5. Other Middle East nations and cities

Although most predictions relate to the Jews, there are some interesting prophecies relating to other nations.

a) The Edomites
 

One of the neighbours of the ancient Israelites was Edom. It occupied some of the land we now know as Jordan. The prophet Ezekiel refers to Edom as “Mount Seir” because that is the area they lived in:

Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you, And make you most desolate;
I shall lay your cities waste, And you shall be desolate.’

Ezekiel 35 v 3 and 4

 
 

The picture above shows the ruins of the ancient city of Petra, which was on the site of a city of the Edomites. It was on the main trade routes, making it a prosperous city. It was in about AD 106 that the trade routes changed and the city declined. This is just as Ezekiel predicted later on in the same chapter:

I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go.

Ezekiel 35 v 7 (NIV)
 
  • The land of the Edomites would become desolate and
    the cities deserted
  • The decline would be caused by the disappearance of
    passing traders
 
b) The Ammonites
 

The Ammonites were also neighbours of the ancient Israelites. They were to the north of the Edomites whom we have just looked at. This is what the prophet Ezekiel said about them:

 

 

Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites,
and prophesy against them…
I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you
as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the
peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the
countries.

Ezekiel 25 v 2 and 7

The absence of the Ammonites from modern maps confirms the accuracy of this prediction. The Ammonites ceased to exist as a separate nation when they were absorbed by the Arabs after the second century BC. The capital of the Ammonites was on the same site as part of the modern city of Amman, capital of Jordan.

The modern city of Amman

  
 
  • The Ammonites would disappear
    as a separate nation
 
c) The Philistines
 

The Philistines were another neighbour of the Israelites.

Again the prophet Ezekiel predicted the end of the nation:

Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.’

Ezekiel 25 v 16

The Philistine nation has gone, and it should be noted that the modern Palestinians are not descended from the Philistines. It is thought that the Philistines originated in Crete in the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.

There are also interesting predictions about two Philistine cities - Ashkelon and Gaza. Here is one example:

For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon desolate.

Zephaniah 2 v 4
 
This prophecy indicates that both cities will end up desolate and forsaken. The modern city of Gaza is about five miles away from the site of the ancient city, which is now known as “tel al-‘Ajjul”. The picture on the right shows some excavations at tel al-‘Ajjul. We can see that it has indeed been forsaken.

Excavations at tel al-‘Ajjul
 

The site of the ancient city of Ashkelon

 The ancient city of Ashkelon was destroyed In 1270 by the Egyptians. It has never been rebuilt. Just as the prophet predicted, it has become desolate and uninhabited. Like Gaza, there is a modern city of the same name, but not on the same site.
 
  • The Philistines would cease to exist as a nation
  • Both Gaza and Ashkelon would eventually become desolate and uninhabited
 
d) Sidon
 

Sidon is a city which was the subject of several detailed predictions. Here is one example:

Thus says the Lord GOD:
‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon…
For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side’

Ezekiel 28 v 22 and 23
 

From this we can see that Sidon was also to have a troubled history involving much bloodshed and war.

But note that there is no mention of the city becoming desolate and empty. The same is true of the other predictions about Sidon. The picture of modern Sidon tells its own story.

The modern port of Sidon
 
  • Sidon to have a violent history
  • No prediction of city becoming desolate