Category: damascus

Posted in aleppo, damascus, judgment, point of no return

Update on Syria: more on bio-weaponry, and why Aleppo is important

Posted on by elizabethprata

Watchmen have been keeping their eyes peeled in watching the events unfold in Syria this last year. The uprising by insurgents/rebels has been going on since at least April 2011 and is getting more violent every day. They are trying to topple “President” Bashar al Assad, who has been in rule there since his father died in 2000. [I put “president” in scare quotes because Assad ran unopposed both times]. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. (Left, President Assad, Wiki commons photo)

In the last few weeks the rebels have pitched their battles more pointedly and more violently. Largely over the last year, Damascenes have felt safe from the fighting that until then had been contained in the outlying governates. But last week the rebels brought the battle straight to the residential areas of the city, to the courthouses and interior halls of power. The rebels call this latest push against the regime, “Operation Damascus Volcano.”

The reality of violence in Syria – car bombing in Damascus. Photo by AP
photo published in Israeli Daily, Haaretz

Now the battle is in Damascus too. Just last week in Damascus, three members of Assad’s inner circle were killed, tanks rolled, rockets flared, refugees fled, and the rebels gained unprecedented ground. Turkey closed its border to Syria (to commerce, not refugees). Jordan tightened its border with Syria. Israel expects trouble with Syria. Trouble of the chemical kind, that is.

Israelis lining up to get gas masks, source

One of the main concerns as the battle rages in Damascus, not only that it is in unprecedented geographical territory and is taking place in the capital city itself, is that some of Syria’s chemical and bio-weapon labs are located there. Knowing this, Israel’s distribution of gas masks is going through the roof.

I’ve mentioned a remarkable article/interview in the New English Review with Dr. Jill Dekker, conducted in December 2007. I discovered it in 2009. The interview was conducted to gather “answers and professional views on how extensive the Syrian bio-warfare threat is, we turned to Dr. Jill Dekker, a consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism. Dr. Dekker is also a member of the board of advisors of the Intelligence Summit.”

I had noted several times over the years from having learned in the New English Review article, that the chemical and bio-weaponry labs in Damascus are sophisticated and that Syrian top level officials have already determined that they will use them as conventional weapons. That is one of the main points Dr Dekker wanted to make. The Syrians know they do not have the money or capability to maintain parity with the West on conventional weapon production, so in 2007 they decided to load bio and chemicals onto the weapons they do have and use them instead, and concentrate on producing viruses and anthrax instead of thousands of missiles. She noted this was an important psychological turning point in the arms race between the West and the terrorist regimes behind Syria (such as Iran and Hezbollah). She said then that the West should be very, very concerned.

Why? “The Syrians work on most Category A pathogens: anthrax, plague, tularemia, botulinium, smallpox, aflotoxin, cholera, ricin, camelpox… Syria has extensive expertise in the industrial cultivation of germs and viruses for the civilian production of anthrax. Their pharmaceutical infrastructure is fully integrated with their defense structure. (Dekker, source). Frighteningly,

 “1 gram of crystalline Botulinium is estimated to kill about a million people if it were evenly dispersed.” Dekker

Since then, with North Korea, Russia and Iran’s help, Syria has diligently worked in their labs in Damascus to produce bio-weapons of mass destruction. Indeed, last week, they stated their willingness to use them if their nation is invaded in any kind of humanitarian attempt to stop the interior carnage.

Here is something interesting: in that New English Review interview, Dr Dekker said, “There have been a number of accidents with their biological weapons programs that have killed civilians in the past in cities like Homs and Aleppo. Some of those programs were ended and it appears that casualties from former bio-programs were related to ventilation problems. This latest accident appears to have occurred while they were mounting a warhead. Syria is known to have a stockpile of chemical weapons and accidents happen. It is interesting to note that Iranian scientists were involved in that activity.”

In July 2010 I wrote “Plague hitting Syrian Army?” where the rumor emerging out of the Middle East was that the Syrian army had been hit by a plague. At that time, “The International Society for Infectious Diseases posted a report on Monday alleging that the Syrian military has been hit by a plague. According to the report, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ordered the military to stop all its exercises until the source of the epidemic could be pinpointed.”

The page I linked to which reported the possible plague has been taken down now. But you can read a bit more here, and here.

For all prophecy watchers, Damascus squarely in prophetic cross-hairs now. Isaiah 17:1 states that Damascus will be a heap of ruins. We know the other prophecies about wars in the Middle East in and around Jerusalem is that there will be many battles and wars (i.e. Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38-39, etc).

As for today’s news, I want to bring attention to something that also relates to the prophtic implications for Isaiah 17:1 in Syria. Dr Dekker said in the New English Review article of the chemical and bio-weaponry labs, “They also have a number of programs running in Aleppo.”

CNN reports this morning
Syrian rebels amass as battles for Aleppo, Damascus intensify

click to enlarge

Why is Aleppo so important to the Syrian rebels? Damascus is the capital, therefore claiming the capital incites an important psychological victory. However, Aleppo is the largest and most populated city in Syria. It is also the commercial center, as stated in this video from CNN explaining the city’s strategic importance. Aleppo was at the end of the Silk Road, is just across the border from Turkey, and note this- 20% of Aleppo’s population is Christian.

With battles raging in Damascus and Aleppo, we know both cities are of strategic military importance to the rebels. The two cities are ALSO home to the two bio and chemical weaponry labs. Now you can understand how the ancient prophetic is playing out before our eyes.

Please pray for the Christians in Aleppo. Pray for the lost. Pray for the times. On that last one, I am conflicted.

I know my brother in Christ Joel C. Rosenberg, a wise and mature man of our faith, has been saying with all biblical fervency to anyone who will listen that we need to pray for a ‘Third Great Awakening’ or else there is nothing that will stop the implosion of America. I agree that we do need one, and I agree that it is important to pray. Nineveh was saved due their their national repentance. However, America is not the only nation that needs an awakening and sometimes I think we Christians tend to get a little biblically insular about the US. Every nation has Christians living in them and they all need prayer. Every nation has the lost living in them, therefore every nation needs fervent prayer to prevent the hand of God moving to crush them in judgment when that lost nation rebels, as all 195 nations are currently doing.

