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   ISHMAEL AND ESAU:  ARABS OR A STRONG DELUSION?

                                        By:  Jan Griffith, November, 2005

 

 

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

 

There is no doubt in my mind that the strong delusion of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 secured its position with the creation of Israel, the nation-state.  In the past, I have tried to summarize this strong delusion with an allegory – that our desire for Christ’s kingdom on earth is not unlike the desire Sarai and Abram had for their promised son.  Sarai sought glory before its time, by expecting the child of Hagar to be born “on her knee” and thus to be her own.  It didn’t turn out as she’d hoped.  Seeking glory, Sarai found shame.

 

What I am about to present may be almost as mind-boggling as was the discovery that those whom the world calls “Jews” are not necessarily Jews at all.  If the reader is unacquainted with how the currently perceived “restoration of Israel” is a counterfeit of the true “restoration of Israel,” please request to see my Kirtland Reunion Synopsis titled Secret Combinations and Prophecy. 

 

Those who understand the prophecy, “Jews who say they are Jews but are not” know that in 740 AD the Emperor of Khazaria (Russia) declared his people to be “Jewish” after converting himself to Judaism.  They know that rabbis were summoned from Babylonia to teach the Khazars Pharisaic Judaism, and they also know that upwards of 85% of today’s “Jews” are descendents from that Khazar kingdom; this even according to the highly respected Encyclopaedia Judaica, among other credible sources.  Those who have done their Zionist history homework are well aware of the insidious agenda that revolves around the nation-state called Israel.  World wars were fomented and financed for the purpose of its creation and the fact that it even exists vindicates the prophets and clearly reveals why we were warned to awaken to our awful situation. 

 

In the course of much study on Zionism, I learned that identifying “Semites” is not as easy as we might think, and that even certain Arab populations are likely to be descendants of Jacob.  That would, of course, contradict the current understanding that most people have, namely that Arabs are descendants of Ishmael.  But is it possible that Arabs, as well as Jews, are part of the strong delusion?  Given that the entire world revolves around the “Arab-Jew” conflicts of the Middle East, might there be a counterfeiting occurring not only in Isaac’s name, but in Ishmael’s also? 

 

On July 19, 1840, Joseph Smith, Jr. gave a sermon at Ramus, Illinois.  First he read Ezekiel chapter 33 and then he concluded with this saying:  “And when all these things come to pass, and lo they will come, then shall you know that a prophet hath been among you.”  The following is a short quote from Ezekiel chapter 33:

 

“Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land; but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.  Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood; and shall ye possess the land?...For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.  Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate, because of all their abominations, which they have committed.” (Ezek 33:24-29)

 

We assume (or I have assumed) that this passage in Ezekiel referred only to those who call themselves “Jews,” yet Ezekiel precisely identified “Abraham” in this passage, from whom came both Isaac and Ishmael.  The descriptions from this chapter are reminiscent of all the inhabitants of Judea, as both Arabs and Jews claim rights to the Holy Land, and also Jerusalem.  They also both claim Abraham as their father.  Those who have studied Zionist history, as I’ve already mentioned, can discern the latter day counterfeiting of “Israel” or “Jews,” but might there be more to discern?  How many among us have also studied Islamic history to see if indeed we are being lied to on all fronts?

 

As a Noahide Law student (learning from the teachers who are preparing to magnify this strong delusion), I’ve been aware for some time that their agenda is largely supported by our prophetic beliefs concerning “Arabs and Jews.”  Almost every Christian has been taught that Ishmael represents Arabs, for example, and that the lands surrounding Jerusalem identify these Arab people.  The scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, are full of prophecies concerning those lands, with Isaac and Ishmael being a “type” for the people who would fulfill those prophecies.  Yet with the advent of the celestial law, old definitions became new.  Sodom and Egypt, for example, were once defined as nation-states, but they would in time come to represent something greater. 

 

Words like Jew and Israel also took on expanded definitions under the celestial covenant.  Babylon, which was once a literal nation-state in or near modern day Iraq, took on a far greater definition over time as we can see in Revelation chapter 17.   Even Jerusalem, itself, became the “New Jerusalem,” a kingdom which all the prophets sought and longed for.  In some ways, the temporal identities of old were representative of future spiritual identities: Egypt the nation, Egypt sin; Babylon the nation, Babylon deception;  Jerusalem the nation, New Jerusalem immortality, and so on.

