In this insightful episode of Hope for Today, David Hawking answers pressing questions about the Biblical prophecies concerning the Middle East, encompassing countries like Iran, Egypt, and Syria. Drawing from Scriptures and listener inquiries, David delves into the roles these nations play according to the Bible, unraveling historical ties and prophetic indications. From the significance of Persia (Iran) in the book of Ezekiel to the future of Egypt and the curious predictions about Damascus, listeners are treated to a comprehensive analysis rooted in scripture.
This is Hope for Today. For thousands of years, the Middle East has taken the center of the world’s attention. And according to the Bible, it will be again. Today, in a special question and answer program, Bible teacher David Hawking responds to letters from listeners who have been asking for years, what does the Bible say about the future of the Middle East? Well, we’ll open up God’s Word and look at what He said would happen long before today’s headlines ever existed. You may wish to text a friend and invite them to listen along with you. Just before we get started, a quick word as we come to the end of the month here. This is a critical time for Hope for Today, and we ask you to prayerfully consider standing with us in ministry through your prayers, your letters, and as God directs and provides financial support. You can give online at davidhawking.org or by phone at 875-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. For folks that prefer to write, our address in the U.S., Hope for Today, Box 3927. tustin california 92781 in canada hope for today box 15011 rpo seven oaks abbotsford bc v2s 8p1 thank you for standing with us and i’ll repeat that information at the end of the program stay tuned for that and here’s david
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, everybody, we’ve come to another question and answer broadcast here. My, how time is going by. And with me, Jim Durbin. Jim, it’s good to see you again. Israel and Bible prophecy questions today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Absolutely. And some of these look like it could be taken out of the headlines. David, the first question, what does the Bible say about Iran? Well, You know, that’s not the only one.
SPEAKER 02 :
Iran, folks, if you’re looking in the Bible, I know that’s where people get stuck. They wonder, what’s going on? How do you find Iran? Well, its original name was Elam. The Elamites are a part, well, they’re like shoestring cousins to Abraham’s line. Elam, okay? Yeah. Then it becomes Persia. So the great empire of Persia, and of course, in Ezra and Nehemiah and Daniel, we have so much information about Persia. The kings are mentioned, the names and the history. is so well-documented, Jim, that when you read your Bible, it’s pretty exciting when you look at the Persian Chronicles, for instance, things that you wouldn’t expect to find maybe in the Bible. But I’ve learned, Jim, for many years, that the Bible is the most accurate account of ancient history, and archaeological discovery only confirms that. That’s right. Time and time again. Anyway… The name Iran came, of course, in the 20th century through the Islamic Revolution in the 1970s. So it hasn’t been that long. And you have to understand the boundaries of Middle Eastern countries were primarily drawn up by Germany and France after World War I and some redoing of that after World War II as well. England became involved in the process as well. Now, the main passage about Iran that people are fascinated with is Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, the famous Gog and Magog passage. When the nations are actually listed that are going to invade Israel, the very first one listed is usually the leader. I suppose you could say that Gog, whoever this person is, some think it refers to Russia, but whoever he is, he’s the real leader, but he may be just subsidizing the attack. because the attack is going to be run by first Persia, Ezekiel 38, verse 5, and that is Iran. Interestingly, the countries that follow are strong in Muslim populations and in the teachings of Islam. So what you may have here is a holy jihad, an attack, in the end times against Israel. Some say it’s going to happen before the tribulation, the coming day of the Lord. Some see it as happening during the first three and a half years that allows the Antichrist to come to power over the whole earth with a global government. Others believe that, no, this is just another reference to Armageddon. That, by the way, is the primary Jewish view. But I hope that answers our listener who asked us about Iran and fact. It appears that a lot of you out there are asking about Iran. So that’s really all we know. And if you want to study its ancient roots, remember that Persia was very friendly to Israel and allowed the Jews to go back and to rebuild. So we thank the Lord for that. And, of course, Cyrus, the Persian, was even called in Isaiah – Mashiach. He’s like a Messiah, an anointed one, in giving the Jewish people some hope. He certainly isn’t a Messiah, but sort of a historical connection there. David, are we right to be concerned about Iran today? What do you think? Well, I think so, especially in the light of Ezekiel 38. It appears they are going to be involved in some sort of attack, whether it’s earlier or at Armageddon. I think it’s very, very serious, and we need to take it as though it is serious. David, next question here going to another country. What will happen to Egypt? Probably, Jim, the questions happened after President Obama was in Egypt. The leader, Mubarak, the dictator, threatened a lot by Muslim terrorist groups within Egypt. Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel back at the time of Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt under the influence or at least the encouragement of President Jimmy Carter at the time. Now, that gave major land gifts from Israel to Egypt in the Sinai. That’s why Egypt is so involved. Often there are conferences in the Middle East that our president attends as well at a beautiful resort called Sharm el-Sheikh that is Egyptian. Of course, the major capital is Cairo, and most of the people in Egypt live there. They all live along the Nile. On the west side of the Nile is the city of the dead. Nobody lives there. They all live on the east side of the Nile. And, of course, the Nile is a huge river, a very long country. So when you say, what will happen to Egypt today? I actually taught years ago, unfortunately, never recorded it. I probably regret that. But I taught a whole series on Egypt, what’s going to happen to Egypt. I’m going to have to dig out those notes and see if we can do something else. I would say the primary thing to notice is that in Isaiah chapter 19, Isaiah’s prophecies about Egypt, he starts chapter 19 with the burden of Egypt. And there’s a number of interesting things said, but I’m focusing on the last three verses of Isaiah 19, beginning at verse 23. It says, Now, not always, but most of the time—that’s an eschatological term referring to end-time events— In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, which, of course, today is Iraq. By the way, we have that highway called the King’s Highway. And the portion that goes from the Gulf of Aqaba up through Amman, Jordan, I’ve been on that highway, done by a lot of U.S. money. It’s a beautiful road right in the desert. But anyway, it says, in that day there’ll be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, shall bless. saying, now here’s an amazing statement in Isaiah 19.25, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel, mine inheritance. Well, folks, it looks like Egypt’s going to be prominent in God’s prophetic plans for the future in the coming kingdom of the Messiah. So he didn’t leave them out. God loves the Egyptians.
SPEAKER 01 :
David, let’s jump over to Syria. Does the Bible predict the destruction of Damascus?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we got a lot of questions on that, and I think it was generated by some other radio broadcasts, not ours. I happened to look up their websites, and sure enough, they were talking about it. So listeners are kind of asking me to confirm one way or another, were they right or were they not right? Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world, Jim. It goes back probably 8,000 to 10,000 years that we know of. That’s just by archaeological discovery, including things like the Ebla tablets found north of Damascus. Damascus plays a prominent role, as you know, in the days of the Apostle Paul. He actually pursued believers all the way to Damascus. And there’s a famous passage from chapter 9 on the road to Damascus when a great light and a confrontation by Jesus himself changed the life of the Apostle Paul. He was Saul then of Tarsus and became Paul. Well, it’s an interesting story, Damascus. I’ve been there. Not many people go anymore because it is controlled primarily by a terrorist government. Now, Syria has in the past boasted the fourth largest army in the world. That’s how their citizens actually get food. They have so many people in their army. They also are an ally of Iran. That’s interesting because Syria was an ally of Saddam Hussein because they were both in the Ba’ath Party and were Sunni Muslims, whereas Iran is chiefly Shiite. But Iran and Syria have a little nexus going on and throw in Lebanon, where they both cause trouble, like with Hezbollah. And most of the leaders—this is an interesting fact for all of our listeners—and most of the leaders of terrorist groups live in Damascus and are protected by Syria. Syria wants the Golan Heights of Israel back, of course. When I say back, they had it only a short time. That whole area of the Golan and Bashan in the Bible was Israel’s. It belongs to Israel. And it’s one of the important security barriers for the nation of Israel. The passage they’re talking about, Jim, is Isaiah chapter 17. It says, the burden of Damascus. Behold, verse 1, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. Well, that’s never happened in all of history. So either this is going to happen by some conflict, perhaps with Israel. They almost did it a few years ago until the U.S. and European leaders stopped Israel. They were on the borders of Damascus ready to destroy the entire place. Well, since that time, Syria has been rebuilding itself pretty strongly. They are providing the main source of weapons for Hezbollah and Hamas. Syria also is adjacent to Iraq, Jim, quite a long border. And at the time of the war that we had to deliver Iraq and to get Saddam Hussein, we gave them plenty of time to prepare. We warned them for about four to five months. During that time, Syria heard all the clatter from America and others about weapons of mass destruction. Well, they took those giant weapons and those big missiles, and they crossed the border of Syria and buried them in the Beka Valley, where the ruins of ancient Baalbek is. And I’ve been there. Interesting, Israel not only saw it, they photographed it. I actually have pictures of it. And, of course, it doesn’t prove that in those giant missiles across the border there were nuclear warheads or anything or biological or chemical ones, but we suspect it was. Why would Saddam Hussein get rid of those big things if he’s going to war? Unless he knew that he was in trouble on that issue with the United Nations Commission as well. But what we have here is apparently either at Armageddon or the time previous to it. Some say maybe the Battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Damascus will go down. It will be destroyed. That’s what this chapter predicts. If you believe Bible prophecy, then Damascus is going down. It’s a question of time. That passage again, Isaiah 17.
