Is Damascus
asking for it?
by
Michael G. Mickey
(9-28-05)
Isaiah 17:1: The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be
a ruinous heap.
I've heard and read arguments that Isaiah
17:1 has already been fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in approximately
732 BC, but many believe Isaiah's prophecy of Damascus' destruction hasn't
been fulfilled yet, certainly not to the extent that it has ever been taken
from being a city, being left a ruinous heap!
Encyclopedia.com states, for example:
Located in a strategic gap commanding the
Barada River and transdesert routes, Damascus has been inhabited since prehistoric times and is reputedly
the oldest continuously occupied city in the world. There was a city on its site even before the time
(c.2000 BC) of Abraham . Damascus was probably held by the Egyptians before the Hittite
period (2d millennium BC) and was later ruled by the Israelites and Aram . Tiglathpileser III made it (732 BC) a part of the
Assyrian Empire. From the 6th to the 4th cent. BC it was a provincial capital
of the Persian Empire until it passed (332 BC) without a struggle to the armies
of Alexander the Great.
(The Encyclopedia.com article
goes on from there all the way to 1961 without describing a period of time
when Damascus ceased to be a city!)
On the topic of whether Isaiah 17:1 is a
prophecy that was fulfilled in history past or is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled,
Harpazo.net
states the following, as seen below:
:: Prophecy or History?
"For God speaketh
once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not." Job 33:14
One of the intriguing things about Bible
Prophecy is that very often we find there is an immediate smaller or partial
fulfillment foreshadowing a larger or complete fulfillment yet to come.
Some use the phrase short and long term prophecy regarding this. Where as,
some of what is being described in a given passage was applicable to the
time period in which it was written ... further study may reveal a broader
future fulfillment in these last days.
"When the prophets
wrote, they were using a telescoping perspective, like a zoom lens with
dynamic focal length. They would prophesy about something that would not
be far away, and then, in the same breath, talk about something that would
happen centuries later. That also resulted in double references, like an
echo in advance. For instance, Daniel wrote of a particular king, but he
was also referring to events in the final days..." (Learn the Bible
in 24 Hours, pg. 126 - Dr. Chuck Missler)
One of the reasons that God may have designed
Prophecy in this manner, could have been so that His true prophets would
be validated by having their prophecies come to pass in their own lifetimes.
(Deuteronomy 18:21-22) Then in doing this, also declare much more than was
immediately apparent. Of course in hindsight, we can look at the bigger
picture, and see - from our last days viewpoint - how incredibly God arranged
these events. To be true. Then true again.
For a great example of this, let's take
literal Babylon (Iraq) "the land of the Chaldeans" ... The destruction
described in several passages is quite detailed, and it has not yet occurred.
The Bible says it would be destroyed like Sodom & Gomorrah and would never be inhabited again etc. (Isaiah 13:19-22 ... Jeremiah 50:39-40) Babylon in fact, was conquered in 539 B.C. by Cyrus the Persian.
But he took it without a battle and of this he bragged! "... without
any battle, he entered the town, sparing any calamity..." (The
Stele of Cyrus, The British Museum in London) There is
clearly some unfinished business concerning Babylon.
Many believe this is also the case with
the Damascus prophecies. While many prophecy students believe this
event is yet future ... you may find multiple commentaries mentioning how
Isaiah 17 was fulfilled in 2 Kings 16:9 when Tiglath-pileser "went
up against Damascus". But, the city never ceased to exist. The strong
wording of the passages that predict this city's dramatic and final judgment
we believe are yet future.
(Recently we found a website, trying
to discredit the Bible ... as coincidence would have it, one of the arguments
they presented was that this prophecy in Isaiah 17 was never fulfilled!
... Stay tuned!)
Bearing history in mind, being unable to
personally confirm an annihilation of Damascus has taken place in fulfillment
of Isaiah 17:1, I wrote a commentary in 2003 entitled 'The Burden of Damascus'
within which I noted that Damascus is one of the longest continually-inhabited
cities on the planet, adding that "that could change any day now."
I additionally wrote the following:
As I write this article,
Damascus, Syria is home to many of the world's most deadly terrorist
organizations, all of whom are bent on destroying the nation of Israel.
The nation of Syria not only supports terrorism, but also has a significant
stockpile of chemical weapons in its arsenal. Syria is also rumored to have an on-going bio-weapons program
as well.
