Global SITREP C1-25: Jihadist Syria

 

Shapping the Syrian battlespace

UPDATED 28 November 2025: Since the Sunni jihadist conquest of Ba'athist-ruled Syria almost one year ago there has not been a minute where Eschatology Today favorably entertained the al-taqiyya coming from the "transitional" government led by Al-Qaeda jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa. Apparently neither has the coalition government of Israel, its intelligence organs and the IDF.

The map above fairly indicates how the IDF in the past 12 months has been shaping and preparing the battlefield against the jihadist enemy to the north. Light blue is the Israeli Golan. The yellow corridor indicates the IDF's forward positions within Syria. Several protected Druze villages are located on both sides of the yellow corridor. 

The operation today in Beit Jinn at the base of Mount Hermon revealed the Syrian jihadist government has been deeply involved in attacking the IDF and the Druze communities in southern Syria. Cut to the chase - the map above shows the current border, but Bible prophecy indicates the northeastern border will be at the Euphrates River.

29 November 2025: On Monday this past week President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) to officially declare the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) to be a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The Jamaa Islamiya (JI) terrorists the IDF struck with ground troops in Beit Jinn, Syria yesterday are, in fact, the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood; they operate on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. Israeli intelligence uncovered preparations by the JI in Beit Jinn to launch cross-border attacks into Israel. The JI embedded themselves within both HAMAS and Hezbollah in the 2025 war in Lebanon, and now in Syria. Also in Syria are ground troops from Houthi Yemen.

Original Trump Gaza End War Plan

6 December 2025: As can be seen in the above map the Trump Gaza End War Plan is all about Israel's withdrawal from "Arab" land. The blue line is where the IDF was when the first phase began. The yellow line is where the IDF is today. The red line is where the IDF is to be when phase two begins. The orientation at each line up to this point is towards the Mediterranean Sea, or the area still under HAMAS/PIJ terrorist control.

Guess where Egypt wants to put the so-called "International Stabilization Force" (i.e. Arab-Islamic Military Forces) when phase two begins? On the current IDF yellow line, but not oriented towards the Sea, they want the orientation towards the IDF and Israel.

8 December 2025: GAZA HUDNA - PHASE II will begin upon the islamic terrorists release of police officer Ran Gvili's remains. Officer Gvili was killed on 07OCT23 and his body was kidnapped into Gaza as a hostage. The terrorists have always known where Gvili's remains are located but pretend otherwise for their benefit. Shame on Israeli authorities for playing the terrorists game for more than two years.

Iranian Hanukkah Threat?

16 December 2025: The above poster (enlarged left, original right) have appeared in Tehran of late threatening Israel with a new war. The northern Israeli coastal city of Nahariya has been singled out in a specific threat which reads "Towards the next war: Nahariya, get ready!" 

We tend to take Iranian threats seriously, but this could also be a psyop intended to distract from Hanukkah celebrations in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach massacre masterminded by the IRGC-QF. 

Nahariya is located approximately 6 miles from the border with Lebanon.

UPDATE 28 December 2025: The terrorist bombing of the Alawite mosque in Homs, which has killed eight and injured eighteen others, is a sure sign that the sectarian war tearing Syria apart is far from resolved. 

The explosive devices were prepositioned for a maximum casualty effect. Sunni jihadists are at the forefront of suspects as rumors swirl of an imminent Alawite insurrection along the Mediterranean Sea coastline governorates of Latakia and Tartus. 

Former al-Assad generals exiled in Russia are receiving massive funding from other wealthy Syrians tied to the former regime. The insurgency has weapons depots, around 168,000 troops and thousands of former Syrian Army officers. The elite 4th Division figures prominently.

BREAKING: Al-Sharaa and his transitional government are not taking this threat lightly; his Syrian Army has in the last few hours deployed troops and armor into the city centers of Tartus and Latakia.

Watching...

Global SITREP A10-25: Operation Gideon's Chariots

One of several massive Israeli strikes in Gaza, this one in Jabaliya.

UPDATED 16 May 2025: This SITREP begins essentially as a continuation of the last segment of SITREP A9-25, "Israel's Military Conquest of Gaza," and nomenclatured as "Operation Gideon's Chariots" by the IDF. As noted, this Operation might have had a preemption during this past week (12-16 May) had the Gaza terrorists of HAMAS and the PIJ made significant moves toward releasing all remaining hostages (dead or alive). This did not take place during the stipulated 'Window of Opportunity" during the American president's visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

Israel is seven hours ahead of the US meaning that the Israeli Cabinet-approved Operation Gideon's Chariots commenced several hours ago with massive airstrikes all across Gaza in preparation for the IDF introduction of massive armor and infantry movement into the enclave. The objective is to capture and occupy completely the whole of Gaza and eliminate all terrorists within it. As you might expect this operation entails a long-term plan and IDF presence in Gaza. This will not be a typical "in and out" IDF operation. This is a military conquest in the truest sense of the word.

IRAN 

Also as noted in SITREP A9-25, this past week was Iran's final opportunity to secure a nuclear agreement with the United States. As President Trump departed the UAE he spoke to this, telling assembled media: 

"Iran has an American offer regarding the nuclear program and needs to move fast or something bad will happen."

The obvious question here is, how fast? Perhaps as fast as it takes for Trump to return to the White House Situation Room. Clock ticking.

