What's Going On With Israel?

Church & Israel Forum

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH ISRAEL?

     At the middle of last century the nation of Israel was reborn against all odds. Even Russia, that sworn and bitter antagonist of the Jews, assisted in Israel’s political birth. It all seemed a direct act of God to fulfill the many ancient prophecies regarding Israel’s restoration. As a confirmation of this, tiny Israel then stood against the whole Arab world in her 1948 War of Independence. Her good fortune continued in the clearly miraculous Six-Day War of 1967, where she gained control of much that is called biblical Israel. This area was comprised of the so-called West Bank (Judea and Samaria) including the city of Jerusalem with its holiest shrine, the Temple Mount. Israel also took charge of the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip.
     Once again in 1973 Israel defeated the combined and well-armed Arab forces despite the fact that she was mercilessly assaulted on her most holy day, the Day of Atonement. Later in 1982, due to the rapid PLO terrorist buildup in Lebanon, Israel launched Operation Peace For Galilee. In this operation she destroyed Syria’s missile batteries in Lebanon and downed 90 Syrian jets without a loss of her own. She also pushed the PLO organization out of Lebanon. At the end of this operation in 1985, Israel carved out and began maintaining a 20 km security or buffer zone inside Lebanon. Of course, this land too was a part of biblical Israel, and part of the heritage promised to her (Josh. 1:4).
     The miraculous and meteoric rise of Israel caught the attention and even the sympathy of much of the world. Christians were especially impacted by these seeming miracles and thousands of evangelical Christians began to rally to Israel’s cause. Many felt that Israel would progress to claim all the territory promised her in the Bible. It seemed that the prophecies of the Old Testament were coming true right before our eyes.

HAS SOMETHING GONE WRONG?

     But starting in the latter part of the twentieth century there began to be a noticeable shift in Israel’s direction. The change seemed to be both internal and external. Perhaps the first obvious sign of this change was seen in the peace treaty concluded with Egypt in 1979. Rather suddenly, and at the strong urging of the US, Israel’s right-leaning leaders decided to do an about face and give up the whole Sinai. This included the strip of land running down to the ancient biblical boundary known as the River of Egypt (Gen. 15:18). Not only did Israel lose her newly developed air fields and oil fields, but she lost much of her strategic depth. She also began the painful process of uprooting communities. The city of Yamit was thus uprooted and destroyed by Israel while her hapless residents were thrust out and scattered over the nation. It was the beginning of a heartbreaking trend.
     After the First Gulf War in 1991, considerable political pressure began to be exerted upon Israel, ultimately forcing her to surrender more of the territory promised in the Bible. This process began with the Madrid Conference in 1991, but soon it was well underway with the secret Oslo Accords beginning in 1993. In the Oslo Accords the unthinkable happened and Israel began to withdraw from her most holy cities and from her biblical heartland.
     In 1994 she agreed to forsake the city of Jericho, which was Joshua’s first conquest in the land and the home of prophets as well as the stage for many biblical dramas. As Olso progressed, Israel’s leaders forsook Shechem (present day Nablus), that ancient capital city of the northern tribes. Then Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and the home of David, was forsaken. Later Israel pulled out of a good part of Hebron, one of Israel’s holiest cities - the home and burying place of Abraham as well as the first capital of King David. Several other cities, even the main population centers in Judea and Samaria, were turned over to the PLO. In addition to the cities, large tracts of open land came under PLO supervision. In the same period the Golan Heights, the ancient home of Manasseh, which previously had been re-conquered by Israel, was about to be turned over to Syria. Apparently, only the murder of Prime Minister Rabin stopped this action.
     Then in 2000, Israel withdrew from the security zone it had maintained for years in southern Lebanon. This action was so sudden and so haphazard that many in the supporting South Lebanese Army barely escaped to Israel with their lives.
     Recently the peace moves have been renewed as the "Road Map" plan has been instituted. As a result, the Gaza Strip settlements were surrendered in August, 2005. The Gush Katif block of Gaza contained 21 different communities with well over 8000 people. Many of these communities dated back to the seventies and eighties, with one going all the way back to 1946. This block contained many prosperous farms producing $100,000,000 in exports each year, or 15% of Israel’s agricultural export total. Nevertheless all these communities were uprooted and the residents were mostly forced into hotels. The beautiful farmlands plus some1600 dwellings and related industrial enterprises were all destroyed by Israel’s government with some help from local raging Arabs. Again, the whole Gaza area was long ago promised to Israel by God (Josh.15:47).
     It now appears that Israel is moving toward the goal of uprooting most if not all the remaining West Bank communities. This process is in fact well under way. Of course, these communities will be turned over to the Arabs and the hostile PLO or to Hamas. Should such a thing happen it could conceivably involve uprooting a Jewish population of close to a quarter of a million people. Obviously, such a massive population displacement would send shock waves throughout the remaining land of Israel. The physical, emotional, financial and spiritual damage to Israel and to her people would be almost incalculable. Israel would be left essentially with its pre-1967 borders, which Abba Eban once referred to as "the Auschwitz borders."

WHAT IS BEHIND THESE CHANGES?

