Church of God News

Damascus, the capital of Syria

COGwriter

Aljazeera reported the following:

19 March 2017

Heavy clashes rocked eastern districts of the Syrian capital on Sunday after rebel fighters launched a surprise assault on government forces there, a monitor and state television said.

Steady shelling and sniper fire could be heard across Damascus on Sunday as rebel factions allied with former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front launched an attack on government positions in the city’s east.

The attack began early on Sunday “with two car bombs and several suicide attackers” on the Jobar district, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Rebels then advanced into the nearby Abbasid Square area, seizing several buildings and firing a barrage of rockets into multiple Damascus neighbourhoods, Abdel Rahman said.

Government forces responded with nearly a dozen air strikes on Jobar, he added.

Control of Jobar – which has been a battleground district for more than two years – is divided between rebels and allied hardline fighters on one side, and government forces on the other. It is one of three pockets in the Syrian capital still in opposition hands. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/clashes-syria-damascus-surprise-rebel-attack-170319123712942.html

Various Islamic groups believe that a final Islamic leader is to rise up and that there will be conflict in Syria. This leader, called the Imam Mahdi has similarities to the King of the South of biblical prophecy (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:2-8).

Here is a writing that suggests he rises up after Syria has problems:

Traditions have been reported mentioning the signs for the time of the appearance of the Imam who will arise (qa’im), peace be on him, and the events which will take place before his appearance, together with the indications and features of it. Among them are: The Sufyani will come out in revolt; the Hasanid will be killed; the Abbasids will dispute over worldly kingdom; there will be an eclipse of the sun in the middle of the month of Ramadan; there will be an eclipse of the moon at the end of that month in contrast to ordinary happenings; the land will be swallowed up at al-Bayda’; it will be swallowed in the east-it will be swallowed up in the west; the sun will stay still from the time of its decline to the middle of the time for the afternoon prayer; it will rise from the west; a pure soul (nafs zakiyya) will be killed in the outskirts of Kufa with seventy righteous men; a Hashimite will be slaughtered between the corner (of the Ka’ba) and the station of Abraham); the wall of the mosque of Kufa will be destroyed; black standards will advance from Khurasan; al-Yamani will come out in revolt; al-Maghribi will appear in Egypt and take possession of it from Syria; the Turk will occupy the region of al-Jazira; the Byzantines will occupy Ramla; the star will appear in the east giving light just like the moon gives light; then (the new moon) will bend until its two tips almost meet; a colour will appear in the sky and spread to its horizons; a fire will appear for a long time in the east remaining in the air for three or seven days; the Arabs will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the foreign authority; the people of Egypt will kill their ruler and destroy Syria; and three standards will dispute over it (Syria)…

The Abbasids will dispute; a voice will call from the sky; one of the villages of Syria called al-Jabiyya will be swallowed up; the Turks will occupy the region of al-Jazira; the Byzantines will attack al-Ramla; at that time there will be much conflict throughout the land until Syria is destroyed. (Kitab al Irshad Chapter: The Twelfth Imam (Peace be on him) Page (s): 541 – 548 Published by Tehrike Tersile Qura’n.  Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu  http://www.al-islam.org/masoom/bios/12thimam.html viewed 7/22/12)

As far as the ‘black standard goes, it could be interpreted to be a black standard of Islam. A flag is considered to be a ‘standard.’  Merriam-Webster defines a standard to include: “an organization flag carried by a mounted or motorized military unit.”  The black flag that ISIS, Al-Shabaab, and some of the other Jihadists use certainly would seem to qualify here.  It is very likely that is probably part of the reason why they use a black flag.

Certain Islamic writings say that there Imam Mahdi will end up in Damascus.

Mahdi will be very just and his capital will be Damascus. (Who Is Imam al-Mahdi? http://www.islamicweb.com/history/mahdi.htm viewed 07/02/14)

Hazrat Imam Mahdi (A.S.) ( Courtesy: http:// www.kr-hcy.com/ articles/ imam-mehdi )…

The term “MEHDI” is a title meaning “Guided one”. The Mehdi is a normal man who is going to follow the true Islam. His name will be Muhammad and his father name will be Abdullah. He is a descendant from Ali and Fatima (daughter of the prophet Muhammad) so he will be descendant from al-Hasan or al-Hussain or both. The Mehdi will be very just and his capital will be Damascus. The Mehdi is NOT a prophet but he is the final Rightly Guided Khalifah. The Mehdi will lead Muslims to a great victory against the Sufyaani and the Romans. This great war or Armageddon…

Imam Mehdi will conquer the city of Constantinople (presently known as Istanbul). The story behind this conquest is as follows:

After the earthquakes, which destroyed his enemies, and the subsequent amassing of Muslim armies under his leadership, the Imam will leave Makkah for Madina, where he will offer salaam at the Rozah Mubarak (The Grave of The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

Having done this his next step would be to proceed on to Damascus, where the bulk of the Nasara (Christian) forces along with the tribe of Kalb would be deployed, as was previously mentioned.

