The Coming Destruction of Damascus

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
Chemical weapons effects dissipate over time. Most likely it would be something else, I think.

This is true of non-persistent chemical warfare agents.

There are also persistent chemical warfare agents, which hang around for a long time.

They have different tactical and strategic uses. Examples; persistent agents can be used for long-term area denial, whereas non-persistent can be used for short-term area denial. Either can also be used to kill and incapacitate the enemy, and degrade enemy performance due to hampering effects of protective gear. Various individual agents and classes of chemical agents have various uses and advantages.
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
Milit
If you want to know whats really going on over there, always talk to a missionary that has spent many years in the region, they know things the so called news folks never heard of, I'd love to have a ham radio, it's another way to find out what's really happening...
Military with significant contact with locals, Peace Corps, aid workers, foreign workers with signifcant contact with locals, and underground church members also good sources of information :smile Those with the most/best info also tend to keep mouths shut unless you and that person already have a trusted relationship and you also keep mouth shut.
 

athenasius

Well-Known Member
2 things we know from the Scripture about the destruction of Damascus

It's overnight. That eliminates a slow destruction like what has been happening. This is from evening to morning. One night.

It's permanent. It becomes uninhabitable. Like Chernobyl.

Well we know more than 2 things, but those help to limit the possibilities. It is overnight and it is permanent.
 

Hiftobaf

Active Member
Could be the asteroid impact of Revelation 8. I doubt very much that we will be here to see it. I think it likely will happen after the Ezekiel 38 war (also after the Rapture).

Isaiah 17:4-11 sounds like it's talking about the second half of the Tribulation so I place the destruction of Damascus a little before the Tribulation midpoint.
 

daygo

Well-Known Member
2 things we know from the Scripture about the destruction of Damascus

It's overnight. That eliminates a slow destruction like what has been happening. This is from evening to morning. One night.

It's permanent. It becomes uninhabitable. Like Chernobyl.

Well we know more than 2 things, but those help to limit the possibilities. It is overnight and it is permanent.
Well said athenasius and it hasn't happened yet as some think it has.
 

athenasius

Well-Known Member
Isaiah 17:4-11 sounds like it's talking about the second half of the Tribulation so I place the destruction of Damascus a little before the Tribulation midpoint.
I wouldn't go that far, placing it in the second half --I'm open to hearing your reasoning on that-- I don't mean it can't be the second half, but I don't see anything in the text that would place it there precisely as opposed to any other point in the post Rapture time period- but I agree with your point below.
I'd say so. There isn't anything about Isaiah 17 that indicates it is pre-rapture.


The language of God speaking thru Isaiah about turning Israel to Him

First off the "in that day" language often means The Day of the Lord, which is usually referring to the Tribulation or Jacobs Trouble. That isn't specifying one particular part of the Tribulation, it's usually taken to mean the whole 7 years.

v 7 God says this:
In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

This is fulfilled during the Tribulation. It suggests that they are turning their eyes to God after this event.

but it doesn't exclude the possibility that it could happen just before or during the Rapture.

The event takes place in the 12 hour span of a single 24 hour period. From evening to morning. Verse 14

In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.

Which means that Damascus may be gradually partly destroyed as we see now, but there is coming a single day, in the evening, when it starts, till the morning dawns the next day, Damascus is destroyed from being a city. Leaving the oldest inhabited city a ruinous heap.
 

ItIsFinished!

Blood bought child of the King of kings.
2 things we know from the Scripture about the destruction of Damascus

It's overnight. That eliminates a slow destruction like what has been happening. This is from evening to morning. One night.

It's permanent. It becomes uninhabitable. Like Chernobyl.

Well we know more than 2 things, but those help to limit the possibilities. It is overnight and it is permanent.
Absolutely.
 

maryrae

Well-Known Member
We have been thinking that Damascus will be destroyed by Israel in an attack. And, that may well be.
But, I'm also watching to see if God, using the same or similar tactics, will destroy it Himself, just as He did
Sodom and Gomorrah, once Lot was taken to safety.
Something that I've thought of is how, in times past, God turned Israeli's enemies from fighting the Israeli's to fighting themselves. God threw confusion into enemy ranks. He could certainly still do that today!
 

lightofmylife

Blessed Hope-Prepare To Fly!
Something that I've thought of is how, in times past, God turned Israeli's enemies from fighting the Israeli's to fighting themselves. God threw confusion into enemy ranks. He could certainly still do that today!
Exactly, just like he confused them in the Tower of Babel with their babbling language. They couldn't understand each other. It would be so awesome to see him do this with Israel now. Nothing is impossible with God. He is the :thumbup:thumbup same yesterday, today, and forever.
 
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A pair of docks

Active Member
All it would take is one terrorist nuke/accident
Or a big enough storage facility of military munitions exploding (on purpose or accidentally from improper storage, etc.), especially if it caused other storage facilities or natural gas lines to go up
During Gulf War, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) (chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons/munitions/materials) allegedly evacuated across the border from Iraq into Syria and that's why U.S., etc. didn't find them in Iraq. Hiding them in Damascus, thereby using the entire civilian population of Damascus as human shields, not out of the realm of possibility. If this happened, more than likely at least some of it not properly stored and/or secured, so an accident or theft would not be unexpected.

Or there could be a military strike from any number of places/groups. Turkey, Iran, etc. Both are currently persecuting Christians. Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, ISIL, Hezbollah, and Yemen are all involved in the Syrian mess. Over half of the population of Syria has been displaced over the last 10 years, and millions are refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. Don't forget the Kurds, whose areas cross borders, and who are persecuted/attacked from all sides

It would take an entire book to explore and explain the situation over there right now, and by the time the first chapter were written, it would be out of date because everything changes on a daily/hourly basis.


