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FUTURE EVENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, Part III
A more detailed focus on Isaiah’s prophecies for Syria & Egypt.

Specific Scriptures especially from Tanakh/ Old Testament prophecies,
& How these will impact the Middle East Nations and the world.

Please be sure to read our other study about “God’s Plans for the Middle East”.
These events could change your world.
Please notice the section about ‘In that Day’ or ‘The Day of the LORD’.
These phrases are used over 75 times in the Tanakh/ O.T.


HERE IS A SHORT (Repeated) SUMMARY OF 8 PERIODS OF TIME BEING DESCRIBED AS “IN THAT DAY”.
Note: some of these ‘Days’ last many, many years.

Fulfilled Prophecies:
1. Against Israel on the Day of being deported into exile in Babylon, BC.
2. The Day of partial restoration of Israel back to their own Land, BC.
3. The Day of destruction of many ancient M.E. Kingdoms, BC.
(As in Daniel chapter 2.)
4. A further Day of disasters to Jerusalem, the Temple & the Jews, AD.
5. The destruction of Rome and the rise & fall of many nations for 2000 years.

Prophecies being fulfilled in our days:
6. The Day of restoration of Israel to their Land, also politically and later spiritually, & beginning of blessings to some M.E. Nations.

Yet to be fulfilled:
7. 1st, A Day of Destruction of Israel’s enemies, also great ‘End Time’ events.
8. 2nd, A Day of Blessing to & through Israel & Egypt & ‘Assyria’ to the world. The Last great Day including and climaxing the entire End Time events & Jesus’/ Yeshua’s/ Isa’s Return to Earth on our great ‘resurrection Day’!
[Please note that in order to honour the Word of God, our quotes are in italic writing & we mainly use the NIV.]

SPECIFIC PROPHECIES FOR 2 MIDDLE EAST NATIONS, SYRIA & EGYPT.
Note: Scripture portions, from Isaiah 17 & 19, are used for this study.
They are two of a specific group of ‘oracles.’
Isaiah, 17: 1, “An oracle concerning Damascus…”
Isaiah 19: 1, “An oracle concerning Egypt…”
The word ‘oracle’ had the meaning of a ‘burden’ -being a deep, yearning and concern for a group of people or a nation in particular. It is used with an agony of spiritual concern behind it.
It is always based on the knowledge of the JUSTICE of GOD!

A MORE CAREFUL LOOK AT TWO OF THESE CHAPTERS [Isaiah 17 & 19]
Because Isaiah 17 & 19, are about two important nations; Syria, (under the name of its capital city, Damascus) and Egypt we are studying them separately, here. This is because the events they describe are spread through other parts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, which often repeats and inter-twines these massive events. In fact we can only touch on some of these in this study.

A CONSIDERATION OF ISAIAH’S PROPHECY IN CHAPTER 17, REGARDING DAMASCUS, CAPITAL OF SYRIA.
A question people have been asking in recent years.
This question is based on verse 1, “An oracle concerning Damascus: Damascus will no longer be a city, but will become a heap of ruins.” So this is the question -
‘If Isaiah chapter 17 about the destruction of Damascus does not eventuate soon in a regional Middle East war, (as some have predicted), when will it happen?’ In thinking of this question we need to remember that Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It has interesting Biblical links.
It is noteworthy; the Scriptures refer to ‘Damascus’ which has never changed its name, though the region/nation it is in, has changed several times in history.

The question is because of verses in Isaiah 17: 1 & 9 which say:
“See Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer, [an area 14 miles to the east of the Dead Sea taking in much of what we know as Jordan & part of Saudi Arabia], “will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down with no one to make them afraid.” This suggests they will not be cities or heavily populated areas by people, as at present. Perhaps many of the people will have gone to other parts of the Middle East, especially the Gulf States. Many Christians have already left. Verse 9 says: “In that Day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites/ Israelis, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.” These events must happen in the future, as it is clear they have not happened yet.

