Was Psalm 83 Historically Fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 20?

on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 by

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One of the less popular interpretations of Psalm 83, especially since the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948, is that the entirety of Psalm 83 was historically fulfilled at the time of King Jehoshaphat as recorded in 2 Chronicles 20. Don Stewart, the founder of Educating Our World, is one contemporary prophecy expert who favors this view.

On August 4, 2025, in a video interview on Hope For Our Times hosted by Tom Hughes, Stewart suggested that Psalm 83 happened during the reign of King Jehoshaphat and also raised some objections to Psalm 83 being an unfulfilled future prophecy.

He told the viewers, “What I would encourage you to do is read the section I’ve written on Psalm 83 and would ask anybody if I made a mistake, if I said something wrong, please let me know because I want to correct it.”  Don Stewart is alluding to section 42 in his book entitled, 50 Common Mistakes About Last Days Bible Prophecy Cleared Up.

In this book on pages 190 and 197 he states that Psalm 83 is not a prophecy, but is just a historical event that was fulfilled in the distant past in 2 Chronicles 20 and further says,

” …we will look at the nature of this particular Psalm… we are not dealing with a prophecy but rather an actual historical event… 2 Chronicles 20 illustrates the exact same situation as we find in Psalm 83! Therefore, we have no need whatsoever to assume that a future attack on Israel will take place based upon Psalm 83. The attempted attack against the people of God has already happened in the distant past…”

On page 198 he says, “The confederacy of nations listed in Psalm 83, only occurred at one particular time in Old Testament history, during that of Jehoshaphat.”

Interestingly, the Abingdon Bible Commentary by Frederick Carl Eiselen, Edwin Lewis and David G. Downey on page 561 of their book offers this countering viewpoint.

“It is very difficult to determine the probable time of this psalm, for no historical situation brings together at once all of the tribes and peoples mentioned here.”

Don has issued an open invitation, “If I made a mistake, if I said something wrong, please let me know because I want to correct it.” As such, with the help of my senior researcher, Brad Myers, we decided to accept this challenge.

This article is intended to kindly present potential problems in his interpretation. More importantly, it purposes to dismiss the likelihood that 2 Chronicles 20 was the historical fulfillment of Psalm 83.

Before addressing Don Stewart’s objections to Psalm 83 being an unfulfilled future war prophecy, let me say that I highly respect Don as a Bible scholar, prophecy expert and world-class researcher. Moreover, Don and I both agree that Psalm 83 is both a lament and an imprecatory psalm. It expresses sorrow (lament) and requests divine judgment (imprecation).

Additionally, Don and I believe it is more than a prayer, but also describes a battle event. Where we differ, is that he believes Psalm 83 has already happened historically in 2 Chronicles 20 and I teach that it is a future conflict, consisting of multiple yet unfulfilled IDF-related prophecies, as displayed in the image, that concludes with the events described in Zechariah 12:2-6.

Was Psalm 83 Historically Fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 20?

This first section will provide a comparison of the potential prophetic details in Psalm 83, versus the known historical biblical facts in 2 Chronicles 20. In so doing we will discover why it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Psalm 83 was historically fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 20.

Israel in Psalm 83 vs. Judah in 2 Chronicles 20

The first difficulty with connecting Psalm 83 to 2 Chronicles 20, is that in Psalm 83:4 the destruction of ISRAEL is the goal of the confederacy, but in 2 Chronicles 20 the enemies are coming to war only against JUDAH.

“They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation. Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.” (Psa. 83:4, NET; emphasis added)

NOTE: Every Bible translation on biblehub.com of this above verse says ISRAEL.

“When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22, NET; emphasis added)

NOTE: Every Bible translation on biblehub.com of this above verse says JUDAH.

Even Stewart acknowledges this CLEAR DISTINCTION on page 199 of his book when he writes,

“They say, “Come on, letʼs annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more” (Psalm 83:4 NET). The monstrous size of the various armies [In 2 Chronicles 20] that were coming to attack Jehoshaphat made it clear to him, and the people of Judah, that their ultimate goal was to eradicate them. This is what caused them so much fear.”

