Right on Schedule

WND has been on a roll lately as far as the Middle East is concerned.

As hard as it is to believe, somehow the situation in Syria is turning towards Israel. On the other hand, its not really that hard to believe:

Syrian Uprising Leading to the Golan Heights?

The White House quietly has been urging Israel and Syria immediately to renew negotiations aimed at an Israeli retreat from the strategic Golan Heights...

According to informed Middle Eastern security officials, the Obama administration believes an accord with Israel will strengthen the position of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime is threatened by unrest similar to the protests that toppled the leadership of fallen Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Lets hope and pray that this isn't true.

The White House is pushing an agreement whereby Israel would either evacuate much of the Golan Heights, or Syria would agree to lease the territory to Israel for a period of up to 30 years.

Assad blamed the ongoing anti-government protests on foreign "plots hatched against our country."

Israeli security officials believe the Muslim Brotherhood is deeply tied to the riots in Syria.

The Brotherhood, the most organized opposition group in Egypt, wants to create an Islamic caliphate. Both al-Qaida and Hamas are Brotherhood offshoots

The sources said Netanyahu told Russia that even if Assad coordinated with Iran, the Syrian president is still more desirable than dealing with a Muslim Brotherhood entity.

Back to the issue of the Golan Heights - and we see two sentences which encapsulate this whole issue:

Syria twice used the Golan, which looks down on Israeli population centers, to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state.

With Assad's regime faltering, the White House has been pushing Israel to surrender the Golan in an accord with Syria.

In other words, we would be pushing Israel to give up very important, strategic land by giving away the Golan Heights - land which has vital from a military perspective. Giving up the Golan Heights would make Israel very vulnerable to attack. Perhaps if it happens, it will be for that very reason, prophetically.

Headlines for a day

For the first story - this is something fascinating and the story is just breaking:

Possible First Century Christian Lead Plates

One of the most significant features of the plates are their ties to ancient Christianity. It would make these documents the oldest Christian documents ever discovered in this region and can shed some new light into what some of these early believers taught and understood about the Gospel.

Ancient Sealed Metal Plates With Perhaps Secret Temple Texts Discovered in Middle East?

This find is interesting for a number of reasons:

-The books are written on metal plates (lead and copper)
-They are bound by rings on one side (also known as codices)
-Many of the books are “sealed” on all sides
-They appear to be from the first century AD, and may be the earliest Christian documents ever found
-Scholars have noted that, if authentic, this could be bigger than the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
-They appear to be written in an archaic Hebrew script
-Some appears to be written in code
-The sealed nature, and code appearance of the text, suggests that these may contain “secret teachings,” perhaps even “Temple based documentation”
-A number of recognizable symbols appear, including the menorah (which can be seen in the photos above), branches, fruits, trees, and of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), associated with the enthronement rituals of ancient Davidic kings, and with the coming of the Messiah

More details from the BBC:

More Details About Ancient Metal Plates"

Some additional details include:

-There are 70 or so “books” or codices in this collection, each between 5-15 leaves made from lead, and bound with lead rings.
-The leaves are about the size of a credit card.
-Some experts and suggesting the books may have been made by early Christians in the years just following the crucifixion.
-There is uncertainty whether they are of Jewish or Christian origin, but several say there is evidence of Christian origin in the signs and symbols used in the books.
-Some purported symbols include a cross, a tomb, and the city of Jerusalem. A menorah is also seen as representing the holy of holies of the temple in Jerusalem, and the presence of God.

Ok, now the daily headlines:

Strategy to invade Israel posted on Facebook

Social-networking sites, specifically Facebook, are being used to promote a campaign that appears to target the very existence of Israel, with hundreds of thousands worldwide seeking to join in a plan to "return" to and take over the original homes of their families in "Palestine" on May 15.

...the idea being circulated is "for millions of Palestinian refugees to march en masse in return to the original homes of their families in Israel."

The movement's plans call for this to be much more than just a visit, however.

One page, "The 2011 March of Return," said, "The goal of [the Facebook] group … is to organize a march of millions, who, on May 15, 2011, will realize the Right of Return to Palestine in deed as well as in word."

Syria: Sound of a dictator preparing for a long battle

Syria's Assad: Israel, Foreign Media to Blame for Unrest

Israel fears the alternative if Syria's Assad falls

Israel deploys unique missile system

Deadly volcano that's one of the most dangerous on Earth

Church ad pulled from OC theater previews: Mentions Jesus

Libyan rebels sold Hizballah and Hamas chemical weapons

Senior Libyan rebel “officers” sold Hizballah and Hamas thousands of chemical shells from the stocks of mustard and nerve gas that fell into rebel hands when they overran Muammar Qaddafi’s military facilities in and around Benghazi, DEBKAfile’s exclusive military and intelligence sources report.

According to our sources, the rebels offloaded at least 2,000 artillery shells carrying mustard gas and 1,200 nerve gas shells for cash payment amounting to several million dollars.

It is also not clear whether the shells and gases were assembled upon delivery or were travelling in separate containers. Our sources report that some of the poison gas may be intended not only for artillery use but also for drones which Hizballah recently acquired from Iran.

This may be the most interesting development of the day. We know that Israel had already stated that they will consider the use of such weapons the same as any other WMD - and that Israel's response (if such weapons are used) will be the same as if a nuclear bomb was used against Israel.

This development will be worth following very closely.

Who Stands With Israel?

To be honest, I'm not completely sure what to think of Glenn Beck, but lately he seems to be on the same wavelength as many prophecy watchers in terms of what he is seeing in the world around us. This recent article is interesting because it expounds on many of the posts seen here recently:

Who Stands With Israel?

Of course, there is the whole thing about Soros unleashing his minions in attempts to destroy conservative news outlets such as Fox News, but frankly that takes a back seat to the prophetically related actions taken by Soros, so we won't even go there. As tempting as it would be to point out the irony in the "freedom of speech" aspect which is being ignored, but we already know that Soros favors totalitarianism regimes so this comes as no surprise. Lets get to the quotes:

For example, do you know about the Soros-funded International Crisis Group? Look up the International Crisis Group. It is -- oh, it's quite amazing. And it seems to be right in the center of almost everything that is happening overseas, especially in Libya now and Egypt.

International Crisis Group has consistently worked to support the group in the Middle East who want to establish an Islamic government, including the Muslim Brotherhood and even al Qaeda. There is a report that came out in June 2008, it's this one. It's entitled "Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: Confrontation or Integration?"

This has already been discussed, so lets move on to more interesting information:

Now, while Soros' group advocates for these radical groups, he then singles out Israel, calling them, I'm quoting, "the main stumbling block" to the transformation of the Middle East. He added in this report, "In reality, Israel has much to gain from the spread of democracy in the Middle East, as the United States has. But Israel is unlikely to recognize its own best interest, because the change is too sudden and carries too many risks."

Remember, George Soros says Israel is the main problem in the Middle East to transformation. Too scary for them.

George Soros is also the guy that believes that this, quoting him, "The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States." Whoa!

...let's look at the direction in the Middle East. Do you think it's headed toward, toward peaceful conclusion, to a happier world? Do you think it's going to end well or not so much? Are things happening that are beneficial to survival of Israel or not so much? Is there any leader in the world standing up for Israel or not so much?

Then the article moves on to Israel, the new UN "mandate" regarding the now infamous "responsibility to protect" doctrine::

Hamas is calling on the Arab League to stop Israel from exploiting regional instability to carry out massacres against Palestinians. Wait a minute. That one goes under the responsibility to protect -- which is this new George Soros/Cass Sunstein wife kind of thing. We'll get into that later. OK. Got it.

Reports this week also say that Abbas ordered lawmakers to complete a draft legislation for future state. So, in other words, draft the legislation to have an independent state within six months -- within six months that would be -- oh, yes, that would be the ninth month of this year.

So, let's go with what else we know here. The U.N. is recognizing Palestinians as independent state. Yes. Yes. We got that one, too. Or this, or this, or this. All right

Muslim Brotherhood is now poised to grab power in Egypt and Libya. That's going to be great. They say that they're just ready to declare war against Israel.

That brings us to the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine. This states that states have the right to protect the population. In fact, the responsibility to protect the populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethic cleansing.

This apparently is what was happening in Libya. That's what we use, justification to wage kinetic military action against a country that, as Defense Secretary Gates said, was not vital interest to the United States. But we had a responsibility to protect.

The "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine, it worked in Libya. And they're going to try it again against Israel, because the stakes are just too high.

I hate to post so much of this article, but the following observations about Israel and the Middle East just have to be publicized whenever and however possible, so here it is:

Name the country in the Middle East that has the values generally speaking that we have. I can only name one. Why are we standing with all of those against Israel?

They tolerated more provocations than probably any other country in history, and despite having enough arsenal of nukes to obliterate their enemies. Believe me, they can take care of themselves. How many have they lobbed? Answer, zero.

