Behold, Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins!

In one sense, I hesitate to repeat what is clearly speculation. Israel has not, in fact, attacked anyone, and Israel is often accused of being about to attack someone. On the other hand, Jesus said the end time birth-pang signs would be characterized by "Wars and rumors of wars." (Matthew 24:6)

Report: Israel planning to attack Hezbollah arms depots in Syria
"Israel is planning to attack Hezbollah arms depots and weapons manufacturing plants in Syria, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported on Saturday. The report is based on Western sources who asserted that Israel has increased its military force level along the northern border in the Golan Heights and Mount Dov areas. The report cited European sources who claimed that recent Israeli unmanned aerial drone flights over Lebanon and Syria signal Israel's intentions to carry out operations in the area. According to the report, Israel plans to attack Hezbollah weapons depots, including ones deep inside Syria that store long-range rockets. The Al Rai report said that the situation on the Israel-Syria border is tense and that Syria could respond immediately to any Israeli attack and not demonstrate the restraint that it did after the Israeli Air Force bombed a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria in the fall of 2007. According to the report, Syria's military is on high alert and is strengthening its anti-aircraft defenses along the border with Israel and at strategic sites within Syria."

I take indicators of any attack against Syria, whether in Damascus, Golan Heights, or any other place, very seriously. In my opinion, one of the most clear and definitive last days sign before the rapture would be the prophesied destruction of Damascus. (two others being the Psalm 83 battle and the beginning of the Gog-Magog Ezekiel 38-39 battle). You can see that either an attack on Damascus would spin the Middle East out of control, or that a strike on any Syrian territory would spin things out of control and Damascus could wind up in a heap of ruins. Either way, heightened alerts are not good at this stage of the last days.

Damascus is the capital of Syria, Israel's neighbor to the north. Damascus is the world's oldest continuously inhabited city, it has never been destroyed or abandoned. Isaiah's prophecy in 17:1 states "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." The prophecy does not specifically say that Israel will raze the city, but it will be ruined. It is a likely thought that Israel will be behind this action. That the end result will occur is not in question.

Why Damascus?

Damascus is strategically aligned with Iran, who funds the terrorist group Hezbollah. In addition, Damascus's interest in both biological and chemical weapons is long-standing. They are building weapons of mass destruction in the biological weapons facility they have constructed. Consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism expert Dr. Jill Dekker said that "Contrary to how the US State Department and other agencies tend to downplay the sophistication of the Syrian biological and nuclear programs, they are very advanced. Syria has always had the most advanced chemical weapons program in the Middle East." So Damascus is a mere 150 miles from Jerusalem, is well-funded by Iran, has a nest of Israeli-hating terrorists waiting to obliterate the nation, and is home to the most advanced bio-and chemical weapons facility in the Middle East. What's not to love?

"Operation Orchard" was an Israeli airstrike on a target in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria carried out just after midnight (local time) on September 6, 2007. American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this. In any case, Israel decided not to stand for it and with precision, struck.

Now, that was one facility, Damascus is an entire city, admittedly harder to strike with completeness and precision (unless it is nuclear). Indeed, Damascus may not be destroyed in a military strike, it may be destroyed by an earthquake, or another unknown and unanticipated disaster. But when I hear credible reports of an impending strike, and see that Syria is on heightened watch, I watch too. And pray!