 

“Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land; and he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come; after it should be destroyed, it should be built up again a holy city unto the Lord; Wherefore it could not be a New Jerusalem, for it had been in a time of old, but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord: and it should be built up unto the house of Israel; And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type…” (Ether 6:4-6).

 

We acknowledge that all of these peoples and nations expanded in definition, yet we have remained fairly rigid in our interpretations of words like Seir and Edom, Esau and Ishmael assuming that we know for sure the migration routes of all these scattered peoples.  Yet Isaiah had this to say about the coming Assyrian, (Assyrian being yet another expanded definition from what was formerly the king of Assyria who lived in or near modern day Germany):

 

“For he [the Assyrian] saith, By the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom I have done these things; for I am prudent, and I have moved the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man” (Isaiah 10:13).

 

If the Assyrian has moved the borders of the people, then how do we know for sure which people are where?

 

This paper is only the beginning of an attempt to understand something that is near incomprehensible.  For one thing, there isn’t much information available on this subject, outside the traditional propaganda mill, that is.  Those well acquainted with me know that I mostly write papers with the objective of proving or disproving theories.  It takes countless hours to produce a paper such as this one, but in the process, the Lord uses the time to help me sort through thoughts, to see if an idea has merit or is something that should be tossed away.  I freely offer these papers (or what I call “homework assignments from the Lord”) to any and all, but kindly request that each be considered for a reasonable time with a willing heart before immediately dismissing the theory out of hand.  It’s the least we all can do, if not for each other, then for the Lord’s sake.

 

 

Defining Arabs

 

It occurred to me that if Jews can be defined from credible dictionaries and encyclopedias that surely Arabs can also be defined through credible resources.

 

My 1970 Webster dictionary provides a common definition of “Arabs,” but curiously, my 1828 edition of Webster is altogether void of the word “Arab” or “Arabs.”  Why wouldn’t the word “Arab” be listed in a standard dictionary a couple of centuries ago?

 

On its formation in 1946, the Arab League defined “Arab” as a person whose language is Arabic, who lives in an Arabic speaking country, and who is in sympathy with the aspirations of the Arabic speaking peoples.  Prior to the coming of Islam (6th century AD—well after the Great and Abominable Church was established), there were no organized “Arabs” as we think of Arabs today.  Many followed pagan religions, others rejected polytheism in favor of a vague monotheism, and others still were converted to Judaism or Christianity.   

 

The Wilkopedia (free encyclopedia on the internet) notes that in Jewish and Christian traditions, the identification of the Ishmaelites, described in the Bible as a people of the Arabian wilderness, with Arabs began at least by the time of Josephus, and became standard in the early days of Islam (in which the term “Hagarenes,” a pun on the Arabic muhajir and the name of Hagar, was commonly used).  From what I can tell, “Arabs” were not a well-defined people until the advent of Muhammed and his Islamic religion; and at that time they became identified as the seeds of Ishmael.

 

It was prophesied in Genesis 16 that Ishmael and his family would “live to the east of all his brothers.  In that day, this would have included the desert section east of Egypt in Northern Arabia toward the kingdom of the Assyrians.  The Ishmaelites are actually mentioned as a distinct tribe in the Assyrian records.  Later they intermarried with and were absorbed by the Midianites and other local tribes.  In Genesis 37 and 39 the Ishmaelites are called the Midianites and in Judges 8, the Midianites are called the Ishmaelites.  Some believe that the Midianites are today’s Palestinians, a pretty incredible definition given that the term “Palestinian” once referred to anyone (Arab, Jew, or otherwise) living in the vicinity of Palestine.  The term “Palestinians” has shifted through the centuries from ethnic to regional and back again to ethnic definitions.  This is a curious pattern that has happened also with “Jews.”  Even the Encyclopedia Britannica explains that there is no such thing as a “Jewish race,” and that the designation of race has been applied to language groups (Aryan race), national groups (Scottish race), religious groups (Jewish race), and the entire species of humans (human race), but these usages are biologically and scientifically meaningless.  Really?  Try to explain that to a world that believes that peoples and tribes of old can be identified by race.

