Gary Varvel: Hamas launches war against Israel

Bible prophecy fulfilled: Israel's history and future foretold

My 2006 cartoon shows the reason peace is impossible in the Holy Land. At that time Ehud Olmert was the Israeli Prime Minister. Fast forward 17 years and current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing the same threats.

HOLY WAR

Hamas attacked Israel near the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared war.

GOD’S PROMISE

In Genesis 12:1-3, God calls Abraham to leave his home and go to the land currently known as Israel. Then God promised Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.”

HISTORY

In 500 BC, Israel was destroyed the “first time” by the Babylonians and many were taken into captivity. Seventy years later, many of the Jewish people returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt Jerusalem.

In 70AD, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army and the Jewish people were scattered to the four corners of the world. But God restored Israel’s sovereignty in 1948 and has been regathering the Jewish people from the four corners of the world. Most recently, Ukrainian and Russian Jews have been migrating to Israel to escape the war. 

ISRAEL’S RETURN

1. 2600 years ago, Ezekiel prophesied that the nation of Israel would be scattered to the other nations but would be revived. He depicted Israel as a valley of dry bones. He wrote in Ezekiel 37:5, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” You can read the prophesy (Ezekiel 37:11-15).

Israel didn’t exist as a nation until May 14, 1948, when David Ben Gurion announced Israel’s independence and Harry Truman was the first to recognize Israel as a nation. Israel was born in one day fulfilling Bible prophecy. Isaiah 66:7-8 says, “Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?”

2. Return of Jews to Israel — Isaiah 11:11-12 - God will stretch out His hand a “second time…” and gather the people to their land “from the four corners of the earth.” 

3. Israel regains its sovereignty over Jerusalem — Luke 21:24 says, “Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

When Israel became a nation they didn’t control Jerusalem. The Gentile occupation of Israel which began during the Roman Empire, lasted until the Six Day War from June 5-10, 1967. When Israel regained control over Jerusalem it was another amazing fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Fifty years later in 2017, President Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

4. Israel’s land will become fruitful again. — Ezekiel 36:34 says, “They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’” 

In 1867, Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, visited the Holy Land of Israel also known as Palestine. Twain observed, “There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent – not for 30 miles in either direction.” “Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince... “Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies.” 

The nation of Israel is no longer desolate today. Israel is a major exporter of fresh produce and a world-leader in agricultural technologies despite the fact that the geography of the country is not naturally conducive to agriculture. This is another fulfillment of Bible prophecy. 

The odds of these events happening by chance are impossible unless there is a God who is sovereign over all of His creation.

BIRTH PAINS

In Matthew 24:6, Jesus said that before he returns there will be:

6 “wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

In verse 8, Jesus compares these events to “birth pains.” The obvious meaning is that these wars, conflicts, famines, earthquakes… will increase in frequency and intensity before he returns. Are we seeing an increase?

Today, (October 7, 2023) Hamas attacked by land, sea and air. This is another birth pain that Jesus talked about.

So what is the solution to this conflict? Many of the world’s leaders, America included, have called for a 2-state solution with Israel giving up land and the Palestinian state existing along side them.

Israel wants to exist in peace but the Palestinian charter does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. Israel’s neighbors want to drive Israel into the sea. What does the Bible say?

DIVIDING ISRAEL’S LAND

Joel 3:1-2 says, ““In those days and at that time,
    when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
² I will gather all nations
    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will put them on trial
    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered my people among the nations
    and divided up my land.”

Sometime in the future, God will judge the nations who scattered the Jewish people and “divided up my land.” God calls Israel “My land.” And attempts by foreign nations to create a 2-state solution will not only fail, but will pit them against God. Consider Psalm 2:1-2

“Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed…”

God keeps his promises and based on that, I predict that this latest conflict is not going to end well for Hamas and the invading terrorists.

I hope this increases your faith in the Bible.

My Latest Series of Essays

Part 1 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Mount Sinai, Transfiguration, Jericho and Sabbath Prophecies

Part 2 — The Rapture

Part 3 — God’s 7000-year timeline: Hosea and Woman at the Well Prophecy

Part 4 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Lazarus Prophecy

Part 5 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Job Prophecy

Part 6 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Jubilee Prophecy

Part 7 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Good Samaritan Prophecy

Part 8 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Creation Prophecy

Part 9 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Wedding in Cana Prophecy

Part 10 — God’s 7000-year timeline: The Esther Prophecy

A new HUMOR ME cartoon coming Tuesday

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