Gaza War

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2).

David is often called the psalmist, because about half of the book of Psalms was authored by him. 

We all know that David was severely persecuted by King Saul, who had repeatedly made up his mind to destroy him. Interestingly, David does not mention the enemies by name, but expresses his total dependence upon his God. He had all the reason in the world to complain about the horrible position he was in. While once a hero and a savior of Israel, he was now marked as persona non grata. 

Our trust and total confidence, our hope for the future, is never based on circumstances; never based on what the world says, whether it be politicians, scientists, experts, historians, etc. For us, the all-encompassing answer is always God, the Creator of heaven and earth. That is why the New Testament clearly identifies our real enemy; it’s not the left wing or the right wing, the various political philosophies prevalent throughout the planet. What counts is the invisible activity. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). 

Who rules this world? The god of this world. That does not mean those with whom we disagree, or whom our nation considers enemies.  Our real enemies are “the rulers of the darkness of this world.” These “rulers of darkness” are in charge of planet earth—yes, of your country too. I can “Christianize” my county a million times over, but it is still the devil’s territory. Why? The Bible answers: “He who sins is of the devil” (1 John 3:8a).

When we follow the men and women of God in the Bible, we quickly learn that they did not prioritize certain enemies, but their refuge, hope, and confidence always lay in who God is and what He says in His Word.

David speaks of the world of nations in Psalm 2:1-2: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed…” That identifies the whole world. We see a pre-fulfillment of the world’s nations against the Anointed about a thousand years later: “The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together” (Acts 4:26-27).

Gaza War
In a cruel manner, this war revealed the diabolical behavior of people who permit themselves to be indoctrinated by the father of lies. 

At this point in time, it is not necessary to go into details; that was and is being done by the world press, whether negative or positive. We are not in competition with them, but we must emphasize what the Lord says about what is happening in the invisible world.

Six thousand plus years of recorded human history document the rules of war: Winner takes all. He dictates the future of conquered territories, and forces the inhabitants to obey the law of the conqueror. 

On the American continent (North and South), the original inhabitants were eliminated at a horrific rate. A real number cannot be determined; estimates begin at the low end of 5.4 million people, to as high as 70 million. What happened to their ancestral homeland? Thirty-five sovereign nations were established. To become a citizen of any of these nations, one is required to swear or sign an oath of allegiance. Winner takes all: The conqueror makes the laws.

That also was the case in Europe after the Second World War. The Soviet Union (with limited participation of their allies) fought Nazi Germany, losing some 27 million people (roughly 9 million military and 19 million civilian). The territory of the enemy—Germany, Austria, and Hungary—was reduced substantially. Yet today, no one speaks of “occupied territory”; no terrorist organization has been formed to “liberate” lands that had been conquered by the victor. The family of this author had the choice to either sign allegiance to the victorious Soviet forces, or leave.

These laws, valid since the beginning of human history, were suddenly changed in 1948, at the founding of the State of Israel. Territory conquered by Israeli forces is loudly and clearly proclaimed to be “occupied territory” by the world’s media.

Thus, we come to the summarizing question: What is the power structure behind Israel’s territorial conflict? Psalm 2 answers: Presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, monarchs, and dictators “of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed.” The truth is, much of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, as well as Gaza is Arab-occupied Israeli territory. When the territorial issue is solved, there will be no more conflict in the Middle East.

Interestingly, in the south, some Bible scholars believe that much of the Sinai is Promised Land. Not so. How do we know? When reading Exodus and Moses’ summary in Deuteronomy, we find all the places listed where Israel traveled under the leadership of Moses. However, this great leader could not enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 34:4 testifies: “And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.” Based on this Scripture, the Sinai Peninsula is not Promised Land but Egyptian territory. 

When analyzing the spiritual movement behind the conflict in the Middle East, what is our task? We continue to pray for Israel, for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is important to remember the suffering of the Arabs in Gaza as well as the Jews in Israel. Above and beyond, we continue to pray for His Church to be strengthened, comforted, and to keep the faith until He comes again.

Midnight Call - 02/2024