The Significance of Israel’s Bombing of Damascus in Prophecy

Umayyad Square, Damascus, Syria 

Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Israel bombs Damascus, stoking a flame of conflict with Syria’s new government ── 

DAMASCUS, Syria — Israel on Wednesday launched what it said were “dozens” of strikes across Syria, including in the capital, escalating a conflict with a fledgling government that was already grappling with domestic unrest in which scores of people have been killed.

The Trump administration, which has pursued warmer relations with Syria following the toppling last year of dictator Bashar al-Assad, including by easing sanctions, said it was trying to calm tensions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at the White House on Wednesday, blamed the violence on a “misunderstanding” between Israel and Syria stemming from the sectarian conflict in Syria’s south.

(https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-strikes-syria-s-defenseministry-escalating-conflict-with-damascus/ar-AA1IIBfC).

Western diplomats were within metres of Israeli strikes in Damascus, sources say

DAMASCUS, July 17 (Reuters) - Western diplomats were passing near Syria's defence ministry in Damascus in an armoured convoy when Israel struck the building with several missiles on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, including a Syrian eyewitness. …

Israel says its strikes were part of an effort to protect the Druze minority in southern Syria, an assertion rejected by Syria's president, who said Israel aimed to undermine the new government's efforts to bring the country together.

(https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/western-diplomats-werewithin-metres-israeli-strikes-damascus-sources-say-2025-07-17/). 

Netanyahu: No Syrian forces are to head south of Damascus, which is an area that must be demilitarized

17 July 2025 

A day after ordering extensive Israeli attacks on Syrian government and military assets, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will continue to use military means to enforce its two red lines in Syria. 

“We have set a clear policy,” he says in a video statement, “demilitarizing the area south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights to the Druze mountains, is one [red] line. The second line [is] protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze in the Druze mountains.”

“We will not allow military forces to descend south of Damascus, we will not allow the Druze to be harmed in Jebel Druze,” says Netanyahu. 

(https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-no-syrian-forcesare-to-head-south-of-damascus-which-is-an-area-that-must-bedemilitarized/).

And, of course, Syria is angry about this. Will this further motivate the new regime of Syria to cooperate with Iran against Israel, which is consistent with Isaiah 22:6-10? 

Yes, this will lead to a major regional war ── as we’ve been warning about in such articles, audio articles, and videos as “’ Blow the Trumpet!’” of which we just translated into Spanish.

Also, what is occurring could be a prelude to the prophecy of Isaiah 17:1. 

God’s living word WARNS that utter destruction is coming to Damascus, Syria!

“thus says the Lord GOD: ‘It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. 8) For the head of Syria is Damascus, …’” – Isaiah 7:7, 8.

“The BURDEN AGAINST DAMASCUS. ‘Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.

2) The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3) The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom of Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” – Isaiah 17:1-3.

“Against Damascus. 

‘Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. 

24) Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. 25) Why is the city of praise [Also known as: Dimashq, Pearl of the East] not deserted, the city of My joy? 

26) Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,’ says the LORD of hosts. 

27) ‘I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.’” – Jeremiah 49:23-27.

Ben-Hadad means “son of Hadad.” So, since Ben-Hadad is a title, much like Pharaoh or President, this term can refer to different individuals at different times. Here, at the time of the Prophet Jeremiah’s mentioning of this important prophecy, none of the Ben-Hadad’s were alive. This reference could certainly be referring to the new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

DAMASCUS …. According to Britannica, “Although Damascus is well-known to be an ancient city, it remains unclear exactly when the oasis was first settled. Excavations in 1950 demonstrated that an urban center existed in the 4th millennium BCE at Tall al-Ṣālḥiyyah, southeast of Damascus. Pottery from the 3rd millennium BCE has been discovered in the Old City, and mention of “Damaski” was found in a clay tablet at Ebla (present-day Tall Mardīkh) dating to the same period. The first certain written reference to the city is in the hieroglyphic tablets of Tell el-Amarna in Egypt, where it is listed among territories conquered by Thutmose III in 1490 BCE. In the 1st millennium BCE, Damascus became the capital of an Aramaean principality whose history is known mainly through biblical references and Assyrian records.” 1

The reality is ── Damascus has NEVER been completely destroyed to the point of ‘a ruinous heap’ since the LORD God inspired the Prophet Isaiah thousands of years ago.

Why the ambiguity? 

Mostly because Isaiah 17:1 is not totally clear about the period. In this case, Damascus could be utterly destroyed as early as within several months from now. And, if its destruction is tied in with the dual prophecy in Daniel 11:40-43, then it could easily happen within a year. And I say a year because… On November 6th, 2016, while I lay in bed at night, I had a dream, and behold ── I was looking up at the clearest night sky I had ever seen, filled with crystal-clear, bright, shining stars. I watched the stars glisten until I heard a loud, booming voice. It appeared to be the end of a conversation. The voice spoke, “They only have 10 years left.” Whether this has any connection to Daniel 11:40-43, I do not know for certain. But it will come, whether four years from now or only one. We are getting ever-closer to the utter destruction of Damascus.

And, I’m not trying to scare anyone; as our Lord Jesus Christ has told us, ‘See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, …’ However, immediately after that statement, He speaks of what we believe to be a prophecy concerning Daniel 11:40-43, ‘For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. …’ Speaking of the end-time GREAT TROUBLES! The worst period in the history of mankind! ‘the great tribulation’! Israel, Syria, and Iran could easily begin soon the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 22:6-10. 

One day soon, the lion of Iran will inflict great damage to Israel ── before or after Israel turns Damascus into ‘a ruinous heap.’

We should expect to witness a major regional war in the Middle East. □

1) Rabbat, Nasser O. "Damascus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Jul. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Damascus. Accessed 18 July 2025.