However, I am conflicted because in my heart of hearts, I truly believe we are enduring the Wrath of God’s abandonment and He has given us over. I truly believe we are on the final path away from God and that we have crossed the point of no return.

John MacArthur explains the five kinds of God’s wrath: Eschatological wrath, eternal wrath, cataclysmic wrath, sowing and reaping wrath, and there’s the wrath of abandonment. And this last one is another category of God’s wrath. Separate from the others. The wrath of abandonment follows the progression in Romans 1. That is when an individual is so hardened to the truth, He gives them over to their sin, with no turning back. The same goes for nations. When nations at the ordinance, legal, governmental levels  hardens itself so deeply by becoming the predominant voice of sin in the land, He gives the nation over to their sin.

When does He judge? First He warns, then He disciplines. If repentance is absent or if the nation worsens their actions in spite of His obvious discipline, then at a certain point after long-suffering compassion, He deems their sins “incurable” and He judges. “There is no relief for your breakdown, Your wound is incurable.” (Nahum 3:19)

That’s why I always cringe when I hear people say, “well, after a lifetime of rebellion/atheism/sin, I think he converted on his deathbed. There is a good chance that my grandpa/dad/brother is in heaven.” I’m not so sure. If a person has rejected God’s common grace for a lifetime, and had rejected His reproving, warnings, Gospel, and witnessing for all of a lifetime, there is a greater chance that the person had been given over to their reprobate mind and ended up in hell, than they suddenly saw the light and ended up in heaven. However, various cases exist, so once again, Only God knows. That’s why it is important not to take a chance and keep on rejecting Him, though, whether at the individual or national level.

On March 23, 2010 I asked the question, Has America’s point of no return been reached? I felt back then that perhaps it had. I felt then and I still do that God’s final decision had been reached and the line had been crossed into permanent judgment territory with no going back. I am not saying that there is no more time for individuals to come to the Lord! No! People are being saved every day! But America as a nation? Or Australia? Britain? Iran? China? Mongolia? I think it is too late for most of them. Certainly, I feel that for us here in America.

Of course, I have no inside track, no supernatural view, no prophetic word that makes me feel this. It is my opinion only. I believe it only through what I read in the bible and see happening today. There is every chance I could be wrong. So despite not agreeing with those who say there is still time for the nation to repent and the judgment to be stayed, I agree that prayer is always the answer. Please continue to pray for individuals that you know who are not saved. The Lord is putting them on your heart for a reason. Pray for America, but pray for other nations too. Christians live everywhere. America is nothing special in the eyes of the Lord, any more or less than Tonga or Switzerland. He loves all His people, whatever nation they are in.

So keep praying, keep watching Syria, add Aleppo to the list, and keep looking up!

Posted in damascus, prophecy, revolution, syria

Damascus fighting intensifies: important development

Posted on by elizabethprata

Please be aware of the terrible ongoing situation in Syria. Fighting in Syria continues, but a new development is the intensifying battle for the capital city of Damascus. UN Envoy Kofi Annan is shuttling here and there, today he is in Moscow with Syria’s defender, Vladimir Putin. And most ominously, BBC reports,

“Fighting is intensifying across the Syrian capital Damascus, where the military has deployed tanks and helicopters, activists say. Shooting was reported in one of the main central streets and a square housing the Central Bank. Rebel forces say they have launched an all-out assault on the capital, calling it Operation Damascus Volcano.”

Footage of carnage in Douma last month surface today as the battle extend to Damascus. CNN reports, “Dark images of horror and despair smuggled out of Syria“

AP reports, “Intense clashes between Syrian rebels and government forces backed by helicopters spread to new areas of the capital Damascus Tuesday, including a brief firefight near Parliament.”

Twitter, Damascus resident, “Houses are on fire in AlQabun neighborhood as a result of the shelling the place is having.” This still from a shaky Youtube raw video has sounds of rapid fire gunfighting clearly heard nearby, even as billows of black smoke rise unabated from apartment buildings.

Twitter RT- “not sure its a turning point..but major development..” @stephenstarr on @BBCworld on escalation fighting Damascus Syria.” Starr is a freelance journalist & founder of Near East Quarterly based in Damascus 2007 -2012. Author of ‘Revolt in Syria: Eye-witness to the Uprising’

We are mindful of the LORD’S words, that Damascus shall be destroyed, it shall be a heap of ruins. (Isaiah 17:1).  This is a prophecy that has never been completely fulfilled. The city has always been continuously inhabited.

Damascus is mentioned as an existing city as early as Genesis 14:15.  Abraham’s chief servant, Eliezar, was from Damascus. Of course Paul was on the road to Damascus when the Lord intervened in his life and appeared to him. (Acts 9). Its population today (2011) is set at variously between 3.5 and 4.5 million souls.

Pray for Damascus. We do not know who, or how, or when it will be destroyed, levelled to the ground in a heap of uninhabitable ruins, but when it is, think of the millions who will fall with it.

Posted in damascus, el hierro, wildfires

El Hierro island bulges, plus other news

Posted on by elizabethprata

The following is from a still of a Youtube video made of the storm in Ireland today. They happened to be videotaping when one of the many lightning strikes hit the bridge.

Sferic map showing a lot of lightning strikes over many parts of the north and northwest at the moment. Irish Weather Online

brwwx.jpg

Irish Weather Online– Flooding in Douglas, Cork. Image Eddie OHare
dyzzl.jpg

Waldo Canyon Wildfire, CO, described as ‘epic’, ‘catastrophic’, vicious’ (photo source). In my opinion disasters of this scale will only increase, but what’s epic is my heartbreak for so many people’s losses.

Does it seem like wildfires are increasing? If it seems that way to you, it is because they are. “Thousands of wildfires raged across the United States last year, 2011, burning a record amount of land, especially in the southern U.S. In fact, 2011 the third-most-active fire season since 1960 (when this record-keeping began) with respect to acres burned”

A late-June heat wave continues to rewrite the record books in the Rockies and Plains.

The heat is headed east, and we in GA and other areas up to the northern Mid Atlantic States will receive this dangerous heat tomorrow.

We need the rain here in GA and other parts of the south, but poor old Florida got way too much from Tropical Storm Debby. Here, a Nassau County FL bridge has been washed away. The cleanup begins.

