My Take on the Hamas Attack on Israel -- 10/7 2023

British General Allenby Enters Jerusalem on December 11, 1917 — The End of Ottoman Rule.

A number of friends, church folk, and Riddleblog readers have asked about my take on Israel’s 911 (10/7). So, here you go.

It won’t surprise you that my take on the Hamas’s vicious attack on Southern Israel is much different than Greg Laurie’s ("Fasten Your Seat Belts"). A legion of prophecy pundits and “end-times” YouTubers have popped up, many offering wild and bizarre speculation about the tragedy and its role in the end-times. This is what they do. Admittedly, I have not watched or read much of this recent prophecy speculation, but what I have seen (most of which folks have sent to me) is largely a re-hash of prophetic scenarios long-since discredited (by the embarrassing fact that they got it wrong when previously proposed) now re-packed and presented as new material, with the hope that people will forget how wrong the pundits were the last time they made such predictions.

My points for consideration:

1). As for any biblical significance to the horrors inflicted upon Israeli citizens by Hamas terrorists, this clearly falls under the category of signs given us by Jesus regarding wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-8). Jesus did not predict specific conflicts (such as this one), only what he describes as “birth pains” of the end. What happened in Southern Israel falls into the category of “wars and rumor of wars,” with no specific fulfillment of any biblical prophecy regarding Israel. What Hamas did was very much like what Vladimir Putin did in his barbaric invasion of Ukraine. He ignored all conventional rules of war and inflicted savagery upon innocents—the elderly, women and children, and unarmed civilians. Hamas has done the same in Israel. In this we see the depths of human depravity as divine image-bearers are slaughtered merely to satisfy someone’s rage, anger, and territorial ambitions. Jesus told us to expect as much until he returns.

2). It is important that we keep some historical perspective on what happened on 10/7. This is why I chose the picture of British General Allenby entering Jerusalem in 1917. When a Christian British general entered Jerusalem (a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims) it meant the end of the Ottoman empire’s centuries-long rule over Palestine as well as the end of the Islamic Caliphate’s control of the region. But the heavy-handed British occupation helped to set in motion the series of events which sowed the seeds of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict one hundred years ago and which is still with us today.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, the rallying cause of early Zionism. With the end of the Great War came the ill-conceived Treaty of Versailles (1919), in which the victorious entente powers divvied up the Middle East into new states which had never previously existed (e.g., Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait) and which had no real cultural or ethnic unity (see my review of Andelman's A Shattered Peace).

Then came the Holocaust, which created the impetus for the United Nations to establish a Jewish state in Palestine to which the displaced Jews of the world could emigrate. UN Resolution 181 (1947) divided Palestine into a Jewish State (Israel) and an Arab state (Jordan). Then began a series of wars: Israel’s War for Independence (1948–49), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six-Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War of 1973 (the Hamas attack on Israel was carried out 50 years plus one day of the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War), the First Lebanon War of1982, and then the Second Lebanon War of 2006. This is but a partial list of Arab-Israeli conflicts.

Why the focus upon history? The Hamas terrorist attack upon Israel reflects a one hundred year history of Arab animosity to the West and sets the context for the seemingly endless conflict over Israeli/Palestinian territory. How quickly we forget.

3). If you are interested in the details of how Hamas was able to pull this attack off, and why the IDF was caught so unaware, here’s a highly recommended discussion of how and why it happened, and where we go from here: School of War -- Episodes 93: Michael Doran on the War in Israel and Ghosts of 1973.

4). Many readers of the Riddleblog, long-time White Horse Inn listeners, church friends, and recent converts to Reformed theology may have given up their dispensationalism. But the dispensational categories they were taught oftentimes remain the default setting whenever something like this happens. We were trained that anything that happened to Israel, or in the Middle East, is tied to the end times. So when Israel was attacked the default setting is “the end must be near.” Jesus must be coming back soon. Not necessarily.

5). There is a strong sense of foreboding among American Christians. We are witnessing an unprecedented collapse of morality and civility in American culture. Our country faces a fierce political tribalism which has paralyzed Congress, and the two major political parties might just nominate two candidates for president whom the vast majority Americans do not want to see hold that office again. We need leaders to navigate this crisis. Where are they? In their absence we cede much to demagogues and political actors. Not good. Such political uncertainty troubles us on a fundamental level.

American Christianity, by and large, has abandoned its gospel proclamation for politics, whether that be this month’s social justice cause or Christian nationalist political ranting. The church in America has a miserable public reputation (well-deserved in many cases). Many Christians feel embarrassed or ashamed and are pressured into silence by the public disdain.