If you combine Syria's chemical and biological weapons capabilties with the
many missiles Syria has in its arsenal capable of striking Israel, it's easy to see Syria is capable of launching a weapons of mass destruction
attack on the Jewish nation. As such, you can see how things could quickly
get out-of-hand.
Due to Israel's size, it wouldn't take many chemical weapons-loaded
missiles fired from Syria to inflict massive casualties on the Israeli people,
which could prompt Israel to respond very aggressively in the event a scenario
like that takes place in the future.
Israel, if attacked with weapons of mass destruction or threatened
to be attacked with them, would quickly find themselves in a desperate situation,
perhaps forcing them to do the unthinkable - launch a nuclear attack on
Damascus to save themselves.
Is that the precise scenario that will lead
to the fulfillment of this prophecy? Although no one knows for sure, it
currently seems to be the most likely scenario for this event to take place.
The nations of Israel and Syria are bitter enemies and all evidence seems to be pointing
toward a conflict taking place between these parties in the near future,
the direct result of Damascus' refusal to stop aiding and harboring terrorists and
the organizations that support them.
The Bible isn't some far-fetched fairy tale
dreamed up by men. Because this is true, we can know beyond the shadow of
a doubt this prophecy will be fulfilled in the future to the letter!
As of 9-25-03, Damascus
is still around, but the clock is ticking.
The
clock is still ticking, but for how much longer?
It's now 9-28-05, two years and three days later, and the clock is still
ticking for Damascus, in my opinion. Why do I say that? Because Damascus continues to draw attention to itself as a major sponsor
for terror, as well as an enemy of Israel and the West, particularly the United States.
Bearing all this in mind, Israel
National News is currently reporting, in part, the following (emphasis
added mine):
Syrian President Bashar el-Assad has
instructed Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in Damascus to step-up terror attacks against Israel in an effort to divert the focus of the international
community away from him, PA intelligence officials report.
Haaretz,
echoing the Israel National News article, is currently reporting, in part,
the following (emphasis added mine):
Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier
this month gave Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives in Damascus
a green light to carry out terror attacks and escalate fighting against
Israel, Israel Radio said Wednesday, quoting a high-level Palestinian
Authority intelligence dispatch, which was reportedly passed on to Egypt
and Israel.
If what Israel National News and Haaretz
is reporting is accurate, it may explain why, only two weeks after Israel
completed its historic Gaza withdrawal, the Jewish nation is already
being attacked by Hamas, being forced to retaliate, and already beginning
to be pressured to be calm by the international community, huh?
Recently, looking ahead to an event which
is going to take place in the prophetic future, I reeled off the names of
the nations which will someday participate in the Gog-Magog invasion attempt
on Israel described in Ezekiel 38 & 39.
On the list of suspects, not surprisingly,
is the world's #1 state sponsor of terrorism Persia (AKA Iran), but the
#2 state sponsor of terrorism, Syria, is nowhere to be found when we look
the list over. Could it be the reason Syria isn't around to join in the
fun is that its capital city of Damascus is no longer in play? I don't know,
but it's enough to make one wonder, huh?
Gog-Magog confederacy
members:
1.
Gog - Most agree this is a reference to Russia.
2.
Meshech - Most associate this with modern day Turkey,
ancient Anatolia, but some say it refers to the Moscow area.
3.
Tubal - Most associate this with modern day Turkey, ancient
Anatolia
4.
Persia - modern Iran
5.
Ethiopia
6.
Libya
7.
Gomer - eastern Europe or Turkey
8.
Togarmah - southeastern Europe or Turkey
Several people have written me lately suggesting
they feel less than certain that all the elements necessary to lead Israel
into accepting the prophesied Antichrist's peace plan (or allowing him to
'confirm' peace, as it is stated in Daniel 9:27) are presently on scene.
Although there seems to be a near consensus among my site's readers I hear
from through e-mail that progress is rapidly being made toward that end
result, many believe we are going to witness some dramatic trigger event
take place that will make everyone - even Israel's most despicable enemies
- give serious thought to ending the ongoing conflict, albeit we know, based
on Ezekiel 38 & 39, that isn't going to be a lasting mindset by any
means.
Could it be that Damascus' destruction,
assuming that history hasn't recorded a total destruction of Damascus which
was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, is drawing near? Could it be that
Syrian President Bashar Assad, at this very hour, is setting the
stage for it to happen, inviting the prophesied destruction of Damascus
by pressing Israel's enemies to turn the heat up on Israel? Time will tell,
but one can see how things could reach the boiling point in short order
in the troubled Middle East.
Keep looking up!