Global SITREP B5-23: Follow-up to Operation Shield and Arrow

Jerusalem Day flag march at Damascus Gate 2021

UPDATED! May 15, 2023: This follow-up SITREP to Operation Shield and Arrow is not to down play what the IDF achieved in combat against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (holy war), but to highlight what the prophetic Word of God has to say. Israel's government has given its blessing to Palestinian Islamic Jihad having its hudna, a period of time in which the terrorists are permitted a "time out" to re-organize its decimated leadership and re-constitute its means to "lift up their head" yet again to wage war against the citizens of Israel. This is in full view of Israel's enemies who hate to God of Israel and have declared their intent is to cut Israel off from being a nation; that the name of Israel be forgotten (Psalm 83:4). The same goes for all of the rest of Israel's enemies around them. This includes HAMAS.

Yet, for some currently unfathomable reason, which possibly if not probably is grotesquely political in nature, the IDF staff are giving some assurance through Israeli media that HAMAS is less likely to attack when Israelis march through Jerusalem this week in celebration and remembrance of the liberation of East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of June 1967. In today's edition of Israel HaYom (Israel Today) the IDF has published their assessment that the now concluded Operation Shield and Arrow has "reduced the chance" that HAMAS will rain rockets down upon Israel's cities; that Israel now exists in a "more secure position" than it was just days ago. The IDF does concede that its assessment of  HAMAS holding its fire is not high, but it still exists. 

In military terms this is known as a "Probability versus Risk" assessment. Instead of there being a High Probability-High Risk of HAMAS going to war later this week, the IDF assesses a Low Probability-Low Risk of HAMAS going to war against Israel.  This assessment is based upon the fact that, despite its public rhetoric, HAMAS did not actively engage in direct combat support of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's one-thousand rocket and mortar launches aggression. A HAMAS spokesman is also on record to Arab media saying that it will not allow the "Judaization" of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the performance of religious sacrifices or "Flag Marches;" that HAMAS will thwart any Jewish attempt at expansion or control over Jerusalem." That kind of Islamist language means one thing: Jihad (unholy war ). 

According to the prophetic Word of God there remains a considerable military action for the IDF to engage in pursuit of the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38:8-11 and "bring the Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) back from the sword" so that Am Israel (the people of Israel) "all of them now dwell safely." This is the safety and security Israel will briefly experience prior to the Gog of Magog attempt to invade. That means, as we have discussed for a very long time, the whole of the Psalm 83, Isaiah 11, Ezekiel 28, Joshua 13, Isaiah 17, and Jeremiah 49:34-39 prophecies must come to their fulfillment first. 

Missile War over Ashkelon 13MAY23 (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Will the Islamists of HAMAS launch a war later this week? Eschatology Today assesses the Probability-Risk as a Medium-High Probability and Medium-High Risk. Will this war happen as some point? Yes, it is an absolute certainty. Was the IDF successful in keeping HAMAS out of this past week's war with the PIJ? Not really. HAMAS follows the dictates of Iranian Twelver clerics, as does Hezbollah. 

Eschatology Today believes it was not within the will of God for the greater war to occur this past week, and as always this belief is based upon the Word of God. In the midst of the linked verses above from Ezekiel's prophecy, right in the middle, we read the words "On that day." These words signify an appointed time, the Lord's appointed time in accordance with His will. In the same manner we can turn to Isaiah 11:11 and read "And it shall come to pass in that day..." This prefaces what takes place in verse 14, and verse 14 deals explicitly with - Gaza. Ezekiel 28:25-26 reiterates the word given to Isaiah, which is also about the timing. And which is to say 'when this has been done, then this will happen." And finally, we have Psalm 83 which explicitly names all of the enemies noted in Ezekiel 28:24. 

These things must take place.

Marana'tha!

UPDATE! 17 May 2023: Eschatology Today has always been keen to note "past as prologue" within prophetic Scripture. I believe we've just witnessed a forerunner, or more correctly a partial fulfillment of what Asaph the Chozeh (Prophet) wrote in Psalm 83:9-18. Psalm 83:9-12 are the key verses, and verses 13-18 will be the embodiment and ultimate fulfillment. 

Israel's military and intelligence capability has progressed to the point where they enabled the precise, real-time geo-location of the critical cadre of enemy leaders. A tremendous technological feat to be sure! These enemy leaders were dealt with (killed) as Midian, Sisera and Jabin were in the very first seconds of the IDF's Operation Shield and Arrow. Then, within 24-48 hours, the second tier-level of leaders who stepped up into the deceased leaders roles were dealt with (promptly dispatched) as were Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah and Zalmunna in ancient times. 