The events described in 2 Chronicles 20 took place during the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, which occurred around the years 873 to 848 BC. At that time Israel was a divided kingdom. The split happened about 930 BC after the death of King Solomon.

The Northern Kingdom was known as the Kingdom of ISRAEL or Samaria, after its capital city. It was also referred to as Ephraim, named after the influential tribe within the kingdom. The Southern Kingdom was simply called the Kingdom of JUDAH, or sometimes the Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin. During the reign of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, these two kingdoms were distinct and not interchangeable.

Judah is mentioned 14 times in 2 Chronicles 20, making it perfectly clear that JUDAH, not ISRAEL, is solely the targeted kingdom of the attackers.

According to Stewart’s interpretation on page 191 of his book dealing with Psalm 83, “the lament psalms always deal with specific events that were presently taking place…” Thus, from his perspective, it was the 2 Chronicles 20 attack upon Judah that was presently taking place.

This implies that the Northern Kingdom of Israel WAS NOT also coming under attack alongside the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 2 Chronicles 20. This mitigates against the likelihood that the motive to eradicate ISRAEL in Psalm 83:4 was the same motive to eradicate JUDAH in 2 Chronicles 20.

In fact, at the time of the 2 Chronicles 20 attack upon Judah there was no alliance between the northern and southern kingdoms. There had been an alliance prior in 2 Chronicles 18, but by the time of 2 Chronicles 19, the alliance was shattered and the Lord chastised Jehoshaphat for having coalesced with the bad King Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel.

“When King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned home safely to Jerusalem, [after King Ahab’s demise] the prophetJehu son of Hanani confronted him; he said to King Jehoshaphat, “Is it right to help the wicked [King Ahab] and be an ally of those [Kingdom of Israel] who oppose the Lord? Because you have done this, the Lord is angry with you!” (2 Chronicles 19:1-2, NET; emphasis added)

Then well after the 2 Chronicles 20 war against JUDAH ended, Jehoshaphat made the detrimental mistake of realigning with Ahab’s son King Ahaziah, the successive King of Israel.

“Later King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil. They agreed to make large seagoing merchant ships; they built the ships in Ezion Geber. Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, “Because you made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and unable to go to sea.” (2 Chronicles 20:35-37, NET)

This chronology of historical events shows a clear separation between ISRAEL and JUDAH at the time of the 2 Chronicles 20 war.

Thus, it’s safe to suggest that the 2 Chronicles 20 confederacy WAS NOT the SAME as the Psalm 83:6-8 confederacy because, if it were, the confederates would have attacked the Northern Kingdom of Israel in order to annihilate them so they are no longer a nation, and the name of ISRAEL would be remembered no more.

The Psalm 83 Absentees from 2 Chronicles 20

The second problem with attempting to connect Psalm 83 with 2 Chronicles 20 involves the Psalm 83 absentees from 2 Chronicles 20. Not all of the members of the Psalm 83 confederacy are specifically identified in the 2 Chronicles 20 coalition.

In his book on page 190 Don Stewart acknowledges, “In Psalm 83, Asaph refers to ten distinct people groups, or nations, who wanted Israel to cease to exist…”

Stewart believes that in this one historical event, all ten distinct people groups, or nations identified in Psalm 83:6-8 participated and that all the other details in Psalm 83:9-18 happened. Let’s compare the people groups involved in both episodes and subsequently examine the details in Psalm 83:9-18 to see if he’s correct. 

The Psalm 83 Confederacy

“For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites [Hagarenes]; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah” (Psalm 83:5-8, NKJV; emphasis added)

It must be pointed out that Asaph in Psalm 83 was using ancient names that were familiar to the people of his day. While the names of these geographical locations have changed many times throughout history, and may change again, the geographical territory remains the same. It is the geographical territory in which we are mostly interested. It can be argued that their modern-day equivalents could be the following as displayed in the image.

