A New
Look at Esau
Where Is ESAU in
Biblical Prophecy?
Who
is modern day "Esau" or "
Biblical
prophecy? Where are the descendants of
the
brother
of Jacob located today? Is there a
connection
between
Esau and the peoples of
and
the Germans of
to
the descendants of the brother of Jacob?
Here is
the
astonishing story of the titanic struggle and rivalry
between
Esau and Jacob down through the ages, and
what
is prophesied for them in the “End of Days”!
William F. Dankenbring
A little understood but vitally important
rivalry, down through the corridors of time, is briefly highlighted in the
pages of Scripture. This intense and
fundamental conflict and sibling rivalry began even before the birth of the two
brothers, Esau and Jacob! Notice!
"And Isaac
entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the
LORD
was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children
struggled
together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she
went
to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD
said unto her, Two nations are
in
thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;
and
the
one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve
the
younger" (Gen.25:21-23).
Esau came out of the womb first,
"red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau
("hairy").
"And after that
came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and
his
name was called Jacob ["Supplanter"]. . . . And the boys grew: and Esau was
a
cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling
in tents"
(see
Gen.25:24-27).
Esau was a man of powerful lusts and
drives, and there was great competition between him and Jacob. Isaac loved Esau and favored him, because he
did eat of his venison: but Rebekah
loved Jacob" (v.28). Esau was
firstborn, but when he was hungry, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a pot of
lentil or bean soup (vs.29-34); "thus Esau despised his birthright"
(v.34).
Nevertheless,
when Isaac grew old, and the time came for him to bless his sons, he intended
to bless Esau with the choicest blessings (Gen.27:1-4). However, Rebekah overheard him, and Rebekah
plotted with Jacob for him to impersonate Esau, and gain the blessing Isaac was
about to bestow. Thus by subterfuge and
clever deception Jacob gained the blessing (Gen.27:5-38). The only "blessing" Isaac had left
to give Esau was that his dwelling would be far from the fatness of the
earth. Notice the account:
"Then his father
Isaac answered him: 'See, away from the
fatness of the earth
shall
your home be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword
you
shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose,
you
shall break his yoke from your neck'" (Gen.27:39-40).
The Moffatt translation has this:
'Far from rich soil on
earth shall you live, far from the dew of heaven on high;
you
shall live by the sword and serve your brother; but when you grow restive,
his
yoke you shall break."
Because Jacob got
the blessing from Isaac, Esau hated Jacob with a murderous fury, and plotted to
kill him. He muttered, "It soon
will be time to mourn for my father, and then I will murder my brother
Jacob" (v.41, Moffatt). He had an
attitude just like that of rebellious CAIN!
As a result of this bitter hatred and threat, Jacob had to flee for his
life.
Origin of an Ancient Sibling
Rivalry
The book of
Jasher contains a very interesting and detailed account of the strange birth of
Esau and Jacob. In this ancient rabbinic
Hebrew text we read that Rebecca was barren, even after nineteen years of
marriage. Deeply concerned, she asked
her husband to intreat the Lord for her, even as Abraham had done for Sarah,
who also had been barren for many years.
Isaac did so, and the Lord heard his prayer, and Rebeccah his wife
conceived. We read;
"And in about seven
months after the children struggled together within her,
`and
it pained her greatly that she was wearied on account of them, and she said
to
all the women who were then in the land, Did such a thing happen to you as it
has
to me? and they said unto her, No.
"And
she said unto them, Why am I alone in this amongst all the women that were
upon
earth? and she went to the land of
Moriah to seek the Lord on account of this;
and
she went to Shem and Eber his son to make inquiries of them in this matter,
and
that they should seek the Lord in this thing respecting her.
"And
she also asked Abraham to seek and inquire of the Lord about all that had
befallen
her. And they all inquired of the Lord concerning
this matter, and hey brought her word
from
the Lord and told her, Two children are in thy womb, and two nations shall rise
from
them;
and one nation shall be stronger than the other, and the greater shall serve
the younger"
(Jasher
26:9-12).
