NOTES ON THE DRUMS OF WAR: FIVE STAGES ON THE ROAD TO ARMAGEDDON – PART II: THE PSALM 83 WAR

SCRIPTURE. [ASAPH] “O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive when we pray. Answer us! Deliver us! Don’t you hear the tumult and commotion of your enemies? Don’t you see what they are doing, these proud men who hate the Lord? They are full of craftiness and plot against your people, laying plans to slay your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘and let us wipe out Israel as a nation—we will destroy the very memory of her existence.’” – PSALM 83:1-4, TLB

QUOTATIONS

AL-BANNA. “If the Jewish State becomes a fact, and this is realized by the Arab peoples, they will drive the Jews who live in their midst into the sea.” – Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, ‘New York Times,’ 1948; edited

BEN-GURION. “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to Statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal ‘Book of Books.’ After being forcibly exiled from their Land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their Return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.” – David Ben-Gurion, ‘The Declaration of the State of Israel,’ Tel Aviv, May 14, 1948; edited

MEIR. “When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” – Golda Meir, ‘A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography,’ 1973; edited

  1. FIRST THOUGHTS

You will recall again my fascination with, nearly an obsession with, ‘Origins.’ All the more so the central focus of our discussion of this war – and mostly all others: ISRAEL. The very name provokes deeply rooted sentiments ranging from transcendental awe and reverence, all the way to churning hatred and vitriol nearly unmatched in relation to any other Nation and people.

‘Why’ is this so, beloved?

I intend to show you some of The Answer, discovered after decades of research, reflection, and an intense recent study of Israel commissioned by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews to develop a course on “History of the Jews” in 2018. To drastically understate it in today’s common vernacular:

“It’s complicated.”

ORIGIN OF THE COVENANT. One cannot possibly grasp the immensity of this subject without mastering, or at least appreciating its Ancient Taproot in the rich soil of Yahweh’s very Heart and Eternal Plans for Mankind.

It all started in a dusty Sumerian city-state by the name of Ur of the Chaldeans, located in the southern quadrant of what we now call, Iraq (Mesopotamia). History records that ABRAM was on his way from there to a place called, Haran, a journey of about 600  miles to southern Turkey.

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves].’” – GENESIS 12:1-3, AMP

THE SIGNIFICANCE. This Divine Commission has also come to mean many things to us in the present, not the least of which is that Israel is, both now and forever: THE ROOT AND BRANCH of God’s Eternal Provision for Mankind to be able to Return to God from his catastrophic Fall in the Garden.

However, there is a COROLLARY: It also means that such ‘Divine Chosen-ness’ leads not only to unique ‘Blessing,’ but also to worldwide ‘Hatred’ toward the Chosen, whether Jew or Christian. Thus, both Triumph and Trial follow after God’s people everywhere.

It is simply, ‘The way of things.’

MATTHEW HENRY offers brilliant, detailed and eloquent testimony to this Historic Covenant.

“God made choice of Abram and singled him out from among his fellow-idolaters, that he might reserve a people for Himself, among whom His true worship might be maintained till the Coming of Christ. From henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of the History in the Bible. Abram was tried whether he loved God better than all, and whether he could willingly ‘leave all’ to go with God. His kindred and his father’s house were a constant temptation to him, he could not continue among them without danger of being infected by them. Those who leave their sins, and turn to God, will be unspeakable gainers by the change.

The Command God gave to Abram, is much the same with the Gospel Call, for natural affection must give way to Divine Grace. Sin, and all the occasions of it, must be forsaken; particularly bad company. Here are many great and precious Promises. All God’s precepts are attended with Promises to the Obedient.

(1) I will make of thee a great nation. When God took Abram from his own people, he promised to make him the head of another people. (2) I will bless thee. Obedient believers shall be sure to inherit the blessing. (3) I will make thy name great. The name of obedient believers shall certainly be made great. (4) Thou shalt be a blessing. Good men are the blessings of their country. (5) I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. God will take care that none are losers, by any service done for his people. (6) In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

JESUS CHRIST is the Great Blessing of the world [Issuing from all this], the greatest that ever the world possessed. All the true blessedness the world is now, or ever shall be possessed of, is ‘owing to Abram and his posterity.’ Through them we have a Bible, a Saviour, and a Gospel. They are the Stock on which the Christian Church is grafted.” – ‘Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 6 vols. 1708-1710; edited

BIRTHRIGHT. Thus do ABRAM AND ISRAEL become both our own Royal Birthplace and Spiritual Center from which all comes to us from the Son of God, our Jewish Messiah, Yehoshua ben David, the King of Israel and the entire Universe forever.

