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NOTE: Part I


Luis Vega (19 June 2012)
"Countdown to Armageddon - Israeli Nuclear Arsenal & the Mid-East Arms Race"


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Countdown TO Armageddon

Suspected Israeli Nuclear Arsenal & the Mid-East Arms Race

By Luis B. Vega
vegapost@hotmail.com
PDF online at: http://www.sonoma.edu/users/v/vegalu/eschatology_files/Nukes.pdf

For the Israelites will live many days without King or Prince, without Sacrifice or Sacred Stones, without Ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to His blessings in the last days. –Hosea 3:4-5



The purpose of this study, with illustrated chart (see link above) is to highlight the well-known military might of Israel & its speculative nuclear arsenal. It is believed that Israel possessed nuclear weapons since the mid 1960s. As a result, the nuclear Middle-East arms race ensued. Although no official statistics exist, outside of Israel, it has been estimated that Israel possesses 100 - 400 nuclear type of weapons; most are said to be situated underground. Why Israel’s nuclear arsenal is important is because Israel is at the center of the prophetic clock counts-down to Armageddon. According to Biblical prophecy, all the nations of the world will come against Israel at the Battle of Armageddon –with nuclear weapons.

Why there is some ambiguity as to the exact count of the nuclear arsenal is that Israel is not subject to the international accounting by way of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. But therein, neither is Pakistan, India or S. Korea for that matter. It was this lack of transparency though that led the USA to invade Iraq on a ‘hunch’ that the country was harboring ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ WMDs, despite numerous UN inspections that reported otherwise. On a side note, Iraq had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks on the USA & yet it was invaded. Nonetheless, Israel seeks to maintain this off-set of balance of power with the Arabs as the neighboring states of Iraq, Syria along with Iran have sought to build their own nuclear programs.

For the purposes of this study, 1) A comparison will be made of Israel’s alleged nuclear arsenal with that of other current estimated nuclear arsenals of other nations. 2) A possible scenario of a mid-size nuclear detonation over the city of Damascus will be diagramed to illustrate the scope of its effects. This scenario is prophetically based on the Book of Isaiah 17, which is yet to occur. 3) Some basic definitions of terms of key players will be given to establish some context to the study. 4) Lastly a short Biblical study on the parallels of Judges 6 & Acts 9 will be given. It appears that there are some profound spiritual implications for our day from the Apostle Paul‘s experience on the ‘Road to Damascus’. There are some overtones as well between the dealings of modern Israel with the Arabs that are currently in the ‘Promised Land’ as Joshua had to deal with them at the ‘Walls of Jericho’.

Pre-emptive Strike Policy
From an Israeli point of view, Arab nuclear programs were & are seen as a direct threat to its national survival. Having come off the concentration camps of World War 2, the young Jewish Nation became legitimately anxious as to its survival. All out war was declared by all its Arab neighbors starting the day Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948. Israel had to start off with the fight of her life. Metaphorically, this was a depiction, in one sense of the vision as depicted in the Book of Revelation. A Red Dragon sought to devour the ‘man-child’ that was about to be birthed of the Virgin with 12 Stars. When you see your tiny country being invaded by 6 well armed Arab armies simultaneously, you have good cause to be suspect of the Arab intensions, now as then. Israel has thus embarked on a policy of preempting strikes first to maintain this off-set balance of power. For example, Israel struck Iraq’s nuclear reactor in ‘81 & Syria's’ in ‘07.

If you study the subject of the ‘Last Days’ as stated by Hosea, you will plainly see that the Arab-Israeli conflict is foremost a religious struggle, though most would refuse to see it that way. Westerners distinguish between church & state, the whole of the Middle East culture does not. The conflict centers around which ‘faith’ & world view will prevail. Judaism & islam’s Holy Books give 2 very contrasting views of who God is & who the ‘Promised Land’ belongs to. At the core of this conflict is the issue of the ‘Promised Land’ & its tile deed. Whom does it belong to? It is a matter of not being able to accommodate 2 people who claim the same space & time. Contrary to popular opinion, ‘allah’ is not the same LORD & God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. Islam is not the progressive successor to a failed Christianity.

