Global SITREP C2-24: Rockets Red Glare

RS-26 Rubezh IRBM a/k/a RS-26 Oreshnik MRBM

UPDATED 22 November 2024: The Russian ballistic Missile attack on Dnipro, Ukraine yesterday morning appears to have been a new variant of a Russian Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile known as the RS-26 Rubezh. 

Russia's clandestine development of this weapon almost certainly was the reason President Trump and SECDEF Esper announced the US's unilateral withdrawal from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (a/k/a INF Treaty) on August 2, 2019. The development of the RS-26 Rubezh was a one of a series of blatant violations of the INF Treaty signed in 1987 by U.S. President Ronald Regan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

Development continued and an MRBM variant of the Rubezh was rebranded as (RS-26) Oreshnik. It is difficult to distinguish between these two missiles which led to major confusion in expert media reporting yesterday on the identity of the missile. 

RS-26 Oreshnik test launch

However, what is now known puts yesterday's strike in an entirely new perspective. First and foremost is that the Oreshnik strike is the first use of an IRBM or MRBM in the history of warfare. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle, and with this strike a clear signal was sent; the world has crossed into unknown territory. Secondly, analysis of imagery makes clear that the Oreshnik warhead contained six (6) warheads or MIRVs (Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles). Three were either inert, kinetic or decoys and three had conventional high explosives. These MIRV warheads were also impervious to Ukrainian air defenses; they never even came close to being shot down due to their hypersonic speed and maneuverability. A third aspect, not widely reported, is that ALL of the missiles Russia has launched into Ukraine in more than 1,000 days of warfare were capable of carrying nuclear warheads of various yields.

So, with Russia having let the genie out of the bottle who's to say that Israel would not deploy a mix of its Jericho-2 MRBMs and Jericho-3 MIRVed IRBMs in a follow-up strike on Iran's now virtually defenseless nuclear and petroleum infrastructure. Maneuverable warheads can arrive on target from every direction on the compass.

UPDATE 28 November 2024: This past Tuesday morning as I lay in my hospital bed, I turned on the wall-mounted television not intending to watch a particular program, to channel surf. It was a big surprise to find that the channel was not set to the Monday Night Football station I had been watching but was now set to a CSPAN channel. The program CSPAN was airing was a live, in-progress UN Security Council session concerning the Middle East. 

Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon was on the receiving end an exceptionally nasty series of exchanges with both the PA representative and an Algerian representative. Despite repeated decorum warnings from the UNSC chair (held by the UK), the venom being spewed by Israel's enemies continued unabated. Credit to Ambassador Danon for remaining in his seat, but a rage of volcanic anger was plainly evident on his countenance.

Then a thought came to mind and the Ezekiel 38/39 "Battle of Gog of Magog" prophecy consumed my thoughts. A seed that had been planted recently suggesting a broadening of the actual identities of both "Kuwsh (Cush) and Put" was now a necessity. This continual enlightening strongly intimates that the closer we get to that prophetic day, the clearer the prophecy becomes. 

The people Ezekiel identified as "Put" is far more than just those inhabiting Libya but includes most of North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea's southern coastline to include Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. Together, these are the populations of Put. And of Kuwsh the same is true, they are not just Sudan and Ethiopia as many interpretations suggest. Kuwsh includes the peoples of the Horn of Africa as well as modern-day Yemen.

The Horn of Africa and Yemen

I prayed for the LORD to show me in Scriptures where this has already been revealed. Within a few minutes my gaze was directed to reading passages in Isaiah and Joel. There, in Isaiah 45:14-17, as if it were an adjunct to Ezekiel 38/39 are all these peoples listed together and who will be given into the hand of Israel by the God of Israel. Egypt, Kuwsh (Horn of Africa) and Sabeans (Yemen). We know the end of this because God has known of it from the beginning.

Thus says the Lord:

“The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours;
They shall walk behind you,
They shall come over in chains;
And they shall bow down to you.
They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you,
And there is no other;
There is no other God.’ ”

 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself,
O God of Israel, the Savior!
 They shall be ashamed
And also disgraced, all of them;
They shall go in confusion together,
Who are makers of idols.

