Israel: suddenly surrounded by threats!

Rapidly developing events in the Middle East have placed Israel  in a precarious position.  On January 12, the pro-Western government of Lebanon collapsed, when ten Hezbollah ministers and the State Minister resigned.  Subsequently, a Hezbollah-backed Prime Minister was selected who is said to be a proxy for Iran (Associated Press, January 26, 2011). This places an avowed enemy on Israel’s northern border.

With the imminent fall of the pro-Western government in Egypt, the 130-mile border between Egypt and Israel could now become a second front to defend for a thinly stretched Israeli Defense Force.  Now, with turmoil erupting in Jordan, Israel faces yet another potentially hostile neighbor with a large population of Palestinian refugees.  For the last several decades, Israel has had peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, yet this could change in the days and months ahead as pro-western and “Israel-friendly” governments topple in the increasingly volatile and rapidly changing Middle East. 

Jesus warned that just before His return, the world would see “Jerusalem surrounded by [Gentile] armies” bent on her desolation (Luke 21:20-24).  The Hebrew prophets warned that just before the end of the age, Judah and her Western allies (primarily American and Britain) would “stumble” at the same time and that “half of the city [of Jerusalem] shall go into captivity” (Hosea 5:5; Zechariah 14:2). 

We appear to be watching this very scenario developing right in front of our eyes!