March 2024 – Real Facts about the Middle East Conflict

PTNews

P r o p h e tic Truth in the N e w s

March 2024

   Published monthly by Mike Wingfield Ministries

All Bible references are from the KJV   

Just like the Bible predicted, the world is formulating a plan to destroy the modern nation of Israel. Filled with hate, lies, wickedness, and deception, the nations of the world are manufacturing a plan of action to remove the only Jewish nation from the face of the earth. This ever-evolving plan puts the nations of the world in direct conflict with the Holy One of Israel.

The Unites Nations is an organization that is to function to promote peace and security throughout the world. However, this global body consistently attempts to demonize Israel by passing three times more resolutions against the Jewish nation than all other countries combined! In January, the International Court of Justice in South Africa – the judicial arm of the United Nations – continued this alarming trend by accusing Israel with genocide of the people of Gaza in its ongoing war with Hamas.

During Israel’s advance against Hamas’ territory in Gaza, the Israelis made an alarming discovery. In a bunker under the Gaza Strip headquarters of the United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), they discovered a complex data center of Hamas. Times of Israel News reports, “The subterranean data center — complete with an electrical room, industrial battery power banks and living quarters for Hamas terrorists operating the computer servers — was built precisely under the location where Israel would not consider looking initially, let alone target in an airstrike.

“The revelation of the server farm comes amid other accusations of UNRWA collusion with the Gaza-ruling terror group and the entanglement of the UN body that provides welfare and humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendants” (Times of Israel News, February 10, 2024).

These resolutions against Israel, the ploy to accuse Israel of genocide against Gazans, and the discovery of the UNRWA’s protection of Hamas prove that the United Nations promotes a very biased network of lies and deception against Israel. This global body seeks every opportunity to make Israel look bad in the eyes of the world. And it is working!

At the same time, the Biden against administration is taking a hard position against Israel. With the world’s support, the U.S. is demanding Israel allow the establishment of a Palestinian State. World Israel News has reported that President Joe Biden is preparing to make an “unprecedented U.S. diplomatic initiative to promote a Palestinian state — NOW” (World Israel News, February 1, 2024)! This is a major shift in American foreign policy. Previous U.S. administrations have stated they would not unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State. It has been the U.S. policy that such a move must come out of a diplomatic process that includes the two parties involved in this conflict – the Israelis and the Palestinians. Other countries, like France, are now preparing to recognize Palestinian statehood. The United Nations is also calling for such a move. This plan would reward the Palestinians with a state that includes the entire West Bank (biblical Judea and Samaria). This would also recognize East Jerusalem (the ancient biblical city) as the capitol of the Palestinian State.

These developments are occurring while Israel is still in shock over the barbaric invasion by Hamas on October 7, 2023. As Israel’s war in Gaza continues the effort to destroy the ranks of the terrorist organization and Hamas’ leadership, the world is preparing to reward the Islamic terrorists throughout the Middle East by giving them another terrorist state – Palestine – next door to Israel. Most Israelis are sending a clear message to the world that they do not want and will not accept a Palestinian State on the land that God promised their forefathers 4,000 years ago. The world condemns their stance and deceptively believes that a Palestinian State is in the best interest of peace in the Middle East. Once again, the world’s evil desire comes at the expense of the Jewish people. And it is a direct attack against God’s eternal covenant with His people.

Those of us who know the Bible and the integrity of the Israelis in their fight for survival understand how critical and dangerous the demands of the world are. The world is standing on the wrong side of evil. Their fight against Israel is riddled with lies and deception. The world has chosen to believe Hamas’ reports of conditions in Gaza. They reject the reports of the Israeli government, while unquestionably accepting Hamas’ casualty reports in Gaza. Hamas fighters are filled with such hate they murder the innocent and take joy in mutilating their bodies. Is it any surprise that they would also lie to the press about their casualty count and condition of their forces? Jesus stated that the father of murderers is also the father of liars (John 8:44).

As prophesied in Psalm 2, the world is in a rage of hatred against God, His Messiah, and His commandments. Those of us who know what the Bible says about the end of this age agree that the stage is being set for the final war between God and the nations, between heaven and hell and between good and evil. The battle ground is the Middle East in general, and the nation of Israel in particular.

With the Bible as our final authority, let us examine the real facts about the Middle East and the final conflict. According to the Bible, God has chosen the Middle East as the epicenter for His purposes. It is where life began, and where it will end. Except for Paul’s missionary journeys, all the events in the Bible took place in the Middle East!

