"I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands." 1 Samuel 24:20
Modern States
The delegitimizers of Israel write off the state as a late-coming creation of the colonial powers into a long established Arab/Muslim neighbourhood. The page International Law shows that Iraq, Lebanon and Syria were all products of the same process that created present day Israel.
Counter this argument by looking at the establishment of all the Middle East states.
| Nation / State | Year Established |
| Israel (ancient) | 2410BCE Joshua leads Israel from Exodus into promised land. |
| Israel (modern) | 1948 from British Mandate and League of nations and United Nations resolution. |
| Jordan | 1950 as Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
| Syria | 1946 (French Mandate) |
| Lebanon (ancient) | 5000BCE (?) |
| Lebanon (modern) | 1943 (French Mandate) |
| Egypt (Ancient) | 3150 BCE |
| Egypt (modern) | 1952 Declaration of Republic |
| Iraq | 2010 America pulls out and leaves new government in charge |
| Turkey (modern) | 1923 |
| Yemen | 1967 |
| Kuwait | 1705 |
| U.A.E. | 1971 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1932 |
| Qatar | 1878 |
| Bahrein | 1971 |
| Oman | Late 18th century - Sultanate established |
| Pakistan | 1956 as Islamic republic |
| Bangladesh | 1971 |
| Palestine | Palestine is not (yet) a nation or a state, even though it has a flag, national anthem, embassies of many nations* in Ramallah and what is effectively Palestine's embassy in Washington among other trappings of a state. Palestine is an aspiration of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (Terrorists) that is creeping towards becoming a nation. |
Consult the maps at the back of your Bible to see what these nations were in Bible times.
But just remember that Palestine did not exist in Bible times!
But what of the Middle East Nations created since WWII ?
In a process of profound importance, five Arab states in the Middle East have effectively ceased to exist over the last decade. The five states in question are Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya. It is possible that more will follow.
The causes of their disappearance are not all the same. In two cases (Iraq, Libya) it was western military intervention which began the process of collapse. In another case (Lebanon) it is intervention from a Middle Eastern state (Iran) which is at the root of the definitive hollowing out of the state.
But in all these cases, the result has been remarkably similar — it is the ceding of power from strong central authorities to a variety of political-military organizations, usually but not always organized around a shared sectarian or ethnic origin. The Middle East today is overshadowed by this process. We are living in the time of the militias.
Five Arab states, effectively no longer in existence. In all, militia power has replaced ordered government.
What does all this mean for the region? It means that a huge chunk of the long misgoverned Middle East has exchanged an age of despotic torpor for an age of chaos. The Iranians, because of their matchless IRGC, are best equipped to make gains from this.
See Land for a map of the mandates from which the Middle East was carved up.
Updated 06/04/15
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