WHAT ABOUT DAMASCUS?

A few days ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with a young Syrian man. He has lived in the U.S. for seven or eight years. As we became acquainted, talk immediately turned to current events in his homeland. He was quite quick to assert his opinion that President Assad needed to resign or be removed from power. We talked about the difficult Middle East situation. We shared how Damascus was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, city in the world.

But my new friend Tim was really set back when I abruptly spoke and told him that Damascus was going to become nothing but a heap of ruins. He thought I was quite off my rocker. This gave me the opportunity to tell him that I was simply quoting what God had spoken through the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah, we find God giving a series of prophecies or oracles again the nations who oppose the nation of Israel. He said, "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. . . .The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus" (Isaiah 17:1,3).

Our conversation, beginning with present day events, gave me the chance to indicate how God knows exactly how all this current turmoil will turn out. This young Arab gentleman had no knowledge of a God who knows the end from the beginning. Allah is not one who gives him a strong sense of who is in control. Unfortunately, many people who even call themselves Christian do not seem to have an understanding that God has given us a sure word of prophecy. He does not want us to be in the dark about the future. Paul wrote, "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery [the things God is revealing]" (Romans 11:25). The great and wonderful thing about our Bible is that it is God's Word to us about the past, the present and the future. What a great joy it is to look at today's news in light of what God has already spoken of regarding these days.

I thank the Lord Jesus for giving me the opportunity to speak with Tim about our faith and about the certainty of God's Word. I did not not condemn his religion, but I felt the Holy Spirit was using our conversation to open his eyes to the truth of the Bible, yea, even the truth regarding the capital of his country and the future of those who do not turn to God in faith through Yeshua.