Suggestions made by some Bible Teachers.
Recently some well known Bible teachers, (as can be seen on several web-sites), have suggested tentatively, that the continual unrest on the northern border of Israel adjacent to south Lebanon, could erupt into a regional war. The war clouds definitely seemed, at times, to be lowering over Israel’s northern border area, which on the Lebanon side, has been taken over by the Iranian backed ‘Hizballah’. The reports of Hiballah’s recent involvement with other anti-Israel groups such as ‘Hamas’ in the Palestinian area –(being the nearest they can get to Israel on that border) is also disturbing. The suggestion of these teachers (backed by their understanding of Isaiah 17, about the total destruction of Damascus) was that this would happen in 2002 or soon after. They indicated that they thought this could be a separate war with Israel, or perhaps one of a series of wars?

Is this a possibility?
Of course this is not unlikely, though it would seem that each time one nation has planned to fight Israel as in 1948, ‘56, ’67, and ’73, other nations have joined the war effort, only to be beaten by the miraculous help of Israel’s God. So now it is harder to see an ‘isolated’ war, just between Syria (perhaps with Lebanon’s involvement) and Israel. It is more likely to be a full M.E. war or threat of war.
Therefore we believe there is an alternative possibility, to explain this verse.

REASONS FOR CONSIDERING THE DESRUCTION OF DAMASCUS.
With a serious study like this we need to be careful of our conclusions.
We need to consider if the prophecies of Isaiah 17 have ever happened.
After a careful reading of Isaiah chapter 17, along with 2700 years of history we can see some of the fulfillments of these prophecies, have happened.
[Use of a Bible Commentary, or the notes in the N.I.V. study Bible are very helpful- giving dates and names of leaders of warring nations.]

We see more than one fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah 17.
It seems we need to accept three periods of fulfillments of these grave warnings originally given by the godly prophet Isaiah, especially to the people of Israel (Ephraim), and Judah and Jerusalem, (of the Southern Kingdom). He also spoke about these other named nations, in about 710 BC.
God’s power is shown in prophecy, also His concern for His own people.

1st Fulfillment, 658-717B.C.
[This is ‘Day One’ according to our list of 8 special ‘DAYS’.]
There was a clear fulfillment within 100 years, with the cruel attacks of the Assyrians and Babylonians against Israel, because of its alliance with Damascus against Assyria. (Cp. Isaiah 7:1.) In 732 BC Tiglath-Piliser III captured Damascus and made it an Assyrian province. Many of the cities of Northern Israel were also captured. (Cp. 9:1.) Isaiah speaks sarcastically in verse 3, as Ephraim/Israel’s northern capital of Samaria was used as a synonym for ‘glory’- reflecting that of the ‘regal’ -Damascus. “The fortified city [Samaria] will disappear from Ephraim and royal power from Damascus; the remnant will be like the [imagined] ‘glory’ of the Israelites, declares the LORD Almighty.”

But note the gleams of light constantly coming through for His own people, in the assurances, that God would preserve, and purify, and restore a Jewish remnant to their own Land. (He did this, B.C. especially in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.) However the power of the nations of Babylon, Assyria, Philistines, Moab, Cush, and Egypt were finally broken or weakened which began B.C. and lasted for the next 2500 years. Their histories are a complicated mosaic of many cruel wars and disasters. Rome was the last great power in the central area of the M.E. but also was destroyed.

2nd Fulfillment was in 70 A.D.-130A.D.
[This is ‘Day 5’ according to our list of 8 special ‘DAYS’.]
After the demise of the kingdoms of Babylon and then the Medo Persian and Greek kingdoms, (when the area was subdivided into 4 parts), ‘Syria’ became one of those four parts, called Selucia. Following Antiochus IV it was over-taken by the Roman rulers, who subdued Damascus for several hundred years. The roots of the Syrian Orthodox & Mennonite Churches developed from N.T. times, when the Gospel spread north ‘from Jerusalem’ (Matthew 28: 20) by the early Jewish Christians. Jews from Capadocia & Pontus at Pentecost, (Acts 2:6/7) were from here. So Damascus still existed as a city, as the story of the book of Acts shows and Paul’s ‘conversion’ happened near there! “As he came near to Damascus…”

God is faithful to His Word. Therefore it is historical fact that some of Isaiah’s prophecies were fulfilled at this time – the first 2 centuries A.D. This shows that there was a second period of fulfillments of the overthrow of Damascus matched with events around the time of the Romans when there was great persecution of the Jewish people and their second dispersion around the world, fulfilling the verses in Isaiah 17:4 –8. However, because the prophecy of the destruction of Damascus is so specific it deserve more careful study.

