Since the end of the first Gulf War in 2001, missile defense has been an absolute priority for Israel. In 2001, Saddam Hussein, in an effort to draw the Jewish State into a war he knew he was going to lose, fired 39 Scud Missiles at Israel in a failed attempt to fracture the fragile Arab coalition formed against him. Though ultimately Saddam Hussein’s attempt to draw Israel into the conflict failed, many missiles did manage to find their targets and innocent Israeli’s died as a consequence.

Since then missile defense has become a matter of the greatest strategic military importance for Israel. To this end, in early March, elements from the United States and Israeli militaries began a joint training exercise known as “Juniper Cobra.” Five thousand US and Israeli troops trained together with the aim of successfully defending Israel from missile attack should a war break out in the Middle East. The training included live fire drills, missile defense simulations, field training and computer simulations of multiple attacks against Israel from multiple fronts, all at once. (1)

The strategic threats Israel faces in 2018 are much direr today than they ever were in the 1990’s or early 2000’s. Hezbollah, to Israel’s north, has acquired a truly enormous arsenal of missiles and rockets. Conservative estimates put the Hezbollah arsenal at well over 100,000 rockets or more—all of which are aimed exclusively at Israel, and all of which now have the ability to reach any part of the Jewish state for the first time.

In any future confrontation with this Lebanese terror group, there is a genuine risk that Israel’s defensive solutions, sophisticated though they are, would be completely overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the barrage they would face. Israel would be rapidly swamped by the deluge of rockets and missiles fired at her.

Yet, that is not the only, or most significant, threat Israel must manage. Hamas, towards Israel’s south has also managed to acquire, despite their often repeated claims of abject poverty, a truly huge arsenal of rocketry. Add Iran into this mix, and the existential threat of their nuclear weapons program and their genuinely sophisticated ICBM systems, and it becomes clear that the Israeli strategic military landscape is a formidable one.

Juniper Cobra is part of the joint response to these threats. Not aimed at any individual scenario, it deals with the development of “complex scenarios,” which include simultaneous attacks from multiple enemy countries and militant groups.

The US and Israel are preparing for a war in which the Jewish state will face a “multidirectional threat.” In other words, they are preparing for a war in which Israel will be attacked, at the same time, from all sides.

Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich, chief of Israel’s air defense command, relays that they do this “…because this scenario is real.”

Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich is not over-exaggerating; Iran has been very busy of late. In late January – early February, Iranian leader, Hojatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, was pictured closely scrutinizing the Israeli-Lebanese border. Raisi was not there simply to enjoy the fine views; he was examining Hezbollah fixed border positions directly facing Israel and, ominously, inspecting the border formations Israel’s army had taken up to counter them.

That this man would visit the Israeli-Lebanese border is highly significant. He is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s leading successor and the second most important person in Iran. Nobody commands more attention or wields more power other than the Ayatollah himself, than this man. And he seemed to be very interested in Israel’s borders and in her ability to defend and repel an organized and sustained attack, and in the capability of Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, of launching just such a meaningful attack.

Accompanied by Revolutionary Guard commanders and Hezbollah officers, he then received a thorough briefing on both the battle readiness of Hezbollah units and IDF military build-ups along the Lebanese, Syrian and Golan border areas. Concluding the visit, Raisi held extensive and wide-ranging talks with Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, before departing back to Tehran.

According to Israeli military and intelligence sources, the gist of Raisi’s message was that Hezbollah has now become a genuine fighting force in the Middle East, experienced and battle-hardened by the Syrian civil war. Raisi’s pep talk concluded with darker tones, referring to the growing spirit of resistance against Israel in the Muslim and Arab world, exemplified by the Palestinians and their “struggle.” He clearly signposted Iran’s approaching endgame for its proxy group:

“It was Hezbollah’s fighting capacity alone that generated resistance in the Islamic countries. Allah willing, we shall soon witness the liberation of Jerusalem!”

