The Third Target (30 page)

Matt looked through the windshield, thinking. “Okay, that’s a horrifying scenario, I grant you that,” he said. “But is that really possible? I mean, Jordan’s got a great military. They’ve got American weapons. The king used to be the commander of the special forces here. Do you really think it’s possible ISIS could take over this country?”

“Did you think Mubarak would fall in Egypt? Ghaddafi in Libya?
The guy in Tunisia? Now Assad’s on the brink. And I’m telling you, the king is next.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Matt sighed. “Maybe the king’s days are numbered. Maybe that’s how it’s going to happen.”

I looked at him. “How what’s going to happen?”

“The prophecies.”

“What prophecies?”

“You know, what I came here to research.”

“I’m not following.”

“My sabbatical
 
—the whole reason I came here. Don’t you remember?”

“Did you ever tell me?”

“Of course I did,” Matt said. “I sent you a long e-mail last year explaining the research I was going to do here and suggesting you might do a story on it at some point.”

“I don’t remember ever getting that.”

“Well, that figures. You never reply to any of my e-mails.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just asked, “What’s your research on?”

“Jordan in biblical eschatology.”

“Escha-what?”

“Eschatology
 
—End Times theology.”

“What about it?”

“Bad times are coming for Jordan.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning that aside from Israel, few modern nations are mentioned more in the Bible
 
—and especially in Bible prophecy
 
—than Jordan.”

“Jordan is mentioned in the Bible?” I asked.

“Well, not per se,” Matt replied. “
Jordan
is a recent name. But the nation we call the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today is actually comprised of territory once held by three biblical nations: Ammon, Moab, and Edom. And the Bible says a terrible judgment is coming against the people who live in these places in the last days before the return of Christ.”

“So?”

“So many people
 
—myself included
 
—believe we’re living in the last days. Which means the prophecies that describe the epic destruction of Jordan’s cities and the apocalyptic devastation of the Jordanian people could come to pass soon. After all, we’ve already seen so many other End Times prophecies come true.”

This was all news to me. “Like what?”

“Like the miraculous rebirth of the State of Israel. Like the dramatic return of the Jewish people to the Promised Land. Like the Jews rebuilding the ancient ruins of Israel. The ancient Hebrew prophets said all these things would happen in the last days. And one by one, they’re happening.”

“And you’re saying the judgment and destruction of Jordan is next?”

“I can’t say it’s next, but according to the Bible, it’s coming. Maybe what you’re describing with ISIS will set the prophecies into motion.”

“Hold on a minute. What prophecies are you referring to? What kind of ‘terrible judgment’ does the Bible actually say is coming? How bad are we talking?”

“Catastrophic.”

My first instinct was to dismiss this as crazy talk from my crazy brother. A few days before, I would have. But something in me was changing. I had seen too much horror to be able to discount the possibility that more horror could be coming. Besides, I figured, if anyone knew about this stuff, it was Matt. “Keep talking,” I said.

“Okay, well, first of all, there are a number of other ancient sites, cities, or regions mentioned in the Bible that are located in the modern-day nation of Jordan.”

“Such as?”

“One would be what the Scriptures call ‘Mount Seir’ or the ‘hill country of Seir.’”

“And where’s that?” I asked.

“The term
Seir
is actually used to describe a specific mountain, a whole mountain range, and the entire nation or territory of Edom, which is the ancient name for the southern region of Jordan,” Matt explained. “Seir was first mentioned in Genesis 14:6 and then again in Genesis 32:3, among other places.”

“So Seir is essentially synonymous with Jordan?” I clarified.

“Southern Jordan, at least, yes,” Matt said.

“Okay, what else?”

“Well, there’s Bozrah,” he continued. “Bozrah was an ancient city located in Edom. For a time it was actually the capital of Edom.”

“Any others?”

“Yes, there’s Sela, which is also thought to have been a capital or
stronghold of Edom. In 2 Kings 14:7, we learn that Sela, whose name was changed by King Amaziah to Joktheel, was located in Edom.”

“So that’s in southern Jordan as well?”

