“In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram (Abraham), saying, Unto thy seed (descendants) have I given this land , from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates:”

Genesis 15:18

Even a cursory knowledge of the Bible gives us a very clear understanding that God made a Promise to Abraham that He would give eternal ownership of a particular piece of land in the Middle East to the Jews, the descendants of Abraham. This has become known as the Abrahamic Covenant. Even though His Wrath did on occasion take the Jews out of their Promised Land to punish them for their sinfulness, He always brought them back to their God Promised Land. The Babylonians conquered the Jews, destroyed their first Temple and took them into captivity. God brought them back! The Romans conquered the Jews, destroyed their second Temple and dispersed them throughout the world. God brought them back! On May 14, 1948, after nearly 2,000 years of dispersion and the 5 years of the Nazi Holocaust that saw approximately one third of all Jews in the world massacred, they miraculously returned to their God Given, God Promised Land of Israel WITH the approval of the United Nations. God had brought them back!

But, they did not get the entire portion of the Land Promised by God. In the map above you can see in gray the country of Israel today. However, the boundaries of their land as Promised by God also includes portions of what today are Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait and Iraq. When the Nation of Israel proclaimed their Independence these countries then declared war on the newly formed state of Israel AND against all odds, were defeated. In 1967 they were again at war but this time the Jews retook parts of Egypt (Gaza Strip) and Jordan (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which had been taken from them illegally by Jordan in the 1948-49 war). In one of my very first articles (The War of Psalm 83), I went back and researched which countries were named in Genesis 15:19-21 who were living in the Land God originally Promised to Abraham. “The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” Now I am sure I have totally lost you! These were the nomadic tribes living at the time in the land now known as Israel which God gave to Abraham and his descendants forever.

In the aforementioned article, the War of Psalm 83 is viewed as a yet future war with those countries living directly on the borders of Israel today invading with the desire to once and for all put an end to the Nation of Israel. But the armies of Israel will defeat them whereas in the War of Gog and Magog God defeats the enemies of Israel and at Armageddon Jesus defeats the global armies of the anti-christ.

“For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation: that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent; they are confederate against thee.”

Psalm 83:2-5

I am almost there! The Bible says 1.) there will be a war (Psalm 83) against Israel by her closest neighbors wishing to “…cut them (Israel) off from being a nation,” 2.) those people named above are the people living directly on the borders of Israel today who many might say had their land stolen by the Jews in 1948; 3.) the nations of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq ARE NOT the nations listed as being part of the War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38 & 39) but are listed as those in the War of Psalm 83 and do today occupy the land originally Promised by God to Abraham; and, 4.) even though the nations of Egypt and Jordan have already signed peace accords with Israel, the people of those countries still view the Jews as illegally occupying their land and will participate in the War of Psalm 83.

“I will not drive them out  from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before  thee.”

Exodus 23:29-31

Slowly but surely God has enlarged the Nation of Israel. The Jordanians took the West Bank from Israel in 1948 but lost it to them in 1967. While Israel took the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the war, they “gave it back” against God’s direct commandment. But, God made an everlasting Covenant with Abraham and God does not break His Promises! Unfortunately though, throughout history the Jews have the habit of not always listening to what God has told them:

“Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.”

Exodus 23:32

This morning I was watching one of my favorite prophecy TV shows and praying the Lord would give me guidance to write about something for my blog. The subject discussed was about the Abrahamic Covenant (hopefully, by now you are not surprised). What shocked me more than anything I had seen or heard in years was something that while I had read about, probably hundreds of times, I had never fully understood it the way they described it and this was the unveiling of the anti-christ to the world.

“And he (the anti-christ) shall confirm THE COVENANT (capitals mine) with many for one week (7 years): and in the midst of the week (after 3 1/2 years) he shall cause the sacrifice  and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Daniel 9:27

A popular narrative floating around today about with the recent signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, and the U.S. is that somehow President Trump must therefore be the anti-christ since he signed a peace agreement in the Middle East, the first since 1994. Please note however, neither of these countries are listed as being among those listed in the War of Psalm 83. The peace agreement between Egypt and Israel was signed by President Carter and the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel was signed by President Clinton. These two countries ARE listed as those who will invade Israel in Psalm 83. As far as I know, neither President Carter nor President Clinton have been accused of being the anti-christ! In fact, as I mentioned in a recent article (Will there finally be Peace, War, or Both in Israel?), the UAE and Bahrain are actually listed as being those who will sit back, along with Saudi Arabia and perhaps the U.S., who will NOT support Israel but instead will question why Russia, Turkey, and Iran will invade Israel during the War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38 & 39). They will ask, “Have you come to take a spoil?”

My takeaway from today’s show, something I have repeatedly missed over the years, is that the anti-christ will “…confirm THE (capitals mine) covenant with many for one week.” In other words, this is not a peace treaty between Israel and her enemies but rather it should seem obvious it will be the anti-christ confirming THE Covenant, God’s original Covenant with Abraham and his descendants. After the defeat of Israel’s next door neighbors in the War of Psalm 83 someone will need to address the remaining issues, and it makes sense those nations, as defeated invaders, will now fall under the jurisdiction of Israel (much like the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are today). Of course this would also then set the stage for the anti-christ  to also allow for the rebuilding of the 3rd Holy Jewish Temple and then enter it at the Abomination of Desolation and proudly declare that he IS God! Afterall, he will claim he made THE covenant with Abraham and he CONFIRMED that covenant 3 1/2 years before this blasphemous act, the Abomination of Desolation. Of course, that is the anti-christ (Satan) being Satan, a liar!! Not convinced yet?

“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person (anti-christ) to whom they shall give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overthrown from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of THE COVENANT (capitals mine).”

Daniel 11:21-22

While I personally am a fan of the English translation of the Bible known as the King James Version, one of the very first English translations, I wanted to see what the other translations used in Daniel 9:27 say about this. Is it THE covenant or A covenant?

• “…make A strong covenant” – RSV
• “…make A firm covenant” – NASB
• “…will confirm A covenant” – NIV
• “…shall confirm A covenant” – NKJV
• “…will make A treaty” – NLT
• “…he will enter into A binding and irrevocable covenant” – AMP

While there are subtle differences, I found it amazing the KJV alone emphatically says the anti-christ will confirm “THE” covenant, not “A” covenant. Strong’s Accordance of the Bible also translates it as “THE”. To say “THE” specifically refers to only one thing, THE COVENANT, where to say “A” could mean one of many things. Remember, it doesn’t say he signed a peace agreement. It says he confirmed THE COVENANT! Obviously, this points exactly to the Abrahamic Covenant. For the anti-christ to come upon the world stage, perhaps right after a disastrous war like the War of Psalm 83, and convince “many” (Arabs and Jews alike) the Jews rightfully belong in their original God Promised Land easily sets the stage for him to later openly proclaim himself to be God and demand to be worshipped as God. Honestly, this is the best and clearest explanation I have heard about the introduction of the anti-christ to the world and confirming THE covenant is why he will be so well accepted, especially by the Jews. He deceives and he lies!

What is so comforting to me is knowing Jesus has previously told His Believers we will not be on this earth when the anti-christ is finally revealed. We will have already been Raptured to meet the Lord Jesus in the clouds after which the introduction of the anti-christ and the following 7 year Tribulation period begins (II Thessalonians 2:7-8). In case you are not aware, the only thing required from us is to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and repent, accepting His Gift of Pardon for our sins. If we do this and willingly speak to others that He died for us, we will be saved. You can help do this by simply doing what He specifically asked us each to do and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” Tell your friends and family!

May God Bless you as we fervently await His Return in the clouds!