Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!

I am well aware that, by promoting the idea of a non-European Antichrist, I am swimming against the tide. Most scholars focus on the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, or on the Revelation 17 passage, and equate the seven mountains mentioned with the seven Hills of Rome. Since we have examined these two passages in detail in the last two posts, I would invite you to read them before continuing.

The subject of the national origin of the Antichrist is not a small subject, and considering Satan’s attempts to cloud the issue, it is one of great importance.

Well, what of the other Old Testament prophecies concerning the nation of Edom? As I discovered, it is not easy to find all the prophecies concerning these people. While there are a number where this nation is identified as Edom, it also has a number of names associated with it that the casual observer might overlook. To find all the prophecies concerning Esau’s descendants you need to search the bible for words like Paran, Seir, Teman, Bozrah, Esau, and Idumea. You also need to examine the prophecies regarding Edom’s partners, Moab and Ammon, the descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot. As I have gone into greater depth in The Spirit of Prophecy, this will merely be an overview.

To date Germany has killed the most Jews in all of history. Russia, Poland and most of the other nations of Europe have also had their pogroms. It is God who says that Israel is the apple of His eye, and I doubt the Christianity of any nation that persecutes His people;

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. Zechariah 2:8

Make no mistake about it Germany has suffered tremendously for their treatment of Israel, but neither Germany, nor the other European nations have been called “The people of my curse” by God. This is a special title that is reserved for one nation, Edom, the closest relatives the Jews have on this planet!

For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. Isaiah 34:5-6

Notice the previous verse, it will give you the context;

4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Make no mistake about it, this is the fulfilment of Revelation 6:13-14; it is clear that this judgment against Edom occurs during Armageddon, and yes it does mention the other nations of the world, but the people of Edom are the people of God’s curse. It is my contention that the reason for this curse is because these are the people who will produce, support, and nurture the Antichrist.

Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. Malachi 1:4

When you think of the people of Edom do you think of them as the people against whom the Lord has indignation against, for ever? Most people don’t even think about this nation, although some realize that there were some early Christian churches among these people. Look carefully and you will see that the time that Edom is known by this title will be after they have rebuilt their nation. It is a time which is coming, but is not here quite yet.

Go back a verse. God’s hatred against Esau is not against the man, but against the nation he founded. Job, of the book of Job, appears to be a descendant of Esau, and he was a righteous man. Just as some Jews will end up in Hell, some Edomites will end up in Heaven. This statement is not against every individual, but is a general statement.

3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

There is more;

11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: Amos 1:11

The little phrase at the end is prophetically significant “ he kept his wrath for ever”. “For ever” indicates that Edom will not stop fighting his brother as long as he has opportunity. Even during the end times, during the Tribulation period, Edom will still hate and pursue his brother.

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. 4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: Ezekiel 35:5

Note that Mount Seir is one of the prominent mountains of Edom.

Which calamity do you think the prophet is talking about here? I’ll give you a clue: Look at the very last phrase. When did Israel’s iniquity have an end? Have you seen my post about Tel Aviv being named the world’s number one Gay city? Israel’s iniquity has not had an end to date, and won’t until they call on Jesus to save them during the latter half of the Tribulation period! When He saves them as a nation their iniquity will be washed away. This is the time that Ezekiel was referring to. This is why Israel should be very wary when dealing with their neighbor to the east. They may be the closest relatives the Jews have, but they are also their greatest enemies!

Many prophetic passages are written in the past tense, as if the event’s they describe have already occurred. This is because they are written from God’s perspective, who sees all history at once. The events that make God so very angry at Edom are yet future events.

He goes on to say;

13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. 15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Once again we can ask, when will the whole world rejoice? The answer is that the world will not rejoice until Jesus returns, and even then it will not rejoice until He has defeated His enemies, and the millennial reign begins. So we know that the ultimate destruction of Esau’s descendants will not occur until Armageddon.

Esau’s descendants have the same problem with boasting that the Antichrist has.  He learned it from them!

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 remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. Obadiah 1:18

The amazing thing here is that, in the midst of the destruction of this nation, God will actually show mercy to some of these people. In the midst of Jeremiah’s indictment of Edom, for their End Times crimes, God says of Edom;

Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. Jeremiah 49:11

But how will this be done? How is it possible that some of Edom’s women and children will survive, and yet at the same time there will be “none remaining of the house of Esau”? It appears that some women and children of Edom, and of Moab, will be involved with the preservation of Israel even as their very own husbands are in the Antichrist’s armies, hunting the Jews to kill them!

2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. 3 Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. 4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. Isaiah 16:2-5

  As the believing third of Israel flees the Antichrist, they will find refuge among the Antichrist’s own people! In the end, after all is said and done, these women and their children will not want to acknowledge any association with Edom, or Moab, but will be absorbed into Israel.  The person who is sitting on the throne of David is none other than the returned Jesus Christ.  The oppressors and spoilers are the people of the Antichrist.

That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. Amos 9:12

So in the end, Esau will have descendants who actually will partake of the blessing which he so recklessly sold to his brother, but they will not acknowledge any connection to him! They will marry Jews and will want nothing other than to be known as Jewish believers in Jesus Christ!

The only explanation I can see for all the prophecies against Edom, and there are more, is that this nation will produce, nurture, and support the Antichrist to the bitter end. In all of this the goodness of God can be seen in that He will actually save some of those people, but the nation of Edom itself will disappear!