As blog readers surely know, on October 7 thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and butchered and tortured many helpless Israeli citizens. On the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, they did things like the following:
A young boy and girl, 6 and 8 years old, and their parents were around the breakfast table. The father’s eye was gouged out in front of his kids. The mother’s breast was cut off, the girl’s foot amputated, and the boy’s fingers cut off before they were executed. And then their executioners sat down and had a meal.
In total, around 1,400 Israelis have been murdered by Hamas, and more than 4,500 injured. It was Israel’s 9-11.
In response, Israel invaded Gaza, intending to overthrow Hamas. Israel told civilians to leave the northern area ahead of time–but Hamas told them not to leave, and was turning people back into the war zone. (Did Hamas give early warning to Jewish civilians before launching their unprovoked attack? Hmm.) Hamas deliberately puts people in Gaza in harms way so that they can be killed, and then Israel can be blamed. Hamas’ main headquarters is underneath Gaza’s main hospital because Hamas knows that Israel respects human life, while they do not.
What are some things we can learn from this war?
1.) It is a just war for Israel. Anyone who recognizes that God blesses those who bless Israel (Genesis 12:3) should automatically be biased in Israel’s favor in a situation like this one, but even if one very foolishly rejects God’s Word, anyone with half a brain can see which side is right in this war.
2.) Hamas is acting like faithful Muslims should act. They are obeying the god of Islam, who told them: “slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush” (Quran 9:5). The Quran is full of open-ended commands to violently kill people, and Muhammad was a bloodthirsty murderer, as one can clearly see if one reads his biography.
3.) Not just Hamas, but Muslims in general have an anti-Jew problem, because of their religion. Is every Muslim anti-Jewish? No–many Muslims do not care about their religion, just like many Roman Catholics don’t care what the Bible says or the Pope decrees. But the Muslims that do care about their religion are anti-Israel. Why is Rashida Tliab advocating and defending genocide of the Jews? Her district is full of Muslim immigrants. Islam in America–like Islam everywhere that it is true Islam–is violent and bloodthirsty, which is why the most dangerous evangelistic endeavour I ever had, where I was closest to being killed, was not at various Gay Pride parades, but in the American heartland politely and respectfully passing out the evangelistic work The Testimony of the Quran to Muslims. A majority of American Muslims are at least partially in favor of the brutal murders that Hamas committed on October 7, and around 40% of them approve the terrorist leader of Hamas. Imagine if 40% of any other demographic were in favor of terrorism. The people in Gaza voted in Hamas. Now since that vote there have been no other elections, since Islam is against democracy and in favor of dictatorship. There are no free and fair elections under Sharia law. But when the Muslims in Gaza had a chance to vote, Hamas won.
4.) Because the left is anti-Bible, and because Joe Biden needs Muslim votes in swing states like Michigan to win reelection, the Democrat party is becoming more and more anti-Jewish. Calling on Israel for a ceasefire is absolutely bonkers. More Jews were killed in a single day than at any time since the Holocaust, but Biden calling on $100 million in aid to the Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank for “humanitarian” purposes is about what the Babylon Bee described it as, and the money is certain to be diverted to support terrorism. Would we have been fine with calling for a ceasefire after 9-11 and then giving “humanitarian” aid to the Taliban and Al Qaeda? Biden should be calling on Israel to utterly obliterate Hamas. Hamas should immediately release all American hostages and all other hostages. Anyone who actually cares about the people in Gaza not getting killed should want Hamas overthrown as soon as possible.
5.) Because the mainstream media is dominated by the left, all kinds of false equivalencies are made between Israel’s just war and Hamas’s unjust murders. Inflated numbers of casualties in Gaza are repeated by major press organizations from figures spoon-fed to them by Hamas itself. Of course, Islam allows Muslims to lie. Reporters in Gaza can either repeat what Hamas tells them to report or they can get tortured and killed themselves, or at the very least get kicked out of the territory. How many Jewish reporters do you think are on the ground in Gaza getting information? Oh yes, the same number as the number of Jews who live in Gaza–zero–while in Israel Muslims are around 20% of the population and have equal rights (yes, the freest place for Muslims in the Middle East is in Israel). And even though Israel is the freest place in the Middle East for Muslim Arabs, usually only around 33% of Arab Israeli citizens oppose Hamas, and the large majority oppose Israel’s defending itself; immediately after this butchery of Israelis–including Arab Muslim ones–23% of Arab Israelis still do not oppose Hamas, while 33% oppose Israel defending itself even while the blood of their murdered and tortured fellow citizens is barely dry. Israel is pressured to stop fighting because its terrorist, true Muslim opponents in Hamas want as many of their own civilians killed as possible. (If you want information about Israel that is free from anti-Jewish bias, please check out FLAME: Facts and Logic about the Middle East, and consider their newsletter. They are a Jewish, not a Christian organization.) The mainstream media are very, very worried about the the three Nazis that are left joining with the 17 KKK members in the country holding a demonstration somewhere that has thousands of counter-protesters, but a blind eye is turned to the vast multitude of American Muslims who are actually in favor of killing the Jews.
