Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): 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 pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary.

Dr. 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. Well, on the last program, we were looking at the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. We've been talking about the history behind the present Middle Eastern conflict and we've traced the history of the Arab people back to two of their patriarchs, Ishmael and Esau.

And we saw the legacy of conflict and hostility that's been perpetuated over a period of almost 4,000 years, passed down from one generation to another, generation after generation after generation. Conflict between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael and conflict between the descendants of Jacob and the descendants of Esau. Isaac and Jacob being the forerunners of the Jewish nation, of course, and Ishmael and Esau being the forerunners of the modern-day Arab states.

So that's the root cause. That's where it started way back in the book of Genesis with Ishmael and Esau. Then you can follow the conflict on through the Old Testament. In the book of Judges, you read about Ishmaelites, the offspring of Ishmael, and Edomites, the offspring of Esau, inflicting all sorts of damage on the Israelites. And you can continue right on through history right up to the present day with the conflict in the Middle East.

When you see this Middle Eastern conflict in its historical context and you trace the roots of the conflict back almost 4,000 years, you begin to see that a permanent solution to the Middle East problem cannot, I repeat, cannot be merely political. It's got to be much deeper than that. It must be, listen, it must be a spiritual solution. And we've seen that the Arab world will only forget its hatred of Israel temporarily when it has more pressing business to attend to.

And I'll tell you something else: we'd better not forget the lessons of history. When I hear the State Department talking about selling high-tech weapons to the Saudis and to other Arab nations—the same jets and tanks that blew the Iraqi war machine off the map—it frightens me, quite frankly. Why? Because there's absolutely no guarantee that that same high-tech hardware won't be used against Israel someday. In fact, I think you can almost count on the fact that it will be used against Israel someday.

Let me show you a very interesting prophecy in the Psalms. It's in Psalm 83 and it's one of those dual prophecies with a primary reference to conditions in the writer's lifetime and then a secondary reference to conditions in the end times. If you have your Bible handy, follow along. Psalm 83 beginning in verse one. Here's what it says: "Keep not thy silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people," that is Israel, "and have consulted against thy hidden ones," thy precious ones.

Verse four: "They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." Now this is an immediate reference to the nations who were invading Judah in the days when Asaph wrote this psalm, which was probably after the time of Solomon. It may have been the time reported in 2nd Chronicles chapter 20 when Judah was being invaded by Moabites, Edomites, and Ammonites. These were Arab tribes, descendants of Ishmael and Esau, who were determined to destroy Israel.

But this attitude of anti-Semitism isn't something we just read about in the Old Testament, my friend. Today, in this enlightened age, this is precisely what the Palestinian Liberation Organization have said they wanted to do: cut off the Jews from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. They want to destroy Israel and in their own words, they want to drive the Jews into the Mediterranean like rats. In fact, Muslim religious teaching says that there are special rewards in the afterlife for any Muslim who kills a Jew during his lifetime.

So in verse four, these people who are against Israel say, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." Verse five: "For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre." Verse eight: "Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot."

Now look at that list. Put all of them together and you have a list of nations that corresponds almost identically to the Arab alliance that's arrayed against Israel today. Edom is the area north of the Gulf of Aqaba including parts of Egypt and southern Jordan. Moab represents central Jordan. Gebal and Tyre are in Lebanon. Ammon is in northern Jordan. Philistia is in the Gaza Strip. The word Palestine comes from the word Philistine. And ancient Assyria encompassed an area which would include modern-day Syria and northern Iraq.

So you've got Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinians, Syria, and Iraq all unified in a military campaign against the Jewish state. And the reason we know this is prophetic is that never in Bible times did all of these people unify themselves against the Jews at the same time. But if you look at this passage against the backdrop of what's been happening in the Middle East since 1948, then it all begins to make sense.

The Arab nations—Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, along with the Palestinians—are all united and intent on destroying Israel. And it has happened in our generation for the first time in the history of the world. You see, this is precisely what the prophets said would happen in the last days. Let me show you something else over in the book of Ezekiel. There's a prophetic section here in Ezekiel that has a dual fulfillment like the passage in Psalm 83 that we just looked at. That is, there's an immediate context which, in the case of Ezekiel here, is the return from the Babylonian captivity. And then there's also a secondary context which, in this case, has to do with the end times and the coming millennium.

Now look at Ezekiel 35:10: "Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries," that is Israel and Judah, the north and the south, in other words, all of Israel. He says all of Israel "shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the Lord was there." And then flip over to the next chapter, chapter 36 verse five: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea," that's Edom again, "against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart."

In other words, they have made my land their own possession with glee, "with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey," that is, to plunder it. You see, that's the mistake most everyone makes when it comes to the Palestinian issue. Who owns Palestine? God does. He says, "They've appointed my land into their possession." It's His land, my friend, and so ultimately God Himself is the one who determines who will live there.

Well, that's all for today. Next time we're going to begin discussing seven specific prophecies concerning seven specific Middle Eastern nations. Prophecies that tell us, after all of these thousands of years, how peace will finally come to the Middle East. Join us then, won't you? I hope you will. 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. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

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