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Isaiah chap 17 & 19 present day chronicles

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  • Isaiah chap 17 & 19 present day chronicles

    I’ve become convinced that we’re seeing the progressive fulfillment of these passages in our present time because I think it’s too much of a coincidence that events which coincide with these two passages (that I also believe are connected in light of the biblical context) are happening at the same time. Skeptical responses are fine, but I’ll probably respond sparingly because I’m more interested in updating the events as they happen to see how far the fulfillment actually goes.

    Isaiah 17

    Isaiah 17:1-3: The oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be for flocks to lie down in, and there will be no one to frighten them. The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and sovereignty from Damascus and the remnant of Aram; they will be like the glory of the sons of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts.

    “In rebel-held areas of Damascus, buildings are in ruins and people go hungry. In regime areas, stores sell imported chocolates and the streets are swept clean.

    Several miles south of the glitzy downtown boutiques and upscale eateries that serve the Damascus elite, regime troops besieging rebel-held suburbs keep watch from sandbagged balconies and holes in walls over a rubble-choked no-man’s land of ruined streets and bombed-out buildings.”

    http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Secur...-minutes-apart
    “The United Nations released this photo Wednesday of people waiting to receive food aid at the al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus. The photo is dated January 31, 2014. The Journal’s Sam Dagher has been reporting from Syria, documenting the evacuation of hundreds of children, the sick and the elderly from devastated rebel-held Syrian neighborhoods. In January, one resident told Dagher: “Let everyone out. We are eating cat and donkey meat, have mercy on us.”

    http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/20...-for-food-aid/
    More images of city’s ruinous heaps...

    https://www.google.com/search?q=syri...w=1024&bih=632



    Isaiah 17:12-14: Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters! The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, but He will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind, or like whirling dust before a gale. At evening time, behold, there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us and the lot of those who pillage us.

    This is much more speculatory on my part, but could this be a reference to the US/NATO nations and its attempt to go to war with Syria that was thwarted?


    Isaiah 19

    Isaiah 19:1-2: The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; and they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.

    We're all pretty much familiar with the violence in the streets that occurred over a span of more than 2 years as a result of the revolution. Here’s an extensive timeline of the social struggles between the different religious and political divides in the country from the time of ousting of Mubarak to the present…

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...ts-revolution/



    Isaiah 19:5-8: The waters from the sea will dry up, and the river will be parched and dry. The canals will emit a stench, the streams of Egypt will thin out and dry up; the reeds and rushes will rot away. The bulrushes by the Nile, by the edge of the Nile and all the sown fields by the Nile will become dry, be driven away, and be no more. And the fishermen will lament, and all those who cast a line into the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will pine away.

    “For more than a century, a network of canals in Egypt has brought water from the river Nile to surrounding agricultural land.

    But now farmers are accusing the Ministry of Irrigation of diverting water to new neighbourhoods, leaving them with stagnant canals that are quickly turning into rubbish dumps.

    On the outskirts of Cairo, the village of Abu Sir is suffering severe water shortages, making it hard for farmers to cultivate their crops while contributing to public health problems.”

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...481252359.html
    “Ethiopia rejected a proposal that would guarantee Egypt the rights to most of the Nile River’s water, as disagreements cast doubt over future talks about Africa’s biggest hydropower project.

    The 6,000-megawatt Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile River, set to be completed in 2017, has raised concern in Cairo that it will reduce the flow of the Nile, which provides almost all of Egypt’s water. The Blue Nile is the main tributary of the Nile.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...ks-falter.html


    Isaiah 19:9-10: Moreover, the manufacturers of linen made from combed flax and the weavers of white cloth will be utterly dejected. And the pillars of Egypt will be crushed; all the hired laborers will be grieved in soul.

    “The Egyptian government, sworn in on Saturday, takes office as a fresh wave of labour unrest sweeps the country, adding to the turmoil from a chaotic and violent political transition.

