GREATER ISRAEL DRAWS NEAR!

GREATER ISRAEL 2 PART DVD BY BILL SALUS

Genesis 12:2 declares God intends to make Israel a mighty, marvelous, powerful, exceedingly prominent, and prosperous nation. Additionally, Genesis 15:18 informs us that God gave the Jews land between Egypt and Iraq. Is Israel soon to capture sizeable portions of it?

Many Christians believe Christ must return before Israel expands territorially; however, the upcoming Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 Israeli war prophecies suggest otherwise.
In this brand new two - part DVD from Isralestine author Bill Salus, you will find out that phase one of GOD’S GREATER ISRAEL began with the rebirth of the Jewish State in 1948. Phase two occurred in the aftermath of the Arab - Israeli Six Day War in 1967. Furthermore, phases three and four will be finalized after the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 wars. Lastly, the fifth and final phase occurs when Jesus returns.

Part One is called Greater Israel and Part Two is Psalm 83 or Ezekiel 38, which is the Next Middle East News Headline.

Get Bill's DVD NOW, learn the truth and be better equipped to witness in days coming!

Is Psalm 83 a Great Tribulation event?

By Bill Salus

The Fructhenbaum / Salus Dialogue

Recently I had the opportunity to interview the highly regarded prophecy expert, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, (pictured here) for Prophecy Update Radio. This important two-part radio interview can be accessed at the bottom of this article.

We talked about several prophetic topics, but of particular interest was our discussion centered upon the timing of Psalm 83. Many of you interested in the Psalm and its timing may find his comments below fascinating.

Knowing that Dr. Fruchtenbaum has a healthy aversion to date setting and newspaper exegesis, I was respectfully careful in our interview not to corner him into pinpointing the exact timing of the fulfillment of the Psalm event. However with that said, I’m very familiar with his general viewpoint regarding the final fulfillment of the prophecy. Arnold and I have bantered back and forth on the event timing on numerous occasions. I believe it is a Pre-Trib event, and Arnold has tended to place the final conclusion of the event into the “Great Tribulation”, which would be the second half of the seven year tribulation period.[i]

Let me give you some background on this friendly decade old timing debate we embarked upon. Please note that his teachings have mentored me throughout most of my Christian walk. I have listened to a majority of his teaching tapes and read his Footsteps of the Messiah and Israelology books with great interest.

Regarding his placement of the Psalm in the Great Tribulation, I first discovered his viewpoint in his Footsteps of the Messiah book, where he clearly places the final fulfillment of the event in the Great Tribulation. At a luncheon together, I seized the opportunity to ask him why he believed this. He opened up his Bible to Obadiah 1:15 and read:

“For the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy dealing shall return upon thine own head.” (ASV).

He and I both concur this passage alludes to the timing of the fulfillment of Psalm 83; however, where we differ in opinion is that he believes the passage mandates that the event conclusion occurs in the day of Jehovah, and I read the passage as it occurs when the day of the LORD (Jehovah) draws near. The text says; “For the day of Jehovah is near”, which implies that the day of the LORD will occur subsequent to the fulfillment of Obadiah 1:15. We both believe that the day of Jehovah encompasses at least the second three and one-half years of the Tribulation, and quite possibly the entire seven year period. Therefore, I suggest Psalm 83 occurs when the Tribulation period is relatively soon to happen, but not yet come.

A few friendly face to face meetings later, Arnold suggested that I write a book about the subject, which is now published and is called Isralestine, The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East.[ii] Although he believes we are in “substantial agreement” and Isralestine presents “valid arguments” on the details of the Psalm, he has remained fairly steadfast in his contrasting view of the timing of Psalm 83.

Additionally, since the publishing of Isralestine our interplay has continued on through radio interviews together and volleys of emails back and forth. His general feeling up to the present is that partial fulfillment of Psalm 83 occurred in the wars of 1948 and 1967, however final fulfillment has not yet occurred.

