The Longest War in History

by Ray Bentley

• The conflict in which we are engaged today began with two brothers vying for their father’s affection. Are Israel and Palestine like the prodigal and the elder brother?

• Did the Bible foreshadow the war in Iraq?

• The president of Iran is basing much of his actions on the second coming...

There are new tensions on the world today – new and old. The recent election of the radical Hamas movement by the Palestinians raises the threats against Israel to a new, dangerous level – especially with Iran’s newly elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declaring his alliance with Hamas, and reiterating his desire to annihilate Israel. World leaders are scrambling to intervene. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is threatening to withhold the current flow of money going into Palestine “unless Hamas renounces violence and recognizes Israel.”¹

For most of my life, Communism was the huge threat, looming on the horizon, with nuclear missiles aimed and ready to wipe out life as we know it. Communism was the “evil empire” my generation grew up fearing, fighting, and praying against.

But now, Communism has proven to be a social, moral, economic, and spiritual failure. While it still has a hold in China, Cuba and a few places, another conflict increasingly threatens our safety and peace: the radical Muslim jihadists versus the west or anyone else who disagrees with their beliefs. 9-11 woke us up, and Osama bin Laden gave us a name for our enemy. But this conflict goes deeper than today’s politics. It literally started thousands of years ago, and the story of its origins is found in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

Two Brothers
God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a son (Genesis chapters 15-16). But as Abraham and Sarah saw the years spinning past them with no child, she grew impatient and took matters into her own hands. She asked Abraham to sleep with her maidservant, Hagar; a son named Ishmael was produced.

Ishmael, through no fault of his own, was not the promised son and his presence began to distress Sarah and bring unrest into Abraham’s home. Soon God honored His promise, and in their old age, Sarah gave birth to Isaac.

Isaac was the promised one, out of whom God promised to forge a great nation, Israel, populated by God’s chosen people, the Jews. It would be a nation that would survive persecution, captivity, dissemination, destruction – and yet rise from the ashes to be reborn again in modern times. “I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him,” God promised of Isaac. (Genesis 17:19)

But Abraham loved his other son as well, and God responded to him in kind: “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac...” (Genesis 17:19).

So from Isaac came the nation of Israel and the Jewish faith, which laid the foundation for the Christian faith and the Judeo-Christian worldview, around which most of western civilization has been built. And Ishmael became the father of the Arab nations, out of which sprang the Muslim faith, which has spread all over the world. Some sources estimate the Muslim population today at 1.7 billion.²

Do you see how the stage was set centuries ago for the conflict we face today? And now the piece of land in question, the small country around which so much controversy swirls, is called Palestine by the descendents of Ishmael, and Israel by the descendents of Isaac. Historically, the descendents of Ishmael have felt cheated, creating an ongoing enmity that has smoldered for generations, bursting into flames at various times in history. And the whole world is watching to see what will happen to the little nation surrounded on all sides by enemies— which reminds us of what Jesus said about the end times: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near (Luke 20:21).

Essentially, this all began with two brothers vying for their father’s affection. Abraham loved them both. I’m sure his heart ached for Ishmael, and God listened to this father’s heart.

Jesus also told a story of two sons and a hurting father: the prodigal son and his older brother, who we meet in Luke 15. They remind me of Isaac and Ishmael. The prodigal ran away, tried to lose his identity, and squandered his father’s blessings. Perhaps today we can see through the prodigal how God the Father sees the nation of Israel, Isaac’s progeny. The children of Israel ran away from their Father over and over. Throughout the Old Testament they were not only called beloved and chosen; they were also described as unruly, stubborn, and rebellious. They wandered for forty years in the desert for their lack of obedience. They were captured as slaves in Egypt, then Babylon, ending up no better than that prodigal son who found himself sleeping with swine. Year after year, century after century, God has called and loved His chosen people, urging them to come home to faith in Him, to allow Him to pour out His blessings upon them. And now, in these latter days, many are coming home, spiritually and physically, reconciling their relationship with their heavenly Father, and building their homeland, Israel.

