Another, More Mysterious Alliance

Daniel 11:40-43 provide important clues as to which nations will ally with the king of the south. In this chapter we will examine a prophecy that strongly indicates a number of countries that will not be allied with it—that will actually ally against it. This too enables us to better deduce the composition of this radical Islamic confederation.

The prophecy we will study lists several Islamic nations that will band together with “the king of the north,” German-led Europe! This alliance has never happened in history. All the Bible commentaries will tell you that. But these nations are coming together now.
It takes time to build a confederation like that, and it is already well underway.

The context of this prophecy shows that this won’t be totally fulfilled until after Germany and its European allies conquer the king of the south in the “whirlwind” described in Daniel 11:40. Thus, we can infer that these Islamic countries will not be part of that king of the south alliance.

If you watch Germany closely, you can see that it is already positioning itself for its “whirlwind” attack on Iran. And some of these preparations are laying the groundwork for this future alliance with Arab states.

However, this prophecy reveals a crucial truth: This alliance is primarily and ultimately concerned not with countering Iran but with destroying Israel.

A Highly Unusual Alliance

Read it for yourself: “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. 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” (Psalm 83:1-3).

This foretells an alliance that will take “crafty counsel” against God’s people, referring to Israel. More on who this is prophetically in a moment.

Notice: There is also a plot against God’s “hidden ones,” which other translations render as treasured or sheltered ones. This refers to God’s faithful people, spiritual Israel, His true Church. They are embedded right in the midst of all these prophecies to ensure God has somebody He can use to reveal to the world His message about what is happening!

You are reading that message right now!

God uses His people to warn the world in advance what is going to happen. He uses them to proclaim a message of how these catastrophes could be avoided. Sadly, the world pays them little attention, and it will continue to ignore God’s message until circumstances get a lot more horrific. (Read more about this in Chapter 6: “Emphasis on God’s Very Elect.”)

Before we look at the true purpose of this alliance, notice who it includes, listed in verses 6-8: “The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.”

You must know who the modern descendants of these peoples are to understand just how timely and relevant this prophecy is. Here are the modern names of these nations, as taught at Ambassador College under Herbert W. Armstrong: The Ishmaelites are Saudi Arabia; Moab and Ammon both refer to Jordan; the Hagarenes anciently dwelled in the land known as Syria today; the Philistines are the modern Palestinian Arabs; Gebal and Tyre are Lebanon. We cannot be extremely precise in this understanding, but it gives a good general idea.

One people listed here that lies outside the region is Assur. At one time, this was the capital of Assyria, which is the term that biblical prophecy uses for modern-day Germany. Germany is part of this alliance and is, in fact, the power behind it! In principle, this is how Germany started World War i and World War ii. (Request our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire for more information.) It is using the same old modus operandi.

Daniel 11:41 says that when the king of the north attacks the king of the south, “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.” Anciently, Edom was located in the southern part of Jordan. The rocky fortress of Petra was at one time the Edomite capital. Moab was the central part. There is a small city in Jordan today called Moab. The children of Ammon were in the northern part. The capital of Jordan today is Amman (spelled almost the same as Ammon). The name of the capital city is only one indication of many that this is the area called Jordan today.

This shows that the king of the north will conquer the people all around Jordan, but Jordan will “escape out of his hand.” The way this is worded, it’s as if Jordan was in “his hand,” yet escapes. The Hebrew literally reads, “And these will be saved from his hand.” God will save this area for a specific purpose.

The Moffatt Bible translates verse 41, “He shall also invade the fair land of Palestine, and myriads shall be killed. (But these nations shall be saved from him, the Edomites, the Moabites, and the main part of the Ammonites.)” It is strongly implied, if not stated, that this area, called Jordan today, should have been conquered but was not. Why should this piece of real estate escape when it is so close to the battle? Other prophecies show that it is likely in this area that God’s “hidden ones,” His very elect, will be protected during the warfare that follows from this assault by Germany.

The inclusion of “Edom” in Daniel 11:41 seems to point to a specific geographic area. However, the fact that it is listed in Psalm 83 as distinct from Moab and Ammon indicates that it is a different people altogether. The Bible uses this term to refer to the descendants of Esau (Genesis 25:30). Some erroneously claim that the modern descendants of Esau are Jews. Genesis 36:10-12 list the sons of Esau, and they have names like Teman, Omar and Amalek—not Jewish names! So who is Edom prophetically?

“Esau, or Edom, as he is also called, lived southeast of Palestine near Petra. Arab Bedouins live there now. Then where have Esau’s children gone?” the July 1957 Plain Truth magazine asked. “From the days of Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them captive, they disappear for 1,000 years from history. Then suddenly we find Amalek the name of a city in Turkestan in Central Asia (from Paul Herrmann’s Sieben vorbei und Acht Verweht). The Egyptians used to call the Amalekites Amu. In Turkestan is the River Amu today! In Bible times the Edomites inhabited Mt. Seir (Genesis 32:3). In Turkestan is the Syr Darya—the River of Syr, or Seir.

