End-Times War in the Mideast: Part 1 THRU 3

End-Times War in the Mideast: Part 1 - By Steve Ashburn - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/14/nuclear-war-in-the-mideast-part-1-by-steve-ashburn/ (LEBANON) Sidon is an ancient city in modern-day Lebanon. The modern city of Sidon has 266,000 inhabitants and is the third-largest city in the country. It was one of the most important-andperhaps oldest-of the Phoenician cities. It was from here that the great commercial empire of the Phoenicians was formed. Sidon thus is symbolic of modern Lebanon-its government and its military, including by implication associated terrorist groups such asHezbollah. Ezekiel 28 predicts destruction of this city at a time when Israel has been regathered into her land. This apparently happens at the same time as the judgment upon Egypt (Ezekiel 29), and therefore occurs at the beginning of the end times. "For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shallknow that I am the Lord. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall havegathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shallbuild houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God" (Ezekiel 28:23-26). Ezekiel says, "The wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side," indicating that Sidon-and probably Lebanon in general-will be surroundedby enemy troops. Whether these forces are part of the coalition that attacks Iraq, or perhaps from Israel herself, the Bible doesn't say. It does say that after God has "executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them," then "they shalldwell safely therein." The destruction of terrorist groups that have plagued Israel for decades is predicted here: "And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor anygrieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them." Doesn't "pricking brier" and "grieving thorn" describe Hezbollah, Hamas, and Fatah completely? The specific timeline for this battle is indicated in verse 25: "When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered," meaning theirreestablishment of a nation since 1948. Further, the timeline can be narrowed by "and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen," meaning the complete victory over all the invading armies of the nations which surround her at the beginning ofthe end times. This timeline further can be confirmed by the fact that afterward, "they shall dwell safely therein" and also "build houses, and plant vineyards." This signifies a time of peace that Israel has not known in modern history-there simply won't be any hostile nations surrounding her to bother or threaten her. This timeof peace and prosperity will last until the Ezekiel 38 invasion some three decades later. Finally, our Scripture text says that it is God who provides this victory for Israel, and after he does this, "they shall know that I am the Lord their God." Psalm 83 also looks forward to this battle. This chapter enumerates the nations as a whole involved in invading Israel; judgment on these individual nations then is describedmore specifically in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, and other books in the Old Testament, and in the individual chapters concerning each nation. "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, andAmmon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah" (Psalm 83:5-8). The nations listed in this invasion are those immediately surrounding Israel all joined together in an invasion: Edom, Moab and Ammon (Jordan); Hagarenes, Gebal, and Amalek(West Bank and Jordan, and trans-Jordanian Arabs in general); Philistines (Gaza); Tyre (Lebanon); and Assur (Iraq). These nations invade at the same time as Egypt, Syria, and the others surrounding Israel in a coordinated, blitzkrieg assault. The result ofthis attack is further described in Psalm 83: "As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces withshame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth" (Psalm 83:14-18). These enemies will be destroyed "as the flame setteth the mountains on fire," implying the use of nuclear weapons. In this case, Israel will have her back up against thewall, being threatened with imminent destruction, and she won't have any choice but to use these weapons, as well as the full power of the Israeli military. As a result, Israel's enemies are "put to shame, and perish," to the intent that all men may know thatJehovah is "the most high over all the earth." Amos 1-2 also appears to be a general description of this Psalm 83 war. This passage pronounces judgment on the nations surrounding Israel: Damascus (Syria), Gaza, Tyrus(Lebanon), Edom (Jordan), Ammon (Jordan), and Moab (Jordan). Psalm 83 describes these nations in terms of their genealogical descent (e.g., Hagarenes, descended from Hagar, mother of Ishmael), while Amos describes them in terms of physical geography (e.g.,Damascus). Although some prophecies were fulfilled precursively in biblical times - for example, destruction of the Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites as distinct peoples;and deportation of Syrians to Kir (their ancient homeland according to Amos 9:7, located in present-day Azerbaijan, southwest of the Caspian Sea) by the Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III (2 Kings 16:9) - our Scripture passage suggests simultaneous judgmenton these nations, which has never happened. This judgment proceeds "from Jerusalem" as the Lord roars in anger "from Zion [Israel]"; as a result, the governments of surrounding nations ("the habitations of the shepherds") cry in anguish ("shall mourn"). Our text passage then says that "the top of Carmel shall wither." Mount Carmel is a fertile limestone ridge extending southeastward from Haifa and refers in context to northernIsrael. Perhaps it is here that invading troops from the north will meet their end with sudden nuclear destruction ("shall wither"). In addition, the wording of Amos 1:4 ("I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad") is similar to the parallel passage in Jeremiah49:27 ("I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad") which was written after the Assyrians were defeated by the Babylonians, and therefore was still future at the time. This passage in Jeremiah most likely describes the end-times destruction of Syria and is sandwiched between the similar end-times judgments against Edom (Jordan; Jeremiah49:7-22) and nations of the Arabian Peninsula (Jeremiah 49:28-33). Finally, the instrument of judgment is the same in each case ("I will send a fire"), which suggests the same kind of nuclear destruction as in Psalm 83 ("as the flame setteth the mountainson fire"). The nuclear weapons the Israelis will use almost certainly will include enhanced-radiation warheads, which will destroy human life while not permanently contaminating their land. "And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. Thussaith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palacesof Ben-hadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord. "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity,to deliver them up to Edom: But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and theremnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God. "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,and remembered not the brotherly covenant: But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he didpursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the womenwith child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: And their king shall go intocaptivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord. "Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof withhim, saith the Lord" (Amos 1:2-2:3). Amos states that the reason for all this destruction is because of the "transgressions" of the respective nations. Some of these sins are ancient and enumerated in the passage:Syria repeatedly attacked Israel ("Gilead") in the days of King Hazael; the Philistines, Tyrus, and Edom were complicit with the Babylonians in their captivity of Israel (Amos prophesied this more than one hundred years before it happened); and Ammon and Moab,besides being inveterate enemies of Israel, were notorious for their cruelty. This tendency to sin by these nations will apparently manifest itself in their modern-day descendants, in the form of an attempted invasion of their neighbor. Syrians who survive the war "shall go into captivity unto Kir" (v. 5). In conjunction with the parallel passages in Isaiah 15 and Jeremiah 48, the Kir referred to here isthe ancient city in Moab near present-day Al-Karak, Jordan, southeast of the Dead Sea (not the same Kir as their ancient homeland in Azerbaijan). As we shall see later in this series, this area will be a staging ground for assembly and deportation of Arabrefugees to other countries, coordinated by a contractor-type agency such as the UN. Such an agency is described as a "hireling" in Isaiah 16:14 and 21:16. Isaiah indicates this process will take three years. Furthermore, our passage says that God will "kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah [modern-day Amman, Jordan]," and "their king shall go into captivity, he and his princestogether," which is similar to the parallel account in Jeremiah 49:2-3: "It shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs... their king shall go into captivity, and his priestsand his princes together." Israel, therefore, will possess the former kingdom of Jordan, thereby acquiring the territory that God promised to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and take the king of Jordan, his household, and his ministers prisoner (currently thatwould be King Abdullah II, et al). This is the end result of the nuclear war which begins the end-times period: God preserves Israel so that they dwell perfectly safely and their enemies ("all that are roundabout them, that despised them") are destroyed. This condition will continue up until the invasion prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 (which occurs some three decades later). Ezekiel 38:14 describes Israel living in perfect peace and security at that time: "Therefore,son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?" It seems to be a reasonable guess that Israel would surrender her nuclear weapons (if she has any left) to the coalition forces led by the United States after the war isover, in exchange for an absolute guarantee of security by the US. It's obviously in the national interests of the US and of other Western nations to