Before we get in to the scripture this morning I want to put a kind of disclaimer here before you. Prophecy is a fascinating subject. I think most people want to know what the future holds, and I am no exception.
What is so wonderful about Biblical prophecy however, is the fact that it is inspired by God and 100% accurate. Once an event prophesied in Scripture occurs we can look back at the passages that speak of that event and marvel at the perfection and fulfillment of the prophecy.
But things are a bit different when we are studying prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled, as we will be this morning. In this case, the Bible’s accuracy is still infallible, but often the human interpretation can be in error – especially when it comes to details and timing in prophecy.
For the next two weeks we are going to be looking at just such a prophecy – one that I have been studying intensively and felt was pertinent for the time we are living in. I am not a prophet. I am a human being and as such am extremely fallible. I want to teach you my best understanding of this future prophecy. However, should I get some of the minute details or timing of these events wrong – don’t be surprised. There’s nothing wrong with God’s Word, as events will prove. There’s just error in my understanding of the prophecy. So, having said that, let’s begin our teaching.
The situation between Hezbollah and Israel is continuing to heat up, and nobody seems able, or even willing, to stop it. Not surprisingly, the most extreme and threatening voice in the region comes from the radical Iranian president Ahmadinejad. He has claimed that a Middle East storm is brewing and will strike violently. “The use of force in Lebanon could trigger a hurricane,” he is quoted as saying.
Likewise, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asserted, “If the peace option fails because of Israeli ignorance, there will be no option but a war in the region.”
Syria has placed its army, Scud missiles and air force on the highest level of preparedness in recent years. And it is gaining the most contemporary weapons systems from one of its main allies, Russia.
Perhaps even more alarming is the report that the Iranian Revolutionary commander has “assumed command of the Lebanon war” from the leader of Hezbollah.
Unless somebody blinks soon, this conflict has the potential to escalate into the fulfillment of the Biblical oracle or prophecy concerning Damascus.
Damascus is the capital city of Syria. The ancient city is now a thriving metropolis and the home of the University of Damascus, the Central Bank of Syria, the Olympic Stadium, and numerous theaters and museums.
The heart of Damascus is the Old City. Even under Islamic rule, the ancient heart of the city remains divided into four Quarters: The Old City, Muslim, Jewish and Christian Quarters. The latter two are bisected by the east-west “street which is called straight” (Acts 9:11), where the Apostle Paul stayed after his meeting with the risen Christ. The famous thoroughfare is still in constant use.
Since before the time of Abraham, Damascus has been an important city. It lies on the ancient trade route of the Fertile Crescent that leads from the Persian Gulf to the Holy Land.
Today Damascus has around 5 million citizen and serves as headquarters to a number of terrorist groups. With the destruction of Baghdad, it is now the leading center of the Ba’ath Party, the political group with numerous ties to Socialist parties of Europe and Russia. During its entire history, it has never been destroyed. That is why the Biblical prophecies concerning Damascus are so important.
I. Where Can The Prophecies Concerning Damascus, Syria Be Found in the Bible?
These prophecies can be found in three main passages in the Bible, all of them in the Old Testament and none written later than approximately 2,600 years ago. Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:23-27; and Amos 1:3-5 are the scriptures we will be taking a look at. We are not going to read them in their entirety right now but I do encourage you to do so when you get home.
To begin any study on prophecy three important questions arise: What is the prophecy about, or what is going to occur? How and/or when will the prophecy be fulfilled? Why was the prophecy given, or why will it be carried out?
We’re going to try to answer these questions in our study. So let’s get to the first question. What is the prophecy about and what is going to occur?
II. What Will Happen to Damascus?
If you look at your handouts, I’ve separated the scriptures so that they match the question we are attempting to answer. So let’s read the first scripture passage under question number one.
A. Isaiah 17:1,2,9
[1] The oracle (prophecy) concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin. [2] The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks to lie down in, and there will be no one to frighten them. [9] In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest, or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel; and the land will be a desolation.”
To this day Damascus is thought to be the world’s oldest, continuously inhabited city. With a 5,000 year history, it has never been destroyed, yet, Isaiah 17:1 indicates that it will one day cease to exist.
However, remember that we said last week that when a city is mentioned in prophecy it often refers to the not only the city but the entire surrounding area as well? In this case, we are talking about the whole country of Syria, or at the very least the cities and areas surrounding the Syrian capital of Damascus. So when we read about the destruction of Damascus, it is not just the city that is going to be destroyed – it is the entire region, maybe even the entire country.
This idea can be proven by the names of the others cities and regions included in these scripture passages – all of which are located in or are in some way connected with Syria.
For example, verse 2 refers to the cities of Aroer. The word Aroer actually means “ruins.” So some people don’t think this is an actual place named Aroer, but instead is a phrase encompassing all surrounding cities, which are reduced to ruins along with Damascus. If this is the correct translation, then the cities of ruin would include the Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, which is in a direct line between Beirut and Damascus. (Map 3)
B. Jeremiah 49:23,24,27
This same idea of destruction of the entire area is continued in the Jeremiah prophecy.
[23] Concerning Damascus “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard bad news; they are disheartened there is anxiety by the sea, it cannot be calmed. Damascus has become helpless; she has turned away to flee, and panic has gripped her; distress and pangs have taken hold of her like a woman in childbirth. [27] I will set fire to the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the fortified towers of Ben-hadad.”
