this will be manifest in Jeremish 49:34-39 in the near term.

2. Libya and Sudan

Aslo, there are the other nations two named with Iran in Ezekiel 38:5. They are the modern-day Libya and Sudan. Libya is in the midst of its second civil war. Current speculation would follow that the Libyan National Army headquartered in Tobruk and Benghazi and led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, will emerge with a victory. Haftar's forces are aligned with and armed by with Putin's Russia. Sudan is also in the throes of civil war at present and the outcome will also be consistent with Ezekiel's prophecy.

3. The Fourth Beast (Physical Empire)

The third piece is often overlooked, but has been discussed here a couple of times previously, so an eschatological reminder is a good idea. Read Revelation 13:1-2. Eschatology Today interprets "the sea" in verse 1 as being the gentile nations of the earth. This is confirmed by verse 2 which is the focus of this item. 

"Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority."

As noted previously, the fourth beast constituent parts are here given in the reverse order of how they were originally prophesied to appear on the earth in Daniel 7. Originally the four empires were the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Macedonian-Greek Empire and the Roman Empire. In Revelation 13:2 description of the reconstituted Roman Empire, the fourth beast, includes in reverse order the Macedonian-Greek, Medo-Persian and Babylonian Empires. 

Is this what we see in the world today? No, today we see the Persians ascendent in the Middle East as in ancient times. Persia (Iran) today again appears as a bear with three ribs in its mouth. Who are those three ribs in this modern era? Look at a map. They are Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. This is an undeniable fact.

So, for the appearance of the fourth beast as this prophecy (Revelation 13) from God, Jesus and John on Patmos there are some events that have to come to pass. What has been previously identified as the "eastern leg" needs to be subdued to become integral to the fourth and final beast empire. This may indicate yet another major war as we've also discussed here previously. The emergence of the little horn among the ten occurs as it is conquering and crushing to pieces as we read in Daniel 7:7-8. 

Marana'tha!

Global SITREP A5-19: Southeastern Syria

U.S.-led CJTF-OIR base at Al-Tanf

UPDATE 22 February 2019: As my comments in the past couple days initmated, the decision has been made to maintain the presence of US military forces in Syria. The number of troops to remain is technologically irrelevant. Even a highly mobile handful of soldiers equipped with our battlefield technology can rain havoc upon far larger enemy forces - as has been demonstrated several times in Dier-Ez-Zor and the approaches to the small garrison at Al-Tanf in the past year. Far larger numbers of dead Russian contractors, Iranian proxy troops, Syrian and Lebanese Hezbollah troops who participated in these foolhardy engagements do attest to this fact.

This real-world reality task some recent predictive writings by various Christian authors to task. They have suggested that the withdrawal of US troops form Syria would cause Russia, Turkey and Iran - the three primary antagonists in the Ezekiel 38/39 prophecy - to see an opportunity to be seized upon to attack and despoil the State of Israel. Thus, these writers claim Ezekiel 38/39 is an imminent fulfillment. Eschatology Today is here to declare that such pronouncements are excessively premature and just plain wrong by unqualified armchair generals. In sum, it is dangerous writing and false teaching.

The problem is that this kind of Christian writing is without question blatant newspaper exegesis. Moreover, this kind of eschatological Christian writing actually ignores what the Lord told Ezekiel would happen and had him write it down in detail. Russia, Turkey and Iran have not and will not regard the departure of US troops as an open door opportunity to strike Israel for the purpose of plundering her. 

Much to the contrary what God told Ezekiel is that He would put hooks in the jaws of Gog of Magog and pull him and all his forces to their destruction on the mountains of Israel (Judea and Samaria). So, what these writers are saying and what God has said are in direct opposition to one another. Readers who are wise in the Holy Spirit will automatically believe what God has said will take place and ignore the nonsense being written.

And, dear brethren, do not for a minute forget that in the real-world the State of Israel has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a very powerful, nuclear-armed nation. Unless Russia, Turkey and Iran are suicidal nations, they will not be coming down on Israel before other prophetic events have taken place. And it goes without saying that on the Spiritual level Israel has the angelic forces of Michael the Archangel watching over her people. 