ensure that nuclear war doesn't break out in the Middle East again. Of course, in one of the finest examplesof sarcasm in the Bible, Ezekiel 38:13 describes how well this guarantee works some three decades later when the "kingdom of the north" invades Israel: "Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee,Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" "Sheba, and Dedan" (modern-day Arabia) and "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof" (Western nations, especially Great Britain and her former colonies,including the US) merely protest this incursion instead of doing anything about it. The explanation for this, of course, is that after the rapture, the US won't be strong enough to provide that kind of security, or even to defend itself for that matter. This invasion occurs approximately at the thirty-year mark of the end times, after the rapture has taken place. We described this event in more detail in our previous serieson the war with Russia. It's unlikely that the rapture will occur after this invasion since the Ezekiel 38-39 invasion involves direct divine intervention. Therefore, it occurs in "the day of the Lord"-which begins with the rapture. Lebanon, therefore, is among those nations "that are round about them, that despised them," which will be "judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side."This brings to mind the ancient promise which God gave to Abraham: "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Unfortunately, Lebanon has to find this outthe hard way. We'll cover more about Lebanon in Part 2 of this series, including the judgment of God upon Tyre; the rise of the Antichrist and his building an international city in post-warIraq (ancient Assyria) which the Bible refers to as "Babylon"; the regathering of Lebanon as a people in the millennium, and their role as a manufacturing hub for food, clothing and durable items in this Kingdom period. So stand by for Part 2! 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 End-Times War in the Mideast: Part 2 - By Steve Ashburn - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/18/end-times-war-in-the-mideast-part-2-by-steve-ashburn/ LEBANON In Part 1 of this series, we saw how Lebanon was destroyed as a nation because of their participation in the Psalm 83 Arab invasion of Israel. This event took place at thebeginning of the end times and involved a blitzkrieg assault on the Holy Land by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza, West Bank, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan-followed by an equally swift and deadly retaliation by Israel. This iconic war is described prominently in several books in the Old Testament (Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Psalms, Amos, Obadiah, Malachi, and Zephaniah). It is notablebecause it marks the beginning of the forty-year period known as the end times-and of Israel's complete restoration to their ancient land of Canaan. We continue now in our studies of this historic event with end-times prophecies in Ezekiel and Isaiah, whichprovide additional details of this conflict concerning Lebanon. Tyre is an ancient city in modern-day Lebanon, located twenty-five miles south of Sidon. It was the capital city of the Phoenician empire. With its sister city Sidon, itformed a great commercial empire stretching throughout the Mediterranean, which was prominent from about 1550 to 300 BC. Among other things, it was famous for the production of a purple dye extracted from a rare shellfish, and garments so colored by it wereworn exclusively by royalty. Ezekiel 27 lists many other items which Tyre traded: •cedars from Lebanon; •oaks from Bashan; •ivory from Chittim (Cyprus); •blue and purple fine linen from Elishah (Greece); •silver, iron, tin, and lead from Tarshish (ore from Europe); •slaves and brass from Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Russia); •horses and horsemen from Togarmah (Armenia); •ivory and ebony from Dedan (Arabia); •emeralds, fine purple linen and embroidered work, coral, and agate from Syria; •wheat, fine flour, honey, oil, and balm from Israel; •white wool and wine from Damascus; •wrought iron, cinnamon, and calamus from Arabia; •precious cloths for chariots from Arabia; •rams, lambs, and goats from Arabia; •spices, precious stones, and gold from Ethiopia; •blue clothes and embroidered work, cedar chests of rich apparel bound with cords from Arabia; •and shipbuilders from Gebal and Tyre. The commercial activities of Tyre and the Phoenicians indeed were worldwide in their day. Its great wealth and ultimate destruction are described in Ezekiel 26-28. It was first destroyed after a long siege by Nebuchadnezzar from 585-572 BC. The city was subsequentlyrebuilt by survivors on an offshore island, where it continued in prosperity for another 250 years. This city was finally overthrown by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, after he built a causeway to reach it. Although the destruction of ancient Tyre is well-documented in history and in the Bible, Isaiah 23 also contains prophecies about Tyre relating to the end times. "As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Is this your joyouscity, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn" (Isaiah 23:5-7). One