NUCLEAR WAR IN
THE MIDEAST
PART 6
(SYRIA)
by Steve
Ashburn
In Part 5 of this
series, we saw how Damascus was converted to a “ruinous
heap” by Israel after their attempted invasion, and the
surrounding cities “forsaken.” After this, the few
survivors were herded to a staging area near present-day
Al-Karak, Jordan, and deported to other nations by a
UN-type of agency contractor. Israel thus came into full
possession of her promised land:
And they of the
south shall possess the mount of Esau [Jordan]; and they
of the plain the Philistines [Gaza]: and they shall
possess the fields of Ephraim [West Bank], and the
fields of Samaria [West Bank]: and Benjamin shall
possess Gilead [Jordan]. And the captivity of this host
of the children of Israel [still living in foreign
lands] shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto
Zarephath [Lebanon & Syria]; and the captivity of
Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad [a province of ancient
Assyria, symbolizing Jews still living in foreign
lands], shall possess the cities of the south [Jordan &
the Sinai]. (Obadiah 1:19–20)
We continue now
with our studies of this Psalm 83 war—which marks the
beginning of the end times. Isaiah describes other
nations raging at Israel at this time:
Woe to the
multitude of many people, which make a noise like the
noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that
make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The
nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but
God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and
shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the
wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
(Isaiah 17:12–13)
Although the
surrounding Arab nations will rush at Israel “like the
rushing of many waters,” God will rebuke them and chase
them away, and they shall “flee far off,” and be like
“chaff of the mountains [nations],” implying
international relocation of their surviving populations;
Israel is here described like a “whirlwind,” indicating
swift and deadly military action. The swiftness of
Israel’s retaliation is indicated by verse 14:
"And behold at
eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.
This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot
of them that rob us."
The invading enemy
forces are pictured as appearing in the evening, but by
the morning they will be destroyed (“he is not”).
Scripture indicates this also will be the punishment of
all the other invading enemy forces (“This is the
portion of them that spoil us”). If Israel uses nuclear
weapons against Syria as they will against Egypt, this
verse may literally be true: The invaders appear in the
evening, but by the morning their country is a
radioactive wasteland. In that case Damascus really
would be “a ruinous heap,” and “there shall be
desolation.”
Jeremiah 49:23–27
also describes the destruction of Damascus by fire, and
is sandwiched in between end-times passages describing
the destruction of Edom (present-day Jordan) and Kedar
and Hazor (present-day Saudi Arabia). Verse 27 reads:
“And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and
it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.” The timeline
for this passage is “in that day” (a phrase referring to
the end times) when “all the men of war shall be cut
off” (Jeremiah 49:26). Since Psalm 83 indicates that
Israel will be attacked by all the Arab nations
surrounding her, it makes sense for Jeremiah 49 also to
include the destruction of these two adjacent
nations—Jordan and Arabia—at the same time.
The destruction of
Arabia (“the men of the east”) is described in Jeremiah
49:28–33. Although Nebuchadnezzar precursively fulfilled
this prophecy in the sixth century BC, the inhabitants
of Kedar and Hazor are advised to “Arise, get you up
unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care,
saith the Lord,
which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone”
(Jeremiah 49:31); in context, this almost certainly
refers to Saudis fleeing to the United States for
shelter after Israel attacks and destroys the Arab
nations surrounding her.
In this verse,
the US is described as the “wealthy nation, that
dwelleth without care . . . which dwell alone.” Indeed,
the United States has been a refuge in times of war for
many people worldwide; without a doubt wealthy Saudis
would be welcome here. Verses 32–33 indicate that the
wealth of Arabia will be “a booty, and . . . a spoil,”
and that the Lord will “scatter into all winds them that
are in the utmost corners” (of the Arabian Peninsula);
then parts of their land will be “a desolation forever,”
probably resulting from nuclear fallout.