09 February 2019: This is a special SITREP on the U.S.-led CJTF-OIR base at Al-Tanf (image above) in the tri-border junction region of Syria, Iraq and Jordan. This is not news for regular visitors to Eschatology Today as it has been covered in previous SITREPs. It remains to be seen what the ultimate fate of this base will be given the announced U.S. "complete military withdrawal" from Syria while still confronting aggressive Iranian expansionism into Syria, not to mention Iraq.

As seen in the clickable image below, Al-Tanf is an extremely strategic location and therefore its immense value cannot be ignored. Al-Tanf commands the southernmost of the two logistics land-corridors through Iraq and Syria essential to Iranian military entrenchment in Syria and continuity into Lebanon. This is the so-called Tehran-Damascus-Beirut highway. It is also known as Route 1 between Baghdad and Damascus, but which also runs in a straight line east to west across the Jordanian panhandle as Highway 10 to the northwestern Jordanian population centers and capital at Amman. U.S. forces have on multiple occasions attacked with devastating effect that Syrian or iranian forces that have attempted to penetrate the 34-mile (55km) buffer zone around al-Tanf.

Iranian land-corridors to the west

It's essential nature to iran is based upon the Shi'a Twelvers eschatologically-mandated landwar confrontation with Israel. Jordan also faces a very significant threat from the purely military aspect an western military abandonment of Al-Tanf would create. Imagine the nightmarish crisis that Iran-controlled Shi'a militias numbering in the tens of thousands from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan would present to Jordan (and Israel) when presented with a "back-door" entry into western Jordan. 

Iranian control of this region would present an intolerable situation to both Jordan and Israel, a situation that would demand a coordinated large-scale military action at some point in the future - if al-Tanf were to be abandoned by the U.S. We'll revisit this when the expected crisis unfolds. 

Global SITREP C2-17: The Syrian Situation Revisited Part V

USAF F-22 Raptor stealth fighter

UPDATED 20 May 2017:  Confirmed. American strike aircraft (F-22 Raptors) struck a convoy of mixed Iranian IRGC-led militia from Iraq and Lebanese Hezbollah forces on Highway 2 as they approached the important Operation Inherent Resolve cross-border base at al-Tanf, Syria and Al-Walid, Iraq. Some media have incorrectly reported the convoy was pro-Assad Syrian military. However, audio and video reports from the region as well as intercepted communications from the convoy indicated the distinctive Iraqi Arabic dialect of the Shi'a Kataib Imam Ali militia who are led by IRGC officers.

The IRGC-led Iraqi militia and Hezbollah forces (both Shi'a) were warned repeatedly by US-led Coalition forces to halt their advance at the Zarqa-Al Shalighm crossroad. When the convoy passed this crossroad they were immediately struck by American aircraft. According to an IHS James report, "the coalition carried out an airstrike at the Zarka road junction 37 km from Al-Tanf, destroying four tanks, a ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and 12 other military vehicles. It said the airstrike was carried out in co-ordination with the Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawrah (Revolution Commandos Army) rebel group."

Location of the Al-Tanf,Syria and/Al-Walid, Iraq border crossing

The US also informed Russia that its allies were not to cross the crossroad and enter into the previously established Al-Tanf de-confliction zone where Coalition military operations against Islamic State forces were in progress. According to multiple international reports, about 3,000 Hezbollah troops were pulled from their positions on the Lebanese-Syrian border to participate in a push to re-take eastern Syria to the Iraqi border. These troops are integrated into the larger force approaching al-Tanf which reportedly numbers close to 10,000 troops.

Both British and US special forces have been deployed at the Al-Tanf base of the Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra (Revolutionary Commandos Army) (RCA) and New Syrian Forces (NSF) since August 2016. The NSF are former Sunni members of the Syrian Arab Army's 30th Division who defected to anti-Assad opposition forces at the start of the civil war. The NSF were organized as a component of the Free Syrian Army by the US-led Coalition in October 2015.


17 May 2017: Looking forward a few days, we have President Trump leaving the country for a visit with Saudi Arabian leaders (Sheba and Dedan), then to Israel for a meeting with Netanyahu, a visit to the Western Wall of Temple Mount, a potential joint IS-Israel announcement stating that now is not the right time to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The the itinerary takes President Trump to a NATO meeting that will be immediately followed by another "Ezekiel Summit" (see: Part III). In all of this, the walk-back on the embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is one of the more serious issues. This is because it could cause almost irreparable damage among Trump's Conservative-Evangelical political base at a time he can least afford to lose any support much less this core constituency. Nevertheless, the LORD's will is being done, and we can expect the unexpected to occur.