Prophecy in the News Headlines
What is transpiring before our very eyes, in the current headlines, are the prophecies of the Bible that are setting the stage for the ultimate conclusion & fulfillment at Armageddon. Many do not realize or associate that this ‘Last Battle’ is directly associated with the ‘Last Days’ that Hosea spoke about. He alluded to the 2nd Coming or Return of Jesus Christ –physically which at that time Israel will be fully restored to ‘faith’ in ‘faith’ toward their True Messiah. So we have a bench mark in time that stipulates that when Christ returns, it’s because Armageddon is about to take place. The sign will be very ominous, it will be when you will see all the armies of the world gathered together in the Valley of Megiddo against Israel. So those that allude that Christ comes before this climax happens -rather than later, miss the realization that the dominos of Arab countries are not just yet put in place for this to occur.

In the meanwhile, Israel fears that if islamists attain a nuclear warhead, given the opportunity, radical islamists with or without the aid or control of Arab governments will use the nuclear devise in attempts to destroy the State of Israel. All the charters of the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida & the Muslim Brotherhood call for the total destruction of the State of Israel. It is the primary duty of every muslim to oppose the State of Israel & to have this primary goal & aspiration. These entities are not even sovereign countries but paramilitary & pseudo-states within a state. They often works hand-in-hand with various Arab governments.

These are the groups that the ‘Arab Spring’ has swept into power. These agencies now have stately power & control of the chemical, biological & nuclear arsenals. They have done & will do what no Arab government can or would do as official policy, except for Iran. Why? Because for one, the re-birth of the sovereign nation of Israel negates islam as a ‘true religion’. The mere existence of the State of Israel repudiates the notion that islam is the final revelation of ‘god.’ The fact that after nearly 2000 years, Israel is reborn from the ashes of the concentration camps on the verge of annihilation is a direct & concrete witness to the world & the Arabs & Jews, that the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob still honors His Land Covenant. This Land Covenant was specifically given to Israel to be an inheritance forever, to all generations for the ‘seed of Abraham’.

The End game
The lesson learned by the Jewish people after World War 2 is that before Hitler came to power, he published in this book, Mein Kompf what he would do exactly to the Jews, given the chance once he would be in political power to do so; & he did just what he wrote about & meant. Why Iran is such a contentious issue & concern to Israel is that the current President of Iran has on more than numerous occasions & in mass rallies, prescribed a similar apocalyptic scenario against the State of Israel.

The Shi’ite eschatology prescribes a ‘nuclear’ sort of holocaust against Israel in an attempt to usher in their 12 Imam or Mahdi (muslim Messiah). This world figure will ‘finish’ the job as he will rule for ‘7 years’. At that time, he & with the help of the ‘muslim Jesus’ will fully destroy not only the Jews in Israel but will break all the Christian Crosses. He is to usher thereafter the true & pure religion of islam. Any objector will be decapitated, muslim style. If is prophecy is believable & true, it will surely lead the entire world against Israel to the Battle of Armageddon.


By contrast, another Islamic country, that of Pakistan which happened to be the first Muslim country to attain nuclear weapons, does not go about boasting publically from a government’s official policy stance, that it has a divine mandate from ‘allah’ to eradicate the State of Israel. Israel thus takes Iran’s Islamic Shi’ite militant threats, to wipe Israel off the map, literally. Since 2010 there has actually been a de-facto war going on between Iran & Israel over this very postulation; through cyber software viruses, scientists being targeted, killed & nuclear facilities being sabotaged. Currently Iran has attained nuclear status & is deciding if it will use this technology to weaponize its military with it. As these nations are playing into Biblical prophetic scenarios, Israel may very well likewise preemptively strike Iran and/or Syria because of this perceived threat.



