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NUCLEAR WAR IN THE MIDEAST

PART 8 (WEST BANK AND JORDAN)

by Steve Ashburn

 

In Part 7 of this series we saw how Jordan was invaded and conquered by Israel during the Psalm 83 war, its king and chief ministers taken prisoner, and the remaining survivors deported to other nations over a period of three years from a staging area near present-day Al-Karak. After this, Jordan became Israeli territory, and began to blossom like a rose and became like the garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35), as God poured out his blessings upon his promised land.

 Although this war takes place during a drought in the Middle East, it’s a good guess that after Israel is restored to her ancient land of Canaan, the drought will be over, and Israel will begin to overflow with wheat, oil, and wine (Joel 2:23) and fill the world with fruit (Isaiah 27:6). In addition, she will now settle Jordan into farms, towns and cities; and Revelation 12:6, Daniel 11:41 and Isaiah 16:4 indicate that it is to this area that Israel will flee (into the “wilderness”) at the midpoint of the tribulation.  

We now continue in our studies of this war, with additional descriptions of God’s judgment on Jordan and the West Bank. The entire book of Obadiah is basically a description of this battle with Jordan, and is closely correlated with the parallel text in Jeremiah 49. Interestingly, these Scripture passages implicate Iraq as being the instigator of the entire Psalm 83 war. This explains a lot, in particular the subsequent third US-led coalition invasion of Iraq, recounted in Isaiah 13 and Jeremiah 50-51. 

Ancient Edom was founded by Esau, the twin brother of Jacob. Originally Esau settled south of the Dead Sea; his nation extended south along the mountain range known as Mount Seir to the Gulf of Aqaba. The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah; Petra, the famous rock city in present-day Jordan, also was one of their chief cities. After Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem in 597 BC—aided by the Edomites—Edom was allowed to expand westward into Israel.  

At the same time as the Babylonian captivity, the Edomites were also being displaced westward by the Nabateans, and their kingdom became known as Idumea. Today this would be known as the West Bank and southern Jordan. Although Idumea survived as a nation until the Christian era, they eventually (like Moab and Ammon) became amalgamated with Bedouin tribes from Arabia, and today, generally speaking, are considered Arabs. 

Obadiah 1:1–21 contains a prophecy against Edom; Jeremiah 49:7–22 describes the same event with very similar wording in places. Given the similarity of these two passages of Scripture, it reasonably can be construed that they are important. Generally speaking, when the Bible mentions something twice, it is for purposes of emphasis. 

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?  

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes? How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!

All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him. Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. . . .

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.  

And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. (Obadiah 1:1–9, 15–20) 

The timetable for this judgment again is found in the key phrase in verse 15, “For the day of the Lord is near.” Thus, it occurs in the period of time just preceding the rapture, i.e., the end times.  

Verse 1 exposes the nefarious plans of the enemies of Israel: “an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.” This suggests that an ambassador is sent from another Moslem nation (probably Iraq, which Jeremiah 50:23 describes as “the hammer of the whole earth”) to instigate and coordinate a blitzkrieg attack against Israel. In fact, the exact same wording in describing this attack is used in both Jeremiah 49:19 and Jeremiah 50:44: “Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong.” This strongly implicates Iraq as the source of the “ambassador,” although in all fairness attacking Israel seems to be the favorite pastime of all Arab nations. 

Obadiah and Jeremiah both describe Edom as “small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised,” and in fact West Bank Palestinians are despised by the Jordanian Arabs—they don’t want them as immigrants. Perhaps this is why they were prevailed upon by their Arab “brethren” and essentially used as cannon fodder against Israel, “they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee.” 

Scripture indicates that Edom will have been deceived into becoming part of this conspiracy (“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee”) but that God has discovered their plans: “how are his hidden things sought up.” Members of the Arab confederacy will have deceived Edom into massing forces on the border with Israel (“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee”), including the Jordan River and the West Bank. 

