Destruction coming to Damascus and northern Israel
With the recent skirmishes between America and Iran, it makes you wonder whether this is Biblically significant. I tend to think that it is, particularly in a general sense as things start to heat up, in my opinion, this last decade before the Great Tribulation begins. I believe that we are at a precipice like never before in world history, financially and economically, politically, and in terms of culture and religious wars. One piece of prophecy that most Biblical scholars agree on is that the “oracle against Damascus” in Isaiah 17 has yet to be fulfilled. Isaiah prophesies that Damascus will be completely destroyed and become a heap of ruins. He also prophesies that northern Israel, known in the Old Testament as Ephraim will also disappear or cease to exist. At this present time the most serious existential threat to Israel seems to be Iran or ancient Persia which was a brutal kingdom. The Americans have increased the tension under the guise of trying to reduce the prospect of Iran getting a nuclear weapon. The question remains then whether Iran will use such a proposed weapon against Israel, their arch-nemesis. Israel is the one that they hate and want to eliminate and would be the object of their desire to make disappear or cease to exist as it is prophesied in Isaiah.1
Going to the most “dangerous” place on earth
The prospect of an all-out nuclear World War III seems unlikely but a localised limited nuclear exchange seems entirely possible in the Middle East. How likely is it that you would want to escape to Jordan given nuclear fallout in its northern neighbour of Syria and to the northwest in the northern part of Israel known as Ephraim? Not likely! But to southern Jordan is where I believe that the woman of Revelation 12, the church, where we will be eventually called to take refuge for 1290 days.2 But isn’t that just like God? It’s going to take faith to go to the very place for protection that seems the most dangerous and most unlikely. God seems to often work contrary to expectations because He wants us to trust Him, not try and work it all out.
Watch and Pray.
4 Responses
I’m no expert but I think your knowledge of the history of Israel seems a bit incomplete or mistaken. Ephraim, or Northern Israel did disappear centuries ago, before the people of Southern Israel were taken to Babylon. The NIV study Bible notes that “A protracted 3 year siege by Shalmaneser and concluded by Sargon11 saw the end of the Israelite Kingdom in 722 BC”. Wasn’t this the end of the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim)? The original invaders of Northern Israel ( the Assyrians) removed a lot of the native population and mixed other peoples from other conquered lands with the remaining Israelite population. This was the normal practice of the Assyrians who thought removing native populations and replacing them with people from other lands was the best way to prevent rebellion. Some think the people planted there by the Assyrians became the , “the Samaritans’ and some scholars believe the Palestinians of today are descended from the Samaritans. I don’t think the Assyrians were so successful against the Kingdom of Judah ( what happened in Hezekiah’s reign – see 2Kings 19:35-36 and Isiah 37:36-37). As for Israel today it was formed by Jewish activists, the word “Jew” coming from the name of the southern tribe of Judah ( the ancient Southern Kingdom). The tribes of Northern Israel were scattered aren’t they the lost tribes?
I think you may be right to say we should be living prepared for the end times (as in parable you quoted) and you could be right in saying this is the last decade with the way international politics is going. However lets not forget that Jesus said the time of the end is known only to the Father (Math 24:36). I think the role of Christians is to strive to always live in a way that we are prepared for the second coming, whenever the father brings that to be. Have another read of Mathew Chapt. 24, (which precedes the parable of the 10 Virgins in Math 25). I think there Jesus teaches us the right perspective we should have on the end times., have a particular look at Math 24: 24 – 26, verse 26 says ” So if hey say to you behold he is in the wilderness – do not go out -OR- behold he is in the inner rooms – do not believe them”
Thanks Steve for your input. Whilst I agree that Damascus has been under attack numerous times in its history it has never become a complete heap of ruins as it says in Isaiah 17:1. Old Damascus is one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world. (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/the-road-to-recovery-old-damascus-has-a-long-history-of-rising-from-the-ashes-a7639691.html) But most of the prophecy in Isaiah 17 seems to be centered around northern Israel (Ephraim). As you say, the Assyrians came and took away northern Israel in the 8th century B.C. But the key for my mind is the repeated phrase “in that day” in verse 4,7,9 and 11 which often refers to events right at the end around the time of the coming of the Messiah. Verse 14 also sounds eerily similar to the overnight destruction of the Assyrian army under their ruler Sennacherib but I am more likely to think of all these historical events as forerunners rather than the ultimate fulfillment. This happens a lot in Scripture such as in Daniel with the exploits of Antiochus Epiphanes IV being very similar and a forerunner of the Antichrist at the end. I think also that the text in verse 1 for Damascus and verse 3 for Ephraim seems to concentrate on the actual buildings of the city rather than the people. While I do think there has been partial fulfillment in my opinion I’m not convinced that we have seen the ultimate fulfillment as yet of these prophecies.
As regards to the timing of the end, I am of the view that 6,000 years of history is about to end at the conclusion of this decade. I hold to the theory of “1 day = 1000 years with the Lord” and so history is being replayed if you like in terms of the original creation week in terms of millenia with the Sabbath Day being the last 1000 years millenial reign of peace and restoration equating to a type of Sabbath for the earth. Whilst we don’t know the day nor the hour because of the lunar system that the Jews relied on to calculate the beginning of each month, we can know the season. I agree with you that we don’t go chasing false Messiahs in the wilderness so to speak but if you look at Luke 21:36 (the basis for my website) there is an instruction to pray that we might escape. The word escape in this verse comes from the root Greek word which means “to flee.” This is a verb in the active voice not passive which is acted upon us. The active voice for flee is something that we will need to do at the right time, which I believe is half way during the last 7 years. Revelation 12 tells us a bit more that the woman will be protected in the wilderness for 1260 days (3 1/2 years). I believe that the woman here includes the church. Ultimately we need to be prepared but await further instructions possibly from the two witnesses and the key is when you see the Abomination of Desolation in the holy place (Matthew 24:15).
I just read Daniel 11:41 there are places in Jordan that Daniel said the antichrist could not harm Steve and after more reading found these places to be southern Jordan (Bozrah) being one of them
My girls have been asking alot of questions about the end of times this will be a great read for them keep it coming steve i really enjoy reading your studies