The following report is of critical importance to all Bible-believing Christians.

"Intelligence Digest," founded in 1938 by Kenneth de Courcy, has been the leading independent source of geopolitical and strategic intelligence for nearly 60 years. It is available by subscription -- phone 1-800-237-8400 (ext 72) if you are interested in subscribing.

"Intelligence Digest" had this to say about this report:

"This could prove to be one of the most important issues that "Intelligence Digest" has published during its entire 60-year history, on a par with our famous reports in 1938 about the coming collapse of France, or with our world-exclusive scoop in 1949 about the first Soviet atomic-bomb test (we were even ahead of the CIA on that one, according to recently-released CIA Memorandum 225). In view of the importance of what we have to say, we are happy to wave all copyright restrictions for this issue which we would urge you to copy and distribute as widely as you can.

So what is so important?

We have always been deeply pessimistic about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, but this pessimism has at least been tempered in recent years by our belief that the Arab/Iranian war party would not or could not exercise its war option until the early years of the new century - and during the time remaining, it was still possible that American diplomacy could succeed in establishing a stable balance of power in the region capable of maintaining the peace (or, at least, the absence of war) indefinitely.

However, intelligence received in this office during the past few weeks points to a greatly reduced time-frame.

There is now evidence to support the view that the Middle East's moment of truth could come as early as the second half of 1998 - and the reason for this is as dramatic as the news itself.

"Few would disagree that the danger of a new Arab-Israeli war has been brought considerably closer by recent Russian actions."

There is every possibility that Moscow, for whatever reasons of its own, has made a decision to precipitate an Arab-Israeli war within that time-frame.

The evidence for this conclusion is laid out in full in the first of this week's "Briefings". None of the evidence is conclusive (it would be strange if it were), and even if our assessment is correct, the point of no return has not been passed.

However, few would disagree on seeing the evidence that the danger of a new Arab-Israeli war has been brought considerably closer by recent Russian actions.

The next 18 months in the Middle East will be fraught with danger, and it will take statecraft of the highest possible order on the part of the United States if a catastrophic war in the Middle East involving chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons is to be avoided.

The Next, and Final, Arab-Israeli War

Intelligence received in this office during the past few weeks points to a greatly reduced time-frame in the Middle East. There is now evidence to support the view that the next, and final, Arab-Israeli war could come as early as the second half of 1998.

There are four main reasons why we have previously argued that the next Arab-Israeli war is unlikely to occur before 2000.

The first of these is that there is no logic in going to war before every possible concession has been wrung out of the enemy by peaceful means - and for all their public opposition to the peace process, those in the Arab/ Iranian war party have always understood that negotiating a return of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and possibly even the Golan Heights made much more sense than fighting for them.

So, we have argued, war was never likely to come before the end of the peace process, sometime after the year 2000.

Now, however, the feeling in the war camp is that most of the major concessions have been gained. No one believes any longer that the Israeli army will come down off the West Bank watershed, abandon the Jordan valley, or retreat from the Golan Heights - all or any of which would be worth waiting for.

Israel's previous Labour government might have been moving in this direction, but it lost the election last year by a 10% margin of the Jewish vote, and opinions have hardened still further as a result of the recent suicide bombings. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be unpopular, but there is no Jewish mandate for further territorial retreat.

Although the gains achieved by the Arabs at the negotiating table are worth having (there are 40,000 armed Palestinians in the West Rank and Gaza), little more can now be gained - and much could be lost if pressure on Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Yasser Arafat to crack down on the Islamist terrorists of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were to lead to a Palestinian civil war.

The Neutralization of lsrael's Nuclear Deterrent

The second brake on an immediate Arab-Israeli war has been the need for the Arab states and Iran to neutralize Israel's nuclear deterrent. There are increasing indications that this has, in effect, been done even without the acquisition of a major nuclear capability by any of the Arab states or Iran.

Recent intelligence has shown that Syria has far more Scud C missiles (armed with advanced-type chemical warheads) than previously thought. Most important, the latest intelligence shows that Syria has an unusually high proportion of launchers to missiles (2-to-1 instead of the usual 10-to-1). This will enable Syria to launch a barrage of missiles at Israel in one go.

With such a capability, Syria might legitimately think that Israel would not dare use its nuclear arsenal.

"Turkey is Going to War with Russia"

Third, since Israel signed a military pact with Turkey in early 1996, we have argued that Syria cannot possibly go to war with Israel until Turkey is neutralized. There are only two ways this can be achieved, and both are being tried.

The first is to change the nature of Turkey's government. Ankarn does face an increasing threat from the fundamentalist trend, so much so, in fact, that our latest information is that the Turkish army has been making preparations for an Algerian-style Islamist uprising (see Intelligence pointers).

The second way of neutralizing Turkey is through Russia, and it is this prospect that is most worrysome.

There is now a distinct possibility (openly aired by Turkey's former prime minister Tansu Ciller) that Turkey could find itself at war with Russia over the supply of Russian S-300 missiles to Cyprus by the end of 1998.

Turkey has said delivery of the missiles would be a cause for war with Cyprus; Russia has said it intends to deliver by the end of 1998, and now respected former Turkish prime minister Tansu Ciller, who was also foreign minister in the last government, has warned that unless there is a change in policy "Turkey is going to war with Russia."