  1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JEWS

Here is a ‘Snippet Synopsis’ of what I gathered from copious early research on my course of the same name in 2018 for the IFCJ.

I adopt a Bullet Points approach for efficiency.

  • THE BIBLE AS HISTORY. To understand the Jewish people, one must understand that the Hebrew Bible, or ‘Tanakh,’ is made up of what Christians call The Old Testament. ‘Encyclopædia Britannica’ Online (2018) states: “In its general framework, the Hebrew Bible is the account of God’s dealing with the Jews as His chosen people, who collectively call themselves Israel.”
  • FIRST PROMISE:“Now the Lord said to Abram [pre-covenant name], ‘Get out of your country, from your family And from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3).
  • A MONOTHEISTIC GOD. This idea of a single, fully sovereign and completely self-sustaining Deity shapes not only Judaism and Christianity, but Islam as well, with Abraham considered by all as Patriarch of each system of belief. ‘God As a Person.’ This is the radical departure from all other religious thought, that the Jewish God is, though un-visualized, a real Person who makes crystal clear ‘Moral Distinctions’ for all Mankind that must be followed.
  • ORDERED LIBERTY. This important phrase used so often by our Founders refers to the indescribably powerful Principle: All Order is based on Truth and Virtue. Where these are found in society, there is Divine Blessing. Where they are absent, there is Divine Wrath. Selah.
  • MOSES: PROPHET-WARRIOR. Moses is the fulcrum-figure in Jewish history, the hinge around which it all turns. If Abraham was the ancestor of the race, Moses was the essentially creative force, the ‘moulder’ of the people; under him and through him, they became a distinctive people, with a future as a Nation” (1987, pp. 26-27).
  • THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI. Thus did Moses, “Prophet and Leader, a man of decisive actions and electric presence, capable of huge wrath and ruthless resolve, but also a man of intense spirituality, loving solitary communion,” bring the people to the edge of the forbidding Mountain of Almighty God (Johnson, 1987, p. 27).
  • PREPARATION.In Chapter 19 of Exodus, the people are told to “Prepare for a Revelation from God by washing their clothes and refraining from sexual intercourse” (MacDonald, 1995, p. 107). ‘The Terror of God.’ No one was to ascend the Mountain, save for Moses and Aaron, and that by Divine Invitation only, on penalty of  death. – “And When He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of The Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Genesis 31:18).  

DOCTRINAL NOTE. In today’s Church and their precursive network of Christian Seminaries, it has come to be believed that The Law is no longer relevant to the believer’s life, since Jesus has “fulfilled” the Law. Let’s take a closer look at that massive theological error.

The Messiah taught the following.

“Do not think that I came to do away with or undo the Law [of Moses] or the [writings of the] Prophets; I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you and most solemnly say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke [of the pen] will pass from the Law until all things [which it foreshadows] are accomplished. So whoever breaks one of the least [important] of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least [important] in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – MATTHEW 5:17-19, AMP

DR. KNOX CHAMBLIN. Comes to us with impeccable credentials as Pastor and Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, with B.D. and Th.M. degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary and a Th.D. degree from Union Theological Seminary.

“A voice crying in the wilderness” nearly without peer for Truth-telling concerning the American Church’s Lost Love for the Law. Taken from his ‘Commentary on Matthew’ (2010; edited).

“Jesus commands his followers to OBEY THE LAW [due to] the Law’s abiding relevance. ‘The Law’ of 5:18 is the Mosaic Law, as is clear from the immediately preceding reference to ‘the Law or the Prophets’ (v. 17). Jesus commends ‘whoever practices and teaches ‘these commands’ (v. 19), i.e., those of the Law of v. 18. The injunction of v. 19 (where the language is universal and unqualified) ‘applies to disciples’ just as surely as to anyone else. The ‘righteousness’ to which Jesus calls them, v. 20, is the very quality of life to which the Mosaic Law summoned Israel … 

The Call to Renewed Obedience The demand for “righteousness” (5:20), is a call to REDISCOVERTHE OT, and to obey certain existing demands of the law, in face of disobedience to the law by its most scrupulous adherents (v. 20) and the ‘repudiation of the Law by Antinomian false prophets’ (7:15-20). As those who honor human tradition in place of God’s Law (15:1-9), the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law are in the deepest sense Antinomian. Jesus censures them (5:20), not for taking the Law too seriously but for failing to take it seriously enough …

