The Merchants of Tarshish - Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Greater Syria Ezekiel 38:13 By Craig C. White According to Ezekiel 38:5 Turkey will lead Libya, Iran, and Sudan in an invasion into Israel. All of these nations are fighting in Syria today. I think that Turkey will invade Syria, destroy Damascus, and then lead these nations in an invasion into Israel! Three other nations are also mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13. Two are easy to identify. One is not so easy. They are Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish. Sheba and Dedan are easily identified as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia; but who are the merchants of Tarshish? There has been a long debate over the identity of the merchants of Tarshish in Ezekiel 38. The fact that they are called merchants leads us to think that they were a major shipping power in ancient days. Some say that the merchants of Tarshish refer to Spain because Tartessos was the name of a harbor city in ancient Spain. Some say that the merchants of Tarshish extend to all of Europe and the United States because Ezekiel 38:13 says that Tarshish is accompanied by its young lions. I don’t know if that is correct. All of the other nations that are listed in Ezekiel 38 are located in the Middle East. Perhaps Tarshish is also located in the Middle East. Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? In the verse above, the merchants of Tarshish are accompanied by all of their young lions. Most bible prophecy teachers equate young lions with nations. I think that is a mistake. The Hebrew word Kephiyr translated as young lions primarily means village. So it is much more reasonable to equate the term young lions to mean the regional area of a country such as a county or province. It may be a mistake then to equate the term young lions to refer to several entire countries. The merchants of Tarshish are mentioned alongside of Sheba and Dedan in Ezekiel 38:13 above. They seem to be excusing themselves from participating in the invasion into Israel. They use a flimsy argument that will excuse them from participating in the invasion but at the same time cheer on its success. They all ask the Turkish led invaders of Israel “Are you going into Israel to rob them?” The merchants of Tarshish are listed with Saudi Arabia. Perhaps when it comes to the invasion into Israel the merchants of Tarshish have something in common with Saudi Arabia. I would like to point out that all of the rest of the above mentioned nations are also currently fighting in Syria. Perhaps the merchants of Tarshish also have something in common with Saudi Arabia as it is fighting in Syria. Saudi Arabia is the latest entry into the battle for Syria. The Saudi government is supporting Al-Qaeda terrorists from Saudi Arabia as they fight against Syrian President Assad. The main Al-Qaeda force fighting in Syria today is from Libya. There is one other Al-Qaeda faction that has significant representation in Syria; and that has also not yet been identified in Ezekiel chapter 38. That is Al-Qaeda from Iraq! Could Iraq represent the merchants of Tarshish? It is a possibility. Was the region around Iraq a major shipping power in ancient days? Yes it was one of the biggest, and it still is today. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were and are both major shipping channels. Today Iraq’s capital city of Baghdad lies on the Tigris River. The ancient Assyrian capital city of Nineveh still lies on the Tigris River in far northern Iraq across the river from the modern city of Mosul. Al-Qaeda in Iraq is headquartered in Mosul in the Nineveh Province. Is there any biblical evidence of a person or region named Tarshish in ancient Iraq? I think that there is. In Esther chapter 1 below, King Ahasuerus calls a conference together with the seven princes of the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire was actually a dual empire headed by Persia which is today’s Iran, and Media which was located in today’s northern Iraq. One of the princes of the Persia and Media regions was named Tarshish. If Prince Tarshish ruled over a province in Media (or northern Iraq) then he just may be the Tarshish that Ezekiel recognizes. Perhaps Prince Tarshish ruled over the Nineveh Province! Esther 1:14 And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;) Princes are set over provinces. So Prince Tarshish was the first ruler in his province of ancient Persia or Media, which is today’s Iran and Northern Iraq. We know from Ezekiel 38:5 that Iran will participate in the Turkish led invasion into Israel. Tarshish accompanies Saudi Arabia in Ezekiel 38:13. They both cheer on the plundering of Israel. Both Saudi Arabia and Iraq play secondary roles in Syria today. It is possible that Saudi Arabia and Iraq are represented in Ezekiel 38:13. It may be that after the fighting in Syria ends then Al-Qaeda from Saudi Arabia and Iraq will both excuse themselves from invading Israel. It is possible that the merchants of Tarshish represent today’s northern Iraq! In very practical terms, the merchants of Tarshish are Al-Qaeda from Iraq who are fighting in Syria today. According to Ezekiel 38 they will soon cheer on the plundering of Israel. Read this article at High Time to Awake. hightimetoawake/the-merchants-of-tarshish/ Read all about the coming Turkish led invasion into Israel in my new eBook "Halfway to Armageddon". amazon/dp/B00BBQH98S
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 21:52:14 +0000
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