Syria’s growing instability.

Syria recently shot down a Turkish military jet fighter, and shot at a rescue plane looking for the downed jet (Reuters, June 26, 2012).  In response, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stated, “Every military element approaching Turkey from the Syrian border and representing a security risk and danger will be assessed as a military threat and will be treated as a military target.”

This incident adds to the growing instability created by the Syrian civil war, which began March 2011 and has killed more than 10,000 people.  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has blamed terrorist groups funded by Western nations for the war, and this week he stated, “We live in a real state of war from all angles” (ibid.).

Long ago, the prophet Isaiah predicted, “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).  Jeremiah also prophesied, “Damascus has grown feeble…her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day” (Jeremiah 49:23-27).  Syria was punished anciently for siding against the nation of Judah, and modern Syria has done the same. 

The civil war has now reached the suburbs of Damascus, and rebels may soon enter the heart of the Syrian capital.  As events unfold in Syria, it will be interesting to see how these prophecies will be fulfilled.  

For more information on events in the Middle East, request our free booklet The Middle East in Prophecy.