Yet Syria seems to be conspicuously absent from the prophecy laid out in Ezekiel 38. Why is that? Well, consider these two prophecies:
An oracle concerning Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins. [Isaiah 17:1]
"Surely, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad." [Jeremiah 49:26-27]
Sounds to me like Damascus is going to be taken out before they get their big chance.
Although the Bible states that one day, Jerusalem shall become "a burdensome stone for all people," [Zechariah 12:3] I would submit to you that Syria (of which Damascus is the capital) has become the burdensome stone at this point in history.
Syria maintains some 20,000 troops in Lebanon. No surprise here. Syria shares a narrow border with Israel. Having troops stationed in Lebanon offers a wider invasion route into Israel.
Last week's apparent assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, is believed by many to have been sanctioned by Syria. That would be no surprise if that were the case. Hariri, credited with helping rebuild Lebanon after its long and bloody civil war, was also critical of the pro-Syrian regime in Lebanon.
The bombing attack set off political shock waves throughout Lebanon. It's becoming more apparent that some of the Lebanese people are also fed up with the pro-Syrian regime as well. Opposition leaders are calling for a "peaceful uprising for independence," demanding dismissal of the government, withdrawal of all Syrian troops, and to pave the way for free and democratic elections.
Anti-Syrian sentiment is running so high now that it was even reported that some protesters allegedly set fire to tents of Syrian farm workers. Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon have been ordered to stay in their barracks for their own protection.
Syria is caught between a rock a hard spot right now. They depend on Lebanon for economic support. They may have to fight the Lebanese in order to stay, in which case they will be judged harshly by the world community. On the other hand, if they are forced to withdraw, it will be just as devastating to the Syrian government, and they might not last long.
There's been plenty of outside pressure on Syria as well. The United Nations reiterated UN Resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon (Syrian troops were deployed to Lebanon during the civil war of 1975-90 - no doubt to tip the balance in Damascus' favor - and haven't left since).
On top of that, the Bush administration has long accused Syria of supporting anti-Israeli militants and the insurgency in Iraq. It's also quite likely there's a lot of terrorist training going on there. Diplomatically things have gotten so bad between the U.S. and Syria that we have recalled our ambassador there this week.
Oh yeah, then there's that pesky story about the Russians allegedly packing up Iraqi WMD and shipping them off to Syria.
It's interesting with all the sabre-rattling going on now that Syria has allied itself with Iran. They're in deep doo-doo, and they know it. They need all the help they can get. I just wonder how much more helpful the Iranians will be. They're already supporting Hezbollah. But will they send troops or planes? Will it matter? Right now we probably have our aerial drones spying on them, and the Iranian government is paranoid enough over the "shiny objects" flying in their airspace.
There's just too many cards stacked up against Syria right now. Perhaps the next piece of the prophecy puzzle will involve Syria. Who knows (but God) the degree of destruction that will be leveled upon Damascus? And will it perhaps be the catalyst for attacking Israel?
Stay vigilant, my brethren. Keep watch.
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