I have spent most of my adult life studying the Middle East. I have done this almost every day,
since the first war in Iraq.
I have intentionally avoided using social media for my beliefs about the
Middle East. I am a college
teacher and a mental health counselor. I usually try to avoid putting out any messages that would
detract from my ability to be understood as one in the helping profession. My friends are very diverse and have
broad views of the world, history and the future. But my friends know that I believe in Jesus Christ. So I wanted to share my thoughts about
the current events in Syria on my blog. I feel that we should be praying for the residents of
Damascus. God has a burden
for Damascus. His burden is bigger
than ours. America is making
choices to pursue actions it has not fully considered. This is due to blindness among our leaders. They have successfully
fought so many wars that the possible unplanned
consequences of war are not a deterrent. God has given
the world a tragic view into the future of Syria, and especially Damascus. It comes from Isaiah 17. I don’t know when it will happen. Damascus is the oldest, continuously
inhabited city in the Middle East.
It has never been destroyed like Jerusalem, Jericho, Babylon and Istanbul
have been. But according to the
Bible, (Isaiah 17) some time in the future, in the span of one evening, Damascus
will cease to exist. This should
cause great conviction among our leaders and among Christians. I don’t know why Damascus is
destroyed. Some have said for
years that Syria will attack Israel with unconventional weapons, and Israel
will respond with a nuclear counter-attack on Damascus. This seems to be one of the scenarios
that Bashar Al-Assad is threatening in response to US action. America does not seem to be considering
this as a possible outcome of an attack, even though Syria has threatened it
for years. If the Bible is true, (and I believe it is)
then we may be running headlong into the specific warnings that God has
provided to us about the Middle East. Events on the ground are pointing to the truth of Biblical
prophecy in many ways. Syria is
one of these ways. This makes me
want to pray for Damascus and for all of my neighbors and friends. The collateral damage in the
destruction of Damascus would not be contained to Damascus. The defensive scenarios of the world
powers will not allow it. It would
quickly lead to the events in Ezekiel 38-39. The bad news is that very old sin has infected the Middle
East. The good news is that we, as
individual sinners have had our sins paid for. This happened once and for all, for any who would confess
their sin to Jesus. Because of my
relationship with Him, I choose to pray for my friends, my neighbors and those
who are affected by the terrible events in Syria. Pray that many more innocent civilians are able to escape,
before too many more days pass. Pray
that peace will come to Damascus and that it will have many more years
ahead. Pray for the safety of the
United States and for Israel. Find
someone here in America, who needs something. Meet their need.
Give freely. Tell them about
the hope you have in Jesus. When
men’s hearts begin to fail because of the things happening in the Earth, they
will remember that you have hope in Christ.