 

Something else we might keep in mind as we contemplate “Arabs” being possible descendants of Ishmael, and that is that Arabia was already populated by the descendants of Cush and Shem long before Abraham or Ishmael were born (Genesis 10).  Their ancient cities and temples have been well documented by archaeologists.  If all the “Arab” people descended from Ishmael as Muhammad claimed (take note that it was Muhammad who made this claim), then who are all the original “Arabs?” The Arab people (as they are defined today) existed before, during, and after Ishmael started roaming the wilderness of North Arabia.

 

 

Islam and the Great and Abominable Church

 

Concerning the creation of the Islamic religion, the following is recorded largely from memory, having connected various dots through the years.  I apologize for the lack of references, but as always, the reader is invited to do their own homework and to make these items a matter of prayer.

 

If Mohammad did nothing else, he categorized a people by “ethnicity” and prepared them for harmonization into the coming one-world religion.  Prior to his arrival, the Arabs were not an organized “race,” as I attempted to explain above.  Mohammad brought forth his massive religion that, like Christians and Jews, now believed in one God.  Also like Christians and Jews, Mohammad taught the people to believe in angels, scripture,  prophets, and even the Day of Judgment.  It should be obvious even to the casual observer that this religion was a creation of familiarity.  For Muslims, praying to Allah five times a day is an act of obedience, and prayers are always repetitive.  Prayers by Catholics are also rote and repetitive; for example the rosary repeats 16 “Our Father’s” and 153 “Hail Mary’s.”  Prayer beads were part of Islamic devotion to Allah even before an apparition of the Virgin Mary taught St. Dominic (Catholicism) to pray the rosary beads in the 13th century (incidentally, prayer beads are a stock item in ancient and modern paganism).  Both Catholics and Muslims regard pilgrimages as a means of obtaining favor from God.  The hadi, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a one-time required journey to Mecca.  For Catholics, pilgrimages are acts of religious purification and have been historically induced by the promise of indulgences (“do this” and your sins are forgiven, which was a powerful motivator behind the early Crusades).  Speaking of indulgences, the Roman Church offered the crusaders full pardon from purgatory should they die trying to liberate the Holy Land.  Islam also offers similar rewards and assurances of Paradise to those who die in religious battles or jihad.

 

Muhammad called himself “the messenger of God.”  At the age of 40 he began to perceive a powerful force in his life.  A series of mystical experiences led him to conclude that he was being summoned to proclaim the word of the supreme and single God (watch out for words like force and mystical).  Muhammad was a persuasive teacher, and not only did he preach “one God,” he also preached a single unified “church” that would embrace the faith.  He claimed to have a number of marvelous visions, many of which were interpreted by his wife’s Roman Catholic cousin, and many of which are included in their holy book, the Koran.  Muhammad claimed that Abraham and Ishmael had built the “House of God” (Kaaba) beside the well that had saved the life of Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, when they were cast into the wilderness.  Five times a day, Muslims pray in the direction of this supposed holy place.  Not only was the Islamic religion a means to establish a particular ethnicity, it also brought together at least two very important means for Satan to accomplish his end-time delusion.  One, monotheism was established as a means of unifying the faiths (a belief in only one God) and two, a holy relic was established on common ground with another holy relic, a necessary means to provoke future wars between “Arabs” and “Jews.”  The sons of perdition from the 19th century (like Albert Pike) were able to build upon the efforts of the 6th century sons of perditions.  World Wars could be fomented to produce a nation-state that would then prepare the way for a counterfeit restoration, Armageddon and messiah.

 

The Catholic signature was stamped all over the new religion called “Islam,” and Roman Catholic monks fueled Islam’s flames.  The same sons of perdition who founded the Mother of Harlots were at work again with Islam.  The Virgin Mary, for example, became at least as sacred among Islamics as Roman Catholics.  Former Catholic priests have confessed that the Vatican had desired to create a “messiah figure” for the Arabs who could unite an entire race and ultimately capture Jerusalem.  It is believed by some defectors of Catholicism that Muhammad was groomed for his role by the Roman Church.  It was certainly a pope who issued the authority to grant Arab generals permission to invade and conquer the nations of North Africa, but the agenda backfired.  With great victories on their side, the Arab people betrayed the Roman Church and that is when they began to claim that Ishmael (not Isaac) was the sacrifice Abraham had offered to the Lord, thus making them entitled to inherit the chosen land.  The famous Dome of the Rock mosque was thus built in Ishmael’s honor on the site of the Jewish temple that was destroyed in 70 AD. 