While everyone complains about the evils that Israel has done to the Arabs and then picks apart each tiny imperfection with their democracy -- democracy, by the way, a republic is ugly -- tens of millions of Arabs, tens of millions have suffered atrocities at the hands of their own countries.

Gays are still tortured today and killed, bloggers jailed without cause, women humiliated, raped and murdered, dissidents killed, protesters shot, terrorist born, suicide bombers given by their mothers.

But Israel is the evil one? That's the obstacle to peace?

Let me ask you this, how many homosexuals have been stoned to death by the Israelis? How many adulterers have been buried up to their neck in sand and stoned to death in Israel? How many bloggers have been jailed without cause? How many terrorists are wearing a yarmulke?

But now, the world is being led to the water that Israel is the evil one. And it's about to drink. Don't drink that water.

By contrast, look at the surrounding Arab world:

A woman can't walk down the street alone and be safe. And not because she's in a dangerous neighborhood, but because she walked alone without a man? How do you possibly stand with that country? How do you possibly stand with a group of people that say I'm going to kill you if you don't go to my faith?

A country that treats women or people who are at all different like a dog, treats a woman as a piece of furniture or a sexual toy that can be raped. The courts will allow it.

How is it that a country like ours actually listens to those evil people saying this is evil? And we believe it. How many Israelis have taken someone off the streets and then beheaded them on videotape just for political reasons?

Our administration is siding with the wrong side. They are standing against good and encouraging evil in the Middle East. We are reprimanding the nation that is as flawed as we are and protecting the aggressors. We are protecting the killers and the terrorists. We have gone from a nation who was doing the wrong thing by siding with Mubarak to a nation who is doing an even greater evil by arming al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood which empowers Iran and also in the end destroys Israel.

It is not difficult to tell good apart from evil. Let's start with some simple ideas: voting rights. Generally speaking, which is better, voting rights of Iran, Muslim Brotherhood, those who run al Qaeda? How about free speech? Rights of women? Rights of homosexuals? America and Israel or the people we seem to be siding with?

I stand tonight with Israel.

What a powerful commentary. Its hard to add anything else to this. In fact, I think I'll read it again.

Who Is America Supporting In Libya? (and the rest of the Middle East)

Ostensibly we are supporting the "rebels" who are clashing with the government in Libya. The rationale for this has been somewhat unclear at best.

Now, it appears that we are supporting radical Islam. The next question would appropriately become: Why?

Lets look at the facts around this issue:

Admiral: U.S. studying Libyan rebels -- after going to war on their behalf

Admiral James Stavridis, commander of NATO and overall chief of U.S. and coalition forces in the Libyan war, says American intelligence agents are "examining very closely" the rebel forces for whom U.S. forces have gone to war.

So far, Stavridis says, the U.S. has discovered "flickers" of the presence of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, although Stavridis calls the opposition leadership "responsible."

Well isn't that just grand. We will be pouring billions of dollars into the region, not to mention the lives of our soldiers, and we didn't bother to analyze just WHO we would be helping, in advance? Really?

And the "new terminology" that our administration is using is priceless: "flickers" of al Qaeda? Ok.....

Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Stavridis was asked by Republican Sen. James Inhofe to comment on "reports about the presence of al Qaeda among the rebels, among those with whom we are associated."

at this point I don't have detail sufficient to say that there is a significant al Qaeda presence or any other terrorist presence in and among these folks

So basically he is saying that we don't have enough information? And why is that? Shouldn't such information be obtained before engaging in such effort? OR - is this a form of tap-dancing in order to avoid the obvious?

Stavridis' testimony raises two questions. One is the extent of al Qaeda and other terrorist presence; what is a flicker? The second question is why the United States did not complete its "due diligence" before, and not after, going to war. "I don't say this critically of you, because you didn't make this decision," Inhofe said to Stavridis, "but wouldn't that have been a good idea to find out before we took the steps we are taking?"

Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

The lack of knowledge about the Libyan opposition has become a major question in the Libya conflict. At Monday's Pentagon briefing, Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin asked another top official, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, a very simple question: "Do you know who the opposition is, and does it matter to you?" "We're not talking with the opposition," Gortney responded. "We have -- we would like a much better understanding of the opposition. We don't have it. So yes, it does matter to us, and we're trying to fill in those gaps, knowledge gaps."

Wow. This leaves me speechless.

West's fears over spectre of al-Qaeda among rebels

It should come as no surprise to the West that intelligence officials have identified "flickers" of al-Qaeda among the Libyan rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

...there is nevertheless disturbing evidence that the Islamist terror group is seeking to turn the current political unrest to its advantage.

The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a militant Islamist group committed to the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state in Libya, was set up in 1995 by groups of Libyan jihadi fighters who had returned home after fighting with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.

What is not in doubt is that since the uprising various al-Qaeda spokesmen have surfaced to condemn Col Gaddafi's dictatorship and call for the creation of an Islamic state

And last week Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, a prominent Libya rebel leader, admitted to an Italian newspaper that many of the jihadists who had fought allied troops in Iraq were now fighting to overthrow Gaddafi's regime.

Al Qaeda: Arab revolts herald 'great leap forward'

Yet another article which informs us of what is really going on in the Middle East:

Al-Awlaki says rebels in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and "mujahideen brothers," calls on Muslims in West to kill "Jews and Christians."

Al Qaeda's most influential English-language preacher said revolts sweeping the Arab world would help rather than harm its cause by giving Islamists freed from tyranny greater scope to speak out.

al Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, in an article published online on Tuesday, said the removal of anti-Islamist autocrats meant Islamic fighters and scholars were now freer to discuss and organise.

"Our mujahideen brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and the rest of the Muslim world will get a chance to breathe again after three decades of suffocation," he wrote, using a term that refers generally to Islamic guerrilla groups or holy warriors.

The most disturbing aspect of this recent information is the unsettling idea that perhaps we DO know who we are supporting in the Middle East.

Its hard to figure which scenario is worse - complete ignorance regarding who we are supporting in these efforts vs. intentionally supporting radical Islam and then lying about it. What a dilemma.

Either way, what we are witnessing is a transformation of the Middle East in terms of the few countries who had been relatively stable and unlikely to participate in a coalition against Israel, into a highly unstable rabid, radical Islamic element who's sole basis for living is to destroy Israel and "reclaim" that holy land.

I guess it had to happen this way for the remaining prophetic events to unfold. What else can be said?

Connecting the Dots

This one comes with the usual caveats regarding websites.


First came the revelations that al-Qaeda has strong connections to Libyan Rebels (here). Then we saw where we are seriously considering increasing support for these rebels by arming them, which would effectively equal arming al-Qaeda in the region. That's bad enough - and certainly enough to make one wonder if we are intentionally arming radical Islamic groups.

Then, we saw where this new "doctrine" of following UN mandates - which apparently, allows a provision for entering a sovereign country when it is determined that "responsibility of protecting" comes into play. The question became "could this be used against Israel?"

Then we see this article - again, in the context of "connecting the dots". It also comes under the heading of "what is our long-term plan for the Middle East?"

That answer may be even more haunting than much of what we have seen lately in the region:

Holocaust denier at heart of Obama's Libya doctrine

A staunch denier of the Holocaust who long served as the deputy of late PLO leader Yasser Arafat served on the committee that invented the military doctrine used by President Obama as the main justification for U.S. and international airstrikes against Libya.

Its all about the "Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect", and guess who is firmly in this picture? You guessed it - George Soros.

As WND first reported, billionaire philanthropist George Soros is a primary funder and key proponent of the Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect, the world's leading organization pushing the military doctrine. Several of the doctrine's main founders sit on multiple boards with Soros.

Now it has emerged that Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi served on the advisory board of the 2001 commission that originally founded Responsibility to Protect.

That commission is called the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. It invented the term "Responsibility to Protect," while defining its guidelines.

Ashrawi is an infamous defender of Palestinian terrorism.

Her father, Daoud Mikhail, was a co-founder of the PLO with Arafat. The PLO was engaged in scores of international terrorist acts and was declared a terrorist group by the U.S. in 1987.

That's a pretty strong radical Islamic pedigree. There is more:

During the First Palestinian Intifada, or war of "resistance" against Israel, in 1988, Ashrawi joined what was known as the Intifada Political Committee, which sought to advance Palestinian goals through both politics and "resistance." She served there until 1993.

Discover the Networks notes Ashrawi has long defended the Hamas terror group as a legitimate component of the Palestinian "political spectrum."

She has stated she does not "think of Hamas as a terrorist group."

Ashrawi has long been a Holocaust denier. In the July 2, 1998, edition of the official Palestinian Authority newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, she published an article calling the Holocaust "a deceitful myth, which the Jews have … exploited to get sympathy."