Yet Raisi is not the only high-profile Shiite to visit Lebanon in recent months. On December 2^nd, 2017, Qais al-Khazali, head of the pro-Iranian Iraqi Aasaib Ahl al-Haq militia, also visited the area, also for a firsthand look at Israel’s border formations and military set up. It is widely believed in Israeli intelligence circles that Qais al-Khazali performed this surveillance on behalf of the Iranian al-Quds General Qasseem Soleimani himself, the legendary Iranian supreme military commander in Syria and Iraq.

Qais al-Khazali, on behalf of Iranian General Soleimani, was assessing how to more effectively deploy Hezbollah’s now tested and battle-hardened forces right along the full extent of Israel’s northern border.

These visits were highly political in nature too. Qais al-Khazali’s visit came just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. The message of these visits, and their timing, was a clear one; no matter what was discussed between the Israeli and Russian leaders, Tehran has no intention of withdrawing militarily from Syria and, additionally, would be extending its presence right into Lebanon with the aim of directly confronting Israel itself at some point in the very near future.

That Iranian and Shiite aim of confronting Israel may be a desire granted sooner rather than later. Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently under the most enormous pressure. Putin has miscalculated badly in recent weeks, and he now finds himself increasingly boxed into a corner by the international community.

And it all began to go wrong for Putin in a quaint little English town called Salisbury, with the poisoning of two seemingly harmless individuals – an old man and his thirty-year-old daughter. It would seem at this point unthinkable that Vladimir Putin did not directly authorize the poisoning and attempted assassination of Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia.

The international reaction to this attack, the first use of chemical weapons on mainland Europe since the end of the Second World War, and in Britain of all places and against and amongst civilians, has provoked a diplomatic whirlwind against Russia that seems to have genuinely caught the Russian leadership off guard.

Then, just days ago, came Douma. In another act of senseless barbarity, someone – the Syrian regime or another actor, launched a horrific chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma, killing and maiming many, including babies and children.

The West was quick to point the finger of blame at Assad and Russia; Russia vehemently denied it. Indeed, Russia to this point has denied that chemical weapons have even been used in Douma. However, despite the swift and strong Russian denials, babies and young children foaming at the mouth paint a completely different picture. Somebody did use chemical weapons. The question is who.

The tone of the Security Council emergency session called to discuss this heinous act was unprecedented, and the rhetoric coming from politicians and leaders all over the Western world would seem to indicate that the West is pretty sure that they think it was Assad.

What Putin cannot have foreseen, or in any way anticipated, was that the United States and its chief allies, the UK and France, all seem to be holding him directly and personally responsible for both the chemical weapons attacks in Syria and in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom attack against Sergei Skripal and his daughter is being tied together by the international community at the United Nations with the chemical weapons attack in Syria.

It is against this background that the large Syrian air base, known as T-4, and operated extensively by Iran as a forward-operating base, was then attacked on Sunday night. Russia believes this attack came from Israel, and Russia’s tone and attitude towards the Jewish State has immediately shifted.

The Kremlin’s longstanding modus operandi with regards to Israel’s military strikes in Syria in the past was to make no comment. That has now changed. This time, the Kremlin condemnation of the Jewish State was swift, reporting that two Israeli F-15 jets carried out the attack using guided missiles launched from within Syrian airspace.

Russia has asked Israel for their “explanations.” Israel, as always, has made no comment. Sergei Lavrov, the outspoken Russian Foreign Minister, told reporters that the “air strikes carried out on Sunday were a dangerous development.”

Dangerous indeed, because Russia seems to now suspect that the Israeli strike is a US test, to see what Russia’s response would be ahead of a potentially larger US operation that may come any moment now. Russia has warned of “grave consequences” if they do.

It is impossible to say, at the point of this writing, what may happen next, as developments on the ground are fast moving. The US or her allies may strike in Syria, or they may not. Russia may retaliate, or she may not. One thing is certain though; the events of the past few weeks, the obvious preparations being made by Iran and Hezbollah for war against Israel, the poisonings in the UK and the chemical weapons attacks in Syria – all being brought into sharp focus through the prism of Syria – may be pushing Putin firmly into the embrace of an alliance prophesied about eons ago by the prophet Ezekiel.

