Assyria Will Rise Again! Watch This Space!

By Christine Darg, Jerusalem Channel Co-founder

I want to invite you to join our ministry in prayer for the greatest revival the world will ever see—when the God of Israel and his Messiah reign in this region with Jerusalem as the worship capital of the world.

Why are we continually seeing shocking things happening with the genocide of Christians in the Mideast and the destruction of monuments such as the tomb of the prophet Jonah in ancient Nineveh?

Why is God allowing terrorists to trash so much of the Mideast? Borders are being blurred, and we haven’t seen the end yet. But of this we can be confident: God envisions a regional highway of peace during the Millennial rule of King Messiah that will stretch from Egypt in the south, through Israel in the center, and up to a nation called Assyria in the north—not Syria but Assyria.

Two of these three nations favored by God—Egypt and Israel—already exist, because Israel was miraculosuly reborn in 1948. A third ancient nation in a triple alliance is still a missing link—it’s Assyria—which is yet to re-emerge. Watch this space!

I want to share with you one of the most important prophecies in the Bible that’s yet to be fulfilled but we’re seeing it beginning to come to pass now. It’s Isaiah 19:23-25, which begins, In that day –The Biblical phrase “in that day” is an idiom referring to the end time leading into the Millennial 1,000-year rule of the Messiah. “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

The highway that connects these three nations will be called the Highway of Holiness according to Isaiah 35: 8. This is God’s own vision of three great Bible lands dwelling together in peace and spiritual unity.

Now turn with me to  Deuteronomy 26: 5.  The Israelite patriarch Jacob is referred to as a “wandering Aramean,” or Syrian, who went with his sons down into Egypt. He’s called an Aramaean because of his family’s beginnings in Mesopotamia—that’s where Father Abraham originated in the cradle of civilization.

Modern day Syria, on the other hand, was a creation of Western rulers and was handed over to France as a protectorate and has no historical significance in its current form. Iraq was also man-made. But the ancient Assyrian Empire extended from Ur of the Chaldes, up the Tigres-Euphrates valley toward Baghdad, then across to the Mediterranean, taking in the area known today principally as Iraq and Syria.

Now both Iraq and Syria are shaking and crumbling. God will continue to shake man-made borders of the Middle East.

Isaiah 17 declares that Damascus will become a heap of ruins.

Presently the Assyrians are listed among the displaced peoples of the world by the United Nations and consist of about three million persons in a worldwide Diaspora. Their Capital City Nineveh, known today as Mosul, has passed through a horrific time of persecution by Islamist terrorists; this is because the religion of the Assyrians today is Christianity. And Christianity in Iraq has recently suffered one of its worst periods in its long history. Mideastern Christians have endured many hardships and persecutions through the centuries but recent events have brought the worst acts of genocide. The homes of these persecuted Christians were confiscated and marked with the letter n, representing Nazarene or Christian, by Islamist terrorists.

Consequently, many people all over the world have adopted the Arabic letter for n as their Facebook profile photos in solidarity with the persecuted. The Assyrian Christians of Iraq are an oppressed minority like the Kurds but even more so because they’re not Muslims. Assyrian Christians occupied this region first before Islam, but they’ve been disinherited by the majority Muslims. The hope and dream of these beleaguered Christians is an autonomous Assyrian state; in 1991 they were formally accepted as members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO); they speak the ancient Biblical language Aramaic.

For the Assyrians, August 5, 1991 was an historic day and some Assyrians saw their official recognition as a national people group as a first step toward restoring Assyria, as prophesied by Isaiah 19. Another milestone happened in September of 2014 when the Aramaic Christians in the State of Israel were recognized as a national entity on Israel’s civil registry.

Father Gabriel Naddaf, the activist Orthodox Christian priest who lives in Nazareth, said it’s important to point out that the Aramaic language was also spoken by Jesus, and the Arameans who live in Israel today as a minority group are direct descendants of the Arameans who also lived in Israel at the time of Jesus and who became Christians. Israel’s Interior Minister signed a resolution implementing the “Aramaic-Christian” nationality into the civil registry. Father Gabriel said a historical injustice was rectified because Israeli citizens of an Eastern-Christian origin have been mistakenly identified as “Arab Christians.” Even though they speak Arabic, they don’t have any connection to the Arab Islamic nationality.