The book of Jasher also tells us that
"Esau was a designing and deceitful man, and an expert hunter in the
field, and Jacob was a man perfect and wise, dwelling in tents, feeding flocks
and learning the instruction of the Lord and the commands of his father and
mother" (v.17). But Esau had no
time for godly instruction. He was a
self-filled man of vehement action and notoriety.
According to the
book of Jasher, when Esau was 16 years of age, and already a powerful hunter,
he performed a stunning feat. We read
how as a young virile man, he found the old king Nimrod, ruler of Babylon at
that time, in the field hunting, set a trap for him, ambushed him, and killed
him, stealing the "holy garments" he had received from his father
Cush -- the very garments Ham had secretly stolen from Noah on the Ark -- the
animal skins which God Himself had rendered into clothing for Adam and Eve,
after their sin! Says Jasher:
"And
Esau at that time, after the death of Abraham, frequently went into the field
to
hunt. And Nimrod king of Babel, the
same was Amraphel, also frequently
went with his mighty men to hunt
in the field, and to walk
about in the cool of
the
day. And Nimrod was observing Esau all
the days, for a jealousy was
formed
in the heart of Nimrod against Esau all the days.
"And
on a certain day Esau went into the field to hunt, and he found Nimrod
walking
in the wilderness with his two men. And
all his mighty men and his
people
were with him in the wilderness, but they removed at a distance from
him,
and they went from him in different directions to hunt, and Esau concealed
himself
for Nimrod, and he lurked for him in the wilderness. . . .
"And
Nimrod and two of his men that were with him came to the place where
they
were when Esau started suddenly from his
lurking place, and drew his sword,
and
hastened, and ran to Nimrod and cut off his head.
"And
Esau fought a desperate fight with the two men that were with Nimrod, and
when
they called out to him, Esau turned to them and smote them to death with
his
sword. . . . And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance,
he
fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of Nimrod, which
Nimrod's
father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with which Nimrod prevailed over
the
whole land, and he ran and concealed them in his house.
"And
Esau took those garments and ran into the city on account of Nimrod's men,
and
he came into his father's house weary and exhausted from fight, and he was
ready
to die through grief when he approached his brother Jacob and sat before him.
And
he said to his brother Jacob, Behold I shall die this day, and wherefore then
do
I
want the birthright? And Jacob acted
wisely with Esau in this matter, and Esau
sold
his birthright to Jacob, for it was so brought about by the Lord" (Jasher
27:1-15).
Obviously, Esau had aspirations of greatness
at a very early age. But he sought to
attain greatness by his own merits -- by acts of violence, heroism, and might
deeds of trickery, cunning, and warfare.
The Mystery of Esau or Edom
The book of
Jubilees contains this same account of Isaac's words to Esau, after Jacob had
fraudulently stolen his blessing. It
contains this remarkable prophecy:
"Behold, apart from
the dew of the land shall be your dwelling, and apart from
the
dew of heaven from above. And by your
sword you shall live, and you will
serve
your brother. And it will happen WHEN
YOU BECOME GREAT [at the
End
Time!], and you will remove his yoke from your neck, that THEN you will
SURELY
SIN COMPLETELY UNTO DEATH, AND YOUR SEED WILL BE
ROOTED
OUT FROM UNDER HEAVEN" (Jubilees 26:34).
This hatred of
Esau, in the process of time, became an undying and unmitigated hatred, a
hatred which was infused into his children and descendants from generation to
generation. This rivalry between
these two peoples has continued down through history, and was to be a major
factor in end-time prophecy!
Says Peloubet's Bible Dictionary:
"Esau's bitter
hatred of his brother Jacob for fraudulently obtaining his blessing
appears
to have been inherited by his latest posterity.
The Edomites preemptorily
refused
to permit the Israelites to pass through their land (Num.20:18-21). For a
long
period we hear no more of the Edomites.
They were then attacked and
defeated
by Saul (I Sam.14:47), and some forty years later by David (II Sam.8:
13,
14). . . . They joined Nebuchadnezzar when that king besieged
Jerusalem. For
their
cruelty this time they were fearfully denounced by the later prophets (Isa.
34:5-8;
63:1-4; Jer.49:17)" ("Edom," p.161).
Because of the coloration of his skin at
birth, Esau obtained a second name, and was called "Edom," meaning
"Red" (Gen.25:25; 36:1, 8).
