The true scope of the terrible events of the last few days in Syria is hard to put into words. The mainstream news sources only tell part of the story. Before I share details from reports I have received from the House of Blessing leadership, I would like to share a passage from Romans for us to keep in mind.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39
If we were to believe the events of the past week as most news sources have reported, it would seem that the violence was mainly a clash between Bedouins and the Druze. The Druze are a religious minority and the Bedouins are predominantly tribal. What really happened is more complicated than just a clash between the Bedouins and the Druze. As many are aware, there is great hatred between many of the factions in the Middle East. There is no love lost between the Shiites, the Sunnis, the Alawites, the Bedouins, the Druze, and others. Over time, it seems that the only people group that most Islamists hate more than each other is the Jews.
The attacks in As-Suwayda involved much more than just Bedouin attacking Druze. There is a growing awareness by the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) of the many Muslim sheikhs who have turned away from Islam to Christianity — many of these men being very well known and respected. The HOB leadership is aware that the Syrian government is behind much of what is going on. While al-Sharaa is purporting himself and his government as being moderate, even offering protection for all minority groups and religious entities, behind the scenes it is just the opposite. One needs to remember what his true background is — al-Qaida. Syrian soldiers have been caught who admitted they had been sent into As-Suwayda dressed as Bedouins so the Syrian government would not be implicated in the attacks. It is, however, not only the Syrian government forces that have been involved. They did most of their dirty work using Islamic extremist groups of which there are dozens operating just north of the Israeli border with Syria.
Since al-Jolani and the HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) took over power after the Assad regime was forced to flee, there have been numerous massacres of minority groups — including the mass murder of many hundreds of Alawites — if not thousands — in northwestern Syria, and now hundreds of people slaughtered in and around As-Suwayda. Incidentally, there is a population of roughly 450,000 in the As-Suwayda governorate, of which approximately 70% are Druze. The House of Blessing has been blessed with inroads with the Druze and a number of Druze sheikhs have been led to the Lord, along with their followers. This of course added fuel to the extremist’s fire. What is not common knowledge to most as they hear news reports about what is happening in As-Suwayda is that among those that were killed are thousands of Christian men, women, and children. HOB was very hard hit, both in northwest Syria, as was detailed in past Mideast Updates, and now in As-Suwayda and surrounding region.
Another interesting fact that the HOB leadership is aware of is that Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jolani), appears to have some sort of protective agreement with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president. Their religious philosophy is much more aligned with each other than is apparent to the world, although Erdogan is not a Salafist as al-Sharaa is. (See note below). This helps to fuel Jolani’s hatred of all infidels and allows him to get away with the outrageous attacks he is supporting behind the scenes. I am told that there is a connection between the Syrian government and three powerful Islamic family clans in the Suwayda region and they are allowed to act as they wish with impunity.
NOTE: Salafism is a conservative movement that emphasizes a return to the practices of the first three generations of Muslims (the “salaf”) as the purest form of Islam. It is characterized by a literalist interpretation of the Quran and sunnah (the prophet Muhammad’s teachings and practices) and a focus on purifying Islam from what it perceives as later innovations. It is worth noting that ‘salafism’ has often led to great violence as Islamic extremists such as ISIS have used their salafistic beliefs as an excuse to satisfy their savage bloodlust.
The Druze are not totally innocent in what has happened, but the real culprits are the Islamic militant gangs who for the most part are ISIS jihadists. The extreme violence they display is savage, cold-blooded, demon-inspired barbarism. All one has to do is watch some of the live videos of the atrocities.
Regarding HOB, there were some who were spying on them and informed the authorities of the miracle that happened to Al-Saftawi. The jihadists were looking for the elders, Arshad, Hael, and Rashid who they knew had been at the hospital in Damascus and visited Al-Saftawi. They saw the results of their prayers when he was brought out of his month-long coma. The plan was to catch the men and their wives — including Al-Saftawi, his wife and his brother in order to kill them in the hopes of destroying all evidence and knowledge of Al-Saftawi’s healing.
Having been warned of the impending dangers, HOB did everything they could to protect the people. Many in the HOB community lost their lives in their defense. At least 130 Alawites who had turned to Christ were caught and slaughtered before they could be transferred out of the area. Believers were transferred out of As-Suwayda, some into Homs and others through Tadmur (another name for Palmyra) to Deir ez-Zor. There were also a great many other HOB believers killed in the attacks who did not come from the Alawite belief system.