“Right. And here’s something interesting: Sela may actually be the biblical name for the city of Petra, the ancient capital city of the Nabataeans. Have you ever been there?”

“No, can’t say I have.”

“You would love it. Petra was carved out of solid rock inside a narrow canyon, so it was very difficult for foreign armies to penetrate. And it’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in Jordan today.”

“Okay, fine, the Bible has all these names for Jordan,” I said. “But what about these judgments you’re talking about?”

“Great question,” Matt said. “Should we finish this inside?”

“No, let’s talk here,” I said.

“But Annie and the kids can’t wait to see you.”

“And I can’t wait to see them,” I said. “But that’s why I want to finish this now. The moment we go inside, we’re going to get caught up in everything else.”

“All right, if you insist,” he said.

“I do.”

Matt paused a moment, then continued. “Okay, one place where the Bible talks quite a bit about Jordan is in the book of Jeremiah, specifically in chapter 49. In verse 2, God says, ‘Behold, the days are coming . . . that I will cause a trumpet blast of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; and it will become a desolate heap, and her towns will be set on fire.’”

“Pretty dark,” I said.

“Yeah, but that’s not all. In verse 13, the Lord says, ‘I have sworn by Myself . . . that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become perpetual ruins.’ And then, in verse 17, he says, ‘Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss at all its
wounds.’ And these are just a few examples of what the Bible says will happen to areas that are within modern Jordan.”

“How do you know all this stuff?” I said, not wanting to offend my brother but not sure what to make of any of it either.

“I’ve been studying this for the past eight months, remember? You have to admit, it does kind of catch your attention
 
—especially when you’re living here.”

“It’s attention-getting, all right,” I said. “But how does all this relate to what could be going on with ISIS?”

“I’m getting to that,” he said. “If you do a careful study of this section of Jeremiah, you’ll see that the prophecies are eschatological; that is, they concern the End Times. Jeremiah 48 is a prophecy against Moab, which is central Jordan. Most of chapter 49 is made up of prophecies against Ammon, which is north-central Jordan, and Edom, which is southern Jordan. If you look at these two chapters, you see a lot of language like ‘days are coming’ and ‘in that day’ and even ‘it will come about in the last days.’ Still with me?”

I nodded.

“So it’s these phrases, which are consistent with other End Times prophecies throughout the Bible, that let us know Jeremiah was not writing
 
—in this section, at least
 
—about prophecies that would take place in his lifetime but rather about things that would be fulfilled in the days leading up to the return of Christ. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, I think so,” I said.

“Now, Jeremiah gave many prophecies that did come true in his lifetime or soon thereafter,” Matt said. “Most famous, of course, were his prophecies that God was going to punish his people for their disobedience by sending the Babylonians
 
—led by the evil King Nebuchadnezzar
 
—to conquer Jerusalem and destroy the Temple and carry off the Jewish people into exile in Babylon. And these terrible things happened, just as Jeremiah said. Fortunately, Jeremiah also prophesied that the exile of the Jews in Babylon would only last
for seventy years, and then God would have mercy on them and restore their fortunes and bring them back to the land and reestablish Jerusalem as their capital. And that’s exactly what happened. The Babylonians were conquered by the Persians, and seventy years after the Jews were judged and exiled, the king of Media-Persia set them free and helped them return to the land and rebuild their Temple.”

“Jeremiah wrote all that?” I asked, genuinely intrigued.

“Yes,” Matt said, “and this is what gives us confidence that Jeremiah was a true prophet from the Lord and that his End Times prophecies will come to pass at the proper time as well. We don’t have time to go through an in-depth analysis right now, but just focus for a second on the places I’ve already mentioned
 
—Ammon, Edom, and Bozrah. We’ve established that Jeremiah is speaking about the End Times and that he’s giving prophecies from the Lord about the future of places we now call the kingdom of Jordan. Right?”

I nodded again.

“Okay,” Matt continued. “Jeremiah clearly describes an apocalyptic, catastrophic judgment that falls on the people and cities of Edom in the last days. I already mentioned some of the verses from chapter 49, but there are others. In verse 18, talking about Edom, it says, ‘Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors . . . no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.’ And in verses 20 and 21, the text describes enemies dragging off ‘even the little ones of the flock.’ It says, ‘The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea.’”

