The Prophetic Impact Of A U.S. Withdrawal From Syria
- By Britt Gillette - http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=2982
Back in December, President Trump said the United States will soon withdraw military forces from Syria. In a video tweet, he announced American military personnel are "all coming back, and they're coming back now."
He never provided a timeline for withdrawal. However, Department of Defense officials claimed the withdrawal would take 30 days. A week later, President Trump changed the timeline from 30 days to 4 months.
And since then, John Bolton, President Trump's national security advisor said certain conditions could leave American troops in Syria for months or years to come. Nevertheless, the U.S. withdrew some equipment in mid-January.
So which one is it? Will they stay or will they go? As of now, it's unclear when or if American forces will completely withdraw. But if they do, the implications will be significant. A U.S. withdrawal will create clear winners and losers.
The Winners
U.S. troops and their allies in Syria currently control about one-third of the country. Their presence provides a check on the actions of others in the region. If the U.S. pulls out, it's uncertain their current allies can maintain control of that territory. In all likelihood, it will be divided among other competing interests. Here are the leading candidates:
Russia - If the U.S. pulls out of Syria, one of the biggest winners will be Russia. Russia is a longtime ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia's relationship with the Assad family goes back to the Cold War era and the days of the Soviet Union. With vital naval and air bases in Syria, Russia can't afford to see Assad toppled. This is why Russia entered Syria in 2015 with thousands of ground troops and air support. Russia's entry turned the tide of the Syrian civil war.
Because of this, Assad owes his survival to Russia. This means, without U.S. influence in Syria, Russia alone will decide its future. The U.S. won't have any leverage when it comes to shaping post-war Syria. This will make Russia a big winner in the Syrian conflict. It secured its only naval and air bases in the Mediterranean. It also expanded its role in Syria as well as its Middle Eastern sphere of influence.
Iran - Iran is another big winner. If the U.S. leaves, Iran and Russia will be the most powerful forces left. As Assad's two closest allies, they'll have a free hand to do whatever they want. Iran has long sought to dominate the region, if not directly, then through the use of proxy armies such as Hezbollah. A U.S. withdrawal gives Iran a clear path to the Mediterranean. Iran will have a corridor to transport troops and weapons to regional allies (such as Hezbollah) in both Lebanon and Syria.
This also gives them the ability to position their own military forces and intelligence assets on Israel's border. Since first entering Syria in 2015, the U.S. has worked to disrupt Iranian activities from areas it controls (either directly or through allies). If the U.S. leaves Syria, these activities will stop. This will only enhance Iran's power and influence.
Turkey - Turkey also wins big from a U.S. withdrawal. Turkey already controls territory in northern Syria. In Syria, the U.S. allied itself with Turkey's longtime enemy, the Kurds. Kurdish forces control large areas of Syrian territory, including areas along the Turkish border. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would love to remove them, but the U.S. presence in Syria has held him back.
The risks associated with an attack on the Kurds are too great. Any incident between Syrian and U.S. troops will trigger a crisis. But if the U.S. leaves, all that changes. The risk of an accidental military conflict with the U.S. disappears. Turkey will be free to attack Kurdish forces.
The Losers
Russia, Turkey, and Iran are the clear winners. But a U.S. withdrawal will also create losers. Two in particular stand out:
The Kurds - The Kurds are a Middle Eastern ethnic group living in an area covering parts of northern Iran, northern Iraq, northern Syria, and southeastern Turkey. Each nation has long seen the Kurds as a threat to break off and form their own nation. Due to a long history of conflict, Turkey views the Kurds as a terrorist group and a threat to Turkish national security.
Despite protests from Turkey, the United States allied itself with the Kurds to fight Islamic State terrorists. To date, the alliance has been successful. It severely diminished the Islamic State presence in Syria. The alliance has also protected the Kurds from a Turkish attack. All that will change if the U.S. withdraws from Syria. Abandoned, the Kurds will almost certainly face a Turkish invasion.
Israel - While the Kurds face a potential conflict with Turkey, by far the biggest loser when it comes to a U.S. withdrawal from Syria is Israel. Removing U.S. forces from Syria will have huge implications for Israeli security.
A U.S. pullout means a permanent presence of Iranian forces on Israel's border. This means Iran can directly supply Hezbollah and other terrorist groups with advanced weapons and rockets that can reach deep into Israeli territory. The presence of Iran and its proxy groups in Syria poses a mortal threat to Israel.
