Syrian rebels claim airbase takeover–what will happen in Syria?

Damage from Syrian Conflict

Syrian opposition troops reported making military progress:

16 February 2013

Syrian rebels have captured a military airbase in the north and geared up for a major battle against regime forces as the opposition says it refuses to accept President Bashar al-Assad in talks on the 23-month conflict…

Rami Abdel Rahman, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. The Syrian army “is preparing a large-scale operation to take back control of Base 80″…

The UN has also said the number of Syrians who have fled the country could hit 1.1 million by June. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132167823784815.html

The opposition to Syria’s government has gotten stronger and been having military victories. But the regime of President Assad has not given up and expects to win–yet there will be a change in Syria.

Syria, which is currently mainly composed of people of the Sunni branch of Islam, while being ruled by one from the Shi’ite branch of Islam (its President Assad) is apparently destined to be part of the “King of the South” and that is why I have long expected changes in Syria.

The Sunni Arabs want a caliphate (Islamic confederation/empire) and the Bible tells of a time in the not too distant future when the final King of the South (who apparently is Arabic and/or Islamic) will rise up (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:1-8; Psalm 83:5-7). Furthermore, although the Bible does not mention the term Sunni Muslim, the nations mentioned in the confederation are currently mainly Sunni Muslim:

3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

5 For they have consulted together with one consent;
They form a confederacy against You:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot. (Psalms 83:3-8)

Here is an explanation of the above that was published over three decades ago:

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. (Stump K. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979)

So, according to the above, the Hagarenes of Psalm 83 are represented by modern Syria. It probably should also be mentioned that some others consider that the Syrians are better identified as Ishmaelites as opposed to being Hagarenes. Descendants of Ishmael’s eldest son Nabajoth/Nebajoth–Genesis 25:13–seem to have been identified with Syria in the Zenon papyri which dates from 259 B.C. (some consider that the Hagarenes are better identified with Iraq–yet since Ishmael’s mother was Hagar–Genesis 16:15–they would all tend to be related). Whether they are identified better as Hagarenes or Ishmaelites, Syria is prophesied to be part of a confederation that will decide to eliminate Israel.

And currently, it looks like the opposition to the Assad regime is gaining strength and at least parts of it claim that Israel is the real enemy.

As most readers of this page realize, Damascus, Syria’s capital, will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1). Change will occur in Syria.

“And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37).

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, Syria, 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?