The Middle East: Ground Zero of Bible Prophecy

Only a century ago the Middle East was a relatively peaceful and tranquil area. Today it's the most volatile region of the world, with the possibility of war breaking out at any minute. You need to understand why this change happened, where Bible prophecy indicates things are headed and what it means for you!

It's hard to believe, but a century ago the Middle East was, as historian and Middle East specialist David Fromkin described it in his best seller A Peace to End All Peace, "a relatively tranquil domain in which history, like everything else, moved slowly" (1989,p. 25).

At that time, few in the West "knew or cared what went on in the languid empires of the Ottoman Sultan or the Persian Shah...The passions that now drive troops and terrorists to kill and be killed—and that compel global attention—had not yet been aroused" (ibid.).

A look at the map helps you understand why. "The political landscape of the Middle East looked different from that of today. Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia did not exist then" (ibid.). All these lands were ruled as a part of the Ottoman (or Turkish) Empire. Jerusalem itself had been a part of the empire since 1517.

But everything was about to change.

Turning point for the Middle East

The turning point was World War I. The events that followed the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand spiraled into the greatest conflict mankind had ever known. The British, French and Russians were allied against the Central European powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Ottoman Empire soon allied itself with the latter—and suffered their fate. All three empires collapsed in the aftermath of war.

For centuries the Ottomans had dominated the entire Middle East and North Africa. The empire had been in decline throughout the 19th century and had already seen vast areas of its territory become independent. But a far greater splintering was to come with the Paris peace conference of 1919-20.

It was this peace conference that created the modern Middle East—and led to virtually all the conflicts in the region over the last nine decades. Ultimately, it will lead to the final conflagration that precedes the return of the Messiah.

After World War I, often referred to as "the war to end all wars," the Paris peace conference was aptly referred to by Field Marshal Archibald Wavell, a British officer who served in Palestine, as "a peace to end peace." That's exactly what it achieved—transforming a languid and relatively tranquil domain into the most dangerous neighborhood in the world. The Middle East remains, by far, the greatest threat to world peace.

What is remarkable is that the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and its dismemberment was destined more than 24 centuries before it took place. It had to happen for specific Bible prophecies to be fulfilled, for Scripture shows that prior to Christ's second coming, an independent Jewish nation would exist once again in the Holy Land—one that would be a source of great consternation and contention to other nations.

No Jewish nation for 2,000 years

More than 2,500 years ago the Jewish prophet Daniel lived in Babylon, a powerful empire that had conquered the Jewish nation early in the sixth century B.C. The captivity of the Jews was to last 70 years. Daniel lived through the entire period of Babylonian rule and survived to see Babylon itself conquered by the empire of Persia in 539 B.C.

God revealed a great deal to Daniel. These revelations contained the prophetic plan for the gentile (non-Israelite) nations that would dominate the Middle East and also His prophetic plan for the Jewish people. The book of Daniel was even written in two languages—Aramaic, the language of Babylon's rulers (for the prophecies relating to the gentiles), and Hebrew, the language of the Jews.

The prophecies revealed that after the Babylonian Empire would come the Persian Empire, to be followed in turn by the Greco-Macedonian Empire more than two centuries later, which would in turn eventually be succeeded by the Roman Empire.

In Daniel 11 we find an amazingly accurate and detailed prophecy of the fate that was to befall the Jewish people in the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great. His vast empire, acquired during a short life span, was divided up between four of his generals. Bible prophecy focuses on two of them and their successors.

Ptolemy took control of what is now Egypt, while Seleucus took possession of everything north and east of what is today Israel. These two monarchs and their descendants are referred to throughout the chapter as the "king of the South" and the "king of the North" respectively. A great deal of attention is given to them as their continuing conflict constantly affected the Jewish people who were literally caught in the middle.

The prophecy's details have a clear, step-by-step correspondence in history until verse 32, which was fulfilled in the middle of the second century B.C. In verse 40 we see references once again to the king of the South and the king of the North "at the time of the end."

Why such a long gap of some 2,000 years? It's easier to follow when we understand Jewish history. The second part of verse 32 through verse 39 contains a prophecy about the exploits of the early Church set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire. But then there's nothing until "the time of the end."