The 2 Chronicles 20 Confederacy

Now compare these people groups with those listed in 2 Chronicles 20.

“It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others [the Meunites] with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).” (2 Chronicles 20:1-2, NKJV; emphasis added)

“And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir [Southern Jordan]—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—” (2 Chronicles 20:10, NKJV; emphasis added)

“Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.” (2 Chronicles 20:22, NKJV)

In the 2 Chronicles 20 scenario we see that only four groups are specifically identified. Also, it mentions “others,” which some translations identify as the Meunites. Collectively, they advanced altogether as “a great multitude.” When we compare the two confederacies side by side we discover that six people groups are absent in 2 Chronicles. Missing are, the Ishmaelites, the Hagarenes, Gebal, Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.

(NOTES:. At the time of 2 Chronicles 20 there were no Palestinian or Jordanian labels, but the image above identifies them as modern-day equivalents.)  

In an apparent bid to overcome this absentee obstacle, Stewart accentuates the lead roles of Moab, Ammon and Edom and he also quotes from several commentaries that speculate as to how, MAYBE these missing six might have been participants.

According to Stewart, Moab and Ammon are the “instigators” and “head of this evil coalition” and the “three ring leaders” included Edom, Moab and Ammon.

One of the commentaries Stewart quotes from is included below by C.F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch from their commentary published in the late 1800s.

“Philistia, Tyre, and Asshur, however, stand at the end in the Psalm, and might also even be mentioned with the others if they rendered aid to the confederates of the south-east without taking part with them in the campaign, as being a succour to the actual leaders of the enterprise, the sons of Lot.”

Succour means to provide assistance and support in times of hardship and distress. So, what is being said is that maybe the missing Psalm 83 confederates might also even be mentioned with the others if they rendered aid to the confederates in the times of hardship and distress.

Are we to hypothesize that at a time when military communications were primarily conducted over vast territories by messengers on horseback, with none of today’s technologies to stay apprised of immediate events or rapidly transport aid to faraway lands, that we are supposed to speculate that these missing people groups were aiding in 2 Chronicles 20? Why aren’t they mentioned and what aid? Was it spears, swords, bows, arrows, soldiers, horses, chariots, food, medicine, etc.?

Below is another interesting quote from C.F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, which Stewart omitted.

“…there always remains a difficulty in the fact that the Psalm also names Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Asshur, of which we find no mention there in the reign of Jehoshaphat.”

Actually, Philistia is mentioned in the reign of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 17. In this historical account, the Philistines are NOT at WAR with Jehoshaphat, but to the contrary are fearful of him and as such bring him loads of tribute.

“The Lord put fear into all the kingdoms surrounding Judah; they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.” (2 Chronicles 17:10-11, NET)  

Conversely, there are some commentaries that flat out reject the 2 Chronicles 20 theory as a fulfillment of Psalm 83.

Old Testament scholar and President emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Walter C. Kaiser, spoke to an audience at Dallas Theological Seminary in a video entitled, “The People of Psalm 83.” Kaiser said the following.

“Saying that Psalm 83 was fulfilled in 2 Chronicles doesn’t fit because there’s only a trio of nations there that they face not 10, so it doesn’t fit.”

………………………………………………………………………………..

The following commentary is from Bible scholar Merrill F. Unger who was a professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. It’s interesting to note that this commentary on Psalm 83 was published by AMG Publishers in 2002. On pages 866-867 he rejects the interpretation that Psalm 83 was fulfilled during the days of Jehoshaphat, but believes that the Psalm 83 war will probably find its fulfillment in some pan-Arabic coalition and attack on the Israeli State before the church is taken out, or at least before Daniel’s seventieth week begins.

“This psalm is the last of the Asaph series (Psalms 73-83), of which prophetically glimpse Israel’s future trouble and deliverance into Kingdom blessing. However, no such comprehensive anti-Israel alliance is here depicted (v, 6 -8), is mentioned in the Old Testament, the nearest approach being the coalition in the days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:1-12) … It is still more difficult to fit this confederacy into the prophetic picture of either Russia’s future invasion (Ezek. 38:1-39:24; Dan.11:40-45), probably before the Tribulation, or that of the Antichrist and his invading hordes at Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:11-21). Probably its fulfillment will come in some pan-Arabic coalition and attack on the Israeli State before the church is taken out, or at least before Daniel’s seventieth week begins.”

