Thoughts on Egypt/Syria Current Events

 

Thoughts on Egypt/Syria Current Events

With all the stuff that has been happening in the Middle East over the last couple years and especially in the last several days, I feel compelled to bring up some Bible prophecies that I find very interesting in this light. I am not saying their fulfillment is imminent, but for the first time, events are shaping up in a way that their soon fulfillment is plausible. Consider the current crisis in Egypt and these verses from Isaiah Ch 19 (likely written around 700 BC):

“I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian—
brother will fight against brother,
neighbor against neighbor,
city against city,
kingdom against kingdom.
³ The Egyptians will lose heart,
and I will bring their plans to nothing;
they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,
the mediums and the spiritists.
⁴ I will hand the Egyptians over
to the power of a cruel master,
and a fierce king will rule over them,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

(NIV)

It seems that this has already begun to be fulfilled. The remainder of the chapter includes other interesting prophecies that you may want to check out for yourself.

 

Another very interesting topic that has come up in the last week is Syria. As I am sure everyone knows by now, almost 1500 Syrians were killed last week in a chemical attack. President Obama is weighing his options (namely how does he respond effectively and keep credibility in regards to his “red line” comment last year) and some sort of military strike is expected soon. Syria and Hezbollah (Syrian terrorist proxy group) have stated that if they are attacked by the US, they will attack Israel. Israel has taken this threat very seriously; Israeli citizens have begun a rush on gas masks (though 60% of Israeli citizens already have them. They certainly live in a different place than we do), and Israeli leadership has set Israeli defenses on heightened alert and has warned that if attacked, they will respond “fiercely”. Now Assad (Syrian “President”) knows that if he attacks Israel, his regime will be toppled immediately. But if his situation is desperate enough, what is to stop him from using the same chemical weapons he used on his own people, against his long-time enemy Israel? Check out this passage from Isaiah Ch 17:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
² The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
³ The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus; …

…“In that day the glory of Jacob (aka Israel) will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
⁵ It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
⁶ Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

(NIV)

A chemical/bio attack on Israel and a possible nuclear counter attack would certainly fit the above description. Later in the chapter the impression that this event happens literally overnight is given in verse 14.

Now, I am not saying that this is going to happen right now, or in this way. But for us Bible believing Christians we do see it very clearly spelled out that Damascus will cease to be a city and be a heap of ruins. This has never happened. Ever. It is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (some say around 5000 years old). I just find very interesting the current events surrounding Damascus right now: events that no one saw coming just 3 years ago but maybe events that God told us about almost 3000 years ago. Regardless of what happens and why, we should be praying for the innocent people in Syria right now, victims of yet another evil man without regard for human worth.