Matt was quiet for a moment, presumably to let me absorb what I’d just heard. I was beginning to understand what he had said about bad things being in store for Jordan. But was any of it actually true?

“Look,” Matt finally said, “a person can and should study these passages very, very carefully, and use all the tools and resources available to a modern Bible scholar. But it doesn’t take a PhD in theology
to understand the meaning of the text. The preponderance of the evidence is clear. These biblical prophecies indicate that God has decreed judgment on the people living in Ammon, Moab, and Edom. These are facts. They’re not comfortable ones, especially in this modern age. But judgments
are
coming. And if you look at this text, and the many other prophecies about the future of Jordan found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Obadiah, Daniel, and elsewhere, you’ll find that God gives numerous reasons for such judgments. Because he can see the future, God has declared the people who live in these places in the last days guilty of arrogance, pride, hatred, violence, cruelty, injustice, worshiping false gods, and a profound lack of compassion toward women, royalty, neighbors, and particularly toward Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel.”

“And none of these judgments have already come to pass in history?” I asked.

“Some have, sure,” Matt said. “But not all.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“Well, for one thing, there are still people living and working and prospering in southern Jordan,” Matt replied. “But the text clearly indicates that the End Times judgment that is coming on Edom will be utter, final, and irreversible. Verse 13 says, ‘All its cities will become perpetual ruins.’ Verse 18 says, ‘No one will live there.’ And of course, the text likens the future destruction to the judgments of Sodom and Gomorrah. Guess where those two cities were located?”

“Jordan?”

“Southern Jordan.”

“Ouch.”

“Exactly,” Matt said. “So while Edom has been conquered in the past, it hasn’t experienced the absolute cataclysmic judgment that Jeremiah foretold in this chapter.”

“In other words, according to the Bible, this is all coming in the future?” I asked.

“Right
 
—in the future, in the lead-up to the return of Christ,”
Matt confirmed. “And that’s why this is weighing heavily on me. I have come to love this country, and I love its king. I mean, he’s not perfect; what leader is? But His Majesty really is one of the good guys. So was his father, King Hussein. These men made peace with Israel. They chose to be close allies with the U.S. and the British. King Abdullah has emerged as arguably the leading Reformer in the Arab world. He actively promotes a moderate, tolerant, peaceful model of Islam. He’s reached out to Christian leaders all over the world, Protestant and Catholic. For the most part, Jordanian Christians are treated kindly and with respect. Did you know a few years ago the king created a national park along the east bank of the Jordan River to protect it for Christian baptisms?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“And that’s not all,” Matt continued. “The king actually gave land to thirteen different Christian denominations to build churches and baptismal sites along the Jordan River. I’ve been there, J. B. I’ve seen hundreds of Christians baptized there since I came to study here.”

“Your point?” I asked, not wanting to be rude but not totally following some of his jargon.

“My point is that this king doesn’t strike me as a candidate for divine judgment,” Matt said. “Now, Isaiah tells us that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and his ways are higher than our ways, and I believe that. So in his sovereignty, God can bring righteous judgment on a nation that isn’t following him at any time. And Jordan, by and large, isn’t following him. But . . .”

“But what?” I asked, curious why he was suddenly hesitating.

“I don’t know,” he said, clearly searching for the right words. “After everything you’ve told me about ISIS, combined with what the Bible says about Jordan, I’m just wondering if this king is going to be toppled. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t want it to happen. He’s a good man, and he’s doing a great job in many ways. But I wonder if his days are numbered. What if the Arab Spring erupts here in Jordan?
What if the king and his family are brought down and replaced by tyrants who lead the people to war against Israel, to war against the Christians, to the kind of social dynamic that is consistent with these Scriptures? I can’t say that’s what’s going to happen. I don’t know that for sure. But what if the return of Christ is sooner than most people think? And what if ISIS is the tool Satan uses to take Jordan down a long, dark path?”