Ed. Note: In this alert, I will be introducing and using a number of new, different and unlikely news sources than I have not in the past. Some of these are Russian, Iranian and other Middle Eastern press and media organizations, which are typically controlled by their state. In addition to the usual Israeli news sources, I will also be adding some sources from newer American news sites (some politically conservative but others very left-wing) that I pray will add to our understanding of current world events. (I say this up front, as a caveat to prayerfully consider as we should always do with every "news source" even if those writers beliefs lines up exactly with our own - we should always hold everything up to Scripture.) I have been digging around quite a bit as the MSM (mainstream media) and what used to pass for good alternative news sources are growing towards hype and propaganda. The goal here is not to give comprehensive coverage but to help fill in the gaps, perhaps the missing pieces of 'why now' this is happening.

Please keep in mind that all the systems of the world including the media are under the control of the Prince of the Power of the air. The reporting and all media literally travel through his realm now. We must realize all is corrupted to some degree, be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" and view all things through the Word of God. My prayer is that this collection of articles, many from sources that I would typically not use or have not used in the past will help give us a broader perspective.

For many years, those of us seeking to understand Biblical prophecy have watched The Middle East knowing that passages such as Ezekiel 38 & 39 have yet to be. We have witnessed the loss of interest within the church about these things, and strangely enough a growing interest in "the end of times" in the secular world. Now many from that time have turned from their hope in Christ's soon return opting to put it in the things of this world. We have come to a time of continuous turmoil in The Middle East and the fulfillment of Jerusalem being a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone to the entire world. Yet, with each day more professing believers refuse to acknowledge the significance of the events transpiring. The bright side for those of us who believe the Word of God is that the harvest is indeed plentiful. We must be prepared that as with the harvest at Jesus first coming, the one before His second coming will be marked by much martyrdom.

Regarding the current situation in Syria, I have a sense of unease and distrust of all sides involved, especially in terms of what is reported to us by our media. Certainly, it has always been this way, but our society is locked in this "vise-grip" of darkness and confusion by a certain and lingering implicit trust that when it comes to issues beyond our borders, they will report truthfully. Without any real investigation by this media, whose job it was to do just that, how are we to actually know if what our governing officials are telling us is true?

As each stage has unfolded, especially since the terror attacks of September 11^th, 2001, and even more so since the "Arab Spring," the foreign policy and rationale of our perspective governments, their alliances and leaders makes less sense with each passing day. The nebulous "war on terror" has done nothing but to destabilize and terrorize the entire Middle East. This strategy is one that has been openly communicated by individuals connected to the US State Dept. and UN for years and involves using war, government/commercial marriages and various means of deception to remake the global landscape to bring about a so-called new world order (how I hate having to use that term).

However, what bothers me the most and what is likely overlooked is that in every country that The US and our NATO partners have entered, whether it be Afghanistan, or Iraq, or where our long arm has exerted influence for "change," is that the Christians are being pushed out. And if they do not leave these new found "democracies," created by "The Americans" they face martyrdom. At the same time, Israel, the one and only country that does give believing Christians and all people, even Muslims, freedom in The Middle East, is consistently marked as the aggressor. When Jesus returns what county will have the most Christian blood on its hands? China? North Korea? Russia? On the other hand, could it be America, because we have steamrolled one dictatorship after another or used our CIA and black ops to create terror organizations to overthrow legitimate governments and leave power vacuums in other countries. In either case, Christians in those countries have it far worse than they did beforehand.

This does not mean that The Lord does use these sorts of things to bring His will to pass. It seems very evident by His Word that He does. However, all parties will be held accountable for their actions. Yet, very little of this result is owned up to by our government or has been reported in any fashion by our media. Additionally, the majority of Christians in America and the West are woefully 'ignorant' of this bloody and deadly consequence of their government's actions on their brothers and sisters in Christ

Concerning this we must distinguish between the corrupt political leadership, a fascist world economy involving huge multinational corporations in bed with national governments - and the individual performing the noble and Scriptural duty of defending ones family and country or perhaps trying to effect some political change for good. We also need to see how the pieces are falling into place for the lawless one to step into power because of utter desperation of people continually trodden down by governments and militaries from all sides.

One striking conclusion from the reports below and from other recent ones is that jihadists and Islamists currently (and in the past) benefit most from American actions. That is if they are "going along with the program." If not, we apparently "take them out," these days with a drone strike. This entire scenario does not mesh with the 'war on terror,' nor does its result seem to bother our leaders in Washington. If I were part of any government in The Middle East, especially Israel, I certainly would not trust the foreign policy of the USA, even with all the recent Congressional measures to punish Iran and support Israel. Moreover, Christians in The Middle East should beware any military moves by America; the outcome for you in every recent situation has turned out worse.

That said, successful leaders do not just suddenly go off "half cocked" and start killing their own people for "no reason" like the Western government officials and media like to portray them. Even though these countries are made up of many tribal factions that typically despise each other, in the past strong dictators kept the peace. I do not approve of how these men ruled but that is why Saddam Hussein, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Assad remained in power so long.

According to International Law (UN Charter VII: Article 51), it is legal for Assad to protect his country. The question would be why has one government after another in The Middle East been toppled and why? This is a very complicated issue and can obviously not be addressed with one simple alert. It is also imperative to remember that events in the world that surround Israel and the church are happing because they must happen and that Scripture will be fulfilled. This is not because of some sick and perverted Futurist mindset of the Bible believing Evangelical, but because our Omniscient God saw the end from the beginning, He saw the future before it happened and had it written down by men of God.

Putting together a picture from all the various reports, one picture sees the Western alliance as trying to keep as much "controlled chaos" as possible on the ground in The Middle East while a plan is in place to strengthen the Sunni states and install Sunni governments where they currently do not exist. This is a duel plan to cut off Iran and to deal with the global banking crisis according to various analysts. This also keeps the Saudi's happy, which sometimes I think is the foremost goal of Washington.

Another report below from PressTV of Iran states that Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq are those arming the group 'Free Syrian Army,' and that a week before the attack that took out four Syrian cabinet members a warning was given to "defect or face death." It is amazing to see the players of Biblical prophecy moving much more onto the main stage of the world. Does anyone else find it bothersome that while actual major events happen around the world, here in the West and especially in America we are assaulted with the usual celebrity beak-up or make-up gossip and nonsense that passes for news? It has become almost essential to go to the foreign press for world news coverage and we must praise The Lord for the Internet.

In the midst of this mix of events is the Magog alliance mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39, and the current situation may be just what it takes to "put hooks into your jaws." Just in the last year or so we have already witness a reshaping of the map that follows the Scriptural picture with changes in Egypt and Libya and that reshaping continues.

Russia Challenges US-NATO: Russia prepares army for Syrian deployment