So the visibility of Aramaic-speaking Christians is rising in the news. And we as a ministry are praying for God to intervene to save the Assyrian or Aramaic-speaking Christians who are suffering so terribly –at least in Israel they’re safe!

Just as the Israelites were lost in the nations and God is still in the process of bringing them home, so the Assyrians seem to be a lost nation, but God knows where they’re scattered. They’re the forgotten missing link of the Isaiah 19 confederacy, but God hasn’t forgotten and he will regather them.

A number of years ago, I took a prayer team into Iraq to pray and decree a rejoining of the Isaiah 19 nations prophetically according to God’s own vision. A member of the team kept asking me to listen to an audio cassette, so one day while I was taking a nap in Baghdad, I decided to listen to the recording, and to my complete surprise, it was Pat Boone singing the theme song from Exodus! This land is mine; G-d gave this land to me. This brave and ancient land to me. That startled me because God was saying that he wanted me to extend my territory in the Mideast to see the bigger picture of what God sees—he also loves the people of Baghdad, of Assyria, and so forth. He loves not only Israel but he wants to bring all of the Middle East into his fold, as it were.

In Bible days, the Assyrians were fierce and God used them as his rod to judge the disobedient nation of Israel. But in Isaiah 19 the Assyrians are called God’s handiwork, so just as God has a plan for Israel and Egypt, he also has an endtime plan for the scattered Assyrians who today are all professing Christians. These Aramaic-speaking people were converted at the time of Jesus and they have faithfully maintained his witness despite the sword for nearly 2000 years. God remembers them because The Book promises Assyria will be restored once again just as the Jewish nation has been restored. They are suffering terribly — just as the nations closed their doors to the Jews during World War 2 and nobody would let them in, so these persecuted Christians from the Middle East are shamefully being denied visas in the USA and UK.

The Book of Jonah in the Bible is all about God calling Assyria to repentance. God commissioned his reluctant Jewish prophet Jonah to go to that great city, Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, with a message of imminent destruction. I hope you know the story. Jonah didn’t want to obey God because he didn’t love the Assyrians, so he ran away from his assigment and jumped on a ship headed west; Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish and three days later the fish vomited Jonah on the shore, but this time he obeyed God and went to Nineveh and preached hotly, “Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” That was the extent of his message! Jonah didn’t preach grace and love—he preached hellfire and brimstone! He reveled in his message of destruction! But the people of Nineveh surprised Jonah–they repented en mass! The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, wore sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, shook off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and humbled himself by sitting down in the dust. The king issued a decree not to allow anybody, not even the livestock, to eat or drink. Both the people and the animals were covered with sackcloth! Isn’t that amazing! Everyone was commanded to call urgently on God, to give up their evil ways and violence so God would relent and turn from his fierce anger. If only our western nations would repent like this today!

The decree of the King of Nineveh reminds me of the promise in 2 Chronicles 2: 14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  Now when God saw how the Ninevites repented and turned from their evil ways, he decided not to bring on the destruction. In fact, Jesus Himself later commended this amazing repentenance. Jesus said that the men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment day and condemn Jesus’ own generation for not repenting en mass as Nineveh did. God remembers these people! Today the scattered Assyrians profess to be Christians although like all professing Christians they need a real born-again experience and God will grant them a real revival in the coming Isaiah 19 confederacy.

The highway of holiness will start down in Egypt and will probably follow the ancient trade route called the Way of the Sea that runs up the coast of Israel and crosses over into the Plain of Megiddo and into modern-day Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Now, just as Syria was a creation of the big powers, so was Iraq. Winston Churchill drew Iraq on a map. Iraq used to be Mesopotamia, or Assyria, and now it’s called Iraq but it’s being disrupted and dismantled by Islamist terrorists. But according to Isaiah 19 this whole region will evenutally be the model of peace and stability! God gets the ultimate peace prize because Egypt and Assyria, former sworn enemies of Isael, will live in peace and King Messiah will rule the region.

The rabbis teach that Bible prophecy isn’t linear but comes in cycles and grows in degrees of intensity with each cycle. Already there’s been a partial fulfilment of Isaiah 19: 25 on the day of Pentecost nearly 2,000 years ago! In the New Testament in the book of Acts we learn that many nationalities visited Jerusalem during the Jewish festival at Pentecost (called Shavuot in Hebrew) including people from Mesopotamia, and they were joined with Egyptians, Libyans and many others in Judea, and they received a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So the Isaiah 19 nations were all present in Jerusalem at Pentecost! It wasn’t just the Jews who got saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts Chapter 2 names the Mesopotamians, that’s the Assyrians.

