Confidence of Syria’s Assad may be misplaced

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (Source: Agência Brasil, Wikipedia)
بشار الأسد

Syria remains in the news, and this latest development may be of concern to its president:

Threat to Assad remains despite claims of victory

Financial Times – March 28, 2102

Bashar al-Assad is acting victorious, marching under the gaze of state television crews into the ruins of the Baba Amr district of Homs, the city bombarded by his forces for nearly a month. In TV footage this week, the Syrian leader is seen surrounded by loyalists described as residents, though most of the inhabitants have fled. He blames his enemies for the devastation and promises to rebuild Baba Amr…

Some diplomats say that for all his defiant attitude Mr Assad knows, and Moscow is constantly reminding him, that his recent gains bring only temporary relief, with the rebels regrouping and receiving heavier weapons from their Arab supporters.

Arab League to debate Syria resolution | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

Bangkok Post – 28 March 2012

Syria, a member of the 22-member Arab League, was not invited to the summit and has been suspended from the pan-Arab body.

Quelling dissent has not yet worked completely for President Assad, so he and his regime remain at risk, and are still being pushed against by the Arab League.

Back in biblical times (cf. Isaiah 7:8) and current times, the capital of Syria was Damascus. The Bible shows it will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1) and since that was written it has not been–so it will happen at some point in time. An actual war involving Syria and Israel is also quite feasible. If so, Israel may hit back so hard that it might eliminate Damascus as Isaiah 17:1 says will happen. If not, perhaps the internal rebellions in Syria will cause this biblical prophecy to be fulfilled. Either way, something will cause this to happen (including perhaps unintended mistakes by Syria’s Assad or others).

A December 1979 Plain Truth article by Keith Stump’s titled The Arab World in Prophecy provides insights into who may be the future king of the South as well as who may be involved in Psalm 83, perhaps in partial fulfillment of Daniel 11:27:

The prophecy of Daniel 11 details events…But who is the “king of the south”?…Just as there is yet to be a final “king of the north”–called in the Bible symbolism “the beast”–who will arise as superdictator over an end-time European confederation, there may very well emerge in the same manner a final “king of the south”–an overall leader of an Arab-Moslem confederation, possibly bearing the very title Mahdi. And these two individuals will eventually find themselves in a head-to-head confrontation–possibly over oil–which will ultimately lead to devastating war in the Middle East!

King David of ancient Israel in a prophetic psalm (Psalm 83) provides additional insight into the Mideast picture. Germany (Assyria in Bible prophecy) and perhaps the rest of Europe will be in league in the future with a union of Arab nations–a vast confederacy bound together in an effort to crush out the name “Israel” from the face of the earth! This Arab-Moslem confederacy may very well be the previously mentioned “king of the south”–a sphere of power encompassing vast portions of the Islamic world.

“They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom [Esau or modern-day Turkey, a non-Arab but Islamic nation], and the Ishmaelites [Saudi Arabia]; of Moab [part of Jordan[, and the Hagarenes [anciently these peoples dwelt in the area known as Syria today]; Gebal [Lebanon], and Ammon [modern Jordan], and Amalek [part of the Turks]; the Philistines [the modern Palestinians] with the inhabitants of Tyre [Lebanon]; Assur [whose descendants, the Assyrians, migrated to Germany] also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot [Jordan and Western Iraq]” (Psalm 83:4-8)…

But in the end, this European-Arab alliance will prove short-lived…And the king of the north shall come against him [the king of the south]…The Arab-Moslem Confederation will, of course, be thrown into chaotic disarray in the fact of invasion.

So Bible prophecy in the books of Daniel and Psalms suggest that there will be some type of strong Arab-based confederation that will make a deal with a future European power for the purposes of eliminating “Israel.” And if Keith Stump’s identification is correct, Syria, who is currently out-of-favor with the entire Arab League, will somehow have to change as it would appear that this will have Syrian support. And this may signal a regime change in Syria will be needed.

Much is going on in the Middle East. The King of the South will rise up (Daniel 11:40) and Syria (directly or indirectly) is likely to play a role in that occurrence.

As Jesus said in Mark 13:37, we all should watch.

Two articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What does Islam teach about the Imam Mahdi?
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Is he the Imam Mahdi? What does the Bible say?