In sharp contrast to most of the Western world, the Middle East has had a long history of conflict that has featured the struggle of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. It is not an accident that the nation of Israel is at the geographical center of the nations. It is the place where the European, Asian, and African continents join together.

More than 4,000 years ago, God spoke to Abraham on seven different occasions, promising him that he and his descendants would receive an eternal land grant from Him. God said to Abraham, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). While standing in the middle of what is today called the “West Bank,” God gave the following promise to Abraham, “For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever” (Genesis 13:15). Please take note that this promise was given to Abraham while he was standing at Bethel (Genesis 13:3-4) in the middle of the “West Bank.” In Genesis 17:7-8, God reiterated to Abraham that His agreement with him was “an everlasting covenant” concerning “an everlasting possession.” How much clearer can the Bible be concerning Israel’s eternal right to all the Promised Land, including the “West Bank,” biblical Judea and Samaria?

Furthermore, in the context of this promise in Genesis 13-15, God’s title is El Elyon, “The Most High God” (Genesis 14:18-22). This title means that God is “the possessor of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19, 22). God is sovereign over all the earth. He owns it all! However, God uniquely calls the Promised Land “my land” (Ezekiel 36:5; Joel 3:2). God made it clear to Israel that they could not sell the land to any other people. He said to them, “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me” (Leviticus 25:23).

Those who attempt to change this eternal covenant are in conflict with God! According to the Bible, it is the world’s rejection of God’s people and land that will bring about the final conflict between God and the nations. The nations have already begun their march toward Armageddon! During the final seven years leading to Armageddon, the Most High God will devastate the nations in His holy wrathful judgment!

You might be asking, “But what about the Arab Palestinians? God promised the Arabs that they would also become a great nation and He gave them a great land heritage (Genesis 16:10; 17:20). God has kept His promise to the Arab nations. Today, there are 21 Arab nations that have a combined land mass that is 650 times more than what Israel possesses, including the “West Bank.” The land of Israel is only one-sixth of one percent of the size of all Arab land.

The conflict over the land of Israel today is a Holy War for the Holy Land. All the nations that are mentioned by name that come against Israel at Armageddon are Muslim nations of the Middle East (Psalm 83:1-8; Isaiah 34:1-10; Ezekiel 35-36). According to Muslim law, the world is divided into two realms. The realm under Islamic authority is called “the House of Islam.” The other realm is called “the House of War.” The Muslims passionately claim that once a piece of land becomes a part of “the House of Islam” it must be considered Islamic land forever. Since the land of Israel was controlled by Islam for more than 500 years, it is considered by all the Muslim community (2 billion people) to belong to Allah, their god. The presence of the Jewish people in the land once called Palestine is an embarrassment to their religion. Therefore, they must regain this land, even if it results in their death!

In light of all of the lies and misinformation about Israel and the conflict in the Middle East, let us examine four biblical facts about the Middle East.

1. God Placed Israel in the Middle East

God called Abraham and his descendants to live in the land of His choice – the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:1-5). In the beginning, God created this land for the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8-10). He created this land mass to be at the geographical center of all nations (Ezekiel 5:5). This entire region was a place of spiritual darkness. God called His people, Israel, to live in this darkness to represent Him and to be a light to those around them. God chose for Israel to live in a small land in the middle of the great kingdoms and empires of the ancient world. Today, Israel is the focus of the international media almost every day.

2. God Chose Israel to Dwell in Conflict

When God placed His people in the Middle East, He knew it would be a difficult place for them to live. Concerning Israel, the Lord declared, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). The Bible teaches that difficult times and persecution build godly character and cause us to trust God. Israel as a nation was born in slavery in Egypt. After the exodus, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. After their rebellion against the Lord, the Lord drove them out of their land into exile. Eventually, their land was occupied and controlled by other kingdoms for 700 years – by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. After their defeat by Rome in the first century, Israel was driven out into the nations and their land was occupied by the Romans, Muslims, and Great Britain until Israel became a nation in 1948.

3. The Truth about Jews and Arabs in the Middle East

There has always been a remnant of Jews and Arabs who have lived in harmony together in the Middle East. However, many of the Arabs, since the time of Ishmael and Esau, have hated the descendants of Isaac and Jacob. They have been jealous of the blessings of the birthright of the chosen people. The Bible points the finger at the Arab nations east of Israel as the perpetual cause of the Middle East conflict.

