Gateway Between Religious Antipathies Always Problematic - Route to Damascus Lined With Hostile Intentions

Submitted by M Tovey (United States), Sep 9, 2022 at 16:15

Danascus, the name that has so many historical presentations of conflict and references that provide so little comfort; and yet, it figures prominently in future revelations that one wonders how it managed to survive into this modern time of social upheaval since it represents a flashpoint, both as an ancient city as well as a name used to describe the portal of two conflicting modern worlds; that of Islam (a late arrival in history) and Judaism, ancient in its own right and endemic to the story that underwrites the common story of both religious epics.
As prominent s Damascus is in ancient and modern history, one premise is that its referencing has both promising attributes as well as those that might be considered tragic, since both situations are indeed, represented in historic revelations and well as in prophetic declarations,
Damascus is represented in the Acts (B'rit Hadashah) as the scene of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus to Paul of New Testament fame; and the beginnings of the Messianic message of the Gospel of Yeshua HaMashiach.
To the other end of the tales of woe, Damascus is referenced in the Tanakh for its prophetic destruction in the Prophet Isaiah's writings, at Chapter 17. Damascus still exists, though in its current disposition as a target of the Syrian Civil War, one might wonder how that might last. This tome describing the clashes in 1860 might just as well be a description of Damascus' troubling times now, even as the name sake gate is the portal that perforates between the ancient hostilities still aflame today. What's in a name that provokes just those types of rivalries we see today; and how long does that continue before collapsing into another tortured page of history?

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