Could the absence in 2 Chronicles 20 of all of the ten enemies of Psalm 83, be the main reason why there is a large number of Bible scholars and prophecy teachers since the rebirth of Israel in 1948, who did not believe the war of Psalm 83 was fulfilled at the time of King Jehoshaphat?

In conclusion, the 2 Chronicles account primarily describes only three, possibly four, of the ten-member populations enlisted in the prophecy of Psalm 83. Due to the fact that less than half of the required ten Psalm 83 populations are specifically referenced, it seems unfeasible that 2 Chronicles 20 could be considered as the source of Psalm 83 fulfillment.Thus, the missing six participants in 2 Chronicles 20 seemingly presents a huge problem for the event to have been fulfilled in Psalm 83, but there are other problems.

2 Chronicles 20: The Battle Belongs to the Lord vs. the IDF in Psalm 83!

Now let’s compare the battle details in Psalm 83:9-11 with 2 Chronicles 20.

2 Chronicles 20:15-17, 22-23 says the battle belongs solely to the Lord with no fighting by the armies of Judah. Yet in Psalm 83:9-18, the Psalmist petitions the Lord to operate in concert with the Israeli military to soundly defeat and completely eliminate any future aggression and oppression from the enemies like in the days of the Midianites and Canaanites.

The 2 Chronicles 20 Battle Verses

“He said: “Pay attention, all you people of Judah, residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of this huge army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15, NET; emphasis added)

“You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!” (2 Chronicles 20:17, NET; emphasis added)

“When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attackedthe Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seirwho were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the men from Mount Seir and annihilated them. When they had finished off the men of Seir, they attacked and destroyed one another.” (2 Chronicles 20:22-23, NET; emphasis added)

These above passages point out that the Lord, not the military of Judah, defeated the 2 Chronicles 20 attackers.

The Midianite War

On page 208 of his book Stewart says,

“There was a specific prayer of Asaph in Psalm 83, for the Lord to do to these enemies like He did to Midian (Psalm 83:9). This was literally fulfilled. As recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:23-25, the enemy’s armies led by Moab and Ammon, were destroyed without the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob putting up a fight. Indeed IN NEITHER CASE did the PEOPLE THEMSELVES SLAY THE ENEMY..”

Stewart is clearly saying that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were the Israelites, defeated the Midianites without SLAYING them, but then on page 188 quoted below, he states that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob themselves did slay two commanders of Midian’s army and Gideon slayed two kings of Midian.

“Verse 11 Oreb and Zeeb were commanders of Midian’s army. They were killed and decapitated. Two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, had threatened to occupy “the pastures of God.” They managed to escape from the Israelites, but they were subsequently overtaken and executed by Gideon (Judges 8).”

Below are some excerpts from related passages that prove the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did have an active role in Gideon’s war with the Midianites.

Judges 7:23 – “And the men of Israel gathered… and pursued the Midianites.”

Judges 7:24-25 – “Then all the men of Ephraim… seized the watering places…they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb … They killed Oreb, and Zeeb… They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon …”

Judges 8:11-12 – “Then Gideon…he attacked the army…he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.”

Judges 8:21 – “…So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna…”

The Canaanite Conflict

 In addition to the Midianite war, Asaph asks the Lord to punish the enemies in Psalm 83:6-8 as he did during the time of war involving Sisera and Jabin who were Canaanites.

“Deal with them as with Midian, [and] As with [Canaanite Commander] Sisera, As with [Canaanite King] Jabin at the Brook Kishon,Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth. “ (Psalm 83:9-10, NKJV; emphasis added)

Stewart mentions Jabin and Sisera on page 188 of his book in his commentary on verses 9-10 of Psalm 83.

