Recent archaeological discovery near Jerusalem

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Numerous archaeological discoveries were made throughout Israel during the past few years. The most recent discovery surpassed all previous discoveries.

Discovered during an exploratory dig prior to the construction of a new road 5 kilometers from Jerusalem, a 9,000-year-old city, which dates back to the Neolithic Period, also known as the New Stone Age were likely inhabited by people of faith. It predates the first known settlement in in Jerusalem by about 3,500 years.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, which unveiled the site on 16 July 2019, said 2,000 to 3,000 people lived in the ancient city, “one of the largest of its kind in the region.”

During the 16-month excavation, archaeologists discovered large buildings, separated by well-planned alleys, used for residential and public purposes.

Pieces of jewelry (including bracelets made of stone and mother of pearl), figurines, locally made flint axes, sickle blades, knives and thousands of arrowheads were also unearthed.

Sheds held a large number of well-preserved legume seeds, something the archaeologists called “astonishing” given the amount of time that has passed.

In preparation for the release of the excavated area, the entire site was documented using advanced 3D technology that will enable research of every detail digitally. The IAA is planning to build a display for those curious about the site.

Jacob Vardi, one of the archaeologists said: “The discovery changes what we thought we knew about the area. It’s a major site that must have had connections with other (undiscovered) villages. The area must have been more vibrant than we knew. The question is, where are those villages?”

Is the Middle East on the brink of a major conflict?

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A dangerous and unstable situation is developing in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. On Wednesday, 17 July 2019, the Uglich, a Russian corvette, carrying artillery and Kalibr long-range missiles entered the Mediterranean and docked in Syria. Russia also deployed S-300 missile defense systems in Syria during February 2019.

On 20 June 2019, a US RQ-4A Global Hawk BAMS-D surveillance Drone was shot down by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC), fuelling the tensions even more. The United States sent a contingent of war ships to the Persian Gulf as a warning to Iran after three oil tankers were attacked, apparently by Iran.

On Thursday, 18 July 2019, the USS Boxer, a US amphibious assault ship, destroyed an Iranian Drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it came within 914 meters of the ship. Iran denied the claims of the US military.

As a result of the mounting tensions with Iran, the United States decided to deploy 500 troops to Saudi Arabia. The new troops would be in addition to a small number of troops and support personnel already in Saudi Arabia readying a Patriot missile defense battery and a runway.

It is generally believed that Iran will use its proxies, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Islamic Jihad in Gaza to attack Israel in case of a war with Iran. It is in this context that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Thursday, 18 July 2019: “Israel will deploy great force. Even if we have to stand alone against Iran and its entities we will.” To Hezbollah, he warned: “There will be no immunity for anyone who fires missiles at Israel, even if they hide in populated areas.”

Are we on a fast track in seeing the fulfillment of Biblical prophesies in our lifetime?

Latest developments in Israel

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Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance Inaugurates Tel Aviv Innovation Lab

On 10 June, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, a world-leading Franco-Japanese strategic partnership of auto giants, inaugurated its innovation lab in Tel Aviv, announcing close collaborations with over 10 Israeli companies and start-ups. The new facility was set up at the Atidim High-Tech Park in partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority and CityZone, the Tel Aviv Municipality’s “living lab” where advanced technological solutions for smart city ventures are vetted and tested. Called the Alliance Innovation Lab Tel Aviv, the centre will focus on sensors for autonomous driving, cybersecurity and Big Data, and will work with the participating Israeli companies to develop Proof of Concepts as well as prototypes. The lab will allow the testing of technologies with real vehicles.

Fourth Annual Israel Education Summit in Tel Aviv Makes Global Impact

The fourth annual Israel Education Summit brought 1,000 industry leaders from all around the globe to the Rabin Centre in Tel Aviv. Fifty international speakers represented 12 countries at the summit, and 120 international delegates travelled from 16 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America to participate and engage with Israeli industry leaders. The summit’s themes included the future of work, bridging the skills gap, disruptive technologies and business models, upskilling, women in leadership, mindfulness in school and workforce, sustainability models for non-profits, the state of ed-tech and investment sentiment and trends.
2019 also saw a wave of new partnerships for EdTech Israel, including with GSVlabs, the leading innovation services platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. GSVlabs creates powerful network effects by catalyzing the global innovation economy. A partnership was also announced with India’s Sri Aurobindo Society, with the vision of meeting India’s education needs by connecting them with Israel’s talent, co

Israel’s Tourism Triumph

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Edwin Black, the New York Times bestselling author IBM and the Holocaust and Financing the Flames wrote an insightful article for the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies under the caption “Israel’s Tourism Triumph.

Black highlighted the importance of Christian pilgrimage to the increase of tourism numbers and also the two most visited sites in Jerusalem.

