A Devastating War
Israel recently conducted war exercises, aimed at simulating actions within Israel and outside the country. The exercises were more wide-ranging than any conducted before.
For prophecy students, the war games can’t help but run parallel to certain prophetic events of the end-times.
Operating from within its own borders, but also staging areas in Cyprus (to mimic action deep inside Lebanon, against Hezbollah), Israel sought to assess the damage to the country from attacks on all sides, including thousands of rockets from the north.
Israel’s top brass believe in such a scenario, the country would absorb 1,500 rockets per day, for the duration of the war. We know that wars in the Middle East are usually not prolonged affairs, but even a one-month war would see 50,000 rockets pounding the Jewish state.
Such an astounding number would “wreck” the country according to estimates. While Israel would incur damage, so would cities like Beirut and Gaza City.
As usual, Israel is always mindful of civilian casualties—something terrorists depend on—because Lebanon’s terrorist infrastructure is so closely linked with civilian infrastructure. However, Israel has warned that a significant war would take the gloves off and would bring “unbelievable” damage to their northern neighbor.
Between Hamas and Hezbollah, the terror groups have as many as 180,000 missiles and rockets(!). Israel has not carried out an expansive war game since 2014. In Operation Chariots of Fire, Israel simulated war with new techniques and technologies, while emphasizing aspects that have always served the IDF well: speed, surprise, and overwhelming power.
Because Israel’s enemies are relentless, the IDF has also practiced controlling Arab rioting in cities, along with cyberwarfare.
This report from the Jerusalem Post gives us an idea of just how sophisticated Israel’s entire operation is:
“The IDF is in the midst of a digital transformation as part of Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi’s Momentum Plan. The ability of all corps to speak the same language on a shared platform, using the military’s internal internet, in terms of target acquirement and striking, was a major aspect of the drill in Cyprus.
“The newly established Sufa teams, placed within every combat infantry brigade, joined the ground forces on the battlefield to provide fire support and coordination during the drill.
“The five-person team includes a commander, an Artillery Corps officer responsible for ground fire, a Sufa officer who manages air fire, and three additional soldiers from the brigade. The Sufa officer acts as the man on the ground who provides air support in an accurate and effective manner, while the Artillery Corps officer provides accurate firepower from the ground forces.”
There are credible reports that Israel is finally considering serious strikes against Iran, regardless of how negotiations transpire between the terror state and the West, ie, the Iran Nuclear Deal.
All this could have prophetic significance and, I think, these scenarios fit well with the book of Zechariah, especially the latter chapters, when an international coalition comes against Jerusalem. We know of course that God Himself intervenes, but He also says that Israeli forces will participate:
“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.” (Zechariah 12:6)
That firepot is the IDF, and if the escalating war exercises are any indication, that time is drawing ever nearer.