Names are significant in the Scriptures.
"Red" of course is the color of blood, and bespeaks a bloody
type of man, and character. The
"Red horse" of Revelation bespeaks war, and Esau was a warrior and
crafty hunter who "lived by the sword." "Red" is also the color of the
Beast of Revelation, identifying Esau therefore with the final
"BEAST" power (Rev.17:3-5).
He married two
wives, both Canaanites, when he was 40 years old, and because they displeased
his parents greatly, he later married an Ishmaelite woman, a descendant of
Abraham (Gen.26:34-35; 36:1-2). Esau, it
appears, has always been a great proponent of intermixing the populations and
racial intermarriage. His family line is
also noted for incest, adulterous liaisons, and "confusion" in
morality, as the Jewish Chumash, Art Scroll edition, shows:
"In the literal
sense of the verses and from the parallel genealogies in Chronicles,
it
becomes clear that many of Esau's descendants were products of incest and
illegitimacy
. . . . Esau's family was permeated with illegitimacy. . . The verse
[Gen.26:2]
implies that Oholibamah was the daughter of two fathers, Anah and
Zibeon,
an obvious impossibility. Furthermore,
verse 24 describes Anah as
Zibeon's
son. Consequently, our verse implies
that Zibeon cohabited with his own
daughter-in-law,
Anah's wife, and Oholibamah was the product of their adultery.
Thus,
she and all her offspring were illegitimate" (p.192-193).
We are told that "Esau took his
wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his household,
and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, and went into the
country from the face of his brother Jacob" (Gen.36:6). He moved out, lock, stock and barrel. Eventually, his descendants settled in Mount
Seir, to the direct south of Israel.
Is this an Esau
identified in ancient history? Did the
ancients write about him, his deeds, and acts of renown?
Esau -- A Mighty Man of War
Esau became not
only a powerful hunter, like Nimrod, but also a mighty warrior and ruler. It seems obvious that he considered himself
the equal or superior of any man. Having
killed Nimrod, the great king who had defied God at the Tower of Babel, Esau felt he should become king over the
earth. Therefore he was particularly
galled that Jacob had received the birthright promises and blessings. His hatred drove them apart and made them the
quintessential rivals all their days, and this rivalry for world dominion
passed down through the generations between their descendants.
Such a man could
hardly be ignored in the annals of ancient times. And he was not.
In his fascinating book entitled Compendium
of World History, Prof. Herman L. Hoeh provides us an incredible glimpse
into the historical writings dealing with this man. To the ancients, he was known as
"Hercules."
Says Herman L. Hoeh, in volume I of
the Compendium, a very powerful ancient people were known as the
"Hericlidae." Dr. Hoeh says,
"Witness the incursions of the Hyksos and the Edomite Heraclidae -- a
branch of the Hebrews" -- into the land of early Greece (p.394). Who were these people? Hoeh writes, in a section entitled "Who
Were the Heraclidae?" that --
"The
Heraclidae are said to have returned 80 years after the first Trojan War. Then
they
must have been in Greece and Asia Minor before.
The most famous people who
possessed
this region before were the Hyksos rulers -- Apophis and Khyan. The Hyksos
were
Amalekites and other tribes descended of Edom . . . As the Greeks called
these
people
Heraclidae, is it possible that Hercules -- the father of the Heraclidae --
was
Edom or Esau, the father of the Edomites and Amalekites?" (page 402).
Herman Hoeh goes on, on page 403, to
say,
"Who then was the original Hercules?
. . . .
"That
there were several Hercules is admitted by all writers, ancient
and
modern. Nimrod was called Hercules,
as also was Osorkon much
later. Neither of them was the famous Hercules
who fathered the
Heraclidae. This Hercules -- declare the Greeks -- LOST
HIS RIGHT
OF
BIRTH, AS DID ESAU, the famous hunter" (p.403).
Herman Hoeh then quotes from
Josephus, the Jewish historian, who himself quotes Alexander Polyhistor, who
quotes the prophet Cleodemus, also called Malchus, who wrote a history of the
Jews in agreement with the history of Moses.
