How many times since that was written has Damascus been destroyed to the point it ceased to be a city?
Damascus is the longest lived-in city in the world having never been destroyed.
http://www.raptureready.com/featured/gillette/Isaiah_17.html
Sadly, when Damascus is destroyed, Israel will also be “abandoned like the grain fields in the valley of Rephaim after the harvest. Only a few of its people will be left, like the stray olives left on the tree after the harvest.”
The point seems to be that Israel has once again become primarily secular today - like the rest of the world. And just as they abandoned their God and were punished by exile to Babylon, so seems that this prophesy of the destruction of Damascus (and the poor conditions in Israel) is similar.
Re 23: Apparently Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city in recorded human history.
How many times since that was written has The U.S. been destroyed to the point it ceased to be a nation?
“How many times since that was written has Damascus been destroyed to the point it ceased to be a city?”
Damascus has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years, giving huge significance to Isaiah’s prophecy.