By the way, the name Mesapotamia means “between the rivers,” it’s the territory between the Tigris and Euphates rivers. On the Day of Pentecost these Mesopotamians were baptized in the Holy Spirit and returned to their land in the power of the Lord. Their ancient church of the East became a great missionary church.  The Assyrians along with the Apostle Thomas ventured as far as India and China with the Gospel. So Asia was originally evangelized by Asians, Christianity is not just a western import in Asia! The Assyrians were among the first people to embrace Christianity, and they played a great role in making disciples for Jesus in Asia.

But a greater fulfilment of the Isaiah 19 prophecy is coming when Egypt, Assyria and Israel will dwell together without walled borders and when a super highway connects them. These 3 former foes will find level ground at the throne of the God of Israel and his Messiah. Jesus the prince of peace will bring a true heart alliance that’s never been possible up to this point.  And, when Isaiah 19 comes to pass, Israel will finally fullfil its calling to be a light to the nations and a blessing in the midst of the earth.

That’s why it’s so important to pray Isaiah 19 into being. For example, Daniel the prophet in his day didn’t just sit back and watch Jeremiah’s prophecy come to pass; no, Daniel fasted and prayed in tandem with propheic activities; he was proactive. He knew God’s word would be fulfiled to restore the Jews to Jerusalem, yet Daniel also understood that God expects his people to pray believing prayers. God allows us intercessors to be co-laborers with him, and so I believe this is the strategic time for us to pray the Isaiah 19 confederation into reality. The stalemate of failed peace negotiations and chronic antagonism is not Heaven’s plan.

It’s fascinating to consider that the three most favored nations mentioned in Isaiah 19 presently represent the three dominant religions in the Middle East: Islam is presently the religion of Egypt although there’s a large Christian Coptic population within Egypt who were there first. God calls Egypt my people because the Coptic Christians have kept the faith since the time Egypt was evangelized by the apostle Mark. The Coptic Christians have also been passing through horrific persecutions but God sees and acknowledges them as “my people.” Israel’s predominant religion on the other hand is a form of rabbinic Judaism; and the Assyrians since the day of Pentecost are traditionally Eastern Christians.

Although these three represent three different religions, in the future they will all worship the God of Israel and his Messiah. Therefore Israel will no longer be exclusively God’s people; Egypt and Assyria will share Israel’s glory. To express this expansion, Israel’s three names of honour are mentioned in Isaiah 19:25, and each of the three nations receives one of Israel’s special titles. Israel is still premenient as God’s “inheritance;” nevetheless it’s quite amazing that Egypt is called “ami,” my people, and the Assyrians are referred to as God’s creation. I’s important to point out that there will not be three religions in the future. All three nations will serve the God of Israel and his Messiah. Egypt will be freed of the pharoah-like spirit of the Islamists, and Isaiah 19 reveals that Hebrew will be spoken in the land of Egypt. The Assyrian Christians will be revived and renewed, and Israel itself, having come through the time of Jacob’s Trouble, and having survived the anti-Christ’s short reign, will be at peace with King Messiah.

Peace will finally be possible because all the peoples in the region will have peace in their hearts by submitting to Messiah’s rule. Isaiah 19 is prophetic and thrilling because it foresees three formerly hostile nations putting away their prejudices and racial animosities and embracing a common salvation through King Messiah—Yeshua is his Hebrew name. For centuries Egypt was the quientessential ancient foe and oppressor of Israel. And on the other hand Assyria was the great scatterer of Israel– the destroyer of Jerusalem and the temple. Two Assyrian kings like winged lions invaded the promised land. The Assyrians took the Israelites into captivity. Yet Isaiah foresees the Israelis returning from Assyria and from all the lands where God scattered the Jews and both Egypt and Assyria will live in peace and harmony with Israel under the banner of God’s blessing.

When we examine the current levels of terrorism and hostility in the region, Isaiah’s vision seems almost impossible.

