Global SITREP B9:19: Scaling up the War - Part II

Lincoln CSG and Kearsarge ARG exercising
in the Arabian Sea 17MAY2019 (US Navy photo)

UPDATED (Below) 21 May 2019: Part II of this topic will continue to watch developments in the MidEast. The U.S. of A. vs Islamic Republic of Iran tensions are currently at the top of the list. Obviously this is due to even the slightest agrressive move by Iran, or its proxies, having the potential to unleash brute American military force the likes of which the world has not seen before. 

A Nimitz-class Carrier Strike Group and a Wasp-class Amphibious Ready Group are just outside of the Strait of Hormuz. This is a rare combination of overwhelming naval power staring down the Islamic Republic, which is joined by a B-52 bomber task force in Qatar and and array of ground combat power to the west and east of the Ayatollah's domain. The Iranian homeland is truly surrounded and if it comes to it, American combat power can literally come at the Islamic Republic from the direction of "the four winds from the four quarters of heaven." 

Some may recognize that reference from Jeremiah 49:36. Eschatology Today believes it is literal, and those "winds" while primarily being American power the Lord could bring down on Iran, also is a coalition of nations who could serve as a force multiplier. It has been many years, but a cocnsistent theme here has been that Iran would be militarily reduced prior to its involvement in the Exekiel 38/39 scenario, and that in that scenario Iran (Persia) is among the aggressors that come against Israel, but as a much lessened military power. The point here is that the military force to bring Jeremiah 49:34-39 to at least a partial fulfillment is present right at this moment encirling that ancient country.

Breaking to "bow of Elam" in the 21st century could well be a series of surgical but devastating strikes on the IRGCs ballistic missile forces, its miltary bases, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure if Iran should act as irrationally as the apocalyptic Twelver rhetoric has long promised its adherents. And we're really close to this onslaught happening following attacks by Iranian naval special warfare against four tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and proxy attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia's primary east-west oil pipeline and a Saudi Airport  near the Yemen border all occurring within the past few days.

One of the most telling things of the risks at-hand was broadcast on Martha McCallum's FoxNews program The Story just yesterday. It featured an interview with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who was fresh from receiving current sitreps from SECSTATE Pompeo and NatSec Advisor John Bolton. A brief four-minute video of the interview is available at the above link.

23 May 2019: Jeremiah 49 is figuring prominently these days with aspects relating to BOTH Iran and Syria standing front and center. As noted in the comments section, SITREP C5-18 from last August had the expected battle for Idlib (northwestern Syria) as a key focus. Well, the battle there has been joined and has been raging for a couple weeks or so. Russian and Syrian aircraft have been bombing the daylights out of the region. And, as of yesterday, the US State Department, officially announced its suspicion that the al-Assad regime is once again using chemical weapons against the insurgency. Will cruise missile strikes from the Western alliance result again? It's a very distinct possibility.

As some may be aware, Eschatology Today does not see Egypt as a part of the current and final fulfillment of Psalm 83 (plus Isaiah 11:14 and Ezekiel 28:24-26). Egypt and Israel have been partnering for some time now in their common war against terrorists, mainly the IS branch in Sinai. There's a new aspect to this partnership. The massive fires raging in central and southern Israel have severely taxed the Israel's fire fighting capabilities. So Egypt has offered and Israel has accepted Egypt's offer of two additional fire fighting aircraft to join the battle. The Egyptian aircraft will arrive in a few hours time and get to work.

Memorial Day 27 May 2019

27 May 2019: The U.S. will continue the ongoing build-up of land, sea and air forces and capabilities in the CENTCOM AoR well into June 2019, even as we briefly pause on this Memorial Day to honor those who have given their lives in defense of freedom.

Contrary to the predictions of some phoney teachers, the EU Parliamentary elections did not launch the antichrist onto the world stage. This is what happens when phoney teachers utilize non-bliblical sources for their prognostications, which fail, first time and every time. The prophetic truth for Bible students on the rise of Antichrist is found in II Thessalonians 2:3 and Eschatology Today posts of two years ago regarding the Ten Toes and The Little Horn. Even at this late day, there is no human being on  earth who can, with absolute certainty, identify who the ten toes are, much less the little horn to rise up among them. And that's the truth. In 2019 we continue watching as our Lord has commanded us.

And, nevertheless, what actually took place were paradigm changing big political wins for Nigel Farage and the UK Brexit Party; Marine Le Pen and the National Rally (RN) over the existing order of thir nation states and, more importantly, the European Union. In France, that order had been led by Emmanuel Macron, who will now face even more calls for his resignation and new national elections. In the UK PM Theresa May just resigned during the voting that occurred between Thursday and Sunday (23-26 May). Perhaps she had read some tea leaves or accurate exit polling data to know that the time to get out is when the getting out is good? One cannot abandon ship after it has sunk, right?

The electoral victories of the anti-EU parties is a political paradigm shift that may well lead to the only accurate description, the one given by God Himself, to the prophet Daniel in a vision concerning those ten toes as recorded in Daniel 2:40-43. When those ten toes can be identified with certainty, then watching for the 11th, the little horn, should begin in earnest., but only within the context of Gabriel's interpretation of another vision given to Daniel and recorded in the plain text of Daniel 8:15-27. All of this is but a prelude to the details revealed by Gabriel to Daniel circa 539 BC, as recorded in Daniel 9, and known as the Seventy Weeks prophecy. 