The Samson Option
This term is used to describe Israel’s alleged nuclear deterrence strategy of ‘mutual assured destruction’ MAD since the mid 1096s. It is characterized by initiating a massive retaliation with nuclear weapons, as a ‘last resort’, against an onslaught or envision of Israel by its Arab neighbors. It is taken from Judges 13-16 in the Bible. It is where Samson is tied-up as a spectacle between 2 pillars of the Philistine Temple of their god Dagon. Samson regained enough strength at the end to collapse the whole temple upon himself & upon all that were present. Samson perished but took down several 1000s along with him. This is the principle behind the alleged policy. It could be implemented at a point in time when Israel would deem it so hopeless & necessary -to the point that this desperate act would assure the destruction of all parties involved.

Why this assertion could have some merit is that the Jewish population in Israel is geographically concentrated. Any nuclear attack on Israel itself would literally wipe the ‘Jews off the map’ of the Middle East with just 1 or 2 nuclear warheads. Currently in Israel proper, the Jewish population is tiny compared to other nations. It stands at just over 7 million with another 7 million still scattered throughout the nations. Thus any threat from a nation or group that aims at genocide involving a potential nuclear threat to exterminate the Jewish race & Faith is taken literally & seriously by the Jewish government. As it has shown in the past, Israel will not hesitate to strike first to preempt any chemical, biological or nuclear immanent threat to preserve its survival.

Hypothetically, a nuclear strike on Israel from either an Iranian nuclear device or Syrian chemical and/or biological devices would be catastrophic. As most of Israel’s population & military complex is concentrated in the Tel-Aviv area, the Jewish population & infrastructure would be decimated by at least 1/3 or 33%. Nearly 2.3 million people would parish over the course of minutes & this would be with just using 1 mid-sized 200 kiloton warhead. It is this region in Israel that would be ideal for a 1st strike by its Arab enemies. (see map in chart for illustration) So the guarantee of national survival really depends on who will be the one who will preemptively strike first? ...It is just a matter of when.



Israeli Military Complex
The military forces of Israel are said to be one of the best trained in the world. Israel has gotten to the point that it is one of the leading exporter of weaponry to other countries. Current overall Personnel is estimated to be at 3,511,190 with active Military at 187,000. The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armies in the world in many ways. It is ranked 10th in the world overall according to several military statistics websites. Here is a general overview.



Israeli Army (IDF)
Total Land Weapons: 12,552
The IDF has served as Israel's armed forces in all the major wars & military operations. The number of wars & border conflicts in which IDF has been involved in its short history has made it one of the most battle-hardened armies in the world.

Israeli Air Force
Total Aircraft: 1,964
Israel’s Air Force is said to be the best in the world. Although Israel’s Air Force lacks strategic bombers to deliver nuclear weapons over long range, its F-15I & F-16I Sufa fighter jets are capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Israeli Navy
Total Navy Ships: 64
Israel is believed to have an offshore nuclear second-strike capability, using submarine launched nuclear-capable cruise missiles. These devices can be launched from the Israeli Navy's Dolphin-class submarines.

Mossad
This agency is responsible for intelligence, covert operations, assassinations, counter-terrorism, bringing Jews to Israel from countries where Aliyah is forbidden & protects Jewish communities worldwide. Mossad's former motto was from Proverbs 24v6 in the Bible: "For by wise guidance you can wage your war". Others translate it to mean, "By Deception, Thou Shalt Make War." The motto was later changed to another Proverbs 11v14.



List of Wars with Arabs
1948 Independence War
1956 Sinai War
1967 Six-Day War
1953 War of Attrition
1973 Yom Kippur War
1982 Lebanon War I
1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict
1987 1st Intifada
2001 2nd Intifada
2006 Lebanon War II
2008 Gaza War



Jericho Nuclear Missiles
This is the name given to Israel’s ballistic missile systems. The codename was taken from the Biblical city of Jericho. The Jericho III is estimated to have a range of (5000-7000 miles). It gives Israel nuclear strike capabilities within the entire Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and almost all parts of North America, as well as parts of South America. A launch from a submarine off the coast of any land-mass would arrive in major world cities within 2 minutes from its launch.