• The Arabs will be a people of war. Genesis 16:12
• God says He is against them. Ezekiel 36:4-5
• The Arabs are provoked by anger, envy, and hatred. Ezekiel 35:11
• They have stated that they want the land God gave to Israel. Ezekiel 35:10
• They want to destroy the property of Israel. Ezekiel 35:12; 36:5
• They have boasted against God. Ezekiel 35:13
• They rejoiced at the time of Israel’s defeat. Ezekiel 35:15
• God calls them “the people of my curse.” Isaiah 34:5
• God will judge them because they have had “perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword.” Ezekiel 35:5
• The Arabs are for war when Israel is for peace. Psalm 120:6-7
• They are called enemies of God. Psalm 83:1-8

4. The Spiritual Foundation of the Conflict

The Bible teaches that the conflict in the Middle East is more than a family feud over land. All the animosity, hatred, envy, and war has been driven by the forces of hell. Satan and his demons are deeply motivated to defeat God’s eternal purposes that He has invested in the Jewish people and the land of Israel. The minions of hell know if they can destroy the Jewish people, they will defeat God. This is at the heart of their plan since the death of Christ at Calvary (Revelation 12).

In Isaiah 14:12-14, the Bible reveals that it is Satan’s strategy to defeat and dethrone God. Above all things, Satan wants to control the one place on earth where God has placed His glory and His name – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This is the ordained location of the throne of the Messiah on earth during the Millennial Kingdom (Psalm 2:6; Isaiah 2:1-4).

Satan knows that when Jesus rules the world from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, he will be in prison for a thousand years in “the bottomless pit” (Revelation 20:1-3). Obviously, this is motivating Satan to not allow the Jewish people to rule over Israel from Jerusalem and ultimately rebuild the temple on the Temple Mount. This is currently at the center of the conflict between Islam and Israel. Israel and Islam are the only people in the world who are passionate about the possession and control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

The ongoing, raging conflict in the Middle East is beginning to engulf the entire world! This is a sure sign that the war in the spiritual realm is also reaching a new level that is preparing the world for the end of this age!

The world is ignorant of the dangerous actions taken against Israel and the Jewish people around the world. Listen to Psalm 33:10-11, “The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”

Those who war against Israel and the Jewish people will go down in utter defeat. “They that war against [Israel] shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought” (Isaiah 41:12).

The world is joining Israel’s enemies in the Middle East in plotting the demise of Israel. According to World Israel News, a recent survey of 16 nations in the Middle East support what Hamas did to Israel on October 7, 2023. Their report states, “Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa overwhelmingly view Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, which left over 1,200 people dead in Israel and saw 240 others kidnapped to Gaza, as ‘legitimate resistance.’ … Most Arabs said they disapproved of recognizing the State of Israel, with 89% saying they would support rejecting or revoking such a move” (World Israel News, January 24, 2024).

The response of the Palestinians in this survey is even more shocking. “According to the Palestinians Survey Report, more than half believe that Hamas is ‘the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people today.’ … Almost all (98%) of the respondents said the slaughter made them feel ‘prouder of their identity as Palestinians’” (World Israel News, January 24, 2024).

Comments like these clearly indicate that real peace among the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East is humanly impossible. Only Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can bring real lasting peace to the Middle East and the world. For 1,000 years, while Jesus is on the throne of David in Jerusalem, there will be perfect global peace. There will be peace in Israel for the first time since the rule of King Solomon. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord gave this Kingdom promise to Israel, “Violence shall no more be heard in land, wasting or destruction within they borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18).

Friends, this is the world’s only hope for peace. According to the Bible, the world is about to enter the most volatile time of war, violence, and death in the history of the planet (Matthew 24:21-22). Pray for Israel and the Jewish people. Pray for their safety and salvation. Pray that we will obey the Holy Spirit and seek to share the gospel with those around us. The age of God’s grace is about to end and the age of God’s wrath is about to begin!

There is only one way to escape the deadly Tribulation Period that is coming upon America and the world. Only those who have personally received Jesus Christ as their Redeemer can escape with us when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and calls us into His presence. Friend, call upon the Lord to save you from your sins.

The Lord has promised, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13).

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Don’t delay. The time is short. He is coming soon!

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!