I don't know about you, but the above descriptions look pretty "radical" to me. Denying the Holocaust? Really?

With Ashrawi on the advisory board, the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty first defined the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine.

In his address to the nation on Monday, Obama specifically cited the military doctrine as the main justification for U.S. and international airstrikes against Libya.

Indeed, the Libya bombings have been widely regarded as a test of "Responsibility to Protect."

"Responsibility to Protect," or "Responsibility to Act" as cited by Obama is a set of principles, now backed by the United Nations, based on the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege but a responsibility that can be revoked if a country is accused of "war crimes," "genocide," "crimes against humanity" or "ethnic cleansing."

One can see those "dots" beginning to connect and its a scary sight. The ramifications are almost unthinkable.

And of course, Mr Soros is (as usual) lurking behind the scenes:

Soros himself outlined the fundamentals of Responsibility to Protect in a 2004 Foreign Policy magazine article entitled "The People's Sovereignty: How a New Twist on an Old Idea Can Protect the World's Most Vulnerable Populations."

"If governments abuse the authority entrusted to them and citizens have no opportunity to correct such abuses, outside interference is justified," Soros wrote. "By specifying that sovereignty is based on the people, the international community can penetrate nation-states' borders to protect the rights of citizens.

But who decides? Who determines when a nation's sovereignity can be completely ignored and when the "international community can penetrate nation-states' borders"?

More from Soros:

"In particular, the principle of the people's sovereignty can help solve two modern challenges: the obstacles to delivering aid effectively to sovereign states and the obstacles to global collective action dealing with states experiencing internal conflict," he concluded.

And this:

WND previously reported how the group has been petitioning for the U.S. to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition in Egypt, where longtime U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was recently toppled.

Aside from Evans and Soros, the group includes on its board Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as other personalities who champion dialogue with Hamas, a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Soros' own Open Society Institute has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.

WND also reported that doctrine founder Thakur recently advocated for a "global rebalancing" and "international redistribution" to create a "New World Order."

"Toward a new world order," Thakur wrote in a piece last March in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, "Westerners must change lifestyles and support international redistribution."

OK, so lets connect the dots:

1. The new "doctrine" as embraced by the UN, and as led by at least two Soros' funded groups allows for the invasion of a sovereign state under the vague conditions of "Responsibility to Protect".

2. The Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect, who is behind much of this new philosophy, is funded by Mr Soros, and includes on its advisory board holocaust deniers, supporters of Islamic terrorists, the PLO, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood - all of whom are involved in the recent uprisings in the Middle East.

3. The last "dot" would be the use of #1 and #2 above to take forcible action against Israel - under the premise of "Responsibility to Protect", in this case, the "Palestinians" who are suffering under "Israeli occupation".

Its almost too easy to connect these dots.

The world is encircling Israel and there appears to be no way out for this tiny nation - who must survive against all odds. Just as they have for centuries.

But God has always delivered on His promises to Israel and the current situation is no exception. As stated before, God is placing Israel into a situation in which they will ONLY have God to call upon in order to save them from imminent destruction.

And as stated so many times, God delivers. In a big, epic manner. In such a manner that every human on earth will realize that God delivered the Nation of Israel:

"In the days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes." (Ezekiel 38:16)

"...and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence" (Ezekiel 38:20)

"And so I will show my greatness and my holiness and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 38:23)

Also of comfort - as we watch "man" attempt to plot against Israel - while ignoring God's warnings - comes from Psalm 33:

"The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

But the plans of the Lord stand firm together,
the purposes of his heart
through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord
the people he chose for his inheritance.

From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;
From his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth -

No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love...

We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you."

AMEN.

The Syrian Time Bomb

That's the the title of the latest article from Foreign Policy Magazine and it details how Syria may be the most important country of all, in terms of Middle East unrest we are witnessing:

The Syrian Time Bomb

While one war rages in Libya, another rages in Washington as to the necessity of U.S. action there. Indeed, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said as much this weekend, noting that Libya was not a "vital national interest." But if Washington is looking for an Arab state in the throes of unrest, one that is key to its regional and national interests, planners might want to pay more attention to Syria, which is currently undergoing upheaval not seen since the early 1980s.

The next quotes seem lifted directly from the pages of biblical prophecy:

Syria lies at the center of a dense network of Middle East relationships, and the crisis in that country -- which has now resulted in the deaths of well over 100 civilians, and possibly close to double that number -- is likely to have a major impact on the regional structure of power.

If the regime fails to tame this domestic unrest, Syria's external influence will inevitably be enfeebled, with dramatic repercussions across the Middle East. As the crisis deepens, Syria's allies tremble. Meanwhile, its enemies rejoice, as a weakened Syria would remove an obstacle to their ambitions. But nature abhors a vacuum, and what will come will be unpredictable, at best.

And that quote above could apply to almost any country in which we are seeing violence and unrest: "nature abhors a vacuum, and what will come will be unpredictable, at best." And at worst, we will see what we have seen in Egypt and Lebanon, where radical elements of Islam will take over, or are in the process of taking over. Be careful what you ask for.

The protests started in mid-March in Daraa, in southern Syria, a city that has suffered from drought and neglect by the government in Damascus. The heavy hand of the ruling Baath party was particularly resented.

The government, to put it bluntly, responded poorly. Troops in Daraa fired live rounds against youthful demonstrators and virtually all communications -- Internet and telephone -- were shuttered to prevent the seepage of unrest.

By all accounts, the debate about how to deal with the growing protests has led to increasingly violent confrontations inside the regime between would-be reformers and hard-liners. The outcome of this internal contest remains uncertain.

We can see the ramifications of whatever happens in Syria - throughout the region:

Meanwhile, Turkey is deeply concerned by the Syrian disturbances: Damascus has been the cornerstone of Ankara's ambitious Arab policy. Turkey-Syria relations have flourished in recent years as Turkey-Israel relations have grown cold.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, have actively sought to mediate local conflicts and bring much-needed stability to the region by forging close economic links. One of their bold projects is the creation of an economic bloc comprising Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan -- already something of a reality by the removal of visa requirements as well as by an injection of Turkish investment and technological know-how.

Turkey's loss, however, may turn out to be Egypt's gain. Freed from the stagnant rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo is now expected to play a more active role in Arab affairs. Instead of continuing Mubarak's policy, conducted in complicity with Israel, of punishing Gaza and isolating its Hamas government, Egypt is reported to be pushing for a reconciliation of the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah.

The upshot of all of this turmoil in the Middle East may wind up involving Israel - so what else is new?

Undoubtedly, the failed peace process has bred extreme frustration among Palestinian militants, some of whom may think that a sharp shock is needed to wrench international attention away from the Arab democratic wave and back to the Palestine problem.

They are anxious to alert the United States and Europe to the danger of allowing the peace process to sink into a prolonged coma. Israeli hard-liners, too, may calculate that a short war could serve their purpose:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government may sense weakness and quietly dream of finishing off Hamas once and for all. Syria has been a strong supporter of Hamas and has given a base in Damascus to the head of its political bureau, Khaled Mashal. Turmoil in Damascus could deal Hamas a severe blow.

On all these fronts -- Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel -- Syria is a key player. But its internal problems now threaten to reshuffle the cards, adding to the general sense of insecurity and latent violence in the region.

To close, we go back to Syria:

Meanwhile, Washington seems at a loss as to how to respond to the growing unrest in Syria. In tempered language, the administration has condemned the use of violence against civilians and encouraged political reform. But the undertones are evident: Stability in Syria may still preferable to yet another experiment in Arab governance.

Assad will need to act quickly and decisively -- and one hopes not harshly -- to quell the rising current of dissent.

This edifice may now be crumbling, and the United States would be wise to spend a little less time thinking about Libya and a little more time thinking about a state that truly has implications on U.S. national interests. If things go south in Syria, blood-thirsty sectarian demons risk being unleashed, and the entire region could be consumed in an orgy of violence.

Unfortunately, we already know where all of this is heading and declaring such as "an orgy of violence" is very consistent with what we know is coming from Isaiah 17 and Ezeliek 38-39. It is most definitely coming.

Now we see this development:

Syrian Cabinet resigns amid huge protests

Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago and is now threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule in one of the most authoritarian and closed-off nations in the Middle East.

Assad, whose family has controlled Syria for four decades, is trying to calm the growing dissent with a string of concessions.

State TV said Tuesday Assad accepted the resignation of the 32-member Cabinet headed by Naji al-Otari, who has been in place since September 23. The Cabinet will continue running the country's affairs until the formation of a new government.

The resignations will not affect Assad, who holds the lion's share of power in the authoritarian regime.

As mentioned before, one of the roots of the current situation involves the fundamental differences between the Sunni majority and the ruling Shiite branch.

