No sooner than Pentagon chief James Mattis told reporters last Friday that direct conflict between Israeli and Iranian forces is “very likely” (see my short commentary here), all hell has broken loose in the news.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on national television today to say he has “irrefutable proof” that Iran is operating in violation of their nuclear deal and has been “lying to the world about its nuclear program for years.”
According to a Haaretz news article, “Presenting 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs, Netanyahu said Iran hid an ‘atomic archive’ of documents on its nuclear program.”
The article goes on to say:
“At the press conference, Netanyahu exposed a secret Iranian nuclear project, codenamed “Amad,” which he said had been shelved in 2003, though he said work in the field had continued.
‘After signing the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran intensified its efforts to hide its secret files,’ Netanyahu said. ‘In 2017 Iran moved its nuclear weapons files to a highly secret location in Tehran.’”
…’We can now prove that project Amad was a comprehensive program to design, build and test nuclear weapons,’ he said.
‘We can also prove that Iran is secretly storing project Amad material to use at a time of its choice to develop nuclear weapons.’”
Netanyahu concluded by saying “Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Secondly, even after the deal, it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Thirdly, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAEA,” he said, adding that, “the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception.”
After Netanyahu’s televised address in which he painstakingly laid out his case against Iran, Iran’s “Supreme Leader” Ali Khamenei announced that Tehran “will respond to the strikes against its facilities in Syria,” which the Israeli Air Force had conducted this past Sunday evening.
After the Iranian threat, Israeli defense and political sources stated that if Iran attacks Israel from Syria, either itself or through its proxy, Hezbollah, Israel will respond forcefully and target Iranian soil.
Crying Wolf, Or Going to War?
So is Israel simply crying wolf again, as it’s done so many times over the Iran nuclear deal? Or is there really irrefutable proof that Iran has been working toward building a nuclear arms program all of this time?
The answer is unclear.
But even the newspaper Haaretz, an Israeli publication, had doubts, stating, “Intelligence experts and diplomats said he did not seem to have presented a ‘smoking gun’ showing that Iran had violated the terms of the agreement, although he may have helped make a case on behalf of skeptics in the U.S. who want to scrap it.”
And the Guardian of Britain pointed out that much of the “new intelligence” touted by Netanyahu today is actually nothing new at all, but has been known about “as early as 2005 and made public (by the International Atomic Energy Agency) in 2011.”
So was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech little more than political theater designed to give President Trump the ammunition he needs in order to scrap the Iranian nuclear deal signed by former President Barack Obama? Or are Israel and Iran actually getting ready to go to war?
The online pundits have been claiming all day long that Israel is going to war with Iran immediately. But as of this writing, nary a new bomb has been dropped. Thomas Friedman, political analyst for the New York Times, stated, “These are momentous days for both countries. One thing I know for sure. The status quo is not sustainable,” meaning he doesn’t believe Israel will continue to turn a blind eye toward Iran.
Interestingly, the newspaper Business Insider actually ran a story today with the headline “Israel is Stomping on Iran” – a direct reference to the prophetic events of Daniel chapter 8. The publication further stated, “Israel appears to have been punishing Iran and walking all over Syria as the US expresses support for Jerusalem.”
As it’s written in Daniel chapter 8, speaking first of the ram which is symbolic of Iran, and secondly of the he goat which is prophetically symbolic of Israel:
Dan 8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
Iran has pushed politically and militarily into Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon, and looks to push further into Yemen, Sudan and other strategic Middle East countries.
Dan 8:5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
“Touched not the ground” is an old Hebrew euphemism for approaching with great speed. But in these end days, in which military jets are a reality, it appears this “he goat” with the “notable horn between his eyes” will use an airstrike when it attacks the ram, Iran.
Dan 8:6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
The he goat attacks the ram with exceeding ferocity. Maybe even nuclear ferocity.
Dan 8:7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
None of Iran’s allies will be able to deliver the nation out of the hands of the “he goat” once the attacks commence.
Nevertheless, in spite of all of the war rhetoric you’re hearing, keep your powder dry, and watch, and see. Don’t let the news media get you all excited. When it finally happens – and at some point it will – you’ll know it for a fact, immediately.
Our heavenly Father has told us to be watchmen (Ezekiel 33), which means we’re to learn His Word, and then watch for the end times events described therein to begin to unfold, sounding the trumpet of warning along the way.
Consider Reading this Bible Study
But you can’t be an effective watchman of the Lord if you don’t know what you’re supposed to be watching for.
So my suggestion is read the Bible study, The 4 Winds and the Deadly Wound” for the order of events leading up to the Biblical deadly wound, including what has to happen in Iran, first, in order for that wound to ultimately come about.
In that study, you’ll also learn where the deadly wound of the great book of Revelation is going to be delivered…when it’s going to be delivered…and to whom it will be delivered.
And you’ll learn how it’s all tied to the “four winds” of the great book of Revelation, and why the long-prophesied defeat of Iran (Daniel chapter 8) in the final days of this flesh earth age ultimately triggers those “four wind” to blow, ushering in the final stages of one-worldism, the deadly wound, and the arrival of the antichrist onto the world stage.
Regards in Christ,
Steve Barwick
Sign up here to receive notifications of Steve’s News & Current Events Commentaries, as well as notifications when new in-depth Bible studies are posted. You’ll also receive a free copy of Steve’ in-depth Bible study, The Four Parts of God’s Plan, when you sign up.