“Edom” in prophecy
Several prophecies of latter-day events refer to “Edom,” “mount Seir,” or “Idumea.” A right understanding of such passages requires that we recognize the symbolic use of these terms by the LORD. We need, to discuss this matter before considering additional passages taken to prove the Arabs will defeat Israel.
Synonyms for descendants of Esau
“Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in mount Seir” (Gen. 36:8,9). Scripture thus uses “Edom,” “mount Seir” and “Esau” interchangeably when referring to the descendants of Esau. In addition, Edom is termed “Idumea:” “thou shalt be desolate 0 mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it” (Ezk. 35:15). Young’s Concordance reads: “Idumea, territory of Edom. The Greek form of the name of Edom.”
A people who disappeared
A second critical item to note about Edom is that they were to disappear as a people, at the hands of Israel. The peculiar termination of Edom is a point we have probably recognized reading Jeremiah 46-49.
In revealing God’s judgments upon various nations, the destiny determined upon Edom varies dramatically from that of Egypt, Ammon, Moab and Elam. Of Egypt we read: “and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old:” of Moab, “Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days:” of Ammon, “And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon:” and of Elam, “But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam” (Jer. 47:26; 48:47; 49:6,39). These promises of ultimate restoration contrast sharply with Edom’s end: “and all of the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes…As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in if’ (Jer. 49:13,18).
The same point is made throughout the prophets: “I will make thee [mount Seir, v.7] perpetual desolation, and thy cities shall not return” (Ezk. 35:9). “And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph aflame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau” (Obad. 18).
Note that Obadiah specifies the ones who will execute God’s judgments on the house of Esau: not Babylon, or Persia or the saints, but the Jewish people. This same point is made in Ezekiel 25:14, “And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury.” In the same chapter, divine judgments are pronounced against Ammon, Moab and Philistia but only in the case of Edom are the Jews specified as the executors of God’s wrath.
History clarifies the point
When Judah was taken captive by Babylon, the Edomites seized the opportunity to move into formerly Jewish territory as far north as Hebron. This spread their population too thin to defend their former stronghold in mount Seir, which as a result was taken by the Nabataeans (Westminster Bible Dict., pg. 148).
For over 200 years, the descendants of Esau occupied the area south of Hebron until historical events occurred which led to the ascendancy of the Jewish Maccabees. Then the judgment of God upon Edom was fulfilled. “Hyrcannus [a Maccabean general] took Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and of the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Flavius Josephus, XIII.9)
Thus the Scripture was fulfilled, “I will lay my hand upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel.” The Edomites disappeared as an identifiable people. For their perpetual hatred of Israel, they were obliterated. They met the same end as do all of mankind who are not redeemed by the grace of God. In doing so, however, they became a useful symbol for mankind in general.
Continued existence as a symbol
The early ecclesia in Jerusalem understood the matter clearly. The dispute about the status of Gentile converts was settled by James’ quotation of Amos 9:11-12. In quoting the passage, James makes a critical interpretation which assures us Edom represents mankind. Amos 9:12 reads, “That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.” James’ interpretive quote is, “That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things” (Acts 15:17). Edom is taken to indicate mankind in general.
Knowing the history of Edom, we can see how readily the brethren would recognize the point. Since the Edomites were destined to disappear, the Spirit of God obviously did not have them in mind in a prophecy respecting the kingdom, but was using them to represent the descendants of Adam. The point is made all the more evident when we recognize that “Adam” and “Edom” are spelled identically in the Hebrew scriptures. The only difference is the vowel pointing which was added by scribes about 600 A.D., well after the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15.
Another passage where the symbolic use of Idumea is obvious is Isaiah 34. “The indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies…And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved …For my sword shall be bathed in heaven; it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment” (vs. 2-5). Idumea is clearly used as a parallelism to the nations in general. More verses could be cited but the point should be clear that Edom is used to symbolize all of non-Jewish mankind.
Therefore, when we come to consider the latter-day prophecies of Ezekiel 35 and Obadiah, let us do so with our eyes enlightened by the spirit’s symbolic use of Edom, Idumea and mount Seir. The descendants of Esau are used to represent mankind in general and the actual nation of Edom was obliterated sometime around 150 B.C.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One