Last year Islamic terrorist killed or injured 26,000 innocent people in 50 countries; mostly in the Middle East. At least 17 regional conflicts threatened global war in the same year. As a result, 65 million refugees were displaced, more than at any time since World War 11. As humanity teeters on lawless uncertainty one thing remains clear; Islamic bitterness is so deeply seeded it ignites today’s worldwide tribulation.
The ironic twist is that Jews and Arabs are descendants of the same family. Siblings at the core! They are both part of the Semitic people who settled the Middle East two thousand years before Christ. They shared the same language, traditions, and origin. So what could have happened to this thriving little community that would cause such a festering hatred?
Move down the chronological timeline a couple of hundred years, and the answer to this puzzling dilemma becomes unmistakably evident. An old Semite by the name of Abraham made an agreement with God. He would keep all the statutes God required and God in return, would grant him a son by his wife, Sarah. Faith would preserve the agreement. But Abraham's faith and patience weakened, so he committed adultery with Sarah's young Egyptian handmaiden Hagar. “Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram named the son Ishmael.” (Gen. 16:15) Abraham’s indiscretion was costly but not lethal. Fourteen years later Sarah gave birth to Isaac making Abraham the father of both Arab and Jew. Half brothers! But, it was Isaac that God promised Abraham, not Ishmael. God blessed both son’s but secured His agreement with Issac, “your wife Sarah will have a son. You will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him that will continue forever with all his descendants.” (Gen. 17:19) It is here that the resentment began. As time passed, Isaac married and became the father of Jacob. God would later change Jacobs name to Israel and out of the Jewish lineage would Jesus the savior of men, be born.
Move down the timeline another twelve hundred years and Mohammad the descendant of Ishmael and founder of Islam arrives on the scene. He would become the single most destructive influence in the battle for divine truth, feeding the flames of hatred and spreading the spirit of antichrist.
Today we witness the bloody results of this ancient sibling rivalry in the streets of San Bernardino, New York, Paris and around the world. We are no closer to a resolution now than at any other time in the past. Only God can solve the problem and secure the peace. The good new is He has fulfilled the promise to Abraham and will bring a close to the bitterness between brothers in the near future. Until then the declaration of peace is only lip service. For more about God's plan for man read "Beam me up Commander" its free.