But why would Russia want to provoke a war with NATO member Turkey? It is possible (we will put it no higher than that for now) that Russia has made a strategic decision to make a last-gasp bid to regain its former superpower status by providing the Islamic world with the means to defeat Israel and reconquer Jerusalem.

What is the evidence for this? We know already that Russia is actively arming both Syria and Iran. We know that it is intentionally heading for a confrontation with Turkey over the seemingly small issue (for Russia) of supplying air-defense missiles to Cyprus. And there is something else:

The final reason why we have previously assumed that the final Middle-East showdown is still some years away is because of America's support for Israel and the still-fresh lessons of Saddam Hussein's ill-fated adventure into Kuwait. We have long argued that the best way to neutralize America would be by using nuclear-armed terrorists to blackmail the U.S. into inaction, but we have also assumed that it is unlikely that any of the Iranian-controlled terrorists groups yet has that capacity. Until now, that is.

Lebed's Coded Threat

Whether or not any of these suitcase nuclear bombs have actually gone missing is now almost irrelevant. After Lebed's statement, what American president is going to call the bluff of a terrorist group that says it has one (or more) of these bombs (described by Lebed as "ideal for nuclear terror") which it is going to explode in an American city (or cities) in the event the United States moves to protect Israel against an Arab/Iranian assault? And what of Israel while all this is going on around it? The more information that leaks out about Syrian and Iranian unconventional capabilities, the closer Israel comes to launching its own first strike.

With Turkey possibly heading for war with Russia, with Iran and Syria arming themselves with deadly unconventional weapons and the means to deliver them, and with the Palestinians moving toward an armed intifada in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the temptation to strike first will become intense, as has been openly hinted at by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

At Netenyahu's 11 September meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, he pointed out that Iran would have acquired enough ballistic-missile technology "within a year to 18 months" so as not to require outside assistance. And because of this, both in the meeting in private, and outside the meeting in public, Netanyahu warned: "There must be an appropriate response in the time that remains."

In other words, both Israel and Iran, and Turkey and Russia, are on an 18-month countdown to war. 1998 is beginning to look like a year to fear."

Joseph de Courcy, Intelligence Digest, 19 September, 1997

As Christians, we are not to fear! Rather we are to watch and pray that we would be found worthy to escape the judgment coming upon the earth and stand before the Son of Man. However, the Bible is clear that a wise man sees danger coming and makes provision. Therefore, in the time we have left, pray and seek the Lord's guidance on what you should be doing in the months ahead, both spiritually and physically. The Bible is very clear -- there are hard times a head. It should be obvious to everyone that any kind of war in the Middle East, let alone a nuclear one, or (God forbid) a nuclear event on U.S. soil, would drastically change our way of life. Certainly the Stock Market, which is now the preferred "savings" vehicle for millions of Christians, would crash. A war would at the very least would certainly cut off oil to this country and cause economic turmoil. It is also possible that this opportunity will be seized by the One-World elitists to advance their cause. A nuclear event on our soil would cause Clinton to declare Marshal law, suspend the constitution, and do who knows what else to advance the agenda of the One-World elitists (A one-world government is predicted by the Bible).

It is not much of a stretch to envision the U.N. coming to real power as a result of a nuclear event. The nations would be willing to turn over their nuclear weapons to the U.N. to guarantee peace in our day (who can make war with the beast?).

To guard against future nuclear terrorism, the "mark of the beast system" would be implemented to ensure proper identification of all citizens. This would be a small price to pay to guarantee safety, would it not?

Of course, the Anti-Christ will most likely be setting forth these mandates to guarantee peace...he is, after all, called the "Man of Peace."

Whether or not you are pre-Trib, mid-Trib, post-Trib or pre-Wrath, is really academic at this juncture. We are rapidly approaching the time of Jacob's trouble and that will have consequences for the entire world. Now is the day of your salvation. Jesus is returning for a holy and spotless bride. How holy and spotless are you? Are there still areas of your life where sin reigns? Allow the Lord to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness before it is too late. And what of the lost and dying world? How can they know the Light of the Gospel unless you tell them?

The signs of Jesus' return are all around us, but how many of us are still living like it will never happen? How many people, even so-called believers, are living as "in the days of Noah", totally unaware of the nearness of judgment and the Lord's return?

In the time that remains, I am going to be accelerating my efforts to cover the signs of the Lord's return as they relate to current events. Please feel free to copy them, distribute them, and use them as witnessing tools for your friends, family, and neighbors. Before you witness, be sure to bind the power of the enemy that "has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that they cannot even see the light of the Gospel."

Also, if you would, please pray for me that I might be effective in the "Watchman" ministry.

Maranatha, and may the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, grant you His peace which transcends all human understanding.

God Bless you all!

Note from To His Glory Ministries: If you have not studied the newsletters previously published on the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel by Russian-armed and Russian-led Islamic countries, please do so by following the links listed at the end of this article.

Prophetic Links:

Peace, Peace, but there is no Peace! Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 1 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 2 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 3 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 4 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 5 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 6 Ezekiel 38 Invasion of Israel - Part 7