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Welcome to this edition of the Rapture Report for August 5, 2009. Today we are going to look at several articles and news headlines that show that conflict is slowing but surely on the horizon in the Middle East. In a Haaretz news article today it was being reported that Hezbollah currently has 40,000 rockets aimed at Israel from their bases in Lebanon. The article reports:
The Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah has stockpiled 40,000 rockets near the border with Israel and is training its guerrillas to use missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, The Times of London reported on Wednesday. According to the report, militants are now being trained in the use of both long-range ground-to-ground missiles as well as anti-aircraft missiles to use against Israel. Israel, the United Nations and Hezbollah itself have all said that the militia is stronger today than it was during the Second Lebanon War.The article also went on to note that:
While the northern front has been relatively quiet since the 2006 conflict, Deputy GOC Northern Command Alon Friedman told The Times that the peace could "explode at any minute."
These comments about the northern borders possibly "exploding at any moment shows just how serious the situation on the ground in Israel has become. These same comments were echoed a couple of days ago when the YNetNews reported that: The calm that has prevailed on Israel's northern border in the wake of the 2006 Second Lebanon War "could explode at any minute," a senior IDF official told the Times Online Tuesday....The current stability on the Israel-Lebanon border was "in danger," he was quoted as saying. The Times also obtained surveillance footage showing Hezbollah men trying to salvage arms from a site of a recent explosion in south Lebanon.To further aggravate the issue Hezbollah's Nasrallah was reported to have made the following comments:
About two weeks ago, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group will not hesitate to attack Tel Aviv should Israel strike the movement's stronghold in Beirut. Speaking at a closed-door session, Nasrallah reportedly said that his organization has created a new equation vis-a-vis Israel: "Tel Aviv in response to an attack on the Dahiya," Hezbollah's stronghold south of the Lebanese capital. In a meeting with Lebanese exiles currently visiting the country, Nasrallah was said to estimate that Israel will not remain inactive, but rather, initiate an offensive move "sometime between the end of this year and next spring." His comments were reported by Lebanese television channel al-Jadid.As we can see here the tension in the region is building up and even the terrorists have been quoted as saying they believe conflict will break out soon with the time frame being from now to early next year. With the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear facilities this could be one of the most explosive times we have seen in quite a while.
To further illustrate the severity of the situation on the ground in the Middle East, it was reported that the Iranians could have a nuclear bomb by the end of 2009. The Jerusalem Post reports: Iran could complete the manufacture of an atomic bomb within a year, and is just waiting for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to give the go-ahead, according to intelligence sources quoted in a report by The Times on Monday. The sources were further quoted by the British newspaper as saying that the Islamic republic had put a stop to its nuclear arms research program back in 2003 as it had already developed the means to detonate a nuclear warhead which could be launched on the Shahab-3 long-range missile. Once Khamenei gives the word, the sources said, six months would be needed to "enrich low-enriched uranium to highly-enriched uranium at the Natanz plant," and a further six months to put together the warhead itself.In my honest opinion the Iranians have never stopped their nuclear weapons program and this we know from the IAEA and the inspectors on the ground. I also don't believe for a single second that Iran is "waiting for the thumbs up" sign from the "supreme ruler" either. We know for a fact that the Iranians are marching full-steam ahead with their satanic plans to try to destroy Israel. Even former IAEA inspector general ElBaradei said he believed the Iranians were trying to build a bomb. There are also other reports that the Iranians may have already obtained enough enriched material for a bomb and that they just need to perfect a means of putting it on a missile. To me, the situation on the ground shows that we are moving extremely fast towards a new conflict for Israel and this time it threatens to drag the entire Middle East in with it. The window of opportunity for Israel to act is rapidly closing.
In previous Rapture Reports I have talked about the recent military exercises where the IDF have made several naval maneuvers through the Suez Canal and held massive IAF exercises in what was seen as a "dress rehearsal" for a strike on Iran. Well, there is a new article out that says that Israel has purchased advanced "smart bombs" from the US. The Jerusalem Post reports:
In reading this article I can't help but think that Israel is trying to obtain these "smart bombs" for a possible future strike on Iran. These smart bombs are just the kind of accurate bombs that will be needed in order to put a serious dent into the plans of the Iranians. It is my prayer that the US continues to provide these weapons to Israel so that she may protect herself from her enemies. Genesis 12:3 tells us that God will bless those who bless Israel, and that he will curse those who curse Israel. Please join with me in praying for the US/Israel and that the Lord's Will be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven.The Israel Air Force has purchased a new and advanced JDAM smart bomb with a laser-targeting system that will improve the IAF's ability to accurately hit fast-moving targets. According to an Israeli Defense Ministry official, the order was placed earlier this summer for over 100 LJDAM (Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition) kits. The JDAM is a low-cost guidance kit that converts existing unguided, or "dumb," free-fall bombs into guided "smart" weapons. The JDAM kit consists of a tail section that contains a Global Positioning System and body improvements for additional stability and lift.
Finally, one of the key things that these articles remind me of is that despite all the promotion of "peace plans" and other diplomatic maneuvers, the region is definitely preparing for war as the "peace process" grinds to the usual deadlock and progress towards a deal becomes non-existent.
While the liberal Obama administration believes they are headed on the right track, students of Bible prophecy know that conflict is inevitable and that it will likely come in the form of Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39. The players are getting into position, the plans are being drawn up, it's just a matter of who blinks first. At the rate things are going, it might not be long to find out who blinks first.
Keep watching and keep looking up. Our redemption is drawing nigh!!
Related News
Israel wages war of nerves against Iran and Hezbollah - Ha'aretz Lieberman visits Ghajar, says village will remain Israeli - Ynetnews Israeli forces training for rapid incursions against Hizbullah in Lebanon - tayyar.org