The protests and ensuing violence have brought sectarian tensions in Syria out in the open for the first time in decades, a taboo topic here because the country has a Sunni majority ruled by minority Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam. Assad has placed his fellow Alawites into most positions of power in Syria.

The unrest in the strategically important country could have implications well beyond the country's borders given its role as Iran's top Arab ally and as a front line state against Israel.

Exactly - once again, its all about Israel - the epicenter. All of this unrest will ultimately, somehow end up in coalitions who will attempt to destroy Israel. For now, we're just watching these things coming together, but we know the ultimate outcome. Its all described in the pages of biblical prophecy - we just don't know what exactly how we get there. Meanwhile, we watch in fascination as it all comes together - exactly as God informed us.

Soros Back in the News

Yet again. It seems that almost every day Soros is in the news, and its always something that a Bible loving Christian would be opposed to - or for that matter, anyone who embraces freedom would also be opposed to the actions of Mr Soros. Today is no exception:

Libya bombing an attempt to create "New World Order"?

The author of a military doctrine used by the Obama administration to justify the recent airstrikes targeting the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya recently advocated for a "global rebalancing" and "international redistribution" to create a "New World Order."

The author, Ramesh Thakur, is a fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, which is in partnership with an economic institute founded by philanthropist billionaire George Soros. Thakur is also closely tied with other Soros-funded initiatives.

WND was first to report last week that Soros is also a primary funder and key proponent of the global organization that promotes the military doctrine "Responsibility to Protect," cited by the White House as allowing the use of force to attack Gadhafi's forces.

Mr Soros' tentacles reach very wide and deep - in fact it seems that everywhere you turn, you find a radical organization that is funded by Soros. Additionally, this new doctrine "Responsibility to Protect" is being cited as the cornerstone of our policy right now.

One HAS to wonder, with Mr Soros hatred of Israel, how long before this "doctrine" is used as an excuse to send in military troops against Israel in the efforts to "save" the "Palestinians"? Would this idea really seem like a stretch?

The joint U.S. and international air strikes targeting Libya are widely regarded as a test of Responsibility to Protect – a set of principles, now backed by the United Nations, based on the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege but a responsibility that can be revoked if a country is accused of "war crimes," "genocide," "crimes against humanity" or "ethnic cleansing."

If you look at the terms in quotations above, you can quickly realize that all of these terms have been used against Israel.

The term "war crimes" has at times been indiscriminately used by various U.N.-backed international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, or ICC, which applied it to Israeli anti-terror operations in the Gaza Strip. There has been fear the ICC could be used to prosecute U.S. troops.

Now WND has learned that Thakur, one of the principal authors of and original commissioners of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine," argued recently for a global realignment.

In a piece last March in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, "Toward a new world order," Thakur wrote, "Westerners must change lifestyles and support international redistribution."

Thakur's International Governance Innovation Centre is in partnership with the Institute for New Economic Thinking, or INET, for which Soros is a founding sponsor.

The philanthropist agreed to provides $25 million over five years to support INET activities.

Remember INET from last week's headlines? This reveals the efforts by Soros to create "A global economic restructuring" according to his views. That's a very scary idea.

The rabbit hole gets even deeper:

Soros' Open Society Institute is one of only three nongovernmental funders of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. Government sponsors include Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Rwanda and the U.K.

Board members of the group include former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Ireland President Mary Robinson and South African activist Desmond Tutu. Robinson and Tutu have recently made solidarity visits to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip as members of a group called The Elders, which includes former President Jimmy Carter.

Annan once famously stated, "State sovereignty, in its most basic sense, is being redefined – not least by the forces of globalization and international co-operation. States are ... instruments at the service of their peoples and not vice versa."

And doesn't everything (these days) always come back to the epicenter?

Soros is on the executive board of the International Crisis Group, a "crisis management organization" for which Evans serves as president-emeritus.

WND previously reported how the group has been petitioning for the U.S. to normalize ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition in Egypt, where longtime U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak was recently toppled.

...the crisis group has also petitioned for the Algerian government to cease "excessive" military activities against al-Qaida-linked groups and to allow organizations seeking to create an Islamic state to participate in the Algerian government.

Soros' own Open Society Institute has funded opposition groups across the Middle East and North Africa, including organizations involved in the current chaos.

Soros is someone to watch closely. It could be, in a prophetic sense, that Soros ultimate game is to use these new policies as a method to go after Israel - any such action would be completely consistent with everything he has said and done to this point. As stated before, it seems obvious that Mr Soros will have a big role to play in end times prophecy. We shall see.

And in a somewhat related article, we see this:

Purging God From America 'by design'?

A leading Christian historian told WND he believes President Obama is engaged in a pattern of "willfully, deliberately" repudiating America's Christian heritage.

As WND reported, Obama has been caught numerous times – seven, by WND columnist Chuck Norris' count – omitting the phrase "endowed by their Creator" when quoting the Declaration of Independence and misquoting the national motto "In God We Trust" in official White House communication.

"The first time or two I thought, 'Well, he's flustered, he wasn't thinking.' But seven times? There's no way. Especially when he was called on it," Barton said. "Congressmen sent him a letter challenging him on it. There's no way it's matter of ignorance or slip or excuse at that point. I believe it's by design and by intent.

Barton, head of Wallbuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's moral, religious and constitutional foundations, said unlike previous presidents – notably Founders like Washington and Adams – who publicly proclaimed God's hand in America, Obama has been going out of his way to not acknowledge the Almighty.

Any examples of this? Absolutely:

"You remember when he spoke at Georgetown, he had them cover the Christian symbols [behind him on the stage]?" Barton asked. "There's a pattern. When he misstates the national motto, it's not just the Declaration omission of 'their Creator.' When he became president, one of the first things that happened on the White House website was they took off the faith-based office

The Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

But when Obama omits "by their Creator," Barton explained, it reflects a fundamental shift in political thought, away from the Founders' vision of a government protecting God-given rights toward a nation creating government-given rights.

"These omissions and inaccuracies are a part of a larger pattern we are seeing with the president where he is inaccurately reflecting America and undercutting important parts of our nation's history," said Forbes. "Trust in God is embedded in the fabric of society and history in the United States.

"If we allow these threads to be pulled, we will begin to unravel the very freedoms that birthed America," he said.

Headlines for a day

Netanyahu to Abbas: You can't have peace with both Israel and Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday that reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas could spell the end of the peace process, after an aide to Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinian president would be willing to give up U.S. aid if needed to secure unity with the rival faction.

Israel threatens unilateral steps of UN recognizes Palestinian State

Israel informed the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council last week, as well as several other prominent European Union countries, that if the Palestinian Authority persists in its efforts to gain recognition in September as a state within the 1967 borders, Israel would respond with a series of unilateral steps of its own.

Jordan teetering on civil war, local analysis say

Jordan's social cohesion is quickly unraveling, local experts warn, following violent demonstrations in the kingdom and an obtuse government response to public demands for change. Prime Minister Al-Bakhit blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for instigating the violence in Friday's demonstration in an attempt to undermine the authority of the state

Energized Muslim Brotherhood in Libya eyes a prize

The prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood now lives in London, and anticipates the group could become an important player in a post-Gadhafi environment.
As in Egypt and Tunisia, the Brotherhood in Libya has been energized by the sudden upheaval sweeping the Arab world.

Palestinian leader would choose Hamas over US

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, widely hailed as a pro-Western liberal, would drop his relationship wth the US in order to reconcile with the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas.
That according to Azzam Ahmed, a top advisor to Abbas.

“Abbas has to choose whether he wants peace with Israel, or peace with Hamas,” an Israeli government official told The Jerusalem Post. “He can’t have both. If he chooses peace with Hamas, it will bury the peace process.”

Obama's Libyan strategy: Recipe for a deeper lengthier US military role

Despite protestations to the contrary, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources find the American role in the operation against Muammar Qaddafi heading only one way: Instead of a transition “in a few days” to NATO i.e. Europe - which US President Barack Obama will no doubt reiterate when he addresses the nation Tuesday, March 29 - the United States is sliding deeper day by day into a third war in a Muslim country.

Libya: A war only the bad guys can win?

In all of these struggles, little if anything is said about the protection of the rights of non-Arab or non-Muslim minorities. What is at stake is the place of Islam as the dominant factor in these respective societies.

Should Gaddafi fall, and the other states at risk also collapse, several new Islamic entities will join the Islamic Republic of Iran in an assault on the West in general, and the Great Satan - the United States - in particular. Oil will bring money which will buy arms and encourage more recruits.

Saving 1 Billion People from Themselves

The West is almost as in love with improving the world, as the Muslim world is with conquering it. These two contradictory impulses, the missionary and the warrior, intersect in the Clash of Civilizations. The Muslim world has two approaches to the West, underhanded deceit and outright terror. The former are considered moderates and the latter extremists.

