We've been discussing the situation in the middle east that exists today, with emphasis on the nation of Israel. On Tuesday we mentioned how biblical prophecy seems to be lining up as never before. Today we will begin looking at specific Old Testament prophecies in regard to the nation of Israel, beginning with Psalm 83. 2 prophecies stand out in the Old Testament as they have never been fulfilled in the past, so they must have future application. These 2 prophecies are Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-89, and as we will see they prophesy different events. Psalm 83 prophesies an attack from Israel's Arab neighbors that could occur before the rapture of the church. Ezekiel 38-39 prophesies an event after the rapture as the attack occurs upon a "peaceful people," as seen in Ezekiel 38:11, meaning it occurs after the Antichrist orchestrates a peace treaty(Daniel 9:27) thus the tribulation period has already begun.
Psalm 83
The key verse is v. 4 which states, "They(Arab nations) have said, 'Come let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.'" Now some claim this was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when Rome overthrew Jerusalem and the Jewish people were scattered across the globe, and the nation of Israel essentially ceased to exist. For nearly 2000 years there was no nation of Israel, however the Jewish people maintained their national identity, and then in 1948, Israel once again became a nation. For this reason we believe their is a future fulfilment of this prophecy to come, and as we shall see, all of the players are now in place for God to bring Psalm 83 to fruition.
Psalm 83 is a Psalm written by Asaph. In your bible there are probably some maps in the back of it, and if you will look and compare the locations of the nations and peoples mentioned as Israel's enemies here, and compare them to a modern map of the middle east, you will see how this Psalm directly corresponds to where Israel's Arab enemies are today. Iran is not mentioned in this prophecy, for just as Haman attempted to destroy the Jewish people by proxy through the provinces of the Median-Persian empire in the book of Esther, Iran today also is arming enemies of Israel by proxy, in an attempt to destroy the Jewish people. We will see Iran mentioned directly tomorrow when we look at Ezekiel 38-39. Thanks to Bill Salas for his research into these nations in Psalm 83.
In v. 6-8 we see several ancient nations mentioned. These people are Ishmaelites(v. 6), meaning they are the Arab descendants from Abraham and his son Ishmael through Abraham's union with his Egyptian handmaiden Hagar. Edom(v.6) corresponds with the Palestinians of the West Bank and southern Jordan today. Moab(v.6) corresponds with the Palstinians of central Jordan. Ammon(v.7) corresponds with with the Palestinians and northern Jordan. The Hagrites(v. 6) correspond with Egypt. Gebal(v.7) corresponds with Hezbollah and Lebanon in the north and the Golan heights. Tyre(v.7) also corresponds with Hezbollah and southern Lebanon. Philistia(v.7) corresponds with Ha mas and the Gaza strip. And Assyria(v.8) corresponds with modern day Syria and the Kurdish territories of Iraq. As you can see these nations currently surround Israel, and are the hotbeds of Arab and Muslim hatred that directly threaten Israel today.
The Psalmist prays for destruction of these enemies as God destroyed the enemies of Israel in the days of Gideon and Deborah and Barak(v. 9-11). These accounts can be found in the book of Judges. The Psalmist in v. 14-18 prays for their perishing and we see pictures of the woods burning and mountains on fire(v.14). An interesting note regarding these nations is none of them will be mentioned in Ezekiel 38-39, as none of the nations from Ezekiel are mentioned here. In fact, this will be the final mention of Egypt and Syria in end-times prophecy until Christ's millennial Kingdom is established after the Great Tribulation period.
Nuclear Conflict?
The images of fire and burning, dismay forever, shame and perishing in v. 14-18 point us to a dramatic prophesy in Isaiah 17. Isaiah 17:1 reads, "The burden against Damascus(capital of Syria). 'Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap." Verses 2-3 describe destruction of the surrounding area and it being uninhabitable by human beings. Damascus is the longest inhabited city on earth. It has been for thousands of years and has always been a city. Yet here God prophesies complete destruction with Damascus perishing forever. This clearly has never happened, but, it will.
Syria is a close ally of Iran today, and is directly arming Hezbollah and Ha mas through Iranian arms shipments. In 2006 Hezbollah launched 5000 missiles into Israel during the conflict that year. Today it is believed Hezbollah alone has over 50,000 missiles. This kind of enemy would need to be met with extreme force. Israel's nuclear capability could provide exactly the type destruction as seen in Isaiah 17:1.
So What Does This Mean?
The thing we must understand is that everything that needs to be in place for this battle to occur, is in place this very hour. Israel has sworn it will use any means necessary to prevent another Holocaust. But a Holocaust is exactly what Israel's enemies want to bring about for Israel. They want Israel to be "cut off" from "being a nation."
Could you imagine the chaos in our world if Israel were attacked in force by the neighbors we see in this Psalm and Israel were to defend herself with nuclear weapons? All Islam would rally against Israel. The worlds economy would plunge into disarray with the uncertainty of middle east oil supplies. The world would choose sides. Their would be no more talk of land for peace. Peace would be seemingly impossible. Yet this scenario is exactly the type of stage that Antichrist will emerge from to negotiate the "false peace" of 3 1/2 years we see Daniel prophesy in Daniel 9:27.
Friends we are nearer than ever to the coming of our Lord. Jesus warned us we need to be able to discern "the signs of the times." The signs are all there. The stage is being set. The only thing stopping the final act in this age of God's eternal plan is there are still people God wants saved before this 7 year reign of Antichrist, we call the Tribulation and Great Tribulation, is to begin. Jesus will remove His own before the Tribulation period begins, we call this the rapture. In your heart are you sure you are one of Christs who will not have to endure this time that will be the worst in the history of mankind? Please contact me if you are not.
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