That's because there was no Jewish nation from A.D. 135 until 1948! This prophecy is about the Jews and how they were to be affected by their two powerful neighbors, the kings of the South and the North, geographic locations in relation to Jerusalem, the Jewish capital.

But in the end time, once again the Jewish people are to be affected by these two powers, one to the south of Jerusalem and one to the north. However, these are not the descendants of Ptolemy and Seleucus. Much changed in that 2,000-year gap. The Ptolemaic dynasty died out with the last Ptolemy, Cleopatra VII, who was replaced by a long period of Roman rule. The Seleucid kingdom had been swallowed up by Rome even earlier.

Prophecies of Jews and Jerusalem at the end time

Other prophecies also clearly show that a revived Jewish nation would exist at the time of the end.

The Old Testament prophet Zechariah prophesied of the time when Jesus Christ returns to earth, an event still clearly in the future. Notice his words:

"Behold, the day of the Lord is coming ... For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem ... Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east" (Zechariah 14:1-4). Again, this is a prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled.

In chapter 12 Zechariah makes more specific references to Judah and Jerusalem: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem" (verse 2, emphasis added throughout).

Note the reference here to both Judah and Jerusalem. In Bible history and prophecy, Judah is usually the name applied to the people commonly known as the Jews. They get their name from—and are descended from—Judah, one of the 12 sons of the biblical patriarch Jacob.

The Jewish nation today calls itself Israel, but it does not comprise all the nations of Israel.

The Bible records that after the death of King Solomon, 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel rebelled against Solomon's successor and formed a separate nation, the kingdom of Israel. Two tribes, Judah and the much smaller tribe of Benjamin, remained loyal to the heirs of King David and formed the kingdom of Judah. Their descendants include the peoples who populate Israel today.

Interestingly, the first reference to "Jews" in the Bible (2 Kings 16:5-6, King James Version) describes Israel and the Jews being at war with each other!

Both kingdoms eventually fell, and their people were taken away into captivity. Israel was invaded and destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in the eighth century B.C. Its people were exiled and eventually lost to history, becoming known as "the lost 10 tribes" of Israel. (To learn more, read our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.)

The kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians in the sixth century B.C., and although some of the Jewish people returned over the next century and a half to reestablish themselves in the Holy Land, most were scattered throughout the Middle East and, ultimately, much of the Western world. Of course, this return to the Holy Land had to take place for the prophecies specifying the time and location of the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to be fulfilled.

Jesus also pointed to Jerusalem as the very center of Bible prophecy at the time of the end. "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near," He said in Luke 21:20, part of His longest recorded prophecy.

For a long time this seemed unlikely to many because Jerusalem was mostly at peace for its four centuries under the Ottoman Empire prior to World War I. It lies within an area dismissed only a century ago as "a relatively tranquil domain." Yet it is now the most volatile region of the world, with Jerusalem itself a city of global contention just as Zechariah said it would be:

"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3).

Clearly, this will be a time of divine intervention in human affairs: "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (verse 9).

New Testament prophetic focus is the Middle East

Other New Testament passages also show Jerusalem and the Middle East at the center of Bible prophecy. We have already seen the reference to Jerusalem in Luke 21:20.

Many people have heard of Armageddon, which has entered our language as shorthand for the final colossal battle at Christ's return. Revelation 16:16 says, "And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." This name is the Greek form of the Hebrew words har Megiddo, meaning "hill of Megiddo." Megiddo was a strategically crucial fortress city in northern Israel in ancient times.

But a closer reading of this passage shows that Megiddo is only the gathering place for great armies. Megiddo lies at the western end of a large plain, known as the Valley of Esdraelon (or of Jezreel), that stretches 20 miles eastward. It will likely serve as a staging area, with the actual battle, as Zechariah 14 shows, taking place 55 miles to the south outside Jerusalem.

When Jesus told His disciples to watch Jerusalem, He also said that "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). Revelation 11:2 shows that the gentiles "will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months," the last 42 months of human misrule on the earth. Obviously something major must happen to end the current Israeli control over the city and turn it over to non-Jews.

During this period of time, the same chapter foretells that God's two witnesses will prophesy to the world from the city of Jerusalem (verses 3-10). Verse 9 shows that when they are killed, "those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half-days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves." The world will be aware of their message, a final prophetic announcement about the imminent return of the Messiah and the establishment of the Kingdom of God and of the need to repent.