This “desolation,”
however, implies more than just nuclear fallout. During
the millennium, the Lord Jesus will restore the earth to
its perfect antediluvian state, with environmental
conditions similar to those in the garden of Eden, and
the various nations restored to their lands with
appointed boundaries. However, three areas are mentioned
in the Bible as being “a desolation forever”: Edom
(southern Jordan) in Jeremiah 49:18; future Babylon
(probably located in northern Iraq) in Jeremiah 50:13;
and Hazor (northwestern Arabia) in our text passage. The
text suggests that “Hazor” is a geographical description
of settled villages of Arabs, rather than a nomadic
people (“Kedar”).
For a region to be
so cursed by God, its inhabitants must have sinned
greatly and exceedingly, and must have irrevocably
rejected Jehovah God—at this point, God removes their
people from ever being a nation again. This applies to
Edom (inveterate enemies of Israel), future Babylon (the
seat of the Antichrist) and the so-called “holy land” of
Saudi Arabia. (Interestingly, Mohammed himself claimed
direct descent from Kedar.)
Apparently, God
has quite a bone to pick with Islam, which commands its
adherents to kill all Jews on earth. Probably after
Israeli nuclear missiles destroy Mecca, the entire
Moslem world will know that their so-called god Allah
was unable to protect his holy city against the Jews,
and therefore is an impotent and false god. By
implication, this means that Mohammed was a false
prophet and that their so-called “holy scripture”—the
Koran—was fabricated.
After this, Syria
becomes pastureland for Israel (“they shall be for
flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them
afraid”); Israel also is in possession of the West Bank,
Gaza, and Jordan. As Obadiah 1:19 describes it:
"And they of the
south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the
plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields
of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin
shall possess Gilead."
Ezekiel speaks of
Egypt being “desolate in the midst of the countries that
are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are
laid waste” (Ezekiel 29:12); this description of other
countries that are desolate probably includes Syria.
Jeremiah 25 lists some of the other nations which will
be judged in this conflict:
Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his
people; And all the mingled people [Arabs], and all the
kings of the land of Uz [northern Arabia], and all the
kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and
Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod [Gaza],
Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon [West Bank and
Jordan], And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings
of Zidon [Lebanon] . . . Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and
all that are in the utmost corners [of the Arabian
Peninsula], And all the kings of Arabia, and all the
kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert
[all Arabs]. (Jeremiah 25:19–24)
The immediate
timeline for this passage is the Psalm 83 war, because
Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan are included. However, all
nations on earth are also included in this passage;
therefore, the prophecy extends also to the battle of
Armageddon, when “a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the
Lord shall
be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth” (Jeremiah 25:32–33).
The surviving
remnant of Syria is described as being like “the glory
of the children of Israel”: “The fortress also shall
cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and
the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the
children of Israel, saith the
Lord of
hosts” (Isaiah 17:3).
This appears to
refer to the kingdom age since “At that day shall a man
look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to
the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 17:7). Isaiah 19 also
looks forward to this time:
In that day shall
there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the
Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into
Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the
Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with
Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of
the land: Whom the
Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be
Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and
Israel mine inheritance. (Isaiah 19:23–25)
Syria will have a
blessed place in the kingdom age—along with the other
nations in the millennium—perhaps especially notable
because of its proximity to both ancient Assyria and
Israel. They will serve the Lord, along with the
Egyptians and Assyrians. Syria has been a blessing to
Israel in the past. Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, was from
Syria; so were Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob; the
apostle Paul was converted on the road to Damascus; and
the apostles established an early church at Antioch, and
it is there that the disciples were first called
Christians (Acts 11:20–30). Even today, Syria has more
than one million Christians, many of whom are persecuted
by Islamic extremists and being forced to flee. Perhaps
after the war which begins the end times, these
Christians again will live in part of their ancient land
without fear of persecution.
We’ll cover more
about this Mideast war in Part 7 of this series,
including the destruction of Jordan as a nation; and the
deportation of the survivors to other nations from a
staging area near present-day Al-Karak, Jordan, a
process which will take three years. So stand by for
Part 7!
I provide more
details of this and many other end-times prophecies in
my recently published book, END TIMES DAWNING: Get
Ready! (available from
www.endtimesrecord.com). Please read it! Also if you
would, please leave a book review on Amazon!
Yours in Christ,
Steve Ashburn