Recent events, especially if there is further military action taken against the Assad regime by the West in the coming days and weeks, may make Putin finally turn on the West’s regional Achilles heel, Israel.

These events, and whatever lies just up ahead, may make Putin turn completely against Jerusalem and decide that supporting a war against Israel, which Syria, Iran and Hezbollah have long since been planning for, is actually the best long-term way of hitting back at America and her allies after all.

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-us-troops-train-together-to-counter-missile-threats/2018/03/08/1e42d33c-22e2-11e8-946c-9420060cb7bd_story.html?utm_term=.044c35ba3efb

wardmatt1977@gmail.com

It still amazes me when I read how the Jewish religious leaders of 2,000 years ago managed to completely miss Jesus’ first coming? These were highly educated men, especially in the signs that would indicate the emergence of Messiah. Yet they failed miserably at discerning the time of their own Messiah’s advent.

These were men who spent their entire lives, from early youth, memorizing and learning Scripture, especially the Torah. They were by any definition experts.

How then did they miss the significance of Jesus’ ministry, this remarkable preacher and miracle worker from Nazareth? The actions of the forthcoming Messiah were well known to all Jews, especially at that time. In fact, they were obsessed with the coming of the Messiah.

Isaiah and others described in detail who he would be and what he would do, that he would heal the sick, bring sight to the blind, heal the brokenhearted…raise the dead. The Bible told them that it would be through these signs that they should recognize Him.

This is why John the Baptist, in prison awaiting death, sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “…are you the coming one, or should we wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3).

Jesus responded, not by giving a straight “yes” or “no,” but by saying to John, “Go back and report what you hear and see: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11:4-5).

Jesus was telling John, “…don’t ask me! Judge for yourself by my works! By the signs you will know me!” And therefore, when we read the Gospels, we read accounts of one outstanding miracle after another. Each miracle, each healing, is a testimony to who Jesus is, that he is exactly who he says he is.

Jesus proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and his works throughout his ministry validated that claim then, and still do today.

God loves us all deeply. He never does anything without revealing his ways to his prophets (Amos 3:7). That is why God gave, not general, but very specific details of what the Messiah would do and who he would be, so that those who were genuinely looking for him would be able to find him.

It was clearly written that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, Matthew 1:1), be of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:33), be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-7); and the time of his birth was also prophesied (Daniel 9:25, Luke 2:1).

It was written that there would be a slaughter of innocent children (Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16-18) accompanying his birth. It was written that their King would come to them in humility, riding a donkey (Zechariah 9:9, John 12:13-14), that he would enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate (Ezekiel 44:1-2, Mark 11:7-8), and that he would be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12, Psalm 41:9, Mark 14:10, Matthew 26:14-15).

It was written that the money paid in exchange for his life would be returned for a potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13, Matthew 27:6-7), that he would be silent before his accusers (Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 26:62-63), that he would be spat upon and struck in the face (Isaiah 50:6, Matthew 26:67), and that he would be hated without reason (Psalms 69:4, 35:19, 109:3-5, John 15:24-25).

It was written that soldiers would divide his garments (Psalm 22:18, Matthew 27:35) and that he would be crucified (this prophecy, one thousand years before crucifixion was developed as a method of execution!) (Zechariah 12:10, Psalm22:16, Matthew 27:35, John 20: 27).

It was written that he would be crucified with malefactors and would agonize with thirst (Isaiah 53:12, Psalms 22:15, Mark 15:27-28, John 19:28), that in his thirst they would give him gall or vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21, John 19:19), that his side would be pierced but no bones would be broken (Zechariah 12:10, Psalm 34:20, John 19:32-36), and that he would be buried with the rich but deserted by his followers (Isaiah 53:9, Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 14:27).

The Bible tells us how the Messiah would be deserted and completely abandoned by God (Psalm 22:1, Matthew 27:46) but that ultimately he would rise from the dead (Hosea 6:2, Psalms 16:10, 49:15, Luke 24:6-7, Mark 16).