Betty Crocker endorses homosexual marriage

source

So Betty, (above) endorses this, (below)

You note that the above promotional poster is a deviant take on the Last Supper of Christ. The illustration depicts a homosexual, naked Jesus presiding over a table filled not with bread and wine, but sex toys.

Oh, Betty. Our clean and wholesome American Icons are continually being deluded and increasingly accepting that which is abominable to God.

Oreo fell to satan’s deception, too:
Kraft Foods has posted a beautiful gleaming color picture of an Oreo stacked with six different layers of brilliantly colored filling. They form a rainbow, which in this case is a symbolic statement of Oreo’s solidarity with the Gay Pride movement, covering gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons.

Newly elected president Morsi says the “Koran is our constitution, Prophet Mohammed is our leader, and jihad is our path, in this chilling speech

A Turkish military truck transports a mobile missile launcher to the Syrian border, near Kilis, Turkey, Thursday, June 28, 2012. (AP Photo). Turkey is furious with Syria’s downing of their jet.

turkey

In addition to looming retaliation from Turkey, Damascus has its own internal problems. A duo of powerful bombs went off today in Syria’s capital city, in front of the Palace of Justice.

Volcanic activity continues. El Hierro in the Canary Islands was again raised to Yellow.
“The most interesting volcano-related event at the moment is certainly the seismic crisis on El Hierro where the high-intensity earthquake swarm accompanied by tremor episodes continues. The quakes, still at “safe” 20 km depth, have now migrated to the El Julan coast where magma could be accumulating. This Spanish media reports the island has elevated itself 2 inches in 4 days-

With even more spectacular undersea eruptions continuing apace also, El Mundo reports.

“Mt Siple volcano in Antarctica might have become active and produced a steam plume recently detected on satellite imagery.” ‘Might have become active…’ aren’t we hearing that more often these days? 


So that is a news roundup for you.It is only a slight bit, there is so much more going on int he world than one can possibly show even a representative window into. But the most important news is…


Jesus is in TOTAL CONTROL of it all, and He coming soon! Are you looking for Him? Do you know Him? Here is what it is all about if you don’t know: The simple, concise explanation of the Gospel.


Posted in damascus, prophecy, syria, turkey

US concerned about Israeli strike on Damascus; Turkish jet shot down by Syria?

Posted on by elizabethprata

It’s getting serious…Isaiah 17, Isaiah 19, Psalm 83…

—–update ———
Some updates as details emerge. Regarding the downed Turkish jet, it is confirmed that Syria shot it down. AP: Office of Turkey’s prime minister says Syria has downed a Turkish air force jet.” Syria claims the jet was over Syrian territorial waters. Turkey says,

“REUTERS: TURKEY WILL TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY MEASURES “DECISIVELY” ONCE ALL THE DETAILS OF THE INCIDENT EMERGE-PM OFFICE STATEMENT”

Remember, Turkey has the largest Army in Europe, and the 2nd largest Navy. Turkey has the 2nd largest military in NATO, behind the US.
—–end update ———

—–update ———
From Zerohedge, a nice analysis about what this all means and what could happen next. For example, one part:

“The only question remains whether Syria’s act was offensive or defensive. Naturally, its version is one of self-defense. Turkey obviously will claim it was in its right to be wherever the plane may be, and will say this was an act of provocation. Then NATO, read Hillary Clinton, will promptly step in, and make this a case in which Turkey was in its right and that Syria committed an act of aggression. From there, things will just escalate…”

—–end update ———

US concerned about Israeli strike on Damascus
“U.S. intelligence agencies are closely watching Israel’s military for signs it will conduct strikes on Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons, amid concerns the deadly nerve agents could fall under the control of Hezbollah or al Qaeda terrorists, U.S. officials said. Syria’s arsenal remains vulnerable as the result of the internal conflict currently underway in Syria between government forces and opposition rebels, one official said.”

Syria correspondent @AlexanderPageSY reports on Twitter: “CONFIRMED #Qudseya just 6km from presidential palace in will face a full force military bombardment in the next 2 days ”

Turkish jet shot down by Syria?
“Military aircraft crashes over Syrian waters after being intercepted by Assad’s defense forces, media reports claim; Erdogan convenes emergency meeting with ministers…Turkey said on Friday it had lost contact with one of its military aircraft while it was over the sea off the southeastern coast, and a television station said it had crashed in Syrian territorial waters. Hezbollah’s al-Manar television and Pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen television station, which are both based in Lebanon, reported that the plane was shot down by Syrian defense forces. “Syrian security sources confirmed to a Manar correspondent in Damascus that Syrian defence forces shot down the Turkish fighter jet,” the Hezbollah-owned channel said.”

Saudi Arabia plans to fund Syria rebel army
“Saudi officials are preparing to pay the salaries of the Free Syria Army as a means of encouraging mass defections from the military and increasing pressure on the Assad regime, the Guardian has learned. The move, which has been discussed between Riyadh and senior officials in the US and Arab world, is believed to be gaining momentum as a recent flush of weapons sent to rebel forces by Saudi Arabia and Qatar starts to make an impact on battlefields in Syria.’

Keep praying and keep looking up.

Posted in damascus, jesus, prophecy, russia, syria

UPDATED 2X–Rumors: Russia to escort Assad out of Syria?

Posted on by elizabethprata

UPDATE
IDF: Iran Realizing Assad is Finished
DF Spokesperson Brigadier General Yoav (Poly) Mordechai said Friday that Syria’s allies Iran and Hizbullah are coming to realize that Bashar Assad’s regime has “reached its end.”“Another week is almost over, during which the desperate effort by Iran and Hizbullah to help the Assad regime survive was evident,

UPDATE
A story below mentioned that the US had enlisted UK’s aid in stopping the alleged shipment by Russia of helicopters to war-torn Syria. Today the UK Telegraph reports “A Russian ship believed to be carrying helicopters and missiles for Syria has been effectively stopped in its tracks off the coast of Scotland after its insurance was cancelled at the behest of the British government.’ More here
——————–
During the fog of war there is by definition a clash of truth and rumor. It becomes very hard to know what is true and what’s a feint. What is propaganda and what is accurate. With that in mind I bring you some news of the events in the fast-unfolding arena of imminent prophecy fulfillment: Syria, Israel, Egypt.