Here is where this article takes an interesting twist. In our most recent radio interview together airing January 15, 2010, Dr. Fruchtenbaum answers several of my semi-pointed questions in a way that suggests he is open to other views of the final timing of Psalm 83. Dr. Fructhenbaum believes the majority of Psalm 83 finds fulfillment before the seven year Tribulation Period occurs, meaning more segments of Psalm 83 may yet occur as Pre-Trib events.

For instance, regarding the destruction of Damascus, he believes that Isaiah 17:1 may be part of Psalm 83 but he is not certain. However, if it is part of Psalm 83 he believes it will be a Pre-Trib event because there is no reference to the Day of the LORD throughout Isaiah 17.

Concerning God’s manner of dealing with the Psalm 83 Arab confederacy, he “definitely” believes, as do I, that the Israeli Defense Forces (I.D.F.) will become divinely empowered to conquer these confederates as per Obadiah 1:18, Ezekiel 25:14, and elsewhere. We both believe that Asaph petitions God for this type of I.D.F. empowerment in Psalm 83:9-11.

Then I asked Arnold a multi-layered question: first, if Israel is dwelling in a condition of peace guaranteed by the false covenant with the Antichrist[iii] in the first half of the tribulation, how could Psalm 83 occur, and second if Israelis are fleeing from the genocidal campaign of the Antichrist in the second half of the Tribulation, likewise, how could Psalm 83 occur? I invite you to hear his specific answers when our timely interview airs on Prophecy Update Radio. For now, his comments can be summarized as follows:

First, the purpose of the false covenant is to guarantee Israel’s military security and, therefore, the I.D.F. will not likely be very active during the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation period. Thus when the “Abomination of Desolation”[iv] occurs at the midpoint of the Trib period, the I.D.F. won’t be ready to “tackle it”.

Second, the Jews will be fleeing from the Antichrist rampage during the second three and one-half years of the “Great Tribulation” and thus they won’t likely be stopping in mid-flight to conquer the Psalm 83 confederates.

Therefore, I pointedly asked him, then how can Psalm 83 find final fulfillment during the seven year Tribulation period? He said, “That’s why I believe the majority of Psalm 83 occurs Pre-Trib; before the actual tribulation”.

Wow! So what do you make of that? It sounds like he may be leaning toward a complete fulfillment, or at least a majority fulfillment, of Psalm 83 as a Pre-Trib event. Draw your own conclusions after you hear our exciting Prophecy Update Radio interview in January 15, 2010.

LISTEN NOW TO PART ONE of the Fruchtenbaum / Salus interview.

LISTEN NOW TO PART TWO (this is one of Bill Salus's favorite radio interviews)

Please be patient interview download may take a few minutes.
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[i] Footsteps of Messiah Chapter 20, section C, pages 498-499
[ii] Fruchtenbaum invited me to be part of a panel for his filming of his DVD, “Why is God still saving Gentiles” available at http://www.ariel.org/. It was after this filming over refreshments that he suggested that I write Isralestine.
[iii] Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28:18,18
[iv] Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and Mark 13:14

Is the Middle East about to go apocalyptic?

By Bill Salus

While world leaders met in Copenhagen for the United Nations 2009 Climate Change Conference, Damascus, Syria hosted a war tribunal with high level delegations from Iran and the Hezbollah. Concurrently, about five-hundred prophetically minded Christian’s fellowshipped at the annual 2009 Pre-Trib Rapture conference in Dallas, hosted by Dr. Tim Lahaye and Dr. Thomas Ice.

Among the eschatologists in attendance were, Dr. David Reagan, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Jimmy DeYoung, Jimmy DeYoung Jr., Dr. Chuck Missler, Bill Koenig, Pastor Chuck Smith, Dr. Ed Hindson, Dr. Randall Price, Mike Gendron, Dr. Thomas Horn, Al Gist, Don McGee, Terry James, Todd Strandberg, Gary Fisher, Phillip Goodman,Wilfred Hahn, Jerry Robinson, Nathan Jones, Don Perkins, Daymond Duck, Gordon Peterson, Don Mercer, Ray Gano, Mike Hile, yours truly and many more.

The revived Roman Empire, trend toward Globalism, coming Mideast War, absence of America in Bible prophecy, and soon return of Jesus Christ weighed heavy on our hearts and minds at the conference. Although not all Christians worldwide agree as to when or whether Jesus Christ comes to take millions of believers out of this world, many of them are troubled by the rapidly developing dangerous events in the Middle East.

On December 2, 2009 Iranian president Ahmadinejad declared “The Zionist regime (Israel) and its (western) backers cannot do a damn thing to stop Iran's nuclear work". Just a few days later according to Debkafile, Iran successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions. This is an alarming development because detonation is one of the most difficult challenges in the development of a nuclear weapon.

In addition to the above Debkafile issued an article on December 10, 2009 Damascus conference entitled “If attacked, Iran wants Syria to hit back at Israel. Damascus hedges.” The article suggested that the largest Iranian delegation ever witnessed in Syrian history recently arrived in Damascus to form a strategic partnership between Iran and Syria against Israel. According to the article, Iran expects an Israeli attack within one month and wants Syria to commit to joint military action against Israel. It appears they plan to pressure Syria into a YES WE WILL ENLIST answer! (Article postsript: Iran and Syria confirmed a military pact on 12/11/09. Click here to read article / video below.)



Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi headed the Iranian delegation in Damascus and he stated, "The countdown for war is coming close to its end." "We must get our strategic partnership in shape ahead of time." He went on to pinpoint “chemical, microbiological and banned nuclear weapons" as strategic retaliatory Israeli targets. Syrian and Iranian military officials purportedly proposed that Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations start heating up Israel's borders in the coming days to draw the attention from the world's focus on the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programs. (article postsript: Hamas vows to unite with Iran if Israel attacks. Click here to read article.)

Additionally, Hassan Nasrallah the Secretary General of Hezbollah, brought a delegation from Lebanon to participate in this important Damascus meeting. Hassan Nasrallah had previously advocated this type of antagonistic behavior toward Israel on September 18, 2009, when he declared Hezbollah can presently wipe out one-half of Israel’s army and that Israel should be wiped off of the map.

It appears as though things are about to go ballistic in the Middle East. Should a war break out between Israel and the parties listed above, it could segue into a sequence of events foretold in the Bible. Three Mideast centered prophecies are strongly bleeping on the prophetic radar presently. They are Isaiah 17:1, Psalm 83, and Ezekiel 38 & 39. These three major prophecies have a myriad of subset prophecies, like Ezekiel 25:14, 37:10, Obadiah 1:18, Jeremiah 49:1-27 and many more that seem interconnected. These three prophecies were alluded to frequently among the attendees at the Pre-Trib conference.

While attending on December 8, 2009 I visited with Bill Koenig, a respected eschatologist and white house correspondent. He said that Syria supposedly has the most advanced scuds in the world. Additionally, we discussed the possibility that Saddam Hussein may have smuggled many of his chemical warheads into Syria before the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq. I commented to Bill Koenig that; “Should any chemicals penetrate into Israeli soil, I suspect Israel might attack Damascus and ultimately bring about the fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1”. (Isaiah 17:1 alludes to the final destruction of Damascus)

Also we discussed the upcoming massive civilian defense drill potentially scheduled for the middle of January 2010 in Israel. Several people at the conference had heard about this drill, which is being performed in preparation for a potential multi-front war with Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas, and perhaps Iran. This exercise is intended to prepare Israelis for an attack of a chemical and biological nature. Also Koenig concurred that gas masks are going to be re-distributed on a wide scale in Israel in January 2010, seemingly for such a scenario.

Regarding chemical warfare, the Kuwaiti Daily reported in the summer of 2008 that chemical components enabling the production of mustard gas made their way through Iran and Syria into Hezbollah's hands. There is legitimate concern that deadly chemicals may already be mounted within many of Hezbollah’s rocket warheads. Koenig believes that there are presently 50,000 rockets in Hezbollah's arsenal. In the 34 day conflict between Hezbollah and Israel during the summer of 2006, Hezbollah launched approximately 4000 rockets into many parts of Northern Israel. This proved to be an embarrassing wakeup call to Israeli Defense Forces and their leadership.

Recently in a televised speech on Al Quds day this past September Hezbollah Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, discouraged all Arab allegiance with Israel and encouraged a multi-front war instead. He said "the next Mideast war will change the maps", inferring that in the aftermath new maps would be drawn without the nation of Israel upon them. Undoubtedly, Hezbollah defiance is due to their success in 2006 and their abundant arsenal amassed presently in 2009.

In my estimation this coming war will be unlike any other Mideast war throughout the entirety of history. I had dinner with Jimmy DeYoung, the widely respected end time’s expert, on December 7, 2009 and he, like most everyone else I spoke with at the conference about the subject, believes that Israel will pre-empt a strike against Iran's nuclear sites in the near future. "They have to", he said. The possible, albeit speculative, scenario I am suggesting to prepare for is as follows:

1. Israeli Pre-empted strike against Iran's nuclear sites.
2. Iran and / or proxies (Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas) retaliate.
3. Israel uses Scalar Technology against Damascus
4. Damascus ceases to be a city (Isaiah 17:1 fulfilled)
5. Arab League calls an emergency meeting intended to draw a line in the sand between Israel and the Arabs
6. Jordan and Egypt are pressured to break fragile peace treaties with Israel and confederate with other Arabs. (Jordan and Egypt are enlisted members of Psalm 83)
7. Saudi Arabia, also enlisted in Psalm 83, joins in for survival and economic, religious, and geo-political purposes
8. Psalm 83 commences...
On a side note; Arab Nationalism is at an all time high especially in light of the Iranian nuclear threat. Additionally the Palestinian Refugee Plight is climaxing presently and, if the scenario I'm suggesting occurs, it could come full front and center in the midst of this major conflict.
I believe these refugees are the "tents of Edom" in Psalm 83:6.
9. Israel recognizes Arab military intentions and launches further preemptive strikes on its Arab neighbors and strikes religious sites in Saudi Arabia and overtakes the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. (Jimmy DeYoung informed me that the priestly garb is presently being prepared for about 28,000 Levites. DeYoung declared, They are saying in Israel today; "When the dome comes down, the priestly garments come out"! )
10. The Psalm 83 war ends, separation wall comes down, and construction of third Jewish temple begins.
11. The I.D.F. become and exceedingly great army in fulfillment of Ezekiel 37:10.

It may not happen exactly in this way; however, the above scenario is not that far fetched and I encourage people to prepare for the above or some varying scenario possibilities. The prophecies that are about to be fulfilled leading up to Ezekiel 38 are world changing and then the world will probably witness the Gog of Magog invasion. The sign posts are all up and pointing toward the nearby coming of the seven-year tribulation period ending with the campaign of Armageddon, shortly after the above type scenario occurs.

Therefore, Christians worldwide should look up for our redemption draws extremely near.

Does Psalm 83 set the stage for Ezekiel 38?

By Bill Salus

Current Mideast rumblings have many eschatologists revisiting a prophetic psalm vastly overlooked. This is Psalm 83, which discusses the formation of a ten member, predominately Arab, confederacy destined to someday seek the utter destruction of the nation Israel. Psalm 83 has recently popped up on the prophetic radar screen because many of Israel’s most observable enemies today, like the Palestinians, Hezbollah, and Hamas, appear to be enlisted among the ten member coalition. Thus an increasing number of end time’s experts are attempting to gain greater understanding of the psalm and its timeline placement.

The psalm was authored by Asaph approximately 3000 years ago at a time in Israel’s history when King David reigned, the Israelites were preparing to build their first temple, and the nation as a whole was divinely blessed and empowered. Furthermore, we are told in 2 Chronicles 29:30 that Asaph was a seer, chozeh in the Hebrew, meaning he was gifted with prophetic inclinations.

Oddly, at a savory point in Israel’s history, Asaph received his genocidal vision of Israel’s possible destruction. This daunting prophecy must have disturbed the Israelites at the time since most of the confederates were comprised of surrounding populations that had demonstrated a sincere hatred toward them at various points throughout their history. Additionally, Assyria, one of the ten confederate members, was becoming a conquering empire to the Northeast of Israel at the time. These populations are listed in Psalm 83:6-8 and are connected with their modern day equivalents later in this article.

The seer inscribed his vision in the customary imprecatory prayer format intending to invoke the curse for curse in kind clause spelled out in Genesis 12:3 upon this coming confederacy. The essence of Asaph’s petition reminds God that any genocidal attack upon His people ultimately serves as an assault against His covenant making character as per the Abrahamic Covenant. Within this unconditional covenant was the promise that Abraham would father a great nation and have descendants with a homeland forever as per Genesis 13:15-17, 15:17-18 and elsewhere.

Psalm 83:4 tells us that the Arabs want to destroy the Chosen People, and Psalm 83:12 informs us they want to possess the Promised Land. Thus, Asaph petitions God for the destruction of this forthcoming enemy league by empowering the Israelites militarily through similar historical examples given in Psalm 83:9-11. The point surmised is that these enemies want to destroy Israel militarily, so therefore they should be cursed militarily in like fashion. The significance of these specific historical examples will be sited subsequently in this article.

In addition to and concurrent with the increased prophetic chatter about Psalm 83, many eschatologists feverishly flip through the final pages of the end time’s calendar to arrive at the Ezekiel 38 & 39 prophecy. This prophecy also predicts the formation of a powerful confederacy destined to someday invade Israel apparently led by Russia. Ever strengthening relationships between Russia and the Ezekiel 38 listed nations of Iran, Turkey, and Libya appear to be among some of the reasons behind this EZEKIEL 38 NOW fervor!

In spite of the fact that the Israel today does not appear to meet all the prerequisites contained in Ezekiel 38:8-13, many notable scholars are convinced that current geopolitical circumstances in the region favor the nearby fulfillment of this prophecy. In a previously released article, “Psalm 83 or Ezekiel 38, which is the Next Mideast News Headline”, I list the litany of possible reasons why modern day Israel may not presently meet the prophetic Ezekiel 38 prescription. This information is also encapsulated in my DVD called “Greater Israel”.

In addition to modern day Israel’s probable prophetic unpreparedness for the Ezekiel invasion to occur presently, there is another large dilemma that the EZEKIEL 38 NOW advocates are grappling with. Namely, the “inner ring” of Arab nations sharing common borders with Israel, who have been Israel’s most observable enemies since 1948, are not listed among the Ezekiel invaders.

In my opinion, the difference in the lists, which are shown further on in this article, is because the inner ring of Arab states have been defeated by the Israeli Defense Forces prior to the Ezekiel invasion and therefore the names do not appear on Ezekiel’s list. In other words, they are eliminated, never again to muster a military force. Others have suggested that the difference may be accounted for in an Arab refusal to participate in the invasion due to historical animosities with the Persians (Iranians) who are allied with with the Russians in the Ezekiel invasion. But, it seems to me that the Arab states are highly unlikely to sit out a major offensive against Israel when they would have so much to gain as a result.”

Others have dealt with the issue by crossing the territorial divides and imaginatively inserting ancient Arab populations like Tyre, Aram, Asshur, and Philistia into the Ezekiel 38:2-6 equation. This tendency, not scripturally supported, seems to be fueled by Iranian relationships with Hezbollah (Tyre), Syria (Aram / Asshur), and Hamas (Philistia), which are also at an unprecedented high. As stated earlier, Iran is a key player among the Ezekiel invaders.

When Ezekiel wrote he did not have names like Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, Hezbollah, and Hamas, in his vernacular. Thus he referenced Rosh, Magog, Persia, Meschech, Put, etc. to describe modern day Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, and nine populations in total. However nowhere included in Ezekiel’s list of populations are Tyre, (Lebanon), Asshur (Assyria), Philistia (Gaza), etc. Those populations appear to be reserved for the Psalm 83 Arab – Israeli war.

This is not to say Ezekiel couldn’t have listed the Psalm 83 conspirators alongside the Russian led consortium, since he references most all of the Psalm 83 populations elsewhere throughout his prophetic book. This suggests two things: one, that Ezekiel had their ancient names within his vocabulary, and two, that they aren’t part of the Ezekiel 38 & 39 invasion.

Below are two tables and two maps that generally identify and locate the participants of the Psalm 83 “inner ring” of Arab confederates, and the Ezekiel 38 “outer circle” Russian coalition. The pentagon borders distinguish the Ps. 83 inner ring from the Ez. 38 outer circle. These illustrations depict two distinctly different confederate groupings. These exhibits are intended to loosely rather than precisely identify the pertinent populations and / or locations. Some scholars present differing views as to who the participants are in each prophetic event.

Since the summer 2008 release of my book Isralestine, the Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, in which Psalm 83 is the central theme, several theories as to the nature and timing of the Psalm have surfaced. Some of these theories previously existed; however, a few seem to be relatively new. The main theories espoused that I have uncovered thus far as to the Psalm and / or its timing are:

1. It found historical fulfillment in 2nd Chronicles 20
2. It found historical fulfillment in the war of 1948
3. It found historical fulfillment in the war of 1967
4. It is about to find final fulfillment prior to Ezekiel 38 (Isralestine hypothesis)
5. It will find fulfillment within Ezekiel 38
6. It will find fulfillment after Ezekiel 38 but prior to the Armageddon Campaign
7. It will find fulfillment within the Armageddon campaign.
8. It is an imprecatory Psalm and not a specific prophecy per se

In addition to comparisons already given, the rest of this article will be devoted to addressing the seemingly clear distinctions between the Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39 Israeli war prophecies and why they probably won’t occur concurrently as per theory number #5 above. On a side note, although Ezekiel 38 & 39 is comprised of fifty-two passages and Psalm 83 a mere eighteen, it is my contention that when all Psalm 83 inter-related prophetic passages are discerned, much more detail is given in the Bible about the Psalm than the Ezekiel invasion. Thus the Psalm, generally overlooked by scholars until recently, is now beginning to receive the serious study it deserves.

Ezekiel 38 & 39 generally details the whole Israeli war episode from start to finish, whereas Psalm 83 gives far less detail. Thus it becomes incumbent upon the eschatologist to diligently search the entirety of scripture to find out how the LORD intends to deliver Israel through the climactic concluding Arab Israeli war prophecy. (Associated table identifies some of the details missing in Psalm 83 compared to Ezekiel 38 & 39.)

We can conclude that it very well could be the final effort of the Psalm 83:6-8 confederates to destroy Israel by reviewing the end results of the historical examples Asaph references in Psalm 83:9-11. A careful review of the historical Israeli war events Asaph alludes to takes the reader primarily to the accounts recorded in Judges Chapter’s 4 through 8. Upon reviewing these chapters and appropriately aligning the events described therein with recorded history, one concludes that once those former enemies of Israel were defeated, they ceased to ever oppress the Israelites further. Similarly the inference can be made by Asaph’s specific petitioning that once the Israelites, or should the event occur soon, the Israeli Defense Forces, defeat the Psalm 83 confederates, they likewise will cease to ever collectively oppress Israel further.

For article brevity sake below please find an abbreviated list of further distinctions between Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 & 39…

The two prophecies have distinctly differing mandates, motives, and destructions. The Ezekiel confederates want to destroy Israel in order to take spoil and things of great value (Ez. 38:13). The Psalm 83 Arabs seek sole possession of the Promised Land (Ps. 83:12).The Ezekiel invaders are divinely defeated (Ez. 38:18-39:6), whereas Israeli Defense Forces (I.D.F.) destroy the Arab conspirators (Ps. 83:9-11, Ez. 37:10, 25:14, Obadiah 1:18 and elsewhere). In fact, this appears to be the only significant prophetic role the I.D.F. of today has. They are not instrumental in the Ezekiel 38 & 39 episode or the concluding Armageddon Campaign of the Antichrist at the end of the Tribulation Period.

Psalm 83 has ten populations (Ps. 83:6-8) and Ezekiel has only nine distinctly different populations (Ez. 38:2-6). Those who suggest Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 are the same prophetic event bear the burden of proof of locating the Psalm 83 confederates inside the Ezekiel invasion. They must locate the inner ring within the outer circle, and avoid the tendency to sensationalize present Russian, Iranian, Turkish, and Libyan relationships.

In the aftermath of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38, humanity is delivered two distinctly differing lessons. Psalm 83 teaches humanity that God’s Genesis 12:3 foreign policy is still effectually intact, and Ezekiel 38 displays God’s glory and informs humanity that God is real, sovereign and extremely powerful (Ez. 39:7).

Regarding the Psalm 83 lesson, the lead member of Psalm 83 is the tents of Edom, who are probably representative of the Palestinian refugees today according to my studies published in Isralestine’s Whodomite chapter. The Edomites are the descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:1), who was Jacob’s twin brother. Jacob was renamed Israel in Genesis 32:28. The lesson for humanity in the aftermath of Psalm 83 is that if God did not spare the descendants of Jacob’s own twin brother Esau for cursing the Jews, then how can anyone be spared of a similar fate for attempting the same. Thus the Abrahamic Covenant is demonstrated through the I.D.F. destruction of the Psalm 83 confederates to still be effectually intact.

There are distinctions between the battlefronts as well. The Ezekiel invaders originate from the uttermost parts of the north (Ez. 38:6) whereas the Arab’s encircle Israel from all sides. The Psalm 83 battlefront appears to be the floodplains of the Jordan as per the possible connecting prophecy found in Jeremiah 49:19.

A relatively new theory, also connecting Ezekiel 38 with Psalm 83, suggests that the Arab League is the Psalm 83 confederates. However, there are twenty-two nations in the Arab League verses only ten populations in Psalm 83. Additionally, less than a handful of the twenty-two Arab League conglomerates appear to be located with the Ezekiel coalition. Conversely, most all of the Psalm 83 populations appear to be members of the Arab League. However, not all of the Arab League nations appear to be enlisted in Psalm 83. Thus, in part, I concur that the Arab League may play a role in spearheading this confederacy. However, it is difficult to know the size and scope of that role.

Lastly, Dedan appears to abstain from enjoining the Ezekiel invaders (Ez. 38:13). Dedan was located in the Northern part of Saudi Arabia. Yet, in Psalm 83, Saudi Arabia appears to be involved under the banner of the Ishmaelites (Ps. 83:6). This somewhat confuses the argument that Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83 are one and the same prophetic event. Otherwise, why would Saudi Arabia participate in Psalm 83, but opt out of Ezekiel 38? Additionally, Dedan is located within the Ezekiel 25:13-15 sequence, which appears to be part of God’s response to Psalm 83.

In conclusion, Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 are two distinctly differing Israeli war prophecies. Psalm 83 is more than a mere imprecatory prayer, but is an actual confederate effort, with listed participants, a specific mandate, and a genuine motive. Both events are yet to find final fulfillment, but appear likely to be about to occur soon, sequentially, and in rapid succession. In the aftermath of Psalm 83, Israel probably develops without much restriction, into the sovereign Jewish State that the Ezekiel invaders seek to invade.