The woman in the wilderness and the 144.000 - part 2
THE WOMAN IN THE WILDERNESS AND THE 144,000 : PART 2
Last Updated: 12/18/98
Esau And The Edomites, Lot And The Moabites And Ammonites, Pagan Worship Of The Edomites, Moabites And Ammonites, The Backslidden Jews, Israelites And Arabs - Enemies From The Start, Forsook God Of Their Fathers, False Religion Of Islam Three Broken Horns, Libya Question, Jordan's King Hussein And The Coming War, Mystery Of Petra, Destruction At Noonday
I concluded part one of this series by stating that while the woman's place of refuge might be somewhere in Israel, outside of Jerusalem, or perhaps even in the United States of America, there is a third possibility which is worthy of our consideration. Before explaining it to you, I am going to provide you with some interesting background material regarding the ancient history of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
According to both the Biblical and the historical record, thousands of years ago, the nation of Jordan was populated by three main groups; the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites. The Edomites, or Idumeans, were the descendants of Esau, the jealous twin brother of Jacob, who went to live at Mount Seir with his heathen wives. We are told that he had to oust the Horims, or 'cave dwellers', in order to take over what would eventually be called Edom. It is interesting to note that, just as southern Jordan is characterized by red and pink sandstone mountains, the word 'Edom' also means 'red'; and of course, Esau was red, or ruddy, and hairy at birth.
Consider the following verses which confirm these various points:
"And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau."
(Genesis 25:25)
"And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom."
(Genesis 32:3)
"So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir."
(Genesis 33:16)
"And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:"
(Genesis 26:34)
"Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife."
(Genesis 28:9)
"Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; And Bashemath Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel; And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle. Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir:"
(Genesis 36:1-9)
"And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession...The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them...As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:"
(Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 12, 22)
While the Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the Bible informs us that the Moabites, as well as the Ammonites, were the descendants of Abraham's nephew, Lot. This came about when Lot's two daughters decided to have sexual intercourse with their drunken father in order to preserve their seed, following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We find the story in the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Genesis:
"And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day."
(Genesis 19:30-38)
Just as the Lord had helped the Edomites to destroy the cave dwellers known as the Horim, so that they might inherit Edom and Mount Seir, He also helped the Moabites to destroy the giants, which they called the Emims, and the Ammonites to also destroy the giants known as the Zamzummims, in order that they too might possess the lands of Moab and Ammon.
We find the story in the Book of Deuteronomy:
"And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims."
(Deuteronomy 2:8-11)
"And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:"
(Deuteronomy 2:19-21)
Because the Edomites, the Moabites and the Ammonites were not the children of promise; that is, they were not the seed of faith through Isaac, as I explained in part one, it isn't surprising that they chose to forsake the God of their fathers; that is, of Abraham, Isaac and Lot, and worshipped the pagan gods of the heathen around them. Not only that, but they eventually had a negative spiritual influence on the children of Israel, and caused them to fall into pagan worship as well. This paganism and idolatry still existed at the time of the construction of the Second Temple following the Seventy Years of Captivity in Babylon.
This is evident by verses such as the following:
"For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites."
(Numbers 21:28-29)
"And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel."
(Numbers 25:1-3)
"For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites...Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon...Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father."
(1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33)
"And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile."
(2 Kings 23:13)
"Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness. For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together...And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence...Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives."
(Jeremiah 48:1-7, 13, 46)
"Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass."
(Ezra 9:1-2)
The Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites were so backslidden against the God of their fathers, that it wasn't before long that they became the outright enemies of the Israelites. You may recall from my other articles, that from the beginning, Jacob and Esau were enemies. Even before they were born, we are told that they struggled within their mother's womb; and at the actual time of their birth, this struggle was further symbolized when Jacob grabbed the heel of his slightly older brother, Esau. Additionally, Jacob was favored by his mother Rebekah, while Esau was favored by his father, Isaac. It was only the wisdom of Rebekah, and a trick of the Lord, which caused Isaac to bless Jacob, instead of his older brother Esau.
Consider the following verses:
"And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, 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 an 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. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob."
(Genesis 25:21-28)
Many years later, after Jacob had spent twenty years serving his father-in-law, Laban, up in Syria, and had obtained a family of his own, although Jacob and Esau were happy to see each other, the brotherly mistrust still existed; and that is why even though Esau invited Jacob to go with him into his own land at Mount Seir, the Lord instructed Jacob to do otherwise. Jacob knew that they would never be able to live together in peace; and it has remained that way to this very day. Notice in the following verses, that when Esau offered to accompany Jacob to Mount Seir, Jacob told him to go ahead of them; and then when Esau offered to leave some of his men with Jacob, probably to assist him and his people on their way to Mount Seir, Jacob also said that it wasn't necessary. Not only that, but once Esau began the return journey to Mount Seir, Jacob went to Succoth instead.
