It's all about Syria: Massacre in Homs, UN Security Council vote, prophecy nearing fulfillment

Sobering news today in the wake of the bloody massacre in Syria last night. Assad is hanging on and the world is tense and watching.

Last night I was relaxing while surfing the internet. I had my Twitter stream up, and suddenly all these tweets started coming in about violence in the Syrian city of Homs. Twitter was flooded with tweets and re-tweets of people saying that a violent battle was taking place. The tone soon shifted to people making an outcry that civilians were being massacred. The pain and outrage, distress and despair was evident in the people by the tweets I was watching scroll quickly up the screen. Hundreds upon hundreds of tweets rolled past my tearing eyes. Cries of shame upon Dictator Assad's men who were killing innocent people. Reports of blood literally running in the streets. Mourning over children with no heads. Bodies piling up. A hospital obliterated. Many tweets contained links to videos and photos with appropriate warnings of the graphic nature of the images. I didn't click on any of those but one did catch my attention: amateur video of a very large explosion at Hama. The Syrian inky night sky lit up orange as the entire horizon fired up from some kind of weapon of mass destruction. It was VERY disorienting to watch and read about a massacre in real time. Nothing can prepare you.

Some tweets:

• My city is bleeding. We're being attacked since 8 pm. 5 hours, 230 dead, 800 injured.
• BBC's Paul Wood breaks cover in Homs Syria. Reports Free Syria Army will begin "general assault" in next 24 hrs in retaliation for attack
• BBC reports Homs "Does seem to have been sustained bombardment, large sustained attack"
• The Syrian embassy in Tripoli of Libya is now under the control of Syrian revolutionists
• Horror. GRAPHIC: Another video from Khaldiyeh, dead young men, many injured, people screaming
• Jon Williams- Has Homs proved final straw for some? Syrian "Independence" flag reported flying over embassy in Greece.
• Tunisia expels Syria ambassador over Feb 3 "bloody massacre" in Homs that killed over 200 people (via @AP)
• Guardian news Top story: Fury over Homs massacre as UN security council gathers for Syria

Soon the tone shifted again to freedom fighters trying to organize worldwide protests at embassies outside of Syria. Some did respond, and were attacked, such as Greece. Others called upon the UN to shame Russia for diluting the latest resolutions condemning the violence.

• People all over the world are asked to go to the Syrian embassies & protest Syria
• They're chanting "one solution, one solution - revolution, revolution" in Wash DC

One man tweeted, "Mankind has never been so connected as it is today. Yet, we stand powerless". I understand his sentiment. We watch, we see, yet what can we as individuals do in the face of such vivid violence in real time? Some called for uniting at embassies around the world in protest. Greece and Washington DC, as well as people Spain responded and assembled in front of the Syrian embassy in their capitals. In other words, anger was palpable. I mourned, and soon I had to turn it off, the devastating implications of the massacre were too great.

"Today, European envoys to the Security Council said they would vote Saturday on a draft resolution backing an Arab League call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down amid talk that Russia would ask for a delay. The ambassadors spoke as they headed into an unusual weekend session. The urgency was heightened by an assault by Syrian forces firing mortars and artillery on the city of Homs."

This morning "Obama said in a statement on Saturday that he condemns Mr. Assad's “unspeakable assault.” He called for the Syrian leader to step aside and make way for a democratic transition." This is essentially what the UN Security Council Resolution calls for.

UN web cams inside the voting chamber ahead of the vote show heavy lobbying of the Russian envoy to get him to soften his stance. A similar resolution was proposed to the Security council in October but members China and Russia vetoed it. They are trying not to have a repeat of that awful decision, particularly in light of last night's massacre and the additional dead by Assad's orders since October. Voting will occur momentarily... it is a tense moment for the watching world.

