The Arab World in Prophecy
They will trigger the End of this Age
The basic truth of this article written long ago (I have no date on the copy I have) is still very relevant for today - Keith Hunt THE ARAB WORLD IN PROPHECY by Keith W. Stump The Arab peoples are destined to play a significant role in the development of future world events. They will be at the very center of a series of crises which will plunge the Middle East into a major war - ultimately drawing in all the nations of the earth! What is an Arab? But first - just what is an Arab? This question has plagued scholars for centuries. Peoples of many different ethnic groups, often exhibiting widely differing physical characteristics, consider themselves or are considered by others to be "Arabs." Experts place the number of "Arabs" in the world today at well over 100,000.000. The Arabic term "al-Arab" originally referred only to the wandering Bedouins (Badawis) of the Arabian Desert. The Bedouins consider themselves to be the original Arabs and the only true Arabs remaining today. Scattered from Morocco to Iran - but concentrated in the Arabian Peninsula - the Bedouins maintain a lifestyle which has changed little since the time of the Old Testament. But the meaning of the term "Arab" has changed over the centuries. During the Moslem military conquests of the seventh and eighth centuries A.D., widespread Bedouin intermarriage with the indigenous peoples of conquered North Africa and other areas of the Middle East served to blur earlier ethnic distinctions. To this day, no standard or "official" definition of an Arab has yet been agreed upon, or is likely to be. The best criterion of who is an Arab is probably language. Therefore many use the term "Arabic-speaking peoples" instead of "Arabs" to designate a linguistic group composed of many diverse peoples. Where Did the Arabs Come From? Nations are merely families grown big. In general, the Arab peoples are descended from one man - Ishmael (called "Ismail" by Arabs), the son of the biblical patriarch Abraham (or Ibrahim). The Arabs themselves acknowledge this. the story found in the book of Genesis, beginning in chapter 16. Abraham's wife Sarah was unable to have children. Sarah suggested that Abraham take Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, and obtain an heir by her. Abraham agreed, and Hagar conceived a child. As could be expected, friction soon developed between Sarah and Hagar. Sarah began to treat Hagar harshly. When she could take it no longer, Hagar fled into the desert. There an angel appeared to her, telling her to return to Sarah. The angel declared: "Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael [meaning 'God will hear']: because the Lord hath heard thy affliction" (Genesis 16:11). The angel also revealed that her progeny would be multiplied exceedingly, that it would "not be numbered for multitude." So Hagar returned and soon afterwards presented Abraham with a son. Thirteen years passed. God then appeared to Abraham and announced that Sarah - then age 90 would soon bear Abraham a son! Abraham was incredulous. Moreover, he had grown to love Ishmael greatly and desired that he be his heir and receive the birthright blessings. "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" Abraham entreated God. But God replied: "Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him..." (Genesis 17:19). But God understood Abraham's concern for Ishmael's future, and assured him: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation" (verse 20). After the birth of Isaac, Hagar and Ishmael were cast forth into the desert at the insistence of Sarah. There God miraculously preserved them and re-affirmed His promise to make of Ishmael a great nation (Genesis 21:18). "And God was with the lad," the account continues, "and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paean (the modern Negev Desert]: and his mother look him a wife out of the land of Egypt" (verses 20-21). One or two additional wives were later added. As God had prophesied, Ishmael became the father of 12 sons, whose names are recorded in Genesis 25:13-16: Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. Ishmael also had one daughter, called Mahalath or Bashemath (Genesis 28:9; 36:3), who married Esau, the son of the patriarch Isaac. A Great Nation Ishmael died at the age of 137 (Genesis 25:17). As God had promised, his twelve sons grew into a "great nation" - today numbering scores of millions! The specific genealogies of each of the modern-day Arab tribes, sub-tribes, families and clans are virtually impossible to trace back in every case to their ultimate biblical origins. But some of the major lines of descent are known. For