Escalation II - Israel Was Deliberately Drawn Out

That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness...
- Zephaniah 1:15

Okay, it's been about three weeks now since this whole mess started. I'm willing to bet that Hamas didn't think that the IDF would react as severely and as swiftly as they did when they nabbed Corporal Shalit. But they did.

But let's face it. When Hezbollah fired a rocket into Israel from Lebanon the other day, they were kind of hoping Israel would react as they did in Gaza. In fact, they were counting on it. Israel was deliberately drawn out into this conflict.

Retribution by Israeli forces against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon has been swift and harsh. Attacks are being made by land, sea, and air. Beirut's port has been blockaded by Israeli naval forces. Beirut International Airport has been shut down after all three runways have been damaged.

Another major escalation occurred today after a Hezbollah rocket successfully reached Haifa, Israel's third largest city. Hezbollah has threatened to attack Haifa, but oddly enough, they deny this latest attack. What? They don't have the capability? Then who the hell did? Maybe the Syrian military carried out this attack? Or Iran?

Today the Iranian president made a rather provocative statement by warning Israel not to attack Syria. So, Iran has now committed itself to a Middle East war.

Meanwhile, Israeli jets have now bombed the main highway between Beirut and Damascus. They have dropped leaflets warning Lebanese civilians to stay away from Hezbollah centers. It looks like Israel intends to cut Lebanon - Hezbollah's base of operations - off from the rest of the world. Pretty good strategy. Israel can accomplish its mission against Hezbollah without having to attack Syria directly. The ball will be in Syria's - and Iran's - court.

There's also rumors that the kidnapped soldiers are being transferred to Iran. Of course, Iran is denying it - that would only further prove Iran's complicity in this affair.

But we may soon see that Israel is indeed being deliberately drawn out directly by Syria and Iran. Already battle lines are being drawn. It looks like the alliance prophesied in Ezekiel 38 is lining up already.

Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars as we approach the Last Days. One would think that the current conflict is only a rumor of war since the media is not yet calling this a war (although CNN did go out on a limb by calling it an undeclared war). I wonder what it will take to classify this as a war. Perhaps when another sovereign state (like Syria) decides to fight back? Or if Israel attacks Syria?

I often wonder now if this is it - the beginning of the end. Are we about to witness more fulfillment of prophecy? What a terrible and awesome sight! That can only mean one thing - we're one step closer to seeing the return of the Christ! [see also this article from RaptureReady.com]

Keep watch, my brethren. Stay vigilant.