The conflict between Jews and Arabs

started in Biblical times

http://www.therefinersfire.org/ishmael_and_isaac.htm

The battle is between the 12 princes/rulers of Ishmael and 12 tribes of Israel....

Arabs and the Israelis have been fighting since time immemorial over that tiny plot of
land called Israel. Their battle is not one of flesh and blood, but of spiritual things. The
Bible states that the last great battle will pit Israel against the rest of the Middle East
and its allies. How did it all begin and why have they remained mortal enemies for
thousands of years?

It began in Genesis 16 when YHWH (Yahweh) made His Covenant with Abraham's son
Isaac, and in essence, sent the half-brother Ishmael on his merry way to become "a
geat nation" (the present day Arabs, most of whom are Muslim). In Genesis 16:13-16
(years before Abraham's second son Isaac was born) the Angel of the Lord told
Abraham's servant Hagar that her son Ishmael would be "...a wild donkey of a man, His
hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; and he will live
to the east of all his brothers."

Genesis 17: 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!" 19
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name
Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his
descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him,
and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father
of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish
with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year."

Conflict between the two sons of Abraham began from the very start. Genesis 21:9 says
the conflict began just after Isaac was weaned: "Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the
Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking."

Galatians 4 tells us that Ishmael had been "born according to the flesh" while Isaac had
been "born according to the promise". Isaac replaced Ishmael as the favored son and
heir. This, of course, made Ishmael jealous and bitter. As a result, he mocked and
disdained his half-brother. Eventually the situation became so intolerable that
Abraham's wife Sarah demanded that Ishmael and his Egyptian concubine mother,
Hagar, be expelled permanently from Abraham's family.

But YHWH loved Hagar and her son, and had mercy upon them. He promised Hagar
that her son would beget twelve princes who would become a great nation. Ishmael
then went to live in the wilderness region of Hejaz in what became known as the
Arabian Peninsula. He indeed had twelve patriarchal sons who became associated with
the peoples known as Midianites, Edomites, Egyptians and Assyrians. The Bible and
Islamic tradition both agree that Ishmael became the leader of all the great desert
peoples of the Middle East.

YHWH provided many opportunities in this story for redemption of bad situations
created mostly out of disobedience and lack of faith. Abraham had agreed to
impregnate Hagar at the request of his wife Sarah, even though God had told Abraham
and Sarah that they would one day have their own son. To be fair to Ishmael, God
provided him a great kingdom of his own "to the east" of his brother, but it was never
enough. Ishmael's descendants have always been jealous that Isaac's descendants
were able to claim the full inheritance of Abraham.

This jealousy and resentment created an unparalleled hate which has set off wars and
atrocities for four thousand years. It was the title deed to the land of Israel, which God
promised to Abraham's lineage, that has been the source of the friction between the
Jews and the Arabs right up to the present day.

Muslims believe the Jews changed and distorted the Bible in order to establish
themselves as the heirs of Abraham's Covenant blessings. However, they fail to explain
how the New Testament clearly teaches that the Covenant was made with Isaac and his
descendants.

According to Islamic tradition, Abraham had eight sons rather than two who were
reared in Mecca, not Hebron. They insist it was Ishmael, not Isaac, whom Abraham was
about to sacrifice on Mount Moriah when an angel stopped him. According to the Koran,
the Abrahamic covenant, with its promises - including the title deed to the land of Israel
- was passed down to the Arabs through Ishmael, rather than to the Jews through
Isaac.

If one believes that the Old and New Testaments were written under the inspiration of
the Spirit of God, then there is no question that Israel is the Promised Land of the Jews.
God's words to Abraham in Genesis are some 2,500 years older than the creation of
Islam (whose "prophet" Mohammed was a murdering, thieving pedophile who "married"
a seven year old child - but that's another story).

The bottom line is, YHWH fulfilled His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael. And He
is about to use the consequential warfare between the two brothers in order to bring
about His "end time" scenario....

Note: We at The Refiner's Fire believe God is using the spirit of Islam to make His
end time prophecies happen. Why? Because, as a Muslim e-mail pen-pal of ours
recently wrote: "Muslims HATE Jews and Christians and all they stand for, including
 Capitalism." The Bible says that in the end times, believers in Yeshua will be
beheaded for their belief (Rev. 20:4). And who are the ONLY people in the entire
universe who still behead? The Muslims! They have become the world's worst
enemy, as evidenced by the myriad terrorist attacks not only on Israel but the
entire world. And the worst is yet to come....For more, please see our Challenging
Islam page.

Author Hal Lindsay recently wrote the following:

....This is exactly the situation that continues to develop in the Middle East. The world
has been dragged into the ancient conflict between Isaac and Ishmael in spite of its
best efforts to stay out of it. This conflict that has raged between these two half
brothers for 4,000 years is destined to ignite the last war of the world, according to the
Bible prophets.

Muhammad, a descendant of Ishmael, has brought over one billion people on to his
side of this ancient conflict through the religion of Islam. From the time he started the
Muslim religion, the dimensions of the conflict began to enlarge. When his followers laid
claim to Jerusalem as the their third holiest site, the die was cast for Jerusalem to
become the trigger of the war of Armageddon, just as the prophet Zechariah predicted
2500 years ago. Zechariah prophesied "Jerusalem would become a burdensome stone
for all the peoples" and that "All nations of the earth will be gathered [for war] because
of it." (Zechariah 12:3)

We are eyewitnesses to this taking place right now.

The other major spheres of power that will be drawn into this final war are clearly
predicted.