“The leading Turkish tribe is the Ottoman. The prophecies referring to Edom or Esau mention Teman as the leading tribe in these latter days (Obadiah 9). The conclusion is inescapable. The Ottoman Turks are the sons of Teman. Merely the vowels in spelling have been changed over these past millenniums. From Central Asia the Turks, or Edomites, moved into Asia Minor. That is where Esau’s children live today! Turkey controls the ‘crossway’ of the nations—the Dardanelles (Obadiah 14).

“How clear, Esau, or Edom, is Turkey today!”

The article also said: “The Philistines, who came from Mizraim, inhabited southern Palestine even in the days of Abraham (Genesis 21:34). They are still there today—in the Gaza Strip in Palestine [Palestinians]—causing no end of trouble (Zechariah 9:6-7). … Both the Philistines and the Caphtorim destroyed the Canaanites in South Palestine and lived in their place (Deuteronomy 2:23). No wonder there are so few Canaanites left!”

You can see what a unique alliance is prophesied here in Psalm 83: a collection of Middle Eastern Islamic peoples, along with the Turks and, all the way from Europe, the Germans!

Notice that Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia are missing in the prophecy of Psalm 83. Is this because these countries by this point have already been defeated or are controlled by the king of the north?

Put this together with the events prophesied in Daniel 11:40-43 and it seems clear that Psalm 83 lists the nations that will not be allied with Iran when Germany and Europe conquer that nation and radical Islam. Daniel’s prophecy could certainly account for Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia not being in the Psalm 83 alliance.

What unites the members of the Psalm 83 alliance?

A Destructive Purpose

Their evil purpose is revealed in Psalm 83:4-5: “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.” This clearly states the destructive purpose for which this confederation comes together: to utterly destroy Israel.

These verses are talking about the modern descendants of the 12 tribes of biblical Israel. Do you know who they are? The modern Jewish state of Israel is only one of those tribes—Judah.

In biblical prophecy, “Israel” refers especially to the birthright nations that descended from Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh. Those descendants are Britain and the United States, respectively. Other prophecies show that the fates of these three major nations of Israel—the U.S., Britain and the Jewish nation—are all aligned. Where Psalm 83 says this alliance is “against thy people” (verse 3), it means Germany and its Middle Eastern allies are targeting the Americans, the British and the Jews in the Middle East.

Many Iranian leaders have vowed to wipe the Jewish nation off the map. But the latter’s enemies listed in Psalm 83 have what appears to be an even deeper hatred. They want to obliterate even the name of Israel—forever!

This Islamic alliance with the king of the north is about to attack the modern descendants of Israel. Bible prophecy says the end-time nations of Israel are unusually fearful and gullible, like a “silly dove” (Hosea 7:8-12). Their enemies take advantage of their weaknesses to destroy them (Hosea 5:5). God only protects the nations of Israel from grave danger if they are obedient—which they are not in this end time.

This prophecy gives us insight into what is coming in the very near future: the Great Tribulation and the times of the Gentiles (Matthew 24:21; Luke 21:24). God is going to punish the nations of Israel more severely than at any time in their history because of all their “abominations.”

There has never been in history such an alliance to attack or totally destroy Israel. Concerning this psalm, the Anchor Bible reads, “History transmits no record of the national crisis when the nations enumerated in this psalm formed a league to wipe out Israel ….” Lange’s Commentary points out, “The 10 nations who are here enumerated as being combined against Israel, are never mentioned elsewhere as enemies allied at the same time and for the purpose of annihilating Israel.” Other commentaries make the same point. This must be an end-time prophecy!

This prophecy in Psalm 83 reveals a tremendous amount about what we can expect to see in the time ahead—including some dramatic changes!

Modern-Day Alliances

Most of the Muslims were allied with Germany in World War ii. They knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews, and we know the way many Muslims feel toward the Jews. Since America and Britain support the Jews today, it is not difficult to envision the Muslims and Germans allying against them.

The “moderate” Arabs today are going to join forces with Germany. This is already beginning to happen.

In 2020, Germany approved massive arms exports to countries involved in the civil wars in Yemen and Libya. Export destinations included Egypt (roughly $914 million worth of exports), Qatar ($370 million), the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan and Bahrain. Germany’s foreign office states on its website that “the U.A.E. is Germany’s biggest trading partner in the region.” Egypt, the U.A.E., Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain either are or previously were involved in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists. This means Germany is literally sponsoring the anti-Iranian coalition in Yemen. As we will examine in the next chapter, another reason Germany is allying with the “moderate” Arabs is to counter Iran and its allies. In Yemen, Germany and Iran are already fighting a proxy war with each other.

