Interesting developments in the epicenter this week:

  • Netanyahu and his Likud party move to call new elections, likely Sept 4th
  • Some key Israeli political analysts speculate Netanyahu wants to consolidate his political power and strengthen his coalition -- polls show Likud poised to rise from 27 to possibly 31 seats -- in order to launch a preemptive military strike on Iran in September or October, after the Israeli elections but before the American elections
  • An "October Surprise" could put President Obama in a difficult position, perhaps less able to criticize or block an Israeli move
  • At the same time, the Israelis continue to make obvious preparations for war
  • This week Israel took possession of a brand new German built submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles
  • This week Israel also mobilized six reserve army battalions and put more on notification that they could be called up into active duty soon
  • That said, it would be a mistake to rule out the possibility of an Israeli first strike sooner than September -- both Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are stating that time to neutralize the Iran threat is running out and the time for action is drawing near
  • Opponents of war inside are growing more vocal -- even a number of former high ranking Israeli generals andintelligence officialsgave spoken outrecently in sharp criticism of Netanyahu and Barak
  • Prophetic implications? Hard to say at this point. Vladimir Putin comes back to power as president (read: czar) of Russia on May 7 and coplay throw his weight in against an Israeli strike. We're that to happen, that could suggest we are stmoving towards towards the "War of Gog and Magog" described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. We also need to keep in mind the coming fulfillment of the destruction of Damascus as foretold in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49. Does that happen before or after the Magog war? The Scriptures do not say so I don't know. But we need to be prayerful, proactive and prepared for these and other scenarios, especially given the growing alliance between Russia and Iran and the evil of the Assad regime. Leaders reap what they sow, and the leaders of these nations -- tragically -- are poised to reap a whirlwind.