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14 Hope of Israel Ministries BIBLE Correspondence Course Lesson 43

It seems that “the Philistines” who will see the Palestinians as representing the Phili-
be dispossessed are the so-called Palestinian stines in Biblical terminology for the following
“Arabs.” Historically many of the Philistines reasons:
settled in North Africa and in Europe. They had 1) It may be that many of them actually
connections to various places in Anatolia (Tur- ARE physically descended from the Philistines
key), and linguistics indicate that the Philistines -- some of whom remained in Gaza and neigh-
also had links to the region of Illyria (on the boring areas.
Yugoslavian coast). Cultural features confirm a 2) their name “Palestinian” is derived
presence of theirs at the head of the Adriatic. from the Latin word for Philistine, i.e. They now
Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437-1508), who once call themselves, and are called by others, “Pale-
served as State Advisor to the Republic of stinian” -- meaning Philistine. If, in days of yore,
Venice, said that he found in old books the belief a Hebrew prophet had wanted to denote the pre-
that from the Philistines emerged the peoples of sent-day Palestinians using a familiar name, then
Venice and Genoa. he could have chosen no better an appellation
The Romans (e.g. Strabo) also believed than “Philistine.”
that the Venetians came from the Eneti in 3) The geographical bases of of power,
northeast Anatolia (modern Turkey) who fled international connections, and general orien-
from the Assyrians -- and some scholars see a tation of the “Palestinians” are all SIMILAR to
linkage between that area (Cappadocia) of those of the ancient Philistines.
Anatolia and between the Philistines. The Sep- 6. Read Psalm 83 -- especially verses 5
tuagint, in about 300 B.C. Also identified the through 7.
Philistines as of Cappadocian origin. COMMENT: The territories occupied
Other Philistine elements almost certain- by the nations/tribes named in the verses above
ly remained on the Palestinian coast
around Gaza. Palestinian boy dressed as a suicide bomber during a
Historically, the Romans
destroyed the Jewish State of Judea demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
and killed or exiled all of its people.
The Romans wanted to wipe away
all remembrance of a connection
between the Jews and their land, so
they renamed all of it “Palestinia” in
honor of the Philistines. The land
eventually passed into the hands of
the Byzantines, Persians, Arabs,
Crusaders, and Turks.
The so-called Palestinian
people are the descendants of a
mixed populace of local inhabitants
together with numerous other
groups of Muslims brought to Pale-
stine from Bosnia, the Balkans and
the Caucasus by the Turks, and
from the Sudan, Egypt, Syria and
Lebanon by the British.
In all events, it is possible to

Principles of Prophecy -- The Pale Horse of Revelation 6