3rd, more Complete ‘End Time’ Fulfilment.
[Day 7a, on our list of ‘DAYS’.]
Obviously, no dates are known because these are still in the future.
However, because every word of God is true, we believe there will be a third fulfilment in the years ahead, especially of the parts of these Scriptures in Isaiah –against Damascus -which have never yet happened. Exactly when they will happen, only the Prophetic God of the Future knows. However for our prayer guidance, we can note some other prophecies that will be part of God’s End Time plan. From all the other signs and events which are occurring in our contemporary, 21st century world, we can see that these events could be in the not too distant future. Perhaps we can offer an answer to the question above.
[We suggest you look at our ‘News Commentary’ or ‘Watchman’s Alert section’.]
A useful recent map of Syria’s military sites in Lebanon can be found at: http://ad.debka.com/pictures_e/LebanonFinal2.jpg

WHEN WILL DAMACUS BE DESTROYED?
An answer could be: in the “Ezekiel war” of Ezekiel 38 & 39.
This is also called the ‘Gog & Magog war’. But it is not ‘Armageddon’, since it clearly does not involve the whole world, though the whole world will both know about it and be affected by it. The nations in this big event are specifically named Middle Eastern anti-Israel nations like Persia, (Iran) Cush, Nth African nations, and Put, (Libya). But all are against Israel, which Syria certainly is. We call it a ‘war’ because that is the intention, but it is pre-empted by God before they can attack or invade Israel. We use the name ‘Ezekiel war’ because it is described in that book of the Bible, though there is no fighting, except between the members of the shocked army. “Every man’s sword will be against his ‘brother’. I will execute judgement upon him [Magog] with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulphur… and on the many nations with him.” This will be before the army can begin their attack. [You need to read these chapters for an accurate description of the events.]

These are the reasons we give here, for this big event, (‘Ezekiel’s War’) to be separate from and before the ‘End Time battle of Armageddon’.

Here are some brief notes about this great event. [Taken from Ezekiel 38 & 39.]

  1. This ‘war’ (of Ezekiel), is described as being “on the mountains of Israel” and the destruction of the invading army is also there, yet Israel is delivered from harm! One conclusion is that this huge army will gather on the mountains that today are said to be in Syria. In other words if you look at a map of the Land promised by God to Israel, “From the Euphrates river”, (Joshua 1:5), all of Lebanon and most of today’s Syria is in that area! Therefore this event could be when the army and Damascus are destroyed, as in Isaiah 17. God is merciful, so that many people outside the area where the army gathers and is destroyed will be spared to be “a blessing on the Earth”, as it says clearly in Isaiah 19:23 –25. Many Christians have already left these Islamic areas, so they will see God’s goodness to them too! God’s great patience needs to be remembered also, as Syria has had God’s messengers and martyrs for at least 2000 years.

  1. This is when a great spiritual revival will come to Israel and the whole Middle East. Ezekiel 38: 23 explains, “And so I will show My greatness and My holiness, and I will make Myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know I AM the LORD.” There will never be any doubt from this time on, who the ‘Great God’ is, and though many will not turn to him, but accept the False-messiah, very many others in the M.E. will turn to the true God. Also-as Ezekiel 36, and 39: 22-29, says, the revival will be for Jewish people too. “I will show Myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I AM the LORD their God… I will no longer hide My Face from them; for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.” Other Scriptures, like Romans 11, tell us the same thing! So our questions are not just a case of curiosity about the future, but give some humble understanding of what might be the meaning of these passages- and answer the great question: ‘when will God bring his own people back to Himself?’ And when will they “be a blessing on the Earth, including Egypt and Assyria” as promised in Isaiah 19? (‘Assyria’ includes Syria, we believe.)

