The recent, unprecedented attacks by Hamas against Israel October 7 were the deadliest since Israel became a nation, and the global conflict has now become a powder keg. Some speculate WW III is here.
Israel has always been under attack. According to Bible prophecy, many events in the last days including the return of Jesus Christ, the judgment of God, and end times wars would revolve around Jerusalem.
The Bible warns about wars and rumors of wars, and since a coalition of Muslim nations surrounding Israel forged an alliance many decades ago, the Middle East meltdown was set in motion. How this will impact America remains to be seen.
According to the Washington Examiner, Iran wants “all Arab and Islamic countries” to unite against Israel in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack that ignited a war in Gaza.
We are living in prophetic times, but this is not about Jews and Palestinians; this is about enemies of God, Jesus, and the biblical worldview. Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist organizations have publicly vowed for years they will “wipe Israel off the map.” They will never stop trying.
Franklin Graham commented following the terrorist attacks:
“We just saw Hamas brutally murder 900+ Israelis, most all civilians. If you want to know what else they’re after, a Hamas Commander made it clear. He said they want to kill every Jew and every Christian—and take control of the ‘entire 510 million sq. kilometers of Planet Earth.’ If you think what is happening in Israel is limited to Israel, think again.”
The numbers of injured have surpassed 3,000 and more than 1,300 Israelis have been killed. Of these, less than 300 were soldiers. Thousands of Hamas gunmen invaded southern Israel, kidnapping, raping, torturing, and killing Israelis, specifically targeting women, children, and the elderly.
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This attack was pure evil and well planned almost to the day of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, on Oct. 7. The very next day, the Israel Security Cabinet voted to officially declare war for the first time since 1973.
Some Bible prophecy watchers suggest Psalm 83 is being played out before our eyes concerning Israel and the October 7 attacks:
Psalm 83:1-5 KJV – “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:”
This is almost like reading a current news story. Isn’t the Bible amazing?
Enemies of God openly want the Jewish state annihilated. A coalition of nations is rising up against Israel just as Scripture predicts, most of which are Muslim nations. The Lord seems to be setting the stage for His return like never before.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote about young men and women taken captive (Lam. 1:18) and:
Lamentations 5:11-15 KJV – “They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick. The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.”
Many questions have arisen regarding Israel, one of the most technologically advanced nations with one of the strongest militaries in the world. How did Hamas break through so easily and virtually undetected? Did Israel drop its guard?
There are certainly parallels to America at Pearl Harbor in 1941 as well as September 11, 2001. Israel has persevered through many wars including 1948, 1967, and 1973 as well as countless attacks. But this?
In recent years it has been business as usual for much of the world, particularly in the West, but the Bible warned about times when people are talking about “Peace and safety,” when sudden destruction will come upon them “and they shall not escape (1 Thess. 5:3).”
The unexpected nature of that day will be glorious to those who have confessed their sins and believe, but tragic for unbelievers of all nations unless they know Jesus Christ and are saved. Have you repented and put your hope in Him?
The promised Messiah came through the line of David as prophesied in Scripture and on all the face of the earth, He determined the appointed times of every nation as well as “the boundaries of their habitation (Acts 17:26).”
God has blessed Israel throughout the centuries. Many however, have tried minimizing, changing, or editing world history, particularly when it comes to Israel and the land God gave them, so this is a good time for a very brief refresher.
May 14, 1948, was a remarkable day when the nation Israel was born as prophesied in Isaiah 66:8. Over five million Jews returned to Israel, and as predicted, the remnant was restored (Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 37:21-22; 38:8). Never before in world history had a people been dispersed and scattered among the nations of the earth and then centuries later return to their homeland “from the north, south, east, and west (Isaiah 43:5-6).”
The Bible was again proved true when Israel became a desolate wasteland for about 1,900 years, but today we see the fulfillment of several more prophecies, such as Israel will bud and blossom, and fill the whole earth with fruit (Isaiah 27:6; Isaiah 35:1-2). Israel now exports fresh produce to the world to the tune of 800 million dollars each year, including over 200 million dollars from flowers and plants.
According to the prophets Amos and Joel, the mountains of Israel would one day flow with sweet wine, and God would restore the people so they could rebuild ruined cities (Amos 9:13-15; Joel 3:18). They would plant vineyards and gardens, enjoy the land, and God promised they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them. Amos and Joel are among the first biblically prophetic books written sometime between 750 BC and 835 BC.