example: From Ishmael's son Kedar (Cadre in Arabic) - dated approximately 1840 B.C. - can be traced a line of descent to Adrian (or Caisse)-122 B.C. - and from him (I generations further on) to Mohammed (A.D.570-632) of the Caroche tribe, the founder and prophet of the Islamic faith. Though Ishmael is considered to have been the progenitor of the majority of the Arab world, there are indications of some intermingling of Ishmaelites with other related peoples - specifically the Joktanites and Keturahites. Joktan (called Qahtan or Kahtan by the Arabs) was the son of the patriarch Eber (Genesis 10:25), who lived many generations before Abraham and Ishmael. This Joktan whom authorities consider to have been the ultimate father of all southern Arabs - had 13 sons, named in Genesis 10:26-29. One of them, Jerah (Yarab to the Arabs), is believed to have founded the kingdom of Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. some authorities believe his name was the origin of the word "Arab," the meaning of which is thought to be "arid." Yarab's brother Hadoram ("Jorham" to the Arabs) is believed to have founded the Hejaz, an important kingdom along the western coast of Arabia, containing the cities of Mecca and Medina. According to Arab history, the daughter of Modad, a descendant of this Jorham, became one of the wives of Ishmael. It is from that union that Ishmael's illustrious son Kedar is said to have come. Another of Joktan's sons, Hazarmaveth, is claimed by the present day tribesmen of the Hadhramaut (a region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula) as their ancestor. The other line with which the Ishmaelites are said to have intermarried is that of the Keturahites. The Keturahites were descendants of Keturah, whom Abraham married after the death of Sarah. Abraham and Keturah had six sons (Genesis 25:2), whose progeny, like that of Joktan, gradually became incorporated into the house of Ishmael. Thus, after making due allowance for mixture with Joktanites and Keturahites, the Arabs may be regarded as essentially an Ishmaelite race. In Bible usage, the name Kedar is often employed as the collective name of all the nomadic Arab tribes generally, as Kedar apparently had been the largest and most conspicuous of all the Ishmaelite tribes. The tribe's importance can be inferred from the mention of the rich "princes of Kedar" in Ezekiel 27:21 and elsewhere. The prophet Isaiah, in his "burden (or denunciation) upon Arabia" (Isaiah 21:13-17) prophesied the demise of the "glory of Kedar" - a reference to the invasion of Arabia by Sargon in 716 B.C., during the wars between Egypt and Assyria. The glory of Kedar did fail, and the Arabs slipped for many centuries into obscurity. The Conquests or Islam Through the period of the Medo-Persian kingdom and on into Roman times, the Arab tribes lived in semi-isolation from the rest of the world, breeding camels, goats and sheep in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Their principal interest appears to have been fighting wars among themselves - an activity designed not so much with the intent of eradicating or enslaving rival tribes but rather to break the wearisome monotony of watching animals graze in the vast emptiness of the desert. When it came to religion, the Arabs were idol worshippers. The great temple of Mecca - overseen by the influential Korceish tribe - was said to have contained 365 idols. Ironically, it was from the Caroche tribe that Mohammed arose early in the 7th century A.D. - six centuries after Christ. He succeeded in abolishing the idolatry long prevalent in Arabia and bringing his fellow Arabs a new faith, Islam ("Submission to God"), based on belief in one god, Allah. Moreover, Mohammed's teachings forged the divided Arab tribes into a socially and culturally united people. Islam provided them for the first time with a powerful unifying force, making it possible for them to aspire to greatness as a nation. A little history will be useful here to show how the stage has been set over the centuries for the prophetic events which lie just ahead. Following Mohammed's death in 632, the leadership of the Moslem nation passed to a succession of "caliphs" ("successors"), ruling initially from Medina. They completed the unification of the Arabian Peninsula and began to push outward, eventually bringing the entirety of the Middle East under their rule. In the early 7th century, the Near and Middle East were divided between two great rival powers: the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire (called "Rum" by the Arabs) centered at Constantinople, and the Sassanid Empire of Persia. These two adversaries had exhausted each other by long and destructive wars, and