I was awakened this morning to what was originally published here on 22 September 2009 being replayed in my mind - word for word. My response was, "Yes Lord, I understand." Talk about excitement!!! This posting was titled "All these things be fulfilled... Part I and Part II." I would direct your attention specifically to the Part II section of the post as there was a lot of research done in order to fully comprehend the prophetic nature of what Asaph was inspired to write, and then perform as a song. Asaph was not only a prophet of God, but he was a musician and sang these words as a song. My sense is that what we just witnessed was a foreshadowing of some of the specifics and events which are soon to occur in in complete fulfillment of what we have long referred to as the Psalm 83 scenario.

Global SITREP B4-23: Operation Shield and Arrow Continues

IDF Iron Dome Missile Defense Batteries imaged 9 May 2023
(Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP)

10 May 2023: As anticipated Red Alert sirens began sounding anew in southern Israeli towns today. First in Sderot, then Ashkelon, Ashdod and Lachish and others in the so-called "Gaza envelope" heard the warnings announcing inbound enemy rockets. 

The IAF response was both preemptive and immediate as the Iran-aligned Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket launch sites and mortar positions were struck following IDF ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) detected ground activity at those sites prior to any launches.  Those sites were promptly destroyed. Other sites were then identified as their ordnance became airborne and took incoming IAF airstrikes.

Just minutes ago enemy rockets, probably the more capable rockets fielded by HAMAS, were launched at Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Givatayim in central Israel. This is breaking news. updates as always...

 

Global SITREP B3-23: Israel's 75th

UPDATED 23 April 2023: Israel's 75th year of its modern existence will be celebrated on Tuesday-Wednesday of this week. The following day, Thursday, April 27th, is the date sets by Israel's Coalition Government and its Security Cabinet upon which the IDF will be unrestrained from severe (read: disproportionate) responses to any and all acts of terror against Israel. This new policy will continue even at the risk of full-scale war against Israel's enemies. 

This SITREP has been posted early in anticipation of potential enemy preemptive actions while Israel commemorates its Memorial Day beginning tomorrow from sundown through Tuesday. Israel's Memorial Day honors fallen IDF soldiers and civilian victims of Islamic acts of jihad. Iran's Twelver Ayatollah has again this morning reiterated his personal threat about the imminent destruction of the State of Israel.

Syria being destroyed by 13 years of continuous warfare.

28 April 2023: Key to the Twelver clerics offensive against Israel is the Rif Dimashq governorate illustrated in the map below. This vast area of southern Syria has seen continuous Israeli air, missile and artillery strikes over the past few years. These strikes have intensified in the first four months of 2023 in a campaign to dislodge both the IRGC, its proxy militias and Hezbollah of Lebanon from their bases. These bombardments have not succeeded in their objective as yet.

Syria's Rif Dimashq Governorate, Damascus and the Golan.

North and east of the Golan Heights is the Al Quneitra governorate, mostly occupied by Israel in the Six Day War of 1967 and again in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. This part of Al Quneitra is known as the Israeli Golan Heights was formally annexed by Israel in 1981. The 1981 Israeli annexation received the approval of the U.S. Trump Administration fours years ago. To the east are the governorates of Dara'a and As Suweida, known in ancient biblical times as Bashan and referenced in last days Bible prophecy. The Rif Dimashq governorate completely surrounds the doomed city of Damascus. Even though all of Syria will cease to exist following the fulfillment of Isaiah 17, it is these highlighted regions will will bear the brunt of the coming hostilities. And to the West of Rif Dimashq is Lebanon, the critical stronghold of the Shi'a, Iran-aligned Hezbollah terrorist organization.

In the past five days, through the patient waiting for the observances in Israel to pass and the prospect of IDF action against terrorists on all sides, the Lord has led to another critical prophecy concerning the coming days which severely impacts the whole of the region. Not previously refenced on Eschatology Today, the prophecy of Zechariah 11:1-3 is as relevant as Isaiah 17, Joshua 13, Psalm 83, Isaiah 11 and Ezekiel 28. 

Elsewhere in Syria, and mostly in the skies above, are the increasingly belligerent actions of the remaining Russian Air Force contingent flying out of Hmeimim Air Base. The U.S. Air Forces CENTCOM commander, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, has warning of the Russian AF pilots deliberately and repeatedly trying to provoke dogfight combat with US and Coalition fighter aircraft in the skies over Syria. General Grynkewich's directive to U.S. and Coalition pilots when they detect the Russian aggressive mid-air maneuvers is "don't take the bait." New rules of engagement (ROE) are almost certainly now in place and consummate with the risks present.

Therefore, the risk of a miscalculation or a direct attempt to shoot down one of our fighters over Syria increases with each sortie flown. The Russian commanders acknowledge this new reality saying that the previously agreed to deconfliction protocols no longer apply. This new reality is a direct the result of NATO's support of Ukraine and which Russia's views as a NATO war against Russia.