21 May 2025: The IDF Operation Gideon's Chariots continues apace with more than one hundred fifteen targets in Gaza struck in the past 24 hours. IDF naval and ground forces are press their assaults against terrorists above and below ground level with hundreds of the enemy killed in action. Thus far the IDF has sectioned Gaza into several distinct parcels of land and creating buffers between each of them to preempt any possibility of terrorist enemy force's ability to reinforce and/or rally. At the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza IDF reservists and civilian activists blocked access for aid trucks to enter the strip, vowing to halt aid shipments while HAMAS and PIJ hostages continue to be held in squalor and depraved conditions. IDF CoS MG Eyal Zamir revealed yesterday that a new phase of this operation is just beginning that will showcase increased firepower, maneuver combat that will clear and destroy all infrastructure and opposition encountered.

Most astute observers are noting that the prospect of continued US-Iran nuclear talks progressing are all but exhausted leading to some global media reports suggesting that a unilateral Israeli operation to strike Iranian nuclear sites may be imminent. The Iranian Twelver regime opines that these reports are simply psychological operations (PSYOPS) intended to frighten them. Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that President Trump's 60-day ultimatum for successful negotiations "or bad things will happen" expired several days ago. The ultimatum was no bluff and certain member of the regime's elite in Tehran understand this implicitly. This has created internal division with some expressing the view that the regime's days are finitely numbered due to kinetic external threats and internal rebellion.

UPDATE 30 May 2025: Eschatology Today has had issues with the actions of President Trump during his recent Middle East trip, in particular the catering to the interests of Islamic nations, Sunni and Shi'a, on the Arabian Gulf. These issues were overcome due to the strong conviction that the LORD God has put our president in a position of power in the furtherance of His sovereign will in these 'last days.' However, in recent days the underlying and extremely secular rationale behind the Trump Administration's agenda has become quite transparent and explicit with respect to Syria which is now led by the supposedly reformed Al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Al-Sharaa (al-Jolani). 

As recently noted in the comments section of this SITREP, the current U.S. intelligence assessment is that the Syrian "transitional government" is in a precarious situation given the existential pressures facing it. The Alawite-Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad fell earlier this year, but the military threat posed by former regime members and their foreign allies may yet result in a catastrophic, full-scale civil war and collapse of the "transitional government" in Damascus. 

Students of prophetic Scripture should understand precisely what this means as it presents the possibility of an uncontrollable civil war in Syria which involves Israel. Isaiah 17 speaks to the ruination of Damascus and the collapse of the Syrian state. Such a result need not necessarily occur due to a nuclear strike upon Damascus, but by an intense civil war that also consumes the entire country. The prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:23-27) also laments the destruction of Damascus. These prophecies foretell of a coming all-consuming war for Syria and great destruction inflicted upon Israel as well. 

Thus, it appears as though the Trump Administration through its overtures to Syria as it exists today may be an attempt to preempt the assessment of US intelligence agencies. Nevertheless, what the LORD God has spoken through the prophets will take place and the American administration's efforts to forestall will come to nothing. It is written!

Current military situation in Syria.

The above enlargeable map indicates former Al-Assad regime insurgent strongholds as red colored dots and elipses. The strikes in Tartus and Latakia tonight were directed at missile storage depots.

Mark of the Beast tech is here. E-Tattoo.

Global SITREP A8-25: The Terminal Phase of the War Against the Islamic Republic of Iran

Massive fireball 

UPDATED 16 April 2025: Except for a few corrected typographical errors, this SITREP from seven years ago (30 April-1 May 2018) remains in its original form. Some readers may not have seen this in the archive listing of Eschatology Today posts and SITREP's, so it may serve as both a reminder and new information for all readers. It most certainly is relevant to the present as you will see after reading it.

Global SITREP B3-18: The War Against Iran Escalates: JCPOA Nuclear Deal is Toast

30 April 2018: It was a very bad day for the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if it's any consolation to the Ayatollah, much worse days are yet to come. 

The image above is of the fireball that erupted following a preemptive strike on what had been known as the Syria Arab Army's 47th Brigade base located 7 miles south of Hama in northwestern Syria. The base, which had been occupied by an IRGC militia of Pakistani Shi'a known as Liya Zaynabiyoun, is adjacent to the village of Ma'arin al-Jabal. The "had been" is due to the size of the first and second order detonations; it is unlikely much remains of this base. 

This base itself has been noted by some as a bunker complex. On the contrary, the three massive above ground structures were perfect for housing and/or assembling fairly large ballistic missiles. The largest of the structures, seen in satellite images captured earlier this year, was well over 400 feet in length and 300 feet in width, two relatively smaller structures measured approximately 300 feet in length and 75 feet in width. Eight ancillary buildings were adjacent to the larger ones and could not have escaped the primary and secondary blasts intact.

Accordingly, use of a bunker buster bomb does not fit the above-ground nature of this facility. However, Israel's version of the US Mk-82 laser guided bomb, known as the MP-500 (Massive Penetrator 500 lbs) could have been the weapon of choice to level this facility and leave a gigantic smoking hole in its place.

The main blast registered as a 2.6 Richter scale event on regional seimosgraphs. According to many reports the blast and dozens of simultaneous secondary ordnance detonations killed or wounded a very large number of the Pakistani Shi'a militiamen who apparently had duty safeguarding two hundred Iranian ballistic missiles destined for delivery to Lebanese Hezbollah. That delivery has obviously been cancelled. Additional strikes are reported to have occurred at bases near Aleppo, but they do not even remotely compare to what happened at Ma'arin al-Jabal at 10:30 PM Sunday night.