immediately becomes suspicious about the timetable for this prophecy when reading verse 5, because "the report concerning Egypt" occurs at the same time as "the reportof Tyre." Egypt was not destroyed at the same time as Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar (572 BC) and Alexander the Great (332 BC) made their respective conquests; therefore, this passage must refer to a separate judgment, when both Egypt and Tyre are judged at thesame time. In verses 4 and 12, Isaiah actually refers to "Zidon" (Sidon) as the target of this judgment; therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that this particular judgment refers to Lebanon in general. The Hebrew word translated "burden" in Isaiah 23:1 (massa) is only used in Scripture when the vision relates to extremely severe judgment: "The burden of Tyre. Howl, yeships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste." A similar wording is found in Nahum 1:1, which refers to the complete and utter destruction of Nineveh: "The burden of Nineveh." The ships of Tarshish (Western nations) are told to "howl" because of the greatly deleteriouseffect that the destruction of Tyre has on their commerce. In context, this must refer not only to Lebanon but to the Middle East in general because of the end-times conflagration which will embroil all the nations surrounding Israel. Tyre is referred to as "ye inhabitants of the isle" in verses 2-3. In verse 2 she is identified as "whom the merchants of Zidon... have replenished." In verse 3 she is furtheridentified as "seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations," meaning she traded in wheat ("seed of Sihor") from Egypt ("harvest of the river") and generally speaking was a marketplace for the nations ("mart of nations").The identification as "ye inhabitants of the isle" probably refers to Tyre post-572 B.C. when the city was relocated to an island a mile offshore from the old city, i.e., modern Lebanon. The inhabitants are advised to flee to Europe ("Tarshish"); they willevacuate Lebanon like a river ("Pass through thy land as a river," verse 6), and then are addressed as Europeans ("O daughter of Tarshish") in verse 10. Tyre also escapes to Cyprus ("pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest") where it is apparent that their cities (Lebanon) have been destroyed and there isno going back ("so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them"). At the conclusion of the war, Israel will be in possession of the Lebanese coast up to Zarephath, which is halfway between Tyre and Sidon: "And thecaptivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath" (Obadiah 1:20). Tyre also is referred to as "your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days" (v. 7). Isaiah probably would not refer to Tyre as a city of great antiquity because,in his day, it was a very modern city. This description refers to end-times Tyre (Lebanon), where the description as a city of great antiquity is much more appropriate. Isaiah then gives the reason for the destruction of Tyre-and by extension the end-timeswar that it refers to: "The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth" (Isaiah 23:9). Ezekiel 28 speaks of the same battle: when God "shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered," then he "shall be sanctified in themin the sight of the heathen... and they shall know that I am the Lord their God" (Ezekiel 28:25-26). In fact, the phrase, "they shall know that I am the Lord" is mentioned four times in Ezekiel 28:22-26. Once again, the Lord demonstrates that he alone is sovereignover the earth-and in particular, that Israel is his covenant nation, whom he has regathered back into their land, and that he is preserving and protecting them from their enemies. Mercantile nations like Tyre (and, by implication, Western nations) tend to have relativistic policies based on money and will favor whatever nation is their immediate financialinterest (e.g., Arab nations) rather than supporting Israel. Perhaps that is why God says he will "bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth." The ancient covenant that God made with Abraham, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him thatcurseth thee" (Genesis 12:3), is still in effect; Lebanon and other nations involved in this war-including "Tarshish"-unfortunately, learn this the hard way. In addition, an intriguing prophecy about the Antichrist ("the Assyrian") is found here: "Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian foundedit for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin" (Isaiah 23:13). This passage indicates that the Antichrist will be instrumental in rebuilding Iraq after it has been destroyed(Isaiah 13; Jeremiah 50-51), building skyscrapers ("towers') and elegant buildings ("palaces") as the center of world commerce and government, until it is finally destroyed by God ("and he brought it to ruin") at the end of the tribulation (Revelation 18).This places this particular judgment of Tyre (Lebanon) in the end times. Isaiah 23:14 concludes this end-times passage by using the same phrase as in verse 1: "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish." These two phrases sandwich this passage in Isaiah, referringto the battle which begins the end times; Isaiah 