- Jan 25, 2009
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Seems every time you hear about Syria recently that there's bad news - and it also seems many tend to be thinking that there's no hope for it. It's bad enough that two million Syrians have fled their country – and a further 4.3 million have been forced from their homes while remaining within the nation's borders as war continues to rage....but even worse to see the ways that the U.S has been funding those on the side who've been harming many in Syria -Syria currently and Libya alongside other places being caught up in so much political intrigue ( #51 /#22#53 )
However, what also seems highly intriguing to me is the ways many have been making commentary on the ways that the people of Syria (especially the believers) has all been prophesied - with others seeming to be flippant in saying "Well, this is just Biblical prophecy that Syria is being harmed - so the believers there don't matter since it's all about people rising up to be judged by Israel!!!!" ..
As much as I've prayed for Israel and feel the Lord will use it and that it has purpose, it is highly problematic to me whenever others act as if the other nations who suffer (like Syria) have no positive place in Biblical prophecy - and then dismiss what goes on with God's people in those nations as if it's of no consequence.
Many - as it concerns prophecy on Syria - have gone to the following:
* Isaiah 17:1-3 — “The oracle concerning Damascus. ‘Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks to lie down in, and there will be no one to frighten them. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and sovereignty from Damascus….’”
“And at evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more.”
“And at evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more.”
But there are several issues with that - one of the biggest being that we really have NO evidence of chemical weapons being present within Syria.....'
And the other being how prophecy can be interpreted. Heard the prophecy about Damascus being destroyed the other day - in a manner that seemed very callous to what was going on in Syria and acting as if it was solely a matter of "Biblical Prophecy" as opposed to the reality of artifically seeking to destroy others and justify the destruction of others (especially the Christians suffering there) as if it was simply destined to happen ....and it bothered me that so many seemed quick to run to Isaiah 17 without addressing the FULL context of scripture/seeing all the factors that are connected with it.
There were a couple of places that seemed to have good info - one of them being here and here:
- Syria, Damascus, War And Isaiah 17
- Does Isaiah 17 prophesy the imminent destruction of Syria? | Joel's ...
"In the ninth year of Hoshea, the King of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes."
One should also consider references such as Jeremiah 49:23-24 and Zech 9:1 and Micah 1:6 - but suffice to say, the way many fundamentalists read the scriptures on Syria often seems to be in a literal application divorced from the culture it was spoken in.....centuries removed/divorced from events. It's sad to see the way that many Evangelical Christians celebrate the destruction of other nations in the name of supporting Israel and yet no one considers the ways that the Gospel is neglected - as well as not truly seeing people as the Lord does. John Hagee comes immediately to mind in how much he has done the same as others seem to be doing with Syria - championing war mongering in the name of Israel being established and having a mercenary mindset that is not concerned with the salvation of all (more shared in #18 /#355 ).
There does seem to be a lot of the END-Times sensationalism that seems to be going on with events in the Middle-East and the many ways people seem to be continually saying that it's the end of the world - and as much as I may enjoy/adhere to aspects of Futurism to see the way many futurist individuals have spoken on the times (i.e. Claiming "Well you know - Damascus was prophesied to be COMPLETELY destroyed in order to save Israel according to Isaiah 17 - with that being what's going on with the deaths in Syria"....or saying "The world is going to Hell just as the Lord always intended it!!! God's Judging!!!", etc.) .........I just don't see why it seems so many don't seem to want to acknowledge that perhaps we're not in the End as many prophesy - and are simply experiencing things relative to where we are.
I acknowledge that having some leanings toward partial preterism and futurism mixed makes a lot of difference in how I choose to respond - noted in #43 /#49 /#118 /#213 - but on the futurism aspect, it is interesting how many point to negative prophecies about Syria and yet never consider the good ones that have been made as well. For Isaiah describes a time when Egypt and Assyria - along with Israel - will be a blessing on the Earth. Interestingly enough, what was Assyria in Isaiah's day includes parts of Turkey, Iraq and Syria today. Assyria was an ancient empire whose capital city was Nineveh (II Kings 19:36). It was primarily located in Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the western end -- roughly where Iraq is currently located. The Assyrian Empire extended from Ur of Chaldes, up the Tigress-Euphrates valley toward Baghdad then across to the Mediterranean, taking in modern day Syria.
So Assyria in the Bible included modern day Iraq and Syria. And by substituting the names of these present-day countries, we come up with remarkable scripture as it relates to prophecy
Isaiah 19:19-21Isaiah 19
20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.
21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.
21 Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. 22 And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
God has a heart for Syria - as well as other nations in Biblical prophecy (more shared in #12 ) - with much of the Gospel and the Church itself beginning with the Apostle Paul IN Antioch and Damascus (in Syria) when seeing Acts 9 and Acts 11.....the Church exceptionally strong there. And with the destruction befalling it, I think we need to remember that it's not ALWAYS a matter of God bringing a negative judgment. And in many ways, it would do a lot of good if others in the Body of Christ would realize how the West is Helping to Destroy Christianity in Syria...
Many things we place on God - but really, some things can simply be the actions of man. Something my cousin and I were discussing the other day was that it often seems people tend to be looking continually for what they deem to be End-Time events signs - from what's going on in Israel to the wars seeming to begin - and yet no one considers if perhaps it's possible to have events scripted/played out (like dramas) in an artificial manner where it seems like the real deal - and yet it's not anywhere close to how the Lord intended it. Simply for the sake of ensuring deception and throwing others off into getting excited/riled up over events thinking they meant one thing when they really were jumping the gun - and still missing the main goal....
Blessings
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