Then came Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's equally massive nuclear bombshell regarding the Iranian nuclear weapons program. To be short and sweet on this issue, this intelligence coup makes preemptive strikes on the Iranian nuclear weapons sites more likely than not. The nonsensical JCPOA that Obama and Kerry masterminded is now just so much burnt toast. We'll find out how burnt it is in about 12 days time.

It also must be noted that the Israeli human intelligence collection operation which secured the hundreds of thousands of documents and digital data is unlike anything any nation has achieved in modern history. A close second intelligence coup might be the Polish engineer during WWII who memorized the Nazi "Enigma" cryptographic machine's impossibly complex inner workings so that allied engineers could reporoduce it in England. However, even the Enigma machine pales in comparison the the details exposed by the Israeli operation.

And as US President Trump prepares to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Eschatology Today would be completely remiss to not note one important detail revealed by PM Netanyahu. The Iranian warhead design appears to be virtually identical to the primary core that Kim Jong Un was photographed standing next to not too long ago. As has long been maintained here, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs have been conjoined twins for decades.

UPDATE 1 May 2018: If you've not yet seen the entirety of PM Netanyahu's presentation on the Islamic Republic of Iran's "Project Amad," please make the effort to do so as what I am adding as an update will bring all of his revealed information full-circle and bring full understanding on why Iran has been dead set on the development nuclear weapons.

The Iranian development of nuclear weapons has always been 100% about Shi'a Islamic eschatology. In fact, the name of their effort, which PM Netanyahu revealed as "Project Amad" is actually over-anglicized from the Farsi language and should be "Project Amahd." "Project Amahd" itself is actually Farsi shorthand for its true name, "Project al-Mahdi." Many of you are now likely having a light bulb illuminating in your minds because you are aware that the mythical al-Mahdi is central to much of the Islamic creed. For Shi'a Islami, the al-Mahdi is ground zero for all of their eschatological beliefs.

The focus here will not be on the mythical man who is this Shi'a messianic figure, but what his adherents, known as Hojjatieh and Twelvers, believe. For them the al-Mahdi is the foundation of everything they believe. And what they believe is the utility of nuclear weapons in quickly achieving their end-state objective in hastening the al-Mahdi's reappearance once they possess such weapons. Israel knows this, and the U.S. Government ever since the Clinton Administration has known this. Now we all know this.

A few brief points on what the Shi'a believe and are acting on. The Iranian Shi'a Twelvers, who are 85% of Shi'a Islam, all believe that the Sunni Muslims will make war on the al-Mahdi. So Iran has been at war with Sunni Islam for some time due to this belief. 

The Iranian Shi'a Twelvers also believe - and this explains perfectly why Iran is so invested in the Syrian Civil War - that a great war must occur in Syria until the country is completely destroyed. A similar rationale exists for the country of Iraq. The Shi'a Twelvers, such as former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his clique of Hojjatieh clerics believe that provoking nuclear war with Israel or America will hasten al-Mahdi's reappearance; such chaos is critical to this end. If the Islamic Republic of Iran acquires nuclear weapons, such as the five weapons PM Netanyahu cited, they will use them.

Now you should have full understanding on why the U.S. and Israel, and a precious few other nations, particularly Saudi-led GCC, see the imperative necessity of preempting Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons even if it means launching strikes into Iran.

Russia-Iran Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty

UPDATE 22 April 2025: Eschatology Today believes that the events of the past three days effectively signal that the critical moment of the Jeremiah 49:34-39 prophecy is now at hand. Do not be dismayed if you missed notification of the events, the vast majority of the media deliberately attempted to keep you in the dark. However, that's why I and some other watchmen are here!

Saturday night Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video recorded speech. Although advance notice was given of the speech the vast majority of Israel's left-wing media outlets declined to air the speech in full. Some even declared it unworthy of the airtime required to present it in full, while others obfuscated the critical point of the speech completely. Nevertheless, the critical point in the speech came when the PM said that while he greatly preferred a joint strike by the US and Israel to neuter the Iranian nuclear program, Israel is prepared to go it alone.

The response to PM Netanyahu from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin came yesterday morning when he officially signed (ratified) the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty (CSTP) between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This "covenant" between Russia and Iran is effectively a comprehensive alliance geared toward their military and diplomatic agendas. It is a direct challenge to Israel and the United States intended to forestall joint or unilateral military action against Iran's nuclear program. 

Leaning forward, Eschatology Today assesses that the CSTP will fail its intended purpose but will ultimately result in the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38/39. Put another way in full, the CSTP will fail to preempt the fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:34-39 but will result thereafter in the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38/39. In-between these two fulfillments are the fulfillments of Isaiah 17 and the conclusion of the Psalm 83 war, both currently in a process of fulfillment. 

This, Brothers and Sisters, reveals precisely where we are on The Prophetic Road to Revelation.

Marana'tha!

 

Global SITREP A6-25: Terrorist Terminus

IDF Merkava Main Battle Tanks Enter Gaza 

19 March 2025: There is an Italian journalist named Giulio Meotti who is employed by the Italian daily paper Il Foglio who also writes a twice weekly OpEd for Israel's Arutz Sheva (INN). Unlike virtually all in the Western dhimmi media, with the exception of a scant few, Giolio Meotti is one who doesn't mince words about the barbarian nature of Islamic jihadists. For folks like me his work is essential reading because no one in the West openly publishes what he does. 

