The iron dome

We were talking with our children about the war in the middle east that is intensifying at the moment and this led to some interesting discussions on the iron dome.

As we discussed it there was one question that floated to the surface:

Which other countries have an iron dome?

 But before we get to that perhaps we should explain a bit about what the iron dome is (and does). The iron dome is a clever bit of technology that is used to destroy rockets, missiles and artillery shells as they head towards Israel. It calculates the trajectory in the sky and sends up a missile to explode the missile in the sky, thus avoiding death and damage to buildings.

In the last year it has intercepted thousands of rockets from Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and more.

It was created by Israel in 2011 and has been developed since then with multiple layers. There are three main components:1. Radar to detect incoming threats.

2. Command centre to process degree of threat, time until impact and trajectile of missile.

3. Interceptor missiles which are fired to explode threats in the air.

So, which other countries have an iron dome?

Well, before we get to that question, let’s consider why Israel felt the need to develop this technology. It is purely defensive and has been used extensively since it was first developed, because Israel is surrounded by terrorist organisations who keep firing rockets into Israeli airspace.

So what other countries have an iron dome?

The United States, India, Singapore and Azerbaijan have the full iron dome system and other countries have elements of the system from Israel, including United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. These countries bought this system after seeing how effective it was at work in Israel.

There is a reason Israel developed this technology. Many of the leaders in the surrounding nations have made it their aim over the years to wipe Israel off the map. From the river to the sea means the desire to clear the land of Jews from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean sea – that’s the whole land of Israel. It is only the work of the Lord that has kept them in the midst of so much opposition.

There is a reason Israel developed this technology. There is a reason why no other nation developed this technology. When you consider how few rockets have been targeted at the UK since 2011 (by my count it is approximately 0) compared to Israel (over 5000 so far – that’s an average of around one every single day for the past 14 years).

Israel is a unique place and has a unique place both in history and in Scripture. God has preserved this land for his people and will be returning there to collect his bride.

Wars will intensify as we come closer to the return of Christ culminating in a final war, recorded in Exzekiel 38 when people from the following modern countries will attack it: Russia, Turkey, Iran, Sudan & Libya. We are not in this final war yet, but we are in the birth pangs of this time.

As we see these days draw nearer we are told to have patient endurance, to watch and to keep meeting together.

Let’s speak to our children about the prophetic importance the land of Israel has and encourage them to look at world events through the eyes of scripture.

Our resource for families, IN:TRIBE is there to help you navigate these days together. It can be overwhelming to think about the last days, but worse than not thinking about it would be to be in the middle of the fulfilment of signs Jesus explicitly warned us about and not even know it.

We must prepare the next generation so they will stand strong for the Lord in the days to come.