In Damascus, the Imam will set up his headquarters. From here, he will conduct military operations against the enemies of Islam and defeats them (such as the ones in Jerusalem), and from here, he will rule.

In response to this, the Roman forces will attack, and destroy the city of the Prophet (Madina), and start to gather their forces against its inhabitants…

After the slaying of Dajjal by Prophet Eessa, Imam Mehdi will not live for very long. A few months will elapse and this great Imam, a man who provided the perfect sequel to Allah’s Supreme Religion -ISLAM, will pass on to the realms of the hereafter. The Muslims will perform his Janazah Salat and bury him, and the Messiah son of Maryam will then become the new ruler of the Muslims. (http://www.nooredarwesh.com/main/imam-mahdi-as viewed 05/01/10)

The “Prophet Eessa” (sometimes spelled Isa) is supposed to be Jesus (Islamic prophecy teaches that Jesus will return, but they do not consider Him to be the Son of God).

As far as the Bible is concerned, ultimately Damascus, the capital of Syria, will not do well.

Notice also the following from the old Worldwide Church of God:

Isaiah shows that Syria, too, will become a “ruinous heap” (17:1-3). (Stump K. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979)

There clearly are biblical prophecies that tell of the coming destruction to Syria’s capital Damascus:

7 thus says the Lord God: “It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus (Isaiah 7:7-8).

3 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. (Amos 1:3)

1 The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid.  3 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)

23 Against Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. 25 Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? 26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts. 27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” (Jeremiah 49:23-27)

Damascus has been claimed to be the “oldest continuously inhabited city” in the world. And while some have questioned that claim, the reality is that Damascus has not been destroyed to the point of becoming the “ruinous heap” since God inspired Isaiah, thousands of years ago, to record that would one day happen. The reference to the “kingdom from Damascus” could be a reference to Syria, or possibly the confederation then ruled by the King of the South. If it is a reference to the King of the South, then it would geographically be between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two areas that want to lead the Arab world.

The biblically prophesied devastation of Damascus could come as the result of the current war with the Islamic State if Isaiah 17 is not a King of the South reference. It is possible that attacks against the Islamic State and other groups will encourage them to attack Damascus further. Also if the Assad regime broadly uses chemical weapons and/or becomes engaged in a conflict with Israel and/or the West, that could lead to the fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1.

The situation with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad will change. He is a Shi’ite Muslim and most Arabs are Sunni Muslims, as is the Islamic State.

Ultimately, Syria looks like it will support a coalition of peoples that the Bible says will be led by a leader called the King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43)–and most of those lands he is to control are dominated by Sunni Muslims.

Now, it is not just government rebels that pose a threat to Syria.

Israel just made a new threat:

19 March 2017

Israel‘s defence minister has threatened to destroy Syria‘s air defence systems if they are used to target Israeli fighter jets again.

The Israeli military said it shot down one of several anti-aircraft rockets fired at its warplanes by Syria last week in the most serious military exchange between the two hostile neighbours.

Air force officials said four Israeli jets on a mission to destroy a weapons convoy destined for Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were attacked by three Syrian surface-to-air missiles, one of which was intercepted by the Israeli Aerial Defence System known as “Arrow.”

“The next time the Syrians use their air defence systems against our planes we will destroy them without the slightest hesitation,” Avigdor Lieberman said in remarks broadcast on Israeli public radio. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-syria-destroy-air-defence-systems-minster-avigdor-lieberman-idf-jets-a7637676.html

It is possible that Syria will align closer with Iran and be involved in a major regional conflict with Israel.

Biblical prophecy suggests that Iran may one day cause great damage to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:8-9), Iran will be hit (Jeremiah 49:34-39), and one day Damascus will be a ruinous heap and its kingdom no more (Isaiah 17:1-3).

Biblical prophecies are consistent with various parts of the geopolitical situations we are seeing this century and will come to pass.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 19th, 2017 at 7:00 am and is filed under Prophecy.

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