There is great carnage coming, as we are all aware in particular during the seventy weeks of years. Giulio's work goes a long way to explain why, as our Lord prophesied, "these things must take place" in the very near future. But as Giulio explains the carnage that is coming is due in large part to the carnage that is already taking place at the hands of jihadists in the Middle East. October 7 should not have shocked us as it did because of our exposure to what ISIS had done less than a decade ago, and the other terrorist actions in years gone by. But in the West, we have very, very short memories, even though most of us quickly recall why America and our NATO allies went to war in Afghanistan for two decades straight.

Warning: embedded below is a Meotti column published yesterday that is not for the weak hearted. It contains stark evidence of the Satanic nature of jihadists. You can be excused if you'd rather not read what follows.

Syrian Apocalypto

Eschatology Today has been warning for a long about who and what our enemies are, and in this I can sense reason why the blessed hope of our soon Harpazo will take place. Israel is promising Gazans annihilation, at least for those who refuse to leave. In Yemen President Trump is promising the same for the Houthis, and the Iranian Twelvers to whom he recently gave 60-days' notice.

Here's the massive Coronal Hole that was facing the Earth this past week.

Marana'tha!

Global SITREP C5-24: All Eyes on Isaiah and Jeremiah

Syria

UPDATED 17 December 2024: The above map is a good baseline for the various entities controlling Syrian territory at present. It is from this position that Eschatology Today interprets the prophecies of Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49: 23-27 will come to their fulfillment.

As of this morning the "rumors of war" that emerged yesterday concerning a Turkish invasion of northern Syria may have become once again a real shooting war. Islamist Turkiyeh has been assessed by most observers to be taking advantage of the sudden collapse of the former regime last week. A noticeable buildup of forces along the northern border in recent days and drone swarm attacks against Kurdish-SDF forces resulted in a lightning Turkish takeover of the border city of Manbij. Those forces have since advanced towards an adjacent border city at Kobani. The Kurdish-SDF has approximately 900 U.S. troops embedded within it. ((Pentagon belatedly admitted there were 2,000 U.S. troops embedded with the SDF.)) The Kurds refer to this northern region as Rojava. The Kurds of northern Syria fear a genocide of their population at the hands of the Turks and their allies.

Jeremiah 49:23-27 provides the best overview for the events which will overtake the whole of Syria, as does Isaiah 17 for the inevitable conflagration between HTS-controlled Syria and Israel. We've seen this prophetic narrative coming for a very long time, but did not fully understand how it would transpire. We did not see how the HTS onslaught against the former Assad regime would cause Russia to evacuate its forces from across Syria. 

Previously both the Russian and American military presence in northern and northeastern Syria prevented a large-scale Turkish military invasion, but now with the absence of Russian forces only the U.S., as a NATO ally of Turkey, would conceivably stand in the way. A rumored American withdrawal from Syria, as noted in recent public statements by President-elect Trump, may be the impetus for the Turkish land grab in northern Syria. A unilateral U.S. withdrawal would leave the Kurdish SDF alone to withstand a resurgent ISIS in the Syrian heartland, and the Islamist HTS group of forces seeking to expand their control to as far as the Iraqi border.

To the south Israel is transferring a good portion of its major land warfare power from southern Lebanon back into Gaza where all indications are that HAMAS and the PIJ are in the process of re-grouping their forces for continued warfare. This would belie the talk about an imminent hostage release-ceasefire agreement as just so much deception, notwithstanding President-elect Trump's promise of dire consequences to HAMAS should hostages remain captive on 20 January 2025. The next 34 days will have to run their course, because as our Lord spoke, "these things must take place."

UPDATE 18 December 2024: Eschatology Today believes in the uniformity of the LORD's inerrant prophetic word in Scripture. Even though our eyes are on Isaiah and Jeremiah the current junction is also where the follow-on prophecy of Ezekiel 38/39 as well as the Angel Gabriel's prophecy to Daniel (Ch. 11:40-45) both seamlessly fold in. Ezekiel 38/39 has been covered extensively, so the focus here will now be on the secondary aspects of these prophecies.

Wagner PMC is now Russia's 'Africa Legion'

The Russian's Are Not Coming, They're Already Here

Russian forces have begun their withdrawal from their two 49-year leased bases on the Eastern Mediterranean Levant in the Tartus and Latakia governorates of Syria. They have hooks embedded, but the LORD has not yet pulled on them! 

Some of the evacuated Russian personnel and war materiel has moved north, back to Russia for the war in Ukraine, as has about 12,000 North Korean combat troops (kings of the East) but that's another story. The rest of Russia's forces are re-deploying to Libya and several nations in the sub-Saharan Sahel region of Africa (i.e. Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Sudan), a/k/a "the king of the South." Until a year ago the Russian PMC Wagner Group was deployed to the Sahel countries, but with the demise of Wagner Russia has re-branded those troops as its 'Africa Legion.'

Give this next sentence the attention it deserves. Ezekiel 38/39 tells of the massive Magog military confederation which invades Israel being utterly destroyed by the LORD on the mountains of Israel. But it does not say that the Magog confederation nations are completely destroyed as well. Has any other prophecy-centric website put forward this clear distinction? These nations appear again during the 70th Week of Years in Gabriel's Daniel 11:40-45 prophecy moving against the Antichrist (the 'he' in that prophecy and his military presence in Greater Israel (the Glorious Land).

