When it comes to Israel, we live in an upside-down world. One would think that after the atrocities committed against its people on October 7, 2023, the world would fully support their efforts to destroy the terrorist organization behind the attack, but such is not the case.
Although many polls show that the so-called Palestinians overwhelmingly approve of Hamas’ barbaric attack, the prevailing world sentiment favors their cause. Many world leaders, including the Biden administration, are urging Israel to step back from its efforts to bring the Hamas terrorists to justice and prevent future attacks.
Why does the world so strongly oppose Israel?
Satan Hates Israel
Satan is the culprit behind the current hatred of the nations for the Jewish people. He is “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:1), and his dominance over the affairs of the nations is becoming more apparent with each passing day.
The devil possesses a deep hatred for God and for all those that He loves. With Israel, however, it’s also a matter of preventing Jesus’ future reign over the nations. If he can wipe out the Jewish people, then the Lord cannot fulfill Bible prophecy by returning to a repentant remnant who will welcome Him into Jerusalem with shouts of “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:37-39).
When tempted, Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:7-10). Rather than accept this offer, Jesus chose to obey His Father, endure the cross for our sake, and receive the nations in the future as His inheritance (Psalm 2:8).
In a vain attempt to stop this transfer of power to the Lord, Satan is now seeking to eliminate the Jewish people, along with destroying all humanity… He will fail, of course, but he will continue to do great damage until the Lord takes the world’s kingdoms away from him during the Tribulation period.
It Fulfills Biblical Prophecy, Thus Demonstrating God’s Sovereignty Over All Things
The Bible long ago predicted that this day would arrive. God controls humans and will accomplish His purposes through the world’s hatred for Israel.
We see His sovereignty over history in the well-known Gog-Magog prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39. From these chapters, we learn that God will bring these forces to the borders of the nation so that He alone might destroy them and receive all the glory for Himself. Some nations will protest the motives for the invasion of the Land, but Israel will stand alone. No other country will defend the nation.
Given the current hatred for Israel, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which the nation stands alone.
We already see what the Lord spoke to the prophet Joel concerning the last days through the efforts of the nations to divide the Land God promised to Israel (Joel 3:1-3). The goal of Satan is to eliminate the nation; however, the Lord will use his ploys to destroy both his forces and the antichrist. At the end of the Tribulation, God “will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there” (Joel 3:2; see also Revelation 19:17-21).
Although this decisive battle, which we call “Armageddon,” does not happen until at least another seven years or longer, we already see the devil stirring up the hatred of the world that will later lead to it. God will use our adversary to bring about the conflict that will forever end his power over the nations. His sovereignty will trump Satan’s hatred for Israel.
I don’t know what will happen next in the current war. Some say that an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent, which could rapidly expand to a regional war with grave consequences for the entire world.
The Bible says that Damacus will experience total destruction (Isaiah 17:1), but this has never happened. Could we see the fulfillment of this prophecy as a consequence of the predicted expansion of current hostilities? It’s possible.
We know two things for sure. First, the continual warfare will make Israel all the more eager to make a future deal with the antichrist, which the prophet Isaiah referred to as the “covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:14-18; see also Daniel 9:27). By the time the man of lawlessness arrives on the scene, Israel’s leaders will readily accept his terms, believing he can assure them of enduring peace.
Second, the murderous opposition of the antichrist during the second half of the Tribulation, along with the Day of Lord judgments experienced worldwide, will cause the Jews that remain alive to repent and welcome their Messiah into Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:10-13:1; Matthew 23:37-39). Satan can never thwart God’s purposes: Not for Israel. Not for us.
The increased loathing of the world for Israel tells us that the time of Jesus’ appearing to take us home to glory is ever so close.