15 May 2017: The two nuclear-armed (US and Russia) opposing armed force coalitions in Syria now appear to be engaged in operations designed to seize and hold territory. This is conventional warfare as we have known it for millennia. The real danger here is the allies with each coalition could engage each other in combat, either deliberately or by accident and particularly in southern and western Syria. In the skies overhead a free-for-all dogfight could also occur between the two sides combat aircraft. And then there's the continuing Iranian-Hezbollah drive to seize the Syrian side of the Golan. This is all stage-setting for the major conflagration this series on the Syrian Situation has been highlighting according to Bible prophecy (Isaiah 17; Jeremiah 49:23-27).


Going further back, Eschatology Today noted years ago in its interpretation that the region of northwest Jordan, were many of the US-led coalition are based, equates to "The cities of Aroer" found in Isaiah 17:2. This entire region is to be abandoned from human habitation, either by radioactive fallout or chemical-biological warfare. Not much else could cause such wholesale desolation of human life - or military forces. This is tied to the "woe" which leads off the two verses of Isaiah 17:12-13, where the nations have rushed in like mighty waters, only to have God rebuke them all and they are forced to flee far away. Isaiah 17:14 tells us this (ballahah) dreadful event will occur between a single evening ('eth 'ereb) and daybreak (boqer) of the following day. Yet this is nothing new to those who've been studying Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27 since the interpretation of these prophecies were brought to your attention on Eschatology Today.

 Golan Heights, Israel Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon border region

6 May 2017: Here's how Eschatology Today assesses the current situation in Syria. 

Mortal men who stand as the current leadership of two nations which have a near-term God-breathed prophetic date with destiny (Russia and Iran per Jeremiah 49:34-39 and Ezekiel 38-39) have declared "safe zones" in a third nation, which also has a God-breathed prophetic date with destiny which culminates in the annihilation of its capital city and the remainder of the nation as a whole (Syria per Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27). 

The declaration of the "safe zones" was made in a fourth nation (Kazakhstan) which is almost certain to be part of the confederation of nations discussed in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39. A fifth nation, which may or may not be part of that same confederation of nations, has declared itself as a guarantor of the "safe zones." 

What we have here in this current situation brothers and sisters are the declared words of mere men who neither know nor recognize our Father in Heaven versus the very Word of our eternal, all-knowing, omnipotent God. It's a no-brainer of a contest. A no brainer. And we are witnesses to this non contest. What will occur was declared by our God thousands of years ago in the aforementioned prophetic texts. If you know them, then you do in fact know the details of near future events. it is as simple as that.

This "safe zone" declaration was yesterday's news and was set to commence this morning in Syria. Today's news is that Russia included in these "safe zones" a "no fly" provision which ostensibly bans only US, Israel and other coalition allies aircraft from conduction combat missions in Syria. 

This Russian dictated no-fly provision has been rejected by the United States, our allies, and I strongly suspect, the State of Israel. What we now have here brothers and sisters is a ready-made flash-point inside Syria between the Western Allies, which includes Israel, and the likely members of the Ezekiel 38-39 military confederation. I think you all very well comprehend what this flash-point may lead to, and you know this simply because you have read Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17.

Global SITREP B6-17: The Syrian Situation Revisited Part II

Location of Shayrat Air Base in west-central Syria

FINAL UPDATE 8 April 2017: This will be the final update for SITREP B6:17 so that it doesn't become too large. Subsequent related events in Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean or elsewhere in the Middle East will be covered in The Syrian Situation Part III SITREP.

As most are now aware the USS Porter and USS Ross launched 30 Tomahawks each. One of those cruise missiles malfunctioned and fell harmlessly into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. As military operations go, this was a very limited, extremely precise, meticulously planned and professionally executed strike mission. This strike mission could have been a much larger operation, but in the deliberations over what the US should do the concept of proportionality was the key determining element on the scale of operation the US would execute. It was the correct option that was chosen.