     We see how former Prime Minister Begin, a leader with strong far-right sentiments, gave away the Sinai. Then former Prime Minister Rabin, a great conservative military leader, secretly agreed to give away some 25 percent of the West Bank. Rabin, who publicly swore that he would never give away the Golan Heights, was then fully prepared to do this very thing just before his death. Later Prime Minister Sharon, another great military hero, who did much to found the settlement movement itself, gave away the Gaza with its 21 communities. Even former Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is aspiring once again to become Israel’s leader, and who certainly once supported a right-wing position, gave away most of Hebron in his prior term of office.
     With the present momentum of withdrawal, not even the beautiful Galilee is safe. After all, the Galilee now has as many Arabs as Jews. Certainly the withdrawal fever will also soon touch holy Jerusalem as well. Already the US has exerted pressures to change election procedure in the city. And of course, the US along with most nations on earth has steadfastly refused to place its embassy in Jerusalem, although Jerusalem was long ago made the capital of the nation. So, what is going on?
     One thing affecting Israel’s negotiations is surely the rapid and alarming rise of Moslem influence in our world. Because of loose immigration policies the European Union is now being saturated with Moslems. Recently Paris was almost overrun by Moslem riots. Some time ago there was a movement in Britain by the Moslems there to establish their own Sharia law. The Christian Broadcasting Network has reported that the most popular name for baby boys in Belgium is Mohammed and that the country may soon have Arabic as one of its official languages. The network also reports that there are now seven Arabs for each Jew in Europe.* Moslems in Europe, the US and elsewhere are exerting much influence. The world was just shocked as Hamas, that extremely militant Islamic group, won an election victory in the Palestinian Authority. It is clear that Moslem influence in the world is helping with the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism and also in forcing many nations to increase their already intense pressures upon Israel.
     There is a second important reason why things are not going so well for Israel and why even Israel’s leaders are changing their long-held attitudes toward the land. This is the rise of Postmodernism. This trend began in earnest the last quarter of the twentieth century. Postmodernism declares that there is no universal standard of truth. All truth is therefore relative and can easily change. Postmodernism takes a dim view of the Bible and would certainly deny that any people could be especially chosen by God. Postmodernists also deny such things as divine land claims. These would be looked upon as mere "social constructs," not having lasting value. This movement also greatly favors any people that they, the postmodernists, deem as oppressed. For them the Palestinians would fall into this category. Last of all, Postmodernism insists that all people, especially national leaders, abide by what is being termed as "political correctness."

HOW WILL IT ALL WORK OUT?

     We can be certain that biblical prophecies will all be fulfilled. Yet, it is presumptuous to try to fit these prophecies into the present moment. It is a biblical certainty that Israel will someday possess her mountains and live peacefully upon them (Ezek. 36:1-15). However, we cannot say that this will happen in our lifetimes.
     When we look closely at biblical prophecy we see that there is much warfare yet determined for the mountain areas of Israel. In fact, these particular areas are destined to become one of the most deadly battlefields in world history. Of course, there is not much that is really new here. Almost every inch or centimeter of Israel has been fought over and gained by terrible battles in the past.
     We know that as the hatred of Israel becomes more intense, all the nations on earth will be drawn to Israel for the final battle of this age. The Bible mentions the ancient city of Megiddo (Armageddon) as a focal point of this great conflict (Rev. 16:16). This city sits on the edge of the Jezreel Valley and at the foot of the Carmel Range. It is located almost within sight of Haifa Port. Megiddo is in a strategic place where the nations may try to cut Israel in two. But we must remember that Israel is a very small country. As the crows and jet planes fly it is only 55 miles (88 km) from Megiddo to the heart of Jerusalem. An international war at Megiddo will surely include the nearby mountains of Israel and even the mountains at Jerusalem. The Bible indicates that this will be the case (Zech. 14:2). In Joel 3:2 the prophet even mentions the mountain valley of Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem as one of the settings for this conflict.
     Much is spoken of this great battle in the prophetic scriptures. We are told that as the world’s proud armies gather against Israel, no doubt to complete the task of dismembering her, God himself will go to war against these hordes (Zech. 14:3). It will become a military disaster of unimaginable proportions, unlike any that has ever happened in the history of the world. This great contest will take place largely on Israel’s mountains. The Bible tells us that the mountains of Israel (West Bank) will be soaked in the blood of Israel’s enemies (Isa. 34:3). We possibly see this great slaughter reflected in Revelation 14:19-20, where blood will flow as high as horses’ bridles. The scripture says that God will then beckon the vultures to feast upon the rotting flesh of generals and mighty men (Rev. 19:17-18). From the descriptions of this great battle we see that the days of Israel’s peaceful settlement upon the mountains apparently have not yet come.
     So for now we may need to relax a little and let God work out his plan as he sees fit. He has been working on his Israel plan for thousands of years. While we wait we can surely pray for the peace of Jerusalem as we have been instructed to do (Psa. 122:6). We can pray like Daniel prayed, knowing that: "The earnest [heartfelt, continued] prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available--dynamic in its working" (Jas. 5:16 Amp.Ver.). We can also support the people of God in every way possible and intercede for them and their leaders. However, in the last analysis we must let God fulfill his divine purpose.
     Despite the continual bad news from Israel we can rejoice that in the end God’s beautiful plan will be worked out. The Bible assures us that we can actually have a small part in the working out of this plan. 2 Peter 3:12 tells us that as we live godly lives we can "look forward to the day of God and speed its coming."

-Jim Gerrish

Publication date, 2006

*CBN News report 1/16/06