 

In 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared in a place called Fatima (which just happened to be Mohammad’s beloved daughter’s name).  This vision began a world-wide movement among Roman Catholics to pray the Novenas (a special prayer) to Fatima, a ritual that  influenced the Islamic world who had already been influenced by the apparition itself.  Hundreds of thousands of Muslims still congregate wherever processions carry Mary statues and where her apparitions are said to have appeared.  Mary is esteemed above the most revered women of the Muslim faith.   The late Catholic Bishop Sheen said that “Our Lady’s appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the world’s 347,000,000 Muslims, the most difficult of all religious people to convert to “Christianity” (he meant Roman Catholicism, of course).  Bishop Sheen also believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as “Our Lady of Fatima” as a pledge that the Muslims, who already believed in Christ’s virgin birth, would one day come to believe in Christ’s divinity.  A noble goal, were it speaking of the true Christ and not a false messiah.

 

So note the Islamic background; a background that not only established an ethnic people, but one that also brought millions of souls one step closer to a new age one world great and abominable church.  In 1985, Pope John Paul II declared to an audience of thousands that “Christians and Muslims have many things in common as believers and as human beings…we believe in the same God, the one and only God, the living God.”  Then later in Turkey, the same pope said, “I wonder if it is now urgent, precisely today when Christians and Muslims have entered a new period of history, to recognize and develop the spiritual bonds that unite us.” 

 

 

Who is Ishmael?

 

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year” (Genesis 17:26-28).

 

I am going to propose that Ishmael is not confined to an ethnic group in the Middle East called “Arabs,” but rather that Ishmael is a father to the Gentiles, like his brother, Isaac, is a father to the Jews.

 

The word “Gentile” has more than one scriptural meaning.  It defines a non-covenant people (as in heathens) but it can also identify a covenant people (as in Christians).   In Volume 2, page 43 of RLDS church history, Joseph Smith identified the recipients of the Book of Mormon as Gentiles.  The Book of Mormon, itself, identifies Gentiles as a people whom God raised up for a righteous purpose on this land, even to the scattering of his people, the House of Israel.  

 

Gentiles are always identified as Gentiles; however, they can be numbered among the House of Israel (1 Nephi 3:201, etc.), meaning that they can be adopted in to the House of Israel, and once adopted, the Lord expresses no partiality between his children (Colossians 3:11).   

 

Abraham and his covenanted seed (Isaac and Jacob) were given the promises of becoming a great nation.  Yet Ishmael, too, was given the promise of becoming a great nation.  Note how Jesus described the Gentiles as a nation:

 

“I am the head of the corner. These Jews shall fall upon me, and shall be broken. And the kingdom of God shall be taken from them, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (meaning the Gentiles.)” (Matthew 2:52).

 

Peter also identified the Gentiles as a nation:

 

“For the stone which the builders disallowed, is become the head of the corner. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:8-9).

 

The Lord told Hagar, Ishmael’s mother, that her son would be a wild man:

 

“And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael: because the Lord hath heard thy afflictions. And he will be a wild man; and his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Genesis 16:12-13).

 

Not surprisingly, the Gentiles are likened to a wild olive tree.

 

“And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wast grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree” (Romans 11:17).

 

“Wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olive tree, and bring them hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire, that they may be burned” (Jacob 3:36). 

 

But if there is any one thing in scripture that most convinces me that Ishmael is father to the Gentiles, the following allegory is it.

 

“And the child grew, and was weaned. And the day that Isaac was weaned, Abraham made a great feast, and Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which Hagar had borne unto Abraham, mocking; and she was troubled. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, Isaac” (Genesis 21:7-8).

 

This grieved Abraham, but God comforted him:

 

“And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight, because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah has said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed” (Genesis 21:10-11).

