Esau and Ishmael Unite Against Israel in Fulfillment of Ancient Prophecy

February 4, 2016

3 min read

We are living in a time when the fulfillment of ancient Jewish prophecy, uniting Arabs and the West against Israel, is headline news.

Signs that Western Europe is cooperating with Arab demands for a state in the midst of Israel are becoming commonplace.

When the UN General Assembly voted in 2012 on whether to recognize the non-existent State of Palestine, 138 countries voted in favor, including the Western European countries of Austria, France, Italy and Spain.

A year ago this month, the first Palestinian Embassy in Western Europe officially opened its doors in Stockholm, Sweden.

Last week, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced France’s intention to officially recognize a Palestinian state if negotiations between Israel and the PA fail. Couched as an attempt to force Israel to return to negotiations with Abbas, in fact, it gives Abbas every reason to avoid negotiations.

Last week as well, the Pope met with the President of Iran. Iran is widely recognized as the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. Yet the Vatican released a statement, after the Pope’s meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, claiming that Pope Francis and Rouhani share “common spiritual values”.

For Bible believers, these and similar news items that reflect increasing cooperation between the Arab world and the West should be viewed as fulfillment of ancient Jewish prophecy. Jewish tradition contains a 2,000 year-old prophecy that the children of Esau (today’s Western nations) and the children of Ishmael (today’s Arab nations) will unite against the Jewish people at the End of Days.

This alliance was forged at the very beginning of the Bible, when Esau married Ishmael’s daughter.

So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. (Genesis 28:9)

Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman, in his book The Ishmaelite Exile, explains that the first century Jewish sage Jonathan ben Uzziel wrote about how this Biblical alliance would reappear at the End of Days. Ben Uzziel wrote:

“Great ships full of weapons will depart as a large fleet from Roman Italy and will join up with a legion that will depart from Constantine [this is Ishmael]. They will harm the inhabitants of other lands, and subjugate the descendants of Eber [a reference to Israel].”

This 2,000-year-old prophecy brings together the descendents of Esau, who ben Uzziel calls Roman Italy, with the descendents of Ishmael, who join in war against Israel.

Nevertheless, ben Uzziel prophesied a joyful ending: “[I]n the end, they, too, will fall into the hand of Moshiach (Messiah), and will perish forevermore.”

Breaking Israel News spoke to End Times scholar and author Rabbi Pinchas Winston about the increasing cooperation between the descendents of Esau and the descendents of Ishmael.

Winston explained to Breaking Israel News how the degree of cooperation prevalent today was once unfathomable. “At one time it was difficult to imagine the so-called civilized world ganging up on Israel and forcing them to endanger their existence,” he said.

“The Arabs were terrorists and contributed little to the benefit of Western society, while the Israelis were democratic and devoted to technological advancement. The Palestinians were murdering innocent people and teaching their children to do the same, while the Israelis were avoiding war at all cost.

“Logic dictated that the world support Israel until the Arab world matured and enveloped the notion of peace from a Western perspective. It had to learn to love peace more than it hates Jews. Not only did it not do this, but it has no plans to.”

Winston concluded his analysis by pointing out how non-believers are mistaken. “Many in the West, especially in Europe, have overlooked the ‘sins’ of the Arab world while ignoring the virtues of the Jewish state. They also either make up Israeli flaws or over-exaggerate smaller ones.

“In short, they have confused David for Goliath and Goliath for David, with little or no remorse at all. For believers, this is nothing short of a miraculous but disturbing fulfillment of prophecy and a serious wake-up call.”

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