Ezekiel predicts that a nation to the extreme north of reborn Israel will become Israel's
arch enemy. It will be a nation with a vast arsenal with which it will arm all of the
Muslim nations. Russia is the only nation to the extreme north of Israel. And they are
descended from the tribe of Magog through the Scythians, just as Ezekiel predicted.
God Himself commands this power from the extreme north to take command of the
confederated Muslim forces and lead them in an all out attack against Israel. This
attack is the first battle of the war of Armageddon.

The Book of Revelation predicts another sphere of power that will enter this war with
200 million soldiers. This power bloc is called "the Kings of the East". They will move
into the Middle East and attack once the war has started. The Bible says they will wipe
out a third of the world's population.

The fourth power bloc is the Western force led by a revived form of the Roman Empire.
Daniel and the Apostle John both predict this power in great detail. It will begin when a
great leader springs up in Rome and takes the strongest 10 Nations of the EU and uses
them to form his power base.

No tribe or race in history has remained a distinct people group outside of a national
homeland for thousands of years like the Jewish people. No people on earth have ever
been repatriated after dozens of generations had forgotten their distinct language. No
people, that is, except for YHWH's people.

Therefore, no matter what anyone says (including President Obama, former Prez.
Jimmy Carter, Condeleeza Rice, and Billary - none of whom know the Scriptures in
context), the Land belongs to Yahweh's Chosen People. God gave the Land to Abraham
and his descendants in Genesis 15:18-19. Abraham bought a large burial site at
Hebron (Genesis 23:1-20); David bought the Temple Mount (1 Chronicles 21:25). And
to whom did they ever sell the Land? NOBODY!

Leviticus 25: 23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are
strangers and sojourners with me.

Whether "the world" likes it or not, the Bible tells us that God gave Abraham and
his descendents all the land of Israel, spanning to the Euphrates River (which includes
Jordan and Syria):

Genesis 15: 18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto
thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates: (the territory of) 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the
Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Genesis 35:10-12 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be
called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. And God said to him,
"I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of
nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to
Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after
you."

Deuteronomy 34: 4 "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring'"

2 Chronicles 6:5-6 'Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I
did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My
name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a leader over My people Israel; but
I have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen David to be
over My people Israel.'

Numbers 34: 1 ADONAI told Moshe 2 to give this order to the people of Isra'el:
"When you enter the land of Kena'an, it will become your land to pass on as an
inheritance, the land of Kena'an as defined by these borders. 3 "Your southern portion
will extend from the Tzin Desert close to the border of Edom. The eastern terminus of
your southern border is at the end of the Dead Sea. 4 From there your border turns,
goes south of the 'Akrabbim Ascent and passes on to Tzin. From there it goes south of
Kadesh-Barnea, on to Hatzar-Adar, and on to 'Atzmon. 5 Then the border turns and
goes from 'Atzmon to the Vadi of Egypt and along it to the Sea. 6 "Your western border
will be the Great Sea. 7 "Your northern border will be as follows: from the Great Sea
mark a line to Mount Hor, 8 and from Mount Hor mark a line to the entrance of Hamat.
The border goes out to Tz'dad. 9 Then the border goes to Zifron and finally to Hatzar-
'Einan; this is your northern border. 10 "For the eastern border mark your line from
Hatzar-'Enan to Sh'fam. 11 Then the border goes down from Sh'fam to Rivlah, on the
east side of 'Ayin, then down until it hits the slope east of Lake Kinneret. 12 From there
it goes down the Yarden River till it flows into the Dead Sea. These will be the borders
of your land." 13 Moshe gave this order to the people of Isra'el: "This is the land in
which you will receive inheritances by lot, which ADONAI has ordered to give to the
nine tribes and the half-tribe. 14 The tribe of the descendants of Re'uven have already
received their land for inheritance according to their clans, and so have the descendants
of Gad and the half-tribe of M'nasheh. 15 These two-and-a-half tribes have received
their inheritance on this side of the Yarden, across from Yericho and eastward, toward
the sunrise."

The bottom line

Today's "Palestinians" are actually Arabs who were strangers to the Land; many
were kicked out of surrounding countries for various reasons and ended up in Israel -
and they were allowed to remain in Israel after God kept His promise and made
Israel a nation once more in 1948! Instead of being grateful and "integrating" these
"foreigners" to Israel are now demanding the Land be returned to them.....

What strong statements! Here we can see that Israel is suffering BECAUSE they
allowed the Arabs and other settlers to remain in THEIR Land back in 1948 when Israel
was returned to them! The Jews are being harassed and killed still today because they
didn't obey YHWH to force ALL foreigners out of Israel....

So, here's a suggestion: Rather than to bow down to the "Palestinians" by dividing
Israel for purposes of "appeasement": Send the Arabs back to where they belong and
leave Israel alone! As you can see in the news, Israel and the Jews continue to be
attacked from every angle, just as they always have throughout history. Whether you
think they're right or wrong, "the Jews" are God's Chosen People, and Israel is God's
Land. We MUST be on their side, or suffer dire consequences:
Genesis 12: 3 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make
your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

In this passage He is clearly talking about His people and His land, Israel. Those who
go up against God's own will surely lose. This includes the Muslims who are attempting
to steal the entire Land of Israel and kill every Jew! Please take a few minutes to view
this urgent video from Rabbi Chaim Richman about the Temple Mount.

Ezekiel 37: 21 Then say to them that Adonai Elohim says: 'I will take the people of
Isra'el from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side
and bring them back to their own land.