Syria: In the News and In the Bible

In Syria, a fierce civil war between President Bashar al-Assad's supporters and rebel forces seeking his ouster has taken the lives of more than 100,000 people over the last two years, and Christians have been speculating over the fulfilment of Isaiah 17 on their blogs and websites. The speculations have grown since the Syrian regime allegedly used chemical weapons in an attack in a Damascus suburb on Aug. 21, killing 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. The attack led to Obama's plan to bomb Syria as punishment. Jan Markell, founder and director of Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries said the chemical weapons attack by the Syrian regime brings to her mind Isaiah 17. "If one Israeli dies from chemicals coming from Syria, Israel is going to take the issue into her own hands," she was quoted as saying. "She would do some real destruction to the city of Damascus. Israel will send a huge message to the rest of the Islamic world [that] this is what happens when you mess with us." Syria is almost a 'city-state' with much of its population living in and around the city of Damascus. Some historians and archaeologists believe Damascus may be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world and there is no record in ancient history of it ever being fully destroyed. Syria is also the home of many Islamic terrorist groups and its army invaded and has occupied Lebanon for almost 30 years. Currently, Syria (with Iran) is supporting the Hizbullah in southern Lebanon against Israel. Syria, like the rest of Israel's Islamic neighbors hate Israel, have invaded and attacked Israel on several occasions, and have publicly called for the destruction of Israel. It is interesting to note that a number of years ago an Israeli general, on commenting on the growing threat of Syria, said the easiest thing to do to protect Israel from Syria would be to drop a nuclear bomb on Damascus . . . Damascus, Syria will someday be completely destroyed and become a "ruinous heap" . . . "The burden of Damascus. BEHOLD, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap" (This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled ... but it will be fulfilled) (Isaiah 17:1) The Bible warns it will also be a time of trouble for Israel . . . "And in that day (usually refers to the coming 'Apocalypse') it shall come to pass, (when God's Word says "it shall come to pass" it always happens.) the glory of Jacob (Israel) shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean." (Isaiah 17:4) The Syrian region was also second only to Jerusalem in importance for Christianity’s initial growth. The church in Antioch of Syria—a city 60 miles west of Aleppo, just past today’s Syrian border into modern-day Turkey—became a refuge for early Christians fleeing persecution in Jerusalem after Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity, was stoned to death. Paul made Antioch his headquarters for his famous missionary journeys when he founded churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth and Ephesus. Some scholars believe that Antioch was where the Gospel of Matthew was written, and the book of Acts notes that Antioch was the first place where the disciples were called ‘Christians.’ The second coming of Jesus is linked with the city of Damascus in both Christian and Muslim scripture, and some are interpreting those verses as an indication that the current Syria conflict points to the imminent return of Christ. The rest of Isaiah 17 elaborates upon the coming destruction, which some interpret as Armageddon, heralding the return of Christ. The second coming aside, many Christian websites have been speculating about whether the Syria conflict was prophesied in the Bible. Some scholars believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in 732 BC when Assyrians destroyed the city, while others are convinced that it is an "end times event yet come to pass," according to the Christian Post. Muslims also believe in the second coming of Jesus, which is mentioned in Surat An-Nisa, which says: And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in Jesus before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he will be against them a witness. (Sahih International translation) More specifically, these Muslims quote a hadith that relates to Damascus and Jesus' second coming. Sahih Muslim Book 41, Hadith 7015 says: ...Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damascus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels. However, in the Muslim tradition, Jesus descends before the destruction happens. Imam Abdullah Antepli, the Muslim chaplain at Duke University and founder of the Muslim Chaplains Association, explaines that "there are two schools of thought within Islam regarding prophecies. Some Muslims understand prophecy as written in the Quran and hadith as literal, but the majority of Muslims have never taken prophetic predictions in the literal sense." With regards to the second coming of Christ, Antepli commented, "As a Muslim Imam, to me the second coming of Jesus represents a coming peace between Muslims and Christians to establish a kingdom of peace and justice on the earth." A literal coming of Christ is not necessary for this to occur. David Lose of Luther Seminary, author of "Making Sense of Scripture," also weighed in about the problems with literally interpreting prophetic verses, "Some read almost any prophetic utterances as blueprints about the future, rather than as metaphors meant to inspire hope and offer comfort in the present. If that's your lens, then the Bible is full of clues through which to read current events." Lose suggests that the reason that some are driven to interpret the Bible in that way is because "it gives them a sense of security to have a way of figuring out the time-table for the end of days." Twitter users have been speculating about the links between the end of days prophecies and the Syria conflict for a while, citing both Christian and Muslim traditions. “President Barack Obama announced on Saturday that he has decided to strike the Syrian military in retaliation for its nerve gas attack on civilians — but that he’ll wait for Congressional authorization before launching an attack. ‘I’m ready to act in the face of this outrage,’ he said. ‘Today, I’m asking Congress to send a message to the rest of the world that we are ready to move together.’ ‘I have the authority to carry out this military action … [and] I know the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be more effective’ if it is approved by Congress, he said in a short statement delivered in the White House’s Rose Garden.” Despite uneasiness among the conservatives in the House of Representatives over whether to support military action in Syria, both Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor endorsed on Tuesday President Obama’s call for bombing the country. “I am going to support the president’s call for action,” Boehner said Tuesday after a White House meeting with the president and congressional leaders. “I believe my colleagues should support this call for action.” Cantor also released a statement on Tuesday saying he supports Obama’s call for military intervention. “I intend to vote to provide the President of the United States the option to use military force in Syria,” he said. “While the authorizing language will likely change, the underlying reality will not. America has a compelling national security interest to prevent and respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction, especially by a terrorist state such as Syria, and to prevent further instability in a region of vital interest to the United States.” With these statements, Boehner and Cantor will likely find themselves at disagreement with the more conservative wing of the House Republican Conference. Some conservative lawmakers are reporting that their constituents are strongly against any intervention. Regardless where we stand on attacking Syria; it's time to pay attention to what's going on and let our friends and neighbors realize how this fits into End-time Bible Prophecy. Thanks to multiple online sources for the info posted.