But Israel shall be saved by the Lord
With an everlasting salvation;
You shall not be ashamed or disgraced
Forever and ever.

And then we can turn to Joel 3:4-8 where we find Tyre and Sidon (Lebanon) and all the coasts of Philistia (Gaza), as if they're all in the same basket of judgment, who have retaliation repaid upon their heads. The Sabeans (Yemenites) are seen in verse 8.

The current SITREP in the Middle East reads like a sidebar, a very short interlude, before the next and final act that sets the whole region in the conditions graphically illustrated in Ezekiel 38/39. 

Marana'tha!

Focus on Ezekiel 38:5 - Kuwsh

UPDATE 07 September 2011: An enlargeable map of the world circa the 10th century BC that is also quite useful in locating ancient Kuwsh can be accessed HERE.

2 September 2011: In this post I hope to provide some Scripture-based insight to correct a long-held misidentification of the land of Cush. This is an important distinction that directly relates to current events and what will shortly transpire, I believe, following the fulfillment of Psalm 83 and just prior to the commencement of Daniel's 70th Week.

To begin with, who was Ezekiel? Ezekiel was born in Jerusalem around 622 BC, he was a Kohanim Judean priest of Yahweh and was His prophet. Ezekiel was inspired directly from God. Therefore, Ezekiel directly and infallibly spoke the LORD God's prophetic word.

What we know as the country of Ethiopia is not mentioned whatsoever in Ezekiel 38:5. I believe the naming of Ethiopia in this context is a long-standing interpretive and eschatological error.

Ezekiel 38:5, written in the original Hebrew, is as follows: "Persia (Parac - pronounced Pah-rass), Cush (Kuwsh - pronounced Koosh), and Put (Puwt - pronounced Poot), with them, All of them [with] shield and helmet."

These peoples are, firstly, the original eastern Persians, as opposed to the Elamites who lived just east of Mesopotamia, or the Medes who lived to the north. We also have the Puwt who are the North Africans to the west of Egypt all the way to present day Mauritania. Yet it is the Kuwsh who are our focus here, and they are the direct descendants of Ham's son Kuwsh, the grandson of Noah. Isaiah 18:1 tells us where they lived "along the rivers of Kuwsh" which are located in the modern-day nation of Sudan directly to the south of Egypt. The "rivers of Kuwsh" are: (see map below)

1.) the Nile River,
2.) the White Nile River
3.) the Blue Nile River

Again, at present time there is a direct anti-Israel military connection between Iran (Persia), Sudan (Kuwsh) and the newly emergent Islamists of Libya (Puwt), Tunisia and Algeria (North Africans). We don't have to wait for anything to occur in Ethiopia as the southern branch of Gog's military alliance already exists today.

In ancient times this land was also known as Nubia (as seen in the map at the top) and in many respects was as advanced as the Egyptians of that ancient era. The Nubians were allies of Israel as proven by Isaiah 37:9-38 and 2 Kings 19 which both are a record concerning the invading Assyrians and the alliance between King Hezekiah and King Tirhakah of Kuwsh.

This is the ancient land of Kuwsh (Cush) identified in Ezekiel 38/39.

UPDATE 5 September 2011: In these last days is it not an obvious manifestation of the LORD God's Divine will that this land has been divided into two distinct nations? Of course it is, but how many have made note of this occurrence? It came about after the course of events of the past 55 years, with active armed rebellion and resistance between 1955 and 1972, and from 1983 to 2005. The LORD's will became manifest just about two months ago, on 9 July 2011.

The northern part of Kuwsh, a land divided by the three rivers identified above, is an Arab Islamic-ruled abomination which fervently seeks Israel's destruction, as mentioned above and ultimately to be manifest in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39.

The southern part, now known as "South Sudan" with a population of over 8 million souls and its capital city further to the south at Juba, is a fervent supporter of Israel. This nation is largely the product of Christian missionaries - Christian soldiers - who over the past century of time literally executed the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And now another relevant and obvious question for us all to consider:

1.) Does this new fact in our world not have a direct link and provide new insights to the prophecy of Isaiah 18? Is the harvest spoken of in Isaiah 18:3-5 a reference to the Harpazo/Rapture?