Oct 24, 2011

In 1998 a very interesting book was published by Simon & Schuster called The Gold of Exodus. It was written by Howard Blum. It is a book about the site of the original Mount Horeb, where Moses saw the burning bush while tending sheep owned by his father-in-law, Jethro, the Priest of Midian.

Moses later brought the Israelites to the same mountain in Midian. There they worshipped the golden calf. As a result, Exodus 33:6 says,

"And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb."

David Fasold was there in the late 1970's and found one of those ornaments. Ron Wyatt went there in 1984 to try to find more, but he was arrested and anything he had was confiscated by the Saudi police. You see, the old land of Midian is now part of Saudi Arabia--not the Sinai peninsula, which is part of Egypt. The Mount is now surrounded by a fence to guard against intruders.

In 1988 Montana congressman, Larry Williams, went to the same location and found scaffolding at the base of the Mount, now known as Jabal al Lawz. It seems that the Saudis had excavated the site and were putting all of "the gold of Exodus" on display at a museum in Riyadh.

The book tells how the Saudis have set up a secret military base at the site as well, making it nearly impossible for anyone to visit the Mount. Chapter 1 of the book is entitled "Project Falcon." The author says that "according to a classified report that made its way years later to the CIA," Saudi King Fahd decided that they needed a radar network and a nuclear missile base to protect themselves from the Israeli government's nuclear program. One might call this an "arms race." We read on page 24,

"Of course, there was also the threat posed by an increasingly unrestrained Israel; when it appeared possible that the Jewish forces would be overrun in the opening push of the Yom Kippur war [1973], Moshe Dayan, the Israeli defense minister, had sent a warning to the Arab capitals that nuclear weapons would be launched if their armies did not withdraw."

Government leaders tend to take such warnings quite seriously. So the Saudis asked to purchase five AWACS (radar-equipped Airborne Warning and Control Systems) from America. It was approved, along with "an appropriate number of ground radar." (p. 25)

Later, in 1984 they approached the Chinese government to purchase ballistic missiles.

"It cost a sum estimated to be in excess of $20 billion, and late in 1985, the first ships from China carrying 28 ballistic missiles began to arrive at the deliberately obscure Red Sea port of Al Qadhima. . . . They had a maximum surface-to-surface range of about 2,500 miles. And they were able to carry a nuclear warhead."

A nuclear program was started, and "The Saudis agreed to fund further Pakistani nuclear research lavishly, and in return Pakistan signed a secret treaty." (p. 28). Later, Blum tells us,

"On the summit of the mountain, across from the blackened peak where Cornuke and Williams believed that God had descended to give Moses the Ten Commandments, two 24-foot towers--as high as four-story buildings--were being erected. Black and rectangular, they already appeared to rise straight up from the mountaintop like two colossal tablets. . . . The towers were FPS-117 solid-state radar systems, each one 30,000 pounds of advanced sensor technology. At the cost of $30 million, Jabal al Lawz was being transformed into what the planners of Project Falcon designated as site N-4. The mountain of God had become part of the Saudi war machine." (p.330)

"The huge radars on the summit of Jabal al Lawz were aimed toward Israel. They looked out across the vast plain where the Israelites had camped, over the desert wilderness, and beyond to the Red Sea. Microwave links for the system were hidden in a secret military base outside Elim, an electronic intelligence fortress built adjacent to the caves that had been home to Jethro and his son-in-law, Moses. . . . If the order were given to attack Israel, the destruction of the Jewish state would be coordinated from Jabal al Lawz." (p. 333)

All of this is interesting, but what is the point? I see a distinct possibility that the destruction of Jerusalem, prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah, could well come from the original Mount Sinai now known as Jabal al Lawz. Why? Because of the prophetic connection between Mount Sinai and Jerusalem.

Mount Sinai is in Arabia, Paul tells us in Gal. 4:25. It is NOT in Egypt (i.e., the Sinai Peninsula). It is located in the old land of Midian, where Moses was tending Jethro's sheep. Exodus 2:15 says,

"When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well."

Look at a Bible map. You will see that Midian is in Saudi Arabia.

http://bibleatlas.org/midian.htm

John 1:11 says that Jesus' own tribe/nation did not receive Him. They rejected the Mediator of the New Covenant and thereby decided to remain under the Old Covenant, given by Moses at Sinai. But Sinai was in Arabia--that is, it was the God-given inheritance of Ishmael. Hence, when the Jewish leaders refused to change from the Old Covenant to the New, and from Moses to Christ, their decision put Jerusalem under the jurisdiction of Ishmael. That is how Jerusalem legally became "Hagar" in Gal. 4:25.

It was for this reason that God "cast out the bondwoman and her son" first in 70 A.D., when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. In 135 the Bar-Kochba revolt resulted in the ban forbidding Jews from setting foot in the city. In time, God gave that entire land to the sons of Ishmael, according to the Jewish decision when they legally put Jerusalem under the dominion of Hagar and Ishmael.

In recent years, the rise of Zionism has put forth a challenge to the Divine Court, claiming Jewish ownership of the land. They claim to be the descendants of Sarah, rather than of Hagar, although Paul makes it clear that the old Jerusalem is Hagar. Their legal claim in the Divine Court has no validity from that standpoint. But because they have occupied Jerusalem and the whole land by force, God Himself will eventually rule on the matter. Both sides of the conflict have appealed to God and have set forth their case.

Yet both sides are Ishmaelites in a different manner. The divine mandate is still the same: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son." If both sides are Ishmaelites, then BOTH sides will be cast out. In fact, that is what Isaiah 29:7, 8 tells us. The Arab side hungers and thirsts for the land, but it is like a dream. When they wake up, they find they are still hungry and thirsty. In other words, NO ONE will get the land. It will be destroyed and never be repaired again (Jer. 19:11).

It seems quite probable to me that in the end Saudi Arabia will be the destroyer of Jerusalem. But it could well be a mutual destruction as Israeli nuclear bombs hit the radar station and missile base at Jabal al Lawz.

Yet Iran must also play its role in this. I suspect that Iran will be the trigger for a wider war in the Middle East. This wider war may not take place immediately when America and/or Israel attacks Iran, but I believe it will end with a war between "Israel" and Saudi Arabia. In this way, God will judge Jerusalem from the very Mount wherein they have put their trust.

This is the final part of a series titled "A Short History of the Coming War with Iran." To view all parts, click the link below.

A Short History of the Coming War with Iran