The Mahdi is "Near" According to Iranian Leadership

This topic was just posted below (earlier today), but a new article has come out. This topic is just too important to update an old post, so below is the updated information. To me, this is huge news - as we have been waiting for Ahmadinejad to begin to tangibly act upon his fantasy of the return of the mythical Madhi. It now looks like Iran is primed to make their move to trigger the Mahdi's return. We also know that this "trigger" is conflict and violence in and around Israel - with the Mahdi coming in to "save the day" for radical Islam.

Iranian Video Says Mahdi is 'Near'

New evidence has emerged that the Iranian government sees the current unrest in the Middle East as a signal that the Mahdi--or Islamic messiah--is about to appear.

CBN News has obtained a never-before-seen video produced by the Iranian regime that says all the signs are moving into place -- and that Iran will soon help usher in the end times.

While the revolutionary movements gripping the Middle East have created uncertainty throughout the region, the video shows that the Iranian regime believes the chaos is divine proof that their ultimate victory is at hand.

The article brings out facts that prophecy watchers have warned about for years - the potential triggering point for the final, end-times prophetic battles as described in Psalm 83/Isaiah 17 and of course Ezekiel 38-39. Its nice to see the MSM getting on board, but the Iranian regime is making this very public now - even more so than before.

The propaganda footage has reportedly been approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government.

It's called The Coming is Near and it describes current events in the Middle East as a prelude to the arrival of the mythical tweflth Imam or Mahdi -- the messiah figure who Islamic scriptures say will lead the armies of Islam to victory over all non-Muslims in the last days.

Kahlili, author of the book, A Time to Betray, worked as a double agent for the CIA inside the Iranian regime.

"Just a few weeks ago, Ahmadenijad's office screened this movie with much excitement for the clerics," Kahlili told CBN News. "The target audience is Muslims in the Middle East and around the world."

Now they come to the role of the final conflict in Israel:

The video claims that Iran is destined to rise as a great power in the last days to help defeat America and Israel and usher in the return of the Mahdi. And it makes clear the Iranians believe that time is fast approaching.

The ongoing upheavals in other Middle Eastern countries like Yemen and Egypt--including the rise of the Muslim Brotherood -- are also analyzed as prophetic signs that the Mahdi is near -- so is the current poor health of the king of Saudi Arabia, an Iranian rival.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khameini, and Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah, are hailed as pivotal end times players, whose rise was predicted in Islamic scriptures.

The same goes for Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, who the video says will conquer Jerusalem prior to the Mahdi's coming.

Joel Rosenberg gives us the magnitude of this situation:

I think it's a very grave development," Mideast expert Joel Rosenberg, author of The Twelfth Imam, told CBN News, "because it gives you a window into the thinking of the Iranian leadership: that they believe the time for war with Israel may be even sooner than others had imagined."

This is a very big development. It seems that Iran is telegraphing their intentions throughout the Middle East and this highly public video may serve as a rallying cry for the coalitions to finally come together for the last battles - all of which are intended to destroy Israel.

Everything that we have been watching around the world - the signs of the final generation - all seem to be coming together at this time. Not just the signs involving the Middle East - but all of the world-wide signs that have been discussed so many times before.

One can only wonder what will come next.

Headlines from the Epicenter

PA Double Talk on Honoring Terrorist, Jerusalem Bombing

Meanwhile, in Israel...

By Friday, defense minister Ehud Barak noted in the Jerusalem Post that "some 100 rockets and mortars… reaching communities further [from the Strip] than usual" were fired, with targets including Be'er Sheba, Ashdod, Sderot, Ashkelon, and Gaza border-region communities. One regional paper called the potential situation "the worst since Israel's deadly offensive in Gaza in the Winter of 2008-2009."

Under seige: Israel fears its Arab citizens

Map: Gaza missiles inch closer to Tel Aviv

Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists again escalated their confrontation with Israel on Thursday when they fired foreign-built missiles at towns just 10 miles south of the heavily-populated Tel Aviv metropolitan region.

Thursday’s back-and-forth was a continuation of the escalating war between southern Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza. The situation began to spiral out of control over the weekend, when Hamas-allied terrorists fired more than 50 mortar shells and rockets into southern Israel.

Syria: Flashpoint Cities

Syrian troops have beefed up their presence in the volatile southern city of Deraa and taken position in the Mediterranean port of Latakia, where at least 15 people have died in two days of clashes between security forces and anti-regime protesters.

Buildings in the commercial centre bore the marks of destruction and fire, and residents said they were staying indoors for fear of a new round of the deadly violence that gripped the city this weekend.

The unrest has put enormous pressure on Assad, who succeeded his father Hafez on his death in 2000.

Iranian Leaders: Prepare for the Annihilation of Israel and the 12th Imam

This development is truly remarkable for a prophecy watcher, as we have speculated for years that the preparation for the coming Mahdi (aka the 12th Imam) could trigger the "tipping point" in the Middle East. Now we see this:

Iranian Rulers, Believing Pre-Messianic Destruction Is Imminent, Make Film To Prepare Muslims

Several months ago, I was informed by my contacts in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that the Basij had started work on a film that had the approval of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The purpose of the project: to inform Muslims across the globe of the immediate coming of the last Islamic messiah. As my English translation of the film makes clear (watch it exclusively at PJTV), the Iranian leaders, now more than ever, feel that all the stars are aligned for such event.

We knew this time was coming, and it now appears to be approaching rapidly - that time in which Ahmadinejad triggers massive violence in the Middle East - violence intended to trigger the coming of the Mahdi.

Ever since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Islamic rulers of Iran have declared themselves representatives of God on Earth, believing their mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Shiites’ 12th imam, Mahdi.

And of all the leaders, a case can be made that Ahmadinejad is the most intent on bringing this about.

Their belief is based on the centuries-old Hadith by Prophet Mohammad and his descendants, who have provided clear guidance as to the timing of The Coming.

According to the Hadith, in the age of The Coming a revolution takes place in Iran. This is a key sign indicating that the reappearance is near, and serves as the initial preparation in the worldwide movement for The Coming of the last messiah. Based on this belief, the leaders of Iran see it as their duty to prepare the ground for The Coming.

One of the most important keys to securing the reappearance of the last messiah — as called for in the Hadith — is the annihilation of Israel, and the conquering of Beitol Moghadas (Jerusalem). They state with conviction that Islam will soon conquer the world, and that all infidels will be destroyed.

The pursuit of nuclear bombs by the radicals ruling Iran is directly connected to this belief: war, chaos, and lawlessness must engulf the world to pave the way for Imam Mahdi’s reappearance.

It is fascinating to see such information revealed in the media. Prophecy watchers have been discussing this possibility for years in closed circles but now the message is getting out to a wider audience. That's a good thing.

This movie has been produced in Iran by an organization called Conductors of The Coming, in collaboration with the Iranian president’s office and the Basij (Iranian paramilitary force). Also, reports indicate that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, President Ahmadinejad’s top adviser and chief of staff, was directly involved with this project.

Mashaei reflects the Iranian leaders’ belief very clearly:

Therefore let us shout out loud that The Coming is soon and that evil should be fearful. We live with these thoughts every day and our lives are filled with The Coming of the last imam. That human will reappear and fill the world with justice and establish his promised governance on earth.

It is in this very world where the oppressors rule and this world that Allah will command the last imam to appear and forever put an end to injustice. At that time the world will belong to the righteous.

Currently this movie is being distributed throughout the Basij and Revolutionary Guards’ bases. The producers are in the middle of translating it into Arabic, with the purpose of mass distribution throughout the Middle East. Their intention is to incite further uprisings, with the hopes of motivating Arabs to overthrow U.S.-backed governments.

The final goal? The annihilation of Israel and Allah’s governance of the world.

Also see:

The Coming

About two weeks ago, when Reza Khalili first emailed me a video of the new Iranian-produced documentary – The Coming Is Near — I knew I was witnessing something extraordinary. (Reza was preparing a translation at the time, which is available as of today on PJ Media.)

The message of the short film was clear: The current crisis in the Middle East (Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, now Syria… all of it) is a harbinger that the Mahdi (the hidden one, the Twelfth Imam) was coming soon and that, in the ensuing chaos and destruction, Khomeini’s version of Shia Islam would shortly rule over the entire glo

Watching this film is indeed more disturbing in the face of current Middle East conditions. The entire region is caught between brutal semi-secular dictators who espouse Islam only when convenient and brutal dictators who always espouse some version of Islam and wish to control the world through it. Off in the margins, are a handful of blogging freethinkers who, if we are to believe recent reports from Egypt, have already been cast aside.

The Iranians are doing their best to take advantage of the situation on as many fronts as possible. Some of them, of course, are doing this for geopolitical reasons or from fear that their Islamic regime may be the next to go in this wave of reform (or whatever it is). But many, at the highest reaches of their government, believe that their Mahdi is coming, as this film indicates. Under those circumstances, they would not fear nuclear holocaust. They might even welcome it.

