Obadiah 1:18

"And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall burn among them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining to the house of Esau; for Jehovah hath spoken it."

There is far more in this than a mere prediction that Israel (in the literal sense) will succeed and prosper and that Edom shall be punished and destroyed; although, to be sure, that basic application of the words proved to be true. "That indeed was part of the picture. But what is referred to is not the conquest of other nations by God's people. It is the conquest of the heathen by the Lord."[22] The eternal purpose of Almighty God has ever been that of the spiritual redemption and salvation of mankind. Secular kingdoms with all their blood and glory have never figured one way or another in the ultimate purpose of God, except as, here and there, such things affected the people of God's covenant and their relationship to the Father.