Hamath is the site of the modern city of Hamah, population 65,000. Located on the Orontes River, Hamath and Arpad are associated cities with histories traceable all the way back to what archaeologists refer to as the “Neolithic Period” – approximately 4-5,000 years ago.
Arpad was also the name of a northern Syrian province. Its inclusion denotes a major catastrophe of some sort that encompasses most of Syria. (Map 1 and 2) Although this destruction may not reach as far north as Hamath and Arpad, because it you notice Jeremiah doesn’t say that these cities are destroyed. He says that they heard the bad news concerning Damascus and became frightened and anxious.
C. Amos 1:4-5
[4] So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael and it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. [5] I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden; so the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.
Amos also agrees with the assessment of all or at least most of Syria being destroyed. Hazael and Ben-hadad are the names of ancient Syrian kings, and Aram is a reference to the people who inhabited ancient Syria known as the Arameans. The inclusion of the names referring to the people of the land show that the judgment of God will descend on the inhabitants of the land as well as the cities.
And look what happens to the people who do survive this desolation. It says that the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir. The exact location of Kir is unknown, but many scholars believe it is somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia in modern day Jordan or Iraq. While preparing for this study, I came across a reference that said that Kir was in the ancient lands of Media. Media is in northern Iran. If this is the true location, then the Syrians who survive the destruction of Damascus and the surrounding area, may flee to Iran. This would be very plausible since Syria and Iran are present-day allies.
Amos also speaks about cutting off the inhabitants from the valley of Aven. This is a valley or plain area believed to be in Lebanon near the modern city of Baalbek. This would be within the region of a Hezbollah stronghold. (Map 2 and 3)
And finally, Amos mentions cutting of him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden. Beth-eden (seen on Map 1) is an area near the upper Euphrates River valley in present day Syria.
Now, a scepter is a symbol of authority and usually the one who holds the scepter is the ruler or leader of the place named. Who is the leader of Beth-Eden who will be cut off? I don’t know. It could be a reference to the Syrian president Bashar Assad. It could be any number of terrorist leaders in the region or maybe all of the above. We won’t know the definite answer to this one until it happens.
So, in answer to the question, what is going to happen to Damascus and the cities surrounding it– I think that in this case it is safe to say that it will be completely destroyed. In fact, it will be so desolate that no one will inhabit it again.
III. How Will the Prophecy Be Fulfilled?
Next, let’s turn our attention to the second question: How will this prophecy be fulfilled? We’ve already seen the devastation that is going to occur, but now we’re going to see if God explains how it will come about.
This is one of those areas I spoke of earlier that can be easily misinterpreted. God gives us some clues about how this disaster comes about, but until it actually happens, no one will know for sure. What’s exciting, though, is the fact that when it does occur, we will be able to look at these passages again and see how they were fulfilled exactly as God said they would be.
So, let’s look at Isaiah 17:14 and Jeremiah 49:26 and see what clues the Lord has given us concerning how the Damascus area will be destroyed.
Isaiah 17:14
[14] At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us and the lot of those who pillage us.
Jeremiah 49:26
[26] Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets, and all the men of war will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD of hosts.
When I read these two passages I was struck by how quickly the end comes to this city. Isaiah talks about terror coming at night and by morning everything being gone. Jeremiah writes of young men falling in the streets and the men of war being silenced in what I take to be a single day’s time.
It made me wonder what catastrophic event could wipe out the capital of Syria AND the surrounding area AND all the inhabitants in one day. By looking at the maps it appears to me that this is a rather large area, we’re talking about. Now, I am by no means an expert, but the only thing that I could think of that could cause this kind of devastation is a nuclear bomb.
It’s possible that an earthquake could cause this type of damage, or a tornado, though I’ve never heard of the Middle East experiencing tornadoes before. And Damascus is too far from the sea for this to be a hurricane. Also, I think that if this was a natural disaster, God and the prophets would have used different words to describe it. Elsewhere, in the Bible earthquakes and storms are spoken of, and we are left with no doubt that that is what the author was speaking of in those cases. But here, we don’t have any references to the ground shaking, or hail falling, or anything else that would give us the idea that this was a natural disaster.
Also, if we take into account the events presently occurring in the Middle East, especially in the specific area of Damascus and its neighbor, Lebanon, a nuclear weapon seems like a fairly plausible explanation. Israel, after all, does have nuclear capability. They refer to it as the “Sampson Option”. It’s not hard to believe that things could escalate to the point where Israel felt that the only way they could survive would be to use their nuclear arsenal to destroy the enemy.
At present, I believe these verses are describing a nuclear holocaust. And there are several prophecy scholars who agree with this assessment. Israel has all but announced plans to mount a pre-emptive attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran and Syria supply money, weaponry, and supervisory manpower for the 16,000 or so missiles Hezbollah is launching against Israel. They are even believed to have directed Hezbollah to provoke the present attack against Israel to demonstrate their combined strength as a deterrent to Israel’s plans. Israel has promised to destroy Hezbollah before they stop, this could mean having to deal with their suppliers, Syria and Iran, as well.
But like I said, this is an area open to interpretation, maybe God has something else in mind of which we aren’t presently aware. Time will tell as events continue to play out.
We will continue this topic next week, when we try to answer questions 3 and 4. Bring your handouts back with you. And who knows, by that time, we may already have seen this event occur and won’t need to speculate on just how or why it will happen.
