SIGNS OF OUR TIMES April 2014

"Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path."
Psalm 119:105

Isaiah 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. 7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel [Jerusalem], even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
PRESSURE BUILDS AGAIST ISRAEL
For over three years now the war in Syria has ebbed and flowed. Sometimes the rebels have appeared to be winning and then the government forces of President Assad would regain the upper hand.
Recent developments have seen Assad’s forces, heavily reinforced by thousands of Hezbollah militia have forced the rebel army from its last stronghold in the east of Syria to abandon the city of Yabroud after five months under cruel battering, [Hezbollah is Iran’s puppet].
The loss of Yabroud has cut rebel supply lines to the forces still holding out in rural Damascus against a government army siege which is starving these areas of food, power and clean water. Yabroud was the rebels’ last stronghold in the Qalamoun range, and its fall allowed the deal struck between Assad and Hezbollah last September to be executed.
Under that deal, Debka sources reveal, the 8,000 square-kilometre area of the Syrian Qalamoun range was promised by the Syrian ruler to Hezbollah as a reward for its sterling contribution to the Assad regime’s war.
This augments Hezbollah’s threat to Israel!
The Qalamoun range is now transformed into a barrier separating Syria from Lebanon, the while endowing Hezbollah with a superb strategic vantage point for monitoring events in Lebanon. The area under its lofty oversight arches out from its new mountain fief to South Beirut and southern Lebanon and further east to the Shebaa Farms - the disputed Hermon strip controlled by Israel – a crescent encompassing Lebanon from the south, east and north.
By removing most of its military forces to this stronghold, Hezbollah can also reduce its dependence on South Lebanon and use it as a buffer zone against Israel.
For Israel this is a major setback. Its tactics for keeping advanced Iranian arms out of Hezbollah’s hands hitherto were to bomb the shipments on their way from Syria to Lebanon as they crossed the border. That border has now shifted and the bulk of Hizballah personnel and weapons will be cached in the Qalamoun Mountains which is formally sovereign Syrian territory. The mountainous terrain in any case presents a difficult target to reach. [Debka – abridged]
IRAN’S ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE ARMS FOILED
Iranian Rockets Intercepted by Israeli Commandos
40 rockets unloaded from Iranian arms ship in Eilat
Israeli troops Sunday unloaded 40 M302 rockets whose range is 160km, nearly two hundred 121-mm mortar shells and about 400,000 7.62-mm-caliber bullets for Kalashnikovs in the hold of the KLOS C ship from Iran, which Israeli commandos seized on the Red Sea.
The Iranian missile ship was bound for Sinai or Gaza
An Egyptian security source reported Sunday that the Egyptian missile ship apprehended by Israeli commandos destined for terrorists in Sinai or the Gaza Strip. The sea route through Sudan is plied routinely by smugglers and illegal migrant traffickers. “Tomorrow Iran will hide nuclear suitcases.” Debka 10-Mar-14
Binyamin Netanyahu warned Monday, March 10, that because the world chooses to ignore Iran’s concealed nuclear program, the next KLOS C ship may not carry missiles but “nuclear suitcases.” Debkafile: He was the first Western leader to acknowledge Iran’s possession of nuclear suitcases, which were part of a ten-year old illicit Ukrainian shipment to Iran of six X-55 nuclear capable cruise missiles with a range of 2,000km. A nuclear suitcase can enable terrorist organizations to quickly transport a tactical nuclear or dirty bomb from place to place.
In presenting the illicit cargo, Netanyahu also implicitly rebuked EU Foreign Police Executive Catherine Ashton for failing to raise the Iranian weapons ship in her talks in Tehran Monday, when he said, “There is a shrill chorus of international condemnation when we build a balcony in Jerusalem, but scarcely a word when Iran tries to smuggle missiles into Gaza.”
RUSSIA ANNEXES CRIMEA
Crimea was a Russian province until 1954 when it was given to the Ukraine by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as a “good-will gift.” Strangely, it was General Mikhail Gorchakov who led the 80,000 Russian soldiers who crossed the Pruth River in 1853 into the first conflict of the Crimean war!?
The Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) was a conflict in which the immediate issue involved the rights of Christians in the Holy Land which was controlled by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The French promoted the rights of Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Orthodox. Russia lost and the Ottomans gained a twenty-year respite from Russian pressure. The Christians were granted a degree of official equality and the Orthodox gained control of the Christian churches in dispute. Russia survived, gained a new appreciation for its religious diversity, and launched a reform program with far-reaching consequences.
We cannot but feel that, with the rise of the Orthodox Church in Russia, there may be a (secret?) religious “stouch” behind this new Crimean confrontation. The coming financial retaliation may well result in Germany gaining even more control of the European + economy! – and provide a ready market for Israeli gas and oil! Doing business with Russia: A German dilemma 17TH March, 2014 by Valentina Pop . BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a cautious politician. A natural scientist by formation, she never goes for bold statements unless they have been carefully weighed beforehand. By her standards, the speech in the Bundestag last week was bold. She spoke of a three-step reaction to Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine. The assets freeze and visa ban on 21 names adopted on Monday (17 March) by EU foreign ministers are step two. If Moscow does not change course and "further destabilizes the situation, for instance in eastern Ukraine," step three - economic sanctions - will follow. Her statement was repeated on Monday by her spokesman, Steffen Seibert. Seibert said Russia had done nothing to de-escalate the situation, had isolated itself on the international scene by recognizing the "illegal" referendum in Crimea and further fuelled tensions, for instance by seizing control over gas pipelines in eastern Ukraine. Economic sanctions will hurt Germany, too . Russia exports mostly oil and gas to Germany, while German firms export industrial machines, trains, cars and medicines. More than 6,000 German companies are registered in Russia and are now fearing retaliatory measures from the Russian government - for instance having their properties seized or their assets frozen. Merkel on Friday downplayed their impact on the German economy, noting that bilateral trade with Russia (€76bn) is not worth much more than trade with the Czech Republic (€60bn), a much smaller country. She was speaking in Munich where she met the representatives of the business community and industry chambers, who gave a cautious support to her stance.