Syria, which Isaiah 17 prophesies its capital city of Damascus and environs will be totally destroyed, has been in the news since winter of 2011. The citizens rose up against its dictator, much like the citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Algeria, Libya etc did. Except the Syrian uprising is still going on. The feeling of imminent fulfillment deepened last week when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reported that Russia was planning to deliver attack helicopters to Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad. The two nations have been allies for 40 years, and Syria is Russia’s biggest customer for war weapons.

Egypt has also been in the news, with the uprising, capture of dictator Mubarek, and Muslim Brotherhood ascension to power, and now their elections. Isaiah 19 is an unfulfilled prophecy regarding Egypt in the last days.

It is also no coincidence that Russia began expanding Syria’s port of Tartus last year so that it can host Russian warships. Tartus is the only port on the Mediterranean that Russia has access to. For Russia, having an ally and thus a presence in Syria is critical. Russia is in prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39 as a participant in the Gog-Magog war.

That was the background. Several news stories caught my eye this morning.

EGYPT-ISRAEL

Amid presidential elections, al-Qaida leader urges Egypt to cancel treaty with Israel
“Al-Qaida’s leader has urged Egypt to cancel its peace treaty with Israel and to establish Islamic rule, according to an audio message released Sunday. He said the goal was to stop Israel from turning Jerusalem into a Jewish city.”

IDF moves tanks closer to Egypt
“The IDF has deployed Armored forces near the Israel-Egypt border, moving tanks closer to the fence, Ynet has learned. The unusual move followed Monday’s terror attack on defense contractor crews building the new security fence”

RUSSIA-SYRIA

US enlists Britain’s help to stop ship ‘carrying Russian attack helicopters’ to Syria
“The US government has enlisted Britain’s help in a bid to stop a ship suspected of carrying Russian attack helicopters and missiles to conflict-riven Syria, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.”

Stop the presses! Forget the helicopters, that was so yesterday. Today Russia just upped the ante from helicopters, to warships and troops.

Russia to send ships and marines to Syria
“Two Russian navy ships are completing preparations to sail to Syria with a unit of marines on a mission to protect Russian citizens and the nation’s base there, a news report said Monday. The deployment appears to reflect Moscow’s growing concern about Syrian President Bashar Assad’s future.”

Ahhh, now here comes the rumor:

Russian Commandos ‘to Escort Assad Out of Syria’
“Ships carrying Russian commandos may soon sail to Syria to escort strongman Bashar Assad to safety from the country where a rebellion against him is growing fiercer.Reports to this effect were cited by Voice of Israel radio’s veteran “listener” Miki Gurdus, who specializes in listening to radio broadcasts on various frequencies worldwide.”

Of course Israel is in prophecy, everywhere. Most applicable today is the prophecy in Zechariah 12:1-2.

“The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples.”

While Isaiah 19 foretells a time of strife and wrath from the Lord upon Egypt, it is hopeful to know that God has a glorious future in store for Egypt (and Assyria and Israel as well!!) Egypt turns to the Lord! Assyria is blessed! (What IS Assyria? Here is a map)

Isaiah 19 ends with the following promise that will be fulfilled in the Millennium:

“In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them.

“And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”’ (Is 19:19-25)

The LORD is good!

It is my opinion that with events moving into place so quickly and the probable fulfillment of these prophecies coming into view, nay, landing on our laps, that the rapture is even closer. The rapture is an event that has no sign, and could happen at any moment. It is dependent upon Jesus taking the full number of believers that he has set aside, (Romans 11:25) and we don’t know what that number is or how close we are to it. That is why the rapture has always been imminent, meaning, could occur at any time. It is not dependent upon one certain thing occurring before it could take place.

In listening to Pastor JD Farag’s weekly prophecy update last night, he said he is changing his message from “get ready” to “BE ready.” He said it is too late to get ready. Make preparations now for being snatched up to the Lord. No more waiting, no more dithering, no more researching, no more wondering. This is it. The rapture seems so close, he said, in his opinion, it is closer than any of us can imagine.

I agree.

He referenced the rapidly moving events that coincide with what the Lord said to look for and what the Lord promised would happen. Things are moving at a day-by-day clip now, with each dawn unfolding new developments that seem to be ripped out of the pages of the bible. Now is the time to know the Lord through repentance of your sins and acceptance of Him as Savior and Lord.

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED??

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

Believe upon the Gospel. WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

The basic ingredients of the gospel message are the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of the resurrected Christ. “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve… (1Corinthians 15:1-5)

He was buried, so His death became an established fact. He was resurrected which witnesses verified, therefore His claims of being God were verified. He is who He says He is: God in the flesh, come to seek and save the lost in their sins by becoming the sacrifice upon which God poured out all His wrath for sin, so we would not have to bear it. He took the penalty for it. However, His though His death and resurrection provided the way, it is the ONLY way to heaven and thus of escaping God’s wrath. Any other way is not the pardon, it is the death sentence.

Do we have to work our way into heaven? Even if we accept Jesus?

No. His grace is sufficient. “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)

“Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:29)

Repent and believe! The end is nigh.

Posted in damascus, Isaiah, massacre, prophecy

Behold the burden of Damascus

Posted on by elizabethprata

Bible students and those interested in prophecy will know that the title to this entry is from the introduction to Isaiah 17. The first verse in the ESV reads: “An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.”

Source Britannica.com

“Oracles are the divine revelations given to God’s people. God’s method of communicating these oracles varied from dreams and visions (Num. 12:6-8), to wisdom (Prov. 30:1), and even the Urim and Thummim (Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 14:37).”

In Isaiah 17:1 He is telling the people what will happen to Damascus, capital of Syria. It will be destroyed. I wrote extensively about the prophecy of what is foretold for Damascus, and the wider areas of Syria mentioned in the ensuing verses, here.

I’ve always thought that the Isaiah 17:1 prophecy is one of the more dramatic unfulfilled prophesies because of its clarity and the absolute fact that though parts were fulfilled in 732BC it has never been completely fulfilled yet. The overnight destruction of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city will be sudden, dramatic, and a clear sign of God.