Watching the Middle East has been fascinating over the past months. As soon as one tipping point seems to approach (Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Gaza, etc. -- pick one), we see another pop up. Now Iran is back in the news with a highly public effort to inform their citizens about what they believe is coming.

The problem is - the fact that these leaders intend to create this scenario themselves.

The only question now is a matter of timing and when they intend to create this type of conflict which would precipitate their 12th Imam's return.

Does the release of this video indicate that such actions are imminent?

As stated in the first article above, the whole purpose of this project is "to inform Muslims across the globe of the imminent coming of the last Islamic messiah."

That sounds sooner rather than later.

If true, then things are about to get very interesting in the Middle East.

More on Syria and Jordan

The New York Times actually has another good article regarding the Middle East:

Unrest in Syria, Jordan Poses New Test for U.S. Policy

Even as the Obama administration defends the NATO-led air war in Libya, the latest violent clashes in Syria and Jordan are raising new alarm among senior officials who view those countries, in the heartland of the Arab world, as far more vital to American interests.

Deepening chaos in Syria, in particular, could dash any remaining hopes for a Middle East peace agreement, several analysts said. It could also alter the American rivalry with Iran for influence in the region and pose challenges to the United States’ greatest ally in the region, Israel

Officials fear the unrest there and in Jordan could leave Israel further isolated. The Israeli government was already rattled by the overthrow of Egypt’s leader, Hosni Mubarak, worrying that a new government might not be as committed to Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

While Israel has largely managed to avoid being drawn into the region’s turmoil, last week’s bombing of a bus in Jerusalem, which killed one person and wounded 30, and a rain of rocket attacks from Gaza, have fanned fears that the militant group Hamas is trying to exploit the uncertainty.

The unrest in Jordan, which has its own peace treaty with Israel, is also extremely worrying, a senior administration official said. The United States does not believe Jordan is close to a tipping point, this official said. But the clashes, which left one person dead and more than a hundred wounded, pose the gravest challenge yet to King Abdullah II, a close American ally.

Interestingly, below we see agreement between the Israeli papers and the NYTimes:

Mr. Assad has said that he wants to negotiate a peace agreement with Israel. But with his population up in arms, analysts said, he might actually have an incentive to pick a fight with its neighbor, if only to deflect attention from the festering problems at home.

Again, we see speculation that Assad could "pick a fight" with Israel in order to deflect attention from his internal problems.

But officials also concede that Mr. Assad has been an endless source of frustration — deepening ties with Iran and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah; undermining the government of Saad Hariri in Lebanon; pursuing a nuclear program; and failing to deliver on promises of reform.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Things are happening fast in the Middle East right now with so many uprisings in so many different countries. It is hard to imagine that the situation in Lebanon has been rendered to "page 4" of the news, if that. It is hard to imagine that Egypt isn't talked about much anymore (even with elections looming), since this has been replaced in the news by what? An epic earthquake in Japan and its aftermath, which replaced (in the news) the quake in Chile, which replaced the news about the quake in Haiti.

And it was just a few weeks ago that we saw the news about the EU's new military group (EAS) who has the capability to perform border control in contested regions (confirming a covenant?). All of the above have replaced the news about the worldwide financial situation and the need for international control of a single currency. The list goes on and on.

But for now, the hot news is the turmoil in the Middle East and how radical Islam seems to be getting more access to power in a growing number of regions. In other words, those who are sword to destroy Israel are gaining strength both politically and militarily and doing so very rapidly right now. Even in those countries whose leaders are still in power - but who are now experiencing internal revolt with riots and violence beginning to increase (Syria and Jordan to name two) - they may have to prove themselves by taking action against Israel.

Israel seems to be caught in a "lose-lose" scenario right now.

In the News:

1. Israel:


Bombing attempt on Egypt-Israel gas pipeline fails

Six gunmen in Sinai targeted the pipeline that carries natural gas from Egypt to Israel and Jordan on Sunday, overpowering a guard and planting an explosive device before fleeing, The Associated Press reported.

The explosive device failed to detonate and was eventually defused by soldiers at the gas terminal in the village of el-Sabil near el-Arish, AP quoted an Egyptian security official as saying.

Last month, the Egyptian army deployed hundreds of additional soldiers to the northern Sinai Peninsula to guard the pipeline.

Israeli Airstrike Kills 2 Gaza Militants

Israeli aircraft killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip Sunday, as Israel's military prepared to deploy a new defense system to shoot down rockets fired from Gaza.

The French news agency, AFP, quoted an Israeli army spokeswoman confirming the attack and saying the air force plane had hit a "terrorist cell" that she said was "preparing to fire a rocket at Israel."

Tensions between the two sides have escalated during the past week, with Palestinian militants firing dozens of rockets and mortar shells into Israel and Israeli forces responding with air strikes.

Israel deploys Iron Dome missile defense system for first time

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday deployed the Iron Dome anti-rocket system for the first time ever on Sunday in southern Israel.

Weeks of stepped-up rocket and mortar attacks have drawn fears of renewed war and led to new calls in Israel for the military to deploy the $200 million system.

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday deployed the Iron Dome anti-rocket system for the first time ever on Sunday in southern Israel.

Weeks of stepped-up rocket and mortar attacks have drawn fears of renewed war and led to new calls in Israel for the military to deploy the $200 million system.

The components of the battery – which include launchers, a radar, the control system and monitor – were each placed a few kilometers from one another on desert terrain, as soldiers from the Israel Air Force air defense unit began configuring the system.

The IDF said the system should begin operating on Sunday afternoon, but has described the step as an "operational experiment," saying the deployment of the Iron Dome and beginning its actual use will take some time.

The Israeli-developed system uses cameras and radar to track incoming rockets and is supposed to shoot them down within seconds of their launch.

The Israel Air Force has stressed that even the first two batteries will not be enough, and that at least three more will be needed to provide ample defense from Gaza rocket attacks.

Once deployed, however, the Iron Dome still cannot provide full protection to residents of Israel's south, Home Front Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio on Sunday.

And one must ask - why is this "Iron Dome" needed? After all, according to the MSM's reporting, there is nothing happening in Israel which would require such a defense system. Right?

Palestinian militants have fired dozens of rockets at Israel over the last week, prompting Israeli air strikes against targeted areas in the Gaza Strip.

Oh...Almost forgot - the daily barrage of missiles being fired into Israeli civilian areas.

The renewed hostilities have fed concerns of another large-scale Israeli military operation. In December 2008, Israel invaded Gaza in response to years of rocket and mortar barrages on its southern communities, killing 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, and causing widespread destruction. Thirteen Israelis also died in that war.

Israel says that Hamas, which suffered heavy losses in the fighting, has largely recovered from the fighting and restocked its arsenal with more powerful weapons.

2. Japan:

Radioactivity soars in Japan reactor, workers evacuated

Japanese authorities evacuated workers on Sunday from a reactor building they were working in after radiation in water at the crippled nuclear power plant reached potentially lethal levels, the plant's operator said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said radiation in the water of the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was measured at more than 1,000 millisieverts an hour. That compares with a national safety standard of 250 millisieverts over a year. The US Environmental Protection Agency says a dose of 1,000 millisieverts is enough to cause hemorrhaging.

The latest radiation scare was confined to inside the reactor. Radiation levels in the air beyond the evacuation zone around the plant and in Tokyo have been in normal ranges.

3. Syria

Syrian army enters tense port city

Syrian army units deployed in a seaside Mediterranean city rocked by protests and unrest, eyewitnesses and activists said Sunday.

The government on Saturday said armed groups had attacked people in the religiously mixed resort city, adding that at least two people were killed by rooftop snipers.

Protesters accused government forces of opening fire on them. Activists said some demonstrators burned tires, attacked businesses and set fire to an office of the ruling party Saturday.

Demonstrators on Saturday also attacked a police station and offices of the Baath party in the town of Tafas, six miles (10 kilometers) north of the southern border city of Daraa, the epicenter of more than a week of anti-government protests

Perhaps of greater importance, at least to a prophecy watcher is the following:

Assad has placed his fellow Alawites, adherents of a mystical offshoot of Shiite Islam, into most positions of power in Syria. He has built a close relationship with Iran, allowing the Shiite powerhouse to extend its influence into Lebanon, where it provides money and weapons to Hezbollah militants.

There it goes again - it seems that every time one turns over a rock in the Middle East - Iran is lurking behind the scenes. One would expect Iran to begin protecting the Assad regime in order to ensure that they continue to have a puppet government who is easily manipulated. Unless, of course, the protesters could represent a more favorable option for Iran.

But whatever happens - whatever the eventual outcome - one can safely bet that Iran will be behind it.