  2. An important reason for considering this event means we will have a better guide for our prayers, like Daniel did in chapter 9: 2, when “he understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to [the prophets].” Our suggestion is that, sadly, Syria, and Damascus will be largely destroyed in the earthquake that God will send on the huge, composite army just before it is able to attack Israel – as they plan to do, very probably with chemical weapons. Also Iraq’s WMD are said to be hidden in the B’qua Valley so our prayers are important –especially for children and Christians affected by these things. The main reason for our ‘watching’ is to pray wisely! [See map at http://ad.debka.com/pictures_e/LebanonFinal2.jpg]

    FINALLY THERE ARE 3 AREAS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.

BUT we believe one day; God will return many Christian people to this same area to a Christ-honouring, revived Israeli Nation who will welcome them in the future! Psalm 91 is still true! Please pray for Christians in distress right now.

CONSIDERATION OF ISAIAH 19 REGARDING EGYPT.
Respect for a rich history. There is not room to recap the history of this most ancient land, which has not changed its name or geographical area to any great extent. It seems that in Pre-historic times, it was actually a fertile, well-watered area, (by rain as well as the Nile river) and the people were in the forefront of all kinds of superior skills, such as buildings, (we see the legacy in the pyramids), and in astronomical knowledge. This is a fascinating modern subject of study! However, God allowed Abraham and Jacob to find help there in time of severe drought in their own God-given land. (Perhaps the spiritual lesson for Abraham regarding the serious sin of ‘adultery’, and God’s dealings and training of him at that time, were part God’s plan? See Genesis 12: 10 –20.)

The wonderful story of Joseph shows how God could weave together the lives of His chosen people and their final deliverance from Egypt, with God’s righteous judgement of that nation. This was such a special miraculous act of God, it has been celebrated in Pasach/the ‘Passover feast’, ever since! The New Testament too gives the briefest of details regarding the refuge the Baby Isa/ Jesus and His parents found in Egypt for several years, and is a reason the Scriptures say, “out of Egypt I called My Son.” Matthew 2: 15 is a quotation from Hosea 11: 1. God does not forget those who are refugees as Isa was, or those who give them shelter.

Egypt’s more recent history is most fascinating too, but the tides of wars and religious currents have contributed to many years of trouble and concern for the leadership. [See www.colby.edu/sts/st215/projects/stations/cairo]
There are a number of reasons for increasing problems for Egypt’s economy. A chequered relationship with world powers, including France, Britain and Russia, over the Suez Canal or the building of two dams on the Nile have not always prospered Egypt. In this century, there are rising concerns over the massive use of the life-giving Nile River that actually has its origins in Ethiopia, which has suffered crippling droughts for some years. The result is that in spite of costs, the Ethiopian leaders are keen to retain and divert some of this precious water for the Ethiopians’ own use. This in turn could be disastrous for Egypt, which is already suffering through loss of sufficient water for irrigation of ever more needed crops to feed the fast growing population. Cairo, the Capital is the largest M.E. City with a population over 15 million.

Previous means of fish farming as well as use of very ancient flax industries are suffering seriously. Tourism, a great source of income, has suffered in recent years, too. A virulent form of red insect is infesting the date palms, but the farmers traditional methods of destroying them by burning the trees (but not the insects) is actually exacerbating the problem. It seems there are serious problems for this great nation which the ancient prophet, Isaiah, saw.

The ancient Christian Coptic Church and evangelical Christians are under severe pressure from the main religion which took root there in the years around 700 AD, with the advance of Islam across North Africa. Egypt had been a wonderful centre of Christian learning and academic evangelical influence in the first centuries, A.D. Many Christians died just as bravely for their faith under the cruel Roman regime that extended to Egypt as in many other places.