Given that the so-called “Arab Spring” has wrought geo-physical changes in the Middle East that bible students see brings us to the brink of fulfilled prophecy, such as Ezekiel 38-39, Isaiah 19, and Psalm 83, it is wise to watch Damascus, Syria and the events unfolding there.

The events unfolding there are terrible.

Syria’s uprising began along with the other neighboring nations’ in the Arab Spring last year, but unlike those events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya et al, there has not yet been a conclusion. In the other cases, Kings bought off citizenry, depots fell, revolutions staved off, concessions made, elections held. In some form or fashion, even if only on the surface, order was restored. Not so in Syria.

source

The violence of the ongoing revolution has not petered out, it has not swung one side or another to victory or near-victory, it has simply gotten worse. By this point, it is terrible to even read the news. On twitter the other day, I saw a photo that made my heart drop with grief. It was not a violent photo, not a drop of blood was in it. I did not report on it at that time because the sign the protester is holding is in Arabic and I had not been able to find a translation to verify that is indeed what the sign says. But now, given other events of today, I will show you.

There had been unconfirmed reports of massacres earlier in the week. Massacres are almost a daily event now in Syria, even in Damascus. That much has been confirmed by UN observers. This particular massacre though, involved the killing of children. Hence, the photo.

The caption on twitter states, “A boy in Homs holds this sign during a protest: “Kill me and leave the other children alone.”

I freely admit to you, I cried. Then I prayed.

That same day, Ynet News from Israel reported,

Syria opposition: Regime lost control of Damascus, other cities
Iran and Hezbollah bear some responsibility for the recent atrocities in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.”It’s not just the Syrian government. It is being aided by Iran and Hezbollah,” the PM the weekly cabinet meeting. “The world must recognize this focused axis of evil. People must understand what kind of environment we are living in.”Netanyahu said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime is massacring civilians. “We see horrific photos of children and elderly people,” he said.

That was Sunday. Sunday saw “the heaviest fighting in the Syrian capital since the beginning of the uprising” and those battles were in Damascus, and there were tanks.

The UK Telegraph reported, Syrian rebels take battle to heart of Damascus: “Government tanks opened fire in central Damascus for the first time in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad this weekend, as William Hague compared the situation in Syria with “Bosnia in the 1990s”.”

MSNBC reported, “‘Battle is in Damascus’ as Syrian tanks fire in 12-hour exchange“

As horrific as all that is, what of the children? Is that photo a fake or is it true that that little brown eyed Syrian boy holding the poignant sign?

Associated Press reports the following today: “Assad regime also charged with killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and sexual violence against kids“
“UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A UN report released Monday includes Syrian government forces and their allied “shabiha” militias for the first time on a list of 52 governments and armed groups that recruit, kill or sexually attack children in armed conflicts.In Syria, it said, children as young as 9 years old have been victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and sexual violence, and have been used as human shields.“In almost all recorded cases, children were among the victims of military operations by government forces, including the Syrian armed forces, the intelligence forces and the shabiha militia, in their ongoing conflict with the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army,” the report said.” Left, Bashar Al-Assad, Wikipedia photo

That information is from a UN observer report. Almost 19,000 are estimated to have been killed in fighting and outright massacres by the Assad regime since the uprising began last February, a regime that the Russians have been allies with since the cold war and still are today, despite the horrors the Assad regime is perpetrating. Russia (and China) have several times invoked their UN Security Council veto power to prevent intervention into the ongoing revolution in Syria. The US has ruled out military intervention. Israel has said nothing but of course is watching intently. Turkey, though an ally of Russia and Syria, is getting angry about the influx of refuges into their abutting nation. But still, the fighting goes on.

The Lord is in control.

Children and women are trapped in Homs, and UN observers are trying to negotiate their release. And the regime uses children as human shields. This is brutality beyond endurance.

The US intervened in Libya, Viet Nam, Bosnia, Grenada for heaven’s sakes. Will the world stand by and watch children be horrifically used? The LORD’S timing is perfect. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. I know it must grieve Him to see children be so evilly used. Yet I will trust Him.

An entire city of 2.6 million people is prophesied to be destroyed in mere hours. That is what Isaiah 17 foretells. There is no weapon that can do that so quickly and so thoroughly as is described here except for nuclear device. The chapter in Isaiah 17 goes on to describe blowback against Israel. Parts of Israel will be reaped when the oracle is fulfilled. (Isaiah 17:4-5).

The Lord is in control. It is still somewhat unsettling to realize the nearness of fulfillment predicted for thousands of years. It is still a grief and a woe to know that children are so horrifically violated. When our society has devolved to the point where small children are willing to sacrifice their lives on behalf of other children, and no doubt ARE sacrificing their lives at this moment, I can’t help but plead to my savior for Him to return and gather us all away from this cruel planet.

Posted in damascus, Isaiah, prophecy, syria

Western Syria is aflame, violence spills over to Lebanon

Posted on by elizabethprata

This information is from UK Telegraph’s live blogging tweets of the Syrian Uprising. They have stopped for the day, but you need to see this map they linked to.

They wrote: “Syrian uprising live. Live coverage of developments in Syria, as the violence escalates in the Syrian flashpoint city of Homs with soldiers loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime attempting to crush opponents. Join us for DAILY updates: http://www.facebook.com/syrianuprising, twitter: @SyriaUprising”

This was their last tweet for the day:

“21.05 All eyes are on Homs and the battle for Damascus but the uprising against Assad is actually far more widespread. Check out this Google map to see how almost all of western Syria is aflame.” [emphasis mine]

Syria – Friday 10/02/2012
“Videos and updates from around Syria. Towns with reported protests or on strike are marked in blue. Towns with updates alone are marked in green. Red markers show places which are under attack or where martyrs fell today.”

You see that there is violence at the borders. Indeed, the violence spilled over to Lebanon today.

