What's Going On In The Middle East

With my planned trip to Israel this October, many are asking if we are still going and my thoughts on the current conflict.

Yes, I plan on going. I'm convinced that the immediate unrest will be over by summer's end. But the current conflict? It's been going on for thousands of years. In my sermon series perparation for the Fall from the Book of Revelation, I am realizing anew that it will not be solved until Jesus ends it with his return.

Yaweh not only promised Abraham that he would make him a great nation and that his seed after him would be given the land of Israel, he also promised that those who support his seed would be blessed and those who oppose them would be cursed. In Revelation we learn that in the end times, Israel will be inundated by enemies from around the world and apart from Jesus' final intervention, it would be obliterated. That is yet to come.

As far as the current conflict, it can be summarized by this: One people group seeks to annihilate another people group. That other people group refuses to be annihilated. 

It goes back to 1947 when the United Nations created the modern state of Israel in their historic homeland. Prior to this, while Jewish people had occupied Palestine for millenia, and had existed as a nation at that location, there never had been any kind of Arab Palestinian state in Palestine...ever. But because there were many Arab Palestinians living in Palestine, the United Nations divided the region into two states: the nation of Israel, and the occupation of the Palestinians (Gaza and The West Bank). 

Immediately, every Arab state, including the yet unorganized Palestinians, openly rejected Israel's right to exist and the very next day, the surrounding Arab nations declared war on the brand new and tiny nation of Israel and attacked with all their military might. It was miraculous that Israel not only survived, but defeated her enemies. This happened several times in the decades that followed, and each time, Israel not only managed to survive but through it grew in military strength. Multiple official statments have since been made by nearby Arab states and by the different Palestinian political entities that trade positions of power among Palestinians, that Israel does not have a right to exist. Hamas (the current authoritative body among the Palestininans) continues to vow to annailate Israel as a nation. They are not interested in peace. They are not interested in existing as a nation side by side with Israel. They have made clear their intentions: to destroy the nation of Israel and in doing so, to kill as many Jews as possible.

The simple foundation to this problem in the mideast is that the Arabs want Israel to be dead and Israel insists on staying alive. 

So when I read another quote by a clueless celebrity or another antisemetic comment by a European or American politician, I am reminded of the reocurring lesson we have from history, that facts often do not matter when it comes to public opinion. 

Dennis Prager made this point with two probing questions. What would happen if Israel were to stop fighting altogether today? What would happen if the Arabs were to stop fighting today?

If Israel stopped fighting period, they would be obliterated.

If the Arabs were to stop fighting, there would be peace.

I have no doubt that the fighting will abate in the weeks ahead. Israel will be satisfied that they have destroyed the tunnel system that Hamas is using to bring explosives, rockets, guns and ammunition into the country. And Hamas will be humbled into a more permanent temporary cease-fire. But as I said earlier, ultimately, Jesus is going to end this thing. And when he does, I'm not worried about being on the Palestinian's side or the Jew's side, I want to be on Jesus' side.