23 then skips to the millennium. How long will Lebanon be dispersed among the nations? Verse 15 reads: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to thedays of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot." Apparently, Tyre and its sister cities will be desolate ("forgotten") for the rest of the forty-year end-times period-and for thirty years beyond that, stretching into the millennialreign of Christ. Why the additional thirty years? Verses 17-18 give us a clue. "And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdomsof the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing"(Isaiah 23:17-18). Apparently, faithful refugees from Lebanon who survive the tribulation will be reestablished in their homeland during the millennium and will manufacture food and clothingfor other nations ("for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing"). It will take some time for the faithful remnant of Tyre to repopulate and establish agricultural and manufacturing industries-thirtyyears, in fact. Isaiah indicates her activity at that time will be honorable: "And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord." We'll cover more about this Mideast war in Part 3 of this series, including the "dissolving" of Palestine (Gaza Strip) by a "fiery flying serpent"-alluding to the use ofenhanced-radiation warheads. So stand by for Part 3! 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 End-Times War in the Mideast: Part 3 - By Steve Ashburn - https://www.raptureready.com/2020/08/18/end-times-war-in-the-mideast-part-2-by-steve-ashburn/ Nuclear War In The Mideast The Bible predicts that there will be a nuclear war in the Middle East, in Psalm 83, Amos 1-2, and many other books and chapters in the Old Testament, followed by a third US-led coalitioninvasion of Iraq. I believe this war will take place by 2030, resulting in global disruption of trade, the deaths of hundreds of millions, and the restoration of Israel to her ancient boundaries of the land of Canaan. These prophecies have been "sealed" (not widely understood) until now, but in this series of articles, I am going to prove to you, painstakingly and through extensive quotation from Scripture,exactly what the Bible says about this war. This event begins a 40-year period known as the "end times," which includes the rapture, the Ezekiel 38-39 Russian invasion of Israel, and finally, the tribulation as its last seven-year segment. The Bible must devote as much text to describing this nuclear war in the Old Testament as it does in Revelation! Therefore, it seems that God really wants us to be aware of this event, whichmarks the beginning of the end times, as much as He does the events of His second coming 40 years later. Understanding all this is crucial to having a properly developed end-times thesis, including the definition, timing and sequence of events of this great time period, scheduled to begin inthe near future! Having said that, I now want to focus your attention on one of the nations involved in this Arab invasion of Israel, and that nation is Gaza. Modern-day Gaza is populated by descendants of the ancient Philistine people, amalgamated with Bedouin Arabs, Edomites (descendants of Esau), and Jordanian Arabs (descendants of Moab and Ammon).The land was largely uninhabited until the return of the Jews to their homeland in the twentieth century, and the subsequent economic prosperity that resulted. The present-day Arab population of Gaza largely consists of immigrants from surrounding Arab nationswho recently migrated to the area to find employment, and because of the higher standard of living. Although God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham (Genesis 15:21), Israel never fully possessed this land. After World War I, Gaza was administered under the British Mandate, then after the 1948 Israeli War for Independence, by Egypt. It was captured by Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967, andin 1993 was transferred to Arab control. Gaza is presently governed by the Palestinian Authority, whose main political faction is Hamas. In Hebrew, the word hamas means "violence," and true to their name, Hamas today seeks the violent overthrow of the Jewishstate with frequent rocket barrages and other terrorist attacks against their neighbor. Although Israel has never fully possessed the land of Canaan, this will finally be accomplished after the war which begins the end times. After decades of constant terrorism, murder and threats,the attempted military invasion by the nations which surround her will give Israel the impetus to fix "the Palestinian problem" once and for all. Thus Israel will possess the complete land that God promised to Abraham-the Mediterranean coast from Zarephath (north of Tyre) southward to the "river of Egypt" (Genesis 15:18, easternmostdelta branch of the old Nile terminating at ancient Pelusium, near present-day Suez Canal) - thereby including the Sinai Peninsula; thence from the Gulf of Aqaba northeastward through present-day Jordan and Syria to the Euphrates River; and thence southwestwardto the Mediterranean Sea near Zarephath (Genesis 15:18-21; Exodus 23:31; Numbers 34:1-12; Deuteronomy 1:24; Joshua 1:4). God's judgment on Palestine is set forth in Ezekiel, Isaiah, Obadiah, and