“Syrian forces continued to bombard Homs on Saturday as Iraq claimed jihadists are crossing into Syria and weapons are being sent to opponents of President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. The bloodshed showed no signs of abating, even spilling over into Lebanon. Activists said 25 people were killed across the country, including a 55-year-old woman among seven who were killed in the latest attacks in many districts of Homs which also saw house-to-house raids. Food and medical supplies are running low in blockaded areas and many people are trapped in their houses. “We have intelligence information that a number of Iraqi jihadists went to Syria,” Adnan Al Assadi told AFP, adding that “weapons smuggling is still ongoing” from Iraq to Syria. In Damascus, Brigadier General Eisa Al Kholi was killed by three gunmen outside his home as part of a “framework of targeting Syrian intellectuals and the medical and technical cadres,” the official Syrian Arab News Service said. Al Kholi was the director of the Hamish Hospital in Damascus, it said.””

There is no way you can be a student of prophecy and know the prophecy of Damascus, and not see that map and get shivers. Damascus is 150 miles from Jerusalem. Now here is another shiver-worthy article–

Assad mulls use of chemical weapons (translated from Hebrew)
“According to dissident elements, the Syrian army had concentrated cluster of chemical weapons at a school in the city, Prime Minister of Britain: a horrible situation, very difficult”
“Homs opposition warned today (Thursday) from the Syrian army can use chemical weapons against the protesters. Forum social network today who told activists that received reports that the Syrian army gas masks distributed to his soldiers at checkpoints and cluster grenades and mortar shells containing chemical weapons were assembled one of the schools in Homs. Whether the Syrian military will use chemical weapons against civilians is thus sufficient grounds for outside military intervention.”

If they use chemical weapons, will they also use nuclear? The destruction of Damascus from being a city is a given because it is a prophecy, but how it is destroyed is not given.

Dr. Jill Dekker is a consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism. Dr. Dekker is also a member of the board of advisors of the Intelligence Summit. She gave an interview to the New English Review in December 2007. In it, she said,

“Contrary to how the US State Department and other agencies tend to downplay the sophistication of the Syrian biological and nuclear programs, they are very advanced. Syria has always had the most advanced chemical weapons program in the Middle East. The US and other western agencies have in a sense been distracted by this, but their biological programs and the “concept of use” are robust. Syria’s biological weapons capability today is closely tied to the former and current Soviet and Russian programs respectively, the DPRK, Iran and the former Iraq regime. A major concern is their strategic concept of use – which has gone from one of ‘special weapons’ to incorporation into their ‘conventional arsenal.’ That is a significant shift and one that seems to have eluded the US. The Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus.””

In a 2011 article I’d commented on, the unrest that had begun in Syria those many months ago immediately sparked fears and the question was asked “what will happen to its chemical weapons?”

The 2007 Dekker interview summarized the situation like this:

“Dr. Dekker’s answers give a foreboding picture of how large and refined the Syrian bio-warfare programs are and how little Western Intelligence knows about how the programs were developed. The potential exists for a significant WMD threat in the Middle East and the West, especially, against America. Syria is a proxy ally of Iran, North Korea (DPRK) and terror groups such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Thus, the supply of bio-weapons and delivery platforms that could results in mass casualties makes it a real and present danger.”

So Syria has the weapons (means), the motive (‘concept of use’ doctrine) and the opportunity (revolution). That danger is even more present now, and combined with the prophecy about Damascus’s destruction…well, shivers once again. The battle for Damascus goes on overnight.

“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. (verse 1)
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=%20http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/western-syria-is-aflame-violence-spills.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in damascus, homs, prophecy, syria, UN security council

It’s all about Syria: Massacre in Homs, UN Security Council vote, prophecy nearing fulfillment

Posted on by elizabethprata

Sobering news today in the wake of the bloody massacre in Syria last night. Assad is hanging on and the world is tense and watching.

Last night I was relaxing while surfing the internet. I had my Twitter stream up, and suddenly all these tweets started coming in about violence in the Syrian city of Homs. Twitter was flooded with tweets and re-tweets of people saying that a violent battle was taking place. The tone soon shifted to people making an outcry that civilians were being massacred. The pain and outrage, distress and despair was evident in the people by the tweets I was watching scroll quickly up the screen. Hundreds upon hundreds of tweets rolled past my tearing eyes. Cries of shame upon Dictator Assad’s men who were killing innocent people. Reports of blood literally running in the streets. Mourning over children with no heads. Bodies piling up. A hospital obliterated. Many tweets contained links to videos and photos with appropriate warnings of the graphic nature of the images. I didn’t click on any of those but one did catch my attention: amateur video of a very large explosion at Hama. The Syrian inky night sky lit up orange as the entire horizon fired up from some kind of weapon of mass destruction. It was VERY disorienting to watch and read about a massacre in real time. Nothing can prepare you.

Some tweets:

  • My city is bleeding. We’re being attacked since 8 pm. 5 hours, 230 dead, 800 injured.
  • BBC’s Paul Wood breaks cover in Homs Syria. Reports Free Syria Army will begin “general assault” in next 24 hrs in retaliation for attack
  • BBC reports Homs “Does seem to have been sustained bombardment, large sustained attack”
  • The Syrian embassy in Tripoli of Libya is now under the control of Syrian revolutionists
  • Horror. GRAPHIC: Another video from Khaldiyeh, dead young men, many injured, people screaming
  • Jon Williams- Has Homs proved final straw for some? Syrian “Independence” flag reported flying over embassy in Greece.
  • Tunisia expels Syria ambassador over Feb 3 “bloody massacre” in Homs that killed over 200 people (via @AP)
  • Guardian news Top story: Fury over Homs massacre as UN security council gathers for Syria

Soon the tone shifted again to freedom fighters trying to organize worldwide protests at embassies outside of Syria. Some did respond, and were attacked, such as Greece. Others called upon the UN to shame Russia for diluting the latest resolutions condemning the violence.

  • People all over the world are asked to go to the Syrian embassies & protest Syria
  • They’re chanting “one solution, one solution – revolution, revolution” in Wash DC

One man tweeted, “Mankind has never been so connected as it is today. Yet, we stand powerless”. I understand his sentiment. We watch, we see, yet what can we as individuals do in the face of such vivid violence in real time? Some called for uniting at embassies around the world in protest. Greece and Washington DC, as well as people Spain responded and assembled in front of the Syrian embassy in their capitals. In other words, anger was palpable. I mourned, and soon I had to turn it off, the devastating implications of the massacre were too great.