Russian 'Africa Legion' Countries

The Iranian and the Turkish Problems

No need to rehash what we've already covered about the catastrophe coming to Syria, except to say that a great deal of what has come upon and is still to come upon Syria, is due to the imperial machinations of Turkey's Islamist leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Just as Vladimir Putin wants to recover the former Soviet Union so too does Erdogan want to recover the Ottoman Empire. In this objective the Kurdish people of Turkey, Syria and northern Iraq are an obstacle and a genocide against them looks to be Erdogan's version of a 'final solution.' Erdogan recently stated that had the victorious Allied Powers (UK and France) after World War I not divvied up the Ottoman Empire the way they did Aleppo, Damascus and the rest of Syria would today be an integral part of Turkey. It would seem that Turkish and Russian designs on the Levant and Israel align nicely, hence their Magogian alliance in Ezekiel 38/39.

Iran is pushing full speed ahead with nuclear enrichment for its weapons program, and which has the full attention of Israel and the incoming Trump Administration as well as the UK, France and Germany, among other Euro and Middle Eastern nations. Iran has virtually achieved 90% purity, and thus nuclear weapons capability to the tune of a dozen or more warheads of various yields. Iran, in an alignment with Turkey, is also threatening the new Sunni Islamist government in Syria, effectively saying that its youth will bring Syria back into the Iranian orbit. Eschatology Today has always held the view that Iran will be militarily minimized based upon Ezekiel's listing of the country with second tier powers Kuwsh and Put. The drive for nuclear weapons capability is quite likely to terminate in the very short-term with subsequent airstrikes by a coalition of nations now that its air defense systems are virtually non-existent, thanks to Israel. Still, Iran survives enough to play its prophetic role with Russia and Turkey in Ezekiel 38/39.

UPDATE 27 December 2024: In wrestling for several days about how to close out this final SITREP of 2024 Eschatology Today determined that an essential issue requires addressing. 

As of Monday, 30 December 2024, the State of Israel will have been at war for a continuous 500 days. This war has been expected as a literal fulfillment of prophetic Scriptures for as long as this blog has existed. This seven-front, existential war for Israel is exactly that, albeit an ongoing process of literal fulfillment of the prophetic Scriptures. 

Despite the claims of the Israeli coalition government of having defeated HAMAS and the several terrorist groups in Gaza, and of having defeated the Shi'a terrorist Hezbollah and its "Palestinian" terrorist allies in southern Lebanon and Syria, nothing of the sort has actually been realized. Not yet anyway.

On a daily basis IDF troops are killed in combat operations throughout Gaza through firefights or IED roadside bombs. HAMAS and its allies have lost nearly 4,000 fighters, a significant number of their leadership, and have wholly devastated infrastructure both above and below ground, yet these Islamic jihadists have not surrendered, have not been defeated and still hold an unknown number of hostages of various nationalities. Hezbollah and allies are actively recovering and regrouping their forces which likely number in multiple thousands. The government of Israel cannot claim a victory when a clear-cut victory has not been achieved, much less the oft stated and/or re-stated goals of the war. Nearly the same can be said of Hezbollah in Lebanon even though the agreed "hudna" is violated with airstrikes and firefights on a daily basis. Hezbollah is re-grouping and re-arming itself with all of the war materiel Israel has not been able to locate and destroy in either central and northern Lebanon or Syria. Many war materiel smuggling routes remain unlocated. A nation like Israel cannot militarily defeat in a little over 16 months a group of enemies that have prepared for war over the past 16 years. It's easy math, but apparently not so easy for Israel at this time.

So, what's the problem? Have the 12 tribes of Israel done what the LORD יהוה God has told them is necessary for them to do? Before his death Moses wrote the necessities for Israel in the Book of Deuteronomy, chief among them is the exclusive Covenant of loyalty Israel owes to God. Read Deuteronomy 4, and when reading hold on verse 30 which says: "...when you are in distress because all of these things have befallen you, and in the end, return to and obey your God יהוה. The remainder of the chapter is clear as a bell for Israel. Finally in Deuteronomy 26:16-19 we find a summary of what God commands of Israel:

"This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you have proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. Also today the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy [consecrated] people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken."

This is also our prayer to the LORD for Israel, that when He decides the Bride of Christ is to be Caught Up the fulfillment of Romans 11 and Ezekiel 39:29 are to be realized as well. Perhaps today.

Marana'tha! 

Global SITREP C4-24: "Catastrophic Success"

Clickable Map of Syrian Governorates

UPDATED 8 December 2024: The above clickable (enlargeable) map is for those who would like a graphic point of reference for provinces (governorates) and their capitals and the locations of important cites. The chosen title for this SITREP, "Catastrophic Success" comes from a decade ago when many in the government feared a radical Islamist (ISIS) takeover of the whole of Syria. Eschatology Today accepts this terminology as being appropriate for the current situation in Syria.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

For those who are new here or just arriving after searching out a website like this (yes, I do see you accessing this site), Eschatology Today is first and foremost a blog about God-breathed prophecy in the Holy Scriptures. The sovereign will of God Almighty has been expressed through His prophets of ancient Israel; He has known what will come to pass on this earth since before time began as He has always existed outside of time and space as humanity can understand those concepts. 

