NUCLEAR WAR IN
THE MIDEAST
PART 9
(WEST BANK AND JORDAN)
by Steve
Ashburn
In Part 8 of this
series we saw how an “ambassador” was sent to West Bank
and Jordan (probably from Iraq) who deceived them into
joining other Arab nations in invading Israel. This
resulted in overwhelming military response by Israel,
and the decisive defeat of the instigators of this
attack. We now continue in our prophetic studies of this
battle; the final judgment of God upon the Palestinians;
and the complete restoration of Israel to her ancient
promised land.
In addition to
being invaded and conquered by Israel, Edom also will be
permanently destroyed at the battle of Armageddon, forty
years later. Isaiah 34 describes this event: “And the
streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust
thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall
become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor
day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from
generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall
pass through it for ever and ever” (Isaiah 34:9–10).
Malachi 1 also
prophesies the return of Edom to their homeland
(Southern Jordan) and their subsequent destruction: “And
I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage
waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom
saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build
the desolate places; thus saith the
Lord of
hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they
shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The
people against whom the
Lord hath
indignation for ever” (Malachi 1:3–4). This immigration
probably is coincident with the return of Israel to
their land after the Diaspora. However, in the case of
Edom, their return is only temporary. In fact, in the
millennium (when “dragons” occupy Edom) it will be known
as “wickedness” and “indignation.”
These prophetic
words have both near (beginning of the end times) and
distant (Armageddon) fulfillments: Israel will first
invade and conquer Edom; then, at the battle of
Armageddon, the Lord will destroy the Antichrist’s
forces and render the land of Edom a perpetual
wilderness forever (“from generation to generation it
shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and
ever”).
At the conclusion
of the war, Israel is in possession of the West Bank,
Jordan, and Gaza, as recorded in Obadiah 1:
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 1:19–20)
Amos 9:11–12 also
looks forward to this time. The “tabernacle of David”
refers to political Israel with all of its cities; Amos
indicates that these will be rebuilt from their ruins
“as in the days of old.” This is exactly what has
happened since 1948, and now Israel will possess the
“remnant of Edom”—the West Bank and Southern Jordan.
In that day will I
raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and
close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his
ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That
they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the
heathen, which are called by my name, saith the
Lord that
doeth this. (Amos 9:11–12)
The rebuilding of
Israel prophesied by Amos includes everything as it was
“in the days of old,” including the city of Jerusalem
and the temple mount being part of Israel. This infers
that Israel will rebuild her temple during this time—the
one which will be used during the tribulation period.
Revelation mentions a temple in Israel (“measure the
temple of God”; Revelation 11:1) and this is where the
Antichrist will sit when he commits the abomination of
desolation: “so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians
2:4). After Israel destroys the nations surrounding her
at the beginning of the end times period, there will be
no one remaining to object to their rebuilding of their
ancient temple.
Revelation
provides more detail about the temple site. The apostle
John was given a reed and told to measure (spiritually
evaluate) the temple and those that worshipped therein.
He then is told to “leave out” the court outside the
temple, and not measure it—for it belonged to the
Gentiles. An explanation for this is that the actual
temple site (the Holy of Holies) may be located one
hundred meters north of the present Dome of the Rock
under a small Islamic shrine called “the Dome of the
Tablets”; therefore, Israel could build her temple on
the temple mount and still leave the existing Dome of
the Rock intact. This is what Revelation implies.
And there was
given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood,
saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worship therein. But the court
which is without the temple leave out, and measure it
not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy
city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
(Revelation 11:1–2)
Israel now looks
forward to several decades of peace and prosperity, with
her enemies vanquished and her ancient land restored to
her. This means her original boundaries, given by God to
Abraham (Genesis 15:18) will be restored as they were at
the beginning. This includes the Mediterranean coast
from Zarephath (north of Tyre; Obadiah 1:20) southward
to Egypt, eastward comprising all of present-day Jordan,
and northward including most of present-day Syria to the
Euphrates River. These boundaries approximate those of
Israel under King Solomon in the tenth century BC.
Israel now will begin to blossom like a rose and become
like the garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35), as God pours
out his blessings upon his promised land. The
Palestinian problem has been fixed permanently.
At this point, the
US and coalition forces have taken over Iraq, and all
its natural resources are considered spoils of war.
There is nothing in Scripture which indicates widespread
destruction of oil fields in the Middle East. On the
contrary, Iran and probably Kuwait (major oil producers)
will be allied with the US-led northern coalition.
Jeremiah 50:10 says: “And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all
that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the
Lord.”
It’s interesting
to note that Saudi Arabia (“Dedan”) has not participated
as a coalition partner with the US in either the 1991 or
2003 wars. Perhaps that is why the Bible says, “Flee ye,
turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan” and “they
of Dedan shall fall by the sword.” These verses seem to
imply destruction of people rather than geological
treasures such as oil fields. Therefore, in the war
which begins the end times, there may indeed be
localized nuclear destruction of certain countries and
populations, but worldwide, long-term economic damage
may be minimal.
It seems that the
favorite pastime of Arab nations is attacking Israel,
and according to Psalm 83, Obadiah 1, Jeremiah 49, and
Ezekiel 25, the West Bank and Jordan will participate in
this activity one last time—in conjunction with their
Arab neighbors—before Israel puts an end to this problem
for good. It’s interesting that there only are two
nations that the Bible predicts will be a perpetual
waste forever like Sodom and Gomorrah: Edom (Southern
Jordan [Jeremiah 49:13]) and Babylon (the kingdom of the
Antichrist [Isaiah 13:19]). This indicates the
seriousness with which God takes attacks upon his holy
land of Israel; these nations will have no place in the
millennial kingdom of Christ, and simply will cease to
exist forever.
We’ll cover more
about this Mideast war in Part 10 of this series,
including the destruction of Saudi Arabia, and the
deportation of survivors to other nations, including the
United States—a process which will take one year. So
stay tuned by for Part 10!
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