Jericho I: 1970s
A short range missile at 500 km 310 miles able to carry only about a 20 Kiloton Warhead (20x) that of Hiroshima. This first generation system is said to be now obsolete.

Jericho II: 1980s
A medium range missile. It could be launched from a silo, a railroad flat truck, or a mobile vehicle. This gives it the ability to be hidden, moved quickly, or kept in hardened silos. This second generation system is designed to survival any 1st strike attack.

Jericho III: 2000s
A long range missile. It is speculated that it is an ICBM has a three-stage solid propellant. It is possible for the missile to be equipped with a single 750 kiloton nuclear warhead or multiple low yield Multiple Independent targeted Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads.



nuclear detonation scenario
Given the current volatile political & religious confrontations of the Middle East, scenarios will be presented that will ascertain an inevitable nuclear confrontation between Israel & its Arab neighbors. The Arab countries that are geographically falling like dominos seems like a well designed explosion that could well trigger this confrontation with Israel.

Syria is aligned with the policy & aspirations of Iran in its stance against the State of Israel. Iran is a staunch supporter of Hezbollah that is also Shi’ite. You have to also realize that since the Armistice of 1948, Israel & Syria have technically been in a constant state of war with each other. They have no normalized diplomatic relations. There are several factors that could play in the scenario in which Israel might find it necessary to strike first, either at Iran, or Syria or both.



Scenario 1: Assad of Syria, in a desperate attempt to deflect pressure from the internal conflict -which now many are calling an all out civil war, will attack Israel with chemical/biological weapons to foster nationalism & divert the insurgent’s focus upon a common ‘enemy’. There are conflicting reports that both the government & the armed insurrection in Syria have already used such weapons on each other with civilian casualties. Most of the weaponry that the ‘Free Syrian Army’ has acquired is from the West (CIA, M16 etc) & Libyan stockpiles of chemical biological sashes that have been brought in by the al-Qaeda mercenaries.

Despite Assad ruling Syria with an iron fist for so many years, he has now found himself being the target of the same fate as other Arab leaders that need to be ‘removed’. The Globalists have been toppling these Arab governments by the hand of Western supported al-Qaeda elements, other Arab mercenaries from Saudi Arabia & from government opposition factions. What is means for Israel is that if it suspects that a credible plan of attack by any or one of these groups on Israel will be immanent, no doubt involving the use of biological and/or chemical weapons, Israel will strike first to avert this scenario.



Scenario 2: A ‘false-flag’ will come from the growing elements of the planted covert black-ops within Syria as a pretext of blaming the government of Syria itself –much like the massacre of Homs. Many believe that behind the current Middle East scenes, the ‘Black Hand’ of the diabolical Globalists cabal has been designing & implementing their plans, step by step – country by country. There is evidence that this ‘Black Hand’ pulls the strings of world affairs & that initiates wars & conflicts on innocent populations. It has thus far insured the overthrow by design of Tunisia, Libya, parts of Yemen & Egypt. Now Syria has been designated to implode like the others. This will ensure that, at an opportune time, there will be an eventual united Arab assault on Israel as prophesized in Psalm 83.

The ‘Fee’ Syrian Army is mostly made up of al-Qaida & extremist Jihadist mercenaries imported from Libya & Saudi Arabia by the Western Powers/CIA, SAS etc. If any or one of these elements takes control of the Syrian government by subversion, they could initiate a false-flag attack on Israel that will be intended to be perceived as coming from the Syrian government itself. Israel would retaliate before an all out front could occur.

DAMASCUS: 200 Kilotons

Hypothetically, if Israel were to strike Syria first with a nuclear warhead, it would mean that the perceived threat to Israel would be to such a level that the potential genocide of the Jewish race would be hanging in the balance. This is no small or trivial decision to make for Israel. Such apocalyptic scenarios could surely spark the start of the ‘countdown’ to World War 3 & the prophetic Gog-Magog invasion of Israel that ultimately will lead the nations to Armageddon.

