Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Male): With media attention focused on Israel and the people of the Gaza Strip, hope for a peaceful solution to the Middle East situation seems almost hopeless. Yet the ancient prophets told us thousands of years ago how everything will turn out. Stay tuned as we talk about Bible prophecy today right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick is talking about Bible prophecy. His subject is Egypt and the Arab Nations in Prophecy.

Here on Messianic Perspectives, we usually focus on prophecy as it relates to Israel. But today, we'll be looking at the future of the Middle East from the viewpoint of the Arab nations. Because, believe it or not, Israel is not the only nation in the Middle East that God has a plan for. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pen and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary.

Gary Hedrick: Thank you and welcome, listening friend, to this edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies dealing with Egypt and the Arab nations in prophecy. When we finished up last time, we were talking about the prophecies in the book of Genesis that have to do with the Arab people and how today we're able to see the fulfillment of those prophecies so clearly, even 4,000 years later.

We were looking at Genesis chapter 16, and this is where the angel of the Lord finds Hagar out there in the wilderness where she'd been wandering after Sarah cast her out. And she's pregnant and alone and without hope. And it says, and the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he gave her some encouragement. She wasn't alone. The Lord was with her. Her situation wasn't hopeless. The Lord would help her. And he assured her that he had a plan and a purpose for that little life that was growing in her womb.

In fact, the angel of the Lord gave five specific prophecies regarding the future of that little boy who would grow up to become Ishmael, the father of most of the Arab nations. Five prophecies. First of all, he said that Ishmael would be the father of a great nation. Look at verse 10: "And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude."

Secondly, the angel of the Lord prophesied that Ishmael and his descendants would be nomads. "He will be a wild man," it says in verse 12. And the word wild there, and we talked about this last time, refers to the packs of wild asses that used to roam the deserts of Palestine. Literally, in the Hebrew, it says that Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man. In other words, Ishmael and his descendants would be tribes of the desert, wanderers, Bedouins, who would live in tents.

Then the third prophecy was that his hand would be against every man. One of Ishmael's traits would be that of aggression, you see, and we talked about that last time. Then the fourth prophecy is that every man's hand will be against him. Then prophecy number five is that he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren, verse 12. Literally, in the Hebrew, it says he shall dwell over against his brother. It's a Hebrew idiom, and it means to live side-by-side but in a state of hostility.

So we've got five specific prophecies regarding the future of Ishmael and his descendants. Number one, they will not be numbered for multitude. Number two, they will be nomads, desert people. Number three, their hand will be against every man. Number four, every man's hand will be against them. And number five, they will dwell over and against their brethren, that is, they will live in close proximity to their brothers but in a state of hostility.

Now, what a remarkably accurate series of prophecies this is, my friend. Can you think of a better way to describe the situation in the Middle East right now than to say that there are brethren who dwell together but in a state of hostility? After all, the Jews and the Arabs are brethren. They're half-brothers. The Jews are the descendants of Isaac, and the Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael. And Isaac and Ishmael were half-brothers. They had different mothers but the same father, Abraham. And they dwell together in the Middle East. They are neighbors, of course, but they dwell in a state of hostility.

Then it says in verse 12, his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him. The Lord was saying that one predominant Arab characteristic would be aggression. His hand will be against every man. And he said the result of this aggression would be retaliation: every man's hand will be against him. And at no time in the history of the Middle East has this been more evident than in our generation. Because when you look at the history of Israel since 1948, it's basically a series of Arab attacks one right after another. Arab provocation followed by Israeli retaliation.

In fact, on May 14, 1948, when the Jewish National Council proclaimed the state of Israel for the first time in 2,500 years. And by the way, sometimes people say, why do you say for the first time in 2,500 years? Wasn't there a state of Israel 1,900 years ago in the time of Christ? No. In the time of Christ, Israel was part of the Roman Empire. Listen, the last time there was a sovereign, autonomous state of Israel in Palestine was before the Babylonian invasion in 586 BC. That was 2,577 years ago.