Apologies for repeating previous eschatological data here, but there are some folks who seriously require sound Bible-based instruction on these issues to offset the nonsense they've ben taught thus far by others.

28 May 2019: This update is specific to the first paragraph of the 23 May update above. The assessment for this update is that something very big is brewing in northwestern Syria. This something is a direct challenge to those who say the Syrian war has ended and Bashar al-Assad won.

For at least ten consecutive days it has been observed that a massive, even unprecedented, Russian Air Force (RuAF) heavy airlift (we call it a surge operation) has continued, non-stop, from Moscow Chkalovsky Air base and Mozdok (southern Caucasus) Air Base into the Hmeimim and Hamah Syrian Air Bases. The aircraft are strategic heavy lifters such as the Antonov-124 and IL-76MD. As these aircraft cross southwards over the eastern Black Sea they are entering and flying directly over Turkey proper before entering Syrian airspace. This is combined with Iranian and Syrian heavy lift aircraft flying daily to and from Tehran to Damascus and Tiyas (T4) Air Bases. Yes, something very big is brewing in northwestern Syria.

More as developments continue... 

Global SITREP B8-19: SCALING UP THE WAR

Patriot PAC-3, B-52H Stratofortresses, 100,000+ Combat Troops, Naval Armada

FINAL UPDATE 16 May 2013: This will be the final update for SITREP B8-19. A lot has taken place in these past two weeks, most of it from Gaza to the Arabian Peninsula. 

However, a question must be posed: Are we in a crisis? The Eschatology Today answer is, no, we're not in a crisis. It is the Islamic Republic of Iran that is in the midst of a serious crisis, and how it attempts to extricate itself from its self-made crisis will determine how severe this crisis will become for the abhorent Twelver regime and whether or not literal fulfillment of Jeremiah's and Isaiah's relative prophecies occur within a relatively short span of time. Remember, Jesus said, "these things must take place, but the end is not yet."

What will take place next is a classified briefing to the members of the U.S. Congress next week regarding what Iran has done this past week, what it has done via its proxies, and what the potential responses will be should further attacks take place. The United States took the leadership role only it can provide by surging significant military power into the Middle East. Even more will move if that becomes necessary and that depends entirely on how foolsih the clerics in Tehran decide to become. They are a seriously apocalyptic-minded lot, so no one's going to hold their breath in the hope they suddenly become peacemongers.

14 May 2019: As the title of this SITREP attests, the situation in the Middle East is being significantly scaled up. The reason for this can be stated in one word: Iran. Take a cold, hard, objective look around the whole of the Middle East and one thing becomes blatantly obvious from the Bible prophecy perspective: none of the ongoing conflicts or areas of military tension have abated one iota. To the bold contrary, the over-riding theme of "wars and rumors of wars" has only increased; scaled up, in every imaginable and even unimaginable way.

There was a very high-level meeting of all the significant players of the US National Security apparatus at CIA HQ Langley last Thursday. Speculation was rampant on what the meeting was about. Now we know, and again, it's a one word answer: Iran. To the mix of American military forces and capabilities being surged into the Middle East in the past week, the meeting also pushed forward the high potential for a 120,000-strong combat force of US soldiers to deploy into CENTCOM build-up of American combat force projection.

This projection of American power clearly focused against the Iranian Twelver regime's regional aspirations of dominance over Sunni Arab nations, but mostly against the State of Israel, has had a curious effect. It has shown how weak in the knees our European NATO allies are. They, meaning nations like the UK and Spain most notably, appear to prefer a path of appeasement towards the apocalypse-minded clerical regime in Tehran rather than stand firm and hold a line drawn in the sand. 

As of yesterday, following a weekend (Sunday morning actually) where Iranian forces clandestinely attacked four oil tankers of the coast of Al-Fujairah port in the UAE, causing significant damage (big holes) to those vessels, but without creating oil spillage or injury to the crews. A prompt US investigation issued a preliminary assessment just yesterday that Iran was responsible for the apparent limpet mine attacks against the four oil tankers. As the U.S. bristled over these attacks, a Spanish frigate sailing as a part of the Lincoln CSG which had just entered the Gulf of Aden, was ordered by its government authority to withdraw itself from the CSG operations. In the UK that government began expressing fears that another Iraq-like war was in the offing. Fear and trepidation are not signs of leadership in the face of clear aggression.

So much, at this point, for the prophecy-based theory circulating that an all-powerful all-EU, without the United States, will be the beast empire military juggernaut of the 70th Week. We would do well to read again the text of Daniel 2; not to mention chapters 7 through 12, to refresh once more about the "Ten Toes" and the rise of the "Little Horn." Prophecy theorems that do not begin with these texts, plus Ezekiel 38:13, will miss the mark, first time, every time.

We have our Lord's assurance that "these things," that is the several signs He gave in the Olivet Discourse, "must take place." We emphasize this a great deal here on Eschatology Today, and it's for good reason. While no one can foretell specifically what will happen in the next day, next week or next month, we can understand the "big picture" that has been given to us in Scripture. Eschatology Today interprets the Lord's prophets, it is not one of them.