A nuclear strike from an Israeli submarine off the coast of Lebanon would arrive in Damascus within 2 minutes from launch. A Jericho nuclear warhead from a silo in the Negev desert would arrive in Damascus with 4 minutes. A strike using F15 jets would not be the best options as Syria has advanced Russian anti-aircraft missiles.

The city proper of Damascus has a radius of 10 miles which includes the ancient center & ‘Straight Street’ where the Apostle Paul stayed after his encounter with Jesus Christ on the Road to Damascus as recorded in the Book of Acts 9. This is how just a 200 kiloton warhead would do to a city the size of Damascus. It would be estimated that around 1.7 million people would be killed instantaneously from Ground Zero.

Another 4.8 million lives would be directly affected within the metropolitan 30 mile radius. The stats below outline the ramifications of a mid-size nuclear detonation at .8 miles above the city. In all probability, there is no likelihood that just 1 nuclear devise would be detonated. No doubt there will be several warheads launched to assure certain & successful deliveries.

Destruction Total Heavy Moderate Mass Fires Radiation
Miles .3 1.6 2.4 4.3 6.5

PSI 30 10 5 2 1


1 Kiloton = 1x Hiroshima 20 Kiloton = 20x Hiroshima 1500 Kiloton = 1000x Hiroshima

Sources: From the Natural Resource Defense Council published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.


Statistics OF Damashq
‎- Called City of Jasmine
- Urban area of 30 sq mi
~ 2 million in large metropolitan area
- 50 miles inland from Mediterranean
- 2,230 ft above sea-level
- At Latitude 33º30′47″N 36°17′31″E
- between latitude of Hiroshima 34º & Nagasaki 32º
- 1 of oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world
- 1 of oldest continuous Christian church founded by St. Paul the Apostle
- Sunni Muslims 85%

- Christians 10%
- Others including Druze 4%
- Jewish 1%

Sources: From Wikipedia.com


Current World Estimated Nuclear Arsenals
The graph below depicts nearly all the top Armies of the world ranked by Global Firepower.com. About half the nations listed with current arsenals are not party to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which requires UN inspection & regular monitoring.

Below is the nuclear proliferation demographic make-up of nations that have the technology of harnessing the atom for military purposes. All the major world religions are now also represented: Christianity, Atheism, Judaism, Hinduism & Islam.

Rank Country # Warheads NPT Faith
1 Russia 10,000 Yes Orthodox Christianity
2 USA 13,000 Yes Protestant Christianity
3 China 410 Yes Atheism
4 France 350 Yes Catholic Christianity
5 UK 200 Yes Anglican Christianity
6 Israel 150 -400 No Judaism
7 India 75 No Hinduism
8 Pakistan 60 No Islam
9 S.Korea 6 No Atheism

Source: The estimated figures come from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Part II



Political Analysis

If the Syrian government falls, it will be inevitable that groups like Hezbollah & the other special-opt or covert paramilitary groups will fully control all the chemical & biological stockpiles of the nation as they have been in Libya & Egypt. Current reports state that the rebels have been funneled such weapons already from Libya. Why this is volatile is that given this eventual outcome, Israel will have yet another entire militant islamist country on its border to contend with. This latest projection of the outcome in favor of the insurrection will have the whole of a country bent on the same quest to destroy Israel. This could be the trigger that might set the sage for a much larger Israeli-Arab confrontation.



As to why the MI6, the CIA, & British SAS are in Syria working with the Free Syrian Army & the Syrian National Council remains to be fully explained to the American tax payer. This situation eerily echoes the same ‘game plan’ of imposing economic sanctions & no fly zones on Iraq, Serbia, etc. These were used to set up the stage for eventual invasion. The UN & US sanctions against the Assad regime has only put Assad in a corner. He will be forced to use brutal force to squelch the insurrection that has been propagated much like it was in Libya & Egypt by co-opt & foreign subversives supported by the West.