The message this strike mission sent to the most hostile governments in Syria, Iran and North Korea was as precise as the strike itself. Those government's understanding of the message is another matter entirely and out of any human control. Ditto for the Russian government. Xi Jinping wears three hats: he is the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party; the President of the People's Republic of China, and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. That this strike was prepped and ultimately occurred while Xi Jinping was dining with President Trump in the middle of their very first and extremely important summit meeting is positively astounding. The effect must have been nothing short of seismic. 

In fact, the entire world was sent the unmistakable message that the United States of America is back, and back in increasing power on the global stage; gone like the wind was the pontificating but do-nothing America of Barack Obama. And the whole world was put on notice and has taken notice - friends and foes alike. Clean-up in aisle planet earth, which is overdue as a result of the eight Obama Administration years, is happening in real-time.

I have always believed that the fulfillment of Bible prophecy is largely the Lord's omniscient forewarning about the results of the free will decisions that human governments and their leaders will make in the future. That is what I believe is occurring now and will occur in the immediate future because Bible prophecy, as with the entire Word of God, is inerrant and fulfilled as explicitly as it has been written. So it will be with Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17. 

7 April 2017: Less than 24 hours later and the now highlighted analysis provided below has become real-world fact: the United States of America, a nation far too many Bible scholars and teachers of last days eschatology have opined to play no-role in last days prophetic fulfillment, has just done exactly that. A few hours ago U.S. executed a key event in the ongoing fulfillment of Bible prophecy found in the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah. Action such as the United States has just undertaken in Syria are commonly known in today's parlance as a "game changer." FACT: as witnessed by innumerable individuals around the world, the United States has been a central player in the literal fulfillment of Bible prophecy since Israel's re-birth in 1948.

On the order of U.S. Commander-In-Chief Donald J. Trump the United States Navy's guided missile destroyers Porter and Ross (DDG 78 and DDG 71, respectively) launched a total of about 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles each at Bashar al-Assad's Shayrat (Ash Sha'irat) Air Base where the chemical attack of three days ago on Khan Sheikhoun was determined through all-source intelligence analysis to have originated. (Additional and graphic details HERE.) The U.S. Tomahawks began impacting the base at 3:45 AM this morning Syrian time, or approximately 6 hours prior to this posting.

October 2016 DigitalGlobe satellite image of Ash Sha-irat Air Base southeast of Homs, Syria 

A damage assessment image of Shayrat air base in Syria, following U.S. Tomahawk Land Attack Missile strikes on April 7, 2017 from the USS Ross and USS Porter, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. DigitalGlobe/U.S. Department of Defense/AP

The forty aircraft shelters known to be at Ash Sha-irat probably each received at least one Tomahawk. So did the anti-air positions and fuel depot. Ash Sha-irat Air base is now also known to be a Syrian chemical weapons storage site. All anyone can do is hope the remaining 20 Tomahawks destroyed the chemical weapons bunkers at Ash Sha-irat Air Base, but it also should go without saying that Bashar al-Assad did not have all of his chemical weapons eggs in this one basket. Syria has now been found guilty of crimes against humanity, and its allies (Russia, Iran/Hezbollah and North Korea) are complicit in these crimes which now span from December 2012 to April 2017. The Obama Administration is now also complicit with the Russian Federation in fomenting a bald-faced lie regarding Syrian Weapons of mass Destruction. To borrow a phrase, Obama lied and Syrian children and babies died.

At approximately 01:30 hours this morning (EDT in Washington, D.C.) the Bashar al-Assad government released a statement calling the U.S. strikes on Ash Sha-irat Air Base "aggression" which had caused "losses."  Responsibility for this attack is also borne by the Russian Federation which had caused a boondoggle in the UN Security Council deliberations of yesterday due to its persistent objections in defending the al-Assad regime and threatened veto over the text of a condemning resolution. That failed diplomatic tactic convinced U.S. National Military Authority to strike immediately. 

For his part Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin released a statement through his spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Russia regarded the American strike as "aggression against a sovereign nation" based upon a "made-up pretext." The U.S. and Russia are now locked into opposing sides of what amounts to a military confrontation on a Middle Eastern battlefield. 

Final assessment for this update: The Syrian capability to continue to use its banned chemical weapons against its enemies has only been very moderately reduced as a result of the Tomahawk strike on Ash Sha-irat Air Base, which is now a smoking pile of rubble. While the American Tomahawk strikes are currently billed as "one-off" there is little doubt that additional attacks by Al-Assad using WMD on his own people will result in fresh attacks on his military forces - who are defended by Russian military forces. 