FINAL UPDATE 30 April 2023: For those interested, the final update to SITREP B3-23 features a clickable map of Syria as it exists today. It is hoped this map will bring home the tenuousness of the Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime and the ultimate reason for its demise as foretold in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27. 

As the title of this map indicates, Syria as a country is a rump version of what it had been prior to 2010-11 and the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. As we have often heard of late, a country that does not control its borders will soon cease to be a country. It is also instructive to compare this map with the map of Rif Dimashq just above. 

And make note of the internal division of the country that is the Euphrates River. The government forces control only the northern third of the west bank of the Euphrates, from Manbij to Raqqa. The remainder of the southern west bank is under the control of the IRGC and proxy Shi'a forces to Abu Kamal. The entire east bank of the Euphrates River, from the Turkish border Abu Kamal is controlled by the SDF and the U.S.-led international coalition known as Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). 

The U.S. also has control of a vast area around the At Tanf desert town straddling the Iraqi and Jordanian borders to approximately 55 miles in to Syria. In this position the U.S. forces are in the rear areas of Iranian and Hezbollah forces, and thereby protect Israel along the Golan Heights front. At any time in full-scale conflict the OIF forces could sever the IRGC and proxy forces access to Syria and its major supply lines along the Euphrates from Baghdad, Iraq to Abu Kamal, Syria. The whole of Lebanon and western Syria would in such circumstance be Israel's for the taking, up to the west bank of the Euphrates River, just as Bible prophecy foretells.

Global SITREP B2-23: Bibi

 

Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu

17 April 2023: Romans 13:1 declares "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." Accordingly, SITREP B2-23 casts a special spotlight on Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu as he has clearly been appointed by God for a great many years to lead Israel in these last days. 

In fact, when discussing these last days with respect to the current State of Israel, there are many indices and or symbols to consider as reflective of this generation, but Bibi may be the personification of the generational index simply because Bibi, the son of BenZion Netanyahu, was born in 1948, one year after the fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8 in which was Israel's rebirth occurred in a single day. He is the first leader of Israel born after its declaration of independence; next month Israel will celebrate it's 75th year, Bibi Netanyahu his

The image above is of the 23-year old Bibi Netanyahu in the IDF uniform of the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces. If you want to read more, there's an excellent article authored by Gerard Baker published yesterday in The Washington Free Beacon, titled: All About the Benjamin. As the article makes clear, Netanyahu is very well equipped in what comes next for Israel. But even more importantly he's been appointed by God to be Israel's longest serving leader in this generation.

Special SITREP B1-23: Global Military SITREP with Emphasis on the Levant

IRGC Bavar-373 Air Defense System

12 April 2023: The proverbial "cat" is out of the bag. The "cat" is the Iranian reverse engineered air defense (AD) system known as the Upgraded Bavar-373 from the Russian S-400 AD. This AD has been deployed to Syria under the guise of humanitarian assistance to Syria and Turkey following the massive earthquakes of this past February. The IRGC has authorized their proxy militias in Syria, under IRGC command, to bring the systems on-line for use against the Israeli Air Force, and possibly, if not probably, against Coalition and US aircraft operating over Syria.

The several high-level meetings among Western allies in the Levant as well as Israel's security cabinet briefings in recent weeks can be cited as the result of actionable intelligence having been acquired by the allies intelligence collection activities, as well as Iran's razor thin distance from nuclear weapons possession. This is possibly the last backgrounder Eschatology Today will present before the war between Israel and Iran erupts. 

Going back quite a few years Eschatology Today has postulated on the sequence of prophetic fulfillments. It has been noted many times that no where in Isaiah 17 or in the Psalm 83 scenario is there any mention of Iran (Persia) being a combatant against Israel, but until this point the Twelver clerics on Iran have armed, except for Jordan, all of the front line enemies that will square off against Israel. The lone exception are Iraqis (ancient Assur) who are in Syria today as mercenary proxy militias of the Iranian regime and foretold by Asaph to provide strength to the armies facing Israel. 

Also noted in these postulations was Jeremiah 49:35 which is interpreted as a reference to Iranian missile systems. Iranian missiles are unquestionably the foremost of Iranian military might today. So it follows logically that the Iranian "bows" will be "broken" as the lead-off event in the coming war that will totally consume Syria (Aram) as seen in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27. We also know from Isaiah 17 that Israel's population will endure great loss of life in this exchange of fire, but Israel will emerge from the conflict victorious; recovering from it fully, if not exceptionally, as seen in Ezekiel 38:8.

Marana'tha!