9 May 2019: A flight of B-52H Stratorfortresses departed Barksdale AFB in Louisiana yesterday on their deployment to Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The "Buffs" were topped off with fuel for their intercontinental transit by KC-10 Extenders flying out of Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey. The "Buffs" are joined in this expedition by the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group which is currently in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Lincoln CSG will probably not enter the Gulf without an extensive US de-mining of those shallow waters.

 

B-52H being refueled over Atlantic by JB-MDL KC-10A 8MAY19.
Image courtesy USAF AMC.

Barksdale AFB B-52H on the tarmac at Al-Udeid AB Qatar late yesterday.
This is real power projection. Image via CENTCOM.

7 May 2019:There's a very good reason why the Netanyahu government has paused operations against the terrorists in Gaza: Iran. Both President Trump and PM/DM Netanyahu are completely aligned in what is about to take place. 

The US/Israel plan of action has been developing for the past few weeks, with only glimpses of its scope hinted at in statements made prior to this past weekend. An interuption was caused by the assassination attempt on an IDF Colonel and another soldier on the Gaza border by a PIJ sniper on Friday. Israel retaliated for this action and resumed heavy rocket fire following the IAF's retaliation strike. Both assassination attempt and high-volume rocket fire were ordered to take place by Iran which hoped the resulting combat would derail the US-Israel action plan. 

Israel did great damage to HAMAS and the PIJ through Saturday and Sunday (4/5 May), and also assassinated the critical HAMAS-Iran money man in very tight quarters on a busy Gaza street in broad daylight with a precision missile strike. Even the terrorists have acknowledged this in a statement early today saying they needed the current respite from combat to lick (heal) their wounds. Netanyahu has told the Israeli people point-blank that the Gaza combat is not over and will be resumed soon.

Standing by on Gaza border...

So what took place about 8 weeks ago? Israel provided to the US the intelligence its Mossad had collected indicating that that Iran was in advanced stages of tasking the IRGC and its proxy forces throughout the region to launch wide-scale attacks on US forces in Syria, Iraq and in the Gulf. In the ensuing week or so the US detected these preparations first-hand for itself. A military response was ordered. 

As background, in March the B-1 bomber group that had deployed to Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar concluded its deployment and returned home to Dyess AB in Texas. This left the Middle East without a combat bomber group in the CENTCOM CJTF-OIR AOR. The announced deployment of a new bomber group (either B-52 or B-1, or a mix of both) fills this void. Concurrent with the new bomber group deployment the US has also rerouted the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (Lincoln CSG) to the the Gulf and operations within 5th Fleet. These two combined are part of the "unrelenting force" promised to Iran by NSA Bolton should Iran follow through on its attacks.

Updates as they occur. This situation should develop rapidly over the next day or so, and there is sporadic firing along the Gaza border as you read this.

5 May 2019: The Eschatology Today expectation forecast of the previous B7-19 SITREP hit the proverbial nail on its head - the Twelver regime of Iran has commanded its Gaza proxies to launch a rocket war (500+ and counting) against the civilians of southern and central Israel just as Israel prepares to celebrate its 71st anniversary of modern-day existence. 

This time there is a mounting death toll in Israel, and the Israeli response has all appearances of being a more lethal and expanded or upscaled set of military actions. The IDF even struck and destroyed a mosque adjacent to the beach area of al-Shati (NW of Gaza city) that the PIJ was using as a Command and Control (C2) facility. 

Israel has also begun targeted assassinations of the HAMAS and PIJ leadership in Gaza. Israel will also go after this leadership cadre in Beirut, Lebanon and wherever else they may hole themselves. No quarter is to be given, vehicular movement is also no guarantee of avoiding death from above as HAMAS' senior field commander Hamed Hamdan el-Hadary just learned while driving his Toyota. Before his death this morning El-Hadary was the Iran-to-Gaza money transfer official for HAMAS and the PIJ according to IDF sources.

Hamed Hamdan el-Hadary's Toyota destroyed in IAF precision missile strike

Israel has reinforced the IDF envelope around Gaza with the deployment of an additional armored brigade. The closure envelope announced by PM/DM Netanyahu extends outwards from Gaza by 40km (25 miles). Netanyahu and his Security Cabinet has also issued the order this morning ti intensify the IAF airstrikes in Gaza as well as a general mobilization of deploying ground forces. It is a near certainty the IDF inject itself into Gaza at some point. Whether these insertions are hit-n-run strikes are rocket launch sites or a campaign to seize territory remains to be seen. 

Going Forward: Eschaology Today's focus will be whether or not this round of warfare becomes a fulfillment of Isaiah 11:14 and Ezekiel 28:24-26 as the culmination of the Psalm 83 prophecy, meaning an armed conflict which begins in Gaza but comes to involve Lebanon, Jordan, Sinai, Syria and Iran. Ongoing rapid and fluid developments wil be covered in the next update.

Global SITREP B7-19: A True SITREP

1 May 2019: This will be a SITREP of current events around the world, some with prophetic significance and some not so much, at least not yet (we're always looking forward).

The recent rocket fire coming out of Gaza was Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) doing Iran's bidding in an attempt to sabotage the current ceasefire. A handful of PIJ rockets were fired into the Mediterranean Sea to test their range, which roughly equates to central Israel being the eventual target for this class of missiles. A final PIJ rocket impacted the sea off of Ashkelon beach. This was the PIJ messaging Israel of an impending renewal of hostilities.

