Don’t ignore the signs!

Where is the current crisis in Israel heading?  What are we to make of it? Is it connected to Bible prophecy, and if so, what’s the connection? These are questions on the lips of many people, and these are questions worthy to explore. These are questions we cannot ignore, not at all especially in these difficult and uncertain times.

We hear of the atrocities on both sides – innocent civilians, babies, children, pregnant women, seniors meeting horrible deaths; the missing and the kidnapped have also brought tense moments for many families and friends. Unconscientious acts of the horrific loss of lives greet our eyes and ears and we are left to wonder what next, even amidst reports of a possible ceasefire as is the case while this article is being written.

Whatever goes on in Israel and the Middle East cannot be ignored by the followers of Jesus, the Christ. The vast majority of prophecies in the Bible centres on that region, with Jerusalem playing a pivotal role in the unfolding of events that will ultimately lead to the Second Coming and the ushering in of a new age. If we do, we have failed to heed the warning of our Saviour to watch and pray. Others would argue that incidents and exchanges like this have been happening to modern Israel since its formation in 1948.

However, let’s assume what is happening now will not lead to World War 3 or to the Second Coming. One thing is sure is the Bible’s warning about such times or the kind of environment we are living when we hear “of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matt. 24-6-7.

Now look at the very next verse. “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” In other words, when we hear of these happenings, it’s the start of something bigger to come. This is only the warm-up! Watch out! Be on guard! Don’t ignore the signs!

The Bible declares in Isaiah 59:8, “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. ⁹ Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.”

Psalm 122 says we should “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Under the current circumstances, peace in Israel seems elusive, given the claims on the Palestinian side and on the Israeli side. Land that God promises to His chosen nation as opposed to the Palestinians who are also claiming the land belongs to them. The Palestinians who are claiming genocide in the current round of fighting also has in their constitution that it wants Israel wiped out as a nation. Isn’t that genocide, too? It’s a never-ending battle for land.

There’s no easy solution to this issue. In fact, it’s not a problem for the UN, U.S. the U.K. or any other organization or country to solve. They cannot solve it! Even if it happens, the peace won’t last because the Bible warns, as previously stated, that human beings don’t know the way to peace. The Saviour of all humanity is the ONLY one who can truly bring peace and it will come during his millennial reign on Earth. Only the Prince of Peace can bring everlasting peace. So when everyone feels there’s peace, there’s going to be sudden destruction. We pray for that day to come when all nations will be at one with God, when all the war machines and warmongers have no control over the affairs of humanity and King Jesus reigns supreme. Come soon, Jesus.