He didn't follow his brother:
"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept."
(Genesis 33:1-4)
"And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth."
(Genesis 33:12-17)
The history of the animosity between the children of Israel and the children of Moab and Ammon follows a similar course; in fact, if we study the Scriptures closely, we can see that this trouble began as far back as the days when their father Lot dwelt with Abraham, then known as Abram.
Perhaps you recall the following story from the Book of Genesis:
"And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."
(Genesis 13:5-9)
As I explain in my series 'Homosexuality And Lesbianism: To The Point', Lot's problems did not end there. As we know, he selfishly chose the better part of the land; which just so happened to be near the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was in such a sinful backslidden state due to his own worldliness and selfishness, that even when God had mercy on him, the Lord's Angels still had to force him and his family to flee from Sodom before its destruction. Not only that, but even after his miraculous deliverance, Lot still had the nerve to complain to his Angelic Deliverers, by saying that it was too difficult to flee to the mountains with his wife and two daughters. As you can see by my earlier statements, even though Lot fled to Zoar, eventually, he was forced to flee to the mountains with his two daughters anyway.
The point is, the spiritual clash, and physical animosity which began between Abraham and Lot, only grew worse as Lot's descendants began to populate the land of Jordan. The account of Balak, king of Moab, and the prophet Balaam is a clear example of this. Most people recognize this as the story of Balaam's Ass, but there is much more to it than that. This story occurred during the journey to Canaan, when Moses and the Israelites were passing by the border of Moab. Balak, who was a worshipper of the false god, Baal, was so afraid of the great multitude of Isarelites, that he called for Balaam, and then asked him three times to curse his enemies the Israelites. Being a God-fearing man, each time, Balaam sought the Lord about it, and each time, the Lord told Balaam to bless the Israelites; which he did. This story contains a very interesting prophecy in Numbers chapter twenty-four, which I encourage you to read.
Let me stress again that all of these things happened because they forsook the God of their fathers; and to this very day, this continues to be the case. According to the information I have read, ninety per cent of the population of Jordan is comprised of Palestinians; the vast majority of which are Muslims, with a small percentage of Christians as well. As I clearly point out in the controversial article 'The Holy Qur'an: Doctrine Of Devils!', Allah is not the God of Abraham; because whereas Abraham was taught to have faith in the coming Saviour, the Qur'an plainly teaches that God does not have a Son, that Jesus Christ was only one of many great teachers and Prophets, and that Muhammad is the final, true and greatest prophet of all time. What is startling about these facts, is that, just as the Palestinians have forsaken the God of their fathers, we are told the exact same thing regarding the Islamic Beast:
"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."
(Daniel 11:37)
So as you can see, all of the Arabs who practice Islam are not worshipping the true God of Heaven. It is a total lie of Satan. While they may refer to the coming war as an Islamic Jihad, or holy war, it will be the most unholy war of all; because it will be inspired by the false angel of light, the Prince of Darkness, who feigns to be the true God of Heaven. At this point, allow me to share with you these additonal verses found in the book of the Prophet Daniel:
"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things...And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."
(Daniel 7:8, 24)
"He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
(Daniel 11:41-43)
As I explain in the six-part series 'The Great Tribulation And The Rapture', it is currently my belief that President Hafez al-Assad of Syria, or possibly one of his successors, may be the Beast of both Daniel and John's prophecies. Until now, I have speculated that the three horns which the Beast will subdue, might be Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. If this were the case, then Assad would fulfill his personal vision of a 'Greater Syria'; however, upon re-reading the above verses, I must conclude that perhaps my understanding has been a little darkened until now. Please notice that in the first set of verses, Daniel tells us that three horns will be broken; and then four chapters later, he tells us the exact names of three countries which will not escape the wrath of the Beast; that is, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia. That seems like an obvious Scriptural connection to me.
I will admit, that at this current time, I don't understand why Libya will suffer the wrath of the Beast, being as she is very much against the state of Israel. I honestly do not see Colonel Moammar Kadhaffi changing his views towards the Jews, now or ever. It may be that, as I've suggested before, Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia and other North African nations may suddenly begin to feel uncomfortable with President Assad's desire for expansion, and thus break their ties with him. The only other possibility, is that the Libya of the Bible did not occupy the same land area as the modern Libya. This is a common occurence when trying to connect ancient names with their modern counterparts. There is some debate within scholarly circles regarding some of these issues; such as the proper location of the ancient Cush and Tarshish.