 

As the Gentile nation increasingly became converted to Jesus Christ, Ishmael came to represent the “chosen nation” or Jews/House of Israel, whereas Isaac then came to represent the Gentiles.  (Whoever covenants with the Lord becomes a descendent of Isaac; see Romans 9:6-8.)  In other words, the non-believing Jews had become the “Gentiles” in the Lord’s eyes and the believing Gentiles had become the “Jews.”  The explanation of this “reversal” is revealed in the following allegory:

 

“But he who was of the bondwoman [Hagar] was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman [Sarai] was by promise. Which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which as Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is [the temporal Jerusalem], and is in bondage with her children [Jews/House of Israel]. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate [Hagar] hath many more children than she which hath a husband [Sarai]. Now we [Gentiles], brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise” (Galations 4:23-28).

 

This fantastic reversal of nations was foretold repeatedly in allegory fashion when the inheritances of brothers were switched.  See Japheth and Shem, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, Zerah and Perez, Manasseh and Ephraim, and of course Ishmael and Isaac.  Like the parable of the prodigal son (in which case it was the younger son who departed), Ishmael came to represent the House of Israel and Isaac the Gentiles.  And though it was the younger son who departed in the parable, that younger son surely represents the House of Israel that will one day return again to the Lord, making the Stone the head of his corner (Jacob 3:28-29).  Pretty incredible, isn’t it?  And to think, the Roman Catholic Church has declared the book of Genesis to be a myth.  L

 

I am growing increasingly concerned that we have once again been deceived by the propaganda artists.  According to the above definitions, Ishmael cannot be representative of a select group of Islamic people in the Middle East.  If the world defines today’s “Jews” as being of the seed of Isaac (which is wrong by every definition), it equally interprets “Arabs” as the seed of Ishmael.  Countless prophecies are interpreted through this interpretation of Ishmael, his seed, and his land.

 

I want to make just one more point on this subject about Ishmael before I move on to Esau.  Genesis 16:13 says that Ishmael’s hand would be against every man, and that every man’s hand would be against his.  This is a very fitting description for a Gentile (heathen) population, or rather, a people who have rejected the Lord.  Note that whenever and wherever the [heathen] Gentiles have obtained a living, it has always been by force.  Just one more thing to ponder while your mind spins a thousand miles per second. 

 

[Eph 2:11] Wherefore remember, that ye were in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

 

 

Who is Esau?

 

“And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:38-41).

 

Because the world largely believes that Ishmael represents Arabs, the world has also been largely convinced that Esau represents some form of the Arab population, because Esau took one of Ishmael’s daughters to wife (Genesis 28:9).  A fair number of Christians have even been further led to believe that Esau specifically represents the Palestinian population and that prophecies such as Obadiah 18 will be fulfilled when “Israel” annihilates them (which the sons of perdition are arranging, among other things).    While I believe that Edom (like all biblical words) can have more than one definition, my current interpretation of Esau begins from the premise that Ishmael represents the Gentiles, and not a created “Arab” race in the Middle East. 

 

How important is it that we undertake this investigation of Esau? Considering that Esau is the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir (Genesis 36), I would say that it is very important.  The Old Testament is full of revelations concerning Edom and Seir.  If the world has led us to believe that all these prophecies represent Arab lands, they have led us to believe it for a reason.

 

So who was Esau?  Unlike Ishmael, Esau was an example of the sinner left in his sins; someone who apparently could not obtain forgiveness:

 

“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:16-17).

 

What other scripture do we have that describes a people who cannot obtain forgiveness?

 

“But there is a sin which shall not be forgiven. He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgiveness; but is in danger of being cut down out of the world. And they shall inherit eternal damnation” (Mark 3:24).

 

What it means to blaspheme against the Holy Ghost is clearly defined in the Book of Mormon, and is condensed in the Doctrine and Covenants.  Those who cannot obtain forgiveness are called “sons of perdition.”

 

“Thus saith the Lord, concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves, through the power of the Devil, to be overcome, and to deny the truth, and defy my power; they are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say it had been better for them never to have been born;” (Section 76:4a-b).

 

Is it possible that Esau is representative of these sons of perdition and their allies?  Perhaps this definition is too strong even for Esau, yet from the scriptures that we have, Esau is the only one we know who traded away his birthright for a moment’s pleasure.  In other words, Esau’s physical craving of the moment outweighed his spiritual promises of the future.  Judas suffered a similar fate to that of Esau.  He traded in the promises of his salvation for thirty pieces of silver.

