Updates from the Middle East:

The situation with Syria continues to heat up considerably and shows no signs of slowing down. At the same time, from Israel's southern border we also see escalation. Things seem to be closing in around Israel (as we would expect).

First, a perspective from Debka on yesterday's news involving Syria's threats to Israel:

Turkey to hold military exercise on Syrian border. Assad threatens to destroy Tel Aviv

War tensions between Turkey, NATO and Syria shot up again Tuesday, Oct. 4, with the announcement from Ankara that Turkey embarks Wednesday on a 10-day "mobilization" exercise in the southern province of Hatay along the Syrian border, through which arms are being funneled to Syrian protesters.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is expected on the same day to visit the 7,000 Syrians who have taken refuge in Hatay from President Bashar Assad's troops.

DEBKAfile reported earlier Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has for three months staved off a military attack by Turkey or NATO for halting the exceptional brutality of his crackdown on protest by explicitly holding Greater Tel Aviv's 1.2 million inhabitants under threat of missile retaliation.

That certainly takes things 'up a notch' as they say. As if the region needed any further escalation.

The following looks like it was taken directly from the pages of biblical prophecy - specifically Isaiah 17:

The drill may well revive speculation in Damascus that Turkey is preparing to go ahead with a plan to carve out a buffer enclave inside Syria to protect civilians and provide rebels with shelter and logistical and medical assistance. The Assad regime would no doubt regard this act as a direct attack on sovereign Syrian territory by a NATO member.

According to Western intelligence sources, Syria, Iran and Hizballah have charted a coordinated military operation for flattening metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel's financial, industrial and cultural center, with thousands of missiles launched simultaneously by all three - plus the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami firing from the Gaza Strip.

Western intelligence sources have reported that Israel reacted with a warning of its own: If a single Syrian missile explodes in Tel Aviv, Damascus will be first to pay the price, and if the missile offensive persists, one Syrian town after another will be destroyed.

This specificity of this evolving scenario is almost surreal, as it fits precisely with what we have been told via the prophetic scriptures. Once again, like so many times throughout history, we see the precision of biblical prophecy.

Davutoglu warned Assad that if he did not desist from his actions he would share the fate of Muammar Qaddafi at the hands of NATO and Turkish forces.

The Syrian ruler's response was harsh: From the moment a shot is fired against Syria, "it will take only six hours for Syria to devastate Tel Aviv and ignite the entire Middle East," he said.

The barrage of Syrian threats was reinforced from Tehran Monday, Sept, 26 by Ayatollah Jafar Shoujouni, a close associate of the all-powerful Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This was no coincidence. Their threat has since been repeated with greater emphasis to provide the Assad regime with insurance for its survival against foreign military intervention while continuing its pitiless onslaught on dissent.

These are just a few quotes; the entire article is well worth reading.

Also see this predictable development:

Russia and China Veto UN Resolution on Syria

Russia and China joined forces on Tuesday and vetoed a European-drafted UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria and hinting it could face sanctions if its bloody crackdown on protesters continues.

France’s UN Ambassador spoke out harshly following Russia and China’s veto.

“We cannot today doubt the meaning of this veto of this text,” Ambassador Gerard Araud was quoted by Reuters as saying. “This is not a matter of wording. It is a political choice. It is a refusal of all resolutions of the council against Syria.”

He added, “This veto will not stop us. No veto can give carte blanche to the Syrian authorities.”

Additionally, we see the following evolving and related stories

Sinai Anarchy To Mean More IDF Reserves

Former IDF soldiers may find themselves called back to duty more frequently this year as the IDF responds to growing terrorist threats from Sinai.

Following the deadly attacks near Eilat several weeks ago, in which Gaza terrorists infiltrated Israel through Sinai, the IDF has decided to station many more soldiers along the 230-kilometer/150-mile Egyptian border. The soldiers have been pulled from positions elsewhere – positions that, for the time being, will be filled by reservists.

2,000 Through Porous Sinai Border into Israel

An estimated 2,000 people managed to sneak through the porous Israel-Egypt border along the Sinai Peninsula in August, according to a report made in the course of a discussion on human trafficking this week in the Knesset.

It is estimated that by the end of December, as many as 15,000 infiltrators will have succeeded in crossing Israel's borders, more than in any previous year.

Meanwhile, the other signs of the generation continue to percolate as expected:

Earthquake Swarm Continues On El Hierro, Canary Islands

The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17 on the smallest of The Canary Islands exceeded 9250 on Tuesday morning.
IGN confirmed on Monday that 1172 earthquakes were recorded last week, the majority of which were located in the sea to the SW of the 280-sqkm island.

Seismologists say the majority of the earthquake activity has shifted from El Golfo in the island’s northwest to beneath the Las Calmas Sea in the south.

A dramatic rise in recorded earthquakes on El Hierro last Tuesday prompted officials to evacuate some local residents, shut El Hierro’s main tunnel, and close local schools.

And this:

Rare Subsea Earthquakes Rattle Bermuda

The western Atlantic Ocean island of Bermuda, which was hit by its first earthquake in over a decade in April, has been rattled by two moderate quakes.

The earthquakes, both measuring 4.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale, struck at 10:18 PM and 10:36 PM local time on Monday.

The subsea quakes, the strongest to be recorded in the region in more than 20 years, were centred about 80 miles (130 km) south of Hamilton, the capital of the British overseas territory.

Almost everything that we are seeing in the news lately fits exactly with what we were foretold by Jesus and the prophets. More importantly, the 'birth pain' contractions are coming in waves that are more rapid and more potent.

None of this should be surprising in the least. Just like all biblical prophecy, these things are happening exactly as we were told.

Jesus told us (Luke 21:28, Luke 21:31) to look up for His coming during this time - a time in which all of the signs are present and accounted for.

And that time is undeniably here now - it is upon us in an undeniable way.

Therefore, we need to be obedient with Jesus' request: looking up - solely focused on Jesus. After all, as stated in the scriptures, our redemption is drawing near.

Maranatha!