To the Arab point of view, Israel is seen as ‘Zionist’ bent on expansionist policies that are based on a ‘religious’ Biblical mandate to take ‘there’ land. The Arabs view the Jews of Israel as racists on a power quest to dominate not only the region but the world through their international banking cartels & multi-national corporations. Israel’s self defense tactics used to ensure its security & of its treatment of the Palestinians have caused many in the world to turn against them. Israel will eventually be left to its own demise. Perhaps at that point it is when Israel will have no choice but to rely on its nuclear deterrence for ensuring its survival.


al-Qaeda

The word literally means The Base. It is a global militant islamist organization said to be founded by Osama bin Laden around 1987-88. It ascribes to a radical Sunni doctrine that calls for ‘Global Jihad’ against Israel & the USA/West. It ascribes to a strict interpretation of Sharia Law. It is widely believed that it carried out the attacks of September 11 in the US. But due to increasing & mounting evidence, it is becoming more apparent that 9-11 was in ‘inside job’. Others even go so far as to assert that Al-Qaeda is the creation of the CIA during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.



Muslim Brotherhood

This organization is the largest political opposition in many Arab countries. It was founded in Egypt in 1928. They combine political activism with Islamic charity work to gain popular support. Their agenda strives to have Islamic governments eventually unite under one Caliphate. This ‘United States of the Arabs’ seeks Jerusalem as its capital. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 this entity was legalized & gained a majority seats in the legislature. Of note, the party forbids women or Copts from holding certain political offices. Egypt has an estimated six million Coptic Christians.



Hamas
The word means ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’. Hamas also means devotion & zeal in the path of allah. It is a Palestinian Sunni Islamic organization founded in 1987 during the First Intifada or uprising against Israel. Their main objective is to liberate Palestine by destroying Israel & establishing an Islamic state in its place. In 2006 Hamas won a majority vote for control of Gaza against the PLO-Fatah party. The largest supporters of Hamas are Saudi Arabia & Iran. Hamas is one that distinguishes between so called ‘Jews’ & ‘Zionists’. Its struggle is said to be solely directed against the State of Israel, although Hamas denies the Holocaust.



Hezbollah
The word literally means ‘Party of God’. It is a Shi'a Muslim militant group & political party based in Lebanon. Their main goal was to ensure Israel’s departed from Lebanon during Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon in the early 80s. It also calls for the destruction of the State of Israel, which they refer to as the ‘Zionist’ entity. It engages in guerrilla war tactics against Israel. It was the first to use human suicide bombers & the capturing of Israeli soldiers. The forces are trained & organized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.



The Road to Damascus
Parallels from Acts 9:3

- Damascus then as it is now is a key commercial hub with trade routes that made it one of the major cross-point in the Middle East.

- Saul's view of Christianity before his conversion is like that of the Arabs view of the Jews now in Israel; they both wanted & want everyone involved with it, destroyed.


- Saul was nearing Damascus but suddenly found himself surrounded by a very ‘bright light’. He fell to the ground & heard a voice from the heavens say, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" It was voice was of Jesus Christ Himself. It was not the Believers of Christ but Jesus Christ Himself whom Saul was opposing. Likewise, Arabs don’t realize that it is not the Jews or ‘Zionist’ that they opposing & seek to annihilate but Jesus Christ Himself whose land & people are both tied to or ‘covenanted’ to the land as an inheritance of the LORD. The Jews & the land of Israel are inseparable in the eyes of the LORD.

- Saul was feared & considered a fierce opposer to those Followers of the ‘Way’ -yet Saul converted due to this encounter with Christ’s direct judgment. Likewise, Syria is considered a considerable foe. Yet according to Isaiah 17, Damascus will face a similar direct judgment as it is perhaps metaphorically ‘blinded’ by a nuclear ‘bright light’. There might will be a lot of conversions on the part of both the Arabs & Jews after such a nuclear strike. Perhaps because the muslim allah did not protect the Arabs from such judgment, the Jews because they see their prophecy fulfilled & because the majority of Christians just disappeared right before the detonation. (I am speculating that the Rapture & a ‘sudden destruction’ coincide.)