However, what I really wish to call to your attention in the previous verses, is that interesting phrase 'but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon'. As we already know, that can only be referring to Jordan. Exactly why Jordan escapes the wrath of the Beast is somewhat of a mystery to me. Perhaps King Hussein will choose to go along with the invasion of Israel, in order to relieve his own problem of having such a large population of Palestinians in Jordan; while Egypt, on the other hand, will continue to compromise with Israel due to the American dollars flowing into the Egyptian economy. I don't doubt that it is only American dollars, as well as massive military aid, which is currently keeping President Hosni Mubarak in power. Lately, he's been losing popularity with Muslim radicals within his country.
What complicates this matter, is that in 1994, King Hussein signed a peace accord with the Israelies; and thus, at this current time, he has a very volatile peace arrangement with them. However, what if, because he realizes that all-out war is inevitable with Israel, while he will side with his Arab neighbors, he will either secretly, or openly, offer a way to escape destruction for those Jews who wish to take it? In other words, what if he tells the government of Netanyahu, 'Look, if you don't give the Palestinians East Jerusalem for their capital, then we will just be forced to take it from you; however, there is no guarantee that the war will stop there. My friends want to wipe Israel off the map. We have been friends; so here is what I am willing to do for you'.
Having now explained these things to you, let us return now to our main issue of the Woman in the Wilderness, and her flight into her prepared place of refuge during the coming Great Tribulation. In the Old Testament Scriptures, we find the following obscure and rather mysterious verses in the beginning of the sixteenth chapter of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:
"Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land."
(Isaiah 16:1-4)
In these verses, the name 'Sela' is believed to be referring to ancient Petra. This is the _only_ place in the Scriptures where this name is even mentioned. That alone really adds to this mystery. Exactly where was Petra located? In none other than the ancient land of Moab in southern Jordan! What we see thus far, is that for some reason, which is obviously known and planned by God Himself, Jordan is going to escape the coming wrath of the Islamic Beast; and Petra just so happens to be located in Jordan. Allow me to share some additional information with you regarding Petra, or 'Sela' as it is called in the Bible.
Sela, or Petra, derives its name from a Greek word which actually means 'rock'. The city's ruins are spread across a great rift valley which is located east of Wadi Araba, about eighty kilometers south of the Dead Sea. The name 'Petra' is quite appropriate, because this valley is characterized by red and salmon sandstone mountain peaks, overhanging cliffs, precipitous mountain trails, and sheer rock walls which can drop for hundreds of feet or more. This natural fortress eventually became the capital of the Nabataean Arabs, who dominated the area around the Sixth Century B.C.; after they had apparently driven out the original occupiers of the land whom I discussed earlier. The entrance to Petra was a trail at the bottom of the canyon known in Arabic as 'El Siq'; which is translated into English as 'The Alley'. Following the flow of the Wadi Musa, the city-center was laid out on either sides of what is referred to by archeologists as the 'Colonnaded Street'. The city itself is carved right out of the rock walls themselves.
While the Seleucid Wars were being fought between the Ptolemies of Egypt, and the Seleucid kings of Syria several hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, a point which I mention in my Endtime article 'The Kings Of The North And The South', it is said that the Nabataean Arabs took full advantage of this situation by taking control of the spice trade route, which stretched from Arabia in the south, to Damascus in the north. It was because of their strategic location, that the Nabataeans were able to prosper from the the toll, and the taxes, which were collected from those traders who travelled along this well-used caravan route.
In 64-63 B.C. the Nabataeans were conquered by Roman general Pompey, who allowed them to retain their autonomy; although they were forced to pay Roman taxes, and served as a buffer zone against the desert tribes. Nabataean freedom may have been further curtailed with the defeat of Roman General Marc Antony, and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in about the year 31 B.C. This defeat resulted from the reunified Imperial Roman Empire under Octavian; who is also known as Caesar Augustus in the New Testament. It wasn't until about the year 106 A.D., that Petra was totally dominated by the Romans under Emperor Trajan. At that time, Petra and Nabataea became part of the Roman province known as Arabia Petraea. In 131 A.D., Emperor Hadrian visited Petra, and renamed it after himself; that is, Hadriane Petra. During the Roman domination, many structures were built; including a triumphal arch which spanned 'The Alley'. Many of these structures were carved out of the rock walls, or were built free-standing.