OK, I watched the UN Security Council vote live. Russia and China voted no, meaning they vetoed the draft resolution condemning Syria's violence and calling for Assad to resign. Russia and China both are prophesied leaders players in future Middle East violence as per Ezekiel 38-39 and Rev 16:12.

I think often on the prophecy in Isaiah 17, whereupon Damascus will be destroyed, it will be a heap of ruins (V. 1).

This oracle in its entirety has a partial fulfillment in 722 and 732 BC of Samaria and Damascus. It is obviously a partial fulfillment because Damascus, though defeated by the Assyrians, the city continued to be a city under their rule. It was never razed to the extent that the prophecy indicates it will be someday. The middle of the chapter focuses on the defeat of Samaria, and then toward the end of the short chapter at verse 12-14a you see the following:

"Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more."

Two thoughts here. One is that 'the mighty rushing waters' is always used as a metaphor in the bible for outcries, restless and angry multitudes upset about something. Certainly last night was evocative of that verse. Today might be worse, considering that Russia and China stand by Assad's violence and outrages against the people.

Washington Post immediately reported, "Russia and China have vetoed a Security Council resolution backing an Arab League peace plan that calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. The other 13 council members, including the U.S., France and Britain, voted Saturday in favor of the resolution aimed at stopping the ongoing violence in Syria."

What could God be doing, allowing such evil? How can any nation not condemn a leader massacring children? One answer is that we see the evil inside the Russian envoy's and Chinese envoy's heart that they would vote in this way. God is good and He allows the sins inside of us to come to their full fruition, eventually revealed to one and all. "But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them" (Eph 5:13)

France said of the vote, "France: "History will have no mercy for those who blocked the UNSC from bringing its support to the Arab League efforts."

"Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal." (Ezekiel 38:1-3).

It is interesting to think of the plan God has for Russia and for China (Kings of the East). I don't know about history but I know that God will have no mercy on them. Ezekiel's prophecy continues regarding Russia particularly, "I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”" Gog is destroyed. Ezekiel 39:2 says that God will destroy five-sixths of their army. Then He gives burial instructions.

Secondly the verse that speaks of trouble coming in the evening and then by morning he is no more...what can raze a city that quickly? What would reduce a city to rubble so completely that it is obliterated? A nuclear device. I got to bed at night, on nights like last night, and I wonder, 'Will Damascus be there in the morning?' We are the final generation that will see these things come to pass (Matthew 24:34), we see the other signs, and at some point it will happen. What will be the final straw? Was last night's massacre and today's UN vote the final straw? I do not know, God knows. We trust Him and His perfect plan. Meanwhile, He wants no one to be lost, but all to come to repentance. Hang on Syrians! Jesus loves you! Look UP, for your Redemption draweth nigh, if you but repent and believe!

As for feeling powerless while watching the massacre unfold, we are not powerless. As the tweets rolled by, and the knowledge that many who had died fell into hell instead of heaven, I prayed hard. I prayed that the nearness of death would awaken many to His offer of salvation. I prayed that the seeds that have been left previously by missionaries and Gideons would sprout into understanding. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would grab those He is drawing near and they would respond with an eternity changing decision for Jesus. Prayer is the ultimate weapon. Trusting in His goodness even while dark evil lurks is the ultimate faith.
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UN Security Council to take up Palestinian bid on Monday

Haaretz is reporting that in "an unusually fast" move, the UN Security Council will take up the Palestinian proposal to become a full member as a sovereign nation on Monday. It was only on Friday that Palestinian Authority representative Abbas submitted his proposal. All proposals must first go to the Security Council and attain a majority vote, without any vetoes from the 5 permanent members, in order to go forward to the General Assembly. The US is one of the five permanent members having that coveted veto, proposal killing power. The US has said they will veto the proposal. Personally, what the US says and what the US does are two different things. I will believe it only after I see it happen.