- Saul experienced 3 days of blindness. Perhaps there will be 3 days of total darkness as the nuclear fires rage & the dark clouds descend on Damascus with radioactive ashes that block-out the sun’s light. Perhaps as the darkness fall on Damascus, the ‘light’ of God’s Word will relieve Israel’s temporary blindness – as it will begin to be lifted from that time onward. (Rom 11:25)

- Paul became one of the greatest witnesses of Christ after his conversion. His ministry took him through imprisonments & persecutions for his witness. As many suggest that, as the Rapture could coincide with a ‘sudden destruction’, perhaps such will be the time & case when the Witness of the LORD will be transferred from the Church to the 144,000 Jewish Evangelist –sealed & anointed as Revelation describes. These, like Saul are the ones that will see the ‘bright light’ of Christ & come to See Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel. They in turn will have the same zeal & fervor for world evangelism as Paul had.

- Paul at the end of his ministry was executed by the Romans for being a witness to Christ. Many believers during the Tribulation that were witnessed by the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists will likewise be beheaded & martyred for their witness. Perhaps is will be in the context of the ‘revived Roman Empire’ many prophecy scholars allude to that will be in place in the ‘Last Days’. There will be a consequence for not taking on the banking system’s mark mandated for any commerce to occur. These are the ones that will not pay political or religious allegiance to the False Prophet & Anti-Christ, whomever they will be but will pay with their very lives.



The Walls of Jericho
Parallels from Joshua 6

A spiritual comparison between Jericho & Damascus will be made with some overtones alluding to a Rapture type. It will involve the manor in which Jericho was ‘suddenly’ destroyed. Perhaps it may well be the same way in which Damascus is to be ‘a heap of ruins’ IF Isaiah 17 is what it is referring to.


Jericho was encircled 7 times & on the 7th time, the city was encircles 7 times. Here is a 7-7-7 pattern that speaks of ‘completion’ or totality. As a result, the city walls 1) fell down & 2) the fighting men went up at 3) the shouts & sounding of the Jewish Shofars. Some Biblical scholars say this is a type or picture of the Rapture. Perhaps at the time when a ‘sudden destruction’ comes upon a city that opposes Israel’s right to the Promised Land, like Damascus, the Rapture could occur.

It is also interesting to note that for the first time since World War 2, the Jewish population has reach nearly 14 million world-wide. The Jewish Population was nearly decimated in the Nazi concentrations camps by the end of World War 2. It appeared that Ezekiel’s ‘valley of dry bones’ came to pass. Miraculously a Jewish Nation was thereafter born from the ashes to become one of the greatest armies in the world to this day. Since then there has been a steady increase in Jewish demographics that puts Jews now living in Israel proper at over 7 million & another 7 million through out the world. Here therein is another 7-7 pattern that perhaps might be tied in to the ‘Last Days’ that Hosea spoke about.

Perhaps it would be in the ‘Last Days’ when, at a certain point in time, based on a particular number count of Jews being alive, a ‘completion’ will occur. This ‘completion’ could be when all of National Israel would seek & realize Jesus Christ to be their Messiah when His 2nd Return occurs. As many Biblical scholars believe we are now living in the Last Days, such prophetic scenarios could very well be fast approaching us in our very life time. This could very well be what Daniel 8:14 refers to.

Jericho’s total annihilation & of its inhabitant (minus Rahab & family), produced such a psychological trauma for the rest of the Canaanites that remained throughout the land, that they thereafter sought peace with the Israelites. Perhaps so too, once Damascus is a ‘heap of ruins’ as Isaiah 17 describes it, the once fortified & proud Arab city that will fall fast & hard will be so devastating to the morale of the rest of the Arab world that they will seek ‘peace’ with Israel.

At this time, thereafter is when Israel, for the time being, will live in ‘un-walled cities’ but with a false sense of security due to the ‘peace’ that ensues. This might very well be the time when the Land ‘Covenant will be confirmed’ by the then identified Anti-Christ. This period of peace will be short-lived as the outer-ring of Arab neighboring nations will have only bought time to re-gather strength & ally themselves with Russia. This will culminate in a massive attack on Israel as described in the Gog-Magog invasion of Israel.

