I find I missed, basically, a day.
And what did I miss? Well, apparently the beginning of Armageddon.
From the religion news network this morning, I read:
For these Christians and Muslim, the civil war in Syria heralds nothing less than the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Before you label the premise as a conspiracy theory, consider that there are a number of Muslim videos and several Christian websites — not to mention conservative talk radio shows — all making promoting versions of this unfortunate connection. And that’s wrong.
The Judeo-Christian and Muslim texts mention Damascus as an important landmark in the geography of the Second Coming. To some Christian and Muslim scholars it was only a matter of time before the conflict would reach Damascus. So keen are they to share their analysis that the moment you say, “Damascus,” they say, “Ask us!”
Ask any Christian friends and they quote Isaiah 17:1: “Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.” Note the language. It does not talk about destruction. It suggests annihilation after which Damascus will cease to exist as a city.
Isaiah 17 then ends with a vision of Armageddon, which brings Jesus Christ on the scene. Jeremiah 49 and Zechariah 9 make similar violent references regarding the fate of Damascus.
Muslims they quote Chapter 4 verse 159 of the Quran which indicates the Second Coming of Jesus. Prophet Muhammad prophesied “Allah would send Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend with the white minaret, east of Damascus, wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels,” thus directly linking Damascus with the Second Coming. Surprised?
I sure was. I missed the opening of this volley because I'm, well, was not paying attention. I missed the middle because I was heedlessly not paying attention. More than 100,000 have died in this civil war in Syria, and I never noticed. Till we started talking military strikes, and I began researching a piece for this blog.
But here's a thought: I should, and I will pay attention. My prayer life must change. It must include those nameless and faceless individuals who are dying over, uh, what?
I pray for peace, because it's an entity we know little of.
In Syria,
the ‘West’ is backing (and very likely arming) the rebels, who have been cutting
off the heads and otherwise executing captured Syrian soldiers, and these
soldiers opposing them are only fighting because, if they don’t fight, they’re
going to be shot by their own side, or because they’ve heard stories about the
soldiers on their side having their heads cut off, so they’re so incensed and
afraid and compelled to kill these people who will, they believe, cut off their
heads, if they’re captured.
The ‘East’
is backing (and very likely arming) the Syrian ‘regime’, which is fighting
against perceived rebels that are cutting off the heads or otherwise executing
captured Syrian soldiers.
The thing is, the ‘West’ is backing (and very likely arming) many of (not all, by a long shot) the same sort of people they’re fighting in Afghanistan, and have been fighting in Iraq… just as they did to groups in Libya, when they decided that Gaddafi was no longer their friend, after being his friend and taking his oil in the decade previous - until which he wasn’t their friend - despite knowing his record of dictatorial abuse against his own people.
It's time we stopped the merry-go-round because we need to get off.
Is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end? I know not. I do know that we should pray that the God of all power, the head of heaven's armies, come when it is time, and not before. We should keep an eye to the skies, with a heart to those who do not believe.
And then, what happens, happens.
On a day off, or not.
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