Obadiah is a formal indictment against Edom and its allies.  Some Bible prophecies were given for the near-term, others are for the long term. Obadiah looks at Edom from beginning to end in a glance. The abuses accumulate throughout history, and end with the establishment of G-D'S rule on earth. It is a broad perspective ranging from the destruction of the First Temple to the end of days.

Who is Edom today? The ancient Edomites were the descendants of Edom, or Esau. The area known as Edom eventually became known as Idumea.

King Herod was an Idumean, or Edomite, puppet king who was installed by the Romans. Edom -- or Idumea, bordered what is today the West Bank.

Genesis 25 tells the story of Esau trading his birthright, as Isaac's eldest son, to Jacob, his younger twin brother.

Ezekiel identifies the modern Edomites in Ezekiel 36:5.

"5 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed My land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with disdain of soul, to cast it out for a prey; " (JPS)

EDOM: It was called the land, or “the mountain of Seir,” the rough hills on the east side of the Arabah. It extended from the head of the Gulf of Akabah to the foot of the Dead Sea (1Ki 9:26  And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.)

In verses 8-9 , Obadiah writes: "Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and discernment out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter."

Let's take another look at what the verse is saying. "Your mighty allies in the south (the Saudis?) will be neutralized, and those who try to keep possession of al Aqsa will be slaughtered."

Wahhabiism is the overwhelming Islamic branch  in Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Arab occupied Israel (West Bank and Gaza).  These, plus Europe, are the only places where Wahhabiism is in the majority.

Verse 10 accuses Edom  "For the violence done to thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever." This is not an isolated incident of violence, but systematic, repetitive, unrelenting violence. Jacob's descendents are modern Israel.

Verse 12 indicts Edom for celebrating Israel's catastrophes; "But look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster, and rejoice not over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither speak proudly in the day of distress."

Compare that verse to images of chanting crowds of Palestinians dancing for joy at the news of a new bombing attack against Israeli civilians. Or the cheering crowds that celebrated Saddam's missile attacks on Israel during the 1991 Gulf War.

Verse 13 condemns Edom for 'entering the gates of my people'.

"Enter not into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, look not thou on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither lay ye hands on their substance in the day of their calamity."

When the British Mandate ended in 1948, the Arabs immediately seized the Old City of Jerusalem.

It took until 1967 for the Jews to re-take the city. They still have no control over the Jewish Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount, remain at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as G-D said they would.

Verse 14 says, "And stand thou not in the crossway, to cut off those of his that escape; and deliver not up those of his that remain in the day of distress. "

When did the Palestinians serve as accomplices of the agents of death by not allowing Jews to come to their place of refuge?

When didn't they?

For a look at newspaper accounts leading up to the rebirth of Israel, visit http://www.shalomjerusalem.com/jerusalem/jerusalem99.html

The Arab riots of the late 1930's caused the British to restrict Jewish immigration Palestine while the Holocaust was raging in Europe. Had it not been for Arab rioting and violence, the British would not have enacted those policies. Therefore, Edom was responsible for "killing those who tried to escape."

To read newspaper articles about how the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem inspired violence against Jews, visit

http://www.shalomjerusalem.com/jerusalem/jerusalem83_1june1941.html

The Nazis were the hatchet men, but the Palestinians were accessories and accomplices. Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during the Nazi era, played a major role in the Holocaust.

For a far more extensive series on the grand mufti, visit

THE GRAND MUFTI OF JERUSALEM,ISLAMONAZIFASCISM AND ECCLESIASTES 1:9

al-Husseini lived in Berlin during the war years. He worked closely with Hitler to help achieve the Nazi Final Solution to the Jewish Question. He even personally recruited Bosnian Muslims who formed a whole division of the Nazi Waffen SS.

While Jewish immigration was tightly restricted during the Nazi era, Arabs were under no immigration limits. Arabs flooded into the Holy Land to help the British keep out the Jews.

Verse 21 says that, in the last days, "Saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's."

The mount of Esau upon the mount of Zion can only refer to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. And completing Obadiah's identification of Edom as the Palestinian people is his mention of the emblem of the Palestinian Authority.

"Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD."

The PA's official emblem is the eagle.

But how strong a case does Obadiah make for 'Edom' being representative of the modern Palestinian people? The word rendered in English as 'violence' in verse 10 is translated from the Hebrew word 'chamac.' From the Strong Concordance: 2554 chamac khaw-mas' a primitive root; to be violent; by implication, to maltreat:--make bare, shake off, violate, do violence, take away violently, wrong, imagine wrongfully. 2555 chamac khaw-mawce' from 2554; violence; by implication, wrong; by meton. unjust gain:--cruel(-ty), damage, false, injustice, X oppressor, unrighteous, violence (against, done), violent (dealing), wrong. 'Chamac' translated into modern Hebrew, is pronounced, 'Hamas'.