Recent statements made by the so-called “Palestinian Authority” (PA) have led me to a renewed study of the timeline of the last days. PA President Mahmoud Abbas laid claim to Israel’s land, prompting chants from the audience: “To Jerusalem we march, martyrs by the millions!” He followed up by declaring: “We shall enter Jerusalem - millions of fighters! We shall enter it! All of us, the entire Palestinian people, the entire Arab nation, the Islamic nation, and the Christian nation…”
My first thought when I read his words was of Ezekiel 38-39, the gathering of a mighty army to overrun Israel. Some will say: “That’s just the PA, not all of the kingdoms named in Ezekiel 38.” The PA is the group making the statements, but observe the attitudes around the world concerning Israel and the Jewish people. Much of the western world’s sympathies lie in opposition to Israel and her claim to her land. And, on the surface, the most tragic aspect of their hatred for Israel is that it is based on a lie. But a look deeper under the surface will reveal that the lie is based on rebellion against the Lord.
The truth is that there never was a nation of people called the Palestinians. Their fury has nothing to do with the “occupation” of lands or with western interference in middle-eastern affairs. All of that is a cover story, a convenient smokescreen that allows the rebellious heart to rage against its maker. The truth of the matter is that as early as Genesis 12:7 (likely more than 4,000 years ago), the one God promised the land of Israel to Abraham’s descendants, and He clarified which descendants in Genesis 17. In Genesis 15:16 we can read that God did not drive out or reject the inhabitants of Canaan arbitrarily, but because they had rejected Him; he even gave them 400 years to repent. The Bible also provides examples of gentiles of Canaan who trusted the Lord and were brought into the nation of Israel, such as Rahab and Ruth. Contrary to what the angry atheist world would have you believe, God does not punish people on the basis of their ethnicities, but on the basis of their unrepentance and rebellion against Him.
As the Lord’s people, we should recognize the times, and know what we should do. In the meantime, the nations will rage. The church, the bride of Christ, will stand as a city on a hill, preaching the gospel until those who will entrust themselves to Him are saved from the Almighty God’s judgment.