thus were "sitting ducks" for the vigorous new Islamic power sweeping out of Arabia. To the frenzied cries of "Allah Akbar"! ("God is Great!"), camel-mounted Arab tribesmen swept with lightning speed into neighboring territories, taking Syria in 635, Iraq in 637, Palestine in 640, Egypt and Persia in 641. Jerusalem was taken in 638. Not since the days of Alexander the Great had such swift and far-reaching conquests been seen. "The Believers smote and slaughtered till the going down of the sun," recorded one contemporary Arab historian, "and the fear of the Arabs fell upon all kings." The supreme office of "caliph," originally elective, soon was made hereditary - first in the Omayyad family (from A.D.661 to 750) and then in the Abbasid family (750 to 1258). The Omayyad dynasty, ruling from Damascus, was responsible for the conquest of the remainder of North Africa and most of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). In the East, Omayyad armies swept over Central Asia toward India and China. **In less than 100 years, the Omayyads had built an empire larger than that of Rome at its height.** Millions were added into the fold of the Moslem faith. It was the great Omayyad caliph Abdul Malik, incidentally, who constructed the great Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem in 691-692 on Mount Moriah, the former site of the illustrious Temple of Solomon. The Abbasid dynasty, ruling from Baghdad, consisted of 37 caliphs, among them the famous Harm al-Rashid (786-809) of "Arabian Nights" fame. The first two or three centuries of Abbasid rule marked the "Golden Age of Islamic culture and literature." While Europe lay engulfed by the "Dark Ages," the Arabs kept the torch of knowledge burning throughout their far-flung domains. Increasingly, however, the Abbasid caliphs grew soft, succumbing to the ease of sedentary palace life and losing their martial vigor. Internal weaknesses resulted in a gradual breakdown of the political solidarity of the Moslem Empire and its disintegration into autonomous or semi-autonomous states. Eventually Baghdad itself was conquered by invaders, and the Abbasid caliphs became mere figure-head or "puppet" rulers. In addition, the Islamic faith itself became split and fragmented into dozens of sects, sub-sects and offshoots, as it remains to this day. In fact, modern Islam is as divided as modern Christianity! War and Independence Early in the 16th century, the majority of Arab lands came under the sway of the Ottoman Turks, ruling from Istanbul. For the following four centuries there was no independent Arab state. The Arabs bristled under the corrupt and despotic rule of the Ottomans. During World War 1 the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) sided with the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary against Britain. An opportunity thus presented itself to Britain. The British believed that a rebellion of Arabs against their Turkish overlords would enable britain, while fighting Germany, simultaneously to defeat Germany's ally Turkey. Britain consequently encouraged and gave assistance to a rebellion of the Arab tribes. The rebellion was proclaimed in June 1916 by Hussein ibn Ali, the illustrious Sherif of Mecca (a descendant of Mohammed) and self-proclaimed "King of the Arabs." In exchange for his revolt against the Turks, Hussein received a promise from Britain to recognize the independence of the Arab countries after the war. Assisted by the legendary T.E.Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") in the field, the "Revolt in the Desert" was successful. With Turkey's defeat, Ottoman rule in Arab lands came to an end. But the free and united Middle Eastern Arab empire promised by Britain did not materialize. The majority of Arab lands were instead given to Britain and France to rule as mandates. The Arabs felt betrayed, claiming Britain had duped them, had made false promises and had shown bad faith. After centuries of Ottoman rule, they were now to be ruled by Europeans! Eventually, however, various independent Arab states did at last emerge. Iraq became independent in 1932; Syria and Lebanon in 1941; Transjordan in 1946; Egypt in 1951. In Arabia, King Ibn Saud of Nejd (central Arabia) succeeded in conquering the Hejaz in 1925, and in 1932 - after uniting other areas under his control - formed the soon-to-be oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Calls soon began to issue forth from various quarters for these newly independent Arab states to unite into one giant Arab Nation. Many Arabs began to look back with a sort of nostalgia to the first few centuries after Mohammed, when Islam was politically united as a single world