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Syria
Syria has engaged war with the State of Israel three times (1948, 1967, 1973), but the fourth time will bring about Syria's downfall, marked by the total destruction of its capital city, Damascus. This will be a prophetic sign of an even more significant event to follow: a direct invasion of Israel by Russia, supported by Iran (Persia) and Russia's other allies as described in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, chapters 38-39.
As if to confirm the above
"Behold,Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." (Isaiah 17:1)
 It should be noted that the 5,000 year-old city of Damascus is the world's oldest perpetually inhabited city. However, according to the prophet Isaiah, Damascus will be "taken away from being a city" and be turned into a "runious heap." This has never happened before in all of history, but has been reserved as a sign of the end-time, unfolding biblical scenario.
Increasingly in 1996 and 1997, Syria began deploying Russian-supplied VX gas warheads on its medium-ranged Scud-C missles, prompting Israel's defense minister to then warn the Syrians that launching any of these chemical weapons against Israel would "put the (Syrian) regime at risk." It was generally assumed by the Israeli press and governmental officials that Israel was implying the certain destruction of Syria's capital city, Damascus, even if it meant the use of nuclear weapons to do so. Since the renewed violence inside Israel stemming from the Palestinian "intifada" that began afresh in September, 2000, the situation has only worsened, including the border threats.
In November, 2000, the commander of Israel's Galilee Forces, Brig. General Moshe Kaplinksy, stated that Israel might be forced to attack Damascus because of increasing terror attacks by Hizb'Allah forces operating in southern Lebanon along Israel's northern borders, who are supported from Damascus by the Syrian regime and also by Iran. The Damascus airport has always been the main conduit for Iranian and other arms to Hizb'Allah, and warnings from Israeli officials to Syria continue.
In 1973, near the end of the Yom Kippur War, Israeli tanks had approached within 20 kilometers of Damascus, but halted at the request of the United States, because the Soviet Union (Russia) was poised to move to Syria's defense. Syria was a major client state in which the Soviets were heavily invested both militarily and politically. Russian paratroopers were in planes and the U.S. military went on world-wide alert ("defcon 3") for what might have become World War III.
As in all Arab-Israeli conflicts in modern times, Russia has trained, equipped and provided manpower to help the Arab nations fullfill their Islamic-driven mandate to "drive Israel into the sea." However, as promised in the scriptures, God will not let Israel's enemies win--nor will he allow Russia itself, like a Goliath against little David, to destroy the Jewish state, which it will attempt to do following the coming Syrian conflict.
Another scripture concerning Syria's final challenge to Israel comes from the prophet Micah (chapter five, verses 2-6) in a messianic-related verse that predicts a Syrian ("Assyrian") invasion in the latter times of history, one that would occur after the fame of Israel's "ruler" (Yeshua) would have spread to the "ends of the earth," and after God had "regathered" the Jews back to their ancient homeland, as confirmed by many other prophecies.
"And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders." - (Micah 5:6)
As indicated in Micah 5:6, response to Israel's aggressors will be severe: "And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword." Obviously, at no time since Israel's modern rebirth as a nation-state has it wasted the "land of Assyria," much less its capital, Damascus. Apart from losing the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War, Syria has been mostly untouched. However, according to the prophetic scriptures a breaking of Syria and the destruction of Damascus is certain:
"So shall it stand: That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders." (Isaiah 19:1)
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