Considering the 19th chapter of Isaiah again. How much of this chapter is still future we do not know. Good commentaries give dates of possible fulfillments of some of the events foretold by Isaiah. The first 5 verses are of sad events prefaced by God saying, “I will”, three times…

SO TO RETURN TO THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF THIS CHAPTER.
1. A loss of water in The Nile river, with pollution, economic loss and poor leadership described in verses 5 – 17 are a heart-rending account of disaster for this once proud nation. It is so specific, it is not difficult to visualise. “The waters of the river will dry up… the canals will stink… All the wage earners will be sick at heart…” No wonder it says, “In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder in fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them. And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the LORD Almighty is planning against them.” In the 1973 ‘Yom Kippur war’, Israel agreed not to bomb the Aswan Dam in return for a cease-fire signed with President Saddat. But how the above verses relate to a future disastrous situation that as yet has not happened to the full degree described here, we do not know. We are pleased to note that after 4 years of negotiations, Israel is expected to sign in 2005 a $2.5 billion deal to obtain natural gas from Egypt. Israel Electric will receive 1.7billion cubic meters of gas for 15 years. The fact that God is clearly presented as allowing these things, shows His power to bring disaster and blessing! It is just like a Sovereign God to use His people to challenge and to bless. God can and will use our prayers, too!

2. The central message of the chapter explains more. Egypt will undergo a disaster that will turn them to Israel’s God!
Quoting from verse 18, “In that Day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of ‘Canaan’ [i.e. Hebrew], and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. [ADONAI El Shaddai.] One of them will be called ‘Heliopolis’ – The City of the Sun. [Also translated as ‘City of Destruction’ – perhaps because of the heat, or disease carrying insects, or a virulent form of melanoma cancer – we do not know.]

BUT! “In that Day there will be an altar to the LORD, [ADONAI] in the heart of Egypt and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a saviour and a defender, and he will rescue them. So the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and in that Day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.” Because of the earlier part of the chapter (5 –15), it now summarises what had been a terrible time of suffering! “The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; He will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.” [Vs. 22]
There are a lot more alternative ideas given by the Commentary notes in Study Bibles, of possible fulfillments of these events.

However the main message of the change of hearts to the worship of ‘The Holy One, ADONAI, El Shaddai’ is the key! This has never happened in any real way so we pray for it to be fully completed in blessing and healing (mentioned twice) for this great land, in the future! If you live in the Middle East we trust you will be encouraged by this message of God’s loving plans for you. [Look again at Part I?]

FINALLY WE HAVE A SPECIAL INSIGHT INTO GOD’S FUTURE PLANS!
The 'end of the story' is so encouraging, not only for Egypt but also for the whole Middle East. Isaiah 19:23 –24. [Day 7 a on our list.]
“In that Day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ”It seems the will be a literal roadway, rather than an airway route. The significance of this is that for thousands of years a roadway like this went right through the present Land of Israel. It was called ‘the Kings Highway’, although sadly it was mostly used to lead armies on. At present there is no way of access through Israel. The barriers built up since Israel became a nation (because of the number of wars against her) make the situation, understandable. But -“There will be a highway…”
Therefore these two sentences denote an amazing scenario for the future! This is even clearer when the next phrase is considered, “The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.” This represents a harmony of spiritual reality that transcends other religious affiliations of many ‘denominations’ in Islam, or Christianity. It represents an amazing, God glorifying, Isa Maseeh Revival!

True spiritual blessings for the entire world from these M.E. nations!
We have stated it before, but the glorious hope of blessing and for millions to be blessed over the entire world, surely cannot be repeated too often. The closing verses of Isaiah 19, (24 & 25) speak for themselves. “The Egyptians and the Assyrians will worship together. In that Day, Israel will be the third along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the Earth! The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying,


‘Blessed be Egypt -My people,
Assyria –My handiwork,
And Israel My inheritance’.”


Nothing more needs to be said. Other articles may enlarge in some ways. But we feel this is a very special part of the Word of God, which by His Holy Spirit and your own reading can become a very precious ‘anchor’ for your hope in the days ahead. Yes, there will be many other signs and events before Isa Maseeh returns but always there are God’s good Plans working together for the good of people and even nations. We trust you will be part of those plans also.


We worship and praise God for these Plans,
as we join in prayer for them to be soon!

May the blessings come to those who read and to God’s people everywhere, but especially among those who will be “a blessing to the whole world”.

TO GOD’S GLORY, ALONE!


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