Israel responded with a message to all Gaza factions that it did not seek conflict with them, would respect the current status quo, but would not sit idle if attacks were launched against it. The factions then responded that Israel's failure to adhere to all demands which halted the recent hostilities would result in an escalation of hostilities against Israel.

Eschatology Today expects (it seems rather apparent) that these enemies, supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will not allow Israel's upcoming independence celebrations beginning on the evening of May 8 and concluding the evening of May 9, to occur in peace and relative safety. 

The crisis in Venezuela appears to have arrived at a point of no return. The pro-democracy forces of Juan Guaido, backed by the US and most nations of the world, except for Russia, Cuba, Iran and China who back the communist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. Guaido's OperacionLibertad began in earnest yesterday and will certainly continue today. 

In social media yesterday President Trump made clear that the participation of foreign military forces within Venezuela supporting the Maduro regime had better cease and desist from suppression of the will of the Venezuelan people. Those forces include an estimated 20,000+ Cuban soldiers, and approximately 300 Russian Wagner Group mercenaries and regular Russian army troops.

The pressure was such that at one point yesterday Maduro was prepared to flee the country, but Vladimir Putin intervened and convinced him to stay put. This should speak volumes to Israel. Putin supports the dictator al-Assad in Syria against his own people. Putin then invaded neighboring Ukraine, and now supports the communist dictator Maduro against his own people in Venezuela. Does this sound like a Russia which can or should be Israel's friend? Can Israel trust Russia which trains "Palestinian" terrorists in Syria for war against Israel? 

I was reading some material related to Gabriel's prophecy of the 70 weeks of years, Daniel 9:25 to be precise, and that beginning timeline caught my attention. We all know it's about the the time from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the appearance of the Jesus Messiah would be 69 weeks of years. But it occurred to me there might be more information to that statement. As I dug deeper I found that Cyrus' command for the Jews to return to and rebuild Jerusalem was given in 538 BC. 

But the construction of the 2nd Temple, which is not mentioned in this prophecy, was not begun immediately as many teach, thereby leaving the impression that it took 23 years for the 2nd Temple to be completed. Temple construction actually began in 521 BC, at the God-sent urging of the prophet Haggai, and that occurred 17 years after Zerubbabel and the first wave of Judah's captives had returned to Judah from captivity. At that time Cyrus was gone, and Darius was on the Persian throne (Haggai 1:1 and Ezra 4:1-5). So, from 521 BC when it was begun the 2nd Temple wasn't completed until 6 years later, in 515 BC. It only took 6 years to build the 2nd Temple once God impressed its importance by the prophet Haggai. 

It will probably be not too far in the future when this type of Divine prodding will cause Israel of today to build the 3rd Temple, the 70th Week Temple, and they will do so very, very rapidly with all of the modern construction capabilities now available.

Speaking of not too far in the future...which in the twinkling of an eye could be an event in the past... Eschatology Today has come to a final conclusion on the era in which we live. This current dispensation, to so-called "church age" is very close to ending and Israel's 70th Week commencing. To this end the position taken in determining the true SITREP about what time it is falls on the determination of the year that Jesus' was crucified, died and was resurrrected, ascended into Heaven and also sent the Holy Spirit down (Pentecost) to indwell the Body of Christ. That year on our Western calendar was 30 AD.

If the current dispensation was determined long ago by our Father in Heaven to span 2,000 years, and include both the Church Age and Israel's very specifically alloted amount of time (i.e. 2,520 days) for the 70th Week, then the math is very simple, and it all would conclude in the year 2030. But the Body of Christ will not be on this earth for Israel's 70th Week, meaning the 70th week of years start date would be closer to the present time by those 7 years, or circa 2023. 

More simple math follows: 2023 is slightly less than four years from now. Since the day and the hour of the Harpazo of the bride of Christ is known only to the Father and is always the imminent blessed hope of this age, why is the Body of Christ so silent about the most important event since the Holy Spirit descended to be with us on this world on Pentecost one-thousand nine-hundred eighty-nine years ago? 

The next anniversary of Pentecost is Sunday, June 9, by our calendar. And here's the rub in all of this calculating... the Lord's calendar year is not like ours, but is one of 360 days as seen in the specifics about Israel's 70th week of years. Dizzy yet? Good, because at any instant all of this would be made moot by His shout in the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God.

Psalm 27:5; Isaiah 26:19-21; Zephaniah 2:3, John 14:1-3 and i Thessalonians 4:13-17.  It is going to happen. Marana'tha!

Global SITREP B6-19: "Deal of the Century" vs "Covenant With Many"

22 April 2019: There is only one place on the planet to find anything authoritative regarding the "covenant with many" amd that place is the Book of Daniel, chapter 9, verse 27. This critically important verse of Scripture is the final verse of the four verses (Daniel 9:24-27) that the angel Gabriel spoke to the prophet Daniel concerning the future of Israel, from the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the present era and just beyond. These four verses are inseparable and are commonly referred to here and elsewhere as the "70 Weeks Prophecy." Of those 70 weeks of years (490 years), 69 weeks of years (483) have come and passed into history; only the final 70th week of years (7 years) remains to occur to complete the total of 490 years, and that 70th week of years lies within our present and very immediate future.

