So, now Trump is talking about more war in Syria. Why am I not surprised to hear this? Trump needs to curry the favor of the Neo Cons in order to save his Presidency. McCain has read Trump the riot act in telling Trump that he may not leave the Middle East. War is eternal for the USA, and until Trump can find a new place to make war, he will stay in the Middle East or he will get the poisoned soup.
So, what does this mean to a Bible believer?
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.
24 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.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 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.
27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
And.....
Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Bible scholars do not know what to do with Aroer in the context of the Isaiah text above. It is down near the Dead Sea in Jordan, so it seems out of place here. The probability is that there was a second Aroer in the Damascus neighborhood.
In any case, Damascus has never been destroyed in all of known history. So, Damascus, and obviously its leader, have an appointment with prophecy as given by God. I personally believe that all the ongoing posturing and saber rattling by Israel, Russia, Iran, the USA, and now China, will soon result in some nation deciding to nuke Damascus. We now have a President who knows nothing about war from personal experience. I have heard him say, in an interview, that the US should never go to war unless we get oil out of the deal. Since Damascus does not offer us war, Trump could be the novice war maker who decides to blow Damascus off the map. An event like this would certainly get the heat of Mueller off his back for a while.
CHINA IS NOW IN THE MIX
This complicates things for the US Government, but also for the prophecy student. China is not among those who later come down against Israel with Russia in Ezekiel 38. So, whatever China's present role is in the Syrian and Damascus events, China will move to the sideline before Ezekiel 38 happens. But, China's entry in a big way into the theater of the Middle East now adds them to those with a vested interest of conquest at the battle of Armageddon at the end of the Great Tribulation. So, China is probably in the Middle East to stay.
Also, we now see that both Russia and China need Syria to remain intact to justify their ongoing presence in the Middle East. Rescuing Asaad is not at all a matter of supporting an old friend. That has not been the case with Russia and China. The saving of Asaad is so that they have a viable leader in the area to keep them invited to participate.
Now, do you see why Donald Trump, the warrior of the business world, with no real warfare history, is out on a limb with Syria? He has no idea how to handle this, and the Neo Cons are pushing for more war in Syria. They want all out war with Russia, even if the USA ends up with half our cities nuked.
There is also a very real chance that the Neo Cons are mad about Trump's tariffs on Chinese products, and they want Trump to make a fool of himself with China in Syria. The Neo Cons are the ones who have given China the US market place as a personal possession.
So, where do Bible believers fit into this picture?
The Rapture of the Lord's Church could happen at any moment. The destruction of Damascus by a nuke could happen right after the Rapture, and the whole world would suddenly be in a panic to find a peace maker to make sure more nuclear attacks do not happen. This could at once bring forth the Antichrist, the false peace maker.
The destruction of Damascus does not have to happen before the Rapture, and the attack on Israel in Ezekiel 38 could actually be the tidings from the north when the northern nations attack the Antichrist (Daniel 11:44). You can see that this includes tidings from the east at the same time. This could easily be a double attack on Antichrist from Russia and China.
And, if you are a Bible believer, you will be gone.
If you are not a born again Christian, especially if you live anywhere in the Middle East, Russia, the USA, Europe, China, or Israel, you are in for a very hot time. You in America will see the USA destroyed. We are nowhere in Bible prophecy, so the USA will be trashed so that they never get in God's way again.
If you crave some good news in all of this, you need to make sure you have confessed faith in Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
UPDATE 4/10/2018
"Iran, Russia and Turkey have teamed up to forge a strong if brittle tripartite alliance aimed at holding ascendancy in Syria, taking advantage of the West’s reluctance to engage militarily in the country.The presidents of the three countries, long seen as regional rivals rather than strategic allies, will meet Wednesday in Ankara for their second three way summit on Syria in a striking demonstration of unity."
Webb here. I find the use of the word brittle above to be very interesting in that they'll all be strong enough to invade Israel together, yet while the attack is underway inside Israel they'll open fire on one another. EZ38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother.
WC
This helps understand why the Neo Cons, and the President, of the US, along with the US Military, are deeply frightened by events in Syria. It also looks like an alliance which could stand down President Trump and scare him off.
This three way alliance could end up solidifying and becoming a powerful block that could threaten Israel. Also, remember, Turkey is thought to be Gomer in Ezekiel 38, and this alliance locks Turkey into the prophecy. And Persia (Iran) is in the list in Ezekiel 38. If this threesome survives and thrives, brittle though it be, we have to be close to the day when Gog and Magog (Russia) starts gathering the mob to come down against Israel. Also, watch for Putin to soon give more hugs to Netanyahu to try to keep him off guard.
If Trump survives the present chaos, and if he comes out "clean," he will be trying to kiss and make up to Putin, as he suggested during his campaign. This could result in Trump getting promises from the three nations above to keep the peace rather then keep stirring it up.
This alliance is the first really historic and prophetic step to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38, at least in my lifetime.