Syria army beefs up presence in city at heart of protests

Syria's army has beefed up its presence in the southern restive city of Daraa, as soldiers took to the streets in the northern port city Latakia where tensions are rising, residents said Sunday.

The protests began eight days ago in Daraa, the city which has remained a focal point of a bloody government crackdown on opponents, and pose the most serious challenge to the 48-year rule of the Baath Party and its leader, President Bashar al-Assad.

At least 55 people have been killed in and around Daraa alone, as secret police and special forces try to quell the protests.

Syrian activists also called Sunday for a nationwide general strike in the wake of a crackdown on anti-government protesters that has left dozens dead.

We just saw yesterday, where the protesters were calling for action by Assad to retake the Golan Heights, so the protesters are more arguably more radically opposed to Israel than Assad is - as hard as that is to believe (how could anyone be more opposed to Israel than Assad?)

Therefore, taking a simplistic approach, the argument could be made as follows:

- Either Assad makes political points by taking some action against Israel, or
- Assad is taken over by coup and the next government installation makes good on the promise/desire to retake Golan.

Either scenario isn't favorable to Israel, but highly prophetic, as we know there will be a major battle between Syria (and others) against Israel. This can be found in the pages of Isaiah 17.

This situation is worth watching very closely.

And last but not least, Carolne Glick turns in yet another excellent commentary:

Understanding the third terror war

Wednesday's bombing was not a stand-alone event. It was part and parcel of the new Palestinian terror war that is just coming into view. As Israel considers how to contend with the emerging onslaught, it is important to notice how it differs from its predecessors.

On a military level, the tactics the Palestinians have so far adopted are an interesting blend of state-of-the-art missile attacks with old fashioned knife and bomb-in-the- briefcase attacks.

The diverse tactics demonstrate that this war is a combination of Iranian-proxy war and local terror pick-up cells. The attacks are also notable for their geographic dispersion and for the absence thus far of suicide attacks.

Israelis understand that we are entering a new period of unremitting fear, where we understand that we are in danger no matter where we are. Whether we're in bed asleep, or our way to work or school, or sitting down on a park bench or at a restaurant; whether we're in Rishon Lezion, Sderot, Jerusalem, Itamar or Beersheba, we are in the Palestinians' crosshairs. All of us are "settlers." All of us are in danger.

After describing the various attacks and the tactics being used, we see this - and these facts are worth reading VERY closely, as these facts reveal the world that we are rapidly approaching:

Palestinians no longer feel they need to pretend to oppose terror to maintain European support for their war against Israel.

The Palestinians assess that Europe is swiftly moving towards the point where it no longer needs to pretend to be fair to Israel.

The British, French and German votes in favor of the Palestinians' anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution last month were the latest sign that the key European governments have adopted openly hostile policies towards Israel.

Between the rapidly expanding political power of Europe's Muslim communities and the virulently anti-Israel positions nearly universally adopted by the European media, European governments are compelled to adopt ever more hostile positions towards Israel to appease their Israel-hating publics and Muslim communities.

The bottom line? Its right here:

The Palestinians recognize that they don't need to pretend to be good to get Europe to support them.

After the people of Europe have been brainwashed by their media and intimidated by the Muslim communities, they have developed a Pavlovian response regarding Israel whereby every mention of Israel makes them hate it more. It doesn't matter if the story is about the massacre of Israeli children or the bombing of synagogues and nursery schools. They know that Israel is the guilty party and expect their governments to punish it.

What the Palestinian silence on who committed what atrocity tells us is that in this new terror war, the Palestinians believe they cannot lose. With Europe in tow, Fatah and Hamas feel free to combine their forces and advance both militarily and politically.

There you have it. The world we see today in and around Israel is precisely as it was described by the prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah. Exactly what we have today. And the future wars, also foretold by these ancient prophets will also come, exactly as described.

What we are seeing now is the stage being set - the pieces of the puzzle being assembled as we watch in real time.

Its an amazing time to be alive on planet earth. We are living in a biblical age. For those of us who know, we watch in utter amazement - amazement that we have a merciful God who gave us this information - information which indicates that Jesus will be coming for His church soon.

Its a promise that we can count on. It was given by God Himself.

The New Roman Empire Making Renewed Effort For M.E. Peace

This is interesting to a prophecy watcher because we know that the coming antichrist will be the only person who finalizes ("confirms" per Daniel 9:27) the peace plan, and we know that he will ultimately come from the expanded version of the EU, also known as the "10 kings" phase of EU development.

Therefore, as a precursor to his final plan, we would expect to see the current EU making progress in terms of developing this plan, as "road-paving" towards that eventuality. This is exactly what we are seeing:

Diplomats: New European peace proposal

Britain, France and Germany want the United Nations and the European Union to propose the outlines of a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, UN diplomats said.

The three European countries, all members of the UN Security Council, are pressing for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union to propose a settlement text at a meeting in mid-April of the Quartet of Mideast mediators, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are taking place in private. The quartet includes the UN, EU, US and Russia.

Based upon biblical prophecy, we have also been predicting that the role of the U.S. would diminish and the EU's role would increase. We also know that U.S. troops would never be allowed into and around Israel as "peace-keeping" forces, (which seems the only way to truly "confirm" a covenant). With the establishment of the EAS within the EU, we now have the perfect group to perform such duties.

Putting the job in the hands of the EU and the UN would sideline the United States, Israel's closest ally which has tried unsuccessfully for months to get face-to-face negotiations going, as well as Russia, an ally of the Palestinians.

The big question mark is whether the United States would allow the Europeans and UN to take the lead in trying to resolve the standoff, and that is likely to depend on whether the Israelis give a green light, the diplomats sai

The diplomats said the three European countries have delivered the message in key capitals –including Washington and Jerusalem – that if the parameters of a final settlement are endorsed, the Palestinians will return to the negotiating table.

In their joint statement of Feb. 18, Britain, France and Germany said their goal "remains an agreement on final status issues and the welcoming of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations by September 2011."

If direct negotiations don't resume and succeed, one diplomat said, the Palestinians are likely to demand UN recognition of a Palestinian state.

Everything seems to be moving along right on schedule. The U.S. is seemingly taking a back seat in these negotiations, and the EU is moving to the forefront. Exactly as predicted.

Soon, we will hear more and more about how, as part of this peace plan, EU troops can maintain border control

External Action Service: Shaping the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy

Also, we have a few other news updates from the Middle East:

Qassam strikes near southern Israel

Cross-border tensions between Israel and Gaza have been escalating recently, the latest being two Grad rockets and a Qassam fired at southern Israel from Gaza on Thursday. One of the rockets struck north of Ashdod and could be heard in Yavneh, some 25 kilometers from Tel Aviv.

Fayyad updates U.S. on plan for Palestinian statehood in 2011

Politicians Warn Against PA State

The upcoming UN General Assembly session in September, where many countries are poised to recognize a Palestinian state, does not bode well for Israel.

Even Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who, as Prime Minister in 1998, once offered Yasser Arafat close to 98% of Judea, Samaria and Gaza for such a state, is concerned. In a speech last week, Barak said he considers this scenario a “political tsunami” against Israel. He even said that this political development will carry a strong element of de-legitimizing the State of Israel.

PM Netanyahu weighs in on the possibility of a PA State:

Netanyahu himself made perhaps the clearest case against a Palestinian state, when he addressed the Likud Central Committee in May 2002

Such an entity, he said, “will demand all the powers of a state, such as controlling borders, bringing in weapons, control of airspace and the ability to knock down any Israeli plane that enters its area, the ability to sign peace treaties and military alliances with other countries.

"We will thus have created with our own hands a threat to our very existence,” Netanyahu continued

Even now, the Palestinians are removing all the restrictions to which they agreed in Oslo – they are smuggling in arms, polluting the water sources, building an army, making military deals with Iran and others, and more… But when we try to take action against this, the world opposes us – and not them...

The overall plan was actually disclosed by Yasser Arafat who made the intentions quite clear:

Netanyahu quoted Yasser Arafat: "Arafat said it best when talking to reporters the day he signed the Oslo Accords: 'Since we can't defeat Israel in war, we must do it in stages, we must take whatever area of Palestine we can get, establish sovereignty there, and then at the right time, we will have to convince the Arab nations to join us in dealing the final blow to Israel.'

Its part of the plan - a plan which includes the complete destruction of Israel. Unfortunately, "the nations" don't really care so much about Israel nor the threats to their existence, as we watch the world coming together against the Nation of Israel.

This is exactly what has been described to us through the prophets Zechariah (Zechariah 12) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37-38). We know what is coming - its just a matter of time.

God is going to place Israel in such a state that they will have to call upon God for His protection. Fortunately, God comes through for Israel, as He has so many times throughout history. And He will do so in a huge, dramatic fashion - just read the pages of Ezekiel 38-39 to see how this happens.

