There are many times enemies came against Israel or Judah and were defeated. These often appear to typify the destruction — often self‑destruction — of this world at the end of the Gospel Age, preparatory to the Resurrection in the Millennial Kingdom. In some cases, there are multiple nations allied against Israel, and three of these are of interest here.

THREE ENEMIES AGAINST GIDEON (JUDGES 6-7)

Israel had sinned “in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years” (perhaps signifying the seven periods dividing up the Gospel Age). Midian also had allies: “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them.” When the sons of Israel cried unto Jehovah, the angel of Jehovah sent Gideon to call the three northernmost tribes to join with his own tribe, Manasseh, to battle against the three enemies.

Gideon desired reassurance and asked that a fleece of wool on the threshing floor be wet in the morning and the ground dry; God did so. Then Gideon asked that the next morning the fleece be dry and the ground wet; God did so again. (Typically, the sheep — the church — is developed first and then the world.) So Gideon went with 32,000 against a much larger number of the enemy alliance.

However, God told him to send home those who were fearful and trembling, and 22,000 went home. God told him to take the remaining 10,000 down to the river and watch how they drank. Those 300 who were watching while they drank were chosen for the battle. Then God permitted Gideon to hear that the Midianites were fearful. Gideon divided his men into three groups, probably of one hundred each, and he gave them each a trumpet and a pitcher that had only a lamp inside.

When the dark of night came, Gideon and his men sounded the trumpet (like proclaiming the Gospel message) and broke the pitchers so that their light would shine (our light shines when we sacrifice self for the benefit of others). To the enemy, each light represented the captain of an army. Those who were at the edge of the enemy camp were frightened and ran towards the center of their camp. Those who were part way within saw the first group coming towards them, and they presumed they were the Israelite army attacking them. Thus, the enemy soldiers slew one another. (A credible scenario for the battle of Gideon against Midian is given in Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon, Battles of the Bible, New York: Barnes & Noble, 1997, pages 69‑79.)

As a type of the world’s Armageddon battle, it suggests there will be three different forces, all of which are in opposition to the Lord’s people. (Compare with the three unclean spirits of Revelation 16:13‑14.) It is not clear from the Gideon account whether they will support each other, or oppose each other, in the Battle of Armageddon. (Others think Gideon’s final battle typically spans the entire time of trouble.)

THREE ENEMIES AGAINST JEHOSHAPHAT (2 CHRONICLES 20)

The sons of Ammon, Moab and mount Seir were coming against Jehoshaphat (verses 1, 22). (It appears from verse 1 that mount Seir had been taken over by some Ammonites.) They had probably come from the south end of the Dead Sea and had gotten as far as En‑gedi on the central west coast of the Dead Sea, about thirty miles SSE of Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat sought Jehovah. Then Jahaziel the Levite, in the spirit said, “Thus saith Jehovah unto you, ‘Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s … Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you.’ ”

King Jehoshaphat, who prayed for deliverance

Jehoshaphat appointed Levites from the sons of Kohath to sing unto Jehovah. “And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers‑in‑wait against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.”

While the Gideon account gives more detail leading up to the climactic battle, the Jehoshaphat account gives more information incident to the battle. Here, there are three enemies at the beginning, but the enemies reduce to two before they destroy one another.

If today we were to assess who these three enemies typify, the three great ideologies are Leftist Atheism (Marxism), (institutionalized) Christianity, and Islam. Currently, Atheism and Shiite Islam are working together to destroy all forms of Judaism and Christianity. In earlier history, Esau/Edom conquered, and ruled from, mount Seir (Joshua 5:4, Genesis 36). Esau commonly typifies Christendom. Evidently later, a segment of Ammon also came to rule from mount Seir. Among our Roman Catholic friends, several are concerned that a Leftist Pope has taken over their church. [1] Thus, it is tempting to consider if Ammon typifies Leftist Atheism (currently headed by the Kremlin in Moscow) and mount Seir typifies Christendom (headed by the Vatican in Rome). That would leave Moab to typify Islam. [2]

Nevertheless, we should keep our eyes open to see what ideological changes might occur between now and the last plague (Armageddon).

FOUR ENEMIES AGAINST ABRAHAM (GENESIS 14)

Abram (later renamed Abraham) came west when Amraphel king of Shinar (Ur‑Nammu king of Sumer) and his allies, the kings of Ellasar, Elam, and Goyim, conquered the West. Fourteen years later, when the West rebelled, the East reconquered them along the Kings Highway east of the Jordan River. They made one mistake; they took Lot for a slave, which obligated his uncle Abram to pursue them. While the victors returned northward on the east side of the Jordan, Abram (with three allies) went north on the west side of the Jordan and prepared a night battle near Damascus, Syria. The Eastern forces were routed and their four kings were all slain. [3]

What is important for us here is that there are four enemy kings, not three. Does it not call into question whether the three enemies of Gideon and three enemies of Jehoshaphat should represent exactly three major forces in the world today?

It need not constitute a problem. Contrasting Genesis 14:1 with 14:5 and 9, there were evidently two pairs of alliances within the Eastern Power Bloc: the Kings of Shinar and Ellasar and the Kings of Elam and Goyim. In the case of Jehoshaphat, after two enemy nations destroyed the third, there were temporarily two power blocs. Thus, Genesis 14 can be fully consistent with the other types of Armageddon.

— James Parkinson

 

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[1] E.g., Traditional Catholics (“Trad Cats”) and Society of Saint Pius X (“SSPX”).

[2]  Another view: Ammon is Papacy, Moab is nominal Protestantism, and Edom is the political branch of Christendom. (Let us watch and see.)

[3]  Ur‑Nammu’s son and successor records that, fourteen years after the initial victory, Ur‑Nammu “had been abandoned on the battlefield like a crushed vessel” (Samuel Noah Kramer, The Sumerian, University of Chicago Press, 1963, pages 68, 131). Cited in RVIC Genesis, footnote 220. What better description of a surprise attack and utter defeat!

 

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