“Today, European envoys to the Security Council said they would vote Saturday on a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down amid talk that Russia would ask for a delay. The ambassadors spoke as they headed into an unusual weekend session. The urgency was heightened by an assault by Syrian forces firing mortars and artillery on the city of Homs.”

This morning “Obama said in a statement on Saturday that he condemns Mr. Assad’s “unspeakable assault.” He called for the Syrian leader to step aside and make way for a democratic transition.” This is essentially what the UN Security Council Resolution calls for.

UN web cams inside the voting chamber ahead of the vote show heavy lobbying of the Russian envoy to get him to soften his stance. A similar resolution was proposed to the Security council in October but members China and Russia vetoed it. They are trying not to have a repeat of that awful decision, particularly in light of last night’s massacre and the additional dead by Assad’s orders since October. Voting will occur momentarily… it is a tense moment for the watching world.

OK, I watched the UN Security Council vote live. Russia and China voted no, meaning they vetoed the draft resolution condemning Syria’s violence and calling for Assad to resign. Russia and China both are prophesied leaders players in future Middle East violence as per Ezekiel 38-39 and Rev 16:12.

I think often on the prophecy in Isaiah 17, whereupon Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins (V. 1).

This oracle in its entirety has a partial fulfillment in 722 and 732 BC of Samaria and Damascus. It is obviously a partial fulfillment because Damascus, though defeated by the Assyrians, the city continued to be a city under their rule. It was never razed to the extent that the prophecy indicates it will be someday. The middle of the chapter focuses on the defeat of Samaria, and then toward the end of the short chapter at verse 12-14a you see the following:

“Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more.”

Two thoughts here. One is that ‘the mighty rushing waters’ is always used as a metaphor in the bible for outcries, restless and angry multitudes upset about something. Certainly last night was evocative of that verse. Today might be worse, considering that Russia and China stand by Assad’s violence and outrages against the people.

Washington Post immediately reported, “Russia and China have vetoed a Security Council resolution backing an Arab League peace plan that calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. The other 13 council members, including the U.S., France and Britain, voted Saturday in favor of the resolution aimed at stopping the ongoing violence in Syria.”

What could God be doing, allowing such evil? How can any nation not condemn a leader massacring children? One answer is that we see the evil inside the Russian envoy’s and Chinese envoy’s heart that they would vote in this way. God is good and He allows the sins inside of us to come to their full fruition, eventually revealed to one and all. “But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them” (Eph 5:13)

France said of the vote, “France: “History will have no mercy for those who blocked the UNSC from bringing its support to the Arab League efforts.”

“Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” (Ezekiel 38:1-3).

It is interesting to think of the plan God has for Russia and for China (Kings of the East). I don’t know about history but I know that God will have no mercy on them. Ezekiel’s prophecy continues regarding Russia particularly, “I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”” Gog is destroyed. Ezekiel 39:2 says that God will destroy five-sixths of their army. Then He gives burial instructions.

Secondly the verse that speaks of trouble coming in the evening and then by morning he is no more…what can raze a city that quickly? What would reduce a city to rubble so completely that it is obliterated? A nuclear device. I got to bed at night, on nights like last night, and I wonder, ‘Will Damascus be there in the morning?’ We are the final generation that will see these things come to pass (Matthew 24:34), we see the other signs, and at some point it will happen. What will be the final straw? Was last night’s massacre and today’s UN vote the final straw? I do not know, God knows. We trust Him and His perfect plan. Meanwhile, He wants no one to be lost, but all to come to repentance. Hang on Syrians! Jesus loves you! Look UP, for your Redemption draweth nigh, if you but repent and believe!

As for feeling powerless while watching the massacre unfold, we are not powerless. As the tweets rolled by, and the knowledge that many who had died fell into hell instead of heaven, I prayed hard. I prayed that the nearness of death would awaken many to His offer of salvation. I prayed that the seeds that have been left previously by missionaries and Gideons would sprout into understanding. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would grab those He is drawing near and they would respond with an eternity changing decision for Jesus. Prayer is the ultimate weapon. Trusting in His goodness even while dark evil lurks is the ultimate faith.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/its-all-about-syria-massacre-in-homs-un.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in damascus, prophecy, rapture, syria

Syria’s Permanent Arab Spring at the close of the Church Age

Posted on by elizabethprata

In the early parts of this year, actually beginning in mid-December 2010 in Tunisia, protests and violence sprang up in many Middle East nations, so much so that the the protests veered to revolutions and dictators were toppled. It has become known as the Arab Spring. Egypt and Libya’s dictators were toppled, Algeria, Iraq, Golan Heights, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Sudan’s governments were affected one way or another. But the longest-lasting violence has been in Syria. It began last March and the violence is ongoing, and is getting worse. Many nations, even the allies of Syria in the Arab League have all expressed frustration with the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and called for him to stop killing his citizens. Bashad has been seemingly impervious to resolutions, diplomatic entreaties, threats of sanctions or even heavily veiled military nudges from neighbor Turkey.

Even Moscow is getting impatient now. While Russia blocked a resolution against Syria at the UN in October, they now are calling for the government to engage in talks between the government and its opposition.

As a result of all this, tensions are at a critical height. There is talk of attack. There is talk of military intervention, all-out civil war. Israel has been very busy getting Iron Dome deployed and other military preparations, some say, for a strike on Iran. I’m not so sure.

In any case, the US has now sent the Aircraft Carrier Bush to Mediterranean waters just off Syria. No explanation is given for this action. A no-fly zone is on the verge of being instituted over Syria as Syrian airspace closes. American citizens are warned to leave Syria immediately, as “while commercial flights are still available.”

Uh-oh.

It feels like the noose is tightening, doesn’t it? That all things are drawing together. And you have to suspect that these overt military actions are being accompanied by many other actions happening covertly. I’m not a military analyst but when the United States deploys an aircraft carrier to an area near the prophetic epicenter without explanation, but that area is in the bulls-eye of prophecy at the close of the church age, I pay attention. That Syria’s violence is causing the most tension of all the nations mentioned above, and that Syria (Damascus) is dead center of the most clearly unfulfilled end of days military prophecy ever, then I really pay attention.