Is this prophecy only a dream, or can we guarantee it according to God’s Word? Yes, this vision of peace and messianic rule is the tenor of Scripture. It’s surely the vision of Jesus Himself who said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.”

Bible scholars say we can conclude from Isaiah 19 that there are indeed elect nations endowed with special privileges. For Israel it is to be “a blessing in the midst of the land;” to unify the region. The Lord’s seat of empire in Jerusalem, Israel will still be pre-emient because Isaiah 19 describes the land of Judah as a terror to the proud land of Egypt. The Asyrians for the most part are already converted, and they no longer serve their ancient heathen Assyrian gods. They are Christians, even if professing Christians. But Isaiah 19 outlines Egypt’s conversion to the true faith. Verse 18 says five cities will speak the tongue of Canaan, or Hebrew, the language of the worship of the God of Israel. The Egyptians will take an oath of loyalty to Israel’s God. The Egyptians will no longer bow down to a stone in Saudi Arabia. In Egypt an altar of the true faith, with some sort of  pillar, will be seen, visibly witnessing that the Lord of hosts is worshipped in the land. There will be a covenant between the God of Israel and the repentant, restored land of Egypt. Like the Israelite slaves who once lived in bondage in Egypt, the Egyptians will cry to God, in the midst of their distress and oppression, and God will heed them and send deliverance. Isaiah 19: 22 says God will smite Egypt and then heal Egypt.  This is God’s way. Conversion from evil doesn’t happen without suffering and humbling oneself. Elsewhere we see this principle of correction in Scripture. God says “I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and heal; he smites, and then he binds up. Hallelu-Yah!

What about the prophecy in Isaiah 10: 24 that says the Antichrist will be called the Assyrian? Some say he will literally be an Assyrian and other sholars say this is because he will rule the old Assyrian Empire territory when he arises. But the main point is that Assyria wil re-emerge as a saved nation and will be blessed in the Millennium along with Israel and Egypt. Ancient Asyria’s principal territory consisted of modern Iraq and Syria so to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy the territories of modern Syria and Iraq will merge into one entity called Assyria which will make peace with Israel and will experience a great spiritual revival. The same God who miraculously is regathering Israel can do the same for the Assyrians. Much like the Jews, the Assyrians have wandered and are scattered in many countries and many are in the USA. Aramaic still survives as a spoken language. But the Israelites have regained their language and their country, and the Assyrians who have been without a country for 2600 years will also regain theirs. Just as God blessed the Assyrians when they repented under the preaching of the prophet Jonah, so it will happen again!

We want to invite you to our strategic prayer convocations here in the land of the Bible to believe God with us for the fulfillment of all the prophecies in God’s holy word. You can watch all of our programs at our website at exploits.tv where you can click online to receive our ministry magazines. And let’s connect on the social media. Until next time, praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and earnestly contending for the faith, I’m Christine Darg, shalom!

This blog is a transcript from a half-hour video by Christine Darg entitled, “The Arising Again of Assyria in Bible Prophecy,” available at this link.

A postscript from Christine Darg:

I’m so grateful to God that we can make the Jerusalem Channel available to a global audience, and to you! There’s so much spam in the airwaves and on the internet to distract us from what’s really important. Every day there’s another internet sensation, usually a pet peforming silly tricks or something like that. The experts claim our attention span for watching a video is just a minute or two, and even that needs razzle-dazzle effects with a thumping soundtrack to retain viewers’ interest—so they claim.

Well, that’s just not what we’re about. Taking God’s Word seriously and explaining what the Lord is doing in this critical hour means that our videos are at least a half hour of content. And we’re honored to say that over three quarters of a million people in recent months have watched our free video teachings. Now, IF we were a big church or a large media ministry, we would have all the necessary resources to make the Jerusalem Channel possible, but we’re not. We’re just a small team with a mandate to declare a Biblical message and to help you understand God’s heart for Israel. And because God also loves everybody in the world, our ministry also shares the Good News of saving health to all nations. Although we “make do” with the vital support from you, our viewers and website visitors, there’s so much more we could accomplish in the critical Harvest days ahead. One major goal is to offer our videos in other languages . . . in Hebrew, Arabic, German, French, Spanish. Hindu, Urdu and so on. But that will only be possible with your help.

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Thanks so much for being a part of this end-time outreach and praying for the peace of Jerusalem!