 

I could find only one spiritual occasion where Ishmaelites were enemies of Israel (Judges 8:24), however, the scriptures are revealing that Esau-Edom-Idumea were continual enemies of Israel.  Consequently, a multitude of revelations are directed against them, a few of which follow. 

 

“And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 35:3-4).

 

“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come” (Isaiah 63:1-4).

 

“Also Edom shall be a desolation; everyone that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it” (Jeremiah 49:17-18).

 

 “And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness” (Malachi 1:3).

 

“As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee; thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it; and they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 35:15).

 

When I read passages that reveal this magnitude of destruction, I can’t help but reflect upon certain passages from the Book of Mormon, such as this one:

 

“And my people who are a remnant of Jacob, shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles, except they repent, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, and I will cut off the cities of thy land and throw down all thy strongholds; And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands; And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities. And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts and whoredoms, shall be done away” (3 Nephi 9:99-105).

 

Compare the above destruction that will come to “the Gentiles” from “the remnant of Jacob” to the following biblical prophecy:

 

“And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it” (Obadiah 18).

 

Can this prophecy of Obadiah’s vision be fulfilled simply by going to war against Arab nations in the Middle East?  Before we try to answer that question, we might consider that “Arabs” have migrated even to this land (America).  By the year 2000, over one million Arabs were registered to vote in this country alone, and that number may have doubled just in our location alone (Washington, D.C.).  How would a war against Arabs in the Middle East fulfill the prophecy that “none will remain in the house of Esau?”   Let’s take a closer look at Esau.

 

“And the Lord said unto her [Rebecca], Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them” (Genesis 25:23-26).

 

We are back to “two nations again,” only this time the definitions have narrowed.  Under Joseph’s leadership, Jacob and his descendents [of the House of Israel] hold the birthright and the right to restore all things.  Esau and his descendents, on the other hand, are promised destruction and desolation.  Consider the Lord’s strong words:

 

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13).

 

Why such strong words against Esau?  If Jacob, through his son Joseph, will restore all things, then what might be the role of Esau through one of his descendents? Remember how the Lord said that he would put enmity (hatred) between Satan and the woman, between his seed and her seed?  Was it not enmity (hatred) between Esau and Jacob when Esau said that he hated Jacob because of the blessing he was blessed with?  Sounds like enmity to me.  Furthermore, Esau vowed to kill his brother Jacob once their father had passed away.  The subject of murdering brothers gets back to the story of Cain and Abel where we find the first mention of secret combinations and sons of perdition.

 

If Esau represents the sons of perdition and their ilk, then surely his patriarchal blessing would offer some clues.  Let’s take a closer look at the blessing Esau received from his father, Isaac.

 

“And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

 

Compare the bolded words above to Jacob’s blessing:

 

“Therefore God give thee [Jacob] of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine” (Genesis 27:28).

 

What is the difference?  The difference is that Jacob was given the fatness of the earth, yet Esau would dwell from the fatness of the earth.  How could the Edomites dwell off the fatness of the earth if it didn’t belong to them?  They would have to rob it back, wouldn’t they?  Think Gadianton Robbers.  Remember the coming Assyrian?  Let’s read his words again:

 

“For he saith, By the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom I have done these things; for I am prudent, and I have moved the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man” (Isaiah 10:13).

 

Let us continue now with Esau’s blessing:

 

…and by thy sword shalt thou [Esau] live…

 

Haven’t we all heard that “he who lives by the sword will die by the sword?”

Compare living and dying by the sword to the following prophecy:

 

“And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end;

Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee; since thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee” (Ezekiel 35:3-6).

 

Hear again the words of the Assyrian:

 

“For he saith, By the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom I have done these things; for I am prudent, and I have moved the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down (killed or destroyed) the inhabitants like a valiant man” (Isaiah 10:13).

 

Now back to Esau’s blessing:

 

“…and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou [Esau] shalt have the dominion, that thou [Esau] shalt break his [Jacob] yoke from off thy neck.