It is also interesting that the city of Damascus lies at the 33º latitude. This is key in that the occultists, that run world governments & wage world wars, specifically express their dealings through specific numbers & places. For example, Hiroshima lies almost on the same exact 33º line as Damascus. Nagasaki lies at the 32º latitude. Many suggest that these cities were precisely chosen to be destroyed by the first nuclear bombs because of their latitude number association. This happened on 1945, Aug 6 for Hiroshima & then 3 days later on Aug 9 with Nagasaki. A 6-3-9 pattern which is significant in the occult. Could it be no different for Damascus if there is some validity to this assertion of what Isaiah 17 declared about it & where the city happens to be geographically situated numerologically?


In Jericho, Rahab & here family were the only ones ‘saved’ from the city’s sudden destruction. They were passed over due to the red chord that needed to be placed outside their home as a ‘sign’ to the Israelites. This speaks of the red Blood of Christ that spares us from the Wrath of God’s judgment upon sin. In a far larger metaphorical sense, the judgment of God upon this world can be seen as a ‘Jericho’. Like Jericho & possibly Damascus, to a lesser analogy, once the Judgments of the LORD start to be poured out by the breaking of the Seals of Revelation, the vial of our mortality will fall like the walls of Jericho & we go up as the fighting men did that were led by Joshua, a type of Jesus, the ‘Captain of our Salvation’ that will be calling us to go up.

This is when perhaps, at a point in time, the Shout -the Voice of the Arch Angel & the Trump of God will initiate the Blessed Hope. As the LORD spared Rahab & family from the city’s destruction, so too the LORD promises to spare those whose sins are washed by the Blood of Christ, the Messiah. May we never forget the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. It not only paid for our sins with His shed blood but qualified us to share in Christ’s very own inheritance. Christ’s Blood is our ‘sign’ against the coming wrath of God on this world. May we proclaim the Blood of Christ over our homes & family as Rahab did & uphold it high for the LORD to see our witness. May it be soon.




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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2012/nando620.htm
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Nando (20 June 2012)
"Nuclear Weapons the instruments of God’s wrath in the Tribulations ( a Comment on Luis Vega"s post)"

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June 19, 2012 Nuclear Weapons the instruments of God’s wrath in the Tribulations

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The importance of nuclear weapons in todays world can not be set aside as inconsequential to world control and domination.

It is through these weapons of mass destruction that the nations of the world can take the initaitive to dominate and control all the inhabitants of the world.
Economics, industrial might, control of energy sources, big human armies all pale in comparison to the awesome destructive power of these weapons. Hand to hand to the weapons is the technological advances required to their delivery and that is where the missile capabilities play an important part.

Islam now threatens the world with its militaristic and religious fanaticism to conquer and impose this false satanic religion on the world. Simple mathematical calculation will render this hypothesis null and void even if Islam allies themselves to Russia with the number one nuclear arsenal of the world. In this case the real power would remain with Russia and Islam would be subordinated or destroyed by them when deemed appropriate in their domination aspirations of controlling the world.

Because Satan is behind all the nations of the world and his true objective is the destruction of Israel and the Christian believers in the world his manipulations involving wars and religions in the world is towards those two objectives. The Bible prophetic writings attest to this fact many times and the book of Revelation is a prophetic enumeration of the destruction that is coming to the world when these arsenals of weapons are unleashed.

Coupled with these man made punishments will be a plethora of astronomical and God sent destruction’s originating from the throne of God in heaven.
Below you will find a very good article by Mr. Luis Vega with a link to a good illustration that covers the subject and puts emphases on Israel and its enemies.

This is an exhortation to the readers to accept the salvation given free by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the cross for the redemption of souls. It is imperative that you choose sides while there is time left. If you delay and Jesus comes to take His believers out of the world to heaven (Rapture) then you will find that the whirlwind of destruction will overtake you. At that time salvation of your soul will still be possible but it will cost you undue suffering and most probably a horrible death.

Nando

http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2012/luisv619.htm


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Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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