NUCLEAR WAR IN
THE MIDEAST
PART 10
(ARABIA)
by Steve
Ashburn
In Part 9 of this
series we saw how West Bank and Jordan were deceived
into joining other Arab nations in invading Israel.
After a vicious air and land battle, their military was
defeated, and their population deported to other
countries. Israel then built up her land and her cities
“as in the days of old” (Amos 9:11), meaning Israel and
its boundaries as in the days of King David—presumably
including the third temple. We now conclude our studies
of this end-times war, with a focus on Saudi Arabia and
their allies.
The Arabs are an
ancient people descended from both Shem and Ham, sons of
Noah. Joktan (son of Eber, who gave his name to the
Hebrews) was the father of no less than thirteen
southern Arabian tribes (Genesis 10:26–29). Ishmael (son
of Abraham, father of the Jews) was also the father of
twelve northern Arabian tribes (Genesis 25:13–16),
including Tema and Kedar. The latter is the ancestor of
the great tribe of Arabs who settled the northwestern
Arabian Peninsula; Mohammed himself traced his descent
from Kedar. Abraham also had six additional sons by
Keturah who settled northern Arabia, including Midian
(father of the Midianite Arabs, whose descendant Reuel,
was Moses’ father-in-law; Exodus 2:18–21) and Jokshan
(father of Sheba and Dedan, northwestern Arabian tribes
mentioned often in Bible prophecy).
Ham also was the
progenitor of several Arabian tribes through his son
Cush. Prominent among these are the Sabeans (western
Arabian Peninsula), and descendants of Havilah (east
coast of Arabia, facing Persian Gulf) and Sheba
(present-day Yemen). Mentioned often in the Bible,
together these descendants of Ham and Shem comprise the
modern peoples of the Arabian Peninsula.
Isaiah 21 is one
of several chapters in the Bible containing end-times
prophecies against the nations of this area. Our text
passage begins with the “burden of Dumah”:
The burden of
Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of
the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman
said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will
inquire, inquire ye: return, come. (Isaiah 21:11–12)
Dumah was a son of
Ishmael whose descendants settled the northern Arabian
Peninsula, and also in what later became Idumea (“Seir”).
In context, therefore, Isaiah is referring to modern-day
Jordan. The picture here is Dumah (Jordan) calling out
to the witness (“Watchman”) who just observed the
destruction of Iraq in verses 1–10, and asking what the
fate of his country will be (“what of the night?”). The
dual use of this apprehensive question to the “Watchman”
over Jordan, seems to refer to the forty-year end times
period, which is sandwiched in between two fearful wars:
the Psalm 83 Arab war with Israel in the beginning; and
the wars of the tribulation, culminating with the battle
of Armageddon at the end.
The response of
the watchman is intriguing: He tells Dumah that there is
hope for the future “The morning cometh” and also
judgment “and also the night.” Perhaps in context this
refers to the end of the Psalm 83 nuclear war, and the
period of complacency which follows (“The morning”),
followed by the tribulation period (“the night”). He
then advises Dumah (the people of Jordan) to “return” to
the God of their father Abraham, and in context, “come”
to the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. This
invitation will be especially apropos during the waning
years of the church age. Interestingly, the prophecy is
addressed to “Dumah”—a descendant of Abraham, through
Ishmael—instead of directly to Edom. Perhaps this is
because Edom was an inveterate enemy of Israel, and that
his land, in fact, shall be “a desolation. . . . as in
the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah” (Jeremiah 49:13,
18) forever. In contrast, Jeremiah says that both Moab
and Ammon will be restored as nations in the millennium:
“Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the
latter days” (Jeremiah 48:47); “And afterward I will
bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon”
(Jeremiah 49:6).
Therefore, Dumah
seems to be a substitute for Edom in offering hope to
the people of Jordan, some of whom, in fact, are
descended from this grandson of Abraham. Perhaps, in the
millennium, Dumah may again be a nation; in fact, his
ancient capital city in Arabia survives today as the
modern Dumat-al-Jandal.
Our Scripture
passage then pronounces judgment on Arabia (“The burden
upon Arabia”):
The burden upon
Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye
travelling companies of Dedanim. The inhabitants of the
land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they
prevented with their bread him that fled. For they fled
from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent
bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the
Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years
of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men
of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the
Lord God of
Israel hath spoken it. (Isaiah 21:13–17)
Again, the term,
“burden” denotes an especially severe judgment, which in
the context of the passage is nuclear war. Isaiah 21
first describes judgment on Iraq, then Jordan, and now
finally the nations of the Arabian Peninsula. After
Israel retaliates against her Arab invaders, attacking
troops will retreat, and one place they will flee to is
Saudi Arabia (“Dedan”). Our Scripture passage indicates
that these troops (“travelling companies of Dedanim”)—Saudis
and others involved in the attack against Israel—will be
take shelter in Saudi Arabia. There they will be given
food (“bread”) and water by the people (“the forest”).