6.) The fact that this is a just war for Israel does not mean that Israel is a righteous country. The vast majority of Jews reject and hate their Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Jews from all over the world are allowed to immigrate to Israel, but Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah are not allowed in. Tel Aviv is considered one of the most gay friendly cities in the world, despite the clear statements in the Old Testament about the abomination of sodomy. Moses in Deuteronomy 28 describes exactly what Israel has faced for the last 2,000 years since “all the people … said, His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25):
And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Deuteronomy 28:66-67)
Israel is not going to have peace, not only because the nation is surrounded by Muslims who hate Jews like the Quran tells them to do, but because the curses of Deuteronomy are upon them, and will continue on them until they repent and believe on their Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
7.) As individual Christians and churches, the best thing we can do is preach the gospel to every creature. Love and preach the gospel to the Jews and send evangelists to them. Love and preach the gospel to the Muslims and send evangelists to them. How well equipped are you to evangelize Jews? How about Muslims? Do you have tracts for these two specific false religions? Love your neighbor as yourself. How well would you want a Christian to be equipped to speak to you if you were lost in one of these false beliefs?
8.) From a public policy perspective, the United States should support Israel because God has sworn in the Abrahamic Covenant that He would bless those that bless Israel, something repeated throughout the Old Testament. God used Babylon to punish His rebellious people centuries ago, and He uses Islam to punish them today, but woe to the Babylonians and to the Muslims who attacked the Jews! If someone says we give Israel too much foreign aid and we can’t afford it, he is consistent if he is also aware that foreign aid to all countries is less than 1% of the federal budget and is also in favor of the kind of drastic entitlement reform that could actually save us from defaulting on our national debt. If he doesn’t want to either abolish or drastically reform Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but is very indignant about foreign aid to Israel (most of which, for weapons, goes to American companies), his position is not very consistent. Once someone is a citizen here, he has freedom of religion and speech. He is free to be a fool and put on a white hoodie and burn crosses. He is free to be a fool and chant “From the river to the sea” and so call for genocide of Jews. But we should let as few of these people immigrate here as possible. Muslims who actually believe in Islam should not be let into the country, and those non-citizens who believe in Islam’s teachings about jihad should be deported. Furthermore, we need to recognize that, like Muhammad, modern faithful Muslims respect power, not truth. When Muhammad was powerful, he killed the non-Muslims; when he was weak, he advocated religious tolerance. If we want to deter terrorism and want there to be more peace, and less war, then Israel should be allowed to enact a ferocious response on Hamas that will discourage the Muslims who surround Israel from acting upon their religion’s murderous and anti-Jewish teachings.
By the way, Russia is also guilty of awful war crimes in Ukraine. (Did you know Ukraine has the second largest number of Baptists of any European country–only less than the UK?) Deterring Russia means letting the Ukrainians defend themselves. Ronald Reagan, in God’s good providence, won the Cold War by helping to arm those who fought the Russians when they were invading. We should balance the budget and pay off our national debt by fixing entitlements, and that can be done while, without putting any Americans on the front lines to fight, we send weapons to an imperfect but pro-Western nation with freedom of religion that the Russians decided to butcher the citizens of in their cruel, unjustified, barbaric, and wicked invasion.
Your assessment of the situation is found wanting. You are correct in points (6) and (7), with the other points not taking into account what you said in the above points.
I will give you my biblical perspective on this. (Part 1 of 2)
There a land called Palestine (also spelled Palistina- found three times) that is found by the only verse spelled the same way as the current location:
And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; (Joel 3:3-4)
Where was it and who lived in that land?
We know that part of its land was bordered by water, and since it is mentioned with Zidon and Tyre, we will assume for now that it had as its border, the Mediterranean Sea. When searching the name Palistina (Exodus 15:14, Isaiah 14:29,31), it shows no additional information to determine who lived in the land and where that land is located.