Nearly uninhabited and desolate a century ago, this little nation exports well over 40 billion dollars worth of goods. Tourism is one of Israel’s major sources of income and economic growth, attracting around 3.5 million foreign tourists per year.
The prophet Isaiah also describes forests of trees filling the formerly barren land and specifically mentions the cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, juniper, pine, and cypress trees (Isaiah 41:18-20). God fulfilled His promise to open up rivers, springs, and fountains of waters so people would know the hand of the Lord has done this. In the last hundred years, approximately one billion trees have been planted in Israel.
This is all part of Bible prophecy! The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed, trampled underfoot by the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) around AD 70. The land was a desert and uninhabited. According to prophecies, the city of Jerusalem would be – and was – rebuilt on its own ruins (Jeremiah 30:18; Zechariah 12:6) and reestablished in 1948.
Then Jewish people eventually regained full control of the city during the Six-Day War in 1967. On June 7 of that year, the Israeli army broke through and returned Jerusalem to the Jewish people for the first time in 1,897 years! Israel has been attacked many times and often outnumbered, and yet somehow this tiny nation the size of New Jersey has survived and thrived.
They did it because of God, and at times with the help of allies including the United States.
It was President Truman who recognized the state of Israel in 1948, but few recall what Richard Nixon did in 1973. Israel was vastly outnumbered in manpower and weaponry during the fourth Arab-Israeli war when Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan carried out a surprise attack on Israel while Jews were observing Yom Kippur.
There was talk of surrender days into the war as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir faced insurmountable odds. In desperation, she called the White House at 3 AM on October 6, 1973, and the Nixon administration acted decisively sending 22,000 tons of jets, tanks, and ammunition by air and by sea to Israel. Israel overcame its enemies once again and that war came to an end.
What about President Trump? Between his policies, Nikki Haley standing up to the United Nations, the Trump White House reestablishing a strong relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Trump had the most pro-Israel administration in decades.
Few would deny God had blessed America in the past, but we have turned our backs on Him as a nation. The Bible teaches that those who bless Israel will be blessed (Genesis 12:3), and He will curse those who curse Israel. It must be noted the Obama and Biden administrations have been the most anti-Israel in our history and have provided billions of dollars to Iran, a sworn enemy of Israel.
Some believe we are under God’s judgment for our immorality as a nation as well as electing wicked rulers. God judges all nations for their sins. It’s difficult to rule out judgment or discipline as a cause for any national calamity, including what He is allowing in Israel.
Don’t misunderstand, Israel as a nation has been rebellious, and has rejected Jesus as the Messiah for 2,000 years. Luke recorded one of Peter’s sermons in the Book of Acts where he charged the Jews:
Acts 3:14-15 KJV – “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
The world has rejected Jesus, but all nations were not given God’s promises like Israel.
God chose Israel through Abraham to be “a great nation,” and Abraham was promised land, seed, and blessing. That blessing included God’s plan in Genesis 12 saying, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (Gen. 12:2).”
The blessing would extend to Israel and the world (Galatians 3:8, 16) because from Abraham’s descendants would come Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:1; Rom. 9:5) the One who would take away the sins of His people (Matt. 1:21; Jn. 1:29; 1 Jn. 3:5).
How can true believers in Christ and the biblical worldview respond to recent events?
Certainly not in silence. We should stand with Israel and ask God for her protection. The people there need to hear the gospel and be saved. The Bible tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 22:6), which seems almost impossible at the moment.
Joshua Arnold at the Washington Stand reminds us that “nations hostile to God still plot the destruction of his chosen people,” and offers this perspective:
Let us complain to him of the terrible violence and bloodshed, that cruel men do evil with impunity, that many people have set themselves [as] enemies of God and his people, that much of the world continues to reject God and does not give glory to his name.
Let us acknowledge that God presides over the affairs of nations, that he is good, that he accomplishes all his sovereign and wise purposes for the glory of his name, and that he will vindicate himself by judging his enemies.
No matter what happens, no matter what man does, no matter the wars or catastrophic events, and no matter what this temporary world can throw at us, God is sovereign over all things. As we know from Scripture, this includes all nations, and especially Israel.
Pray also for more Jews to believe in Yeshua (Jesus) and receive eternal life (1 Jn. 5:11-13). It’s not over, friends, but time is running out. Make sure you’re right with the Lord, and that you’re on the right side of historical and biblical truth.
