Will Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Hizbullah eliminate Israel? That is the threat of a Hizbullah general who declared that if Iraq falls to Iran (as U.S. troops leave), Iran will use it as a bridge to galvanize Syria. Then Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Hizbullah will wipe out Israel. Things appear to be headed in that direction; however, God has a very different plan in store. Let us see what that might be, beginning with Syria.

Over the past five months, the protest movement in Syria—against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad—has grown week by week. So Assad, taking a page from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has responded with violent brutality. As of last week, Assad has responded to protests in Syria by murdering 2,675 people, including 158 children below the age of 14. In addition, Assad’s security forces have arrested 16,000 with another 4,382 missing. Furthermore, since protests began in March, there have been 28 documented cases of rape and 89 cases of death as a result of torture.

The Syrian security forces continued their brutal and violent purge of protestors by shelling another Syrian city over the weekend, leaving 25 dead and another 100 wounded. In addition, the protests and violence spread into another Syrian city, Aleppo, on Friday, leaving more dead and wounded protestors.

As Syria’s security forces fired on protestors leaving mosques in Damascus, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on countries to stop buying Syrian oil. President Obama declared that Assad should stop his brutality, but until this week, he had not called on the Syrian president to step down.

After months of this brutality, the U.S. sanctioned Syria's largest commercial bank and its largest telecommunications company. These sanctions are expected to weaken the regime’s financial network and to significantly impair Syria’s ability to sell oil.

The Obama administration also recently stated that Syria would be "a better place" without Assad. In addition, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that “Assad had lost the legitimacy to lead, and it is clear Syria would be better off without him.” Finally, President Obama called for Assad to step down. 

There are indications that Assad’s tenure is coming to an end. For example, Tony Badran, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, believes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have made a huge mistake by making war on some powerful Syrian tribes. Assad’s regime abducted Sheikh Nawaf al-Bashir, a Syrian chief of Syria’s powerful tribes in the eastern part of the country. Then Assad’s security forces attacked the tribal region in its attack on Deir al-Zour. Assad’s forces killed more than 50 unarmed protestors.

This may have been a colossal mistake by Assad, as the tribes in this region have arms and “strategic depth.” These tribes straddle the border with Iraq, where they number even more than in Syria; and it is expected that they will band together against the Syrian regime’s forces. Badran states that “a tribal insurrection in eastern Syria poses a critical challenge to Assad and his troops.” Thus, Assad could have signed his own death warrant by messing with these tribes.

While the Assad regime is close to collapse, still Syrian President Assad has refused to heed Turkey’s appeal to stop the slaughter of Syrian protestors. Thus, a recent meeting between Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared to be a farewell meeting between nations which were close allies. It is likely Assad will no longer be in power the next time Turkish and Syrian leaders meet.

In addition, as a result of Syrian security forces assaulting a Palestinian refugee camp in Latakia (Syria), a PLO official accuses Assad of crimes against humanity. So the PLO (the Palestinian Liberation Organization), which has employed suicide bombings against Israel (killing many innocent Jewish civilians), is crying foul?! If the PLO says it is too much, it is a sign the entire world is against Bashar al-Assad and his brutal and violent response to the unarmed protestors.

Others are also seeing the handwriting on the wall. In addition, the Saudi regime understands that taking down Assad would also affect Iran and Hizbullah, something that other Arab states, besides Saudi Arabia would welcome. Iran needs the current Syrian regime of Assad to remain in power to aid its goal in dominating the Middle East and, eventually, taking control of the world for the sake of Islam. This is why it recently gave $10 billion in military aid to Syria in its war against unarmed protestors. As another evidence of this, Iran just agreed to fund a multi-million dollar Syrian military base at Latakia, on the Syrian coast, to make it easier for Iran to ship weapons to Syria.

Thus, Iran continues its aid of the Syrian regime, because Syria is important to Iran's goal of dominating the Middle East and, eventually, the world. If Syria goes down, it may not only impede Iran's goal but threaten the Iranian regime, as well.

In fact, when the Syrian regime DOES go down, look for it to begin a domino effect in the Middle East. Look for Assad’s demise to adversely affect Hizbullah, Hamas, and, yes, even Iran. It will likely be one piece of the puzzle God will use to bring down terrorism in the Middle East. For when terrorism will appear to be defeated, leading to world leaders to proclaim, “Peace and security!” (as per 1 Thessalonians 5:3). So, in a sense, it is a war for the Middle East—and for the world.

God’s plan is one which will bring down the terrorist entities and make Israel the hero. This is based on the Bible’s predictions of a treaty centered on Israel, in which the Jewish nation will acquire what it seeks (rebuilding the temple on the Temple Mount) and world leaders will believe they have achieved “peace and security” (1 Thessalonians 5:3) So, getting there—in a short time—will be exciting to watch!

In the meantime, keep looking up!

John

[John Claeys serves with John Claeys Ministries through writing, speaking, and radio ministries and is the author of Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock—What Does the Bible Say?, a riveting look of the events leading up to the return of Christ. See www.JohnClaeys.com for more information.]