So when the Jewish National Council proclaimed the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, it was the first time in over 2,500 years that there had been a sovereign, self-governing state of Israel in the Middle East. Now, how long do you think it was after the proclamation of the Jewish state on May 14th? How long do you think it was before the Arabs attacked? Well, Egypt and Jordan launched a simultaneous attack, Egypt from the south, Jordan from the east, on May 15, 1948, less than 24 hours later. Aggression, you see. His hand will be against every man. And what happened? The Israelis retaliated. Every man's hand will be against him. They fought back.

And the fighting lasted for almost eight months before the Arabs finally decided it was a lost cause. The longer they fought, the more territory the Israeli army took. It just got worse and worse for the Arabs. They just kept getting driven farther and farther back. In fact, when the ceasefire went into effect in January of the following year, that was 1949, Israel had increased its original territory by another 50%. That's when they took large sections of Galilee to the north, and then parts of central Palestine all the way down to the old city of Jerusalem.

And by the way, we're hearing a lot of talk these days about Israel giving up part of her territory for a Palestinian state, a Palestinian homeland. And let me say that I believe the Palestinian people should have a homeland. They've been mistreated and kicked around, and they've suffered so much. It is absolutely horrendous what those people have endured. They deserve a homeland. There's no reason they shouldn't have one. But there's something a lot of people don't understand about this.

In 1923, the League of Nations placed Palestine under British mandate, British control. And in the 1930s, when the British were making plans to partition Palestine and to establish a Jewish state, now listen to this, when they were making those plans, they also drew up plans for an Arab state, a Palestinian homeland. The plan was that there would be a Jewish state and a Palestinian state separated by an area that would include Jerusalem and Nazareth. So both the Jews and the Palestinians would have a homeland, and they would both have access to Jerusalem and Nazareth.

So what happened to that Palestinian state? And here's what you don't read in the newspapers, my friend. This is what you don't see on the ABC, NBC, or CBS evening news. In April of 1950, Jordan annexed the areas of eastern and central Palestine that had been designated for an Arab state, a Palestinian homeland. It's now part of Jordan. So if the Palestinians want their own state, I think they should be talking to the Jordanians rather than to the Israelis.

But the point is that you can see how this series of five prophecies has been fulfilled, particularly the one that said his hand will be against every man and every man's hand will be against Ishmael. Aggression followed by retaliation, aggression and retaliation, a cycle that's repeated over and over again in that part of the world. In 1948, just 24 hours after the proclamation of the state of Israel, the Arabs attacked. Israel retaliated, expanding her territory by 50%.

In 1956, Israel retaliated when Egypt banned Israeli shipping through the Suez Canal, trying to get an economic chokehold on the Jewish state. When the fighting was over, Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the east bank of the Suez Canal. In 1967, Egypt and Syria closed the Gulf of Aqaba, mobilized their armies and moved troops into position in the Sinai in preparation for an attack against Israel.

And in the ensuing Six-Day War, the Jews totally defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. When it was all over, Israel had expanded her territory by 200%. That's when they took the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the old city of Jerusalem, all of the Sinai, and the east bank of the Suez Canal. Again, his hand will be against every man, it says. Every man's hand will be against him. Aggression followed by retaliation. Aggression, retaliation over and over and over again. All of which shows that prophecy is nothing more than history written in advance. Well, we'll continue this next time. See you then. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. Gary Hedrick's subject today has been Egypt and the Arab Nations in Prophecy. Now, on a program like ours with Messianic emphasis, you might think it's rather odd to be talking about Egypt and the Arab nations. However, it's important to understand that God has a prophetic plan for the Arab people, just like he has a plan for Israel and the Jewish people.

He has not forgotten the sons of Ishmael, and the prophetic scriptures tell us that Arab believers will have a prominent place in the coming millennial kingdom. If you enjoyed today's presentation on Egypt and the Arab Nations in Prophecy by Gary Hedrick, you'll be glad to know we've placed the entire series on one convenient CD. It's available for a gift of just $6 or more to the ministry of Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

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We currently have missionary families serving the Lord all over the world, including the United States, Canada, South America, England, France, and of course, Israel. So when you write, consider helping us with a gift above the suggested amount. We'd be very grateful. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series on Egypt and the Arab Nations in Prophecy, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Guest (Male): Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the free-will contributions of our listeners in this area.