He relates that
". . .
there were many sons born to Abraham by Keturah; nay, he names three
of
them, Apher, and Surim, and Japhran [from Apher "Africa" took its
name] . . .
these
men were auxillaries to Hercules, when he fought against Libya and Antaeus;
and
that Hercules married Aphra's (that is, Apher's) daughter, and of her he begat
a
son, Diodorus . . . ." (p.403-404).
Says Hoeh,
"Apher
was a son of Midian, and a grandson of Abraham.
Esau was a much
younger
grandson of Abraham through Isaac.
Josephus thus establishes that
this
Hercules was not Nimrod who was over two centuries earlier [Hoeh's
dating,
based on Ussher]. He further proved that
this Hercules lived at the time
which
the Bible proves that Esau lived. Both
lost their right of birth. Esau was
therefore
the Hercules of Greek history and the father of the Heraclidae" (p.404).
Hoeh says: "As Celtes had no son he gave his
daughter in marriage to Hercules (who has been proven to be ESAU from Josephus
and Greek history. From her Hercules had
a son named Galathes . . ." (p.451-452).
Esau/Hercules obviously "got
around." All his life, it would
appear, he struggled to regain his "birth right." He performed mighty works, and incredible deeds,
and the "labors of Hercules" -- but he could never regain that which
he had so foolishly sold to Jacob his brother for a bowl of bean soup!
Modern Day Descendants of Jacob and
Esau
All through
history there would be conflict between the sons of Jacob, or
"Israel," and the sons of Esau, his wicked older brother. The Bible tells us that Esau was a violent
man, a famous hunter, who "despised his birthright" (Gen.25:34). Esau was a very capable man, and had great
abilities, but Isaac gave the birthright promises of national greatness and
power to Jacob instead (Gen.27:20-30).
Ever since that time, the descendants of Esau have hated and despised
the descendants of Jacob, or "Israel."
As we know,
Jacob's descendants became the twelve tribes of Israel, and most of them
migrated out of the Middle East and settled in Northwestern Europe,
Scandinavia, France, the British Isles, Ireland, Denmark, and North America.
But what about
the descendants of "Esau"?
History has proved that some of them settled in the region of Turkey,
and became the "Ottoman Empire" -- a cruel, brutal historical empire
that was finally conquered by the descendants of Jacob -- the British and
Americans -- in 1917, when the Turks fought beside the Germans and Austrians,
on the losing side.
However, other
sons of Esau, like the Israelites, migrated farther west, and settle in Spain,
once again to the south of the Israelite nations! The ancient hatred and "blood-feud"
and religious animosity between the descendants of Esau and Jacob appears to
have been carried down through the ages, and manifested itself in the Middle
Ages in the religious wars between Catholicism and Protestantism!
Interestingly,
today the tribes of Israel which were carried into captivity by the Assyrians
in 718-721 B.C. have settled in Northwestern Europe, from Scandinavia to
France, from Belgium to Switzerland, with the tribe of Joseph in the British
Isles and America. Many of the children
of Esau also most likely moved out of the Middle East when the Assyrians
invaded.
Today, if history
repeats itself, as in ancient times, to the south of Israel we would
expect to find the descendants of "Esau." To the south of Israel in Europe, lies the
country of "Spain." Also, the
Spanish colonized the regions to the south of the United States, in the
Western hemisphere. Mexico is largely
Spanish mixed with the Indian population -- a mixture of peoples, as Esau
married the indigenous populations, once again.
Could the ancient rivalry between
Jacob and Esau be a modern drama playing itself out in the rivalry between
Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations and the English-speaking
nations of modern Joseph, the "birthright" tribe of ancient Israel?
This ancient
hostility is still evident in the conflict between Spain and England over the
rock of Gibraltar, and in the historic rivalry and conflict between Mexico and
the United States! These modern
antagonisms have a root that traces all the way back to the rivalry and feud
between Esau and Jacob in the book of Genesis.
The remaining Edomites
who stayed in Palestine were a thorn in the sides of the Jewish peoples. They sided with Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar
attacked the Jewish state. Finally, in the days of the Maccabees, and John
Hyrcanus, that king of Judah conquered many Edomites and compelled them to be
circumcised, and adopt the Jewish religion.
Thus some of the remnants of Edom became incorporated with the Jewish
people, and are represented today amongst the peoples known as "Jews." However, overall they compose a very small
proportion of the Jewish people.
