THE SIXTH TRUMPET Iraq

 THE SIXTH TRUMPET
 SOT readers should know this Trumpet well as it has
been quoted many times in past editions. But for new
readers when will have to recapitulate on some issues.
Revelation 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard
a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is
before God, 14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the
trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the
great river Euphrates. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the
vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of
fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the
horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths
issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By these three
was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the
smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their
tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had
heads, and with them they do hurt. 20 And the rest of the
men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented
not of the works of their hands, 21 neither repented they
of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
fornication, nor of their thefts. [Abridged]
 Attention has been drawn previously to the description
of modern armaments, here described as using “fire and
smoke and brimstone.” Note also the means of delivery:
“Their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their
tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with
them they do hurt.” We appreciate that a 1st Century AD
writer would not be able to describe modern warfare in our
terminology, but the description is discernable today:
“Fire from their mouth” = guns, cannons, tanks.
“Smoke” [which kills] = poisonous gases.
“Tails like serpents” = mobile rocket launchers.
Revelation 9:9 also mentions “Breastplates of iron; and
the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of
many horses running to battle” = heavy armour and tanks
and the sound of helicopter gunships?
THE RESURGENCE OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
 With the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), currently sweeping across north and central
Iraq, the governments of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and
Kurdistan have been in panic mode. Old rivalry has
skewed their perception of the horrendous threat that
has now become a nightmare of murder and butchery.
IRAN’S INTERVENTION WILL BROARDEN CONFLICT
The Globe and Mail by Patrick Martin
Published Thursday, Jun. 12 2014, 8:19 PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Jun. 12 2014, 8:30 PM EDT
The prospect of Iranian intervention in the Iraq crisis
threatens to turn Iraq into a bloody battleground between Sunnis
and Shiites. Spurred by threats against Shia holy sites in
southern Iraq, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced
on Thursday his country was prepared to wage “combat” to
repel the jihadist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL), which is currently sweeping across north and
central Iraq. Indeed, two battalions of the elite Quds Forces from
Iran are reported by the Wall Street Journal already to have been
deployed to help the Iraqi Army deal with the militant forces. In
a speech on Thursday, Mr. Rouhani drew a line in the sand. “The
Islamic Republic of Iran will not tolerate this violence and we will
not tolerate this terror,” he said. “We will fight and combat
violence, extremism, and terrorism in the region and the world