Not to jump too far ahead of the present situation, but according to Bible prophecy, the Syrian government will be proven to have learned nothing from the lesson this strike was intended to have taught them. Bye bye Damascus; Bye bye Syria.

More updates to follow...

Map of Syria: Areas of Control, Khan Sheikhoun Sarin Attack 

6 April 2017: Instead of posting an update to Global SITREP A9-17, I've decided to post this as Part II of that SITREP, along with the understanding that this is also an near-real time update to what was being discussed in the preceding Global SITREP B5-17. In fact, it seems at this point a lot of prophetic Scripture is running together as it they were a stampede.

Firstly, the map (clickable) above illustrates the current lines and areas of control of the factions involved in the Syrian civil war as well as the location of the Sarin gas WMD attack by the government of Bashar al-Assad upon the civilians of the rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun. 

There are two critical things to note immediately. Some of you who've been reading Eschatology Today in the past several months are probably already aware of what will once again be stated. Based upon Jeremiah 49:23 the high probability has been repeatedly stressed of some major catastrophe occurring in northwest Syria. A weapons of mass destruction (WMD) attack involving the use of the G-series Sarin nerve agent on civilians in Khan Sheikhoun in northwest Syria definitively qualifies in the literal fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:23.

However, this is just the beginning and worse is coming down the pike. This is the second note of note of critical importance. The likelihood of U.S. military action, airstrikes or cruise missile strikes, upon one or more Syrian government airfields is a very high probability. These U.S. attacks could occur this morning or in the next day or so. Sooner rather than later in order to convey the seriousness of how the Trump Administration views the situation.

What is unknown is how Russia will respond to U.S. attacks and their level of severity upon their patron Bashar al-Assad's military infrastructure. The cratering of airfield runways and destruction of rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) is a minimum of what U.S. air and naval forces in the region are likely to hit. Naval forces may be a key as the second half of Jeremiah 49:23 indicates:

"Hamath and Arpad are shamed,
For they have heard bad news.
They are fainthearted;
There is trouble on the sea;
It cannot be quiet."

Notice the direct tie-in of this verse to what Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 17:12-13. For sure this is another indicator of far, far worse that is yet to come. Another unknown is that when the U.S. strikes Syria will Assad, at Iranian urging then strike out at Israel? Understand this: If Bashar al-Assad (or the IRGC/Hezbollah) were to order a weapons of mass destruction chemical attack upon Israel, then have no illusions that Israel will strike back with nuclear weaponry. And here we could be witness to the literal fulfillment of both Isaiah's and Jeremiah's prophecies in real-time. 

What strikes most solidly about all this is that instead of referencing an entire chapter of the Lord's prophetic word through His prophets, it is now necessary to cite individual and pairs of verses as coming to fulfillment before our eyes.

Marana'tha

Global SITREP A13-13: Chaos Magnified

03 June 2013: As if the chaotic situation in the Middle East could not stand another violent variable to be entered into an unsolvable equation, this is precisely what has occurred. And it has occurred in Turkey of all places. It's not the usual type one might expect of Kurd vs. Turk or Turk vs. Kurd violence. This time is different because it is Turk versus Turk civil unrest. This weekend saw the eruption of violent of anti-regime protests in approximately seventy of Turkey's largest cities by tens of thousands of anti-Islamic protestors ranging from nostalgic Ataturk secularists to the communist TKP (Türkiye Komünist Partisi). It would seem obvious that the anti-Islamic portion of Turkish society has had quite enough of the so-called Justice and Development Party (AKP) Islamist's led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is impossible to predict where this violent uprising against Turkey's Islamist regime by Turkish citizens will lead except to say that violence begets more violence. So either this popular revolt against the Islamist government will escalate, or the Islamist government will direct their attention to the full-scale war going on in Syria and Lebanon to the south. 

