Israel again in the headlines…
War looms its head again in that ever bubbling flash point in Southern Israel known as the Gaza strip. Reuters news 15th November published the following – “A Hamas rocket killed three Israelis north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, drawing first blood from Israel as the Palestinian death toll rose to 13 and the military showdown lurched closer to all-out war. The flare-up on Israel’s southern front came in a week when, up north, it fired at Syrian artillery positions it said had shot into the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights amid a civil war in Syria that has brought renewed instability to Lebanon next door. A second Gaza war has loomed on the horizon for months as waves of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes grew increasingly more intense and frequent.”
What does this mean for the followers of Christ as these events continue to rumble on capturing the attention of all the nation of the world to that tiny nation Israel? Jesus said the rebirth of the nation Israel would be a supersign for the events of the last days.
Mat 24:32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer [is] near. Mat 24:33 “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near–at the doors!
On more than one occasion in Scripture, Israel is compared to a fig tree – Judges 9:11, Hosea 9:10 and Joel 1:4-7 to name just a few.
On May 14th, 1948 against amazing odds, the Jewish people returned to their homeland and were established again as a nation. This is unprecedented in human history for a nation to essentially cease to exist, then to come back into existence once again. But since that time forces have been unrelenting in trying to wipe Israel off from the face of the earth.
God said, I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves. Zech 12:1
So when God say that Jerusalem will be the focal point of the last days scenario, we see this already happening before our eyes. Many Arab leaders worldwide insist that the old city and entire West Bank are rightfully Palestinian territory and must be ceded back as a condition for peace. This is the ongoing conflict!
But the only true peace that will ever come is when the King of Kings, Lord of Lords and the Prince of Peace comes back and establishes His kingdom on earth. This is what we are to be looking for and it is growing closer each day!
We are certainly in the last days…..What we see today are the labour pains of what is to come. They tell us as they get stronger and stronger, closer and closer that the coming of Jesus is near. Are you ready…