 

This is quite a blessing.  Esau cannot inherit the land, but will be allowed to “dwell there.”  Esau will be yoked (in some form of bondage) to his brother Jacob yet will live by the sword against him.  And now we read that the time will come when ESAU WILL HAVE THE DOMINION, breaking Jacob’s yoke from off his neck.  Now wait just a minute.  Scriptures are very clear that Esau will be destroyed, so what does this blessing mean that Esau will eventually have the dominion over Jacob?  Should we take another listen to the Assyrian?

 

“For he saith, By the strength of my hand, and by my wisdom I have done these things; for I am prudent, and I have moved the borders of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man” (Isaiah 10:13).

 

The Assyrian believes that by the strength of his own hands, and by his wisdom, he accomplished all these things.  What things?  He scattered the people, robbed their treasures, and destroyed them.  If we read  the next verse (Isaiah 14), the Assyrian goes on to say that his hand found “as a nest” the riches of the people, gathered their eggs, and in the process, not one “moved the wing, opened the mouth, or peeped.”  In other words, the Assyrian would accomplish dominion by way of a silent revolution, just like the Marxists of old described it would happen. 

 

The entire world is currently transforming into a one-world governmental system and who has stopped it?  None have “moved the wing, opened the mouth, or peeped.”  It is an unstoppable agenda.  I am reminded of several articles written by the Luciferians, themselves.  Was it Madam Blavatsky who forecasted a coming time when “their chains would finally be broken and they would be rid of us awful Christians?”  Was it Albert Pike who said that “their enemies (Christianity and atheism) would finally be conquered and exterminated at the same time?”  I know for sure it was a Noahide teacher who subtitled his lecture in February 2001 with the following words:  “Our purpose is to subdue and transform the world.”  What did he mean that their purpose is to “subdue” the world?  Subdue, in the Hebrew language (which is this Noahide professor’s specialty), means to tread in pieces and conquer.  The word “conquer” in the Hebrew means to overcome or prevail.  John the Revelator had something interesting to say on this subject.  He said that a certain Beast would be allowed to make war with the saints (living by the sword) and to overcome them (Revelation 13).  Can we connect the dots?

 

So just who is this “Esau” who would live by the sword, and finally one day have dominion over Jacob?  Does that sound like the Arab population?  The media might lead us to think so, and I do believe that events have been arranged in the Middle East to make it seem this to be the case.  But like the nation-state of Israel, it is just more of the same delusion or counterfeit.

 

The entire book of Obadiah is about Edom, or Esau.  I would like to embark upon a brief study of that book now, and will bold the scriptures for readability. 

 

“Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom...I have made thee small among the heathen; thou art greatly despised.”

 

If these Edomites are who I think they are, then they are indeed a despised people.  And notice that God says that he “made them small among the heathen.”  The Arabs are most definitely not a small people, but the sons of perdition and their allies would fit that description quite nicely.

 

“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?”

 

Who dwells in the high habitations, far away from the rest of the world?  Does that sound like Arabs?  Or does that sound more like those who control the world from their high towers and luxury suites in Switzerland and other far away places?  Their pride has them thinking that they will never be brought down.  This is very reminiscent of the Noahide literature I’ve been reading.  They speak so confidently of the time when they will soon have their dominion (their messiah and ruling elite, that is), and how that dominion will never fall.  Remember what I just wrote above, that their goal is openly advertised as that of subduing and transforming the world.

 

“Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.”

 

Edom exalts himself as an eagle and sets his nest among the stars, yet the Lord will throw him down!  Does that sound familiar?  Compare to the following prophecy of Isaiah:

 

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

 

“If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?”

 

The Lord is comparing Edom to the average robber or grape gatherer.  The average robber would steal only until they’d had enough, but not these people.  These people want it all—to conquer, subdue, and overcome! 

 

“How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!”

 

His hidden things?  Secret combinations? 

 

“All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border; the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee; there is none understanding in him.”

 

Confederacy is another word for “conspiracy.” 

 

“Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?”

 

The terminology “wise men” is interesting.  This is precisely how they refer to themselves, even openly in publications such as Foreign Affairs and Newsweek. 

 

Although the entire vision of Obadiah is worth studying, I now want to skip to verse 17 where I will begin to conclude this discussion of Esau.

 

“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”

 

Esau is having his day right now, but the time will come when Jacob will take back what is rightfully his.  In fact, Esau will even become Jacob’s servant in that day.  Below are a few of many references that prove this to be true, the first of which was a “type.”

