I have a question regarding the end times going forward and the events that we see taking place in the Middle East. Not so much between the Jews and Muslims, on that I am pretty clear. Is this expected and where in the Bible do we get an explanation of the ongoing battles between the Muslim groups and all of the fighting which appears to be evolving into a full out civil war or Sunni vs Shia?
This is a fulfillment of prophecy. It’s currently being manifested between the Shia and Sunni factions of Islam where each one is contending for supremacy in the Islamic world. The original prophecy is contained in Genesis 16:11-12. Speaking to Hagar, the angel of the Lord said:
“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
A widely known Beduoin saying goes, “I against my brother, my brothers and I against my cousins, then my cousins and I against strangers”. I believe it’s an adaptation of the Lord’s prophecy of Genesis 16 and is certainly descriptive of events today. But sooner or later, the one thing that will unite them all is their common hatred of Israel.