“But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
The war
between Israel and Iran rages. Propaganda is seen all over the place. Israel
presents its propaganda, Iran presents their own, and the Americans
and Christian Zionists release their own version of propaganda as well. The fog
of war is a real thing, at the best of times it is often uncertain what is happening,
who is losing, what damage is being done, etc. I have heard reports that Israel’s
iron dome is finished. I have heard other reports that Iran’s missiles have
been ineffective. News is all over the place.
And, of
course, the Christian Zionists believe that God is batting away the Iranian
missiles as we speak. This meme comes from one such post:
It is likely
that we are going to see a terrible tragedy for both Israel and the United
States in this war and also the Middle East. Though things could go differently. The United States is stretched with its involvement in Ukraine, with
its presence in the Pacific, and with its presence throughout the Middle East
and Africa. It was not able to pacify Yemen but was forced to withdraw. It will
be a massive drain on their resources to take on Iran, a far more powerful
nation than Iraq, that is also far more prepared. Israel has already been
fighting for two years, and has failed to achieve victory anywhere except
Syria, and that victory has added to instability in the region, which means it
may very well be a Pyrrhic victory.
But in the midst
of this the prophecy brigade have been bending over backwards to show how
everything that is happening here is what the Bible said would happen. They are
pushing biblical propaganda. This, for me, is the worst kind of propaganda, because
these Christians run biblical cover for the warmongers that are destroying
lives across the world.
I want to
look at one example in this piece, Psalm 83, because I was specifically asked
about it. Let’s read it,
“1 O
God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Asshur also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of
Lot. Selah
9 Do
to them as you did to Midian,
as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10 who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves
of the pastures of God.”
13 O
my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
14 As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15 so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
16 Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
18 that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the Lord,
are the Most High over all the earth.”
There are
Christians who are claiming that this is being fulfilled right now in this war between
Israel and Iran, and its other enemies. Verses 3 to 8 are especially relevant,
“3
They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your
treasured ones. 4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no
more!” 5 For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant— 6
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon
and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Asshur also has joined
them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.”
Some
Christians are reading this Psalm and they see all these enemies surrounding
the people of God in the Psalm, and then they see that Israel is surrounded by
much the same enemies, and they are claiming that this Psalm is talking about
our day and is going to be fulfilled in our day. And you know what, I think
this passage is fulfilled in our day, but not how these people imagine.
This Psalm is
a prayer from a man of God for protection for his people. The inscription says
it was written by Asaph. There are several Asaph’s in the Bible, but the most
famous one lived in the days of David and Solomon (1 Chron. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chron.
5:12). This Asaph was the chief among David’s musicians. It is most likely that
this is the Asaph who wrote this Psalm, though some people debate this.
Therefore,
the very likely context of this Psalm is that in the days David the chief
musician was looking at all of Israel’s enemies around them and praying for
protection from them. The mention of Asshur though complicates this, as the
Assyrian Empire was not that notable in the days of David or Solomon, but would
rise to great prominence later. Hence, it is possible that this Psalm was written by another Asaph
who lived in the days of Hezekiah, who actually faced the Assyrians, along with
a coalition of other enemies. This does not mean that the original Asaph did
not write this, as it may be a prophetic Psalm pointing to how these nations
would eventually conspire to destroy Israel. So, exactly when it was written
can be debated.
But either way
you take it, there is plenty of evidence for this being fulfilled in the days
of the Old Testament. It could point to threats in the days of David and
Solomon, or threats for a later era when Assyria was ascendant and would
actually ravage Israel and Judah (around 722 BC). Some people want to apply it
today to Israel’s war with Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and now Iran.
However, the Psalm makes no mention Ararat or Ashkenaz (c.f. Gen. 10:3; Jer.
51:27), or the Medians, or the Persians, or any of the other descriptors of Iran
used in the Bible.[1]
Iran (Persian) is mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5, but I
have argued elsewhere that this was fulfilled in the days of ancient
Babylon who is the prophesied enemy from the north. Hence there is no
obligation, or even sensible reason, to apply this to the nation that calls
itself Israel today and that is fighting with Iran, who are Persians, and with
the various Arab peoples around it.[2]
However,
there is a way in which this Psalm does apply today. Asaph surveys all the
opponents of God’s people surrounding his nation and asks God for protection, “3
They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your
treasured ones. 4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the
name of Israel be remembered no more!” This is precisely how the enemies of God’s
people act towards Christians, and have throughout history. Evil has often risen up to persecute the Church. They hatch plans to seek to destroy God’s people, Israel, the flock, the bride, the Church.
