The burden
against Damascus. "Behold, Damascus will cease from [being] a city, And it
will be a ruinous heap. Isaiah 17:1 NKJV
This past week
has seen a significant escalation of tensions between Israel and her neighbor
to the north, Syria. Most are aware of
the ongoing civil war in Syria and the attempts to overthrow the current regime
of Bashar Assad who is actively supported by Iran and Russia. To many it seemed inevitable that the
violence would somehow produce the result of Israel becoming involved in some
way. As the situation progressed, Syria’s possession of biological weapons of mass destruction, and their willingness to use them, became the major concern of not just the surrounding nations, but the world as well. The reality of the region is, however, that if those weapons were to fall into the wrong hands the possibility of their use against the state of Israel is a foregone conclusion.
This week we have seen that Israel certainly believes this as they have made the decision to use their air force to attack targets inside of Syria which concern not only their chemical weapons, but the distribution of those weapons to forces hostile to the state of Israel. As a result, the rhetoric from the Syrian regime took an ominous turn this morning with the statement from their Deputy Foreign Minister which called the air strikes by Israel’s air force a “declaration of war”.
This past January
Israel also mounted an operation against this same facility, however at that
time the Syrian regime chose not to respond militarily. That decision came under heavy fire from many
people in the region, especially from the country of Iran which is heavily
invested both financially and militarily in support of the Syrian regime. One cannot help but wonder if the statement
from Syria is an indication that this time, under pressure from his supporters,
Bashar Assad will chose to respond militarily against Israel.
This eventuality
would certainly appear to be on Israel’s mind as they have mobilized troops in
the north, called up their reserves, and moved Iron Dome anti-missile batteries
to forward positions close to the border.
This situation, and the possibility of military action between Israel
and Syria, has many asking the question will this be the conflict which results
in the fulfillment of the Isaiah 17 prophecy of the destruction of Damascus.
Those of you who
have requested a copy of my book are familiar with my thoughts about this
prophecy, and where and when I believe it occurs in relation to the eschatological
events surrounding the time of the end which is revealed to us in the Bible. If not, let me share just a couple of those
thoughts with you this morning with the aim of helping you make some sense of
not only what is happening, but what the Bible tells us will happen.
The Isaiah
prophecy tells us unequivocally that at some point in the future, Damascus will
be destroyed and cease to exist as a result of an attack by Israel. Another passage about this event which we
find in the book of Amos sheds even more light on this future event.
Thus says the
LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn
away its [punishment], Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of
iron. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the
palaces of Ben-Hadad. Amos 1:1-2 NKJV
What we are told
in this passage is that the destruction of Damascus is in response to a fourth
transgression against Israel. Since
Israel became a nation in 1948, Syria has participated in three wars of aggression
against them with disastrous results.
This passage from Amos tells us that they must not have learned their
lesson very well because they intend, by means not revealed, to attack Israel
again. I believe the important point
here, however, is that Israel destroys Damascus as a response to something Syria chooses to do.Many people are familiar with the “Gog-Magog” prophecy from the book of Ezekiel which details an attempted invasion of Israel by what is described as a coalition of most of the countries which surround Israel today. Most understand and believe that this is the conflict which produces the appearance and revealing of what the Bible describes as “the man of sin”, or the anti-christ who enforces a covenant of peace between Israel and it’s neighbors. Many also believe that this event occurs at the beginning of the seven year period of time which the Bible calls the tribulation.
The question that
first came to my mind when I began to study this prophecy was why would such a
large coalition of nations gather against Israel? It seems to me, especially if you carefully
read and compare the language used in both the Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38, that
the destruction of Damascus is the event which produces the excuse for the
attempted invasion of Israel. Logically,
if this is true then it follows that the destruction of Damascus occurs before
both the Gog-Magog war, and the tribulation period. My conclusion then is that the destruction of
Damascus is the next major prophetic event in Israel’s future.
Only time will
tell if this is a correct interpretation of future events but it certainly
comes as no surprise to me, considering all of this, that we see the
possibility of a major conflict between Syria and Israel unfolding right before
our very eyes. I have included a few
links to articles about what is happening right now in the Middle east, and
suggest you not only read them, but watch carefully this week to see if the
situation cools off, or escalates to a greater degree.http://debka.com/article/22951/Israeli-Air-Force-continues-air-strikes-against-Damascus
http://debka.com/article/22953/Syria-Israeli-attack-equals-declaration-of-war-Iron-Domes-at-Haifa-and-Safed
If
you are a believer, these events are certainly a sign that we are fast
approaching the time of our deliverance from this world. If you are reading
this and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart
and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do
so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of
eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus
Christ.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right
now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I
confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.
Keep watching.