SPEAKER 01 :
David, next question here. The listener writes, I was told that you believe that the words in Matthew 24, 34 through 35, quote, this generation, refer to the nation of Israel. Where did you get that view?
SPEAKER 02 :
Actually, this letter was a little sharp. Like I’m teaching heresy because it’s the nation of Israel? No. No. I know that a lot of people, when they read, this generation will not pass away till all these things be fulfilled, they think, at least from an English point of view, that refers to people at the time listening to Jesus. Well, Jesus is speaking some 40 years before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., And I suppose there were some people who were still alive, of course, especially if they were teenagers or in their 20s and 30s standing around listening to Jesus. But, folks, that’s not the point. When we say this generation will not pass away, that’s direct reference to Jeremiah 31, 35 to 37, that the nation of Israel will never cease to exist before me forever. This generation is used about 16 times with the adjectival form there, this generation. Some people say this is referring to the generation in the wilderness. I don’t think so. I don’t think he was referring to that. But that’s how they get the 40-year syndrome. Now, I don’t think it’s a matter of time. I think it’s referring to the nation of Israel. Why? The word genos or genia is referring to a race of people, translated generation in our English Bibles. Well, if you look carefully at that passage before chapter 24, at the end of chapter 23, our Lord is discussing His woes upon the religious leaders of His day and condemning them. He called them, in verse 33 of chapter 23, a generation of vipers. So the word generation is even used there. But then He discussed how God’s people, His prophets and all that, were going to be martyred He mentioned Abel in the book of Genesis, all the way to Zacharias, son of Barakias, who’s in the book of 2 Chronicles, the last book in a Jewish Bible, in the order of books that they have. So, in other words, all the martyrs, their blood. that you’ve been shed, they’re gonna speak against you. Then in verse 36, he says, verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation, this race of people. And the next verses say, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets. So I don’t think my view is strange. I think it fits the context perfectly. What we have in Matthew 24, 34, and 35 is a promise of the survival of Israel during the tribulation. We are even told in chapter 24, verse 21 and 22, that then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world. To this time no nor ever shall be, and except those days should be shortened, there shall no flesh be saved. But for the elect’s sake, the chosen’s sake. Those days will be shortened. You see, he’s talking about the elect, the chosen is the people of Israel who are going to survive that holocaust of terror in the tribulation. So I believe that the view that we’ve expressed many times and on tape is the correct view concerning the nation of Israel. Hope that helps you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, David, another letter here that starts, I was told. The listener writes, I was told that the book of Revelation was written before 70 A.D. and that it is all about the Roman invasion, not about anything in the future. Now, is that true?
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely not. That’s a view of preterism, a Latin word meaning past. It’s a view of those who are committed to a doctrine we call replacement theology, thinking the church has replaced Israel, that God broke his everlasting covenant with with the nation of Israel. That’s an oxymoron. That’s impossible if it’s everlasting. And that he forsook them and turned to the church. No, he didn’t. He has never forsaken Israel. The Bible says many, many times he has not. Romans 11, we’re at church age time. Paul wrote, has God cast away his people? Absolutely not, he said. We need to read the Bible carefully. The book of Revelation is future from chapter 4, verse 1, clear to the end of the book. Those judgments in the seals, trumpets, and bowls of wrath have never happened on planet Earth. All the disasters we’ve ever had. do not equal the horror of what is coming at what’s called the day of the Lord or the great tribulation. By the way, Jim, for our listeners, I did some filming with a history channel, a documentary on the book of Revelation. Hmm. And I’m the one so-called scholar, although I think scholars are a long ways from home. But anyway, I’m the one who took the literal view and that Revelation is speaking about the future from chapter 4 on. And they were going to only take an hour, but they spent over two hours hearing my views on the book of Revelation.