While Iran could directly attack Israel now, it would almost certainly be destroyed by an Israeli counterattack. But if Iran attacks Israel through proxy groups such as Hezbollah, it can claim it had no hand in the attack. This only increases the likelihood of war.
Russia is no friend of Israel either. Russia has a history of anti-Semitism and aligning itself with Israel's enemies. As the region's sole nuclear power, Israel is Russia's key obstacle to spreading control and influence throughout the oil rich Middle East.
Meanwhile, Israel's longtime ally Turkey is breaking ties with its secular past. Erdogan is pushing Turkey toward a more antagonistic stance when it comes to the U.S. and Israel. In short, post-war Syria is more of a threat to Israel than the pre-war Assad regime.
It's not a stretch to imagine all three of these nations - Russia, Iran, and Turkey - uniting in opposition to Israel. And right now all three are consolidating power on Israel's northern border. In doing so, they're setting the stage for the fulfillment of a 2,600 year old prophecy.
Where We're Headed
Long ago, the prophet Ezekiel described an invading force that will form in the last days. In Ezekiel 38-39, he describes this force in detail. Ezekiel said invaders will come from the north of Israel, and a man named Gog will lead them (Ezekiel 38:2-6). Here are the nations who will join Gog, followed by their modern day names:
Rosh = Russia
Magog = Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan
Persia = Iran
Cush = Sudan
Put = Libya
Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah = Turkey
Notice anything? That's right. The three most powerful nations on the list - Russia, Iran, and Turkey - now reside in Syria. If U.S. troops pull out of Syria, their absence will pave the way for further influence in Syria from these three nations. They'll consolidate their power until every square inch of the nation becomes a de facto province of one of the three. On February 14, the leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey met in Sochi, Russia to devise a joint plan to wipe out terrorists in Syria.
Their military forces are now cooperating in Syria. This puts their joint military forces right on Israel's border. And not just any border - Israel's northern border. Ezekiel said this invasion force will come from the north (Ezekiel 38:15; Ezekiel 39:2). So now we have the three most powerful nations in Gog's invading force cooperating with each other and stationed on Israel's northern border. Is this mere coincidence? I don't think so.
Never before have the military forces of these three nations been on Israel's northern border at the same time. And never in the history of the world, have the three cooperated militarily. Until now... The Bible said this would happen, and here we are.
The stage is now set for the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies. Eventually, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the other nations in the Gog of Magog alliance will send an overwhelming invasion force against Israel (Ezekiel 38:8-9). The world will not come to Israel's defense (Ezekiel 38:15-16). But God will. He'll put His full power on display and supernaturally destroy Israel's invaders (Ezekiel 38:18-23).
So what does this mean? It means you should expect more and more events in Syria to align with Ezekiel's account. Expect this alliance to get closer. Expect Israel to become more isolated. And expect the other nations Ezekiel cited to join Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
Most of all, recognize we're in the last days (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:25-29), and live your life in expectation of the soon return of Jesus Christ.
Russia, Iran and Turkey Plot Syria's Future, Will This Lead to Ezekiel 38? - Bill Salus -
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Sochi in November of 2017 and renewed their commitment to Syrian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity. They reconvened again in Tehran on September 7, 2018 and in Sochi on February 14, 2019 to plot their respective roles in the reshaping of Syria's future in the aftermath of the 8-year Syrian civil war.
Russia, Turkey and Iran are members of a coalition identified in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38. According to Ezekiel 38:1-13, an alignment of nine populations come together in the latter days to invade Israel to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder. This coalition is sometimes referred to as the "Magog Coalition."
The fact that these strange bedfellow countries of Sunni Turkey, Shia Iran and multi-faith Russia are coming together as Syria's 'guarantor countries' has some of today's popular Bible prophecy teachers sounding the "Ezekiel 38 is coming soon" alarm! Could this be a premature assessment, considering neither Syria or any of Iran's proxies such as Hezbollah, Hamas or the Houthis are identified in the Ezekiel prophecy? Is Ezekiel 38 as imminent as some of these teachers would have you believe?
In addition to warning about the soon coming of Ezekiel 38, most of these teachers are predicting the soon fulfillment of the destruction of Damascus, Syria, which is prophesied to happen in Isaiah 17. For the most part, these warnings about the nearby fulfillment of Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 are based upon the major and minor premises below.
