Israel Upate
PART 2 | Israel, Gaza, Palestinian Conflict
Welcome to our City Church end time update where we look at current events related to Bible prophecy that are unfolding before our very eyes. Our goal in these updates is to create a confidence in the Word of God as we see things that were predicted thousands of years ago happening with unerring accuracy as predicted in Bible prophecy. Secondly, I want everyone to have a sense of where everything is headed so that we can live with wisdom and pray and support what God is doing in these last days as we come to the end of age and look forward to the new millennial age that’s right around the corner.
Last week Iran directly launched an attack against Israel with some 300 rockets and missiles, not one Israeli was hurt or killed. This was a really amazing miracle. Meanwhile, during this Passover week our universities and campuses across the country have been aflame with levels of borderline militant anti Semitism that would make Adolf Hitler proud if he were still here.
Another thing to note is the fact that all the other nations and people groups who have attacked or tormented Israel over the centuries are either gone or they are 3rd rate powers or old news. Meanwhile, Israel is still here, and small as it is, it is a world superpower with nuclear capability. Israel's regathering is a banner, a sign to nations that Jesus is coming back. His hand is on the door knob of human history and the regathering of Israel and its rise to the center stage is the sign and the time clock of where we are.
Isaiah 11:12 NIV - and He (God) will raise a flag and a standard among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the end of the Earth.
In the bible trees figuratively represent nations. Israel is the fig tree. Jesus said this concerning Israel and his second coming.
Matthew 24:32-33 - Now learn this lesson from the fig tree, as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near even so when you see these things you know that it is near right at the door.
The number one sign of his soon return is the regathering of Israel.
God has a plan for Israel that involves the nations. He wants to show His holiness, His supremacy, His awesomeness and His sovereignty not only to people, not only prove it to the devil through the church, but to the nations. I will be breaking this down in a coming podcast soon on Ezekiel 38 and 39 (the Gog Magog war). Over and over 7 times, God says that through this war, I am going to rescue Israel and destroy her enemies with direct divine intervention in such a way, that the nations will finally know who I am and why I have done what I have done.
Israel is God’s time clock.
Jerusalem is the minute hand.
Temple Mount is the second hand.
There is much confusion out there concerning the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Many times this results in an anti-Israel sentiment, which is ill-founded. In this article I want to unravel some of the confusion concerning the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
The worldwide screams of protest say that Israel is brutalizing Palestinian people, accusing them of starvation - genocide. They are doing this in spite of the real truth of what happened on October 7 when Hamas, the ruling terrorist organization in Gaza, massacred over 1,200 Jewish people and took 253 hostages. They did it in the most brutal fashion. I hate to even talk about it, but they raped women and tortured and killed young and old alike. Burning babies alive, playing catch with their beheaded victim’s heads. Much of this footage was taken from the cell phones of terrorists who were killed as Israel went into Gaza in a counter attack against Hamas with a goal of rescuing their hostages. This massacre was chilling and one of the darkest things that’s ever happened since the holocaust. Hamas was the aggressor and yet all across this country and the world people are shouting their support for Hamas and the holocaust that happened. Some of the more radical elements are setting our universities and campuses aflame calling for more holocausts and supporting Hamas verbally shouting death to Israel and death to America and calling Israel illegal occupiers of the Palestinian territories. I will break down the history of why this is not true, but in truth, it is not even about the Palestinian people anymore. If you listen to the speech, it’s pure hate for Israel. What is happening is outrageous, and similar to things that happened in Nazi Germany. At some point, someone must ask who is organizing all of this behind-the-scenes. Where are they getting all the flags and the signs, and why is everything happening simultaneously. There is more going on that meets the eye and it is fueled by Satan himself.
I want us to unravel the truth concerning Palestine and the people who live there. Let’s look at both the Bible and natural history.
The place of controversy is called the Gaza Strip. It is 25 miles long x 6 miles wide. 2.5 million people live there. It’s a mix of Arab and Jewish settlers, appx 214,000.
It is situated along Egypt’s border.
The Bible says a lot about Gaza.
Gaza is included within the borders of Israel, which include Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. Also called the West Bank.
God defined Israel’s borders, as given to Abraham and Israel in Numbers 34:1-10. By the way, as a side note, Israel’s borders are much larger than the land they currently occupy. Israel has never been the aggressor, they are just looking for peace and even willing to trade land that they legally owned. Which they did on multiple occasions and which they did last time in 2005.
Gaza is mentioned 20 times in the Bible, starting with God speaking to Abraham concerning the boundaries of the promised land. Here are just some of the verses, with of course everything being outlined in Numbers 34.
Genesis 10:19 NIV
and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Joshua 15:47 NIV
Ashdod, its surrounding settlements and villages; and Gaza, its settlements and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
Gaza has always been a trouble spot. It was headquarters for the Philistines, even though it was technically within Israel’s borders. Gaza was a trouble spot even way back in history, some of those troubles are documented in the book of Judges.
Judges 1:18-19 NIV - Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each city with its territory. 19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. Jewish history, says Goliath of Gath came from the remnant of the ancient race of Anakin, who found refuge in Gaza while Joshua was conquering the promised land.
Four Old Testament prophets predicted judgment on Gaza.
In Jeremiah 47, there is the account of Pharaoh of Egypt who conquered Gaza. This was the beginning of a long difficult relationship with Egypt and Gaza, which resulted in a blockade barring anyone from Gaza entrance to Egypt.