    In a televised address on Sunday, Ibrahim Mehleb, prime minister, said he called on the “patriotism” of Egyptians and that this was the moment for work, not strikes. A crippling stoppage by bus drivers last week has just ended but postal workers in many parts of the country remain on strike. Doctors, pharmacists, steel and textile workers have all carried out industrial action in recent days.”

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bf47558e-9...#axzz2vrImtchX


    Will keep the thread updated as more events unfold.
    Last edited by seanD; 03-13-2014, 12:13 PM.

  • #2
    Peter Dubovsky, a scholar and professor from Slovakia, recounts the utter ruin of Damascus and the surrounding regions in the aftermath of Tiglath-Pileser’s campaign in his work titled, ”Tiglath-pileser III’s campaigns in 734-732 B.C.: Historical background of Isa 7; 2 Kgs 15-16 and 2 Chr 27-28,” Biblica 87 (2006), pp. 153-170.

    http://kloposmasm.com/2013/09/08/the...e-destroyed-2/

    2 Kings 16
    9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

    Comment


    • #3
      I think in the OP I presented a pretty solid case for future fulfillment (just what was fulfilled so far), which would make for an extraordinary series of coincidences if it wasn't intended for these recent events. And I'm always skeptical of people who emphatically insist it's NOT future, as Adam does in the opening of his paper. That's always a sign of arrogance or a religious agenda of some sort when the insistence is vehemently expressed. I'm always open to double fulfillment or partial-then-full-fulfillment as has been demonstrated to us with other prophecies from people like the apostle Matthew.

      Comment


      • #4
        Greetings seanD,

        I am interested in your exposition. I believe that many of the Isaiah prophecies had their first and partial fulfillment in the days of the prophet Isaiah. In the days of Ahaz and Hezekiah the Assyrian power was rising and dominant and the surrounding nations including Syria, Egypt, the northern kingdom of Israel and Judah were under threat. I also believe that much of the detail in Isaiah’s prophecies relates to the latter or last days, and the prophecies concerning Syria or Damascus and Egypt appear to be the start of some of this.

        I also believe that Isaiah and Micah have in mind a latter day “Assyrian” power, or king from the north, and Micah 5 is an example where the babe born in Bethlehem will ultimately be the peace when the “Assyrian” comes into the land. I have a personal view shared with many friends that this latter day “Assyrian” will be the Russian power, and we may be seeing their first steps into a portion of the territory of the Roman Empire when and if she assimilates Crimea. We also expect her to take Turkey eventually before sweeping south and this seems difficult immediately. She will then be the military portion of the Roman Empire, or the head of the Eastern Roman Empire.

        So I would encourage you to proceed with your presentation on these prophecies.

        Kind regards
        Trevor

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks TrevorL, and interesting take. Yeah, I'm also curious about Isaiah 19:16-25. I've always thought of it as pertaining to end time events. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

          Comment


          • #6
            Hope you find this commentary as enlightening as I did, sean. It deals with the near/far fulfillment of Isaiah:

            http://www.isaiahexplained.com/isaiah_ch_01.html

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            • #7
              Thanks for the reference, I'll check it out.

              Comment


              • #8
                It seems the US was using ISIS as a backdoor for military access into Syria all along. In other words, after throwing everything in but the kitchen sink, even funding and arming known terrorist linked groups, proved fruitless in removing Assad, using the ISIS narrative as an excuse to position themselves against Assad was apparently plan B.

                And now Obama has conveniently shifted the focus from the Islamic State boogiemen to attacking forces allied with Assad, which, in this backwards, upside down bizarro world we live, essentially means we're now moving away from just training, funding and arming but actually giving air cover to ISIS and al-qaeda.

                In the meantime, while Turkey commences with its own airstrikes, Russia is apparently mulling over a plan to send in their own troops to assist Assad against the rebels.

                Point being, this could get real ugly. Perhaps the "ruinous heaps" many of the cities in Syria have become thus far is just a precursor compared to what is about to befall Damascus.
                Last edited by seanD; 08-04-2015, 02:59 PM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  The Burden of Damascus...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by seanD View Post
                    The Burden of Damascus...


                    "Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin."

                    Comment

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