This Is Not A Prophecy But… -By Joe Dauda

Indeed, this piece is not exactly a prophecy. But it is based on a prophecy — the prophecy of Isaiah 17:1. According to the King James Version of the Bible, that prophecy was made in the year BC741. And it has not yet been fulfilled.

This piece is a sober postulation of how that prophecy might be nearing its fulfilment, based on what happened in the Middle East just this week. Some Bible students already know I’m referring to the prophecy about the utter destruction of Damascus.

First of all, it is important to state the fact that Damascus is the capital city of Syria and a very ancient city that was mentioned in the Bible at least 60 times — 45 times in the Old Testament and 15 times in the New Testament. Damascus was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis as part of the account of the military strategy employed by father Abraham to rescue his nephew, Lot, after Lot was kidnapped along with several of the inhabitants of Sodom; Genesis 14:15.

Historically, it is said that Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world that has been continuously inhabited since it was founded. That means people have always lived in Damascus and it has never been desolate for all the many thousands of years it has existed. And that is where the prophecy of Isaiah 17:1 comes to play because that status of Damascus must change — at least before the end of the world.

Isaiah 17:1
“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.”

Because the world is about to come to an end and Damascus has still not become a ruinous heap (even though a chunk of the city has been ravaged by the civil war) the belief is that the ruination of Damascus could happen as part of the immediate triggers for the prophesied Ezekiel 38 war, or be part of the events that escalate an ongoing conflict involving Israel into complete fulfilment of the Ezekiel 38 war. For those not conversant with that prophesied war, the summary is that it will see a lonely Israel on one side against a powerful coalition of enemy nations led by Russia, in cahoots with Iran (Persia), Libya, Turkey, and Sudan. I have written an elaborate essay about the divine battle plan for this war, which I recently published in a series titled Gravity As A Weapon Of War.

Based on current international geopolitical facts, Iran is the most important enemy of Israel. And Syria has become important in Israel’s security calculations because Iran is heavily embedded in Syria. Israel has been striking Iranian targets in Syria for years now, and, in spite of hundreds of such airstrikes, including cruise missile strikes in a few cases, Iran seems determined to make Syria a forward operating base, apparently in preparation of a future war with Israel — no matter the cost. The idea is to overwhelm Israel’s defense systems by a simultaneous rain of missiles from several directions.

This war is no longer a matter of “if” but a matter of “when.” Iran cannot be spending billions of dollars to get a foothold in Syria and losing men and equipment all for the fun of it. They obviously intend to use their foothold some day and this piece is basically a postulation that, with what happened this week, that day cannot be too far away. Iran means business and Iran will move to activate its so-called Ring of Fire around Israel whenever the situation permits. I believe the rocket attacks during this year’s Passover from Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon was a dry run meant to test Israel’s response capabilities. Something is definitely being planned.

Especially for those who may want to argue, please be informed that Iran has publicly stated that its intentions concerning Israel. The records are there. On its part, although Israel just wants to be left alone to enjoy the fruits of its highly innovative economy and has never expressed the desire to destroy Iran or any other country in this world for that matter, Israel has decided to take Iran’s threats seriously. Israel has vowed that, because of the existential threat Iran poses to it, it will never allow Iran possess nuclear weapons. War is expected to break out either when Israel decides to attack Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities preemptively (as it successfully attacked those of Iraq and Syria in the past), or when Iran gets the bomb and orchestrates a conflict with Israel through its several proxies in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, using its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent to prevent an Israeli response that might even involve targeting the Iranian homeland.

This week, Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, visited Syria. Such a visit has not occurred since 2011.

The fact of the matter is that Iran has been Syria’s benefactor since the civil war of 2011 began and it seems Iran now wants a payback.

Since 2011, Iran has provided aid to Syria to the tune of 50 billion dollars. This aid does not include current Iranian expenses in Syria.

Since 2011, Iran has given Syria credit facilities to the tune of one billion dollars every year.

From all indications, the Syrians have no way to return these funds to Iran and they will have to give Syrian lands and military bases to Iran in return. And I just heard that up to 15 different agreements have already been signed between the two countries. What you can safely assume is that the Syrians, even apart from the implications of the presence of Russia on their soil, no longer have full sovereignty over their own country.

If Iran attempts to do anything serious with these recently acquired assets in Syria, it could eventually provide the basis for Israel’s destruction of Damascus (most likely through a nuclear detonation) and this will not only fulfil Isaiah 17 but set the stage for the fulfilment of Ezekiel 38. The problem is that Iran is very likely to escalate things. Their body language makes this clear — body language such as this recent visit and the ensuing agreements, which have formalized the takeover of assets in Syria suitable for utilization in achieving military objectives. Perhaps the destruction of Damascus will happen when Israel attempts to neutralize these Iranian assets in a situation for which conventional weapons will be deemed insufficient.

We are watching.

And remember that the medication for the end times is not just prayer. Jesus Christ said we are to watch and pray. What we watch out for is the fulfilment of prophecy. And that is the primary reason for these Israel-related updates and analysis. Because Israel is part of God’s time clock for estimating the nearness of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Israel is the fig tree referred to in Matthew 24:32-34 and Luke 21:29-32. If you don’t believe that Israel is the fig tree in the supplied scriptures, ask your Pastor which nation Jesus Christ had in mind in the parable stated in Luke 13:6-9. No doubt that Israel is the fig tree and the reestablishment of the State of Israel is a very potent sign of the last days. It is the reason why we know we are the last generation on earth. But the world knows this too. Just remember the 26 letters of the English alphabet and ask Google which generation is referred to as Gen Z. You will be amazed. Remember that the last letter of the alphabet is “z” and members of Gen Z (even according to the world) are already adults. And remember to ask yourself why secular people who supposedly care nothing about prophecy and supposedly know nothing about prophecy are referring to a group of adults living today as members of Generation Z. Generation Z simply means the last generation. Yet, there are some even in the church who are praying to live longer than Methuselah — by faith. The only thing I can tell such people (while not judging them) is that faith cannot change certain prophecies. And one of such prophecies is that the world would come to an end. We will know this end is near when we see specific signs graciously given to us in the Bible.

John 14:29
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

Yes Lord.

No matter how terrible the details, the fulfilment of prophecy is calculated to be a great source of encouragement for the elect, as stated above by Jesus Christ. Indeed, nobody knows the day or hour of the second coming of Jesus Christ. But we were supposed to know the last generation. If not, there was absolutely no need for Jesus Christ to have given specific signs and end those signs with the words, “this generation shall not pass away.” So beware of throwing away the baby with the bath water. The day and hour cannot be known: but the last generation is so so easy to identify if you believe the words of Jesus Christ and understand the signs He gave.

Glory to God!