Hence, the LORD spoke of future events through the prophets He selected; He did so for the purpose the living in those days would have understanding by seeking out His Word. To those who seek He provides understanding as necessary through His Spirit. For questions that begin with, "Will this or that happen..." seek His inerrant counsel on the issue as Jesus our Messiah (Christ) taught us, and that is go into a private place and ask of Him directly the question you may have. My personal suggestion for those who earnestly are seeking Him, ask Him to prove to you that He is what He has always said He is. He is the "I AM that I AM." (In Hebrew this is written as YHWH." Be ready for His response - it will change your life FOREVER and in ways that will leave no doubt about His love for you personally. There is no better time for this as we are living in the days of the so-called "end times." The "end times are simply those days, months and years prior to the physical Second Coming of Jesus Christ to establish the His Millennial Kingdom on this Earth.

The Syrian Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad that arose in a coup d'etat led by his father Hafez al-Assad is no more. Remnants of the regime will fade into history over the coming days, weeks or months, as the fractious conglomeration of rebellious militias, primarily Sunni, begin to assert control over the areas they currently hold. They may begin to war amongst themselves or strike out at other enemies such as Shi'a militias which are not Syrian but foreigners. They may move against Russian controlled territory in the governorates of Tartous and Latakia. Thay may, as Islamist all, move against Israel on the Golan. Whatever does actually take place going forward has been foretold primarily be the prophet Isaiah (Chapter 17) and the prophet Jeremiah (Chapter 49). These things are what will take place in the near-term. Eschatology Today will track these events as the LORD directs based upon His revealed word in Scripture.

Clickable Map of the UNDOF

The IDF has occupied the area on this map shaded in yellow. With the collapse of the Syrian regime the 1974 Disengagement of Forces agreement (DOF) became null and void. Israel increased in land area today.

It has long been said that World War IV (WWIV) would begin in the Middle East. Yes, WWIV, because WWIII  was fought and won, it was the so-called "Cold War" of 1944-1991. 

WWIV began on October 7, 2023 and it continues to this very minute and will continue for some time to come. WWIV will likely conclude, if that's the correct terminology, with Ezekiel 38-39, which heralds the start of the 70th Week of Years, a/k/a the Thlipsis and Megas Thlipsis (Tribulation and Great Tribulation). You all are well aware of how this ends, and for the Bride of Christ it's with the shout "COME UP HITHER!"

9 December 2024: The Bottom Line - The al-Assad regime is gone but the civil war in Syria has not ended. There has not been a legitimate transfer of political power which realistically keeps Syria a powderkeg with a lit fuse.

An amalgamation of insurgent militias have control of Syria's major cities in most of western Syria. These insurgents have differing ideological views. 

Some, possibly a majority, are Sunni jihadists. 

Some are scattered remnants of ISIS.

Some are north Syrian tribesmen who are loyal to Erdogan's Turkiye. 

Some are Kurds who control a third of Syria in the regions east of the Euphrates River and are backed by the U.S.-led military coalition.

Some are southern Syrian tribesmen also backed by the U.S.-led military coalition centered in Al-Tanf on the Jordan and Iraq border region, and who recently extended their control northward to Palmyra.

Some are Arab Syrians from the southern Dara'a region who are mixed with local Druse populations.

And then there are the Alawi, cousins of Shi'a Islam in Tartus and Latakia on the Syrian coastline who until a day ago had been dominant over the rest of Sunni Arab Syria via the al-Assad regime.

Added to this mix are foreign military groups such as the IRGC-QF advisors and technical support from Iran, the Shi'a Iraqi PMU militia formations and the Shi'a Fatemiyoun militia from Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as isolated Russian troops in several makeshift encampments scattered across the rest of Syria west of the Euphrates River.

All of this lies right across the northern border of Israel.

And the prophecies of Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49;23-27 have not come to complete fulfillment, which is something global media would never mention.

It's not over in Syria yet, not by a longshot.

OPERATION "BASHAN ARROW"

UPDATE 11 December 2024: In the elapsed time since the last update (about 48 hours) Israel's land, sea and air forces have attacked and destroyed more than 250 military bases, depots, facilities, grounded aircraft (fixed and rotary wing), missile batteries, AA gun emplacements, tanks and armored vehicles. You name it as a military asset of the former regime and the Israeli Air Force has destroyed it. This continuing IDF action, known as Operation Bashan Arrow, is unprecedented in the past 100-year history of modern warfare. 

And it has been a virtual turkey shoot because since the former regime's troops abandoned their posts there has been ZERO air defense over Syria or any kind of defense against Israel's actions. Zip, nada, nothing. Russian and Iranian forces are of no help, they can't fly or are hunkered down in survival mode and looking for a way out. The U.S. and Turkey have hit select targets but not nearly on the scale that Israel has. 

One has to wonder how the victorious Sunni-led insurgency is viewing the annihilation of their expected war booty. There's not much left except for burnt and charred scrap metal.

UPDATE 14 December 2024: The image above captured one of seventeen IAF air strikes on Friday night directed at Iranian-constructed tunnels within the Qalamoun Mountains west of Damascus.

The strategic tunnels were identified by intelligence operations to contain missiles, warheads and their launching platforms. Battle damage assessments have not yet been released on mission objectives. 

It's not too far-fetched to envision that IDF special forces will need to converge on the area, raid the tunnels and destroy them completely as strategic tunnels would contain strategic assets of the former regime such as WMD warheads for the missiles.

A masked opposition fighter carries a flag of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in the old walled city of Damascus, Syria, on December 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The flag carried by the "opposition fighter" in the image above IS the standard Black Flag of Jihad used by Islamic Jihadists all over the world in their ongoing war against non-Muslim kufr (infidels). HTS was and remains a Jihadist army now in control of Syria.

Any questions?