“Verse 9 Now Asaph asks the Lord to punish them as He has punished other groups in the past who have tried to destroy His people. He specifically mentions Midian. Also mentioned is Jabin, who was the king of Canaan, while Sisera was his commander in chief. Verse 10 These two were killed near the area of En Dor after experiencing a catastrophic defeat at the Brook Kishon (Judges 4). Their decaying corpses became manure for Israel’s soil.”

That’s it! That’s all Stewart says about this Canaanite conflict. In 2 Chronicles 20, the Israelites did not fight and kill ANY of the ARMIES coming to attack them. For some unknown reason Stewart did not tell his readers in his book that the Israelites actually put up a valiant fight against the Canaanites and slayed all of Sisera’s warriors with the help of the Lord according to the biblical account in Judges 4.

“Then [Prophetess] Deborah said to [Israelite General] Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the LORD will give you victory over Sisera, for the LORD is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle. When Barak attacked, the LORD threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic. Sisera leaped down from his chariot and escaped on foot. Then Barak chased the chariots and the enemy army all the way to Harosheth-haggoyim, killing all of Sisera’s warriors. Not a single one was left alive. (Judges 4:14-16, NLT; emphasis added)

In Judges 4:21, Sisera was killed by Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite and in Judges 4:24, the Israelites kill King Jabin.

So, Barak with his army killed King Jabin and all of Sisera’s warriors and Jael killed Sisera. Thus, this battle in which the peoples themselves slayed the Canaanite army with the Lord’s help, is another solid argument against a 2 Chronicles 20 fulfillment of Psalm 83!

Psalm 83:17: “Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace.”

Thus far, we have looked at the comparisons between Psalm 83:1-12, now let’s look at a summary of verses 13-18 to see how they align with a possible 2 Chronicles 20 fulfillment.

In verses 13-15, the Psalmist petitions the Lord to make the enemies like, “Whirling Dust – Chaff before the wind – Stubble – burning wood – blazing mountain fire –  like the tempest before the storm…” Then he adds;

“Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace.” (Psalm 83:16-17, NLT)

Did all of the above happen in the 2 Chronicles 20 account, especially verse 17, Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace?

Was the lament and imprecatory prayer by the prophet Asaph about the ten enemies in Psalm 83 with their desire to wipe out Israel as a nation, truly answered by the Lord? Well-respected theologian Albert Barnes in his commentary “Notes on the Whole Bible” in the 1830s pens these very important words to us in the future, about Psalm 83:17.    

“As a people; as confederated nations; as united in such an unholy alliance. Let them never again be able thus to combine, or to form a compact for the destruction of thy people. This does not refer to them as individuals, but as nations. It is a prayer that they may be so discomfited now that they may see the wickedness and folly of all such efforts, and that they may never again form such a combination. Yea, let them be put to shame – By utter failure in their schemes…  Not individually, but as combined – as an alliance. Let there be a complete end to such a confederacy, so that it shall never be seen again.”

If this imprecatory prayer of the prophet Asaph was fully answered by the Lord in the war in 2 Chronicles 20:22-24 with Jehoshaphat, why are these VERY SAME MODERN-DAY EQUIVALENT ten people groups or nations threatening AGAIN to wipe out the nation of Israel in our generation? These very same people groups waged an unsuccessful war against Israel in 1948.

Quotes from Scholars Who Believe Psalm 83 is Yet FUTURE

Below are just a few quotes from some well-respected Bible teachers who do believe that Psalm 83 speaks of the future.

John Peter Lange is a well-respected theologian who is the author of the Lange Commentary on the Holy Scripture which was published in 1877. He points out that those combined against Israel, are never mentioned elsewhere as enemies allied at the same time and for the purpose of annihilating Israel. Lange notes:

“With regard to the time of composition, the following difficulty meets us. The ten nations who are here enumerated as being combined against Israel, are never mentioned elsewhere as enemies allied at the same time and for the purpose of annihilating Israel.”

