A new poll recently conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research revealed, once again, the hearts of the majority of the Palestinian people. Here are some of the highlights of that research:
- 73% of Gazans and 57% of West Bank Palestinians still think Hamas’ decision to launch its offensive against Israel on October 7 was correct.
- 63% blame Israel for the current suffering of Gazans in the war, while 22% blame the US, 8% blame Hamas, and 4% blame the Palestinian Authority.
- 56% think Hamas will be in control of Gaza after the war
- 75% of Palestinians said they were satisfied with Hamas’ performance in the current war.
- 65% opposed the idea of a two-state solution
- 63% supported a return to confrontations and armed intifada
Well, there you have it right from their own sources. Yet the world, with little compassion for the Jewish people, pressures Israel to make peace with the people who have nothing more than a perpetual hatred for them.
Judgment time is coming one day, and that’s what we read about in the Bibleโin the books of Ezekiel, Obadiah, and Malachiโconcerning the Edomites.
Some Bible scholars would say that the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, have disappeared from the world scene with zero trace of their existence as a people group remaining today. Others would identify a very strong relation to today’s modern-day Palestinians. In fact, the late Dr. Jimmy DeYoung traced Esau’s descendants through Amalek, Agag, Haman, Herod, then on through to Amin al-Husseini, all the way up to Yasser Arafat, who was the originator of the modern-day Palestinian movement.
While I have yet to verify Dr. DeYoung’s modern genealogical links, what I do know for sure is that the spirit of the Edomites is alive and well to this day.
In Genesis chapter 36, Esau’s name was changed to Edom, and we know that he settled in Mount Seir, which is in modern-day, Jordan. When we look at Ezekiel 35, the book of Obadiah, and Malachi chapter one, we read about judgment that’s coming on Edom for their perpetual hatred for Israel.
Let’s take a brief look for a moment at those chapters.
In Ezekiel 35:3-5, God says, “Thus says the Lord God: โBehold, O Mount Seir, I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, And make you most desolate; I shall lay your cities waste, And you shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel…”
The chapter continues, “Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord. Because you have said, โThese two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them.โ although the Lord was there… Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, โThey are desolate; they are given to us to consume.โ Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them. โThus says the Lord God: ‘The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate’” (verses 7-10, 12-14).
I believe that a lot of that is still yet future to come, and it is also what we read in the book of Obadiah. Verses one through fourteen of Obadiah have been fulfilled in the past. However, verses fifteen onward speak of the day of the Lord and what is yet to come.
Obadiah 15-16 states, “‘For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been.'”
Those verses correlate also with Zechariah 12:2-3, which reads, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”
The nations and the Palestinians are going to be intoxicated with power over that little piece of 35-acre land in Jerusalemโthe Temple Mountโand it says that the nations will “drink continually.”
When Israel reunified the city of Jerusalem after the Six-Day War in 1967, they had sovereignty over the Temple Mount. However, Moshe Dayan made an agreement with the Palestinians in which he gave the custodianship to the Islamic Waqf of Jordan.
Israel has a police presence and a lot of say regarding what occurs on the Temple Mount. Still, for the most part, it is the Palestinians who say what times you can go up, what you can bring, and what your dress code needs to be. They are intoxicated with power, but there is coming a time when God is going to have His judgment placed upon them for that reason.
In Malachi 1:4, we read, “Even though Edom has said, ‘We have been impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places,’ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness…'”
When I was at one of the Palestinian encampments just a few weeks ago in downtown Toronto, one of the posters that they had hanging on a fence was “We Shall Return.” In addition, of course, to their mantra “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.” That’s from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. There is no Israel in that scenario.
They believe they’re going to return, overthrow Israel, and occupy the land. Yet, what does God say here in the book of Malachi? Those who say they will return and build in those places will be considered the territory of wickedness.
The spirit of the Edomites is alive and well in the modern day. Judgment is coming one day for all those who set their face towards Jerusalem and try to divide the city for the sake of peace, all the while ignoring what God has written through his prophets long ago.
When I hear Christians having zero compassion for Israel and instead taking up the Palestinian cause, I wonder to myself, “What Bible are they reading?” Certainly, it is not the one that I have. Maybe the problem is rooted in what Jesus said to ancient Israel’s leaders, “have they not read?”
If we haven’t read the Bible, we better start reading because we will all have to give an account one day. We, as Bible-believing Christians, better align ourselves with God’s prophetic plan for Israel, which includes His regathering of His chosen people back to the Land of Israelโnot Palestine.
As this world continues to put pressure on Israel to make peace with those who wish them dead and create a Palestinian state with those who celebrate and support October 7, we need to be standing, supporting, and showing Israel the love of the Messiah, Jesus. We also need to speak out against anti-Zionism every chance we get. That’s what the command in Isaiah 40:1 of comforting God’s people looks like.
While we’re doing that, let’s continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, which ultimately means to pray for the return of Israel’s Messiah, Jesus. Pray for Israel’s leaders to be wise to the schemes of their enemies and that world leaders would turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in their decision-making. Pray also for the Palestinians to turn from their hatred before it’s too late.
