Global SITREP C10-16: EZEKIEL 38/39 - PRIMARY INVASION ROUTES

A still image, taken from video footage and released by Russia's Defense Ministry on August 18, 2016, shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber based at Iran's Hamedan Air Base dropping bombs over the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/Handout via REUTERS TV

Final Update 23 August 2016: Russian braggadocio about its Syrian combat air operations launching from their Iranian hosts Hamedan (a/k/a Nojeh) Air Base caused all kinds of really embarrassing legal problems for the Ayatollah's regime. Turns out that the Iranian constitution forbids the basing of foreign troops on Iranian territory. So the Iranians had to inform their allies from the north to take everything they just brought down into Hamedan Air Base back up to Mozdok Air Base in Russia.

In order to save face, the Russians promptly made their own announcement that the unprecedented bombing missions were objectively mission complete and all Russian units were returning to their home base in Russia, but... they would return to Hamedan Air Base in the future "if circumstances warranted." 

Russian Major-General Igor Konashenkov, in his own words: "Further use of the Hamedan Air Base in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Russian Aerospace Forces will be carried out on the basis of mutual agreements to fight terrorism and depending on the prevailing circumstances in Syria." 

Interesting. "Depending on the prevailing circumstances in Syria." I wonder, would the fulfillment of Isaiah 17, the destruction of Damascus and the destruction of the country, be the kind of circumstance this Russian major-general is referring to?  I imagine next time the Russians will keep their lips zipped and adhere to the tried and true military concept of OPSEC (OPerational SECurity).

While considering such a turn of events being possible in previous months and even years, I had not given express consideration in thought to the final fulfillment of Isaiah 17 serving a type of trip-wire or trigger for the start of Ezekiel 38/39 and the Battle of Gog/Magog. That was last night. 

Upon rising this morning I was suddenly made aware of the fact that we've discussed this exact concept on Eschatology Today many times previously, as in a flood of prophetic fulfillments occurring in a precise sequence, like dominoes toppling over other well-positioned dominoes. Yes, that's what I have long believed the Lord's prophetic word teaches. However, now we have a Russian major-general, although he does not realize it, hinting at the exact same thing. Interesting things we are watching in real-time on a day-to-day basis. 

"Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes." (Matthew 24:44)

Ezekiel 38/39 Primary Invasion Routes

19 August 2016: As mentioned previously on Eschatology Today, but this time with due emphasis, the running assessment is that when the primary military forces under the leadership of "Gog of Magog" detailed in Ezekiel 38/39 commence their attempted airborne invasion of Israel, they will utilize the air corridor that has been firmly established for Russian Federation Air Force missions into Syria since November 2015.

This air corridor was more firmly established this spring when the Russian military launched cruise missiles out of the Caspian Sea against rebel targets in Syria. The air corridor from the north entered Iranian airspace and turned to the west, crossing into Iraq before entering Syria. 

This same air corridor is now being used in air strikes by Russian TU-22M3 heavy bombers and SU-34 strike aircraft against targets in Syria. These strike aircraft which originate at Mozdok Air Base in Russia (see image below) use the Caspian corridor enroute to Hamedan Air Base in northwestern Iran. They then fly west across Iraq and into Syria. The primary OSINT sources I have used in compiling detailed data for this SITREP are The LongWar Journal and The Aviationist.

Russian air combat missions. Image:LongWar Journal

Source: The Aviationist/Babak Taghvaee

The utilization of this specific air corridor is due to the very real geo-political and military realities that are extant in the Middle East/Southwest Asia. They will likely remain as such, if not increase in the wake of future prophetic events as detailed by Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83, and not necessarily in that particular order. These maps speak volumes through the visual data they contain. A relatively short extension of this Russian air corridor into what will be at that time Israel's territory east of the Dead Sea is a very simple and non-strenuous mental exercise based upon the text of Ezekiel 39:11-16.

However, the most significant thing to notice at present is that the Russian air corridor absolutely avoids Turkish airspace by a very wide margin. Intellectual honesty requires one to concede that this fact is not due to overwhelming Turkish air power or anti-aircraft defensive capabilities, but is solely due to NATO airpower manifest in Turkey and the Middle East in general. Last week this NATO airpower was on full display when pairs of stealthy American F-22 Raptor appeared seemingly out of nowhere to confront Syrian SU-24 Fencers on at least two occasions, within Syrian air space, quickly causing the latter to flee rather than stand their "ground" over Syrian soil. Such is the overwhelming technological capability of sixth-generation fighter aircraft over older fifth-generation fighters.

This kind of overwhelming NATO airpower also vividly demonstrates the inherent weakness of forward-deployed Iranian air power. The most recent example of this occurred in March 2013, when obsolete IRGC fourth-generation F4E Phantom jets were scrambled with orders to intercept and shoot down an American MQ-1 Predator drone detected flying a reconnaissance mission in international airspace over the Persian Gulf. The Iranian air controllers and pilots of the intercepting Phantom jets were totally unaware of the presence of American F-22 Raptors escorting the MQ-1. So unaware were they that one Raptor pilot flew underneath the Iranian Phantoms, checked out his opponent weapons load, and only revealed his very close presence by suddenly popping up just off the left wingtip of the lead Iranian Phantom, and calling the stunned Iranian pilots with the now famous radio greeting, "you really ought to go home."

So, to home they went for a change of underwear and to live to fly another day. As we know from Bible prophecy they will be back, but at that time, and far too late to make any real difference, they'll just wish in the last seconds of their life on earth they'd just stayed home. 

Finally, after offering prayers to a false god this past Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani displayed atypical Persian arrogance and national pride in issuing this declaration: "Our missile power is at such a level that we are able to destroy all our targets at any operational range." 

Eschatology Today cordially invites President Rouhani to read the text of Jeremiah 49:35, within which the true, living God of all creation completely contradicts his declaration with His own irrevocable prophetic word:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the foremost of their might.'"