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The True Fulfillment of Prophecy, part 9

We have discussed how Judah fulfilled its calling by bringing forth the Messiah, the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2; 27:11). This issue formed the overall controversy in the New Testament. Their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the reimposition of the iron yoke of captivity and exile.

This exile was imposed with no time limitation such as was given by Jeremiah in the 70-year Babylonian iron yoke exile. The only clear factor is that the law demands repentance and acknowledgement of their hostility against God before any possible reinstatement (Leviticus 26:40-42). For this reason, Christian prophecy teachers prior to 1948 taught that the Jews would repent of their hostility against Jesus Christ and would accept Him before God would allow them to return to the old land.

History shows that this did not happen, except with a few individuals. Hence, when the Zionist state was fully established in May of 1948, this forced Christian teachers to abandon their demand for repentance. They shifted toward the position of God’s “unconditional promise” to the Jews—assuming, of course, that they were the biblical Israelites. The problem with this position was that it was unlawful according to the law of tribulation in Leviticus 26:40-42.

As we showed earlier, the cursed fig tree was to come back to life and bear more leaves, yet without fruit (Matthew 24:32-34). Fruit indicates repentance, along with having the fruit of the Spirit. In addition, the very nature of Jesus’ curse prohibited this fig tree from ever again bearing fruit, for Jesus told it in Matthew 21:19, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.”

Nonetheless, the tree itself was destined to come back to life in order to be judged according to Jesus’ parable in Luke 19:27. But God has a way of overlaying different prophecies upon each other, fulfilling each of them at the same time. In this case, there was another significant prophecy that world Jewry had to fulfill.

The Esau-Edomite Factor

Edom was Esau’s nickname (Genesis 36:8). It means “red.” Esau’s family settled in Mount Seir, intermarrying with the Horites (Genesis 36:8, 20). Later, in a dispute, the Edomites killed the Horites and thus inherited their land. Centuries later, during the time of the Grecian empire, the land of Edom was grecianized as Idumea. So we read in Ezekiel 36:2 a prophecy against Mount Seir. It was not directed against the Horites but against the Edomites (Ezekiel 35:15; 36:5).

There are many Old Testament prophecies about Edom, many of which are projected into the future in the latter days. Since there is no nation called Edom or Idumea (Greek form) today, few actually search for answers. Because most Bible teachers use guesswork rather than citing genuine history, these prophecies are often ignored or misapplied.

Years ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin made a peace treaty with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt (1979), I heard a Bible teacher on the radio wax eloquent, insisting that this was Jacob and Esau embracing each other (Genesis 33:4). His assumption, of course, was that Begin was Jacob-Israel, while Sadat was Esau-Edom. Both assumptions were incorrect. In fact, because Egypt is now an Arab country, this teacher even made the claim that the Arabs were Edomites.

This Bible teacher taught on a radio program, inviting listener participation. So I called him and posed the question: “How is it that in the past you taught that the Arabs were Ishmaelites, but now you say that they are Edomites?” To his credit he backed down immediately.

Then I asked him, “If Egypt is not Edom, then where is Edom today, and how will the prophecies about Edom be fulfilled?” He then astounded me by reversing the question: “Well, do you know?” I spent the next hour reading to him what historians had written for centuries. The most notable quote was from Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, whose writings are known universally today. In his Antiquities of the Jews, XIII, ix, 1, Josephus tells us the fate of the Idumeans in 125-126 B.C. after decades of war between the Jews and the Idumeans. He writes:

“Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would be circumcised, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision and the rest of the Jews’ ways of living; at which time therefore, this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.”

The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1903 edition, under “Edom,” affirms the Edomite absorption into Jewry, saying,

“Judas Maccabeus conquered their territory for a time (B.C. 163; Ant. Xii, 8 par. 1, 2). They were again subdued by John Hyrcanus (c. 125 B.C.) by whom they were forced to observe Jewish rites and laws (ib. 9, par. 1; xiv. 4, par. 4). They were then incorporated with the Jewish nation, and their country was called by the Greeks and Romans ‘Idumea’ (Mark iii. 8; Ptolemy, Geography v. 16). With Antipater began the Idumean dynasty that ruled over Judea till its conquest by the Romans. Immediately before the siege of Jerusalem 20,000 Idumeans, under the leadership of John, Simeon, Phinehas, and Jacob, appeared before Jerusalem to fight in behalf of the zealots who were besieged in the Temple (Josephus, B.J. iv. 4, par. 5).

“From this time the Idumeans ceased to be a separate people, though the name ‘Idumea’ still existed (in) the time of Jerome.”

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, edited by Dr. Cecil Roth and Dr. Geoffrey Wigoder (1970 edition), says under “Edom” (page 587),

“The Edomites were conquered by John Hyrcanus who forcibly converted them to Judaism, and from then on they constituted a part of the Jewish people, Herod being one of their descendants. During Titus’ siege of Jerusalem, they marched in to reinforce the extreme elements, killing all they suspected of peace tendencies. Thereafter, they ceased to figure in Jewish history.”

Thus, all historians—including Jewish historians—agree that Edom was absorbed into Jewry and ceased to exist under a separate name after 70 A.D. In fact, they were part of the most radical element in Judaism, the Zealots, whose actions incited Rome to destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D. When I pointed out this well-known history, acknowledges by Jewish historians themselves, the radio Bible teacher was dumbfounded and speechless.

What most Bible teachers miss is that by incorporating the Idumeans into Jewry and forcing them to convert to Judaism, the nation of Judah (or Judea) then acquired a second set of Bible prophecies to fulfill in the latter days. There is no other nation that can fulfill these prophecies, and the only way out is for the people to repent of their hostility toward Jesus Christ.

I must add that no one is doomed automatically by their genealogy or ethnicity to be under a divine curse. The law always provides a way of escape. The law always provides a solution and a way to be blessed. But that way is through the New Covenant, whose Mediator is Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15).

The Spirit of Edom

After 2100 years of history, the Idumean element has lost any ethnic distinctions in world Jewry. However, the spirit of Edom lives on, and so we can observe the Edomite factor by studying the biblical descriptions of Edom’s character. Perhaps the most basic indictment against Esau-Edom was his “root of bitterness” that defiled him (Hebrews 12:15).

Secondly, Obadiah 3 gives us God’s word to Edom: “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you.”

Ezekiel 35:5, 6 lists more reasons that Edom was to be judged. God said through the prophet:

⁵ “Because you have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of the punishment of the end, ⁶ therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will give you over to bloodshed [dam], and bloodshed [dam] will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed [dam], therefore bloodshed [dam] will pursue you.”

Edom means “red,” and the name is derived from the Hebrew word, dam, “blood.” Originally, he was called Edom because when he was born, he “came forth red, all over like a hairy garment” (Genesis 25:25). Some years later, he despised his birthright and sold it for “a swallow of that red stuff there… Therefore his name was called Edom” (Genesis 25:30). Still later, God saw that he had a bitter and violent streak, not hesitating to shed blood, and for this reason he was condemned.

The Zionists today have exposed their own hearts as being full of bloodshed and violence. Though they justify this as “self-defense,” excusing the root of bitterness in their hearts, it is now evident to the whole world that (to put it mildly) they “have not hated bloodshed.” I believe, then, that the spirit of Edom lives on in today’s Zionists—not only among Jewry but also among Christians like the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who conducts prayer meetings at the Pentagon and who stated openly, “We negotiate with bombs.” Jesus would never have said such a thing.

In order to get a fuller understanding of the current Zionist policy, we must go back to the beginning and study the origins of the conflict in the book of Genesis. This we will do in our next weblog.