I have lately been wondering if my initial assessment of ISIS in Iraq and Syria is correct.
With their rapid advance, I had come to the conclusion that it might be possible that ISIS could take over the entire Arab Middle East. They then could become the driving force of the Psalm 83 attack on Israel, but something has been bothering me;
Remember when Jesus said; “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4 (He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 by the way).
The problem is that ISIS does not meet all the qualifications of “every word” of Psalm 83.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not what could be described as “crafty”. They are blatant, aggressive, and very open about their plans to take over all of the Middle East, and then destroy Israel. Ultimately they intend to conquer the world. This is not the enemy described in Psalm 83:2-3
“For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.”
Here’s what the online dictionary says about this word;
craft·
ˈkraftē/
adjective
1. clever at achieving one’s aims by indirect or deceitful methods.
“a crafty crook faked an injury to escape from prison”
synonyms: cunning, wily, guileful, artful, devious, sly, tricky, scheming, calculating,designing, sharp, shrewd, astute, canny;
No, there is no way in the world that ISIS fits the definition of being “crafty”! ISIS is very direct and up-front about their goals and methods. They are so up-front that they have become adept at using Twitter and Facebook to advance their agenda, through repeated publishing of their terror videos.
No. The enemies spoken of in Psalm 83 are more likely people who would feign friendship with Israel. People who would share intelligence information, and even trade goods and services with Israel, so that Israel tends to regard them as friends, and lets down their guard!
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, right, greets Jordan’s King Abdullah II on his arrival to attend an Arab summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt, March 28, 2015.
The current governments of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, seem to me to be more likely to be cunning, wily, guileful, artful, devious, sly, tricky, scheming, calculating, designing, sharp, shrewd, astute, and canny!
Don’t forget that Saudi Arabia has offered the use of their airspace to Israel with the intent to allow Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear installations.
Israel has long worked quietly with Arab neighbors to achieve common goals, including security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and Jordan to thwart terrorism, as well as intelligence sharing with Gulf Cooperation Council states regarding the Iranian threat. Yet one can also discern the beginnings of new cooperative approaches to emerging challenges, such as Egyptian-Israeli efforts against jihadist groups in Sinai, Israeli-Jordanian efforts to contain spillover from the war in Syria (reportedly including reconnaissance drone flights along the Syria-Jordan border), and a recent water cooperation agreement between Israel, the PA, and Jordan that will enable them to tackle shared scarcity problems. These developments may be a sign that more extensive Arab-Israeli cooperation on hard (military) and soft (nonmilitary) security challenges is possible. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/quiet-partnerships-for-a-new-era-emerging-opportunities-for-arab-israeli-co
A careful examination of the nations involved in the Psalm 83 war leads one to the conclusion that the areas now under the control of ISIS will also participate in that war, alongside Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the other Arab states of the Arabian peninsula.
For this to happen, either ISIS will take over all of the Middle East, and then pretend to be friendly with Israel, which is hardly likely, or ISIS will fail in their bid, and a more “moderate” Sunni government will take over their territory.
It is this second possibility which fits the biblical story like a hand in a glove.
On a related note, I have observed over the last few years, how the US administration has been working overtime to prevent an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear installations. This has escalated to the point that the US has recently warned Israel that they might shoot down Israeli aircraft if they strike against these installations. It is almost as if the US wants Iran to produce a nuclear bomb.
From my studies of the bible, however, it is clear that Iran will not attack Israel before the Arabs do, and in fact will do so several years later.
So I was trying to figure out what would cause the Iranians to back-off from their threats of annihilation against Israel. Could Israel succeed in an attack against Iran’s nuclear program?
If Israel did succeed in such an attack, it would make it more likely that Iran would join the Arabs in their quest to destroy Israel, and less likely that the Arabs would attack. So, that possibility is unlikely. I think Israel feels their hands are tied with regard to Iran’s nuclear program, and thus they are unlikely to attack alone, but more likely to cooperate with the Arabs in such an endeavour.
Would the US attack the Iranian nuclear installations if the negotiations were to fail? This is highly unlikely. Obama is determined to get a “deal” even if it is a bad deal, so he will continuously push back the deadline as far back as he can. No, Obama is an enabler of Iran’s nukes! He is not at all inclined to stop them!
Now, however, with the Arab nations working to put together a combined Arab military force, it as more likely that it will be the Arab nations under “moderate” leadership, who end up stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions! Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia have powerful air forces, and combined with Israel’s intelligence capabilities could easily mount a devastating attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
With the US taking a more anti-Semitic attitude, it is likely that they will drive the Israelis to cooperate with the Arabs, against Iran. A joint Arab-Israeli attack, or an Arab attack with Israeli intelligence, on Iran’s nuclear facilities could very well succeed, whereas a unilateral attack from either side might not.
Such a success, combined with a successful campaign against ISIS, would encourage the Arabs to consider an attack against Israel. If the Arabs are the ones to stop Iran, and not Israel or the USA, they will reason that Israel could not have done it without them, and that their combined military force is more than Israel could handle.
The truth is that, without the intervention of God, Israel cannot handle their enemies at all, but with God on her side, Israel can’t be defeated!
Dan
For further reading;
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193407#.VRntiZ_0_Zs
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/29/yemen-rebels-air-bases/70625166/
Arab League to create joint military force – Fox News
http://www.timesofisrael.com/after-two-years-us-restores-military-aid-to-egypt/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-yemen-arab-states-say-enough-to-irans-gains/
housetops 