A few weeks ago Israel decided that it had had enough of “the religion of peace” raining missiles down on their cities and invaded the Gaza Strip. Now the whole world is shedding crocodile tears for the “innocent” civilian Palestinians being killed and demanding that Israel go back to the status quo of allowing itself to be attacked on a daily basis without response.

The Palestinians are now paying the price for electing Hamas (the more rabid of the two terrorist groups who ran for office) as their governing officials. Hamas has sworn to destroy Israel. The Palestinians who elected them knew this and supported it with their vote. They illustrate it every time they hold a protest rally crying for the destruction of the United States and Israel. They celebrate it every time a suicide bomber completes his mission and they put posters up in the streets of the bomber, dance in the streets, and give candy to their children (as they did after 9/11). They indoctrinate their children with videos and training from infancy to believe that killing Israelis and killing themselves in the process is the greatest good. They show the depth of their commitment every time they send their children into the streets to fight the Israeli soldiers. And they show their love of death every time they strap a bomb onto their children and send them out to kill as many innocent Israelis as they can. Their whole existence is built on the love of death and the destruction of Israel. Like modern-day Ammonites they gladly offer up their children to be burned alive in the arms of Molech.

These are the “innocent civilians” who are being killed? It’s not like Hamas is an authorized army of a nation that wears a uniform when they attack, fight according to the rules of war, and adhere to the Geneva Convention. They deliberately hide themselves and their munitions in hospitals, schools, and mosques. They use ambulances to transport their fighters (not just the wounded ones). There is no way for an Israeli to differentiate one of the “civilians” from an official Hamas terrorist. Usually they only find out when the Palestinian opens fire on them. And the Palestinians can then claim that everyone that was killed was a civilian...because there is no way to tell the combatants from the non-combatants! That’s one of the costs of terrorism! Every man, woman, and child is someone who may try to kill you! Is it an obscenity and a tragedy that this happening? Yes, but the Palestinians are the ones who have created the situation and the only ones who can stop it without mass genocide.

And we Christians have such a namby pamby view of God that we are unable to even conceive of the notion of victory over an enemy! Much less rejoice in victory. There are no enemies or right and wrong. They’re all just hurting and misunderstood people. Can’t we all just get along? No wonder we can’t seem to win a war anymore! These people have made themselves enemies of God and devoted their lives to Israel’s destruction! They can be saved if they choose to repent but as long as they choose this belief and course of action we need to be praying for Israel’s victory over them...not for the fighting to stop.

For those of you who cannot imagine our God hurting anyone, you might want to review Joshua 10 and 11 and Revelation 19 (for starters).

Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name.

Isaiah 42:13 The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.

Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle

Deuteronomy 32:39-43 “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand. Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, as I live forever, if I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, and will repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword will devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired leaders of the enemy. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance on His adversaries, and will atone for His land and His people.”

The only way for this to result in a lasting peace is for someone like Benjamin Netanyahu to become Prime Minister again and declare, “Land for peace has failed! We have given you the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and offered to allow you to have your own nation on several occasions. Yet you have rejected every attempt, violated every peace agreement, and used the land that we have given you to try and destroy us. It is over...we want our land back and you are going to go somewhere else!” They would need to reoccupy the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and force everyone who lives there now into Egypt, Jordan, or onto a ship headed somewhere. But...I doubt if that’s going to happen.

What WILL happen (according to biblical prophecy) is that someone of unparalleled persuasive skills will propose a peace plan that includes the rebuilding of the Jewish temple and it will bring peace to the Middle East...for a time. And the world will worship him for it.

Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”