As a foundation, let us not forget that the OT since the time of Abraham, dealt with individuals based on God’s dealing with two separate people groups (the third was not present until the first coming of Jesus Christ- technically it began after his resurrection in John 20:22). It is clarified in the NT and it is divided as follows:
Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; (Romans 2:9)
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: (1Corinthians 10:32)
What we know is that the Jew was given everlasting covenants as a nation, based on a land grant given to it by the Lord. It was given the law of Moses and promises by God that if they obeyed the Lord God, he would give them the land and eventually through Joshua was to conquer the land it was given, dividing it among the twelve tribes. The land was known as the land of Canaan.
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. (Exo 6:3-4)
We know within that land that there were different kindreds of people, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hittites and others, including the Philistines.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: (Exo 13:17)
Continued…
Part 2 of 2
This is the land of interest based on following verses:
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD. (Amos 1:6-8)
Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? (Amos 9:7)
And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. (Genesis 10:14)
Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. (Jeremiah 47:4)
For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. (Zephaniah 2:4-5)
Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. (Zechariah 9:5-6)
As can be seen by the previous scriptures that the cities Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gaza where “the pride of the Philistines”. The scripture in Zephaniah was just prior or during the captivity of Judah, yet the scriptures in Zechariah were after the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. This means that the land has always belonged to a remnant of the Philistines (1 Kings 16:15, 1 Chronicles 10:9, Amos 1:8) whom were originally from Caphtorim (Genesis 10:14), the family of Ham and therefore during that time were probably associated with Egypt. Since this current land is tied in with Gaza, the book of Joel proves that this is the land now called Palestine and the people within that land are called Philistines who were never completely conquered by Israel.
Since the time of his resurrection, the Lord God is more against Israel than any other land in the world (Read the OT prophets) because of their rejection of their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ! They are proud knowing nothing, enemies of the gospel who reject Christianity as truth, having no temple nor sacrifices and living a life so apart from the God of the scriptures that God will allow the devil through “the fulness of the Gentiles” to destroy them throughout the world, eventually saving a small remnant that is left (all Israel) during the second advent of Jesus Christ ( then ALL will believe that He is the Messiah!).
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: (Rom 11:25-26).
The churches position concerning the kingdoms of this world should be obvious. We take no sides to ANY war. War is a complex mechanism that send souls to hell and “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” (Dan 4:17).
All bible believing Christians should know that all Gentile kingdoms were given into the hands of the devil (Matthew 4:8-9) until Jesus Christ comes back to take back “the kingdom of heaven” and to rule over the whole earth as the rightful King.
The only recourse any nation has, based mostly on OT truth, is that God will take its side (as he did for America and England who mostly brought the gospel to the world) to battle against the forces of evil, so that men (saved or lost) can live peaceably together is totally dependent upon Christianity’s power in preaching the word of God to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in a manner where “righteousness exalteth a nation”, people get saved, churches established, disciples made and the men of God are known in towns, cities and countries by the power of the Spirit of God in them!
Dear Anonymous,
Your assertion that the area where the Philistines had their five cities was never given to Israel is clearly contradicted by the book of Joshua and by the Abrahamic covenant promises. God gave Israel the land of Canaan, and while Israel is in grievous sin, He still has promises for them as a nation.
Even if they did not have special promises, no nation would be fine with terrorists coming across their border and butchering people like Hamas did. We would not be fine in the least with Hamas shooting rockets at us constantly from right across the border in Mexico. It is astonishing patience that Israel has just endured the rockets day after day after day while supplying the terrorist enclave with food and electricity and letting the people there come into Israel to work in their state, which has a real economy, instead of theirs, where there is no real economy because Hamas takes all the money so they can shoot more rockets at Israel.
The affirmation that Christians should take no sides in any war cannot be substantiated by Scripture. In any given war at least one side is committing murder, and in some wars both sides are committing murder. It is objectively the case that Hamas terrorists are wrong and the Israelis are right, and that Russia invading to torture, rape, and destroy are wrong and Ukraine defending their homes and wives and religious liberty are right.
God is sovereign over all nations and He has permitted Satan to have certain privileges, but it is not wise to build a doctrine of Satan having power from what Satan says in Matthew 4. Satan is the father of lies.
Your comments are very long and I am not planning to respond to more than this.
Thanks.
Anonymous,
I’m not printing any more of your comments until you fully tell us who you are. Be bold in telling us who you are. Are you ashamed of what you write? You sit behind your computer and take pot shots at us, who fully identify ourselves and live publically with everything we write in public. You don’t. I won’t publish any more of your sharp comments without your identifying yourself fully every time you write. I may also answer your comments, but I also may not.