The above are Sunni jihadists of the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP). Their contingent in Idlib, Syria is reported to be 4,000 fully equipped troops. The TIP are Uighurs from Xinjiang, PRC. They call their homeland East Turkistan, but currently operate as a integral component force of HTS in Syria. Their ultimate objective is to wage jihad against the PRC and establish an Islamic caliphate in Xinjiang and throughout Central Asia.

Marana'tha!

Global SITREP B9-24: Striking the Bow and Bringing the Sword

IRGC Aerospace Shahab-3

UPDATED 16 October 2024: The IDF is actively shaping the battlefield, not only in Lebanon but also in the Golan Heights where since 1 October new forward positions have been created, and operation to remove landmines have been largely completed. Use the clickable map below for reference as we move forward.

UNDOF ZONE

Notice the direct connection the UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) Zone has between Lebanon's eastern border, Syria's southern border and a small section of Jordan's northern border. The western border of the zone is known as the A Line and it functions as Israel's de facto border with Syria; the eastern border is Syria's de facto border with Israel separated by UNDOF troop deployments along its entire length since its institution at the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The 1,080 international troops deployed in the zone, in order of contingent size, are Nepal, Uruguay, India, Fiji and Kazakhstan with a handful each from Ghana, Ireland, Bhutan and the Czech Republic.

It is important to note this as Jeremiah 49:26 foretells dire a result for men in general and soldiers ("all the men of war"). Eschatology Today is of the opinion that this verse dovetails with Isaiah 17:12-13. Even a cursory reading these prophetic Scriptures informs as to the reason for the coming dire circumstance which forces their hasty departure.

There is also, as we've noted previously, a reason for the forward push into the Golan, and that would be to flank Hezbollah from the east in southern Lebanon, possibly to in preempt or interdict a mass evacuation of their forces northward. Some reports indicate that Kata'ib Hezbollah (Iraqi Shi'a militia) may have been instructed to forgo engaging in combat with the IDF. This is likely a very temporary situation if accurate.

In the meantime, sand is rapidly falling into the bottom of the proverbial hourglass marking how soon Israel will pounce to strike the bow and bring its very capable sword upon the Iranian Twelver regime. A paradigm changing event to be sure.

IDF released image of KIA Yahya Sinwar

18 October 2024: An IDF armored reconnaissance unit engaged in a firefight with three HAMAS terrorists Wednesday, 16 October. The unit was unaware that one of the three combatants was Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar was attempting to flee from Rafah to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone on the Mediterranean Sea when spotted by the IDF recon force. A Merkava IV MBT fired a single round into the impromptu hideaway (a house) which ultimately killed the HAMAS leader. He was also found to have bullet wounds to his head and chest.

Suspecting explosive charges in the immediate area the IDF waited until Thursday to search and clear the area before accessing the site. The image above was released by the IDF; it shows IDF troops standing over the deceased Sinwar. Sinwar's identity was confirmed by DNA testing. Subsequent searching of the immediate area did not locate any of the Israeli hostages nor any sign of their presence. Many media reports had long insisted the Israeli hostages were surrounding Sinwar as human shields. Islamic radicals will almost certainly hail Yahya Sinwar as a martyr who died in direct battle with the IDF. Sinwar is gone but the war is not over in Gaza.

Flight of two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers

In a direct warning to Iran the United States deployed long-range B2 Spirit stealth bombers to destroy five hardened weapons depots in a Houthi-controlled region of Yemen on October 17. The depots contained missiles and other weapons used by the Houthis to attack commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and missiles that targeted Israel. It is unknown if the Spirit's departed from CONUS or from a forward base of operations to conduct the strike. It is very likely the first American use of the B-2 in combat since 2017 and the first operational strike mission employing the GBU-57 MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator), a 27,125-pound weapon which can penetrate over 200 feet deep into earth and reinforced concrete bunkers. Each Spirit carries two MOPs. The Spirit's mission and weapon chosen were clearly a powerful message to the Islamic Republic of Iran which now understands that destruction of its Natanz nuclear site is clearly within the capability set of American B-2's armed either with the GBU-57 or newer GBU-57 F/B variants, or the newest GBU-72B, a 5,000-pound all-weather precision strike bunker buster weapon. It is no accident this strike on the Houthis and their Iranian-made weapons occurred as Israel is an advanced stage of their own and very imminent air assault on Iranian targets...

Israeli Air Force F-35i and F-15i Strike Package with airborne refueler

Moshiach Patch on IDF Uniform

UPDATE 22 October 2024: The Moshiach (Messiah) patch below the Israel 'Star of David' flag patch was taken off a soldiers arm by CoS Herzi HaLevi and placed in his pocket, close to his heart. 

This Messiah Crown patch has caused quite a stir in Israel, with some opining that to Christian and Jewish Messianic soldiers it honors Jesus Messiah, the King of Israel. 

To others it honors the Orthodox Moshiach; that it is a symbol of the IDF being the army of God (Ezekiel 37). 

Others opine that since the patch is officially non-approved it belongs in a pocket, close to the soldiers heart. 

And a very, very small minority of secular Israelis have nothing but disdain for the patch because they reject all messiahs at face value.

The wearing of non-approved uniform patches is widespread among virtually all of the world's armies; most commanders allow them as morale boosters. The US military is among them, particularly the DTOM and Punisher patches.

