Sunday, May 31, 2015

Global SITREP C4-15: Are We Witnessing the Final Days of the Ba'athist al-Assad Regime, and of Syria?


UPDATE 31 May 2015: It has been about a month since the last words were added here, so an update is definitely in order for SITREP C4-15. And in this interim period the answer to the question posed in the SITREP C4-15 title appears now to be a definitive "Yes!"  

The current status has the "Islamic State" and the other rebel forces continuing to hammer away at what's left of Al-Assad's military forces and defensible territory; Russia has apparently all but abandoned its military ally in Damascus, and Iran's Lebanese Hezbollah proxy is not militarily powerful enough to halt the Sunni jihadist onslaught which is coming very close to surrounding Al-Assad's capital city. Short of Iran airlifting entire combat divisions into Damascus International Airport, there is little or nothing left to rescue the Ba'athist-Alawite regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17 do appear to be that much closer to a literal fulfillment in the very near future.

4 May 2015: There is now significant military pressure being placed upon the faltering Syrian Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad and the city of Damascus by an array of Sunni Jihadist militias. This kind of military pressure evokes images from the prophetic texts of Jeremiah 49:23-27 and the more well-known Isaiah 17. Accordingly, a military disaster of epic proportions appears to be in Damascus immediate future, a future vision Spiritually inspired and described by Jeremiah and Isaiah.

A thorough review of those texts is in order. As can be seen from the above image they were written by the two prophets with the Old City in mind, the Damascus they were familiar with. However, the modern-day Damascus we are familiar with over two dozen centuries later is five to six times as large. In the next day or so this will be the focus of eschatological study that will be posted here.

Jeremiah 49:23 "Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet."  

This verse identifies the current battlegrounds in Syria, from the northwestern frontier with Turkey: Tell Erfad (Arpad) to Hama (Hamath) on the Orontes River, to Damascus, 132 miles to the south. As occurred in the ancient past, these cities are to fall to an enemy originating from the region of ancient Assur (Islamic State) before Damascus falls to this enemy. The "sorrow on the sea" appears to be a direct reference to the nations of the Mediterranean Sea; i.e., the West, who act as enablers of what is occurring. 

Therefore, verse 23 sets up the complete and totlal military disaster that follows in verses 24 through 27:

"Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad."

In the concluding verse Ben-Hadad is a direct reference to a false god, and the consuming by fire of the palaces thereof, the walls of Damascus, and all the men of war being cut off in that day, speaks to great carnage and destruction as this war reaches it decisive conclusion. 

It is the burning and consuming by fire which I interpret to be a connecting dot to the same event that is presented in Isaiah 17, the utter destruction of the immense city that is Damascus as we know it today. The scope of the burning destruction and utter ruin into the heap of rubble as foretold by Isaiah should be measured against a recent image of Damascus presented below.



In my studies I have found there is nothing in these prophecies which suggests a peaceful end to the Ba'athist regime of Bashar al-Assad, and nothing good to come of the so-called peace talks. There is also the dire aspect of Isaiah's prophecy on what the Syrian war brings upon Israel and its population. 

There is simply no getting away from and no sugar-frosting of the soon to be established prophetic fact that not only is Damascus to be utterly destroyed, but the whole of what we know today as Syria is coming to an end. And the destruction does not end there, but continues well into the "cities of Aroer," which is northwestern Jordan, and the near total depopulation of that entire region, and into Israel as well in the central region known as Ephraim. 

I think we all need to understand exactly what these prophecies are telling us about what is now in the process of becoming a reality. We, in this present generation, have not seen and therefore do not properly comprehend and therefore are likely not mentally prepared for the unrestrained use of weapons of mass destruction. 

Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the carnage of World War Two are distant memories of a generation passing quickly from the present scene. We hear news reports of chlorine gas and "barrel bombs" being used in the Syrian war, but this is virtually as distant from affecting our lives as the dust on the moon; it is a perspective of real war we simply cannot relate to, but will have to come to grips with soon enough.

Yet through it all we know our God is in control; these things must take place as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear in the Olivet Discourse, they are the birthpangs of what is to come at the appointed time.

26 comments:

  1. Hmmn.....I always thought Isaiah 17 would occur in conjunction with the destruction of Elam. I always had a hard time envisioning one without the other. Perhaps I have been mistaken.

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  2. hartdawg,

    This is why I'm going real slow here and suggesting that we all engage in "a thorough review" of the noted prophetic texts before proceeding. I see enough there to warrant caution in eschatological fulfillment.

    No one can say in advance that the prophecies about Damascus "must or will happen this way" or "must happen that way." In all likelihood the prophecies will come to pass in a way no one has interpreted in total precision.