Bahrain is a special example. During the 2011 Arab Spring, the island country was rocked by anti-government protests. Starting in February, Bahrainis took to the streets, demanding political change. Bahrain, a Sunni Muslim monarchy ruling over a significant Shiite population, cracked down on the protests in what the Christian Science Monitor called “a campaign of intimidation.” “Security forces have directed much of the abuse—which includes midnight arrests, checkpoints and targeting of wounded protesters—toward Bahrain’s majority Shiite population, instilling fear and raising sectarian tensions in the tiny kingdom,” it wrote (April 1, 2011). The nation’s Khalifa dynasty is especially concerned about the prospect of Bahrain turning into a Shiite theocracy. “[Shouting ‘Down with the king’] is not a reason to imprison someone,” Bahrain’s King Hamad told Spiegel in 2012. “But when they shout: ‘Down with the king and up with Khomeini,’ that’s a problem for national unity.”

Germany has been willing to help Bahrain. In 2014, it was reported that a “German spy company” specializing in surveillance technology gave the Bahraini government technology used to hack pro-democracy figures between 2010 and 2012. In an April 2012 article—about a year after Bahrain’s crackdown had begun—German-Foreign-Policy​.com accused Germany of turning a blind eye to the crackdowns, supplying Bahrain with weapons and even training its “repressive” security forces.

What about Saudi Arabia? In 2018, Germany imposed a partial arms export ban to protest the Saudi military’s role in the Yemeni civil war. A year later, after the Saudi government murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, this became a full ban. But in 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lifted the ban.

Turkey is another country to watch. The German Foreign Ministry states this about German-Turkish relations on its website: “Germany is Turkey’s most important trading partner and one of the country’s biggest foreign investors. In 2021, bilateral trade reached a record high of €39.7 billion [$42.4 billion],” and it rose even higher the following year. German weapons exports to Turkey have flourished in recent years. The German Press Agency reported in June 2020 that Turkey was the largest German arms export destination in 2018 and 2019. This despite fellow EU member state Greece—an adversary of Turkey—repeatedly asking Germany to stop arms exports. Germany cut back on exports only after Turkey escalated its involvement in the Syrian civil war. But that hasn’t stopped Germany and Turkey collaborating with each other militarily. For example, Hensoldt, a German weapons company connected with the German Ministry of Defense, helped Turkey develop a military drone that Turkey has used in Syria against the Kurds. At least in some respects, Berlin apparently sees Turkey as more of a partner than Greece, its fellow EU member state.

These are just a few examples of how the Psalm 83 alliance is already beginning to form.

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and the other Gulf states are geographically attached to the eastern part of the huge land mass of Saudi Arabia. We believe they are also Ishmaelites and from a biblical perspective, regardless of their modern boundaries, would be considered a part of Saudi Arabia. The main issue is that Germany is building an alliance now with the moderate Arabs that is paving the way for the Psalm 83 prophecy to be fulfilled.

Saudi Arabia is also drawing closer to Germany to enhance its own security against Iran as America becomes weaker and continues to withdraw from the Middle East.

Gebal, modern-day Lebanon, is home today to the Iranian terrorist puppet Hezbollah. We can expect it to also switch allegiance. Even now Germany has naval ships just off the coast of Lebanon. Why should it be so concerned about what’s happening in that part of the world? It is all part of Germany’s global strategy.

Psalm 83 also reveals that the Philistines are with the inhabitants of Tyre. Look up a map and you will see that Tyre is in southern Lebanon, the stronghold of the Hezbollah terrorists. Their alliance with Iran is about to be broken, and Germany will be the main cause.

The Philistines—the Palestinians of Gaza and even those in the West Bank—will shift their alliance to Germany as well.

Iran has led Hezbollah and the Palestinians in their terrorist activities for years. They all share some common enemies—especially America and Israel. But in some religious and political aspects, their views differ; this could cause Hezbollah and the Palestinians to ally themselves with Germany. There may soon be some significant power shifts in Gaza.

Turkey has also been allied with Iran, but it too is going to side with Germany in the future.

Look at the changes that are coming! This is not something we can take lightly. This is world news told to you ahead of time! Just watch—keep track. See if these events don’t happen exactly as described in this chapter. Watch Germany, and watch the Middle East, and see if this prophecy doesn’t come to pass exactly as the Bible says it will.

To most people, this means very little. But God prophesied all of it! He spelled it out so that, if we just study our Bibles, we can understand it all. We must understand it! God ensures that His sheltered ones understand it.

Watch for a Massive Shift

These verses foretell a massive shift in alliances among the nations of the Middle East. Events are about to stagger the imagination of many authorities in this world! And God prophesied it all thousands of years ago.

Should we believe in the Old Testament? We should if we want to understand end-time Bible prophecy. Psalms is the only book in the Bible that contains this prophecy. Without Psalm 83, there would be no way to understand these particular events until well after they had snapped into place.

This is a most exciting and wonderful prophecy—yet the world understands almost nothing about it. People should understand because this message has been publicized for well over 70 years by the Trumpet and by Herbert W. Armstrong for them to see.

Where does this Psalm 83 alliance lead? It leads to mankind being plunged into the Great Tribulation for 2½ years, and then into the Day of the Lord for a year. But at the conclusion of the Day of the Lord, Jesus Christ will return to this Earth and put down all rebellion against Him. Finally, He will conquer the nations and bring us peace, joy and happiness forever!

Continue Reading: Chapter 5: The Push and the Whirlwind