The Forgotten History of Edom
Esau, like his brother Jacob, was a
wanderer and explorer. They had many
attributes in common. The main
difference between them was in character:
Esau was a hunter and plunderer, whereas Jacob was a skilled worker and
industrious husbandman or farmer and rancher.
In his Compendium
of World History, Dr. Herman L. Hoeh pointed out that Esau, the famous
"hunter," became known as "Hercules" among the
Gentiles. Writes Hoeh, "Hercules . .
. has been proved to be Esau from Josephus and Greek history" (vol. 1,
p.451). A line of kings was descended
from him, including Galathes (1739-1690 B.C.), father of the tribe of the Galli
(who gave their name to the region of Galatia in Asia Minor); Narbon (1690-1672
B.C.), who ruled western Europe from Gaul; Lugdus (1672-1621 B.C.), the founder
of London; Beligius (1621-1601 B.C.), who gave his name to those called the
Belgae; Jasius (1601-1551 B.C.), a prince of the line of Esau, who was made
king of Italy; Allobrox (1551-1483 B.C.), who ruled all Celtica, the land of
Western Europe, and then a series of kings down to the fall of Troy.
The family of
Esau had settled in the land of Seir, the Horite. We read in Genesis: "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).
Undoubtedly, Esau and his children intermarried with the descendants of
Seir the Horite (Gen.36:20-21) who also dwelt there. In volume 2 of his Compendium of World
History, Herman Hoeh mistakenly identifies Hercules with Seir, the
Horite. However, he was Esau the brother
of Jacob. As such, he travelled widely,
conquering and despatching foes. He was
known in Africa as Hercules Libycus, renowned for having subdued Libya, and the
vast territories that lie west of Egypt (vol. 2, p.116).
The early history
of Spain is given in volume two of the Compendium. Dr. Hoeh points out that 520 years after
the Flood, or in 1849 B.C., a great battle was fought in Spain in which many of
the prehistoric "giants" were expelled. An Egyptian army led by Osyris Denis
(Dionysius) fought and conquered the giants, and one giant was given his sister
as wife, settled in Sardinia, and built the city of Norca. The site is famous for traditionally having
been inhabited by giants, who left megalithic remains and giant tombs.
After the death
of Osyris, Hercules -- Esau -- arrived on the scene. "He challenged the three sons of Gerion
[the giant] to personal combat -- three against one -- and slew them all. Hercules [Esau] then turned the government of
southern Spain over to Hispal, his son and one of his generals, and departed
with the bulk of his army to Italy" (p.115).
Thus the Biblical
Esau began a dynasty of kings that ruled in Spain, beginning with Hispal
(1807-1790 B.C.), who built what is now known as Seville. He was followed by Hercules' grandson,
Hispanus(1790-1758 B.C.), who gave his name to Hispania [Spain!]. He extended his rule throughout Spain, including
the central and northern regions previously inhabited by wild tribes.
Hoeh points out
that the time setting of this event corresponds to the latter half of Dynasty
II in Egypt. "It is the period of
the patriarch Jacob. The Hercules of
these traditions has already been proved to be Seir the Horite [that is, Esau,
the ruler of Seir and the Horites]. In
Spanish history Hercules is often referred to as 'Oron,' meaning the Horite. He was a king of Egypt . . ." (ibid.).
Hoeh seems to
confuse the accounts of Hercules, in one place calling him Esau, brother of
Jacob, and in another Seir, the Horite.
However, the misunderstanding is resolved when we realize that Esau
became the dominant person in Mount Seir, and took the title of Seir the original
Horite. It is Esau of Mount Seir that
had the on-going "blood-feud" with the line of Jacob down through
history -- not the original Seir the Horite!
Thus we see that
the descendants of Esau established themselves as the rulers of Spain at an
early period of Spanish history. There
is no doubt, therefore, that the line and heritage of Jacob's brother Esau
became the genesis for succeeding generations of the peoples of Spain, and the
Spanish dominions and territories scattered around the world, principally in
Central and South America! The
Spanish-speaking world is descended, in large part, from Esau, the brother of
Jacob!
Is Spain Part of Modern
"Esau"?