empire, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indus River. Why not, they asked, seek to re-create the political and theological unity of the early Islamic caliphate - beginning with the unification of the Arab world? The possibilities would be tremendous, they suggested. Elusive Dream This idea (called "Pan-Arabism") of a single united Arab Nation with one flag and one capital was not new. Throughout the centuries, the goal of a single political entity embracing all Arabic-speaking peoples has been a widely held dream among Arabs. But it has proved to be as elusive as the mirages of the desert. Indeed, the pages of Arab history brim with stories of tribal feuds, national conflicts and personal rivalry among Arab leaders. The common historical origin, common faith, language and culture of the Arab peoples - factors that would seem at first glance to provide an excellent basis for Arab solidarity - prove to be a mere facade of unity. In actuality, the Arab peoples are deeply divided by often fierce political, ideological, economic, theological and territorial rivalries. Though the desire for unity is strongly felt, there are wide and almost irreconcilable differences among Arab nations over the manner in which that goal is to be achieved. Even more hopeless has been the centuries-old quest for the wider-scope ideal of Islamic unity. Multiple millions of non-Arabic-speaking peoples also follow the Moslem faith, including those of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, and parts of India and Africa. **In fact, one person in six in the world today is a Moslem.** The concept of the unity of the entire Islamic world - both Arab and non-Arab - is called "Pan-Islam." Though all Moslems recognize the tremendous possibilities that might be realized through greater cooperation, such ideals often clash with the pragmatic interests of individual Moslem nations. Like the lesser-scope concept of Pan-Arabism, Pan-Islam's chances for success - in the estimation of most observers are small. Religious upheaval What hope remains, then? Will the long-sought unity of the Arab and Moslem worlds ever be realized? If so, most observers feel, it will probably have to come through swift and possibly violent change - in the wake of tumultuous political or religious upheaval. The Moslem world today is ripe for something new. After centuries of divisive religious and political infighting and frustrated ambitions, Moslem sentiments are coming to a head. Moslems are ready for a new concept to provide the catalyst toward realizing their long-thwarted dreams. They want to again become a powerful force in world affairs, in a role befitting their size and glorious past. Increasing numbers of Moslems - Arab and non-Arab alike - believe it is time for a rekindling of the fires of their faith, time for a wide-scale religious and spiritual revival in the face of growing secularization, materialism and Westernization (witness recent events in Iran, for example). From Morocco to Indonesia, "back-to-the-Koran" sentiments are growing, along with calls for a united, fundamentalist Islam. The lacking vital ingredient is leadership. "There have been many attempts at a pan-Islamic policy, none of which has made much progress," observes Bernard Lewis, a British scholar of the Middle East. "One reason for this lack of success is that those who have made the attempt have been so unconvincing. This still leaves the possibility of a more convincing leadership, and there is ample evidence in virtually all Muslim countries of the deep yearning for such a leadership and a readiness to respond to it." Moslems in general and Arabs in particular have historically responded like no other people to the charismatic personality. Since the founding of Islam, men have periodically arisen in various parts of the Moslem world claiming to be the long-awaited Mabdi, the expected end-time messiah who is to cleanse and restore the Islamic faith to its original purity, unify the Moslem world and usher in a seven-year golden age just before the end of the world. Many of these individuals - often men of considerable eloquence and extraordinary personal magnetism gathered great armies and attempted to unify the Moslem world by religious wars. Some gained thrones; others - the majority - died bloody deaths on the field of battle. But none were to be ignored. One of the most recent Mahdis was Mohammed Ahmed. the "Sudanese Mahdi," who united numerous tribes against British and Egyptian control of the Sudan and succeeded in capturing the strategic Nile city of Khartoum from General Charles George Gordon in 1885. His goal of a single united Moslem nation, however went unfulfilled. A Thing of the Past? Nearly a century