As I have stated several times in the past, it really appears that we are in the early stages of the nations aligning themselves for the Psalm 83 war. I have dubbed this conflict Asaph’s war, in honor of the psalmist.

The belligerent parties in this war are made up of the Arab nations surrounding Israel, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. It may also include some of the smaller nations of the Arabian peninsula, like Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and etc. This war does not include the nations of the Ezekiel 38-39 account of the Gog and Magog war. Notable by their absence are Turkey, Libya, and Iran. Nations who have a long history of animosity toward Israel.

As I have explained before, the Sunni/Shi’ite split appears to be largely responsible for the reason these last nations abstain from this war. This leaves us with the problem of the Assad regime in Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Shi’ite sympathizers.

The Syrian government has been battling a rebellion for well over a year now, which has left upwards of 15,000 Syrians dead. The death toll has spurred many in the west to call for action against Assad, but I question the wisdom of interfering. While Assad is a bad guy, I can guarantee that he will be replaced by something worse! Under Assad people of different faiths have been able to live together, however, once he is replaced by the Muslim Brotherhood, the only faith allowed will be Islam, or those of other faiths who pay the dhimmi tax.

Today, June 2, Debka file is reporting that Turkey is now abandoning the Syrian rebels, after supporting them for 14 months.  Turkey is now joining Russia and Iran, in support of Assad.

This is interesting. We now have three members of the Gog/Magog alliance siding with Assad, against Saudi Arabia, who are actively supporting the rebels.

This is really a no-brainer; I can predict the outcome with my eyes closed. Assad will be forced out, and Syria will join the Sunni alliance. I can’t say when, but this will be the ultimate outcome of the current conflict. Assad may be able to hold on for some months, or even years, but it is looking more and more likely that some outside interference will take place to assist the rebels, and end his tenure.

Once Assad is gone, Hezbollah will lose their major partner and will have to join with Saudi Arabia, which is unlikely, or they too will be forced out.

One question remaining is what will happen in Iraq? The current government is friendly toward Iran, but the people there are Arabs. Once Assad is toppled, I think we will see the rebellion move from Syria, and Lebanon, to Iraq.

Another is “What about Libya?” It appears to me that one of three scenarios will occur with this country; either they will be too bogged down with internal struggles to be involved with an Arab attack on Israel, they will side with Iran, or they will come to some sort of temporary peace with Israel. I can’t say which, but it will be interesting to watch.

Once these occur, the Psalm 83 coalition will be in place. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is the Iranian nuclear question. I expect 2012, or early 2013, will see some resolution to that question.  Iran is producing more and more enriched uranium every day, and has no intention of stopping.  They are using the negotiations as a stalling tactic.  It’s too bad our leaders aren’t bright enough to see this.

Israel has gone alone against Iraq’s, and Syria’s, nuclear programs with outstanding success. Should they go against Iran’s nuclear installations, they have a much more difficult task. Iran has spread out their nuclear facilities in well fortified sites, deep underground, and in residential areas. This is in contrast to Iraq and Syria, which only had one site each, in remote locations.

I’m sure Israel would prefer to have the help of either Europe or the USA in this venture, but I have to ask, “At what cost would that help arrive?” There is no doubt that if they were to help Israel out militarily, they will want more concessions, in land for peace exchanges with the Palestinians. As the last several concessions have proven, such exchanges always lead to more attacks by the Arabs. Furthermore, if the west does help Israel in this venture, it will appear as weakness to the Arabs.

If this were the case, the Arabs will reason “It was because they couldn’t do it by themselves!” This will not help Israel’s long term security but will actually encourage an all-out attack by the Arabs, once they are sure that neither Europe, nor the US, would assist Israel. The Psalm 83 war scenario would be accelerated.

One remote possibility is that the Arabs could attack Israel while the Israeli Air Force is in the middle of an attack on Iran. With the majority of the Israeli Air Force engaged, 1,000 miles away in Iran, Israel would be vulnerable to an Arab attack. For this reason Israel should not cooperate with Saudi Arabia in an assault on Iran, as tempting as that might be.

The prophecies of the bible are inevitable. It is impossible to stop God from doing what He has declared. On the other hand, there are no definite times given in Scripture, so this tells us that these events might be delayed. If the world would repent of the evil it is up to, and turn to the God of the bible, He could delay these events for a generation or more. While I wish they would, I don’t think it’s likely they will. This world is on a collision course with its creator.  I think it is more probable that the Psalm 83 war will occur in less than a decade, perhaps even within a year or two.