Prophecy For Youth

“Fiery torch in the sheaves” – Nuclear war in Lebanon?

The situation for Israel is critical – will she now become that “fiery torch in the sheaves”? In 1973 Israel prepared to use nuclear weapons but did not need to follow through.

A number of times in biblical prophecy we see descriptions of things that are obviously modern weapons of huge destructive power. Zechariah 12:6 might well be a description of the time when Israel will actually use atomic weapons. And the nation acquired them for just the type of threat that is unfolding right now!

Hezbollah has now has an estimated 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel. As Israel was able to stop many of the far deadlier ‘guided’ missiles being supplied from Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon has adapted. Like the Jewish people’s historical Nazi enemies, Hezbollah has constructed underground missile factories. It is a fact that Israel will suffer substantial damage in a war such as this, even with her expensive hi-tech missile defense system.

Israel’s Co-ordinated Enemies

Now that Hezbollah’s unofficial ally, Hamas, is practicing ‘human wave’ tactics (pushing civilians ahead of armed terrorists), Israel is under serious threat. A combined attack in the north with thousands of missiles, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinians break through her southern Gaza border, could overwhelm the little nation. Having high regard for human life, Israel would need great numbers of troops, to help limit the civilian loss of life among the Hamas terrorists”human shield’, and to shepherd them back over the border. For this reason, Israel may have to end any war with Lebanon, fast. Like a “fiery torch in the sheaves”?

Israel’s Nuclear Deterrent – “Fiery Torch in the Sheaves”?

Nuclear weapons don’t have to be city smashers. There is such a thing as a tactical nuclear weapon, and Israel has them. A tactical nuclear weapon is one designed to be used on a battlefield to destroy targets as small as an army group.

In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israeli general, Moshe Dayan, threatened Israel’s enemies when he hinted that nuclear weapons would be used if there was a risk of the nation being overrun. Hezbollah has made southern Lebanon a ‘rabbit warren’ of underground bunkers and tunnels, machine gun nests and anti-tank missile ambushes. To defeat these prepared fortifications, Israel would lose many soldiers if it used conventional weapons alone.
 
 
 

Keeping Ahead of her enemies

Israel had the Jericho Tactical Nuclear Missile in 1973. In the years since there have been great advances in smaller, more accurate nuclear weapons, and also thermobaric weapons, that have some similar effects as small nuclear weapons but without the nuclear fallout. These types of weapons could destroy all of Hezbollah’s fortifications in a split second, killing the Hezbollah terrorists with heat, with asphyxiation as oxygen is burnt up and with collapsing of tunnels by the force of the explosions. The Hezbollah fortifications would not have the depth, strength or the air purification to withstand these weapons.

With these fortified missile launching sites destroyed, Israel could then concentrate on destroying Hezbollah’s weapons’ infrastructure, the weapon factories and their communication and command centers.

Giving the Israeli population the special type of medical iodine (don’t try this at home), the nation could survive the radiation, though any amount is a long-term health risk. The Lebanese population in the south, whom Israel has warned to leave if war breaks out, could probably return in twelve months.

Strike now with the gospel!

Though the Zechariah passage has it’s fullest meaning prior to Christ’s second-coming deliverance of Israel, the “Day of the Lord” covers the whole seven-year Tribulation period. There will be many wars at this time and we are seeing ‘the stage is set’, as they say, right now for this period to begin – which means we depart.
If you knew you were going to die in a few weeks, whom would you share the Gospel with? Wouldn’t you make a list of those you could realistically get to in time?
 
 

Quite often I have found that the thing that God wants us to do is right in front of us. Make that list!

Being raptured rather than dying is great for us. But either way, we will no longer be able to help those unsaved people whom we could have reached, those whom God has deliberately put in our paths. Sure, we still have to plan for the future, but the signs are clearer every day.

One day I won’t be here to write another blog post- and you won’t be here to read it either.
 
 
 

Pastor Aaron ,
Prophecy for Youth Ministry
@YouthProphecy

Image Credits

1.Dimona Alleged Nuclear Facility https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ – David Jones on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgjones/
2.Hezbollah Machine Gun Nest – By Frode Bjorshol CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
3. Hezbollah tunnels – By Israel Defense Forces (Hezbollah Secret Bunker) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
4. Jericho Missile – The original uploader was טל ענבר at Hebrew Wikipedia CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
5. Spice Bomb – By Bin im Garten (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons