The very tense and dangerous Middle Eastern situation has for some time threatened the peace of the world. The status-quo of the Arab states and Israel has been strained almost to the breaking point through the implacable hostility of the Arabs to the Jews' possession of much of their originally-God-given country. Border clashes between the Israelis and their neighbors are frequent and bloody.
The Western world is keenly aware of the seriousness of the situation, for it could inflame the whole Moslem world against the West; valuable and immense oil reserves are also at stake. They have therefore sought to curtail the outbreaks by seeing that neither side was equipped for a real war by limiting the armaments supplied to both Israel and the Arabs. Now, a new element of trouble has been injected into the already pre carious balance—Russia (who only a few months ago was loudly professing a desire for world peace) has entered the trouble and is hastening the day of open hostilities by supplying arms to Egypt. She also is offering them to other Arab nations.
Russia has a large stock of obsolescent and obsolete tanks, planes, and munitions because of her ever-increasing supply of armaments of more modern type. These she can use to foment trouble by supplying them to any probable trouble spot, and they now pose a most serious threat to the Jews in Palestine, and not too indirectly for the Western nations.
More and more the eyes of the world are going to be focused on that strip of land on the Eastern Mediterranean which God has called "the glory of all lands" (Eze. 20:6), and on which His eyes rest continually (Deut. 11:12). In the end, it is to be the focal point of world tension and conflict, and thither God intends to bring all nations. He has said, "I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land." Joel 3:2. And, "I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle." Zech. 14:2. The potsherds may strive with the potsherds of the earth (Isa. 45:9), but God is going to appear for His earthly people's deliverance and blessing after first purging them in the fires of the great tribulation and the all-searching judgment of the Son of man at His appearing.
Israel's present situation between hostile enemies on her north and east, and on her south, is nothing new for that unhappy people and land. Nor need we go to secular history for the accounts of her many adversities at the hands of enemies so located. Dan. 11, verses 5 to 35, describes in some detail the wars and intrigues of enemies to her north and to her south. Israel's land lay between the warring factions and was often the battlefield. Jerusalem and her environs always fell to whichever army was victorious. When these verses were written, their fulfillment was yet future, but all in them has been fulfilled to the letter. The minute details of a number of kings on both sides, some of their wives, relatives, and even their assassins, are so remarkable that the infidel has tried to dodge this voice to his conscience by saying that Daniel must have lived at some later date and written history, not prophecy. But the Lord called Daniel "the prophet," and the inclusion of the prophecy of Daniel in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible settles the matter, for this translation was completed before many of these events were fulfilled.
During the days when Israel was especially ill-treated by a "king of the north," an enemy of this king suddenly appeared on the scene. The northern king was Antiochus Epiphanes of history. After successful forays to the south, he was intercepted in Egypt by a strong fleet from the rising power of the Roman Republic. The Roman consul ordered him to leave his prey in Egypt and return. Faced, as he was, with superior forces, he departed toward his own land. In verses 29 and 30 of this interesting chapter (Dan. 11), God foretold the intervention of a Western power against this antagonist of Israel:
"At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return." "Chittim," or Kittim, is an ancient name for Cyprus which lay to the west, and it was from that direction that the forces which opposed "the king of the north" came.
Today we find Israel again in their land, and, as of old, Egypt to the south is an enemy, and the Moslem neighbors both east and north are hostile. Further, Israel is looking for and seeking protection from the West. Her leaders say that only a firm commitment from the Western powers guaranteeing that her borders will not be violated will secure her against the growing power and enmity of her neighbors. That this present situation should exist in latter times has been foretold in Scripture. In Numb. 24:24 we read:
"And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also [the owner of the ships] shall perish forever."
There is yet to be a re-enactment of a Western power being a scourge to a Middle Eastern power. Asshur was the son of Shem, and Shem was called, "the father of all the children of Eber." Thus they were Shemites, and their descendents today are Mohammedans. It is likely that these very elements will come against the Jews in their land, and that Balaam's prophecy will be fulfilled by the Western powers dispatching forces to suppress the Mohammedan aggression and deliver Israel. If this is to be a future development, it may well be at the very door.
Balaam's prophecy goes on to predict the final overthrow of the Western powers—the owners of the ships—which come against the Middle East, so that it has all the character of a prophecy of the end of this period—the destruction of the armies of the revived Roman Empire by the Lord Himself when He comes back as the warrior king (Rev. 19:11-16).
There is, however, another prophecy of Scripture which may be directly connected with the afflicting of Asshur and Eber by the Western powers. In the last verse of Dan. 9, we are told that the Western beast is to make a covenant to protect the Jews in their land for a period of seven years.
While we cannot definitely know what things may come in before the last prophetic events are fulfilled, yet it begins to look seriously as though these events are in the making. If the Arabs, or Moslem world, should war against Israel in their land, then the future head of the Roman Empire may emerge and strike suddenly and strongly against Israel's aggressors and make the prophetic league for the seven years—seven years that are to have their fulfillment after the Christians are taken to be with Christ at His coming. Well may we lift up our eyes. His coming may be much nearer than we anticipate; yes, even at the very door.
After the Middle East is forced to permit Israel to dwell safely by reason of Israel's pact with the revived Roman Empire for those tragic seven years of trouble—the latter half of them being called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7), or the "great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21)—there will be other attacks against the Jews in their land. These will come from the confederated Moslems north and east of Palestine, and from Egypt to the south. Dan. 11:36 to the end of the chapter deals with events that are still future. They will take place during this previously-mentioned seven-year period.
"The king" of Dan. 11:36 is the antichrist of Jerusalem. He is the Jew who will come in his own name (John 5:43) and be their leader. He will work hand in hand with the head of the revived Roman Empire—"the god of forces," "a strange god." But as the Roman Empire reels under the successive strokes of judgment from God (foretold in Revelation) during the last part of the seven years, Egypt ("the king of the south") will be emboldened to strike against the antichrist and the Jews (v. 40). Then the Jews' last terrible scourge will fall on them. "The king of the north shall come against him [the antichrist] like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over." v. 40.
This same flood of destruction which will come from the north against the Jews under the antichrist in Jerusalem is also described by another prophet: "Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement [their contract with the Roman Empire for protection against the Moslem hordes]; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." Isa. 28:14, 15. The Jews will then believe themselves to be fully safe by reason of their contract with the wicked and diabolic head of the revived Roman Empire. They will take refuge under him—the personification of wickedness—with no thought of trust in God.
But God has foretold what the end of this leaning on a wicked support will be: "Therefore thus saith the Loan GOD,... Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand." vv. 16-18. Men's agreements come to nothing when they run counter to the will of God. All the power of the beast—such power that the world will say, "Who is able to make war with him?"—will be impotent to save an apostate Israel under the antichrist from the devastating judgment of the Moslem hordes from the north.
God has thus described their incursion: "When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning it shall pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report." vv. 18, 19.
The Jews have gone and are going back to their land in unbelief. They have not gone there as to "the holy land," but as to their national home. They have gone back to accept the antichrist, and be in league with Satan—with death and hell-and the apostate head of Christendom—the beast of the Western world. It is strange that some Christians should lend themselves to the work of sending Jews back there, for they are going back for the worse and not the better. They are going back to the scourge of the Moslem world, then the protection of the Western beast, and finally to the last, great, overflowing of the Moslems just before the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ to tread "the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Rev. 19:15).
The beast and his armies (Rev. 19:19-21), the fierce king of the north and his armies (Isa. 30:30-33; Dan. 8:23-25) will meet their doom in Israel's land when the Lord appears for their deliverance. But two-thirds of all the Jews in Palestine are going to be cut off and die during the dreadful time of "Jacob's trouble" (Zech. 13:8, 9). Then after their Messiah reigns and Israel is dwelling safely in the land, Russia and her satellites will come down into Palestine and meet their complete overthrow. (See Eze. 38 and 39.)
There will be a small remnant of the Jews with faith in their coming Messiah who will not accept the antichrist. These will suffer from foes within and without, but at the appointed signal they will flee Jerusalem for a secret hideaway according to the Lord's own words in Matt. 24:15-22.
Christians, the coming of the Lord for His own is IMMINENT.