The purpose of the sum total of the 70 weeks (past, present and future) is itemized in a very straitforward manner in verse 24. In verse 25 we find the only instance within of all Scripture where our Messiah (Mashiyach) is actually referred to as "Messiah the Prince (Mashiyach HaNagiyd)." Elsewhere in Scripture, Jesus of Nazareth is referred to by all the other names and titles with which we are familiar. The 69th week of years ended with His crucifixion, death and resurrection, which we just celebrated last Sunday.

The 70th Week, as Gabriel declares, begins with "and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." Since 69 weeks of years have passed, then only one week of years remains, the 70th week of years. The "he" in this verse is the antichrist.

However, that all said, there are many among us who are now either teaching or strongly advocating that the Trump Administration's much heralded "Deal of the Century" between Israel and the "Palestinians" for a two-state or a one-state solution to the now 71-year old conflict (the Psalm 83 war) is the "covenant with many." The projected release date for the "Deal" is after the soon formation of the new coalition government under PM Netanyahu and following the Muslim observance of Ramadan the first week of June at the earliest. 

Eschatology Today believes this is an extremely dangerous teaching for a variety of reasons, the primary being - it may not even be revealed as planned, or if it is it could fairly quickly result is the flood of sequential or simultaneous prophetic wars we've discussed here for many years. Given what the prophetic Scriptures say about which peoples and nations are vanquished in these wars, the "with many" is a virtual unknown in its full scope. Then there's the always present possibility of our not being here by cause of the Harpazo occurring, making the aforementioned dangerous teaching also very premature. And further still, the "covenant with many" is something that Eschatology Today places as becoming a fact immediately after the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38/39, and therefore still future.

Eschatology Today will watch closely for related developments, such as an expected annexation of vast sections of Judea and Samaria (i.e. West Bank) by Israel. Finally, and based upon certain leaks of information by various parties, the "Deal of the Century" appears at this point to involve a dividing of the covenant land of Israel, which if true could be a nightmare scenario.

Marana'tha!

Global SITREP B5-19: IAF Standoff Strike on Iran in Syria

DELILAH ALCM: 25 YEARS OF SUCCESSES

UPDATED 17 April 2019: A (clickable) ISI satellite photo reconnaissance image has been added below showing the utter devastation the IAF's Delilah missiles wrought on the Syrian-Iranian missile installation in Masyaf. This area has at least one Russian S-400 and three newly acquired Syrian S-300 anti-air missile batteries very nearby for defense. None of them were activated to bring down Israel's now decades old Delilah missiles. The Iranian's must be completely livid with their erstwhile Russian and Syrian allies as strike after strike of the IAF occurs unimpeded, laying waste to their facilities and personnel with regularity and precision.

Now, for those who are wondering, here is the prophetic perspective that Eschatology Today believes is in play here. As noted several times previously, the military action that is described by the Scriptures in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27 make it crystal clear that Damascus is a populated city during a time of conflict when catastrophe strikes. Jeremiah was inspired by the LORD God to make a lamentable point of this fact in verse 25: "Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy?" All who are in Damascus at that time shall fall over dead in her streets; they will be cut off by fire.

As can be seen in this image of Tahrir Square in Damascus taken on the morning of Monday, 15 APRIL 2019 this city is anything but a heap of ruins. The drivers of these  hundreds of taxis and  privately owned cars are protesting the severe shortage of gasoline in the city. The Al-Firdous Mosque is directly across the square from the camera's point of view. Does Damascus look deserted? Is it in ruins? Tahrir Square is downtown Damascus. The "Grandpa Fuel Station" is on the right-hand side of this image. The prophecies of Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27 are most certainly in a process of fulfillment, but obviously they have not yet arrived at that point. Soon.

The 21st Century destruction of Damascus has the appearance of a nuclear strike according to the Scriptures. So this begs the question: Is this destruction of Damascus the result of a Syrian/Iranian biological/chemical first strike upon Israel? This is the view Eschatology Today has held for at least two decades. And that means a strong concern that the expected retaliation - of which there has been exactly zero of any consequence thus far since the IAF strikes began - could be exactly that, a bio-chem WMD strike upon Israel for which Israel retaliates by nuking Damascus. 

And that is the point where it really hits the fan, because as Isaiah tells us, not only does Damascus get burnt and crisped, but the whole of Syria fails to survive the conflict. This also is a likely scenario under which all of the other prophetic flood of prophecies go into fulfillment. Why wouldn't Israel's enemies go full bore after her, as Asaph informs in Psalm 83, when they see an Israel reeling following a substantial WMD attack? In military tactical and strategic terms, it's a virtual no-brainer, yet we'll see how it actually transpires.

13 April 2019: Last year when Russia delivered the S-300 anti-air missile batteries to Syria and began training Syrian troops in their operation, many hand-wringers said that it marked the end of Israel's freedom of action in Syrian skies. What took place at 02:30 in the morning today at Masyaf, Syria resoundingly put that falsehood to bed without any supper.

The secondary site of Iranian-Syrian facilities in Masyaf for making precision improvements to the highly mobile, Iranian-made Zelzal-2 rockets, were wiped out by the Israeli F-16I Sufa aircraft while over over Sidon, Lebanon, a distance of about 250 kilometers. From this location the Sufa's cut loose their battle-proven Delilah Air Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM). It was these vary facilities which received a contingent of the Syrian-manned S-300s specifically to defend them from Israeli air attack. In 2018 the primary facilities in this area, about a dozen buildings in total, was struck by the IAF, wiping out the entire chain-like series of missile production facilities (35.10N 36.38E). The strike this morning took out the closely related facilities (35.08N 36.34E) about 2 miles to the southwest.