One of the groups escaping the areas of danger was quite large. Hael, Arshad, Taher, Hisham, Al-Tarhi, Abu Laila, Abu Shaker, Dhurgham, and sisters Ikhlas Labib and Kifaya fled with about 450 of the believing community. It was quite a migration of people via buses, something that would normally make it impossible to go unnoticed by the wrong people. The Lord, however, caused all the checkpoints along the way to seemingly be blind. Amazing! Because of that, they arrived safely.
As we have learned over the years of reporting the work of the HOB missionaries, there are stunning miracles — often sparing God’s people, but unfortunately there are other times when terrible things happen, and for some reason God does not stop them. Only God knows all the answers. I received details of some horrendous events that happened in As-Suwaya just prior to people escaping out of the area.
Abu Laila, Abu Ghalib, Tahir, Hisham, Dhurgham, Abu Shaker and Khalil told how molotov cocktails were thrown at them while they were studying in the classrooms with their students.. The attackers shouted: “Get out of here, you followers of Christ. We will burn you, you infidels!” As the brothers and students began coming out of their classrooms, Hael, Arshad, and some of the brothers were caught and most severely injured. Al-Tarhi was shot in the shoulder. Abu Laila and Abu Shaker were shot in their legs as they were leaving. Arshad and Hael had their hands and legs broken by the gunshots and the beatings. Some of the other brothers suffered broken bones as well. Many of the students saw what was happening to those who exited the classrooms and decided they would rather die in the fires. They preferred to die with their teaching booklets clutched to their chests. As of today, I have no more details about these folks other than the fact that they died. The brothers who were attacked as they came out of the classrooms lost a lot of blood but the sisters bound them up as quickly as possible and someone was able to contact Dr. Nibras who came to their aid as quickly as he could. Arshad and Hael both had open wounds on their heads but after being treated by Dr. Nibras will recover from their wounds. All of the injured were moved to the village where Al-Saftawi lives where they will be taken care of. Casts had to be put on men’s broken legs. Fortunately, the bullets had all exited their legs and did not have to be removed. The classrooms, incidentally, were destroyed. Classes had been held twice daily because of the large number of students and a short supply of study materials. Please pray that the Lord helps them find a way to rebuild. The hunger for the Word of God is great!
The details of the events of the last few days are just a summary of all that unfolded. The attacks have not stopped, nor will they. There is talk of a ceasefire and even talk of protecting the minorities. Knowing what we do from the Word of God, we have not, nor will we come to a real peace until the Prince of Peace comes to take control of this fallen world. The Scriptures tell us that when the world thinks that they have found peace and security, sudden destruction will explode. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, 24/7. Watch and Pray!
One thing Abdelrahem asked me to pass on is that the House of Blessing brothers and sisters ask for nothing but your prayers and if the Lord lays it on your heart, all financial support goes to printing Bibles and teaching booklets. As Abdelrahem has said many times, we are at the very end of the age of grace. The time of John’s Apocalypse (The Great Tribulation) is at the door. We must make the most of what moments we are given while we have them.
I would like to conclude this update with a passage from Hebrews.
35 …others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame , and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 11:35-12:2
As I was about to upload this update to the website, I received a personal message from Abdelrahem. I would like to share this personal message with you (with a very minimum of editing on my part).
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Hello Brother Jack, I am just reminding you that we are in the end times and you have the evidence in what happened with the believing brothers and sisters who categorically refused to leave and stop conveying the message of Jesus and they insisted until their last breath in their submission to Him and their refusal to turn away from Him. Look at the strength of faith and humility for Christ and His glory and adherence to the Gospel. Look at the love and devotion that they showed and look at the elders who believed and became the foundation of Christianity that changed people to become believers in Jesus. They realized that they are on the right path after the previous deception and lies that they had been teaching people. Today they stand before any tyrant with the power of the Gospel and they have complete confidence that Christ is coming and they confirm that from a careful study of the Gospel. Pray for them and their safety and security. May the Lord bless you and I thank you. Your brother in the service of Jesus.
His servant forever.
Abdelrahem
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Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Please use either of the email addresses below to inquire how to share in the costs of printing Bibles and teaching booklets. Thank You.
Forever in His Service,
Jake (aka Jack)