And these are just some of the signs of his first coming, and the leaders of his time completely failed to recognize who this miracle worker from Galilee really was.

So how did they miss his coming?

The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day were expecting a Messiah; they just weren’t expecting the one they got. In Jewish tradition, there were two Messiahs to come, each fulfilling very different roles. There was Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David.

Messiah ben Joseph is the suffering servant, the Messiah who had come to die. This is the Messiah who would come and take the place of sacrifice, and he is depicted in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 has always been a very difficult chapter for the Jewish people to accept or understand. Even to this day, Jews do not know what to do with it and what to do with this man of tragedy, this “suffering servant.” Most observant Jews simply try to ignore Isaiah 53 altogether and pretend it doesn’t exist.

Yet this was the role that Jesus fulfilled during his first coming, the role of the suffering servant who took the sins of the world onto his shoulders. The Jewish leaders missed him because they were not waiting for Messiah ben Joseph; they were waiting for Messiah ben David, an awesome political and military leader – a dramatic deliverer.

This will be how Jesus will present himself at his Second Advent, as Messiah ben David, the conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And in that day, as surely as the Lord lives, “every knee will bow” to the name of Jesus.

Two thousand years ago, they were looking for someone to come and free them from the yoke of Roman servitude, and that was not Jesus’ role in his first incarnation. His role was to free humanity from the yoke of sin and eternal death! He didn’t fit their ideology, so they ignored him. Ultimately they killed him for it.

Even the disciples after the resurrection asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). They were still expecting Jesus to free them from Roman oppression and believed that now Jesus would finally fulfill the role of Messiah ben David and establish his kingdom.

The Jews knew that Messiah had two roles: a suffering servant – Ben Joseph, and a mighty warrior – Ben David. They were expecting two different Messiahs to fulfill two different roles. What they could not grasp, and still to this day fail to understand, was that one man would fulfill both roles, but at two separate times in human history, separated by thousands of years!

Two thousand years after the first coming of Messiah, it looks very much to me like many in this generation are repeating the mistakes of the leaders in Jesus’ day.

Jesus told us the signs which would indicate his second coming to this earth. He told us how to recognize the season of his return. How many of us are paying attention? If the hundreds of prophecies concerning his first coming were fulfilled, literally and to the letter, then surely those related to his second coming will be literally fulfilled too. To the letter. Why would it be any different?

There are approximately three hundred prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament, but over five hundred of his second coming! George Heron, a French mathematician, worked out that the chances of 40 of those first-coming prophecies being fulfilled in one man were 1 in 10 to the power of 157!

Dr. Peter S. Ruckman calculated that the odds of 60 (not 300) being fulfilled in one man were 1 in 10 to the power of over 895. That’s a one with 895 zeros after it.

The prophecies related to the Second Advent of Jesus are coming to pass now, so why are so many in positions of “leadership” spending their time talking about Kingdom Now theology, talking about seeker-sensitive models of church growth, and about “Having Your Best Life Now.”

The signs Jesus told us to watch for that would indicate the end of the age are burgeoning. They are increasing in intensity and frequency.

There are false prophets everywhere; famines and diseases ravaging entire populations; earthquakes and tribulations; there is godlessness and apostasy; the Roman Empire is reforming before our eyes; Hebrew has returned as the spoken language of Israel; and preparation for the rebuilding of the temple is common talk, as is the news of Red Heifer births.

Knowledge has increased and we all travel to and fro! Ethiopian Jews have returned to Israel; Russia has risen and its Jews have returned “from the north country;” the technology for the mark of the beast is upon us; and the New World Order is common currency. Israel is fast becoming the pariah state of the world, and every nation is obsessed with dividing Jerusalem. And I personally think that the gospel has been preached to all the world.

Don’t make the same mistake the Pharisees and Sadducees made two thousand years ago. No one knows the day or the hour, but all the signs indicating the emergence of the Messiah are present now, and become more pronounced with each day that passes.

So take it upon yourself, this day, to make yourself ready so that you will be found to be at peace with him when he does come.

“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16: 2-3).

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

wardmatt1977@gmail.com