The reason for the blockade was established to keep Hamas (which in Hebrew means violence) out of Egypt. Hamas, a terrorist organization, operates and ruled Gaza. Hamas grew out of the Muslim brotherhood founded in 1987. They caused great trouble in Egypt, and today that conflict continues. In 750 to 740 BC minor prophet Amos predicted judgment.
Amos 1:6-7 NIV
This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Gaza,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
The 4 minor prophets predicted what is happening right now, and what the future holds.
Zachariah 9:5 NIV
Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
Zephaniah 2:4 NIV
Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
Question: How did this troubled part of Israel get the name Palestine instead of Israel?
In 135 AD the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, crushed a Jewish rebellion in this area.
And to insult and defame isolated Jewish people’s identities, he named the area after Israel’s ancient enemies, Philistines. Philistia/Palestina. Palestine.
Throughout time, the peoples in that area have been conflicted; some wanting peace and some with anti-Israel sentiment which has grown overtime. And over the last 40 years, that area has been heavily ruled and dominated by the terrorist group, Hamas (violence), who have sought to maintain an identity separate from Israel, and establish the Gaza strip as a terrorist stronghold that was not only against Israel, but launched attacks against Israel.
Israel had and has no desire for conflict. 1993 and 1995 Oslo accord in Norway created peace agreements concerning Israel’s right to exist, and on top of that, Israel even surrendered control of the Gaza strip. In 2005 they moved 1000s of settlers and military presence out of the Gaza Strip, trading land they owned, hoping this would bring peace. But alas, instead, Hamas moved in and used many millions of dollars of international aid to build a terrorist stronghold to attack and harass Israel, including a network of tunnels underneath Gaza. Instead of supporting the welfare of the people living in Palestine, they used international aid for war, including the recent horrific October 7 massacre.
With the Palestinians it has never been about the land and having their own place, the real issue with this region and its people, largely governed by Hamas who wants to exterminate Israel and denies its right to exist. Its never been about the land. The surrounding Arab nations have 300 times the amount of land as Israel and 40 times as many people, yet they forcibly go to a small group of the jewish people in a small country, the size of New Jersey, and demand more land and more control. But that is not the heart of the issue. It’s antisemitism and pure hatred and denial of Jewish existence going all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac, there is no other reason.
The Palestinian people are being portrayed by media and protests across the world as innocent, helpless people caught in the crossfire. NOT SO. Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian authority representing the Palestinians to the UN said (and I quote) “Israel has no legitimacy and no right to exist.”
Hamas and the Palestinian people are not interested in coexistence - their Palestinians would not condemn what Hamas did as brutal as it was. We are talking about unspeakable things.
So as you can see in reality based on real facts, the majority of the Palestinian people are not innocents caught in a crossfire. They elected the terrorist group Hamas by a large majority to be the ruling power in Gaza. Also, when the IDF went into Gaza to dismantle Hamas - a large percentage of the palestinian homes were connected in some way to weapon caches. There are an incredible 807 miles of terrorist tunnel systems under Gaza. Over 20 years, Hamas has used the majority of international aid to build up a terrorist stronghold in and under Gaza. Hamas doesn’t care about citizens in Gaza. Time and time again they have used their own citizens as human shields, including setting up strongholds in and under hospitals.
Unfortunately, at this time, much of the world is being deceived about the real truth of what’s going on and being manipulated into a state of hate and antagonism by Satan. A desperate attempt to hold off the 2nd return of Christ and the coming revival of Israel, and its rise to become the epicenter of the earth. THERE IS NO WAY ANYTHING ELSE IS GOING TO HAPPEN. GOD SAID IT, HIS WORD SAID IT, IT’S BEEN PREDICTED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS AND THAT IS THE FINAL WORD.
What should we do?
Pray for Israel’s Leaders
Pray for peace of Jerusalem
Psalm 122:6 NIV
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.”
Watchman - we are a watchman church
Isaiah 62:6-7 NIV
I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.
LASTLY, pray and repent for America. In previous messages, I have shared how Daniel prayed to God on behalf of Israel and repented for her sins and asked for God’s mercy instead of judgment. The Bible says that we have been given the keys to the kingdom and whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven. It also says whoever sins we remit, they are remitted. As Christians, we have tremendous spiritual power in intercession to pray and even advert judgment on people and even nations. I believe America has a role in these last days, in relationship to God’s purpose among the nations and the rise of Israel, to become the epicenter of the earth. We will deal with this in a future podcast. America's existence and our role as related to Israel’s history and destiny are intertwined. God has always had a plan from before time began for Israel and its role, and even though when they rejected God, he has judged them and disciplined them, but He has not abandoned them in the end. Ultimately we will see the beautiful results of his dealing as he gathers them together, and they step into their destiny, the same thing is true with the United States. I believe we are mentioned in scripture, but our existence and our role is barely visible, but it is there and it is important. I believe it’s supposed to be way in the background because the Bible is all about God‘s redemptive work in history through the messianic nation of Israel, which produced the Law, the moral code for the universe, the Bible, Messiah and the church. I will close with this, if our existence is intertwined with Israel’s purpose in destiny, we can expect the same pattern of dealing and discipline and judgment, but ultimately God will not cast us aside. I believe because of America's sins and her apostasy, our future is full of some very grim discipline and some judgment. But I believe America will survive and not be ultimately cast away by God. Meanwhile, Israel will increase and we will decrease, but I do believe we will survive. I believe America will have a rebirth and I believe the church should be wise and know the times, and like Daniel, be praying and repenting for our sins and believing God for tremendous revival, which will be the only thing that takes us back to our roots in our purpose.