The Call to Radical Obedience. In Mt. 5-7, Jesus is not expounding a new law. Yet the Sermon is no Deuteronomium, no mere repetition of OT Teaching. THE MOSAIC LAW remains Jesus’ ‘Text’ throughout; but His exposition is unprecedented, decisive, and conclusive. The Dawn of the Eschaton, and the presence of Yahweh Incarnate, are realities of such magnitude that Jesus calls his followers to the most radical kind of Law-Keeping. Matthew 5:20 both concludes (5:17-20) and introduces (5:21-48). The disciples’ “righteousness” comes about by ‘fidelity to the Ancient Law’ (the subject of 5:17-19) as interpreted by Jesus (5:21-48).”

DK’S TAKE. Beloved, are you hearing this? The American Church has eliminated this priceless Orthodoxy from virtually ALL our houses of worship, and as immeasurable consequence, we are losing everything! – Canon, Church, Nation, Order, Love, Divine Blessing – all evaporating like a mist in the blaze of a desert sun. 

As I have written for over two years now, I believe that the Great Failure of the American Church is SUMMARIZED in this way.

  • FALSE FIRST PREMISE. It is no longer necessary to ‘Obey’ the Law. At all! DK: Illustration – Jesus Returns as you are shooting heroin for the past three years while in a whore house, as you loudly renounce Christ – yet you go on the Rapture regardless.
  • THE REASON. The Blood of Christ covers ALL sins forever, with or without Repentance, in rejection of the total Lordship of Christ. DK: This is because God loves you without condition and died on the Cross for every sin – past, present and future. An aberration of the Cry: “It is finished! (Jn. 19:20).
  • AN AMERICAN JESUS. This in turn preaches a False Christ who requires nothing from you, up to and including the daily disciplines of prayer, confession, witnessing or acts of kindness generally. DK: Thus, the Old and New Testament Command to loving God and our neighbor” more than ourselves is nullified (Mt. 22:37-40), producing licentiousness.
  • ANTINOMIANISM. The disastrous result of this ‘No-Fault Gospel’contributes overwhelmingly to the current, massive and increasing American Apostasy we see everywhere. DK: The Church has at this point has canonized cultural myths (such as ‘The American Gospel’), having completely lost sight of our Taproot, and are now in pitched Decline from the entire Canon (cf. 2 Thess. 2:
  • A DECEIVED NATION. We have by this stage therefore completely reconstructed a ‘New’ or ‘False Church’ that fails America in Moral Instruction,havingbecome tolerant of all sin inside the House of God, while castigating “those outside,” which is clearly against the true Canon. DK: The Spirit of God has ‘departed’ from such churches, and they begin to close as Jesus removes their Lampstands (cf. 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Rev. 2:5).
  • NIGHTFALL. Our ‘Spiritual Collapse from Virtue’ has, as our Founders and Framers warned incessantly and severely, resulted in the Collapse of the American Order. DK: Here we see the widespread prosecution of all those who will not submit to this New Order (or Disorder), ranging from ridicule to denial of rights to sequestration to execution (cf. Mt. 24:10; 2 Thess. 2:3).
  • WORLD CHAOS. Finally, since America has been the Moral and Political Mainstay of World Order, America’s Spiritual Failure is now contributing to the Disintegration of the Balance of Power among the nations. DK: An we come full circle to the ‘Wars and Rumors of Wars’ Prophecy, from massive instability everywhere (cf. Mt. 24:6; 1 Thess. 5:3).

REJECTION OF THE LYNCHPIN.  So here we all are, beloved, in this vast and reeling world midst a proliferating Spiritual Wilderness. WHY? Because we have torn out the Taproot of the Tree, expecting the Branches to survive and succeed without it.

In the fiery words of the Apostle: What treachery!

“If the first portion [of dough offered as the first fruits] is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root (Abraham, the patriarchs) is holy, so are the branches (the Israelites). But if some of the branches were broken off, and you [Gentiles], being like a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share with them the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the [broken] branches and exalt yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root that supports you.” – ROMANS 11:16-18, AMP

And all of it, beloved, triggered by our uniquely American Rejection of the Jewish God, His Law, and His Prophets in favor of a Hyper-Grace Gospel and ‘Happy Jesus’ that is killing a Nation, fueling the Disintegration of all things, and accelerating the very ‘End of History As We Know it,’ the subtitle of my first book.

Selah. Selah.

