The War Of Israel Versus Hamas And Signs Of The End Times

The war between Israel and Hamas has lasted more than a month and claimed thousands of lives. Among Christians, there are two contradictory attitudes in responding to this war. The first is pro-Israel. For them, Israel is God's chosen nation, and therefore, they must always support and defend them. Doesn't the Bible say, " May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed” (Genesis 27:29)? The attacks that Israel is carrying out are an act to protect themselves from the cruelty of Hamas, which wants to wipe Israel off the world map. I wonder if these Christians know that not all Jews support the State of Israel that the Zionists established. Orthodox Jews, for example, view the present state as a blasphemous human attempt to seize God’s role, and many actively work to dismantle the secular State of Israel. About 60 percent of the Israeli population are secular or atheists.

The second view among Christians is pro-Palestinian. For these Christians, Israel's status as God's chosen nation ended when they rejected Jesus as their Messiah, their Savior. Because of that, God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants for the Promised Land had ended. That is why after the temple of God was destroyed in 70 AD, the Israelite were scattered and spread to various countries. For hundreds of years, the country was inhabited by different nations and ethnic groups. However, on May 15, 1948, the Israelis established the state of Israel there. In these Christians’ eyes, Israel occupies the land of the Palestinian people who have lived there for hundreds of years. These Christians do not realize that what they support is not the Palestinian people but the Hamas terrorists, who are hated by many Palestinians themselves because of their cruelty and hatred of Israel. Hamas hates Israel so much that they use various cruel methods to destroy the state of Israel, including sacrificing their own people (Palestinian children and women).

Today, I invite you to look at the situation objectively based on history and the Bible and what the current wars have to do with the prophecy about the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Let's read Matthew 24:3-14.

According to Jesus, one of the signs that indicates that His second coming is near is the occurrence of war between nations and ethnic groups. This is not planned or initiated by God. But Jesus, in His omniscience, knows the condition of the hearts of sinful humans who are thirsty for power, who do not care about the suffering of others, and who are cruel. This is something strange and very sad. Shouldn't humans know that war causes suffering and disaster for humanity? Families lose husbands, wives, children, and parents. And homes and cities are destroyed and devastated.

At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century. Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion. In this twenty-first century, humans are getting smarter, and their abilities are extraordinary. What God stated in Genesis 11:6 is increasingly proven. Humans have succeeded in creating artificial intelligence that can do almost anything faster and more accurately than humans. However, the human heart to this day is still the same, namely dominated by sinful lust.

Now, let's focus on the war in the Middle East. The root of the conflict and which side people support, whether Israel or Palestine, is based on the idea of whether Israel is occupying Palestine or not. For the Palestinians and those who support them, Israel has been occupying the land of Palestinians since 1948. Regarding the area of Gaza, Israel occupied Gaza from 1967 to 2005, when it unilaterally withdrew its troops and settlers but continued to exert control over the territory's sea, airspace, and land crossings. The vast majority of Gaza's residents are descendants of refugees whose ancestors either fled or were forced out of their homes in what is now Israel. The enclave is one of the most densely populated places on earth.

For Israel and their supporters, when Israel was established in 1948, Palestine was not an Arab nation. The region was under British control following World War One, and Britain eventually sought the United Nations' input on its future. Before British administration, the area had been governed by the Turks since the early 1500s, who were not Arabs. It's essential to note that Palestine has never constituted an independent nation. So in this view, Israel is not occupying Palestine but rather coming back to the land that God has given to them three thousand four hundred years ago under the leadership of Joshua and Caleb.

Many people, including Christians, relate the Palestinians with the Philistines in the Bible, who owned the land of Canaan before the coming of Joshua and the people of Israel. That is wrong! The Philistines, or "sea people," were most likely invaders from Cyprus who built communities along the Levantine coast. They were eradicated by the Babylonians in 600 BC. They were not the same as modern Palestinians. The current Palestinian people are Arabs.