Israel and Islam the connection

Israel and Ishmael have a crazy connection, both coming from the same father, both having a promise from God, the one true God and yet Ishmael in the form of Islam has not only denied the one true God but they also hate their brother. Seems like a crazy connection to me and one which I would like to explore further.

I realize this is a controversial issue, but then that is what this blog is all about - getting beyond the politically correctness and dealing with the biblical issue at hand. To begin we need to go back to the book of Genesis 17:16. God tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son. In the next verse, Abraham cries out to god about the destiny of Ismael. We don't see this heartfelt cry in the verse as it is written there, but if we were to dig deeper and get into the oral traditions we find that the Rabbis include the tradition that Abraham cried out on behalf of Ishmael. God responds to this cry in verse 20 when He says :" I heard your cry concerning Ishmael". That in itself is sufficient to understand that Abraham did not just ask about Ishmael, but cried out!

Why would Abraham feel compelled to cry out on behalf of his other son? It seems obvious to me that Ismael's future as a son and therefore an inheritor of Abraham was at risk. Abraham obviously felt that Ishmael's inheritance was at stake here, especially with the mention of Isaac. This is something we miss in the written dimension especially when reading the bible from a gentile perspective. Inheritance is and was very important to a Jewish man of that time period.

God gives Abraham a promise that Ishmael with have 12 princes and a great nation will he become. This prophecy was fulfilled in 620CE when Islam pretty much dominated the known world for a season. This was the height of the rise of Islam.

The Torah uses the word 'princes' a word that can also be translated as to mean 'clouds'. Clouds can just as easily come together in a storm and then suddenly a wind will come along and blow them apart, scattering the clouds and effectively blowing away the storm.

It seems that hidden within this prophecy is the following gem. The clouds (princes) when they come together for a season will cause a mighty thunderstorm, but with the coming of the Holy Spirit (always manifests as a mighty rushing wind - see Acts 2:2), these clouds would be just as quickly blown away. In simple terms, there will be a season when the Islamic religion will rule a large portion of the earth (was this fulfilled in 620CE?) and then with the sudden outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28) this mighty gathering of clouds will be blown away by the Holy Spirit and the rightful heirs of the earth will be unveiled. (Romans 8:19).