INTELLI TIMES Composite Image of the Masyaf strike of 2018-2019

Same buildings as in left-side of the image above, but rotated a little over 45 degrees to the right.
Notice the primary missile production hangers are utterly obliterated. Courtesy: ISI.

In the past week, and perhaps much longer, IRGC-linked 747 cargo aircraft have been closely monitored by Israel and the U.S. intelligence collection assets as they flew from Iran to the Syrian T4 Air Base. Dozens of round-trips have been catalogued. It was apparently assessed that specialized components and other materials were then transported overland, through Homs, to the second group of facilities at Masyaf. A little more than three days since the Netanyahu/Likud election victory and the war to remove Iran from Syria has been resumed. Now the watch for some type of retaliation begins.

Global SITREP B4-19: Another Look Ahead

UPDATED 6 April 2019: Within 48 hours the Trump Administration will have the U.S. declare the iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The designation was accompanied by a warning to all US interests and military forces around the world to be prepared for retaliatory strikes or outright attacks by the IRGC or any of its proxies (i.e. Iraqi, Lebanese or Yemeni Shi'a militias).

The IRGC was founded by Iran's first Shi'a Twelver Ayatollah (literal meaning: "Sign of God") in 1979. The IRGC's purposes are to be the Ayatollah's personal army, to defend the Ayatollah and his regime from foreign or domestic enemies, and to export the Shi'a Twelver revolution globally in order to create the apocalyptic chaos necessary to thereby hasten the arrival of their mythical al-Mahdi. 

The IRGC, and its most notorious offshoot, the Qods (Jerusalem) Force (IRGC-QF), are actively involved in terrorist military and covert assassinations activity within Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, several nations in South America, (most notably Venezuela) as well as within the European Union. They do, in fact, operate in covertly on a global scale. 

The timing and rationale behind the IRGC FTO designation is not a stand-alone event, even though it is decades over due. It is part of the US-Israel commitment to contain, confront and roll back the Shi'a Twelver agenda as kinetically executed by the IRGC around the world. This means in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Afghaistan and, yes, Venezuela. 

Eschatologically, this US-Israeli alliance against the IRGC can be seen as part and parcel of the Jeremiah 49:34-39 prophecy. The US-Israeli alliance also has strategic partnerships with the EU nations as well as the Arab GCC nations. These are all nations directly referenced in the text of Ezekiel 38:13. 

It is also a fact that the rocket fired on March 25th by the terrorists in Gaza which indiscriminately struck a private civilian residence in Mishmeret, Israel, injuring 7 (including an infant), precipitated the current military crisis with Gaza. That rocket launch was an order by Iran to its terrorist proxy in Gaza. That rocket resulted in PM Netanyahu cutting short his meeting with POTUS Trump, but not before they agreed to coordinate to robustly act in-concert against Iran.

We now also know that the US sanctions regime re-imposed upon Iran after the unilateral US withdrawal from the 2015 JCPOA is having a devastating effect as a form of the economic war upon the Ayatolaah's regime. One of the most affected is Hezbollah, and this assists (blesses) Israel greatly. 

The effect has been manifested in Iran being forced to drastically cut its financial support to Hezbollah. Consider:

1.) Hezbollah's soldiers have not been paid regularly in the past three months, and what they have recieved is half of their normal salary. Same goes for Hezbollah's reserve soldiers.

2.)These Hezbollah soldiers have had their upscale apartments in Beirut's al-Dahieh al-Janubiya neighborhood taken away from them and their families because Iran can no longer afford to pay the rent. 

3.) Hezbollah's social engineering network, the backbone of its popular support in Lebanon, has been shut down due to the lack of Iranian funding.  

The next time someone tries to tell you that America is not blessing Israel as it should, tell them to read this and think again.

5 April 2019: In this update we do not have to look ahead to see what's coming. Instead we look at what a senior IDF source assesses to be the threats Israel is facing right now. We also must understand that since senior IDF leadership assesses this, then it's a fair assessment to make that some part of their senior civilian leadership assesses it as well.

The assessment is that Hezbollah and HAMAS are acting in concert to drag Israel deep into Lebanon and Gaza where an underground network of tunnels has created a spider web maze of direct links between homes, mosques, educational facilities and hospitals. IAF air power alone cannot defeat these terrorist armies or completely destroy the tunnel networks, so the insertion of significant ground forces in such a campaign would be essential. 

As the IDF would pass through these areas of Lebanon and Gaza then the enemy infantry in the tunnels below deployed to execute many ambushes with heavily-armed elite forces plus anti-tank rockets in order to kill IDF armor from their rear, as well as killing and capturing individual IDF soldiers. Therefore, the assessment continues, the IDF ground entry into this combat is something that would occur only under the most extreme circumstances. 

This precisely confirms my 6:59 AM comment on March 31 beneath SITREP B3-19: 

"Clearly, it will require a far more serious threat to Israel's national security than a largely unarmed mass of 40,000 Gazans and hundreds of small IEDs before Isaiah 11:14 is fulfilled. Not even a barrage of unguided rockets roughly aimed at civilian housing has been a triggering event. Yes, something of greater consequence will occur for this part of the Psalm 83 fulfillment to take place. Yet, it will happen at the appointed time."