FOUR BLOOD MOONS!
The Internet is awash with the phenomenon of the
apparently established fact that four eclipses of the moon
– in which the moon, as seen from Jerusalem, will appear
to be blood red.
These total lunar eclipses will appear on the
following dates:
April 15, 2014 Feast of Passover
October 8, 2014 Feast of Sukkot
April 4, 2015 Feast of Passover
Sept. 28, 2015 Feast of Sukkot
This group of four total eclipses is known as a ‘Tetrad.’
It is significant because it has happened before and on
each occasion some vitally important event has occurred
in the history of Israel!
For example, the most recent of these total lunar
eclipses was at the time when Israel gained control of
the Old City of Jerusalem for the first time in over 2000
years, and led to the declaration of Jerusalem as its
eternal capital. .
April 24, 1967 Feast of Passover
Oct. 18, 1967 Feast of Sukkot
April 13, 1968 Feast of Passover
October 6, 1968 Feast of Sukkot
(Israel took the Old City of Jerusalem, June 7, 1967)
Prior to that tetrad there was another which occurred
during the time of the establishment of the State of
Israel. Mr. Ben Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel on
the 14th May, 1948. The War of Independence started
on that day and continued through to August 1949.
During that period there were four total lunar eclipses!
April 13, 1949 Feast of Passover
October 7, 1949 Feast of Sukkot
April 2, 1950 Feast of Passover
Sept.26, 1950 Feast of Sukkot
I should mention also (for our American Brethren) that
the only other tetrad that gets a mention had occurred
during the time that Columbus discovered the New
World. America became the sanctuary for persecuted
Jews all over the world from where they found little rest.
Those tetrad dates also fell on significant Feast Days!
Columbus departed on his 1st voyage on August 3,
1492.
April 2, 1493 Feast of Passover
Sept. 25, 1493 Feast of Sukkot
March 22, 1494 Feast of Passover
Sept. 15, 1494 Feast of Sukkot
Columbus set out on his 2nd voyage on September 24,
1493. His discoveries of the New World have proved
highly significant in the history of Israel.
THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD
The reason for mentioning these lunar events is because of the Scripture which refer to what appears to be a rather significant lunar event – most probably a total eclipse. The prophet Joel, when speaking of the Last Days, wrote of the terrors of that time:
Joel 2:30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Seeing that the Apostle Peter quoted these words in his appeal to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost, we wonder if perhaps there was a “total lunar eclipse” at that time, for the sun also didn’t shine for three hours! [Matt.27:45].
ISRAEL’S IMMEDIATE DILEMMA
Israel is approaching Passover time which everyone, especially the Arabs, know is a statewide holiday time. The Arabs have used Jewish holy days before to launch attacks on Israel or Jewish targets world-wide.
At present Israel is surrounded on all sides by terrorist and Arab national armies that are “armed to the teeth” with a vast array of rockets, mortars, planes, tanks and artillery that can reach any part of Israel. There are Al-Qaida in Sinai. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the regular army and a host of militias in Syria and the Palestinians in the West Bank and Jordan!
All these have one aim – to destroy the nation of Israel! The present tense situation cannot continue! Israel must act soon and quickly to disperse or destroy these antagonists.
The LORD GOD has promised deliverance for Israel in a number of prophecies such as Jeremiah 30:7 which warns of a ‘day’ unequalled in Jacob’s [Israel’s] history – “but he shall be saved out of it!”
Ezekiel also prophesied about the present situation:
Ezekiel 36:1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, “Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: 2 Thus saith the Lord GOD; ‘Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:” 3 Therefore prophesy and say, “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: …. 5 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; “Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the [Arab] nations, and against all Idumea [Sinai Arabs. Al Qaeda and Bedouins], which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the nations: 7 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the nations that are about you, they shall bear their shame.” Paul the apostle linked Israel’s deliverance with the return of our Lord Jesus: And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Romans 11:26}
As Revelation 16:15-16 links the Coming of the Lord with Armageddon we are on the threshold of World War 3! Judging by the build-up of terrorist forces in every country bordering Israel (except perhaps Jordan) it is probable that this Passover could see the most violent outbreak of war in the Middle East since Roman times. It will certainly be the “time of Jacob’s trouble” should that be the case!
Isaiah 11:14 appears to relate the progress of the battle: 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. 16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Obadiah vs 19 & 20 confirms this.
We can therefore but wait and see what the month of April will bring. We have never lived in such a time of trouble. The question is, “will it continue to get worse or are we at that point in time where our Lord Jesus will come as a thief to those who ignore the abundant signs about us?”
That we are on the verge of some momentous upheaval is quite obvious: political, ecological, geophysical, etc.

“Even so, Come! Lord Jesus.”