Distant Thunder: The Imminent Invasion of Israel

With so much going on in the world today, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many significant events are converging that concern soon-to-be-fulfilled Bible prophecy and the end of the age. Israel rarely shows up in Western media but events that have been incubating for years (decades even) are rapidly evolving into a dangerous endgame, not just for Israel but for the world.

     The biblical prophet Ezekiel foretold of a last days invasion of Israel by specific enemies wherein the attack would be so swift and colossal that God Himself would protect her by supernatural means--a firestorm, torrential hail, earthquakes, et al (Ezekiel 38-39). Many believe God to be getting humanity's attention via global current events. However, when Ezekiel's prophecy unfolds, He will have our attention indeed, for "all who are on the earth shall shake at His presence" (Ezekiel 38:20).

     I have written  an up-to-date detailed analysis of the geopolitical and biblical historical context involving the coming world-changing event (see link below). I do not employ the pop-culture practice of "newspaper exegesis" or "headline news theology" that attempts to interpret Scripture via the lens of world events. Rather, I seek to prayerfully interpret world events via the lens of Scripture.

The report is some 30 pages, so for anyone desiring to skip some of the historical and modern geopolitical backstory of nations, I would suggest beginning on page 9 with the subheading "The Sum of All Fears." Godspeed!

>>>Read/Download here: Distant Thunder: The Imminent Invasion of Israel

 

[UPDATE 2021]

Since spring/summer 2020 there have been numerous developments, specifically concerning topics addressed in the “Distant Thunder” report. The nations of Russia, Turkey, and Iran are growing more hostile toward Israel, though Russian aggression is more subtle and political (for now) per numerous extant alliances and treaties with Turkey and Iran.

 

Persian Aggression & Nuclear Ambition

 

Highly notable is that Iran has now crossed a “red line” set by Israel’s Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in 2012. Speaking at the United Nations, Netanyahu warned that if Iran crossed a specific and dangerous threshold in their nuclear weapons development, Israel would be forced to take military action. In January 2021, Iran announced it is enriching uranium to 20% (crossing the “red line”). Yet according to US Ambassador Dennis Ross, Iran has produced 12 times more highly enriched uranium than legally permitted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which makes building a nuclear weapon possible within two or three months! Israel is not likely to announce an attack (note their surprise strikes against Iraqi and Syrian nuclear reactors in 1981 and 2007). In June and July 2020 a series of “mysterious” explosions, power outages, and possible cyber attacks rocked major Iranian nuclear facilities and military sites, crippling Iran’s nuclear program. But in reference to current Iranian bluster, for how long? Iran has kept quiet concerning how much damage was done. The Israelis and/or the Americans were suspected of the 2020 series of strikes, but both have denied involvement.

     Iran has also been hit hard by sanctions that have frozen billions of dollars that would undoubtedly be funneled into global terrorism campaigns and weapons development. In 2018 US President Donald J. Trump rightly scrapped the farcical 2015 Nuclear Deal with Iran, but with a radically new US president taking office in 2021, Iran is now seeking a resurgence of the deal and a lifting of those sanctions. Israel and its growing coalition of allies are pressuring the US Biden regime to refrain from aiding Iran and neglecting Israel, as the former Obama regime had done. This development is more serious and urgent than most people realize, particularly concerning the prophetic root that has sprouted and is beginning to bloom (Ezekiel 38).

 

The Israeli Elections and the COVID Crisis

Israel’s political climate has been in disastrous flux for the past four years; in March 2021, Israelis held elections for the fourth time in two years! Prime Minister Netanyahu has been a popular conservative mainstay for the past decade but the political landscape has changed massively in just the past few years. In December 2020 Israel failed to pass a budget, and a seven-month-long contentious coalition between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz came to an end. With Netanyahu weakened politically by corruption indictments and a looming trial, his Likud party ifractured and he faced leadership challenges even from within his own conservative wing, notably from Gideon Sa’ar who recently left Likud to challenge Netanyahu. Sa’ar is even more conservative than Netanyahu and is gaining a significant following with his freshly minted New Hope party.

     However, in June 2021 it was another former Netanyahu associate and fellow conservative, Naftali Bennett (allied with now Foreign Minister Yair Lapid), who won the Knesset as Prime Minister, ousting Netanyahu’s government and avoiding a fifth round of elections. Most Israelis and Evangelical Christians are sad to see Netanyahu go, but they recognize a season of change is necessary as Israel faces many new challenges in a fast-changing, post-pandemic, and increasingly politicized culture–nationally and globally. Many are deeply appreciative of Netanyahu’s solid legacy (particularly concerning Israel’s national security and desire for genuine peace with her Arab neighbors) and the new PM Bennett will indeed build upon that legacy, for he fully supports the Abraham Accords and is just as conservative–even as hawkish–as Benyamin Netanyahu.

     Netanyahu struggled to campaign for reelection as he also strived to lead Israel through and out of the COVID pandemic. However, with three full lockdowns since May 2020 and with the last two lockdowns (in September 2020 and January 2021) doing more harm than good on many fronts, Israeli citizens are turning on their governing leadership--a situation that Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will be pressured to diffuse. Many doctors and private sector leaders have even proclaimed the lockdowns as hazardously unnecessary since the results have actually seen an increase in COVID-19 cases; an unprecedented economic crisis; rising frustration and declining mental health in the populace; and unraveling political stability. Iran/Hezbollah, Turkey, Russia, Hamas, ISIS, and any other surrounding enemies of Israel are smelling blood in the water. And a weaker US Administration that is less likely to come to Israel’s aid may prove to be an opportunity for those enemies as they conspire toward a possible window to attack the Jewish State; for example, the recent Gaza conflict and its far-reaching agitation of anti-Semitic insanity. Even an Israeli strike on Iran or on a key target in Syria may be the catalyst toward the same.

     Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, and in an effort to prevent Iran from gaining a more established presence in Syria, Israel has launched airstrikes against thousands of Iranian targets (long-range missiles), and hundreds in just the past two years! Curiously, Iran has not directly retaliated. With Syria now being a failed Arab state, Iran and Turkey are attempting to claim territory, although they are mostly kept at bay by their Russian overlord who unites them and who also holds the greatest territorial claim.

 

From Russia Without Love

 

Of course, with Russia (Gog/Magog) being the de facto overlord of the region, both Turkey and Iran and its proxy militias will not act without the Russian Bear’s consent and/or directive (Ezekiel 38). For now it is all geopolitical smoke and mirrors, personal smiles and handshakes… until “God’s hooks in Gog’s jaw” draws him and his army (Magog/Turkey) out from the far north (Russia) to come up against Israel like a storm (Ezekiel 38:3-16).

      As I detail in the “Distant Thunder” report, Russia has been establishing a presence in Syria (immediately north of Israel) since 2006, and is now well-entrenched throughout the region–a naval presence on the Mediterranean, command of Syrian ports, command of Syrian airspace via multiple airfields, and dominance of the Syrian frontier via armed ground bases and patrols. Moreover, the list of Israel’s enemies in Ezekiel 38:3-6 are each contemporary Middle and Near Eastern client states of modern Russia. In tandem with the major players already mentioned, other enemies include Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Ethiopia, and part of Sudan; of course those countries may simply be represented by the varied radical Muslim expats who comprise the surrounding militias of Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, ISIS, and al Qaeda.

 

The Abraham Accords

 

Astounding the world in summer/autumn of 2020 and continuing its progress into the foreseeable future are the Abraham Accords brokered by the US Donald J. Trump Administration, Israel, and a growing alliance of moderately Islamic Arab nations. The only Arab allies to hold formal peace treaties with Israel prior to this unprecedented event are Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994). The decades of stymied “peace processes” between Israel and her Arab neighbors have been due to a narrow view of how peace should be defined, who should represent the Arab perspective, and a few overzealous US presidents looking for a political legacy. This senseless obstacle was overcome by Israel and America simply refusing to negotiate with the terrorist-backed Palestinian Authority that refused (by its own Charter) to even recognize Israel as a legitimate nation. Instead, Israel and the US Trump Administration invited other Arab nations to the table that were willing to work together toward a stable Middle and Near East. Thus, the Abraham Accords were born, named in reference to Abraham, the father of both Jews and Arabs.

     Presently, the Arab nations officially joining with Israel in this peace accord are Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan proper, and Morocco. Others formally moving toward the same are Oman, Indonesia, Mauritania, and Saudi Arabia (a very strategic partner!). Deeper diplomatic ties are also coming to fruition between Israel and various moderate Islamic states such as Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia. A recent template of constructive Arab unity manifested as Operation Decisive Storm in 2015, a coalition of moderately Islamic states that formed in opposition to Iran attempting to take control of both Yemen and the Bab al-Mandeb strait via Iranian backed (tribal) Houthis. While successful in thwarting Iran’s designs, the conflict continues.

 

Islamic Reformation?

 

A primary reason (and need) for these agreements is modernization and mutual goodwill in a rapidly growing and shrinking world. A secondary reason is mutual protection against barbaric terrorism of any sort, as such seeks only to destroy, divide, and dominate. Notably, Islam has been undergoing an internal “reformation” since 9/11. Muslim leaders from imams to scholars are beginning to openly and honestly revisit the Koran’s jihadic contexts along with the blatantly hypocritical, vile, and brutally violent nature of Islam’s founder, Muhammad. Much discussion and debate continues about the very heart of Islamic meaning and its place in the world, particularly in relation to other non-Muslim regions, religions, and nations in our modern era which is vastly alien to Muhammad’s medieval cultural context.

     This “reformation” within the Islamic world has surely sharpened the divide between the moderate and radical Muslims, including the longstanding division between the Sunni and Shi’ite sects. Yet there is hope. Many Arab nations are friendly toward the West and have chosen the path of a peaceful moderate Islam coupled with modernization, which makes possible a positive participation in global affairs and healthy relationships with other national states and entities. The alternative is a backward and oppressive form of Koranic government (rigid Sharia law) that suppresses personal freedoms and breeds a brutal and radicalized martial religion that seeks world dominance devoid of goodwill, innovation, or anything of use to the world overall. Adherents to moderate forms of Islam are becoming more outspoken toward the extremists, demanding they wake up and join the 21st century!

 

Shadows of the Future

 

So how might the Abraham Accords foreshadow end-time events? Remarkably, the Arab nations that have joined in peace with Israel (and those expressing interest in the same) are condemning all radical forms of Islamic terrorism, and are not on the list of enemies found in Ezekiel 38. And those nations that are listed as enemies of Israel in Ezekiel 38 are presently bound to each other by their anti-Semitic speech and violence, their ties to Russia (Gog), and their desire for a world under totalitarian Islamic rule.

     It is these radical Muslim enemies that will be supernaturally destroyed when they launch an unexpected invasion of Israel in the near future. When the smoke clears, those nations of the Abraham Accords will be left intact and will be the foundational confederation of nations that the rising Antichrist will use to mediate his false covenant with Israel (Amos 3:7; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:1-4).

 

 

*See All Israel News & All Arab News for expanded reference.