Israel and End Times Prophesy
A SPECIAL REPORT...
Editor’s Note: Today we begin a new four-part series about the situation in Israel and how it relates to end-times prophecy. Why a series on the Middle East on American Faith and Freedom? What happens there may well deeply affect what happens here…
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorist group launched over 5,000 missiles into Israel, brutally killing over 1,000 people and wounding thousands more.
Armed gunmen invaded by land, sea, and sky (parachuting in) and abducted a “significant number” of Israeli civilians from their homes. These captives are not strictly military operatives but include women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, according to the BBC.
Video footage of this brutal—and unprovoked attack—on Israel is flooding every news channel. As we watch this horrific scene unfold, many are wondering what in the world is going on.
While the legacy media outlets in our country have been fixated on Ukraine over the past two years, they have ignored a massive escalation taking place. The Middle East is on fire.
For those of us paying attention to the geo-political conditions in this region, we understand that this didn’t happen overnight. The truth is, a series of massive escalations just in 2023 alone have led us to the precipice of war in the Middle East.
And, as many of you know, the Bible has been predicting war in Israel for thousands of years.
Over the next week or so, I will release a series of posts about the situation in Israel, what led to this catastrophe, and how it relates to end times prophecy. But before I go there, I want to address some other topics:
Definitions of Terms
To understand what is happening in the news, I wanted to define some terms that you have probably heard recently. Due to the hotly contested nature of the battle between Israel and the Arab nations for the past millennia, there is no definitive agreement on even the most basic of these terms.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my own. These are my best working definitions and may differ slightly from those on media outlets. The information given below is meant to provide context for past, current, and future events. Please excuse any accidental misrepresentations or oversimplifications of very complex matters.
THE MIDDLE EAST:
A vaguely defined region of the world encompassing the lands around the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and spanning portions of three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe).
Not everyone agrees on exactly which territories comprise the Middle East, but many consider Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and Egypt to be part of the region. Sometimes, the definition is extended to include countries such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, and others.
ISRAEL:
Although ownership of this territory has been disputed for decades—no, centuries—Israel took possession of this area after defeating Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi forces in 1967:
“When the Six-Day War ended with a ceasefire, the borders of the Middle East had effectively been redrawn. The previously divided city of Jerusalem came under Israeli control, as did the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai.” Read the article here.
It’s important to note, too, that Israel is roughly the size of the state of New Jersey.
PALESTINE:
This is a name often used for the territory of Israel by those who wish to deny the country's existence. Palestine is not and has never been an actual country because a Palestinian government has never been established in the region.
The territory of Israel was controlled by the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1917. The British captured the “Holy Land” (i.e., Israel) in 1917. At that time, the remainder of the Ottoman Empire became Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
For more information on this topic, I encourage you to research the Balfour Declaration issued by the British government shortly after they took control of the region in 1917 to support a “national home for the Jewish people” in the Holy Land.
PALESTINIANS:
The term describes Arabs living in the territory of Israel; they are not of Israeli descent. Their ancestors originated from the ancient Ottoman Empire and settled in the Holy Land.
Arabs occupy 99.8% of the Middle East; Israel has 0.04%. This is important to understanding why Israel so fiercely defends its territory against a conglomerate of much larger Arab nations.
GAZA STRIP:
Although one of the regions captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel gave up control of the Gaza Strip under domestic and international pressure in 2005, withdrawing 9,000 Israeli settlers and military forces from Gaza.
Currently, the Gaza Strip serves as the headquarters for Hamas. This is where the missiles were launched on October 7, 2023. A large number of Palestinians reside here.
IDF:
Israeli Defense Force. This is the equivalent of our US military.
HAMAS:
A political entity dedicated to eradicating Israel and establishing an independent Islamic state in the territory of Israel, according to Britannica. They are a militia, not a legitimate government, that controls the West Bank. Instead, they are a network of terrorists funded by the nation of Iran.
To gain a more thorough understanding of Hamas, please watch the 5-minute video from PragerU, which is linked to at the end of this post.
IRANIAN-PROXIES:
This refers to a group of militias, rouge governments, and terror groups in at least six countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, portions of Israel, Syria, and Yemen.
These groups are funded by Iran and other nefarious entities with the sole purpose of wiping Israel off the map. For more information on Iranian proxies, see the link at the bottom of this post.
I will cover more about the relationship between Israel and Iran in a future post.
THE WEST BANK:
This term refers to the region of Judea and Samaria in Israel. This is one of the two “disputed territories” (along with the Gaza Strip) that Palestinians see as being part of a future two-state solution.
KIBBUTZ:
A type of settlement that is unique to Israel. A collective (or socialist) community centered around agricultural farms. The first kibbutz was founded in 1910. Today, there are over 270 kibbutzim in Israel.
SUKKOT:
Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish holiday that comes five days after Yom Kippur. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection God provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. It is very sacred in Jewish tradition.
Is this the End?
The good news is that this is not the end of the world. (Whew!) This current conflict is not the battle of Armageddon referenced in Revelation 16:16 and Daniel 11:40-45, where the Lord destroys governments of the world in one final battle. But…
Stay tuned to find out!
Amy L. Travis is the founder of the Stand Coalition and author of seven books on faith and conservative values including, The Truth About Love: How to Graciously Push Back Against a Godless Culture currently available on Amazon.
LINKS:
Hamas video by PragerU: https://www.prageru.com/video/a-palestinian-explains-hamas
Iranian-proxies: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/irans-islamist-proxies
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Amy, as usual your article are very informative!
Thanks, Jim!