As I explain in other articles, in 330 A.D., Emperor Constantine established the Eastern Roman Empire with his capital at Constantinople. Although an earthquake destroyed half of Petra in 363 A.D., it continued to prosper, and even became the seat of a Byzantine bishopric. With the signing of the Edict of Milan, Christianity became a legal religion, and its effects were soon felt in the architecture at Petra. Many standing structures and rock-cut monuments were reused during the Byzantine Period, and new buildings were built as well. Among the rock-cut monuments they reused is the great tomb, or the Deir, also known as 'The Monastery', which was modified into a church.
As with all temporal things, Petra eventually fell into a state of decline. With a change in trade routes, commerce was reduced. This was followed by a devastating earthquake in 551 A.D. which severely impacted the city. Another major factor was the rise of Islam in the 600's. Petra faded so far from the world stage, that it was totally unknown to the Western world until the year 1812; when local Bedoins shared its existence with a certain Swiss explorer by the name of Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.
Despite the fact that it has now been under excavation for almost one hundred years, I have read that only about one per cent of the city has been investigated. Since 1993, in cooperation with the Jordanian government, the sandstone ruins of Petra have been excavated by American archeologists from Brown University in the state of Rhode Island, U.S.A. There is also the Petra-Jerash Project, which has been undertaken by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, the University of Jordan, the University of Utah, and Swiss archaeologists.
Undoubtedly, one of the most famous structures found at Petra, is 'Al Khazneh'; which is known in English as 'The Treasury'. The pink sandstone facade of this carved ancient wonder has been featured in a number of Hollywood movies, such as the Indiana Jones series. This structure measures forty meters high by thirty by thirty meters wide. As one looks at it, it is easy to see its strong Roman influence. For this reason, it has been suggested that it may have been built around the First Century A.D. Other monuments and structures found at Petra include the Urn Tomb and the Royal Tombs, the Colonnade Street, the Temples of Dushara and Al-Uzza, and the High Place of Sacrifice.
By now, you will have realized that Petra is a very unique place in more ways than one. It is located in a remote area of southern Jordan; it is not easily accessible by normal means of transportation; it is protected by a rugged ring of sandstone mountains; and many of its structures can serve as natural fortresses, because they are carved right out of the mountains themselves. In other words, while the facades are on the outside world, the interior of many of the buildings are actually inside the mountains. Considering all of these various points, it is easy to understand why it has been suggested that the previous verses from the Book of Isaiah, may be referring to the Jordanians hiding the Woman in the Wilderness, that is, the 144,000 Christian Jews, in Petra, during the coming invasion and destruction of Jerusalem; or Zion, as it is referred to in the verses from Isaiah. This then, may be the offer which King Hussein will make to the Jews; and it may be for this reason that God will spare him from the wrath of the Beast; that is, his neighbor Syria to the north.
If we accept that there may be some truth to this theory, then the phrases 'the lamb', 'wandering bird', 'outcasts' and 'him that wandereth', mentioned in Isaiah's mysterious prophecy concerning Sela, or Petra, may all be referring to the escaped Christian Jews who flee to this Jordanian rock fortress. In addition, the phrases 'the extortioner', 'the spoiler' and 'the oppressors' may be a reference to the military forces of the Beast; which as I point out in other articles, may originate in Syria, Iraq, Iran or possibly even Turkey. I don't think we have very long to find out.
Notice that Isaiah's prophecy contains the unusual phrase 'make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday', as well as 'be thou a covert to them'. How does one make his 'shadow as the night', that is, dark, in the middle of the afternoon? Quite simply, by surrounding, or covering, his shadow with darkness, so that it blends in. The only way to do this, is by hiding underground where there is no light of noonday! Might this be yet another indication that the persecuted Christian Jews will hide in the dark interior of the buildings at Petra with the blessings of King Hussein? Is it possible that this is how he will help the Jews to avoid total annihilation by the invading Muslim armies? To add further weight to this amazing possibility, allow me to remind you that the destruction, possibly nuclear in nature, which King David prophesied in Psalm Ninety-One, will also occur at noonday! Might David's 'arrows' be nuclear missles?:
"Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked."
(Psalm 91:5-8)
In the final installment of this three-part series, we will be discussing miracles in the wilderness, the length of the Beast's war against the Lord's Saints, the possible meaning of the dragon's flood, Endtime deceivers and wolves, the sealed tribes of Israel, the focus on Israel, the Lord's great slaughter, bondage of the Sabbath, the burden of the Law, Jewish orthodoxy and the Anti-Christ, and a life and death decision for the Christian Jews. I trust that you will join me.
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