Spain is the most
Catholic country in Europe. Spain is
more Catholic than Italy itself! During
the Middle Ages, Spain was famous for being the most brutal and tyrannical
Catholic monarchy on the face of the earth.
The "Spanish Inquisition" has gone down in history as the
worst and most atrocious religious blood-bath and bestial religious persecution
of all time.
The Spanish were also vicious
persecutors of the Jewish people, and forced thousands of them into Catholic
conversions in the Middle Ages. In fact,
while Columbus was discovering America (he was very likely a Jew in the employ
of the Spanish king and queen), in 1492, the very same year the Spanish
launched an inquisition against the Jews and expelled all who would not convert
from the country.
The Spanish, like ancient Esau and
his children, have been noted for their extreme cruelty, ambition, and lust for
conquest. Like Esau the hunter, the
Spanish conquistadores pillaged, butchered, and "hunted" for the gold
and treasures of the Aztecs and Incas.
Spain historically has had a great
hatred for Protestants and all non-Catholics. This hatred manifested itself in
the notorious Spanish Inquisition, when hundreds of thousands of Protestants
were imprisoned, tortured, and killed without mercy. Historically, too, the Spanish also had a
great hatred for the Jews. Is not this
persistent hatred a manifestation of the ancient hatred of Esau for his brother
Jacob?
I have noted that modern Spain is south of the
nations of modern Israel which located in Europe. This parallels the fact that ancient Edom was
located south of ancient Israel.
Modern Spain has outlets to the sea -- ocean harbors; ancient
Edom also had an outlet to the sea -- an ocean harbor -- with a port at
Ezion-geber on the Red Sea. In the western hemisphere, Mexico, the
largest and most populous former Spanish dominion, also lies directly south
of modern Ephraim!
Jacob prophesied of Esau, that he
would dwell "far from" the rich agricultural land (Gen.27:39). Says the Worldbook Encyclopedia of the
country of Spain:
"Spain is poor in natural
resources. The country has little good
farmland, and it lacks
many
important industrial raw materials. . . . Most of Spain has poor soil and
limited
rainfall,
which make it difficult to raise crops. . . . But agricultural production in
most
regions
has always been low because of the poor soil, dry climate, and inferior Spanish
farming
methods" (article "Spain," p.579).
Thus even the topography and geography of Spain reveal that
it could well be a country populated by the modern day descendants of ancient
Esau! Much of Mexico, also, is rocky,
arid, and poor soil for agriculture.
The greatest evidence, however, that
the Spanish people are at least in large part related to Esau is in their
national characteristics -- their idolatrous religious fanaticism, which today
is Catholicism, and their brutal historical hatred and antipathy toward the
Israelitish nations of Europe, in particular the English, and their persecution
of Protestants and Jews during the Spanish Inquisition. These traits which bespeak an undying hatred
and deep-seated resentment and jealousy are just what one would expect from the
descendants of "Esau" toward the descendants of "Jacob"!
Esau
and the Latins and Romans
Louis Ginzberg in his Legends of
the Jews gives us additional information about Esau, connecting him and his
posterity to Rome. According to the
traditions Ginzberg relates, Rebekah suffered such severe pain during her
pregnancy that she went to Shem and pleaded with him to inquire of God
concerning the cause of her distress.
"And
Shem replied: "My daughter, I confide a secret to thee. See to it that none
finds it out. Two nations are in thy womb, and how should
thy body contain them,
seeing that the whole world will not be
large enough for them to exist in it together
peaceably?
Two nations they are, each owning a world of its own, the one the Torah,
the other sin. From the one will spring Solomon, the builder
of the Temple, from
the other Vespasian, the destroyer
thereof"' (Legends, 1968, vol. 1, page 314)
Spain has been staunchly and
violently Catholic, apostate in the extreme, and doubtlessly a part of the body
of Esau. However, the Mother and
Fountain of all persecution and relilgious apostasy has its source in Rome, and
Roman Catholicism. Rome, also, fulfills
the words of Edras that 'Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the
beginning of the one that follows.'
'They [Esau and Jacob] will never be in
the same estate. Esau will vaunt lords,
while
Jacob will have Kings. They, Israel and Rome, are the two nations
destined to be hated