1. A minor premise is that Israel conducted 2000 airstrikes into Syria in 2018 alone, and more will follow. This will eventually lead to Syrian retaliation and ultimately the destruction of Damascus in fulfillment of Isaiah 17. Isaiah 17:9 declares that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are responsible for the destruction of Damascus.
In that day his, (alluding to Syria in the masculine pronoun), strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel (IDF); And there will be desolation. (Isaiah 17:9, NKJV)
2. Another minor premise is that these three Ezekiel 38 nations are in Syria and convening about Syria's future, which implies that they are one huge step closer to forming the Magog coalition.
3. The MAJOR premise is that the formation of the Magog coalition means that Ezekiel 38 is coming soon.
On the surface these premises seem logical, but do the details of these two biblical prophecies support this teaching?
What Does Isaiah 17 Predict for Syria's Future?
According to predictions in Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:23-27, Psalm 83 and elsewhere modern-day Syria's nearby future looks very grim. This is not good news for Russia, Turkey and Iran. These three guarantor countries plot an entirely different future for Syria than the Bible does.
Isaiah 17:1 predicts that Damascus will cease to be a city, which is a like theme echoed in Jeremiah 49:23-27. Isaiah 17:9 foretells that not only Damascus, but other "strong cities" in Syria will be desolated by the "children of Israel," the IDF. Isaiah 17:14 says that the destruction of Damascus, and perhaps other Syrian cities, happens overnight. Read a couple of different descriptive translations of this verse below.
"In the evening Israel waits in terror, but by dawn its enemies, (at least in Damascus), are dead. This is the just reward of those who plunder us, (Israel), a fitting end for those who destroy us." (Isaiah 17:14 NLT)
"In the evening-sudden terror! Before morning-it, (Damascus), is gone! This is the fate of those who plunder us, (Israel), and the lot of those who ravage us." (Isaiah 17:14, HCSB)
If Isaiah 17:1-14 happens soon, which some including me, believe will be the case, then this will be extremely disruptive for these three guarantor countries future plans for Syria. In fact, it's hard to imagine that Russia, Turkey and Iran would allow these Syrian cities to be destroyed. Rather, it would seem logical to assume that they would maintain their current military support within Syria to war against Israel to protect their respective interests.
However, Isaiah predicts that Syria will be conquered by Israel, which implies that at the time Russia withdraws, Turkey steps aside and Iran retreats or perhaps also gets defeated by the IDF, which might be a fulfillment of Jeremiah 49:34-39. Also, it's important to note that neither Russia, Turkey or Iran are identified anywhere in Isaiah 17.
So it seems safe to say, that according to the Bible, modern-day Syria has no future and that Russian, Turkish and Iranian involvement with Syria is likely to be short-lived. Presuming that these guarantor countries are about to abandon their interests in Syria, would that pose a potential problem for the minor premise #2 and major premise #3 above, at least temporarily?
If Isaiah 17 happens before Ezekiel 38 would this create distance or further cohesiveness with these Syria's guarantor countries? At the very least, this possibility should give some of these Ezekiel 38 now teachers some pause to ask the question; What if the fulfillment of Isaiah 17 happens soon and these countries leave Syria and no longer meet together to discuss the future of Syria, would that suggest that maybe the formation of the Ezekiel 38 coalition could be somewhat hindered and delayed? Could that mean that Ezekiel 38 isn't necessarily an imminent event?
What Does the Bible Predict About Ezekiel 38? Is it Imminent?
Ezekiel 38:8-13 provides details about the condition of Israel when Ezekiel 38 happens. If all of these prerequisite circumstances don't exist presently, then Ezekiel 38 can't be considered an imminent event. These conditions are;
1. The prophecy happens in the "latter years,"
2. Many Jews will be regathered from the diaspora into an existing nation of Israel,
3. These regathered Israelis must be a peaceful people that are dwelling securely in unwalled villages (cities),
4. The Jewish state will be lacking partition walls and security fences, (all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates). (Ezekiel 38:11),
5. The economy of Israel will be thriving, because the Ezekiel 38 invaders are coming, (to take plunder and to take booty). (Ezekiel 38:12).
I explain how Israel does not currently meet the perquisite conditions of #3 and #4 in the article linked HERE that is entitled, Is Ezekiel 38 a NOW or NEXT Prophecy?
After you read this Ezekiel article, you might agree me, that although Isaiah 17 could be considered an imminent event, it is doubtful that Ezekiel 38 could also be classified as such.
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