In addition, John Peter Lange believes there were some individuals during his time who believed the Psalm was just a general idea, that there were enemies from all sides of Israel but Lange believed that the detailed information in Psalm 83:8 is unfavorable to their view of Psalm 83 as just a general idea or prayer. Here is how he explains it:

“And yet the expressions are of such a nature, that we cannot be inclined to consider this enumeration as only a poetical individualizing of the general idea: enemies from all sides (De Wette, Hupfeld). The position of Assyria as an auxiliary of the sons of Lot, that is, of the Moabites and Ammonites, is especially unfavorable to this view.”

In his Believer’s Bible Commentary that was published in 1995, William MacDonald on pages 675-676 gives his interpretation of Psalm 83 which he believes will perhaps have further fulfillments involving enemies that threaten the annihilation of Israel with mostly people who are near relatives of the Israelites. He states:     

“For many Bible lovers, Psalm 83 took on new meaning after the Six-Day War. And perhaps it will have further fulfillments…The details are true to life. The enemies are in tumult…They threaten the annihilation of Israel… They form a formidable federation of nations- mostly of people who are near relatives of the Israelites…How could little Israel stand against such an overwhelming conspiracy?,,, He sends a victory that defies all human explanations.”

Dr. J. Vernon McGee decades ago believed Psalm 83 looked forward to the future and was not fulfilled in 2 Chronicles 20 during the time of King Jehoshaphat nor was fulfilled in the wars of 1948 or 1967. He explains this on his radio program, “Thru The Bible – Dr. J. Vernon McGee.”

“This Psalm is a rather puzzling Psalm. The fact of the matter is you cannot fit this into the history of the nation of Israel… they have taken crafty counsel against thy people and consulted against thy hidden ones. In other words these are some that plotted the destruction of the nation of Israel… Now you have here those enemies and there is no place in history where you can fit this in and that makes this to me a remarkable section and has a real meaning because it would seem to indicate that it is looking forward to the future and apparently these nations that were in existence at one time will probably appear again.”

Charisma magazine on their website posted an article entitled, “Why Chuck Missler’s End-Times Message Matters Now More Than Ever,” on July 29, 2025. In this article it says some of the following concerning the future and Psalm 83.”

“…the late Bible teacher Chuck Missler spoke with Jewish Voice about what Scripture says we should expect before the return of Jesus. His words carry a weight that feels even more relevant today…At the heart of Missler’s message was Israel. He pointed out that the prophetic stage in Ezekiel and Psalms centers on the survival and conflict surrounding the Jewish people. “Psalm 83 is about Israel’s immediate neighbors,” Missler noted, pointing out that the objective of these nations is not plunder but elimination: “to wipe Israel off the map.””

Therefore, we have some very respected Bible commentators on the Bible all saying the same thing about Psalm 83, that it is an unfulfilled future prophecy. Obviously, the commentaries and men with these credentials should certainly be consulted when determining how to properly interpret Psalm 83 or 2 Chronicles 20.

Addressing the Objections Against Psalm 83 as a Future War Prophecy

This last section will address three of the objections raised by Don Stewart against Psalm 83 being an unfulfilled future war prophecy.

Objection #1 – Lament Psalms are NEVER about something in the FUTURE!

Don Stewart makes this following assertive statement on the show with Tom Hughes on August 4, 2025.

“Psalm 83 is a lament. The psalmist is lamenting about a current situation. Every single lament psalm in the books of Psalms deals with an immediate event, something taking place RIGHT THEN! NEVER about something in the FUTURE!… Every imprecatory psalm is never about the future. It’s about events that were happening right then.”

Is this true? Is EVERY lament psalm or imprecatory psalm throughout the entire Book of Psalms NEVER about the future? What about Psalm 102?

“The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his LAMENT before the LORD. O LORD, hear my prayer! Pay attention to my cry for help!… The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will respect his splendor, when the Lord rebuilds Zion, and reveals his splendor.” (Psalm 102:1, 15-16, NET; emphasis added)

The New King James Version of verse 16 reads, “For the Lord shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.”