  1. THE TEACHING: THE PSALM 83 WAR

SCRIPTURE. “O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive when we pray. Answer us! Deliver us! Don’t you hear the tumult and commotion of your enemies? Don’t you see what they are doing, these proud men who hate the Lord? They are full of craftiness and plot against your people, laying plans to slay your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘and let us wipe out Israel as a nation—we will destroy the very memory of her existence’” – PSALM 83:1-4, TLB

ARAB-ISLAMIC CONFEDERATION (VV. 5-8). Here we have described a highly aggravated Confederation of Arab-Islamic States assembled by those who have been conspiring for many years to launch a Fourth War of Annihilation against the State of Israel. Why? For her many years of alleged persecution and displacement of the Arab Palestinians, who continued to in sustained rejection of Israel’s Divine claim to the Land (cf. Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18-21; Isaiah 14:1; Ezekiel 37:11-14).

More bluntly, also as manifestation of Millennia of Arabic hatred for Jews since the days of Muhammed in the 7th century. It thus: Follows on the heels of: The War of Independence in 1948; The Six- Day War of 1967; and The Yom Kippur War of 1973 – in which Israel was the unmistakable victor over the Arabs. It is not difficult to conceive of still another effort to avenge losses in each of those previous wars. Ironically, each of those wars were launched by the Arabs!

While this War is disputed among scholars as to whether or not it is separate from the others listed later, it indeed is connected in the sense that one war triggers another. But consider also that the nations enumerated here are very different than the others which follow at a later time; i.e., they are no longer mentioned in those later conflicts.

Here are the roughly TEN NATIONS that define this Confederacy, distinctly different than the Six Nations that attacked Israel in the 1967 Six Day War (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon). – ‘Wikipedia,’ June 22, 2022

  • Edom (Esau’s descendants];
  • Moab, Gebal, and Ammon (Jordan);
  • Ishmaelites and Hagrites (Saudi Arabia);
  • Amalek (Egypt);
  • Philistia (Gaza, Palestine);
  • Tyre (Lebanon); Assyria (Syria, Iraq);
  • The Children of Lot (scattered through Mideast).

THESIS. These nations are apparently defeated by Israel ‘before’ the next wars, serving again as a ‘Trigger’ to those subsequent battles. You will note that this Coalition is in fact, not part of the Last Wars, having been eliminated from the historic Contest between the Arab Nations and Israel in this War. This is admittedly speculative, but it does fit the larger Mideast Scenario that has been roiling since the Lord gave The Land of Promise to the Jews forever (cf. Genesis 15:18; Exodus 6:8; Deuteronomy 34:1-12).

THE COMMENTARY. “Psalm 83 foretells of a future 10-Member Alliance, comprised of the Arab territories that mostly share common borders with Israel, who will form an alliance and seek to wipe Israel ‘off of the map.’ Verses 6-8 of Psalm 83 reveal the ancient identity of the nations in the alliance, which could also include notable terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and more …


Historians and Bible scholars recognize that these nations have never formed an alliance, and that is why this is a Prophecy—yet to be fulfilled. Amazingly ALL the nationalities listed above, in the Psalm 83 Alliance, are the exact neighboring enemies of Israel who are at present, warning Israel of their intentions to destroy her and of whose preparations to come against Israel are dominating the headlines. This alliance is forming today.” – EDITORS, ‘Christian Post,’ Feb. 12, 2018; edited

NOTE: Neither are these nations signatories to the recently constituted ‘Abraham Accords’ brokered by former president Donald Trump and largely drafted by Jared Kushner (Sep. 15, 2020). To date, they include only: The United Arab Emirates (UAE); Bahrain; some report that Sudan, Morocco and several other Arab states are waiting in the wings.

But none from the 10 Member Confederation of the Psalm 83 War.

  1. LAST THOUGHTS

HARBINGER. As I begin closing out our discussion, I am reminded of HERMAN WOUK’S classic novel published in 1971, ‘The Winds of War.’ The novel features a mixture of real and fictional characters that are all connected to the extended family of Victor “Pug” Henry, a fictional middle-aged Naval Officer and confidant of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The story arc begins six months before Germany‘s Invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ends shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when the United States and, by extension, the Henry family, enters the war as well. – Adapted from ‘Wikipedia,’ Apr. 24, 2022

RUSSIA & UKRAINE. The reason for my mention of Wouk’s work is that nations are ‘pulled into war’ most often, against their own initial reluctances – and with good reason! The brutal precedent of the German War against Poland in 1939, and today’s equally vicious and lawless Russian Invasion of Ukraine, demands our attention as Christian ‘Watchers on the Wall’ (cf. Isaiah 62:6; Ezekiel 33:6).

