Hesitation or Strategy?

It is very clear that the Israeli public is not in the mode of hesitation concerning the war with Iran and its terrorist proxies. The Israeli people are calling for their political and military leaders to attack Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in the north, and to strike the heart of Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, it seems that the leaders in Israel are not listening to their people, but to the counsel of former President Obama and President Joe Biden.

I understand that the United States is Israel’s strongest ally. However, I fear that it is a big mistake for Israel to listen to Obama and Biden. (1) Both of these men have failed America and the world with their lies and weakness in foreign policies. Thanks to their weakness, our world is much more dangerous. (2) Both of these men have said that Israel is their friend, but their actions have demonstrated otherwise. Both have negotiated with Iran in Iran’s march toward the production of a nuclear arsenal. They have trusted the liars of Tehran and given them large sums of money. All of this happened while the religious leadership in Iran continued to call for the death of the U.S. and Israel. (3) It is apparent that the West does not understand the Middle East. They do not comprehend the passion and dedication of Islamic warriors who are willing to commit suicide for the will of their god who call for the death of the free world. They do not understand that the radical religious elements in Iran are serious about bringing about global carnage so that their messiah will come to establish his sinister global kingdom over all the earth. (4) The nations of the world have told Israel for 75 years that Israel does not have the right to the land that God gave them. The world has consistently told Israel that they do not have the right to defend itself against those who are committed to the destruction of the one and only Jewish state in the world. (5) Most importantly, the counsel from Obama and Biden and other leaders in the West is not godly counsel. These men do not know God and do not have wisdom of God. They do not know or understand the Word of God. Their ways are not God’s ways. Their standards of morality and justice are not based upon just and righteous principles that reflect the holiness of God. Therefore, their counsel is deadly and misleading.

Israel needs to understand that this is not their battle. They are God’s people in God’s land. The Lord has promised them victory in their wars with their enemies. Like Israel in the past, they are trusting in the might of man instead of the power of God. Oh, that the Lord would have them to know Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”

I believe that the Lord is about to demonstrate to Israel that they must turn back to Him and trust Him. When the war of Ezekiel 38 comes (and it appears to be getting closer every day), the Lord will supernaturally destroy the enemies who invade Israel, which include Russia, Iran, and Turkey (Ezekiel 38:5-6). He will destroy them with a massive earthquake and volcanic eruptions on the Golan Heights (Ezekiel 38:19-22). As a result, the Lord declares, “Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:23).

As we watch this current war unfold, let us pray that the Lord will demonstrate His presence and power to His people. Let us pray that the leadership in Israel will seek God’s wisdom, and not man’s counsel. Let us pray that the current situation in Israel’s war with Hamas is not a hesitation, but a time for seeking a godly strategy.

Russia Attacks Israel

Israeli plane returning home in Israel after a mission in Syria. (Image courtesy Israel Today)

Israeli plane returning home in Israel after a mission in Syria.

Image courtesy Israel Today

For years, Israel has repeatedly attacked Iranian military positions in Syria. The Jewish state has made it known to Russia and everyone else in the region and the world, that Israel cannot and will not tolerate an Iranian military build up in Syria. Israel considers this to be an existential threat. Russian and Israel leadership have openly discussed this on several occasions. In the past, Russia has verbally agreed that Israel has the right to defend itself. Therefore, Russia’s policy has been to not interfere with Israel’s aircraft when they destroy Iranian military positions in Syria. This has now changed.

Israel is now reporting that sometime last week, Russian forces opened fire on Israeli aircraft in Syria while they were targeting Iranian military positions in Syria. Russia joined Syrian forces in an attack to shoot down Israeli military jets while they were carrying out their mission in Syria. This was the first of such an incident in which Russia has shown any aggression against Israel in recent years.

As a result of this attack, Israel Today gave the following report on May 17, 2022. “The situation in Ukraine has opened a widening rift between Israel and Russia that many fear could ultimately result in armed confrontation.

“If an Israel Channel 13 News report is to be believed, the first shots in the Israel-Russia conflict have already been fired.

Last week, Israel Air Force (IAF) jets allegedly attacked targets in northern Syria. That’s not out of the ordinary.

But this time, according to unnamed sources cited by Channel 13, Russian military units stationed in Syria opened fire on the Israeli aircraft.

“Syrian military air defenses have been almost entirely ineffective in preventing Israeli airstrikes on targets in the country.

But there are a number of advanced Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft batteries deployed throughout Syria that until now have not been activated against the Israelis.

“Those batteries are operated by Russian military personnel and are under Russian military command. And one of them reportedly joined Syrian air defenses in attacking Israeli planes last week.

“If true, experts said this marks a significant and dangerous policy shift on the part of Moscow” (Israel Today, May 17, 2022)

Could this be the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Russia that will lead to the Gog and Magog war mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39? Only time will tell!

Get ready for the shout that will take us out.

Russia Hiring Syrians to Fight in Ukraine

The Jewish Press reported on March 7, 2022, that Russia has employed Syrians to fight alongside of Russian troops in Ukraine.  It is reported that these Syrian troops have urban combat experience in the war with other Islamic radical elements in Syria in the last few years.  Russia is ramping up its forces to attack major urban centers in Ukraine.

This is a critical development.  According to the Bible, Russia and its allies will invade Israel in the last days from the northern parts of Israel – the Syrian border along the Golan Heights (Joel 2:20; Ezekiel 38:15 & 39:2).  It appears that Russia is already forming its coalition for this battle that will happen in “the latter days” (Ezekiel 38:8, 16).  It is very apparent that the Syrians will join their Russian partners in this Biblical war of Gog and Magog.

Text Box:  Recently, I reported in another article that other radical groups are being employed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Read my March 2022 newsletter for more details on this future prophetic war that seems to be on the immediate horizon.

Wars & Rumors of Wars

The Tribulation Period will be a time of radical geopolitical change. The balance

Picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Chinese President Xi Jinping with Russian President Vladimir Putin

of power will shift from West to East. We are potentially watching a very dangerous and sudden shift in the geopolitical power structure. The balance of power that has existed for 80 years since World War II may be coming to an end. After the world fought two World Wars, the geopolitical power structure shifted toward the West and democracy. The East, with it autocratic forms of government, was defeated. The Tribulation Period will feature the global empire of the Antichrist in the Middle East.
It appears that Russia and China see the weakness of the United States and Europe and are attempting to reestablish their global influence. A recent Gatestone Institute article highlighted this critical development.
“As Russia continues its troop build-up along the border with Ukraine, China has markedly increased its military activity near Taiwan. The twin geopolitical flashpoints, separated by 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), are raising concerns that Russia and China could coordinate or conduct concurrent military offensives that the United States and its allies may find difficult to stop.
“A failure to deter Russia and China — deterrence, especially military pre-positioning near the area under threat, is the least costly way to avoid war — would deal a potentially crushing blow to the post-World War II liberal international order. That system, whose principles and norms — including adherence to the rule of law, respect for human rights and the promotion of liberal democracy, as well as preserving the sanctity of territorial sovereignty and existing boundaries — has regulated the conduct of international relations for nearly 80 years.”
“If they succeed in dividing the world into zones of exclusive control, Russia and China would effectively collapse the Western global order and restore the unstable international system of great power rivalry that existed before — and ended with — the two world wars of the twentieth century.” (www.gatestoneinstitute.org)