The senior IDF assessment then continued to identify Iran, meaning Iran as forward deployed in the IRGC-QF, as the power directing the activities of Hezbollah in Lebanon and HAMAS in Gaza in drawing Israel into this combat scenario. And so accordingly, Israel is quite busy laying the groundwork for "the big war" and the day when the IDF actually will enter into Lebanon and Gaza. In military terms, Israel is busy right now preparing the battlefield and setting conditions favorable to the IDF emerging from it victorious. This may happen soon, or down the road a bit, but it will happen. Iran will be dealt with leaving Hezbollah and HAMAS, divided by some distance, to each fend for themselves against Israel's formidible military power. We know how this will conclude.

As students of Bible prophecy we have to recognize this IDF assessment as dovetailing very nicely with the pre-70th Week prophetic scenarios we see in Scripture, even if the IDF does not see this direct linkage at present, they will definitely see it in hindsight in the not too distant future. We see in the prophetic Scripture of Psalm 83 Gaza and HAMAS plotting together in direct from the text of Psalm 83. Only the Hashemites of Jordan need be added to the mix, and that, according to Psalm 83, Isaiah 11:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:24-26 is precisely what will take place. And Iran is taken care of to a great extent, and prior to Ezekiel 38/39, per Jeremiah 49:34-39. Syria, per Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49:23-27.  Eschatology Today will leave the issue of what occurred at the Russian Ministry of Defense a day ago to address the almost certain questions that will appear in the comments section below this SITREP.

3 April 2019: While we wait for Gaza's fate to be determined, there are a couple of items that should be addressed from the perspective of prophetic implications.

The first item regards the stunning turn of events in Ukraine where a popular comedian and TV actor (who has a role playing the president of Ukraine) could soon actually become elected to that office. Perhaps you've read about this or seen a news report on it in the past week. It certainly and immediately got my mind racing with the potential for possible prophetic implications. 

The actor, Volodymyr Zelensky, captured twice as many votes (30%) as the current Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko (16%) in the first round of the election. These two will face-off in the next round of voting on 21 April. The result is surprising as both Zelensky and Poroshenko have fairly similar views. Both are pro-NATO and pro-EU. Conventional wisdom would say that Poroshenko, as the incumbent, would be favored over Zelensky who has zero experience in this kind of arena. Yet, by 2:1 margin the Ukrainian people went for the comedian/actor. That result was despite the fact that Russia interferred in it with a massive disinformation campaign. My take is that Zelensky took 30% of the vote because Poroshenko has not been effective in countering an aggressive Vladimir Putin and his designs on the whole of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky

And there's the rub. If Zelensky wins the presidency of Ukraine it's a near certainty that Russia's Putin will pounce after him like a lioness getting after a gazelle. And what it is that Ezekiel tells us? God puts hooks in the jaws of the northern leader (Gog of Magog): "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws and lead you out..." Gog of Magog will be busy with his army in one direction, when God hooks him up and turns him about face, with his military forces and allies, and leads them all into a great slaughter of the mountains of Israel. I'm not saying Ezekiel 38:4 will be fulfilled precisely in this manner, but if the election result places Zelensky in the Ukrainian presidency it may be too much of an opportunity for Russia to let pass. Oh, and not to forget, but did I mention than Zelensky is Jewish from parents who are both Jewish?

Among the signs our Lord has given as indicators of the end times are natural disasters. Floods are a big one and they are occurring all over the globe as a direct result of severe weather. We pray and open our wallets to assist those affected here in the US and abroad. One place where significant, even unprecedented flooding is taking place is in Iran. Of particular note is the flooding taking place in ancient Elam. Ancient Elam is today divided among a few modern provinces, three of which are known as Ilam, Lorestan and Khuzestan. These floods are even more of a disaster for the people because they're already hard pressed due to an economic form of war we refer to as sanctions that are intended to turn the Iranian government away from its nuclear weapons program. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has been more direct in acknowledging the economic sanctions imposed upon Iran has severely hampered their ability to deal with the flooding, calling the sanctions "economic terrorism" in a recent social media post.

The provinces of Ilam and Lorestan have been ravaged by the floods and all of that water is moving south towards the gulf through Khuzestan. Khuzestan has a great many dams throughout it territory, but those dams are at 95% full and the water coming will easily overwhelm their capacity to hold it back. Disaster looms in a region where the population is mostly ethnic Arabs who aren't very happy with the clerical regime in Tehran to begin with. And these floods are not just occurring in Iran's southwest, the entire country is experiencing flooding, particularly since the middle of March. Roads are blocked, which brings land transport to a complete halt, which bring deliveries of essentials to a halt. Most locations are reachable only by rotary winged craft, helicopters, and Iran's antiquated fleet of choppers is simply not up to the task. 

Flooded Iran

So the people are very quick to blame the clerical regime which has spent, and continues to spend, billions upon billions on the wars in Iraq, Syria and far away Yemen. Iran already has a festering insurrection of its people as we have discussed previously. This is just another important aspect of what the prophet Jeremiah has forecast to occur in Iran. Eschatology Today's position on Iran has for ten years been that Iran will be greatly reduced by the time Ezekiel 38/39 is appointed to occur. We are seeing that reducing happening in real-time today, and there's much more to come.