The Isaiah 17 prophecy against Damascus, that Damascus will be destroyed, razed to the ground and removed from being a city, seems like it could occur any day. The prophecy is in the passive tense, meaning, it doesn’t declare who causes the city to be destroyed, only that it will be. It could be destroyed by Israel, the US, an accidental conflagration set off by Syrians themselves as their chemical, biological, and/or nuclear stockpile gets grabbed by the revolutionaries, by God directly, or by another way we do not suspect. But Damascus will be destroyed, and the prophecy goes on to say it will happen overnight, “Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more.” (Isaiah 17:14)

“I observe a simmering threat in the region based on a Sunni-Shiite divide,” Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday. “It … has the potential to move the Muslim world from the 21st century into the darkness of the Middle Ages.”

President Gul speaks truer words than he knows…war is going to come to the Middle East (Is 17, Psalm 83, Ezekiel 38, 39,) and then to all of us (Matthew 24:6, Revelation 6:3-4). And with that, comes the rapture.

We are stunningly close to the rapture. This is the long-awaited event which closes the church age and brings Jesus’s church to his bosom (2 Thessalonians 2:1). All people since the cross who have believed on Jesus as the ONLY way to heaven by repenting of their sins to the ONLY One who can forgive them, will be gathered alive and transformed, or resurrected and transformed, and brought bodily up to meet Him in the air. (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). He will lead us to the place to which He has been preparing for us. (John 14:3). This is for the purpose of removing and protecting His bride throughout the Tribulation to come. (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Isaiah 26:20).

It will happen suddenly and without warning. Jesus will interrupt the normal flow of life on earth and poke His head in. Not a representative, He isn’t sending Gabriel, He Himself is coming Literally there will be a shout, (1 Thessalonians 4:19).

About that shout…not that the Lord will shout, but in the commentaries I read, they seem to agree that the translation of that word shout means “the word here used is observed by many to signify such a noise or shout as is made either by mariners, when they pull and row together; and shout to direct and encourage one another; or to an army with the general at the head of it, when about to undertake some considerable action, to enter on a battle, and make the onset; Christ will now appear as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, as the Judge of the whole earth, attended with the host, or armies of heaven, and the shout of a king will be among them: perhaps the same is intended, as by the voice of a great multitude.”

Wow! Get ready. If you are saved, then your readiness by now should be in prayer, closely walking with the Lord, and growing daily in His ways by reading and being refreshed by the Word. If you are not saved then getting ready means repenting of your sins. He will not allow an unrighteous person into His kingdom, and since we are all unrighteous (Romans 3:10) the only way to be included is to have asked Him to clean your sins and make you righteous by His forgiveness. Repent now.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/11/syrias-permanent-arab-spring-at-close.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible jesus, damascus, end of days. prophecy, end times

Damascus will be destroyed: A prophecy getting closer to fulfillment with each day

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Arab Spring finally burst into full bloom for Syria in April 2011, in Clock Tower Square. Protesters were fired upon with live ammunition, leaving about 50 people dead. The protests never stopped, and have turned into a full blown revolution against President Bashar al-Assad. He brutally squashes any uprisings with bloody crackdowns, yet they continued. The death toll rose throughout the spring and summer. Ally Turkey, alarmed at hosting a growing influx of refugees across the border, tried to bring diplomatic pressure to bear on Assad, to no avail. The UN sent an assessment team to the country in August and also Obama said Assad must go in that same month. Still Syria ignored the world’s consternation. In September the bloodshed showed no signs of abating, and in early October a resolution condemning Syria’s response to the uprising was presented to the UN Security Council. It was vetoed by China and Russia. Finally in early November, the Arab League, of which Syria is a member, denounced Assad’s handling of the uprising and suspended Syria’s membership in the Muslim organization.

Finally even the Arab League’s brotherhood had had enough. After Syria defied the US, the UN, and fellow allies, and the Arab Brotherhood called Syria on the carpet. The Arab League knows that if Syria keeps this up, the West WILL militarily intervene, likely using NATO, and the Arab brothers do not want that. They are more than aggravated with Assad. The kicked Syria out of the Arab League.

Arab League suspension of Syria brings military intervention closer
Syria brutal regime at tipping point

So, stunded by even his brothers’ defection from his camp,  Assad said he had a change of heart. Unfortunately that change of heart didn’t stick because the next day, we awoke to news that an additional 70 people had been killed in the protests. And this time, Syria hopes they will have sheltering wing under which to take refuge: Russia.

“The latest carnage included 12 suspected army deserters as mass demonstrations spread throughout the country, testing how much more blood Assad can shed. He is in a do-or-die battle, vowing not to be the next Qaddafi or Mubarak but crowding himself into a tight corner as the Arab League turns against him by suspending Damascus from the organization … Syrian officials are in Moscow to try to shore up support from Moscow after Jordan’s King Abdullah said Monday, “If I were in his [Assad’s] shoes, I would step down.” He later denied that he was calling for Assad to quit.”

Russia plays prominently in the last days prophecies, allying with Iran and Turkey to attack Israel in the prophesied battle of Gog-Magog that Ezekiel 38-39 depicts. Syria also plays a prominent role in unfulfilled prophecy. Isaiah 17:1 says that, “The burden against Damascus.“ Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.”

Notice the language in that prophecy. It is passive tense. It does not say that Israel wipes out the city. It does not say which enemy destroys the city. It does not say that God destroys the city. We do not know who or how the city ceases.  We don’t know how it will happen or from whom. Only that it will. We only know the result. In other prophecies God says who will do what, and how. Not this time.

We all assume Israel will do the deed but it really could be anyone, even God as He smote Sodom and Gomorrah. It could be NATO. It could be Turkey. It could happen as rebels get a hold of chemical weapons of mass destruction and unleash – accidentally or on purpose – a holocaust that destroys the city. The Syrian bio-weapon threat is huge and growing and quite worrisome now that stability has vanished from the region. It could be that rebels with Libyan weapons that had gone missing from Libya make an attack and things get out of hand. No matter, the fact is, as Damascus becomes increasingly belligerent and the Middle East hotbed that is the epicenter of last days prophecies climbs over the horizon and hurtles toward us, we are closer than ever to that final obliteration of the city of 6 million Isaiah prophesied 2700 years ago. Keep one eye on the news, and the other eye looking UP!
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/11/damascus-will-be-destroyed-prophecy.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150