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338 tion of the Great Powers of that time, for those surrounding nations, too, were themselves doomed in the coming upheav- als: "A storm of Yahweh, a wrath shall come forth, a whirling tempest will burst upon the heads of the wicked," Jeremiah (23:19) predicted, asserting that his prophetic words applied equally to Israel and Judaea, and to all of the "uncir- cumcised nations" in their region—the Sidonites and Tyrians, the Amonites and Moabites and Edomites, the Philistines, the desert nations of Arabia. The two Books of Kings distinguish the various reigns of the kings of Israel and Judaea according to whether they "did right" by, or "deviated from," the teachings of Yahweh; and the Prophets considered the shifting alliances as a major cause of the deviations. Moreover, whereas in earlier times it was tolerable that "other nations" would worship "other gods," the Prophets deemed that, too, as an abomination, for by their time the "other gods" of the region were only man-made idols, crafted by humans of wood and metal and stone— unlike Yahweh, who was a "Living God." The peoples who worshiped Ba'al and Ashtoreth, Dagon and _ Ba’'al-zebub, Chemosh and Molech, were also sinners gone astray. So were the "false prophets" against whom the True Prophets of Yahweh had waged a constant struggle. They were accused not only of speaking in the name of false gods, but also of pretending to convey the true words of Yahweh. Instead of telling the people of their wrongdoings and the kings of dangers ahead, they just spoke whatever pleased kings and people. "They proclaim. Peace! Peace! but there is no peace," Jeremiah said of them, whereas the True Proph- ets spared not the kings or the people when reprimand and warnings were needed. On the international level, the global arena, the Prophets displayed an uncanny grasp of geopolitics, and their remark- able insights and foresights ranged far and wide. They knew of the reemergence of ancient kingdoms, as that of Elam, and the emergence of a new power farther east, that of the Medes (later known as Persians); even distant China, the Land of Sinim, was accounted for. The early city-states of the Greeks in Asia Minor, their occupation of the Mediterranean islands of Crete and Cyprus, were recognized. The status of old and DIVINE ENCOUNTERS