Syria Continues Its Powder-Keg Course

Tragically, the implosion of Syria continues unabated. The death toll continues to mount. The cruel Assad regime is slaughtering people without hesitation.

The world is doing little to help, but what would be the best way to help? Radical jihadists make up a significant portion of the rebel force fighting the Assad regime. Putting them in power could prove more dangerous to Israel, and to the region.

Please pray for calm. Pray for the Lord to restrain the evil that has been unleashed there. Pray the Lord comforts those who are grieving, strengthens the believers to boldly and courageously share the Gospel, and gives wisdom to Christians outside of Syria to know how to help. And keep in mind that Bible prophecy indicates that God will bring judgment on Damascus for the evil its leaders have done.

The Associated Press reports that “The United Nations estimated Wednesday that more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria’s 21-month-old uprising against authoritarian rule, a toll one-third higher than what anti-regime activists had counted.” The U.N. human rights chief called the toll “truly shocking.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian general in charge of preventing defections has now fled the country. “Syria’s government suffered an embarrassing new setback as the top general responsible for preventing defections within the military became a defector himself, making what insurgents described…as a daring back-roads escape by motorcycle across the border into Turkey,” the New York Times reported. The defector, Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Jassem al-Shallal, the chief of the military police, was one of the highest-ranking military officers to abandon President Bashar al-Assad in the nearly two-year-old uprising against him.

“His departure, first reported by Al Arabiya late on Tuesday evening and confirmed by opposition figures on Wednesday, came as a flurry of diplomatic activity suggested the possibility of movement toward a political solution to the Syrian crisis. A deputy Syrian foreign minister flew to Moscow for meetings with Kremlin officials, and the international envoy that met with Mr. Assad in Damascus earlier this week was planning to visit Moscow this weekend. Russia, one of Mr. Assad’s most ardent foreign defenders, has in recent weeks suggested it was open to a negotiated transition that would ease him out of power.”

The Assad regime should make no mistake: God is watching. He loves the people of Syria. He sent Christ to save them, too. He is moving Christians to help the beleaguered Syrian people. And in due time He will bring judgment on those who wage war against Him and His Word, including the elimination of Syria’s capital city. This is why we must reach all the people of Syria with the Gospel before it is too late.

How exactly will Damascus be destroyed? When will exactly it be destroyed? What will that look like, and what will be the implications for the rest of Syria, for Israel and for the region? The honest answer is that the Bible does not say. But my forthcoming novel, Damascus Countdown, envisions how these prophecies could come to pass. I’ll write more about this in the weeks to come.

Joel C. Rosenberg (www.joelrosenberg.com) is the author of numerous New York Times best-selling novels and non-fiction books, with nearly 3 million copies sold. He is also the founder of The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net).