Syria rebels make gains; death toll increases announced

Damage from Syrian Conflict

Syrian opposition troops were fighting today and made military progress:

12 February 2013

After weeks of relatively little movement in the Syrian war, rebel forces have claimed two significant advances in northern Syria in the past two days.

They said they seized the military’s Jarrah air base on Tuesday in the northern province of Aleppo after days of clashes with government troops.

And a day earlier, the rebels asserted that they had control of Syria’s largest hydroelectric dam, the Tabqa dam, in neighboring Raqqah province.

Activists have uploaded videos from the Jarrah air base, showing captured warplanes and munitions. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/02/12/171804297/syrian-rebels-take-air-base-dam-in-northern-syria

The opposition to Syria’s government has gotten stronger and been having military victories. But there has been a cost in deaths across Syria:

12 February 2013

Syria’s intensifying civil war has probably killed over 9,000 people since the beginning of the year, bringing the likely death toll of the two-year-old conflict near 70,000, the U.N. human rights chief said Tuesday. At the beginning of January, less than six weeks ago, Navi Pillay said the death toll in Syria had exceeded 60,000, a figure she called “truly shocking” and much higher than the U.N. expected. That figure was a third higher than estimates by anti-regime activists at the time. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57568979/u.n-says-syria-death-toll-near-70000/

The death toll is considerably higher than that of the USA in the Vietnam war, yet Syria’s population is much smaller (currently about 22.5 million). Thus, this is having major impacts on Syria.

For more certain scriptures about what is likely to happen prophetically in the near to mid-term, see the recent news post New fighting in Syria and ramifications for Israel.

But the other reality is that war is rough and devastating. But the Bible shows that they will come to an end in the final Kingdom of God. Notice something from the Book of Revelation:

2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:2-4)

So, while there is a lot of bad news ahead, and those in Syria do need our prayers now, the very good news is that time will come where there will be no more war, no more sorrow, no more pain. Notice something else recorded in the Book of Revelation:

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

Amen.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

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? Might this King be called the Mahdi? What does the Bible say?
The Arab and Islamic 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 about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about?
Just What Do You Mean the Kingdom of God? A booklet that was written by Herbert Armstrong answers questions about the Kingdom.