Now the
word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of
the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against
him, “and
say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of
Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. “I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and
lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed,
a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. “Persia, Ethiopia,
and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; “Gomer and all its
troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people
are with you. Ezekiel 38:1-6 NKJV
I
am going to assume that by now most of you reading this have heard about the
incident Saturday morning in Israel where Iran sent a drone into Israeli
airspace. This resulted not only in it
being intercepted and shot down by the IDF, but Israel sending planes into
Syria to attack and destroy the base where it was launched from. This, of course, prompted cries of
indignation from Iran and Syria with the obligatory threats of future violence
towards Israel, and statements from Israel affirming its right to defend itself
from any and all attacks on its sovereignty.
Yet the one thing most everyone has agreed on to this point is that this
is a major escalation by Iran.
Many
are speculating on what this might mean in regards to the future of the region,
but for those who study their Bible, we already know. In the passage above from Ezekiel where Magog
and its allies are listed, I believe it is important to note two things. One, Persia (Iran) is the first country
listed which signifies its preeminence, while on the other hand, (two) Assyria
(Syria) is not listed at all. No one can
read anything about the region at the present time without Syria being
mentioned, or the presence of Russia and Iran within its borders being
discussed. So my question is simply
this, O Syria, where art thou?
Now
many of you might recognize that question as a takeaway from a movie with a
similar title, but there are actually some interesting parallels between the
plot of the movie and the three “brothers”, as well as these three
nations. In the movie, one of the
brothers “disappears” along the way, and in this passage from Ezekiel it seems
Syria somehow goes missing too. Considering this new escalation by Iran, it
seems almost impossible to believe things can get any worse without the fulfillment
of the Isaiah 17 prophecy about the destruction of Damascus. That in turn will
set the wheels in motion for the following prophetic event which is the Ezekiel
38-39 prophecy of the Gog Magog War.
The
burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it
will be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks
Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress also
will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria;
They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the LORD of
hosts. Isaiah 17:1-3 NKJV
The relationship
between Iran and Syria is complicated, but the one thing that remains clear is
that Iran has invested a lot of money, materiel, and personnel to develop and
upgrade Syria’s military capabilities. Much of Syria’s missile technology and
armament has been provided by Iran, and at present it is reported as fact by
many intelligence sources that members of the Iranian Republican Guard are in
Syria helping develop and train Syrian troops. So the question must be asked,
just what does Iran want from Syria in exchange for all of this help?
There is no question
that Syria now finds itself indebted to Iran in a very big way, so it's logical
to wonder to what extent Syria might go in order to repay the debt, or, for
that matter, how much would Iran require as a payback for its investment? Iran
has made known their desire for the total annihilation of Israel, and even gone
so far as to brag about how many missiles could be launched in the event of a
conflict, however most intelligence organizations agree their boast exceeds
their capabilities. This fact leads many to wonder if Iran has agreements with
other Arab countries for help in any attack on Israel. If so, this would easily
explain the extent to which they have gone to arm Syria with weapons and
technology they have not previously possessed.
The Doomsday Oracle
Syria
where art thou? Well, according to this
prophecy, dealing with the complete destruction of its capital. With all the problems Syria has right now with
its own civil war, it’s easy to see where Iran might be more than willing to
“play” the game it has begun with the thought that they can do what they please
without recrimination by either Syria or Russia. The result could well be the destruction of
Damascus we find in Isaiah 17. That remains to be seen, but the Bible makes it
clear that an event of unprecedented severity is coming to that region, and
Syria will receive the brunt of it. The
Word also makes it clear what will befall any and all who choose to come
against His chosen people.
“The
burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who
stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the
spirit of man within him: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to
all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
“And it
shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all
peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all
nations of the earth are gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:1-3 NKJV”
“The Iranians are
raising the stakes of the bet,” Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former
director-general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and the former head of
the IDF’s Intelligence Research and Assessment Division, said on a conference
call held by The Israel Project on Saturday.“According to Kuperwasser, Moscow
is “being used by the Iranians,” securing Assad regime bases while Tehran
continues to strengthen their hold in Syria. “Russia is, in a way, becoming the
useful idiot of the Iranians,” he said. “We have to be careful about how Syria
will look like when it is controlled by Iran. We (Israel) got a taste of it
this morning,” Kuperwasser said.”
Revolutionary Guards
dep chief warned Iran would “open the gates of hell over the Zionist regime”
and had the military power to destroy all American bases in the region. These
threats from Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami were Tehran’s first response to the
downing by Israel of an Iranian drone which intruded on its airspace Saturday
morning. The foreign ministry in Tehran said Israel lied about the intrusion
and its claims were ridiculous. Turning to the Americans, he said “It would be
better for them to leave the region before their defeat.”
My
feeling, along with many others, is that time is quickly running out for the
Church to accomplish its work here on earth, and it would come as no surprise
to hear the trumpet blow and our call to go home to be with our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ at any time. If you are
reading this today and have never made the decision to allow Jesus Christ to
come 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 simply 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.
