How Arabs have Fulfilled Bible Prophecy

For many years I have heard, and rightly so, that the veracity of the Bible has been demonstrated by the history of the Jews, both prior to 1948 and certainly since then.   I remember one Bible teacher saying you can prove the Bible in three letters “Jew”. However, similarly but to a lesser extent, but still worth noting and much over looked,  has been prophecy regarding Ishmael and his descendants.

God promised in Genesis 17.20 that Ishmael would have twelve sons and they would become a great nation. That’s precisely what happened. Ishmael had twelve sons who were princes that eventually ruled over a great expanse, and their descendants continue to do so until even this day.

Despite earlier attempts by Alexander the great, the Romans and the Persians to subjugate and destroy the Ishmaelites, and despite their considerable might, these efforts failed.

Are the Arabs, or as some would falsely call them Palestinians, descendants of Ishmael?

Well, most likely not all are, but most sources state that Mohammed certainly believed he was a direct descendent of Ishmael, so by association at least they can be viewed as descendants of Ishmael.  Ancient records clearly link the north Arabians with descendants of Ishmael. According to faculty emeritus of Emmaus Bible College and noted author Keith Fleming, “the Ishmaelites are at the very least a major element in the Arab genetic code.”

Arab destroying Arab, this too was prophesied;

“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 toward all his brothers. Genesis 16.12 Ishmael’s descendants “lived in hostility towards all their brothers.” Gen 25.18

This prophecy is intensifying today. Recent fighting in Syria with Muslim against Muslim resulted in over 250,000 deaths.  In Yemen the casualties resulting from internal warring is reaching nearly 400,000.  In North Africa in Somalia and Sahel, tens of thousands have perished. The prestigious American Council of Foreign Policy said, “sectarian violence is becoming entrenched in a growing number of Muslim countries, these tensions could reshape the future of the Middle East” Although most of the fighting is between Sunnis and Shias, there are many other warring factions within these ranks.  The well credentialled Middle East correspondent Johannes Gerloff recently stated on my Beersheba Vision radio program on J-AIR, that there is no uniformity within each of the major Sunni and Shia groups.  He painted a dim picture of basically warlord feuding in a very tribal way in the Muslim world. In other words, the prophesy of Genesis 16 is alive and thriving.

The distorted lens of mainstream media

Researchers have found that there have been 33,769 Islamist attacks in the last four decades with 91.2% of the victims being Muslim. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslims have perished at each other’s hand in recent time.  Most of these untold numbers of Muslim casualties do not appear on mainstream media, as it does not fit well with the popular narrative of Muslims being oppressed by the Jews.  However, if a Jew should raise their hand against a Muslim even in self-defence, the whole victim narrative is rolled out and it becomes front page news.

Could the intense hatred of Israel be enough to unite the Arab world?

This is a reasonable question and one of great concern given their white-hot hatred of the Jews and indeed Christians as well.  This question has been raised many times and apocalyptic scenarios are envisioned if such a possibility should eventuate.   Dark days may still lie ahead for God’s people, as in many quarters of the Muslim world the call for Jihad grows, supported strangely by many on the Left in the West.  Radical Islam to us is considered “pure” Islam to them, and a “moderate” Muslim to us is a lapsed Muslim to them.

Against all odds

What is clear from scripture is that Israel will prevail, and recent history from the charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba to the miraculous downing of the enormous Iranian rocket barrage is further affirmation, that against “all odds” Israel will prevail, because God is faithful to His covenantal promises.

What then of Ishmael’s descendants? Did not God have pity on Hagar the mother of Ishmael and dealt kindly with her? Yes, He did, and so, with confidence we can leave these great imponderables in the hands of the Almighty, as the “Judge of all the earth shall do right.”  In the meantime, we stand with Israel and watch further miracles unfold, as we, in my humble opinion, are approaching the climax of history.