Is war next for Syria?

The once close relationship between Syria and Turkey has rapidly deteriorated due to Syria’s continued violence toward its own protesting citizens.  This week, “Turkey… suspended its joint oil exploration projects with Damascus and threatened to cut off electricity supplies to its neighbor in response to the continued violent suppression of Syria’s popular uprising” (Deutche Welle, November 16, 2011).  The Arab Spring has slipped out of view of some media sources, but civil unrest and violent government crackdowns are still ripe in Syria.

While some have suggested that Syria could be expelled by the Arab League, other experts suggest that if tensions continue to increase, Turkey could take military action against Syria.  Currently, Turkey is sending troops to its southern border with Syria to create a buffer zone between the two nations—an area where Syrian refugees might come for safety.  Syrian unrest is a powerful reminder that all is not well in the Middle East, and that things will likely get worse before they get any better.  

God predicted a time when Syrian leaders in Damascus will grow feeble and afraid, people will die in the streets of the city, and it will be consumed by fire (Jeremiah 49:23-27).  He also said that Damascus would cease from being a city and would become a “ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1)—a prophecy that has not yet come to pass.  

Events in Syria will be worth watching as Damascus and Syria will figure prominently in the fulfillment of God’s prophecies.