Turkey also has serious international problems created by Erdogan's Islamists that are directly related to the Syrian civil war. Turkey, a new partner with the eastern bloc SCO alliance discussed in Global SITREP A10-13, is militarily at odds and ostracized from its new friends in the SCO, namely Russia and Iran, who both militarily support Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist regime in Damascus with all manner of war materiel and fighting men. Turkey, as a NATO ally, would also be opposed to Russian shipments of S-300PMU-1/2 missiles and MiG-29M fighters through its Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits to the enemy regime in Syria. Turkey is also aligned with the terrorists of HAMAS in Gaza and against the Palestinian Authority controlled by Fatah and Mahmoud Abbas. HAMAS and Hezbollah are now at war with each other in Lebanon, and the Islamists of the Syrian FSA and Iraqi-led Al Qaeda-led Al-Nusra are killing each other with rocket fire across the Syrian-Lebanese border and an ongoing epic siege battle at al-Qusayr in Syria.

And then, not to be left out of the completely chaotic mix, there's Turkey's self-created problems with Israel. These are problems which the Islamist Turkish government under Erdogan's AKP leadership deliberately created via the flotilla in support of HAMAS terrorists. To make matters worse Turkey recently rebuffed an unnecessary but requested Israeli apology, which was PM Netanyahu's attempt at reconciliation, which appears to have been orchestrated at the behest of American President Barack Obama. Now, pardon me for being flippant about this situation, but just how many enemies can the Turkish Islamist government make in just a few months time? Could this be a new Guinness World Record for turning allies on all sides into enemies and other enemies into even greater enemies and then to go about making enemies of its own citizenry?

This is mind-blowing chaos magnified to be sure. And we've not quite arrived at the moment of Isaiah 17's fulfillment which I believe will be the catalyst for the final act of the Psalm 83 War. This is just craziness and there really is no way to make sense of it all... except to say that magnified chaos such as this meshes perfectly with our Lord Jesus Christ's Olivet Discourse description of the ever increasing frequency and severity of the birth pangs that herald the soon arrival of the 70th Week.

Look up, our Lord comes quickly!

Marana'tha!

Addendum to SITREP A13-13:

If you ask two random Israeli citizens if PM Netanyahu will order an attack to bomb Iranian nuclear sites you will get two opposing answers. One will be a definite yes, and the other will be a definite no. This is what I've found when it comes to reading secular Israeli OpEds at the Israpundit.com website. In his article (There Are Many Reasons to Expect a War this Summer) Israpundit editor Ted Belman, an American-born Israeli, is the 'hawk' who echos the prevailing opinion on the right on why Israel must strike Iran. And then, in an apples to apples in comparision, is the also conservative, also an American-born Israeli, Barry Rubin who unequivocally states exactly the opposite - there is a zero chance that Israel will unilaterally strike Iran this summer. (See: Turkey, Israel and Syria: Why Things Are Going Wrong)

Who is right?

If there were specific Bible prophecy in support of either position then I would agree with that position, but there is no Bible prophecy on this issue in order to draw an eschatological conclusion... not even Jeremiah 49:34-39 is evidence of an Israeli strike on Iran. If anything it appears to predict a coalition attack on Iranian nuclear sites, and in the past two decades two coalition military actions have occurred in the Middle east and neither involved Israel.

With this is my Biblical basis, I would have to agree with Barry Rubin, Israel will not strike Iran. I have long been of the opinion that a coalition of nations that does not include Israel will do it.

As for HAMAS, they are Sunni jihadists, and they are at war with the Shi'a jihadists of Hezbollah, and by extension, Iran and Alawite Syria.  In this Sunni versus Shi'a war Israel will also remain neutral up until some currently unforeseen event.

I believe that event is most likely something al-Assad does which causes the Isaiah 17 scenario to come to fulfillment like some FedEx overnight delivery.

I believe al-Assad will launch a surprise chemical attack on Israel in retaliation for the repeated attacks that Israel is making against Syria's and Iran's attempts to place more powerful and accurate rockets in Hezbollah's inventory.  I believe al-Assad fully intends to strike Israel the moment when he believes he has the Sunni rebels on the ropes, and at the moment this appears to be possible with a Syrian-Hezbollah/IRGC victory in the siege of al-Qusayr. I believe the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and president-to-be Saeed Jalili have al-Assad committed to this agenda.

The nuclear annihilation of Damascus would be a pivotal event that would immediately douse the Sunni-Shi'a war with cold water, and the Sunni and Shi'a elements currently at war with each other in Lebanon and Syria will come against Israel in the final act of the Psalm 83 scenario.

Here lies the difference between the secular Israeli views of potential future events and one that is based upon Bible prophecy.