Global SITREP B6-24: Northern Front

IDF troops prepare for operations in Lebanon

UPDATED 18 September 2024: It's said that an object in motion tends to stay in motion. As we have seen in the past couple of days the IDF's "center of gravity" is moving inexorably towards the Northern Front. The IDF mission objective is to fight Hezbollah on Lebanon's territory so as to allow Israeli civilians to return safely to their homes in northern Israel. Based upon Bible prophecy, the books of Joshua, Jeremiah and Isaiah especially, Eschatology Today believes that the Northern Front holds much more in store for Israel and its defense forces than merely driving Hezbollah terrorists north of the Litani River. We'll follow key events closely and as they occur.

UPDATE 23 September 2024: To use colloquial terminology, It's on! 

As of this morning, and following unprecedented leaflet drops, telephone calls and text message warnings from the IDF there are tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians in mass exodus from southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. The IDF has also provided video evidence of civilian homes in Lebanon which show irrefutable proof of special construction of hatches and openings constructed by Hezbollah that contain cruise missiles and other hostile aircraft launch platforms within them. Resident and neighbors were urged for their own safety to depart from these areas with all due haste and these structures will be destroyed. Somewhere between 300 and 400 hundred structures have been destroyed in at least three waves of strikes thus far today, and its only 3:30 PM in Israel as of this writing. The warnings were specific and included the Beqa'a Valley where Hezbollah has long occupied as its primary stronghold.

Global SITREP B5-24: The Multi-Front War

IDF Mass in the North

UPDATED 29 August 2024: Indications and Warnings (I&W) of a ground war erupting on Israel's northern front (Lebanon and Syria) have increased exponentially in recent days. This is despite false global media claims that neither Hezbollah nor their Iranian overlords being desirous of a full-scale war with Israel; such claims ignore the Shi'a Twelver's core jihadist theology. Multiple sources linked to Hezbollah declare a renewed Iranian rocket and drone assault against Israel is close at hand. We should not discount that a major Israeli preemptive strike could come at any moment, the intelligence is that good.

The northern front I&W comes as the IDF is now openly operating with full military force in Judea and Samaria where the IRGC-QF has infiltrated significant advanced weaponry and distributed them via Jordan to numerous jihadist cells throughout the region. At least two of Israel's cabinet minister have stated that Judea and Samaria action is a war no different than in Gaza, including the need to evacuation non-combatant civilians to safer 'humanitarian' areas.

IDF commander's briefings of late speak to the IDF being actively engaged on seven fronts completely encircling the State of Israel. Obviously, the multi-front war described by the singing prophet Asaph in Psalm 83 and other prophecies discussed here since 2009 are present and accounted for in 2024.

4 September 2024: The update to this SITREP can been viewed as a substantial modification to the interpretation of who Assur (Assyria) is where Asaph prophesied in Psalm 83:8 (NIV) "Even Assyria has joined them, to reinforce Lot's descendants." The them are identified in verses 6 and 7. Lot's descendants are identified in the subsequent verses, 9 through 11. Lot's descendants are the peoples identified in verses 3 and 4 who cunningly consult conspire together to destroy the nation of Israel. 

This brings us to the above map which illustrates the maximum extent of Assur (Assyria), the regional military superpower concurrent with the time of Asaph. This map then gives context to the role played by the modern-day Islamic Republic of Iran in the current Psalm 83 warfare. Iran has been an existential enemy of Israel since the revolution (coup d'etat) of the Shi'a Twelvers over the Shah of Iran 45 years ago. There is no question, hindsight being 20/20, that Shi'a Iran (IRGC-QF) and its Shi'a proxies as established in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Houthis of Yemen are providing a strong arm of military assistance, both weaponry and foot soldiers, in the war against Israel. It would be a gross error in the exegesis of Psalm 83 not to make this interpretive distinction.

In conducting recent research on this issue, it has also resulted in the gaining of additional knowledge concerning the Lord's prophet Asaph. Asaph ("who gathers together") was a Levite and was put in charge of music by King David when the Ark of the Covenant was moved from the Tabernacle to Jerusalem. He was in the same role when Solomon was King, and the First Temple was inaugurated. Asaph's relationship with God is best known by Psalm 73:25-26. "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire but you. My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." We all would do well the study what Scripture says concerning Asaph.

Panoramic image of CERS strike near Masyaf, Syria.
(Image source: Ma'ariv)

UPDATE 13 September 2024: The massive air assault against the Tier-One High Value Target on the CERS complex near Masya Syria turns out to have been a highly coordinated and hugely successful air-ground assault according to new information published on numerous news sites. Moreover, this strike strongly indicates that Israel has now embarked on nothing less than a strategic offensive. Initial Iranian reaction to this assault reveals how damaging to the IRGC-QF's overall campaign against Israel and to their millions of rials investment in Syria's military-industrial capabilities. The CERS complex was the crown jewel in the Iranian investment in Syria.

IAF Shaldag special forces training at Palmachim Air Base
(Source: IDF)

The IAF's elite Shaldag unit was the ground component which assault the CERS facilities; they were reportedly on the ground collecting computers, important equipment, documentation as well as capturing at least two Iranian specialists (putting the lie to Iranian denials of any connection to the previous CERS activities), before detonating high explosive satchel charges to destroy the underground and above ground sections of the complex. The IAF commandos were able to infiltrate by repelling from helicopters due to the IAF's total suppression of Syrian air defenses, complex access denial and drone attacks on any and all responding defense forces. Access roads were cratered as well to deny access. The intelligence collected is no doubt of immense value, the exploitation of which will be evident in the near future.