In the news...

There are several interesting news stories circulating today:

"Hizballah has become major military force"

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday acknowledged that Lebanese terrorist militia Hizballah has been the recipient of a massive amount of short, medium and long-range rockets and missiles in recent months.

Also this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted that Hizballah has increasingly been permitted to mingle with the Lebanese army, making it increasingly difficult to differentiate between the two should another war break out along Israel's northern border.

Many in Israel and Lebanon expect another war to erupt as a result of the international community's inability or unwillingness to reign in Hizballah.

Below, we see even more written about Turkey's alliances in the region:

"Turkey's Anti-Israel Alignment Becoming Increasingly Defined"

...the joint military exercise taking place between Turkey and Syria is cause for concern and intelligence officials are monitoring events as the war of words between Israel and her Arab neighbors intensifies, including Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Hizbullah.

For a second time in a number of months, Turkish forces earlier this week have begun joint exercises with Syrian troops, sending a worrisome message to Israel. Turkey has been openly shifting its alliance to radical nations such as Syria and Iran, openly speaking out against Israel in the international political arena, formerly a staunch ally.

Continuing his threats against Yerushalayim, Assad told Kuwaiti media that if Israel launches an attack against Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, his armed forces will improve a naval blockade against Israel.

Efforts to release messages of calm from Jerusalem have had a limited impact at best as Arab leaders seem determined to escalate the war of words against Israel.

"Iran, Syria, Hizbullah gear up to provoke summer war"

Gates went on to accuse Syria and Iran of "providing Hizballah with rockets of ever-increasing capability," adding, "This is obviously destabilizing for the whole region and we're watching it very carefully.

As DEBKAfile's military sources reported last week, Syrian instructors have trained two Hizballah brigades in the use of mobile Scud missiles which carry one-ton warheads. It does not matter if those missiles are moved physically across the border to Lebanon, because those brigades can operate them against Israel at short notice from either side of the border.

And further into this article, we see what I believe is the bottom line on this situation:

"Careful watch" - without corresponding action to interrupt the massive flow of weapons shipments constantly smuggled in from Syria to Hizballah - is a repeat of the misplaced self-restraint which invited the Hizballah to launch the last Lebanon conflict in the summer of 2006. Dragging Israeli and its homeland into war in the summer of 2010 would serve the political and military interests of Iran, Syria and Hizballah well. It would generate a Middle East crisis overwhelming enough to focus international efforts on calming the situation, so distracting the world's attention Iran's arrival at the critical stages of its nuclear bomb program and its drive for sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Its hard to find any articles now, relating to Syria, Hezbollah and Lebanon which do not point to war in the coming summer months.

"Iran hopes to shift focus to Israel at U.N. nuclear conference"

As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awaits a visa to attend next week’s nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York, Iran’s fellow Non-Aligned Movement members are finalizing plans to use the event to focus on Israel, not on Iran.

Egypt argues that getting action on a 15-year-old resolution calling for establishment of a nuclear-free Middle East is key to resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities.

“Success in dealing with Iran will depend to a large extent on how successfully we deal with the establishment of a [Mideast] nuclear-free zone” the Egyptian envoy to the U.N., Maged Abdel Aziz, told reporters in New York this week.

I suppose this last article would come under the heading "If you can't beat them - disarm them". Israel, completely surrounded by rabid enemies who are sworn to destroy them and "push them into the sea" as commonly stated in the region, is now being asked to disarm. If it weren't so sad and symbolic of the times we are living in, it would be almost be funny. It would be like intruders getting ready to enter a home, to kill the family and take their belongings after the murder - but before entering the home - calling for the people inside the home to voluntarily give up any weapons that they may own - prior to the assault.

In a final article today (there have been a lot today) we see the continuing rise of "The Kings of the East":

"Chinese military seeks to extend its naval power"

The Chinese military is seeking to project naval power well beyond the Chinese coast, from the oil ports of the Middle East to the shipping lanes of the Pacific, where the United States Navy has long reigned as the dominant force, military officials and analysts say.

China calls the new strategy “far sea defense,” and the speed with which it is building long-range capabilities has surprised foreign military officials.

Now, Chinese admirals say they want warships to escort commercial vessels that are crucial to the country’s economy, from as far as the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, in Southeast Asia, and to help secure Chinese interests in the resource-rich South and East China Seas.

China is also developing a sophisticated submarine fleet that could try to prevent foreign naval vessels from entering its strategic waters if a conflict erupted in the region, said Admiral Willard and military analysts.

The Chinese Navy’s most impressive growth has been in its submarine fleet, said Mr. Huang, the scholar in Singapore. It recently built at least two Jin-class submarines, the first regularly active ones in the fleet with ballistic missile capabilities, and two more are under construction. Two Shang-class nuclear-powered attack submarines recently entered service.

As mentioned - we can easily see how all signs are marching, in step, towards the inevitable conclusion - a conclusion which begins with the Tribulation.

In just one week, we see the continual consolidation of the "Gog-MaGog" alliance, with Turkey now on board - arguably the last piece of that puzzle.

We watch as the alliance between Syria, Hezbollah and Lebanon gains strength - with probable war to break out this summer.

We watch China's continual growth as a world economic and military power, as the book of Revelation informed us.

We watch Iran continue their nuclear development and growing influence on Israel's enemies.

We watch as the anti-Israeli rhetoric grows daily throughout the nations.

We watch the increase in major earthquakes - almost on a daily basis.

And we watch Israeli's previous ally - the U.S. aligning with the terrorist groups in the region while publicly condemning Israel at almost every opportunity, creating fulfillment of the prophecy that every nation would be aligned against Israel.

All I can think of - in order to encapsulate this entire scenario - is found in one simple word:

SOON