Spanish philosopher, poet, essayist and novelist GEORGE SANTAYANA of course said it best in his classic, ‘Life of Reason’ (1905-1906): “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”

A number of respected scholars and historians are now weighing in on this chilling Parallel. Here is just one offered by attorney and Wall Street financial expert, RYAN O’CONNELL, in ‘The Globalist’ (Jan. 12, 2022; edited).

“A brutal dictator threatens to invade one of his neighbors, a much smaller country that he claims is a threat to his nation. Furthermore, he asserts, his country has a historical right to the other nation’s territory, which was stolen from his. The smaller country has a young but vibrant democracy and a brave but hopelessly outmatched army. Western leaders, wringing their hands, deplore the situation but don’t take aggressive steps to help the country under threat. The dictator’s gamble succeeds, and he conquers his neighbor as the West stands by.

We’re talking, of course, about Poland in 1939, which Great Britain and France refused to defend against [ADOLF] HITLER. We are also talking about Ukraine in 2014 … and now, eight long years later, in 2022. VLADIMIR PUTIN, like Hitler, is using a Big Lie to justify massing almost 100,000 Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, triggering fears of an imminent invasion. Will President JOE BIDEN and other Western leaders act forcefully to stop Putin? Or will they acquiesce as he pursues his vision of restoring Russia’s empire in Eastern Europe?”

WORLD WAR AT THE BRINK. Beloved, I do not enjoy writing these analyses, but it would seem that I have been preparing for them all my professional (and even personal) life. I cannot avoid what I see and hear and discern more and more every single passing day. But let me also quickly add that we need not fear, if we are truly, fully “in Christ.”

Jesus Himself commanded in that Olivet Discourse cited at the front of this entire series: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. ‘See that you are not troubled;’ for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (MATTHEW 24:6, NKJV).

BE NOT TROUBLED! Taken from the core term, ‘Throeó’ [θροέω], it means: “Be not troubled nor disturbed (by wailing or clamoring); do not be alarmed nor panic due to the tumult all about; terrified enough to scream; do not become agitated or startled; to scare in anticipation of an approaching danger; to shock suddenly with the approach of evil; to daunt; to dismay; to become anxious or afraid; caused to experience extreme fear; to become filled or overwhelmed with dread [at what is actually approaching, or the mere report or rumor of its advance].”

To add richness to this wonderful encouragement to us all in a time of desperate instability, comes to us from ‘The Pulpit Commentary’ by JOSEPH EXELL AND HENRY DONALD MAURICE SPENCE-JONES, published in 1890.

“‘See that ye be not troubled’; rather, ‘See, be ye not troubled, Look on it all, and yet be not affrighted.’ All these things (πάντα) must come to pass. All that I announce is sure to occur, not from any absolute necessity, but because of men’s passions and perverseness, which will bring it to pass (see on Matthew 18:7; and James 4:1). ‘The End is not yet!’”

CODA. What this means to me is TWOFOLD: (1) There is still time to rescue some from The Fire, beloved, so don’t give up quite yet. (2) We who are fully “in Christ” are not appointed to God’s Wrath, defined in blistering terms as ‘The End,’ with its savage Trumpet and Bowl Judgment that shatter the known elements and nearly destroy all Mankind and the Earth itself.

We are here, however, for the First Five Seal Judgments right up to the Sixth Seal’s explosion of Divine Fury. So no, we don’t get off Scott free by any stretch of imagination. But we are forever buttressed by this magnificent Promise for such Apocalyptic occasion:

“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the security and stability of your times, a treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is your treasure.” – ISAIAH 33:5-7 AMP

If we had not a single other assurance, this alone would suffice for the worst of the Last Things we are to face. He shall be our ‘Emunah’ [אֱמוּנָה]: Literally, our ‘Amen,’ our Steadfastness and Faithfulness when we walk upon the stones of fire, our Moral Firmness and Supernatural Courage in the face of danger.

The Sages cry out from the past that God is our constancy, our intrepidity and our valor in testing and battle. Indeed, ‘our Shalom’ in the midst of Chaos. Therefore, we need not worry, beloved: We shall have all that we need and more, so long as we stay tight inside the Sanctuary of His Wisdom.

And the Fear of the Lord shall indeed by our Treasure and our Rock now, and for His endless Ages yet to come later.

Ever your servant, DK  

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