SPEAKER 01 :
And keep in mind that they will be doing the editing. Yeah, that’s true. That’s right. David, the next question here, a little shift in gears. Should Christians display the flag of Israel in church auditoriums? What do you think?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, we display the flag of the United States, or if we’re in Canada, we display the flag of Canada. Which nation, according to the Bible, is above all other nations chosen by God to be so? Well, the Bible’s very clear. It was Israel. So why would we hesitate to show the flag of Israel? First of all, the star on that flag represents the Messiah himself. In Numbers chapter 24, verse 17 to 19, it tells us a star will arise out of Jacob, and unto him will be the obedience of all peoples of the world. Also, there are two blue stripes on that white flag. And you say, well, what does that represent? Well, it’s actually picturing a prayer shawl, because Israel was a nation born in prayer. If my people who are called by my name, God said to Solomon, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Actually, out of all flags in the world, The flag of Israel should be in Christian auditoriums to indicate our support of what the Bible says is the most important nation on earth. Amen. You know what, Jim? As we wrap up our time of questions, I just want folks to know that we’re here to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That’s why we call it the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.
SPEAKER 1 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’ve been listening to our special monthly question and answer program here on Hope for Today with David Hawking. And we’ll tell you in a bit how you can lend your support to this broadcast ministry. But first, David’s son Matt is here, and we’re going to share a great home Bible study resource with you. It fits perfectly with today’s prophecy theme and our current series in Ecclesiastes. Is life worth living? If you leave a personal relationship with the God who created you out of the answer, then the answer is clearly no. Yeah, it’s not worth the struggle, which inevitably comes to all of us. But if you see all of life as God intended and you are rightly related to him, then the answer is an absolute yes. Yes, amen. Well, David makes the biblical case for this inside his book, Is Life Worth Living? Is Life Worth Living is a powerful study guide for the book of Ecclesiastes and a perfect tool for getting the very most out of our current radio series. We’re combining the book with a complete collection of all of the messages in the Ecclesiastes series. So the 172 page book by David titled Is Life Worth Living? Plus all 18 messages in our Ecclesiastes radio series. And of course, each message covers about three days on radio. Yeah, the complete package is just $40 plus shipping. It’s a perfect way to save and share all that you’ll be learning in the series for years to come. And your purchase will also help the ministry of hope for today. That is Life Worth Living Ecclesiastes package. Again, just $40. You can get this resource package by calling us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, and Bible by the numbers 24253. You can also order online at DavidHocking.org. Now, as this month comes to a close, wow, we’re just hours away from February, if you can believe that. Well, we want to take just a moment to speak directly to you, our listening friends and family. This ministry, Hope for Today, is not funded by a denomination or a large organization. We are sustained by gifts people like you who love the Word of God and want to see it proclaimed clearly and without compromise send to us. Every day, through radio, online streaming, and our free resources, people all over the world are hearing the scriptures taught faithfully, without compromise. Some are new believers who’ve never had solid teaching. Others are mature Christians who simply need encouragement, the encouragement that comes from God’s Word. And many folks write to us and say, you know, I’ve never heard, and they’re talking about a particular program, I’ve never heard it explained this way. This ministry is reaching hearts and changing lives. And when you give, you’re doing more than helping to pay for airtime or production costs. You’re putting the Word of God into homes, into cars, prisons, and even into countries where reliable Bible teaching is very hard to find. Your gift, large or small, one-time or regular monthly support, is multiplied by the Lord for His glory. So if God has blessed you through this broadcast and He enables you to do so, please send a special gift today or maybe become a regular monthly supporter. Give online at davidhawking.org. Call us in the U.S. at 875-BIBLE. In Canada, 888-75-BIBLE. You can also write to us in the U.S. at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, 8P1. Thanks. Well, join us next time as we move back into Ecclesiastes. A great study is ahead Monday on Hope for Today.