The list is much longer. We have woke nonsense and sexual libertinism thrown in our faces. A number of economic sectors are in shambles, the border is not defended, and we are being buried in bureaucratic regulation. Putin’s Russia threatens to use nukes on the NATO nations any time things don’t go his way in Ukraine. China is rattling its saber over Taiwan’s head. And we all know Iran is facilitating terrorism throughout the Middle East, yet we do nothing to stop it. Things are tough and the future seems bleak. There is no real political or moral leadership in the public consciousness. It is no wonder Christians are asking whether or not the end is near. They often feel like giving up—or moving to Texas. Such angst makes people susceptible to prophecy punditry. The lack of American leadership when it comes to foreign policy makes the events of 10/7 that much more worrisome. Could such a thing happen here?

6). The spiritual condition of modern America must be very depressing for postmillennarians who face a very long road ahead in establishing their desired Christian republic in America and/or the Christianizing of the nations. There is scant evidence for such a view in the New Testament, and in fact the evidence rather obviously points in the opposite direction. In addition to warning us about wars, famine, distress, and false teachers, in Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus warned us that “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Paul said something quite similar in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Jesus and Paul describe this present evil age in terms pointing to continuing apathy, greed, pleasure seeking, and a lack of self-control far more than affirming anything remotely like a utopian world. The Bible points us to a fallen humanity in which we see the best of human nature because it is restrained by common grace, and the worst in human depravity in which God gives people over to their deepest lusts (Romans 1:18-32). So we should not be surprised that an event like the Hamas terrorist attack reveals the worst of our fallen nature even while others heroically give their lives to defend the defenseless while countless others tend to the wounded.

7). Christian hope for the end-times is centered upon the return of Jesus Christ to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. Our hope is not in our powers of prognostication. Nor that we’ll be safe and secure if only we can figure it all out. Nor do we regard events in Israel as the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Lord’s return. The biblical signs of the end center upon the gospel going to the ends of the earth (Matthew 24:14), the restraint lifted so that the man of sin is revealed and the great apostasy takes place (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12), and the salvation of all Israel (Romans 11:25-26). Jesus instructs us to watch for his return (Matthew 24:42-51), and he comforts us with these words from Revelation 22:20, “Surely, I am coming soon.“ When we see the horrors of war, terrorism, and human cruelty, it is right and comforting to contemplate the Lord’s return in triumph. In the midst of the images of death and destruction, in the face of evil, and in political futility and ineptitude, we know who wins in the end.

We also must remember that although Israel’s army can inflict a terrible blow upon Hamas, this completely pales to what the Lord will do on the last day. For those who are not Christ’s there is coming a day of judgment and a revelation of God’s wrath—a frightening and sobering thought even if no one wants to contemplate it. We also know that those who commit the sort of atrocities we witnessed at the hands of Hamas terrorists will stand before their creator and give an account for their actions. They will bend the knee and confess that Jesus is Lord and King of Kings before entering eternity.

This is why it is so important to have a sound eschatology in place before things like this happen, because they will happen again and again until Christ returns. Jesus Christ is the Lord of history and he is directing all things to his appointed ends. We may not know when the Lord returns, but we are sure that he will. The signs of the end are not proof of God’s indifference, but of his promise to return and make all things right.

In the meantime, let us join with Paul when he laments in Romans 10:1, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [Israel] is that they may be saved.”

Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Resources:

It is now dated (written in 2002), but still a very solid biblical summation as to how Christians should understand Israel’s role in redemptive history and the Arab-Palestinian conflict with the nation: The People of God and the Land of Israel.

My recent Blessed Hope Podcast series, The Future, includes episodes on “Signs of the End,” “The Future of Israel—An Exposition of Romans 9-11,” and “The Antichrist.”

The Binding of Satan in Revelation 20:1-3, 7. When is Satan bound? What is he prevented from doing? Does this mean all evil ceases?

666 and the Mark of the Beast: Why Antichrist is a present (not just future) threat to Christ’s church

Geerhardus Vos on "Eschatological Patience" (quote) Vos reminds us that we might have to wait for a prophecy to be fulfilled, before we fully understand it

The Jews Back in Their Ancient Homeland? That Isn't Gonna Happen! Sometimes our best guys get it wrong!

Jesus Christ -- The Israel of God: Jesus is YHWH’s Servant, Obedient Son, and the True Israel

Jesus Christ — The True Temple: How does Jesus fulfill the Old Testament temple typology?

Maranatha! Our Lord Come in Biblical Context A great exclamation of praise and hope—but ought to be used in its biblical context

Paul's Non-Millennarian Eschatology. Paul’s eschatology is grounded in two eschatological ages (“this age” and the “age to come”), not in a millennial age (“pre” or “post”)