    So, we will look at and study what the texts say literally, connect any intersecting prophetic dots, and then see what is happening on the ground in near real-time.

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  3. Bob from Texas

    Sean,

    Really looking forward to your study.

    Thanks for your time, dedication and devotion to the truth.

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  4. I was hoping this would be "our" study.

    However, your probably right Bob, this will most likely be my study to correlate with events as they occur in Syria.

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  5. I am sure many of us will be reading the study. I know my Bible study group will be.

    Your depth of knowledge and understanding of events are beyond what most of us can attain. Plus, you are "bare knuckles" honest in your assessments.

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  6. I'll be posting the next part of this post sometime this evening, bare-knuckled as always. :)

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  7. Does this, as Bob from Texas would say, "bare knuckles" interpretation of Jeremiah 49:23-27 and the direct linking of it to Isaiah 17 make sense and add an appreciable highlight regarding the total absence of Syria in the fulfillment of the Psalm 83 prophecy?

    Does it go far enough towards explaining why the only peoples identified by Asaph's inspired prayer is specific only to those from present-day Lebanon, Amman, Moab and Edom (Jordan), the West Bank, Gaza and Sinai?

    If not, then I would like to know why not.

    I'm fairly convinced that we are watching in real-time the destruction of Syria, per Jeremiah 49:23-27 and Isaiah 17, as a singular and extremely important precursor event leading to the final fulfillment of Psalm 83.

    My interpretive bottom-line: The current Syrian civil war is the pre-Psalm 83 War.

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  8. Sean,
    After studying these text I needed aspirin for my headache. :) I couldn't grasp Ephraim being effected so far into Israel. Will the WMD effects cause Ezekiel 38/39 group to enter Israel from the west?

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  9. jmoll106,

    Take 2 Advil; they always work for me. :)

    The depth of Ephraim is subject to rocket and missile barrage, as we saw from HAMAS last summer. It will be more so from enemy to the north, except in this case they will have biological or chemical warheads. I believe some translations (NIV, etc.) of Isaiah 17:11b refer to this as the "day of disease and incurable pain."

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  10. jmoll106,

    One more thing to note.

    Ezekiel 38/39 may well be an airborne invasion based upon what God spoke to Ezekiel as prophesy:

    38:9 "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you."

    38:16 "You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land."


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  11. Sean,
    It's interesting how the end of the Assad regime is coming about. I would have thought Israel would have been forced to do it. Before reading your blog I don't recall the prophecy "experts" ever suggesting Damascus to fall by other muslims.

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  12. Sean,
    Would Iran troops send into Damascus be the straw that would cause Damascus to
    fall to the IDF?

    We will soon see what Israel will do! Pray for Israel.

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  13. As much as the community of us... Watch what is going on this is still amazing to watch happen!

    (From rapture ready news headlines)
    Erdoðan: 'Liberate Jerusalem' from the Jews
    "Conquest is Mecca, conquest is Saladin, it's to hoist the Islamic flag over Jerusalem again; conquest is the heritage of Mehmed II and conquest means forcing Turkey back on its feet," said Erdoðan in a speech on Saturday in Istanbul before millions who appeared to celebrate 562 years since the Turks captured Constantinople from European Christians.

    Ken B

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  14. jmoll106,

    Damascus' fall will come exactly as forecast by Isaiah and Jeremiah. It hasn't fallen yet, but Isaiah 17 does strongly indicate an Israeli aspect to the event as there is concurrent warfighting damage sustained by Israel.

    I also continue to hold onto the interpretation that there will be a WMD event involved in Damascus' fall. Jeremiah strongly indicates this also in verses 25-27 of chapter 49, but does not directly link Israel to this military event.

    Kenneth,

    It remains to be seen if Iran will directly commit any IRGC troops to defend Damascus. At the moment I doubt they will.

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  15. Sean,

    I know you served in Iraq. When you were there did you ever envision a decade later the rise of an insurgent force like ISIS that is now on the brink of taking Damascus and Baghdad?

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  16. Thanks for keeping us informed. I agree it is amazing to see all the prophetic words given to the prophets so long ago coming to pass. We read about the first coming of Jesus and get to participate in His second coming. It is such a great honor to be in the family of God.

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  17. Bob in Texas

    Sean,

    I understand ISIS is pushing HAMAS and the PA out of Gaza. I think you are "spot-on" that Israel will be caught up in the ISIS/Damascus scenario.