has passed since the Sudanese Mahdi's victory at Khartoum. To many observers, militant Mahdism is a thing of the past. A major flare-up of radical messianism is deemed unlikely - by some, even impossible. But is it really? The expectation of a coming Mahdi (in Arabic, "the divinely guided one") is prevalent among virtually all Moslem sects, though they often differ in the specifics of the concept. Moslems today yearn for a guide, a teacher, a deliverer - one who embodies their innermost hopes and dreams, who will breathe new life into Islam, give new direction, and set about healing the schisms which divide the Moslem world. There has always been magic in the name "Mahdi." Were a revolutionary new religious figure to suddenly appear in the Moslem world - a dynamic, charismatic leader who could capture the imagination of Moslems everywhere and effectively capitalize on their hunger for greatness - the Middle East picture could be transformed overnight! The appearance of a 20th century Mahdi - as fantastic as the prospect might appear to Western minds cannot be quickly dismissed. In Islam, politics and religion are inextricably mixed. There is a close relationship between the spiritual and civil power. Islam waits to be united. The role of Mahdi - the Great Unifier of Islam - awaits a player. Mahdis have marched in their dozens and scores through the pages of Moslem history. There is no reason to believe the days of Mahdism are past. Indeed, circumstances in the Moslem world appear riper than ever for a Mahdist flare-up. Even now a Mahdi may be waiting in the wings for the opportune moment. Prophesied In the Bible? As the Bible so clearly demonstrates, it is God who makes and unmakes nations. The prophet Daniel declared that God "removes kings and sets up kings" (Daniel 2:21, RSV). And it is God who declares "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (Isaiah 46:10). God reveals the future before it happens! The Bible is not silent about the Arab world. Among other prophecies for the region, it strongly suggests the emergence or a coming Arab-Moslem Confederation, possibly under the overall leadership of one powerful individual! In chapter 11 of the book of Daniel is found the longest prophecy in the Bible. The prelude is found in the tenth chapter. There, the archangel Gabriel appears to Daniel: "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days" (verse 14). The prophecy of Daniel 11 details events - at that time, still future - from the remaining days of the Medo-Persian empire, through the reign of Alexander the Great and his successors in Syria and Egypt, and on through to the second coming of Christ! The Time of the End Beginning in verse 40 we read of a conflict between two great powers. "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind ...." This is an important "end-lime" prophecy. Following the chronological progression of the chapter, it becomes apparent that the phrase "king of the north" had at first referred to Syria under the Seleucid dynasty, and later, in the New Testament times, to the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Thus, in its final end-time application, the "king of the north" is the prophesied strong man who will lead a coming union of ten European nations - the seventh and final revival of the ancient Roman Empire prophesied by Daniel and in the book of Revelation (see Revelation 17:12-13). But who is the "king of the south"? In the earlier portions of Daniel 11, the phrase refers without question to ancient Egypt under the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty, later including Ethiopia which was annexed to Egypt. But in verse 40 we skip to "the time of the end" - this present century. The verse undoubtedly found at least partial fulfilment in the offensive in 1896 of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia ("king of the south") against the Italian armies of King Humbert I ("king of the north") - and in the air, land and sea invasion of Ethiopia 40 years later by Mussolini's forces. But Mussolini did not finish the prophecy. He did not, for example, enter into the "glorious land" or Palestine (verse 41). Its greater fulfilment is yet fulure! Just as there is yet to be a final "king of the north" - called in Bible symbolism "the beast" - who will arise as super-dictator over an end-time European confederation, there may very well emerge in the same manner a final "king of the south" an overall leader of an Arab-Moslem confederation, possibly even bearing the very title "Mahdi!" And these two individuals will eventually find themselves in a head-to-head confrontation - possibly over oil - which will ultimately lead to devastating war in the Middle