:pray :pray :amen :amen
Israel goes out of her way to avoid civilian casualties. It’s hard to imagine she would use a nuclear warhead. Perhaps she’ll be so vigilant and fierce that she preemptively strikes, but the nuclear option is always the last option (meant to deter). A nuclear accident on the other hand seems likely, since her enemies are so anxious to “get it on” that they’re making mistakes with weapons and killing each other. Hence the Biblical references to confusion and swords on each other. A nuclear blast also wipes out the cities in northern Israel and southern syria and causes them to be uninhabitable due to radiation. And if they blame that on Israel as well, it’s not hard to imagine Russia joining in and more widespread antisemitism
 

athenasius

Well-Known Member
Can we assume those Christians know about Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 and start moving out accordingly?
Sadly the Eastern Orthodox churches as a whole aren't big on getting their people to read the Bible themselves, study it or study prophecy. I doubt they know about these. They are very similar to the Catholic church in that regard.
Israel goes out of her way to avoid civilian casualties. It’s hard to imagine she would use a nuclear warhead. Perhaps she’ll be so vigilant and fierce that she preemptively strikes, but the nuclear option is always the last option (meant to deter). A nuclear accident on the other hand seems likely, since her enemies are so anxious to “get it on” that they’re making mistakes with weapons and killing each other. Hence the Biblical references to confusion and swords on each other. A nuclear blast also wipes out the cities in northern Israel and southern syria and causes them to be uninhabitable due to radiation. And if they blame that on Israel as well, it’s not hard to imagine Russia joining in and more widespread antisemitism
Israel is kind to her enemies but there is something called the Samson Option. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Option If Israel is threatened to the point of extinction by any enemy they always have in reserve a nuclear option to take out that enemy even if it takes a lot of Israel out at the same time. Obviously it's not for the kinds of wars we see happening right now but it is in their back pocket. A nuclear deterrence strategy.

As you point out, it is more likely to happen from their enemies.

It's interesting to read Isaiah 17 because even if the nukes aren't from Israel, something nasty affects northern Israel according to v 3 where it compares Ephraim (northern Israel) to Damascus and the remnant of Aram (Syria) will be like the glory of the Israelites. In this context it suggests that the Israelites are a bit tattered and battered.

This is confirmed by v 4-6 in which the glory of Jacob (God is repeating Himself here, an important clue) will fade, waste away, be like the gleanings of grain or olives on the trees-- the idea being only a few remain. It's interesting to note that the Valley of the Rephaim is now a modern day train line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (the Jerusalem Jaffa line) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Rephaim which stretches across northern Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv on the northern coast.

17 A prophecy against Damascus:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord Almighty.

4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

7 In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles
and the incense altars their fingers have made.

9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.


10 You have forgotten God your Savior;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.

12 Woe to the many nations that rage—
they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
Sadly the Eastern Orthodox churches as a whole aren't big on getting their people to read the Bible themselves, study it or study prophecy. I doubt they know about these. They are very similar to the Catholic church in that regard.

Israel is kind to her enemies but there is something called the Samson Option. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Option If Israel is threatened to the point of extinction by any enemy they always have in reserve a nuclear option to take out that enemy even if it takes a lot of Israel out at the same time. Obviously it's not for the kinds of wars we see happening right now but it is in their back pocket. A nuclear deterrence strategy.

As you point out, it is more likely to happen from their enemies.

It's interesting to read Isaiah 17 because even if the nukes aren't from Israel, something nasty affects northern Israel according to v 3 where it compares Ephraim (northern Israel) to Damascus and the remnant of Aram (Syria) will be like the glory of the Israelites. In this context it suggests that the Israelites are a bit tattered and battered.

This is confirmed by v 4-6 in which the glory of Jacob (God is repeating Himself here, an important clue) will fade, waste away, be like the gleanings of grain or olives on the trees-- the idea being only a few remain. It's interesting to note that the Valley of the Rephaim is now a modern day train line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (the Jerusalem Jaffa line) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Rephaim which stretches across northern Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv on the northern coast.

17 A prophecy against Damascus:

“See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,”
declares the Lord Almighty.

4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain,
gathering the grain in their arms—
as when someone gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the Lord, the God of Israel.

7 In that day people will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles
and the incense altars their fingers have made.

9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.


10 You have forgotten God your Savior;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.

12 Woe to the many nations that rage—
they rage like the raging sea!
Woe to the peoples who roar—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
EO in the underground church and in some countries do read and memorize their Bibles. It's nice to see a family cherish its (one and only) Bible that has been lovingly passed down and hidden and hidden again and evacuated and hidden, etc. for a loooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Parents and older siblings spend a lot of time teaching and helping children/younger siblings to read and memorize because they know at any time they could be without.

There are some churches that only have one Bible for the entire church, and some that share one between multiple congregations. Although it might seem prudent to split up the Bible so it wasn't all in one place so not all might be confiscated and lost, that's viewed as sacrilege and mutilation.

Although doctrine and worship services are the same in EO churches worldwide (even though conducted in the language of the people worshipping), the persecuted church is very different in many ways than the EO in the West. Far more emphasis on reading the Bible when one has access, and far, far more emphasis on memorization for when there isn't access (including when confiscation and/or burning has happened). Very much the same as other East/persecuted/underground churches and Western churches.

Yes, in many ways EO is like Catholic, but they don't worship or venerate the Pope, and don't subscribe to Papal infallibility/ex cathedra (when speaking from the chair), although they subscribe to the historic Primacy of Rome and pray to Mary and the Saints. EO believe in aeriel toll houses (different from RCC).
 
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