Zephaniah. It makes sense for the Palestinians in Gaza to be judged at the same time as Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and othernations surrounding Israel since these nations together will launch an attack against Israel at the beginning of the end-times period. They also are inveterate enemies of Israel and the source of much present-day terrorism. Ezekiel 25 describes the judgmentagainst Palestine: "Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; Therefore thus saith the Lord God;Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shalllay my vengeance upon them" (Ezekiel 25:15-17). The timeline here is indicated by "to destroy it for the old hatred," meaning the ages-long hatred of the Palestinians for Israel. Isaiah 14 also gives an account of this battle. God advisesPalestine not to rejoice because "the rod of him that smote thee is broken" (indicating Israel during the Diaspora-the time period just preceding Ezekiel's account), since they will return as a powerful nation ("a cockatrice"). A cockatrice is a legendary,venomous serpent that could kill just by its glace, and which emerges "out of the serpent's root" (the military power of ancient Israel). Isaiah here refers to the deadly force of the modern IDF. The timeline here is when "firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety," indicating a time of peace forIsrael which results after Palestine is "dissolved." This period comes after a time when God "will kill thy root with famine"; this probably refers to the two thousand years of drought in Palestine during the Diaspora. Many people tried to settle the landduring this time but were largely unsuccessful because of the drought. Afterward, the modern IDF "shall slay thy remnant" in the Psalm 83 war: "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke,and none shall be alone in his appointed times. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it" (Isaiah 14:29-32). Isaiah says, "There shall come from the north a smoke," suggesting a great number of troops, probably Israeli. In addition, the "fiery flying serpent" which comes out of the cockatrice seemsto allude to nuclear missiles, especially with enhanced-radiation warheads. A neutron bomb detonating over Gaza City, for example, would "fry" the entire population while leaving buildings intact-sting of a "serpent," indeed. By this display of extreme militaryforce, the population of Palestine would be "dissolved"; the Hebrew word translated "dissolved" here (namowg) actually means "melted"-an accurate description of thermonuclear destruction. In addition, aircraft of the IDF-which shoot "fire" out of their engines while using the afterburners (and also from rockets), and launch deadly guided (Sidewinder?) missiles from their wings-alsocould be described as "fiery flying serpents." However, the sense in which Isaiah uses this term denotes widespread, sudden, violent death ("dissolved"), indicating nuclear rather than conventional force. Later, Israeli ground troops could sweep in to mop up whatever is left; thus, Palestine would be "dissolved"-physically and politically. It appears at this time that the cat-and-mouse gameIsrael has been playing with Palestinians in Gaza is over at this point in our narrative. Egypt cannot help the Palestinians, since they have been destroyed along with many cities and nations surrounding Israel. Since Palestinians also live in West Bank and Jordan (ancient Moab, Ammon and Edom)-and they are as equally malignant as their brethren in Gaza-Scripture addresses their destruction also.Obadiah 1 describes an attack by Israel upon Edom-the present-day West Bank and southern Jordan, which also includes Palestine: "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 remainingof 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. Andthe 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 1:18-20). This attack apparently occurs at a time when "the day of the Lord is near," which is a code phrase for the beginning of the end times (since the day of the Lord begins with the rapture), accordingto verse 15: "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." The end-times attack on Israel by a coalition of Arab nations apparently includes the Palestinians in Gaza as well as Jordanians who occupy ancient Edom (the biblical land of Esau). Obadiahindicates Israel will destroy Edom with overwhelming military force (Obadiah 1:18), and presumably, this includes the Palestinians in Gaza as well (Obadiah 1:19). It long has been the hope of Arab nations that a blitzkrieg attack against Israel would be successful, but as in past attacks (e.g., 1967, 1973), it quickly becomes clear that their hope isin vain. Unlike previous wars, however, this time the fix is permanent. Israel begins several decades of peace and prosperity, as indicated by Ezekiel 28:26: "And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shalldwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God." We'll cover more about this Mideast war in Part 4 of this series, including the description of Gaza as "the nation of the Cherethites" ("running assassins"), and the deportation of the survivingArabs to other nations, basically as slaves. So stand by for Part 4! 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,