 

“And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went” (2 Samual 8:14).

 

“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt” (Amos 9:11-13).

 

“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited” (3 Nephi 10:10-11).

 

“But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together; they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them” (2 Nephi 9:129).

 

“And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place; yea, from far, unto the end of the earth, and they shall return to their land of promise, and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids; and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.  (Isaiah 14:2-3 & 2 Nephi 10-24-25)

 

“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10).

 

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee” (Revelation 3:9).

 

“And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly” (Numbers 24:18).

 

Compare the verses above to the promise given to Jacob:

 

“Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee; cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee” (Genesis 27:29).

 

It’s true folks, eye has not seen, nor has ear heard what the Lord has in store for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4). 

 

There are too many people still oblivious to the evil these Gentile sons of perdition are preparing for the house of Jacob.  For those who aren’t well read on secret combinations, or have little understanding of what lies ahead, it may be of little use to learn how the Lord will one day reverse the roles of this earth’s inhabitants.  But for those who are informed, it should be humbling to consider that those who exalt themselves now will be abased, and those who are abased now will be exalted.  How many times did Jesus say those very words?

 

Is this overwhelming?  I remember how I felt when I first realized that the nation-state of Israel was a strong delusion, and that the Jews I thought were Jews were not scriptural Jews at all.  I remember the magnitude of that discovery, and would suggest that the magnitude of this discovery is close to being its equivalent.  For that reason, it isn’t something that can be fully grasped overnight.  What it means for me, personally, is that I need to open up my Bible and start reading it all over again, as I’ve often had to do after a discovery of this nature.  With each reading, the words become clearer and clearer on every page and in every chapter.

 

In closing, I also want to mention that certain mystic sources of the Kabbala (read: sons of perdition and their allies) have claimed that Ishmael was promised dominion over the Holy Land for thirteen centuries.  What a curious prophecy, given that the land of Palestine was largely uncontested for precisely thirteen centuries between the birth of Islam (when the term “Arab” and “Ishmael” were linked) and the conquering of Palestine by the “Jews.”  These same Kabbalah mystics have also revealed that the Son of David (the Anointed, as they call him) will not come until Ishmael is felled.  So now we have some idea what to expect, courtesy of the prophecy counterfeiters.

 

The sons of perdition have indeed interpreted prophecy for us, and will continue to interpret it in the days ahead in greater ferocity and determination.  They have studied for centuries how to finalize the events that are now just ahead of us (Alma 6:22), all in preparation to subdue, conquer, and overcome the yoke of Jacob.  That’s how badly Esau wants his birthright back.  That’s how much Esau hated Jacob.  That’s the enmity between the seeds.  When Esau sold his birthright, he hadn’t fully comprehended what he was forfeiting.  But once he received his blessing, reality struck him that he had just impoverished himself, so he vowed then and there to take back what he figured was rightfully his.  Remember again what the blessing stated:  “…it shall come to pass WHEN thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck” (Genesis 27:40).  Esau will be given the dominion for a short space.  He will exalt his throne for a time, but the Lord will bring him down.  There is so much more that could be written, but it is time to conclude the matter.

 

Why do I believe these prophetic understandings are so important?  Because a half lie is more dangerous than a full or obvious lie.  It would seem that Satan wants to counterfeit every aspect of prophecy, and in this he hopes to deceive even the elect.  We want the Kingdom of God on earth so badly and he knows it, so he is doing everything in his power to give us a “false” one first. 

 

Why do I study secret combinations, so many people wonder.  It would be enough to study the scriptures alone were it not for all the propaganda that we cannot help but absorb from our friends, our families, our schools, our media, even and especially our Christian bookstores and churches.  No wonder the Lord commanded that we “awaken to our awful situation,” and also that we get knowledge “in all things that pertain to the kingdom of God, things both in heaven and in earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, and things which must shortly come to pass, things which are at home, things which are abroad, wars and perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land” (Section 85).  Do we get it?  God wants a learned and awakened people.  Think “parable of the ten virgins,” and keep the fire burning, brothers and sisters.

 

Bless the Lord for all the doors he opens!

Jan Griffith 

 

“…and also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world” (Section 1:6c).