Often in Bible
prophecy people are represented by “trees” and
populations by a “forest.” Verse 15 then indicates why
these troops fled: “For they fled from the swords, from
the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the
grievousness of war.” Apparently, this invasion turned
out to be more difficult than they thought, and now it’s
time to high-tail it away from Israel. Typically, Arabs
will try this kind of attack over and over again, hoping
one day to be successful. This time, however, Israel has
had it, and will put an end to her enemies for good—and
this means the use of nuclear weapons and the full might
of the IDF. After this, the military strength of the
Saudis and their allies (“archers, the mighty men”) will
be greatly weakened (“diminished”).
The parallel
passage in Jeremiah 49:8, 28-33 advises Saudis to “Flee ye,
turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan,” because
the same nuclear calamity suffered by Jordan will soon
be launched on them: “for I will bring the calamity of
Esau upon him.” The Saudis are advised to flee away from
Israel as far as they can get (“dwell deep “). Jeremiah
then describes a probable nuclear attack on Damascus (“I
will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus”) followed by
the destruction of northwestern Saudi Arabia (Kedar . .
. and Hazor”) in verses 28–33.
As stated
previously in Part 6 of this series, God has quite a
bone to pick with Islam, and this end-times Arab attack
on his holy land of Israel is absolutely the last straw.
Jeremiah says that “Hazor [northwestern Saudi Arabia]
shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for
ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man
dwell in it.” This means probable nuclear destruction of
some Saudi cities in northwestern Arabia (“Kedar” and “Hazor”),
most likely including Mecca. Jeremiah also indicates
that this judgment will not be restricted just to Saudi
Arabia, but to other nations in Arabia who participated
in this attack against Israel: “I will scatter into all
winds them that are in the utmost corners [of the
Arabian Peninsula]”. Most likely this will not include
Kuwait or other US-led coalition members.
Jeremiah then
advises refugees to “Arise, get you up unto the wealthy
nation, that dwelleth without care,” which as we
previously saw in Part 6 refers to wealthy Arabs fleeing
to the United States. Finally, our text passage
indicates there will be an evacuation of the populations
of the affected countries in the Arabian
Peninsula—including Saudi Arabia—and that this process
will take a year (“Within a year, according to the years
of an hireling”). This prophecy is very similar to that
of Isaiah 16:14 (about Jordan), which as we saw in Part
7 probably refers to an evacuation of refugees to other
countries by an agency contractor (“hireling”) such as
the United Nations.
Verses 32–33
indicate that the wealth of Arabia will be “a booty, and
. . . a spoil”; furthermore, Jeremiah 50:10 says: “And
Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be
satisfied.” This indicates that the oil fields in the
Persian Gulf and Iraq largely will be spared, and that
long-term, worldwide economic damage from this war will
be minimal.
God promised the
land of Canaan to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as a
perpetual inheritance forever (“all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession”; Genesis 17:8), and in
addition, told Abraham, “I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse him that curseth thee” (Genesis 12:3).
Zechariah also explained to Israel that, “he that
toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zechariah
2:8), which in context refers to the extreme sensitivity
of God toward those who attack his holy land.
(Pointedly, this verse refers in context to the end
times—but of course has general application to all
times.)
One would think
that a normally prudent person would learn to leave
Israel alone and respect the ancient covenant that God
made with them, or else suffer the consequences.
Unfortunately, the Saudis and their allies have to find
this out the hard way!
I hope you have
enjoyed reading this series on the Psalm 83 nuclear war
in the Middle East. The Bible really drives home the
reality of this war in book after book, chapter after
chapter, in the Old Testament. There must be as much
Scripture about this war as the entire book of
Revelation! Therefore, it seems that God really wants us
to be aware of this event, which marks the beginning of
the end times, as much as He does the events of His
second coming, 40 years later.
I have tried to
mirror this point, through this lengthy series of
articles, and by quoting Scripture properly and in
context.
It’s hard to interpret away so many passages of
Scripture as being symbolic, or spiritual, or a “dream.”
They obviously are reality!
Accordingly, I
have put all of this information into a coherent
end-times thesis in two of my books: The Next Nuclear
War and END TIMES DAWNING: Get Ready!
(available from
www.endtimesrecord.com). Please read them! Also if
you would, please leave book reviews on Amazon!
Yours in Christ,
Steve Ashburn