Japan:

Japan is back in the news today and it looks like the nuclear situation is worsening:

Radioactive Cesium With A Half-Life of Approximately 30 Years Is Being Released At 60% of Chernobyl Levels

Why does it seem as though the nuclear crisis in Japan just keeps getting worse with each passing day?

TEPCO has announced that extremely radioactive water is now leaking from reactors 1, 2, and 3 at their damaged nuclear complex.

On Thursday, three workers stepped into water in reactor 3 that contained 10,000 times the normal amount of radiation. Two of the workers experienced significant radiation burns and all three were sent to the hospital. Authorities have also announced that it is very likely that the containment vessel in reactor 3 has been breached. That is extremely alarming because reactor 3 is the one that uses plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel ("MOX fuel").

...radioactive cesium-137 is being released at 60% of the level that it was being released at during the Chernobyl disaster. Cesium-137 has a half-life of approximately 30 years. That means that all of this cesium is going to be with us for a very, very long time.

So how much cesium are we talking about?

Keith Harmon Snow is estimating that each spent fuel pool at the Fukushima nuclear complex could have 24,000 times the amount of cesium that was produced by the nuclear bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima at the end of World War 2.

Already there is quite a bit of evidence of cesium contamination across northern Japan.

For example, 25 miles from the Fukushima complex, one batch of a leafy green vegetable known as kukitachin was recently discovered to contain 11 times the legal limit of radioactive iodine and 82 times the legal limit of cesium.

So when the Japanese prime minister calls the situation at Fukushima "very grave and serious" he is perhaps understating things.

And this:

A recent CNN article explained why reactor 3 is such a concern....

That reactor is of particular concern, experts have said, because it is the only one at the plant to use a combination of uranium and plutonium fuel, called MOX, that is considered to be more dangerous than the pure uranium fuel used in other reactors.

Largely absent from most mainstream media reports on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is the fact that a highly-dangerous "mixed-oxide" (MOX) fuel in present in six percent of the fuel rods at the plant's Unit 3 reactor. Why is MOX a big deal? According to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS), this plutonium-uranium fuel mixture is far more dangerous than typical enriched uranium -- a single milligram (mg) of MOX is as deadly as 2,000,000 mg of normal enriched uranium

Also see:

Japan reactor nuclear core may have been breached

Japanese nuclear safety officials said Friday that they suspect that the reactor core at one unit of the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant may have breached, raising the possibility of more severe contamination to the environment.

High radiation levels found in Japan seawater

Tests of seawater outside Fukushima plant show radiation levels 1,250 times higher than normal. US rushes freshwater to help remove contaminated water from plant. Government official: Situation not getting worse, but vigilance is needed

On Friday, nuclear safety officials revealed that they suspected a breach in one or more of the plant's units, possibly a crack or hole in the stainless steel chamber around a reactor core containing fuel rods or the concrete wall surrounding a pool where spent fuel rods are stored.

Suspicions were aroused when two workers suffered skin burns after unexpectedly encountering water that was 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in the units, NISA said.

Such a breach could mean a much larger release of radioactive contaminants. The most likely consequence would be contamination of the groundwater, experts said.

Thi ssituation appears to be deteriorating rapidly. We can only pray for the people of Japan and that somehow this situation can be fixed, but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely at this point. We'll continue to update this situation as the story evolves.

More Updates From The Middle East

It really is amazing how much is happening in the Middle East right now - there is hardly time to take a deep breath before the next wave of relevant news comes in:

What Riots? Syria in denial

As protests across Syria continue to grow, prompting increasingly violent clashes and a mounting death toll, local officials insist on dismissing the reports while providing their own creative accounts of the situation.

On Friday, violent clashes were reported in several Syrian cities, with more than 30 protestors shot to death by security forces in Deraa, Damascus, Latakia and Sanamein.

That does indeed sound much larger than what we had been led to believe in earlier reports.

Meanwhile, an official source claimed that an "armed gang" attacked headquarters of the people's army in the town of Sanamein, south of the capital Damascus, in an attempt to storm it, Syrian news agency Sana reported.

In sharp contradiction to the official Syrian statements, human rights group Amnesty International said on Friday at least 55 people are believed to have been killed since protests erupted in and around the southern Syrian city of Deraa a week ago.

The figure may not include the most recent deaths in the country.

This is the bad news for Israel as these uprisings increase:

Syrian protestors: Liberate Golan

Protesters in the Syrian city of Deraa shouted slogans on Friday denouncing Maher Assad, brother of the Syrian president and head of the Republican Guard, a Reuters witness said.

"Maher you coward. Send your troops to liberate the Golan," thousands chanted as they headed to the main square in the city after the funeral of at least five protesters killed by security forces this week.

Israel captured the Golan Heights in a 1967 war.

We can't forget that the Golan Heights give a tremendous military advantage to whoever maintains that land. It is also possibly highly prophetic because we know that the "Gog-MaGog" battle of Ezekiel 38-39 will take place on the "mountains of Israel".

Bloody day in Syria, Jordan

Dozens of people were killed in Syria on Friday as troops opened fire on protesters in several cities and pro- and anti-government crowds clashed on the tense streets of the capital in the most widespread unrest in years, witnesses said.

The violence erupted after tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets across the country. The demonstrations and ensuing crackdown were a major escalation of the showdown between President Bashar Assad's regime and the protestors.

An activist in Damascus in touch with eyewitnesses in the southern village of Sanamein said troops there opened fire on demonstrators trying to march to Deraa, a short distance away. He said there had been witness reports of fatalities, some claiming as many as 20 slain, but those could not be independently confirmed.

And now Jordan's situation is also worsening?

Dozens hurt in Jordan

In Jordan, one bystander was killed when Jordanian security forces used batons and sprayed water to disperse a clash between pro-monarchy demonstrators who hurled stones at protesters calling for political reform, a witness said.

"The (pro-monarchy) thugs were throwing stones from one side and police were attacking protesters with sticks to push them back," protester Mahmoud Hamawi told Reuters.

A member of the medical team with the pro-reform protesters, some of whom camped out on the roundabout on Thursday night, said more than 50 people had been injured, some seriously.

At the same time we are witnessing the unrest in Jordan and Syria, we are continuing to see significant escalations in and around Gaza:

2 Kassam rockets fall in Negev damaging property

Rocket lands on home in Eshkol Regional Council causing damage but no injuries; Barak says Iron Drome anti-rocket system to be deployed within days, cautions system is not a 100% solution.

A Kassam rocket exploded in Eshkol Regional Council area late Friday night, causing damage to one house but no injuries.

A second Kassam had fell in an open area.

The rocket fire comes a day after nearly a dozen rockets were fired deep into Israel, including in Beersheva, Asdod, Ashkelon, and in the Rishon Lezion area.

Israel has decided its time to try the Iron Dome system we have heard so much about:

Speaking during a tour of the Gaza region, Barak said: "I authorized the IDF in the coming days to authorize the first operational deployment of Iron Dome batteries, here in the southern region."

He noted that "some 100 rockets and mortars that reached communities further [from the Strip] than usual" were hit, including Beersheba, Ashdod, Sderot, Ashkelon, and the Gaza border-region communities. "We have no intention to allow terrorist organizations to renew the situation and breaking the status quo," he said. The defense minister added, "We will act as it is needed to return the operations back to the [border] line itself."

The defense minister praised Iron Dome's technology, calling it an "extraordinary development" by the defense industry.

The Iron Dome system will be part of the IDF's solution to the barrage of rockets fired into southern Israel from Gaza in the last week, a statement from the IDF spokesperson said.

it seems that in every corner of the Middle East things are shifting even more in a direction that is opposed to Israel. And it isn't that these previous regimes had any particular love of Israel - quite the opposite. Egypt, Syria and Lebanon all had good reasons to at least try and keep the peace (mainly monetary) and the leaders could maintain their authority and current position.

But resulting from the protests and riots - with Egypt serving as the perfect example - we see a highly organized and ready Islamic group, such as the Muslim Brotherhood (or Hezbollah in Lebanon) come in and gain power.

When that tipping point occurs, these nations shift from a stable regime (albeit with a strong dislike of Israel but motivated to keep relative peace) - to - a regime who will maintain an active policy which plans for the destruction of the Nation of Israel based on a religious mandate.

We are watching this evolution in both Egypt and Lebanon, but Syria may not be far behind and Syria hasn't exactly been in Israel's camp before this. It is hard to imagine what a more radical regime would be like in Syria - but the calls for taking the Golan Heights have already begun. The current Syrian government may feel pressure to begin conflict around Golan just in order to relieve some of this internal pressure.

There are more questions than answers now - but one thing is for sure. The significant events that we have observed thus far in the region are increasing in frequency and intensity, and our prophetic answers may be coming soon.