Haaretz reports, "The UN Security Council will take up the Palestinian bid for full statehood and UN membership on Monday. This is an unusually fast development compared to the normal tempo of the United Nations. Council president Nawaf Salam of Lebanon told reporters on Friday that the 15-member council would begin discussions at 1900 GMT Monday to take up the application submitted earlier Friday by Abbas to the UN Secretary General. Ban passed the document hours later to the council, whose approval is needed for UN membership and full recognition of statehood." I believe that 1900 Greenwich Mean Time is 2pm Eastern Standard Time. Although the Russian representative said it will be at 3:00.

The interesting thing about the proposal, aside from the global seizure we are currently having regarding the intractable Palestinian push to destroy Israel, is that the world's attention is now on that routine and arcane administrative body that until now, no one really seemed to care about.

But at the moment, all eyes are on not only the body, but are questioning its function. Security Council reform is on the UN's agenda this session. Everyone is saying things like, 'with the majority of the world wanting the Palestinians to get their state, why should the US be the only one to hold up progress?' I am not making that up. Time Magazine's queries are representative:

"U.N. Security Council: Is It Time to Veto the Veto?"
The U.S. veto, wielded in opposition to a generally-held international consensus, is then perhaps the most unilateral gesture one can make at the world's most multilateral institution. Why in the 21st century should anybody still have the right to do this? the Security Council with its five veto-wielding permanent members — is a reflection of a long-lapsed status quo. It's possibly the most glaring anachronism in international affairs."

Really, Time? You're just starting to ask these questions now, at the moment the world is teetering on the edge of the most prophetic and dastardly actions ever? The article continues-

"Do the U.K. and France—shorn of their empires, great armies and mired in debt-ridden Europe—really both deserve vetoes? If Russia is a permanent member now, why isn't India, with its far larger population and more dynamic economy? And what about Japan and Germany, two of the world's most important economies, still kept at arm's length in this forum because of their being on the losing side of a war fought some seven decades ago. There's no shortage of nits to pick."

Russia says they plan to vote yes on Monday. Of course. In the not-too-distant future, they will attack Israel and try to obliterate her (Ez 38:2-3). The other four permanent, veto-wielding members are China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. China is being cagey as to their vote, but they said in August, "Wu announced in Cairo that China would "support" the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital - while cannily omitting the detail as to whether China would actually vote for the statehood measure in the Security Council." The UK is hesitant. "Britain continued to hesitate yesterday in the face of increasingly frantic scenes at the UN, where delegates are preparing for the climax of the Palestinian statehood bid." But the same article says that "The US is reluctant to veto the motion, fearing a violent reaction in the Arab world."

The Sri Lanka Sunday Times says ominously that "World peace is at stake".
"The European nations, especially France and Britain are divided between their alliance with the US and the justification for Palestine's recognition." A rock and a hard place, for sure.


The upshot is put succinctly by this AP story carried in the Kansas City Star:
"The Palestinians would need nine of the 15 Security Council votes to accept their bid, and forecasts are difficult because member states have little to gain from making their intentions clear this early." So we don't know. But we won't have long to wait to find out.


The scenarios stemming from actions this week are endless. I can't even fathom how things might turn out. Maybe the US does not veto and the Palestinians attain their goal. Maybe the US does, and the Palestinians use that action as a justification of our being a tyrant standing in the way of their legitimacy as a people, and bomb us. The Security Council's reform is on the session's agenda, maybe the US veto gives them the impetus to change things and the Palestinians get their state after a while. Maybe Israel decides she has had enough and begins a military action that fulfills the Psalm 83 battle. Maybe nothing will happen. But at some point, something will, and soon I believe. Like before the year is out.

"According to one Palestinian-based poll, 70.5% of Palestinians expect a third intifada (uprising) to begin this autumn if the deadlock in negotiations is not broken."

So now we have another date to look toward in the Lord's progressing plan to ultimately bring an end to sinful humanity: Monday afternoon. These dates are getting shorter and shorter as we hurtle toward each of our individual ultimate fates.
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