Terrorist groups in the West Bank (e.g., Fatah) long have been a security threat to Israel; they have attacked her seemingly with impunity and with the support of other terrorist groups. In fact, two of the largest terrorist groups—Hamas and Fatah—signed a peace treaty in May of 2011 in Cairo and agreed to combine their forces against Israel. Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas said they had “turned forever the black page of division. Hamas is part of the Palestinian people.” In February of 2013, Hamas and Fatah reportedly were in talks to form a national unity government.  

Our Scripture passage says, “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee”; the complicity of West Bank and Palestinian groups in attacking Israel, along with other nations, results in God finally repaying them for years of these attacks and their refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland; as a result, “they shall be as though they had not been.” Jeremiah 49 describes the same event, again with very similar wording in places: 

Concerning Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.  

Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the Lord; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.  

I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men. Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.  

Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?  

Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. (Jer 49:7–22) 

It seems somewhat foolish for a few thousand haphazardly armed Palestinians to confront the modern and well-equipped Israeli Defense Forces, but apparently they will have been deceived into doing this by the “ambassador” who was sent to them from another Arab country. In response God asks, “is their wisdom vanished?” Our passage says that Israel will discover his “secret places”—presumably hideouts from where terrorists operate—and will make their habitations desolate with them. 

Neighboring countries in the Arabian Peninsula (“Dedan”) are advised to flee from the destruction, as God will bring the same judgment on them that he brought upon Edom; the reference to “Sodom and Gomorrah” may indicate the use of nuclear weapons. It’s not clear to what extent nuclear weapons will be used on Jordan, however, since at the conclusion of the war Israel is said to possess “the mount of Esau . . . the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria” (West Bank and Jordan) and “the Philistines” (Gaza). Isaiah 34:6 and 63:1 both indicate that the battle of Armageddon will extend to Bozrah (southeast of the Dead Sea), which implies that this area will not be radioactive; although, eventually, Edom will be “a desolation” like “Sodom and Gomorrah.” 

Apparently Jordan and the West Bank were not expected to be part of the conspiracy, but were deceived into joining the coalition (“Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken”). Verse 10 says that Edom’s children, brethren, and neighbors will be destroyed, but that he will not. This could mean destruction of the population of West Bank, Jordan, and neighboring Arab countries, but preservation of the physical land itself. Apparently some fatherless children and widows will be spared (“Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me”). 

There have been many stories in modern Israeli military history where a few soldiers defeated an overwhelming number of enemies. Verse 20 indicates that this may happen again: “Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out.” Apparently the battle will extend to the Gulf of Aqaba (“Red sea”) since Jordan shares a border with Israel there. The use of Israeli aircraft seems to be indicated by “he shall come up and fly as the eagle,” in which case enemy forces shall be terrified “as the heart of a woman in her pangs”; in addition, although aircraft from Jordan may be used in this battle (“Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle”), Obadiah indicates they will be shot down (“thence will I bring thee down”; Obadiah 1:4). Ezekiel 25 also seems to look ahead to this battle: 

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 25:13–14) 

Ezekiel says, “they of Dedan shall fall by the sword,” meaning that the nations of the Arabian Peninsula will be attacked. Apparently, Israel will responsible for direct military action against Edom (“And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel”) and since this invasion by Israel has never happened before, it must therefore be in the future. 

We’ll cover more about this war with Jordan in Part 9 of this series, including the rebuilding of the third temple; the expansion of Israel’s borders “as in the days of old” under King David (Amos 9:11); and the eventual destruction of the land of Edom at the battle of Armageddon, where it will be like “burning pitch…for ever and ever” (Isaiah 34:9–10). So stay tuned for Part 9! 

I provide more details of this and many other end-times prophecies in my recently published book, END TIMES DAWNING: Get Ready! (available from www.endtimesrecord.com). Please read it! Also if you would, please leave a book review on Amazon! 

Yours in Christ, 

Steve Ashburn

   

[This article was published on October 16, 2020]

 

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