Here is an interesting interpretation of this Psalm that is posted on videobible.com on this lament prayer in Psalm 102.

“In Psalm 102:16, the psalmist expresses a confident hope that God will restore Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem. The verse speaks to the belief that God will not only rebuild the physical city but also re-establish His presence among His people. When the psalmist says, “the Lord will rebuild Zion,” he is looking forward to a time when God’s people, who are now suffering, will see God’s favor once again. The phrase “appear in his glory” is significant. It reflects the hope that God’s presence will once again be visible, not just to Israel, but to all nations.”

Does this lament prayer in Psalm 102 deal only with an immediate event at the time of the psalmist and not about the future? Or is it prophesying about the Second Coming of Christ and His subsequent millennial reign?

What about Psalm 22? Is that a lament psalm that deals only with an immediate event in the past? Answers in Genesis apologetics ministry writes this concerning a certain individual mentioned in Psalm 22.

“The first half of Psalm 22 (vv. 1–21) is a lament of terrific suffering about an individual who has been beaten, pierced, and mocked.”

Is Psalm 22 about an individual who was beaten, pierced, and mocked at the time of the psalmist and not about some important figure in the future? If so, who could it have been? Or is it a foretelling of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which is what is commonly taught?

What about Psalm 69? It is widely believed that Psalm 69 is an imprecatory psalm written by the prophet David. Shepherds Theological Seminary states that Psalm 69 has been consistently identified as an imprecatory psalm.

“The exact number of imprecatory psalms is up for debate. Several psalms, however, consistently are identified as imprecatory: Psalms 35, 59, 69, 109, and 137.”

My dear friend, Bible prophecy expert the late Dr. Chuck Missler, talks about Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 in his article “The Life of Christ in Psalm 69” when he writes.

“Next to Psalm 22, it (Psalm 69) is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. Psalm 22 deals with the death of Christ and Psalm 69 deals with the life of Christ…This Psalm is classified as an imprecatory psalm.”

As we can see, the imprecatory prayer in Psalm 69 did not deal only with an immediate event at the time of the psalmist, but involves future events. Why is it so hard to believe that the imprecatory and lament prayer of Psalm 83 could also speak about future events that did not take place at the time of the prophet Asaph? 

Objection #2 – The Countries and People Groups in Psalm 83 DO NOT EXIST Anymore!

Below is another statement by Don Stewart on the Tom Hughes show on August 4, 2025,  in which this time he tells the YouTube audience that the nations and people groups of Psalm 83 for the most part really don’t exist anymore.

“The countries that are there in, you know, gather against Israel don’t exist anymore for the most part… They’ve been lost into history. They’re not distinct people groups anymore. as opposed to Ezekiel 38.”

It must be pointed out that in Ezekiel 38 we read about the ancient lands of Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-Togarmah, Sheba, Dedan, Tarshish, etc. Do these historic people groups and nations in Ezekiel 38 exist today somewhere on earth? Or have they also been lost like supposedly the ones in Psalm 83? How can the prophecies in Ezekiel 38 be talking about future events if these distinct people groups and nations do not exist anymore?

Stewart addresses this on pages 80-81 of his book entitled, The Ezekiel 38,39 Invasion.

“Thus, he [Ezekiel] was using ancient place names that were familiar to the people of his day. Yet none of the place names can be found on any modern map of that part of the world. While the names of these geographical locations have changed many times throughout history, and may change again, the geographical territory remains the same. It is the geographical territory in which we are interested.”

I believe this similar standard can and should be applied to the people groups in Psalm 83 and several other unfulfilled future prophecies, such as the prophecies of Ammon in Jeremiah 49:1-6, Elam in Jer. 49:34-39, and the prophecies involving the Antichrist in Daniel 11:41 that speak about Ammon, Moab and Edom, just to list a few.  Additionally, I recommend reading my article entitled, Who Are the Edomites Today?                       

Objection #3 – Psalm 83 is NOT a PROPHECY! There’s NO Prophetic Language! 