 

Special SITREP A10-23: Israel Military SITREP

Image: Ariel Hermoni, Israel Ministry of Defense 

UPDATE 5 April 2023: Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff (CoS) General Herzi HaLevi has finally spoken openly about Israel's capability to launch a campaign of "overwhelming" strikes against Iran's nuclear weapons and delivery systems programs without the involvement of American forces. CoS HaLevi stated that Israel is fully prepared to execute such a campaign at this time. Anyone who thinks that an Israeli military move against Iran's nukes and missile delivery systems would be a "one and done" type of operation had better think again. Such military action will be an extended campaign in every sense of the word. 

Notwithstanding the U.S. Biden Administration's open hostility to Israel's duly elected Likud-Religious Zionist coalition government, HaLevi acknowledged that having the U.S. military on Israel's side would be beneficial, it is not a necessity. Both nations are opposed to the apocalypse-minded Twelver's nuclear weapons and missile systems, and a U.S. Biden Administration failure to act preemptively would make the botched Afghanistan and JCPOA revival pale to virtual insignificance. So, Israel acting unilaterally following a promised notification to US CENTCOM of its intent to launch, may actually force the U.S. to commit to joint action.

CoS HaLevi also made clear that Israel's civil situation, as well as continuous gun and knife attacks against IDF soldiers and civilians in Judea and Samaria, both in concert with Iran's unrelenting nuclear enrichment activities, makes an Israeli preemptive campaign more rather than less likely in the coming days. The confrontation between flash-bang grenade tossing police forces and Islamic radicals holes up inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque yesterday quickly escalated into a total of 18 HAMAS rockets being launched into southern Israel in at least three salvos. No deaths or serious damage resulted from the rocket fire. The IAF and Israeli tanks immediately responded with punishing strikes against terrorist targets within Gaza and border observation towers. 

Israel's Security Cabinet may have just convened as requested by NATSEC Advisor Itamar ben Gvir.

3 April 2023: Last evening Arutz Sheva published the comments made by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during his tour of the Etzion Regional Brigade whose AOR is around Bethlehem. Accompanying DM Gallant on this tour were the Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, the CoS of Central Command and the Commander of the Shaked Battalion, Givati Brigade. The presence of these elite combatant commanders is indicative of the seriousness military situation Israel is currently facing; it's open publication in unclassified public media serves as I&W (Indication and Warning).

The situational assessment DM Gallant provided these commander with yesterday follows:

"All our fronts are tense. The Iranians are extending their outreach to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza and attempting to entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon. We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we won’t allow it now or anytime in the future. When necessary – we will push them out of Syria to where they belong – and that is [in] Iran."

Global SITREP A9-23: Israel BC, Israel AD - Same Difference

02 April 2023: Israel, as recently noted, has been caught in a period of civil unrest, which is nothing new if one is cognizant of Israel's biblical history Before Christ. Circa 930 BC the unified Israel under David and Solomon split into two separate kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel (Samaria) in the north, and the kingdom of Judah in the south.

Israel (Samaria) BC experienced a few coup d'état's with kings of Israel removed from power well prior to the Assyrian and subsequent Babylonian conquests. A military coup d'etat circa 876 BC led by General Zimri killed King Elah (Israel's fourth king) usurping the throne for himself as Israel's fifth king. However, King Zimri was shortly thereafter the victim of a second coup d'etat by his own military commander, Omri, who became Israel's sixth king and established Israel's dynastic House of Omri.

Circa 841 BC Jehu (not the king of Judah, but the son of Nimshi) killed Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah, king of Judah to become king of Israel. In 870 BC King Rezin of Aram-Damascus, an Assyrian puppet king, attempted a coup d'etat in league with king Pekah of Israel to overthrow King Ahaz and the House of David in Judah. Details are found in 2 Kings and Isaiah 7.

The point here is that the current unrest is not dissimilar to what occurred in ancient time, with a portion of Israel's tribes forsaking Jerusalem and the Jewish religion for secularism, i.e. foreign gods of metal, wood and stone, and the other portion wanting to reestablish the greater Israel of David and Solomon with the third Temple standing in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah. 

In the mist of all this turmoil are the Islamists, both Sunnis and Shi'a, within and outside of Israel's borders, who want to erase all Israel from the map and history as soon as possible. Then there are Israel's other enemies, aligned with the Israeli leftist secularists who want incorporation (assimilation) of Israel into the nascent Beast Empire led by the West. And by no means is this to discount Gog of Magog, and the kings of the south and the east who have similar desires of conquest and empire building.

You get the picture, I'm sure, especially if you're a dispensationalist who understands a great deal of the Lord's prophetic word. This is the current situation in which the world finds itself at this moment - four great world powers all wanting hegemony over Israel and the greater Middle East, as well as to reduce each other in the process. The recipe for a global war of unprecedented carnage - just as prophetically declared by the ancient, inspired prophets of God. There are big fires and little fires burning all over the planet, also exactly as is prophesied. 

Ecclesiastes 1:9 rings true as it always has, that is until Israel's 70th Week of Years commences and then everything changes.