Middle East UFO or meteor sighting turns out to be Russian missile

Israel was in havoc last night. So was Lebanon, Iran, Syria (for a different reason), Armenia, Turkey, Georgia, Jordan and other countries. Twitter came alive with panic and wonder. Dozens of phone calls were made to police stations. Youtube videos popped up with blaring headlines and triple question marks. Why? At dusk and into dark luminous lights began appearing in the sky over Lebanon. Many thought they were UFOs, others wondered if they were missiles. Some said they were meteorites, but Israel authorities said they were not. Information was conflicting and as long as the lights remained unidentified, panic rose.

Here is one example from Twitter:
BREAKING: Luminous bodies and meteors appear over North #Lebanon, #Marjaayoun and many areas in the #Bekaa.

Twitter/Yfrog/Instagram came alive with photos, some real,

And some fake,

Syrian State News reported "An aerolite piece flickering over the sky of Damascus was observed yesterday around 8:30 P.M. Chairman of the Syrian Society of Astrology, Dr. Mohamad al-Assiri, asserted that a 20 to 30 centimeter diameter aerolite piece burnt in the troposphere near the Earth sending light flickers for about 30 seconds. Al-Assiri added that the aerolite appeared as a strong light spot observed by the inhabitants of Damascus and the sparkles stretched to Aleppo and to some parts of Lebanon. No damage from the aerolite, none of its components fell on the earth, was reported." Aerolite is another name for meteorite.

But then they inexplicably used the following graphic to illustrate the news story!!!

Ynet News more soberly reported: "Lebanon: Unidentified objects – meteors
Lebanese media also reported that an unidentified object was observed in the sky. They quoted scientists who claimed the "explanation was scientific" and that the object was most likely a "large meteorite."The LBCI network reported that: "Luminous objects and meteor bursts appeared over north Lebanon, Marjaayoun, the Bekaa and the Syrian-Turkish border."

And a short while later reported this:
Israelis nationwide report seeing UFO
"Hundreds flood police with reports of UFO in nation's skies; Astronomical Association chairman says object isn't a meteor, flew above Lebanon. Similar sighting in Norway in 2009 turned out to be failed missile test."

RT's summary is excellent and is accompanied by good photos.

Today, the Kuwait State News reported this:
"Russian military announced Thursday they have successfully test-fired a new version of the TOPOL-M series, code-named RS-12M. The rocket, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was test fired from a Russian military base in Southeast Russia, Interfax news quoted military sources as saying. The missile hit its target in Kazakhstan in central Asia precisely..."

Meanwhile, also being Tweeted at the same time the mysterious lights were seen over half the nations in the Middle East, were reports of a white powder drifting down on Syrian citizens. Subsequent reports of people entering emergency rooms with symptoms of burning and choking appeared and it was strongly suspected that Syria officials had used a chemical weapon.

Report: Unidentified gas used in Syria
"Syrian opposition says Assad's Air Force planes bomb towns with unfamiliar substances he unidentified gas caused suffocation among residents, the activists said."

The overwhelming feeling as all this chaos was occurring is disorientation. People in the Mid East are living with warfare threats today that will soon be realized. Christians know they will be due to prophecy and the integrity and certainty of God's Word. For those who do not believe in God's word, knowing that the multiple threats will likely result in ignition of the Middle East tensions is also a no-brainer. It happened before, and today there are even more threats, more missiles, and less economic stability than ever before. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen.

When the Mid-East lights up like that, one cannot help but say, "Is it happening now? Is this it?"

After the furor dies down and facts are sorted out, and it becomes apparent that God's hand has stayed us fallen humans from the brink [for the moment], so the secondary thought turns to man's hubris. At least it does for me.

As an example, the New York City Municipal Archives were recently opened online and gave access to a gallery of over 870,000 images from the 1880s to the 1980s. One hundred years of municipal photographs include stunning photos of city projects undertaken such as the Manhattan Bridge construction, highways, and subways. As I looked through the NY Municipal Archives and saw photos like this, of the Manhattan bridge under construction in 1909,

Source

Or this photo of the Holland Tunnel power station in 1925,

Source

I could not help but think, "Wow! We have accomplished so much! Man can do anything!" I do have a justifiable feeling of pride that human engineering has made our lives more smooth and transportation more feasible. It seems that man has conquered the seas, the sky, the earth. We dig tunnels and drive under rivers, we build bridges and drive over the air. We go where we want to go and we build what we want to build, the earth is being remade to our specifications. It seems as if everything will go on as before, and that man's accomplishments will last forever.

This, of course, is untrue. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1)

It was real-time events like last nights that really brings home the tension we are all living under, and the fact that one day, soon I think, the events we witness like last night's will be the last ones we Christians will see on this side of the veil ... before we are called home to glory.