“Christians constitute the majority of tourists visiting Israel, many on religious quests. Generally speaking, Christian pilgrims are completely detached from Palestinian and Israeli political dynamics. Christian tourists can be seen in Israel every day of the year.”

“Two Jerusalem tunnels have emerged as among Israel’s greatest attractions, luring tourists from many countries. Testifying from below ground, these tunnels manifest Israel’s incontrovertible connection to the land and its history.”

“Most prominent are the Western Wall or Kotel tunnels. Only an approximately 200-foot section of the Kotel is above ground. The rest – nearly 1,600 feet – lies underground and can only be experienced via the tunnel complex. This monolithic testament to Judaism’s ancient connection to Biblical Jerusalem is revealed in the enormity of the massive stones and their tell-tale chisel marks. One such stone weighs more than 500 tons – one of the heaviest ever handled.”

“The second major underground attraction is Hezekiah’s Tunnel, a below-ground water conduit approximately 600 yards in length (1,200 cubits). This length corresponds to the tunnel’s stone inscription discovered in 1880 and now residing in a Turkish museum. The amazing engineering feat was presumably the work of King Hezekiah ahead of a siege by Assyrian King Sennacherib at the end of the eighth century BCE, described and alluded to in several Biblical passages. Among them is 2 Chronicles 32:2-4, which states, “When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. ‘Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?’ they said.”

While the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) campaign to prevent people to visit Israel, the tourism industry in Israel experience an unprecedented level of growth.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) is designed to delegitimize the State of Israel. Its object is to target the country’s very identity and legacy.

The phenomenal growth in tourism numbers to Israel is a clear indication of the failure of the BDS campaign.

Israel – A tiny nation with exceptional abilities

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Israel is geographically a tiny nation among other nations, but a giant in terms of scientific and technical advancement. Two recent breakthroughs confirm the agility of its people. Those nations choosing to boycott Israel do it to their own detriment.

1. On 21 February 2019, SpaceIL, a private Israeli company, launched a lunar lander called Beresheet from Cape Canaveral on a used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in an attempt to land on the surface of the moon. It carried a DVD-sized digital-analog hybrid disks bearing copies of the Bible, drawings from Israeli schoolchildren, English Wikipedia and 30 million pages of records representing a “backup” of humanity’s knowledge.

Although the landing was unsuccessful due to technical problems, SpaceIL already started planning for the next launch.

Israel Aerospace Industries, the contractor who built the craft, has signed an agreement with a German company to build similar landers for the European Space Agency in the future.

2. A team of Israeli researchers has “printed” the world’s first 3-D vascularized, engineered heart. On 15 April 2019, a team of Tel Aviv University researchers revealed the heart, which was made using a patient’s own cells and biological material. Until now, scientists have successfully printed only tissues without blood vessels.

“This was the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers,” said Prof. Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University’s School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the Center for Nanoscience an Nanotechnology, and the Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology, who was the lead researcher for the study.

Israel is indeed a tiny nation with the abilities of a superpower nation.

The Impact of a US Withdrawal from Syria

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The announcement by President Donald Trump to withdraw US troops from Syria was met with surprise and astonishment by US allies. Israel in particular was caught off-guard by this sudden decision by Trump, which could have major implications for the security of Israel.

Turkey is poised to use the opportunity of a US withdrawal to attack the Kurds, an ally of the US against ISIS. Commentators on the Middle East and allies of the US are skeptical about the wisdom of such a decision.

The resurgence of ISIS and other radical groups in Syria after the withdrawal of US troops is a real possibility. How will this sudden move by Pres. Trump impact Israel in the short and medium term?

In the short term, Israel will continue with its air campaign against Iranian expansionism and the stockpiling of advanced weapons by Hizbullah in Syria. In the medium term, after the completion of a US withdrawal, Israel should be concerned about further radicalization of Syria and the effects it will have on the security on the northern border.

President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria could lead to 3 scenarios:

  1. ISIS and their radical allies could regroup and start a guerilla war, in the form of suicide bombings and the bombing of public places.
  2. Iran, Hizbullah and their proxies could interpret the US withdrawal as an opportunity to launch attacks against Israel.
  3. Syria could become another Iraq – a destabilized country on the borders of Israel.

A destabilized Middle East will most certainly affect the stability of the world. In an already dangerous world, cool heads are needed.

Let us not forget a fourth and most important scenario. Are the developments in Syria a precursor of the Gog, Magog war, as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Only time will tell.

The Syrian War Scenario

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A major humanitarian catastrophe was avoided when Russia and Turkey decided to create a 10-kilometer de-militarized zone instead of an all-out attack on Idlib in Syria. Idlib is the last stronghold of the rebel forces in Syria.