The purpose and point of prophecy

The primary purpose of prophecy is to encourage people to repent—to warn them of the consequences of continuing to disobey and defy their Creator and to urge them to turn to Him.

This was a vital part of Jesus' mission: "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14-15). The gospel is the good news of the coming Kingdom of God and how we may be a part of it.

Each year, most of the world focuses on an event that took place in the Middle East more than 2,000 years ago, celebrating but missing the point—the all-important deeper meaning. The event was the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah promised to mankind. While celebrating His birth (on the wrong day and in the wrong way), they ignore the message He brought and the incredible role He is destined to play.

Isaiah 9:6 opens with two famous prophetic clauses: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . ." What's described here was, of course, fulfilled two millennia ago with the birth of Jesus. But notice the words that follow:

"And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this" (verses 6-7).

You don't have to look any farther than the Middle East to see why the Messiah must return. The most volatile area of the world will not know peace until Jesus Christ reveals Himself and puts an end to false religious teaching.

The plague of false religion

The disciples asked Christ: "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). In answer, the first thing He warned about was false religion. "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (verses 4-5, King James Version).

In Revelation, a book about end-time events, we see in chapter 6 a vision of four horsemen representing major trends that will devastate humanity.

It begins with a rider on a white horse who goes out "conquering and to conquer" (verse 2), which corresponds in sequence to Jesus' warning about religious deception—and the correspondence continues through the other horsemen. False religion leads to war, which in turn leads to famine, followed by pestilence or disease epidemics (verses 1-8; compare Matthew 24:1-8).

False religion will not end until Jesus Christ returns and forcibly sets the record straight about the counterfeit ideologies and faiths that have deceived the human race for centuries. Behind these false religions and philosophies is an evil spirit being who is known as Satan or the devil, of whom the Bible says "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19).

Three major faiths have a common origin in the Middle East, all sharing an interest in the Holy Land, especially Jerusalem, which is at the heart of Bible prophecy. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all claim a common ancestor in Abraham. Yet there are significant differences between all three, which have led to centuries of conflict and unending bloodshed.

The sad reality is that all three world religions are wrong! None follow in the true faith of Abraham. True Christianity, the Christianity that Jesus preached and which the early disciples and apostles believed and followed, does—but it has only a small number of followers today.

Without knowing it, most professing Christians practice a false form of Christianity, a blend of pagan beliefs mingled with some biblical teachings. As Revelation 12:9 says, Satan "deceives the whole world"—not just a corner of it here and there, but all of it.

The apostle Paul adds that "Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." He has his own false apostles and false ministers who in reality are "deceitful workers," likely unaware that they are, in fact, helping spread Satan's lies, fraudulent counterfeits of God's true religion (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

These false religious systems have left a legacy of fear and hatred in the Middle East that will not easily go away.

Ancient family rivalry

Abraham is deeply revered in all three faiths. It was in the time of Abraham that the primary cause of the greatest conflict took place, when Abraham fathered Ishmael by his wife's handmaid, Hagar. Later, his wife conceived and bore Isaac. Ishmael's descendants include a large part of the Arab peoples, while Isaac through his son Jacob is the ancestor of the Israelites. The sibling rivalry of these two boys has continued down through the centuries in their descendants, exacerbated by religious differences.

A prophecy regarding Ishmael foretold: "He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers" (Genesis 16:12, New International Version). This has certainly been fulfilled (and continues to be on a daily basis) in Ishmael's offspring.

A longer form of an old Egyptian Arab proverb states: "I against my brother. My brother and I against our cousin. My brother, my cousin and I against the neighbors. All of us against the stranger." The last clause is sometimes given as "my cousin and I against the world."

Events headed just where God said

It's amazing how much the Middle East has changed in the last century, since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. But the pages of your Bible show that this was all prophesied thousands of years ago. Clearly we can see God's hand in these developments (Daniel 2:21).

Prophecy continually points us to our Creator and reminds us that ultimately everything is in His hands. It makes us realize God's constant presence in the affairs of this world. It also reminds us that events are on track for the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom, which will be ruled from Jerusalem.

Seeing God's hand at work in history and as events play out before our eyes, we should need no further reminder of the need for our own personal relationship with Him through repentance, faith and submission to His divine will as revealed in His Word!