Then there’s Ishmael, the older brother and his offspring, who never really left the land, but have seethed with anger and jealousy over the centuries whenever the Jews receive any favor—asking, no doubt, why God would choose to bless such a son whose behavior has made him so undeserving!

It is precisely because God loved both sons, and because He loves the whole world—that He designed a plan of salvation that could save both brothers and offer redemption to the whole world. If only the sons of Ishmael could realize what the father of the parable told his older son, what God is saying to all of us, “You are always with Me, and all that I have is yours.” God loved both sons, even though they were destined to war with each other, and pull the rest of the world into their battle.


Where's Iraq?
Ezekiel 37, the famous “dry bones” passage, has long been interpreted as the rebirth of Israel – even before 1948 when that prophecy became a reality. What follows is Ezekiel 38, especially verses 1-8, where the enemies of Israel are identified, lined up and ready to attack. Gog, Magog, Persia, Libya, and Ethiopia are all listed. Here’s what Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa says about this:

“The countries mentioned here that will be involved in an assault against Israel in the future include most of the Moslem countries in the surrounding area, including Iran (Persia), Ethiopia, Libya, and the Moslem countries in the southern part of the former Soviet Union. Conspicuous by their absence are Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, who were traditional enemies of Israel.

“Of course we know today that Iraq will be in no position to mount an attack on anyone, following their devastation at the hands of the coalition forces in the two Gulf Wars. Egypt has a treaty with Israel, and Syria and Jordan are seeking some sort of peaceful coexistence with Israel. Saudi Arabia is mentioned in verse 13, as Sheba and Dedan, and they seem to be objecting to the attack for business purposes, probably to protect their oil reserves.” ³


“Iraq will be in no position to mount an attack on anyone...,” says Pastor Chuck. I find it amazing that the war in Iraq was foreseen in Ezekiel 38. God knew Iraq would be incapable of attacking Israel at this point in history.

But Iran is capable, and Iran’s hatred for Israel is epitomized in its current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has made international headlines recently not only with his country’s refusal to comply with UN requests to cease nuclear weapon development, but with some his outrageous comments. Last October he very publicly declared that Israel should be "wiped out from the map," insisting that a new series of attacks will destroy the Jewish state.⁴ Then he took his anti-Israel rhetoric to a new level when he questioned whether the Holocaust actually occurred and suggested that Israel move to Europe. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is recognized as a dangerous leader in a volatile part of the world. Part of what is fueling his reckless anger and hatred against Israel is his belief in, of all things, a “second coming.” You can read a very interesting article about this man’s religious beliefs here.

So today we are in a fight against terrorism, waging a conflict which has raged for centuries, and shows no sign of letting up until the true Prince of Peace and Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns. It is in reality the physical manifestation of a galactic, supernatural struggle going on in the spiritual realm. That’s why the apostle Paul reminds us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:12).

The Bible lets us know that at some point in this struggle, there will be no more political and diplomatic solutions. The opposing parties will cease their attempts to negotiate, and the only option left will be a military strike, when God will divinely and dramatically intervene to protect Israel.

The result of this dramatic victory will be an unprecedented outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the Jewish people: “When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands...then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord God" (from Ezekiel 39: 25-29).

God will demonstrate to the world that He is a covenant keeping God, who keeps His promises to His people. No matter how often and how far they have strayed, He will remain faithful to His Word and His promises.

Jesus told us, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6). He wanted to forewarn us. We can expect wars, and threats of war, but we can know that the result will be the mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit as He reveals His glory to all the nations.

I know that the daily news can be unsettling. “Wars and rumors of war” is a harsh, scary reality. But I also know that we can pray and watch it all unfold with confidence in the tender, loving care of our heavenly Father. After all, Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33), and He promises us, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

I pray that these studies have given you some insight to what is going on in the world today, and that you will join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem and for the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon us all.

God bless you,
Pastor Ray

As always, we welcome your feedback and comments. media@maranathachapel.org


1. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013100564.html)
2. http://www.islamicpopulation.com/

3. Chuck Smith, The Word For Today Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005.
4. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/26/ahmadinejad/