Does it mean this is the end of the Syrian war? It is probably not. My analysis is that this is only the beginning of a larger conflict in the Middle East. With so many military forces in the region, the risk of a devastating war is growing.

The military forces supporting the Assad regime in Syria are Russia, Iran and Hezbullah of Lebanon, with Turkey supporting Russia and Iran. The military forces in the region whose aim it is to contain the expansionist influence of Russia and Iran consist of the United States, United Kingdom, France and Israel.

Israel made it abundantly clear that they will not tolerate Iranian military bases in Syria from where Iran could launch attacks on Israel. It is a long-standing Iranian policy to “wipe Israel of the map”.

The downing of a Russian IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft by Syrian S-200 anti-aircraft missiles on Monday night, 17 September 2018, ups the stakes even more. The Russian Ministry of Defense blamed Israel for creating a dangerous situation when four F-16 fighter jets executed an operation on an Iranian base in Latakia. The Syrian army mistook the Russian reconnaissance aircraft for the Israeli F-16 fighter jets.

The developments in Syria are seemingly the most important event on the prophetic calendar.

The impact of the Syrian War on Israel

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The complexity of the Syrian war has profound implications for Israel. Iranian and Hizbullah forces are embedded with Syrian forces and are moving closer to the Israeli border on the Golan Heights. As a result Israel is strengthening its military forces on the border with Syria.

The outflow of the conflict is that thousands of refugees are fleeing to the Israeli border creating another set of problems. It is obvious that for security reasons Israel cannot allow thousands of refugees to enter the country.

Contrary to the constant negative reports in the mainstream world media, Israel reach out to the refugees to assist them in their hour of need – as they always do during catastrophes around the world.

Israel decided to treat seriously wounded refugees in Israeli hospitals and helping with tents on the Syrian side of the border. The help of the Israelis stunned some of these refugees after years of indoctrination that Israel is the great enemy.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is closely watching the unfolding situation in Syria and is ready for any eventuality. The Syrian, Iranian and Hizbullah forces are well aware that the IDF will not allow them to enter the Israeli side of the Golan.

The War in Syria and surrounding developments

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The war in Syria turned into a battleground in which nations are drawn to the Middle East theatre like a moth to candlelight. This is very prophetic.

The latest development of Turkish forces entering Syria is extremely significant. President Erdogan of Turkey wants to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian –Turkey border. To be able to do that his military forces needs to push back the Kurdish YPG forces, backed by the United States. The YPG played a crucial role in helping US forces chasing ISIS out of the area.

Meanwhile, Russia silently reneged on its statement in the media during November 2017, to withdraw all its forces from Syria. Instead, President Vladimir Putin decided to build more military bases and bolster his army in Syria with 6,000 more troops. To keep the balance and protect its interests, the US decided to stay in Syria indefinitely.

While Hizbullah strategically withdrew from Syria to set up bases near Israel’s northern border, Iran is pushing the envelope even further by supplying Hizbullah with precision weapons to confront Israel in the next war. Iran is effectively turning Syria and Lebanon  into a potential war zone.

Israel will not allow Iran to supply Hizbullah with strategic and precision weapons posing a major threat to Israel. Only time will tell who will make the first move.

The presence of US, Russian, Turkish and Iranian forces in Syria and Hizbullah militias, a proxy of Iran in Lebanon, is turning the Middle East into a powder keg. Any serious scholar of the Middle East will watch these developments very closely.

The growing threat against Israel

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The growing influence of Iran in the Red Sea and Mediterranean is of great concern to both Israel and the United States. An added concern is the presence of ISIS forces in the Sinai, which pose a threat to both Israel and Egypt.

The pressure on ISIS by Western forces in Yemen, Iraq and parts of Syria forced them to move to the rugged terrain of the Sinai where they made use of the numerous caves to hide and launched their attacks on Israel and Egypt. Some of these caves are very difficult to reach by military forces.

Since the Hizbullah forces fighting with the Syrian forces in the Syrian conflict, they became bolder with their threats against Israel presumably due to their years of fighting experience gained in the war theatre in Syria. Another reason for their boldness is the fact that Iran supplied them with advanced weapon systems.

In the latest development, Russia and Iran is considering the deployment of ground forces to Syria, something Western forces are watching very closely.

On the Korean Peninsula, North Korea ignores any warnings against the test of ballistic missiles, to the point that the United States deployed more military hardware in the East Sea and South Korea. China is an ally of North Korea and is not so happy with these deployments.

It is well known that North Korea assist Syria and Iran in the development of weapons which could potentially reach Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.This axis of evil should be watched very closely.

The first consignment of the new F-35 advanced bombers from the US landed in Israel during April 2017. The F-35 will give Israel a strategic edge in the Middle East and came at an appropriate time.

Are we witnessing the early stages of the building up of the Gog of Magog forces as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39?