Don’t Invest in Damascus

Dr. Michael L. Ford

14 May 2008

            My only continuing investment in real estate these days is in an eternal residence where the Lord is the Light of the City. But if I were looking to increase my real estate holdings in this world the absolute last place I would invest even a widow’s mite would be the city of Damascus in Syria. It is my considered opinion the time of Isaiah’s prediction for the destruction of that city is near at hand.

¶ The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.                                                                                        Isaiah 17:1-3

            You can find out a little concerning the infamy of Damascus by researching the sixty direct references to it in Scripture, but frankly the holy text really understates the evil it has harbored through the generations of man. Long time subscribers to the Daily Thought know a decade ago I was writing about its ancient surrender to Satan. The oldest continually inhabited city once had a street for each day of the year leading to its center. Each one of those streets was dedicated to a false god so on any given day at least one street in Damascus was the scene of the vilest imaginable activities in honor of a demonic false deity. Many sorrows have happened to the inhabitants of the city over the generations but always it has been the habitation of evil.

            Readers of my Minister of Education Reports were informed of Syrian activity from time to time. We have shared things of interest to Christians concerning Syria since we began publishing ME Reports about fifteen years ago. In the days before the buildup to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 I reported through this medium an acquaintance in the intelligence community was telling me Saddam Hussein was sending Weapons of Mass Destruction to Syria and at least some were being stored in the Bekaa Valley and others were being loaded onto ships. I did not think that was the total of them then and am still sure some went other places. After the Operation readers of the Daily Digest learned when WMD was found hidden in Iraq, like the equipment needed for making nuclear weapons that was buried in the yard of one of Saddam’s top nuclear scientists. The point I want to make in this article is that during all these events, the headquarters of Syrian leadership, located in Damascus was a key player. One would wonder how long Damascus would continue and how much evil it would generate before its cup of iniquity became full?

            Many might be unaware that Lebanon was once one of the beautiful spots of the Middle East. That was when it was under Christian leadership. The Bekaa Valley, which is actually part of Lebanon, was once a beautiful vacation area visited by natives and tourists alike. Today Lebanon is in turmoil and the valley a harboring place for terrorists under the control of Damascus. Quantities of WMD and Syrian troops are in the valley less than fifteen miles from Israel. It seems the cup of iniquity grows fuller all the time.

            Syria with the aid of Russia and Iran is rapidly arming itself with rockets and missiles capable of reaching any point in Israel. My Daily Digest readers were informed Israel had bombed a Syrian nuclear facility being constructed long before the traditional media had said a word about it in the United States. It is known that some of the equipment going into that facility came from North Korea, but what I am unsure about is whether some of the material Syria originally got from Saddam Hussein was also involved?

            Currently Syria, in spite of being caught with their nuclear interests exposed, is continuing to press Israel to give back the Golan Heights. It is confusing to me why others, including the US State Department, would be supportive of these demands? This was the launching ground for two invasions into Israel in the past and when they occupied the Golan they also used the position to fire missiles into Israel, even shooting at farmers as they peacefully tried to tend their fields. My most recent information is that the leaders headquartered in Damascus are preparing themselves with the resources to be able to fire more than a hundred missiles each hour into Israel for a sustained period of time. My information on the Russian and Chinese missiles they are acquiring indicates that allowed to do so they could reach all parts of Israel with their deadly payloads.

            The situation is quickly reaching the breaking point, which is why I believe Isaiah’s prophecy is likely to soon be fulfilled. I know that you like myself will take no pleasure in the deaths of the wicked or those who had no part in perpetrating this particular evil. We know the destiny of each and every person who dies without the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. But having said all that I observe the signs of the times. I also recognize that the longer Syria’s judgment is delayed the more evil the wicked leaders of that nation will be free to do. They have inflicted untold suffering upon both Jews and Lebanese in recent years, but this is merely the concluding events in the evil that has emanated from that city for millennia.