What Is Happening In Israel?
I’m getting a lot of questions about what is happening in Israel. The fighting in the Middle East has been going on for thousands of years, and the problem will not be solved until Jesus ends it with His return.
Yahweh 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 is concerned, it can be summarized with this: One people group seeks to annihilate another people group. That other people group refuses to be annihilated.
In 1947, the United Nations created the modern state of Israel in their Biblical homeland from the territory that was controlled by Great Britain. Prior to this, while Jewish people had occupied Palestine for millenia, and had existed as a nation in that location, there had never been any kind of Arab Palestinian state in Palestine...ever. But because there were many Arabs 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. The very next day, the surrounding Arab nations declared war on the brand new, tiny nation and attacked with all their military might. It was miraculous that Israel not only survived, but won. This happened several times in the decades that followed, and each time, Israel not only managed to survive but grew in strength. Multiple official statements have been made over the years by nearby Arab states and by the different Palestinian political entities that Israel does not have a right to exist. Hamas (the current authoritative body among the Palestinians) continues to vow to annihilate 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 their intentions clear: to destroy the nation of Israel and kill Jews.
Here are two probing questions that help us understand what is really going on:
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, they would be obliterated.
If the Arabs were to stop fighting, there would be peace.
Ultimately, Jesus is going to end this thing. And when He does, I'm not worried about being on the Palestinians’ side or Israel's side. I want to be on Jesus' side.