Speaking of Ezekiel 38/39, and to some extent this will be a repeat of what has been written about on Eschatology Today before, the view here is that Saudi Arabia and the bulk of GCC (Sheba and Dedan) are clearly referenced as the allies of the West, and therefore allies of Israel in the pre-70th Week fulfillment of this prophecy. This strongly indicates that the emerging Israel-Saudi ties will not be broken in the series of conflicts we refer to as the Psalm 83 scenario. The Saudi's will have no qualms with the overthrow of the Jordanian monarchy as Asaph prophesies in Psalm 83. In this we need be aware that the al-Saud monarchy and the Hashemite monarchy of Jordan have long been bitter rivals, well over a millennia in fact.

As a segue into the probable next SITREP to follow, expect new IAF strikes on Iranian targets in both Syria and Lebanon following PM Netanyahu's meeting with Putin on Thursday, 4 April. Some Israeli media have reported the meeting was cancelled. To the contrary, it has not been cancelled.

Global SITREP B3-19: The Gaza Op and Syria Strike

The Chief of staff at the briefing for commanders and combatants in the Southern Conference area, Friday, 29 March 2019.

UPDATE 30 March 2019: The lines are all in battle array; orders given (image above). Warning from the factions in Gaza; Israel responding "Don't do it."  HAMAS had included in its final set of demands the Temple Mount and Jerusalem. Shots have been fired this morning and a critical head wound to a Gazan combatant occurred east of Jabalia in the northern part of the strip. Other injuries reported in other sectors as 1 PM Israel Daylight Time (IDT) approaches. High explosive/high yield IEDs were thrown at IDF troops. Heavy gunfire by IDF against groups of enemy combatats attempting to breach the security fence at Gaza and Rafah (northern and southern strip). Use this detailed map for location data.

Occasional volleys of tear gas are being used by IDF troops to keep Gazans from getting to close to the 20-foot tall security fence. The 300-meter no go zone adjacent to the fence in side Gaza is being strictly enforced. The level of violence on the border varies sector by sector.

With this as the current status, there will be near real-time updates during the day...

Screen capture of IAF strike on IRGC-QF depot near Aleppo 27MAR19

28 March 2019: SYRIA - As noted in real-time comments to this SITREP last evening, a major air strike was launched around midnight IST by Israel on an IRGC-QF weapons depot in an indistrial area northeast of Aleppo known as Sheikh Najjar. Reports vary claiming 7 to 10 Iranian soldiers were killed in the strike. The initial strike and secondary blasts of detonating ordnance rocked the entire region for hours afterwards, cut power to Aleppo city and caused general chaos according to Syrian rebel sources which recorded the event on cell phones and posted to social media in near-real time.

Immediately after the strike the airspace over the Golan Heights east of the Jordan River was closed when Israel issued a NOTAM to all air traffic above 5000 feet. This air region is part of the Tel Aviv FIR (Flight Information Region). Israel's air defenses are on full alert status.

GAZA - The terror coming out of Gaza continues unabated. IED-laden balloons, grenades and even IED-drones are being sent over the security fence into the Negev and Eshol Regional Council areas this morning. Reports (coming from Gaza) of an agreed upon truce are being taken with an enormous dose of salt; one would have to be mentally unstable to believe anything the Gaza jihadists have to say. The Egyptian shuttle diplomacy mission returned to Israel with the factions response to the Israeli ultimatum on total disarmament and inspections. No one is holding their breath, even as IDF forces continue to flow southwards.

This is the fourth "war" in the Gaza region since HAMAS' takeover of the strip in 2007. The Israeli public is overwhelmingly calling for a permanent resolution to the Gaza terror; Israeli civilians in this region are at the breaking point with their rage against the terror and inaction by the Natanyahu government. The Natanyahu government's continued existence hangs in the electoral balance in the voting scheduled for 9 April.  

IDF armored troops ready their Merkave Mk.IV 'Barak' Main Battle Tank
These AI-enhanced tanks were designed for urban insurgent combat in Gaza.

IDF armor in ready position at one point on the Gaza border today.

26 March 2019: This is as near to a real-time SITREP as has ever been done on Eschatology Today. Collection activity continues in real-time as this is being prepped for posting.

The IDF has had hundreds of its armored forces in ready assault positions around Gaza for most of the day today, even as more armor and tracked heavy artillery are seen on Israel's highways streaming south as recently as 7 PM EDT this evening. 

The current status is that PM Netanyahu, IDF general staff and cabinet ministers remain in a highly classified security assessment meeting. At the conclusion of the assessment it is expected the order will be given for ground operations to commence inside Gaza. In addition to the battalion of heavy artillery that has been mobilized and sent south, the 35th Airborne Regiment has also been ordered to deploy to Gaza.  

The last HAMAS rocket launched into Israel about two hours ago; it was shot down over Ashkelon by an Iron Dome interceptor. Nothing more than shrapnel landed on a residential house. The IAF has been active for some time this evening striking dozens of HAMAS and other identified targets.

Meanwhile, Syria has requested a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Golan Heights, and rumors of Hezbollah threats to intervene on HAMAS behalf continue to percolate.