People forget
that the Israel in the Middle East today is just called Israel. It is not the
same nation that was called Israel in the Bible. It is a European colony that
claims such a status. But to claim to be Israel is to claim to be God’s son, “When
Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1).
The only one who can lay claim to this title, or name, in the ultimate sense is Jesus
Christ, to whom the Apostles apply this verse,
“13
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in
a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and
remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to
destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and
departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to
fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son”
(Matt. 2:13-14).
Jesus is the
true Israel, the fulfilment. The physical nations was merely a shadow of how God was going to call a people centered around his Son. And,
therefore, all who wish to call themselves Israel must do so by virtue of fellowship
with Jesus. Those who reject him can make no such claim, “28 For no one is a
Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God” (Rom.
2:28-29). The term Israel did apply to a nation in the Old Testament, but not
all physical Israelites are of true Spiritual Israel (cf. Rom. 9), but only the children of promise are. That is
all who trust by faith in Jesus, or who trust in the promise.
Christians,
or the church, are the descendants of true Israel, those who trusted in Jesus even before
he was revealed in his fullness to the world. Paul himself tells us this,
“1
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under
the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all
drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that
followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God
was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil
as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The
people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in
sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a
single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were
destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed
by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they
were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he
will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he
will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor.
10:1-13).
Here Paul
notes that the people of Israel in the Old Testament are the ancestors of Christians, literally our fathers in the faith. They ate of the same spiritual food as us, and drank
of the same spiritual drink, namely Jesus, "the rock was Christ." They were saved by his work on their
behalf, and their experiences are written as an example for us. Hence, the Old
Testament is a manual designed to teach Christians how to live more faithfully
for Jesus and why it is important to trust in him and how he protects us from
evil.
Therefore, if
we come back to Psalm 83 we can see that just as Asaph prayed for God to
protect the people of Israel from her enemies, so too can we today. The Psalms
exist for our instruction. Paul says this about the Psalms,
“18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the
Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always
and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:18-21).
The Psalms
exist to instruct us to give thanks unto our heavenly father and unto Jesus.
They exist for the edification of those who believed in Jesus, whom David
believed in,
“29
Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he
both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being
therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he
would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about
the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his
flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:29-31).
David believed in Jesus, according to Peter. Paul says that Moses and the Israelites were saved by him and trusted in the rock that is Jesus Christ. Therefore, Asaph was praying to Jesus, though he did not know that name, to protect his people. Just as Christians have since the New Testament era, for God to deal with our enemies. There is only one way in which all believers have ever been saved, and it is through Jesus.
But you say,
Matt, Psalm 83 explicitly refers to a nation “let us wipe them out as a nation…”
Yes it does. But Peter tells us that the church is God’s nation, “1 Peter 2:9, “But
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.” Some Christians want to argue that this
letter was written to only Jewish believers, however, it is one of the few
books in the Bible that actually uses the name Christian, “16 Yet if anyone
suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that
name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if
it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel
of God?” 1 Peter 4:16-17). Hence, even if it was only written to Jewish
Christians, they are still Christians and all Christians are one people in
Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:28). Hence, it still applies to all believers.
Modern Israelites,
as a whole, do not trust in Jesus. Some do, but the majority do not. Hence, the
idea that they are relying on God is simply not true, they do not believe in
him. Stephen makes it clear that unbelieving Jews worship a false god,
“42
But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is
written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and
sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You
took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you
made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon’” (Acts
7:42-43).
This is true of all who deny Jesus. He is the only way to the Father. All people outside of Jesus are not worshipping the one true God.
Psalm 83 is a
wonderful prayer set in a particular historical context. It may prophecy a time
that Asaph himself did not see, namely the time of the Assyrian context. Or it
may have been written by another Asaph who saw the Assyrians
coming in his own day. But when it comes to applying it to God’s people today, it can only be
legitimately applied to those who trust in Jesus. He is the Rock whom we need to protect us
against the devil and evil in this world. Once you understand the Bible in context it helps you see through a lot of "biblical" propaganda.
List of References
[1] Persians are of the Indo-European peoples not
the Arab or Semitic peoples.
[2] If
you want to see where the Bible prophecies such problems for those who reject
God see Deuteronomy 28 or Leviticus 26, where the curses are outlaid for those who
disobey God.
