Prophecy as Propaganda
“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, or nearly done. 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. Selah9 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 today, 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 of 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 of 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 nation 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 prayed 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, a Jewish man who trusted in Jesus for salvation, 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, emphasis added).
This is true of all who deny Jesus, no matter their nation. 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.