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  18. Mark3210,

    No one knew back in the early days of OIF (2003-04) what would come. No one had even yet thoroughly addressed Psalm 83 as prophecy and no one would address it as Bill Salus ultimately did with his 2008-09 book Isralestine.

    To this date Eschatology Today is the only source that can be turned to where the specifics of Psalm 83:8 (Assur) are addressed as thoroughly as Bill Salus addressed the overall Psalm 83 prophetic issues.

    On July 19, 2012 I posted to this blog Psalm 83 Verse 8: Assur - Syria or Iraq? After a couple of introductory paragraphs I stated for the record: "Assur in Psalm 83:8 is Iraq."

    I concluded this never updated post with: "It would seem that something also needs to occur respective to the cohesion of the present Iraqi nation. Perhaps that something is related to Jeremiah 49:34-39, or perhaps to the Sunni-Shi'a civil war that is ongoing in Aram-Syria at this time, or both. In any event, the Lord specifically identified Assur in verse 8 and the expected paradigm-shifting events are likely more widespread that we currently are able to envision."

    Now we know the something which needed to occur was the rise of IS, from the remnants of the Saddam Hussein regime and Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's original Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). This was followed by Global SITREP C1-14: Al Qaeda Shuts Off Euphrates River; Assault on Baghdad Coming on 30 April 2014, and thereafter most of the posts from summer 2014 dealt with what we know today as "Islamic State" more directly.

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  19. Sean,

    I see a lot of questions "when is Psalm 83 going to happen? How close is that"

    This little news clip should provide some insight... There will be a trigger in my opinion and Bibi will will say enough!

    Notice the "Islamic state in Jerusalem" reference.

    “In the light of Hamas’ new crackdown, we renew our loyalty to [ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi and call on him to strengthen his influence and to launch a campaign in Palestine,” read the statement from Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem. The group went on to threaten the lives of Hamas members – even publishing some of their names and photos – unless Hamas releases several men, including a local Salafi sheikh.
    Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/42067/isis-supporters-to-hamas-leave-us-alone-or-else-middle-east/#grei3sqEHELwk25g.99

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  20. Ken,

    Isaiah 11:14 does not say when the final act of the Psalm 83 war will occur, but it does say that it will occur when Israel "shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west," and afterwards that Israel shall turn their full attention to the enemies to the east (Edom, Moab are conquered and Ammon is placed under subjection).

    Ezekiel 28 places this in the time-line context of Israel's conquest of Lebanon (Joshua 13) and clearly prior to the events of Ezekiel 38/39.

    Therefore, the conclusion that can be drawn from this eschatological view is that all of these are pre-70th Week prophecies which are within a very few years of complete fulfillment.

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  21. Bob In Texas

    Sean,

    Do you sense that Isaiah 11:11 close at hand?

    There seems to be so much happening at once it is hard to handle all the possible scenarios. I greatly appreciate your dedication to sorting it out based on scripture.

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  22. Bob,

    Isaiah 11:14 and Ezekiel 28:24-26 are prophecies of the same event - the final set of battles of the Psalm 83 War (which began in 1947-48). The conclusion as to when this is the same as posted to Ken directly above, and without question occurs prior to Ezekiel 38/39.

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  23. Sean,

    Is it just me, or are Marie Harf's press briefings in defense of Iran's increasing nuclear stockpile now as pathetic as Baghdad Bob in the dying days of Saddam's regime?

    Looking forward to the day when this unbelievable farce is put to rest once and for all!

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  24. jeri,

    My opinion of the revivalschool.com piece you sent is that it does not represent a true, Divinely-inspired prophecy.

    I come to this assessment because it's authors demonstrate an erroneous understanding of Gabriel's prophecies in the Book of Daniel, especially the 10th and 11th chapters, and they apparently do not understand the global secular and dark spiritual forces at work all over the planet from ancient times to the present.

    These gentlemen clearly do not understand, as Daniel was informed by Gabriel, that fallen angelic beings (prince of Persia; prince of Greece, etc) have been manipulating nations and empires for thousands of years. This and other items are very basic errors, and God does not make errors such as these, and therefore none of this prophecy comes from God.

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  25. Waaaaay OT:

    Any thoughts on Jade Helm 15 this summer? I read an article on Rapture Ready (http://raptureready.com/soap2/wyett27.html), and it was one of those things that made me go Hmmm, especially since the night before a former Air Force man had said that these days one cannot re-enlist if one answers the question "Would you be able to follow a direct order of firing on US citizens if they were part of an insurgency?" with a negative.
    drk

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  26. Hi Sean,
    As usual, awesome:-)! Thanks very much. I will keep watching and waiting as the clock keeps ticking. Please keep up the great work!

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