East! Crisis In Palestine What does prophecy reveal, then, about the succession of events in the Middle East in the coming months and years? And what part will the Arab world play in them? The Bible does not give an exact sequence of coming events. We must watch world events to discover how and when the prophecies will happen (Luke 21:36). But in piecing together prophecies scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments, a general picture becomes clear...... End of quote from Keith Stump's article NOTE: Some fascinating history of the Arab peoples. As Keith Stump stated ONE IS SIX people on earth today claim Islam as their religion! And the "fundamental" sect of Islam fully believe they are to conquer the world, rule the world, bring the world peace Islam style! Then we have ONE IN SIX people on earth today who claim Roman Catholicism for their religion. And the hard core lines of that religion (though kept quiet at present) also believe they are to conquer the world, and bring the world peace, Roman Catholic style! I have gone into some detail with the prophetic truth of Daniel 11 in the study called "Key to the Future" under the prophetic studies. Roman Catholicism and Islamism are one day, GOING TO CLASH!! The King of the North in Daniel 11:40-45 is the last resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, being formed in Europe today. In time it will be a WORLD POWER as like not seen for centuries. Depending on the Lord's will, that could develop in the next 10 to 20 years, then again God may decide to give much longer for that Roman Empire to emerge on the world scene as the final Great BEAST power for the Woman Babylon Mystery religion to ride, as given in the book of Revelation. "Time" with God is not the same as time with humans. For us 50 years is a long time, with God it is a millionth of the blinking of an eye. The King of the South in Daniel 11 never really changes per se - it is Egypt with her confederate Islam nations. Ezekiel chapters 30 to 32, give the rise and fall of Egypt and her Islamic confederation of nations, as also told in Daniel 11:40-45. UNTIL Egypt rises AGAIN to world prominence, and becomes the LEADING nation IN AN ARAB ISLAM grouping of nations, to form the "King of the South" - prophecy in one sense, stands still. Egypt today (a few weeks away from 2008 as I write) is NOT a nation "in the news" - she is a background nation on the world scene at present. Hence, depending again on the Lord's will ... who knows HOW LONG IT WILL BE BEFORE EGYPT takes THE LEAD in the Islam Arab world? We just continue to WATCH as Jesus said we should. BUT ONE DAY, YES IT WILL COME TO PASS, AS SURE AS THE RISING OF THE SUN, THE TWO MIGHTY POWERS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY AND THE ISLAM RELIGION WILL MEET IN BATTLE. What the King of the South will use to "push at" the King of the North, is not told to us, in Daniel 11:40-45; but whatever it is, the Roman Catholic Beast power of Europe, will finally say enough is enough, and will sweep down with force of arms and do battle with much of the Islam/Arab world. The mighty Holy Roman Empire of the last days will WIN the fight, and she will MARCH INTO PALESTINE AND JERUSALEM. She will surround the city of Jerusalem, and will make it "desolate" and claim it for HERSELF! The man "beast" and the "false prophet" of Revelation will establish their head-quarters in the Holy City! Then Jesus said will come a time of trouble on this earth, as NEVER SEEN BEFORE, AND NEVER WILL BE AGAIN! The LAST THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS, THE LAST 42 MONTHS of this age will commence. Most - MAJORITY part - of the book of Revelation will come to pass. ALL the book of EZEKIEL shall unfold. Jesus said in Luke 21, that it would be the time that ALL THAT IS WRITTEN will come to pass! And in saying ALL, there is much indeed to expound in God's prophetic books of the Old Testament, that lay out in some details at times, what is yet to take place on this earth. I pray the Father in heaven will give me the months, if not years, to expound all of those books to you, so you, and those yet to come, will KNOW THE UNFOLDING OF THE EVENTS YET TO BE. GOD WILL NOT LEAVE THIS WORLD WITHOUT A FULL DETAILED ACCOUNT AND WARNING TO THE NATIONS ON IT, AS TO WHAT THEY FACE IF THEY WILL NOT FREELY TURN TO HIM IN HUMBLE REPENTANCE. THERE IS ALREADY A LARGE COLLECTION OF PROPHETIC STUDIES ON THIS WEBSITE. YOU NEED TO COME TO UNDERSTAND THEM. AS GOD PERMITS I WILL ENDEAVOR TO BRING YOU THE FULL SERIES OF STUDIES ON ALL THE MAJOR AND MINOE PROPHETIC BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE. Keith Hunt |
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