If you have been following the news you have heard about what is going on in Syria.The trouble in Syria began in March 2011 when 15 school children were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. The people protested peacefully asking that the children be released, the government responded with violence against the protesters and four people were killed; at one of the victims funerals they shot at mourners and another person was killed. People became angry and unrest spread across the country. The people demanded that President Bashar al-Assad resign, he refused. The country was split between those that supported al-Assad and those that were opposed to his rule. Those opposed are not united but split between groups of rebel fighters, political parties, and those in exile; there could be around 1,000 groups in total.
Taking advantage of the unrest in the country the IS, or the Islamic State has taken over large areas of the country. In September of 2014 the U.S., UK and other countries joined together to attack their ground forces. In September 2013 there was a chemical weapon attack outside of Damascus, the capital of Syria. This outraged other countries since chemical weapon use had been banned, it was not confirmed who was responsible. Syria blamed the rebels. American and French governments wanted to do limited missile strikes against military targets in Syria, Russia, a supporter of as-Assad suggested that the Syrian government destroy their chemical weapons; this began in October 2013.
Since the conflict began, many Syrian people have tried to escape the violence by fleeing the country. At least 4 million people have fled Syria and many countries have taken in some of the refugees. Making things more difficult for the refugees, IS fighters have been disguising themselves as refugees to gain a stronghold in other European countries. This has been discovered and many countries are now refusing to take in any of the refugees.
What does the Bible say about Syria? In Isaiah God reveals a prophecy of the complete and absolute destruction of Damascus.
17 A prophecy against Damascus:
“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.
7 In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[a]
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten God your Savior;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Woe to the many nations that rage—
they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
Isaiah 17
Damascus is one of the oldest continuously populated cities in history. It has seen at least 5,000 years of history. The city has been destroyed before but never has it been uninhabitable. This prophecy tells of a war between Damascus and Israel, and with IS having taken over much of Syria that could be a definite probability. They are so close to each other that it would not surprise me if IS attacked northern Israel. If Syria, even under IS control, attacks Israel, they will not hesitate to return fire. If Damascus is to be destroyed completely, it could very well happen with a nuclear attack. That will certainly leave the city uninhabitable for a very long time.
With the destruction of Damascus and a portion of Israel destroyed the other nations may take this as their chance to destroy Israel once and for all. This may trigger the War of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 37 and 38.
So keep an eye on what is going on in Syria, it could be the spark that starts the chain reaction of the war against Israel.
I pray for all those that are affected by the events around the world, but it is amazing to live in a time where I am seeing Bible prophecy being fulfilled day by day. I look to the day when I will see my savior Jesus Christ at the rapture. Maranatha!
Bible Prophecy 