It’s my understanding that Don Stewart believes that Psalm 83 cannot be a prophecy because it does not contain prophetic language such as, the “latter years,” “time of the end” or “day of the Lord.” There are others who have voiced this similar concern.

However, on page 77 of his book entitled, Look Up! A Timeline of 50 Last Days Events, Stewart writes the following about the FUTURE  prophecies of Babylon’s final destruction in Revelation 17 and 18.

“Chapters 17 and 18 of the Book of Revelation record the destruction of Babylon. There is some question as to the exact timing of the fall of this great city…., most commentators believe that the destruction of Babylon will occur at the END of the FINAL SEVEN-YEAR PERIOD.” (emphasis added).

Interestingly, nowhere throughout all of Revelation 17 and 18 is there any prophetic expressions such as, “latter years,” “time of the end” or “day of the Lord,” that tips us off that the details in these two Revelation chapters pertain to future or last days events. Thus, Don’s quote above implies that  prophetic language is not a necessity in this case, yet he requires terms like these in Psalm 83.

I tip my hat to Mondo Gonzales of Prophecy Watchers who wrote an excellent article entitled, “Is Psalm 83 Being Fulfilled? Is Psalm 83 a Prophecy?” In his article he talks about this popular objection.

“Others have objected to Psalm 83 being a prophecy by demanding that for it to be prophetic, it must contain complete details of a beginning and ending. For many, it also must mention the “latter days” or have thorough results of a war. These are all assumptions and many passages have full accounts, but this is not a requirement for prophetic material and the lack of these items does not negate prophetic material outright… This is clearly not the standard when it comes to Messianic prophecy or other fulfillments found in later writers.”

Then, Mondo follows up in his article with some prophetic examples that prove his point.

Reflecting back in this article upon what was written about Psalm 102, here is an important question; Does the absence of the words “the latter days” or similar prophetic language negate the possibility that the lament prayer in Psalm 102 could contain an end-time prophecy? Evidently not. If Psalm 102 is a lament prayer and a prophecy, then why can’t Psalm 83 be a lament prayer and a prophecy also?

Conclusion

This article has pointed out that it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Psalm 83 was fulfilled during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, by the events described in 2 Chronicles 20 for the following reasons.

Is it possible that Psalm 83 is only PART OF a last days war prophecy, in which the ten people groups or nations that surround the state of Israel will send their armies TOGETHER AT ONE TIME, to besiege Jerusalem and Judah, in an attempt to finally wipe out Israel as a nation and take their land by force? Could Zechariah 12:2-6 below identify the climactic conclusion of Psalm 83?

“I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the NEARBY NATIONS stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.” (Zech. 12:2, NLT; emphasis added)

What will the Lord do when this siege takes place?

“In that day I will make the governors [IDF] of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the SURROUNDING PEOPLES on the RIGHT HAND and on the LEFT, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.” (Zech. 12:6, NKJV; emphasis added)

Notice that the Lord will empower the ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES to defeat ALL the NEARBY NATIONS that are attacking them. Obviously, this cannot possibly be the same war in Zech. 14:1-3, whereby the Lord, without the help of Israel, defeats ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. For more details about the differences in these prophetic events, read my article entitled, “Zechariah 12: The War Before Armageddon.”

With this possibility presented, I conclude with the quote below from Dr. David Reagan written in “The Wars of the End Time, Part 2.”

“The first the War of Israeli Extermination is described in Psalm 83. Psalm 83 states that the immediate neighbors of Israel will launch a war for the purpose of wiping out Israel as a nation… The outcome of the war is not specifically stated in Psalm 83 but we know from other Scriptures that Israel will be victorious. For example, Zechariah 12:6 says, “That in the end times Israel will be like a firepot among pieces of wood, and a flaming torch among sheaths so that they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples.””

Could this war in Zechariah 12:2-6, in which the Lord supernaturally empowers the IDF to fight and achieve a decisive military victory over the neighboring people surrounding Israel, be the result of the answered imprecatory prayer of the prophet Asaph in Psalm 83?

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