Is Israel the Final Dividing Factor for Christians in the End Times?

 Is Israel the Final Dividing Factor for Christians in the End Times? – Olivier Melnick - https://www.newantisemitism.com/antisemitism/is-israel-the-final-dividing-factor-for-christians-in-the-end-times King Solomon warned us in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new underthe sun.” So, when it comes to Satan and his hatred of the Jewish people, nothing has changed as to his ultimate goal, but his methods keep morphing and adapting to the times we live in. He hates the Jewish people as much as God loves them, and because thereturn of Yeshua and His reign in Jerusalem is connected to a Jewish invitation and acceptance of Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel (Zechariah 12:10), he [Satan] is obsessed with the complete destruction of the Jews. Even though he has never fully succeededand never will (Jeremiah 31:35-37), he keeps trying, which results in many casualties, the highest being the Holocaust. Incidentally, with 1,200 innocent victims, including very young children and the elderly, the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack was the highest Jewish death toll since theHolocaust. The aftermath of the attack has polarized the world. Israel is the polarizing factor. It took less than a week for the world to take sides either with Israel or with the Palestinians, not to mention Hamas. The mere fact that some “civilized” people would evenconsider siding with Hamas and their bloody carnage is a mystery to me, but it is a reality nevertheless. Within a week of the massacre, the number one topic was no longer the terrorist attack but Israel’s response to the attack in the form of Gaza groundoperations to eradicate Hamas. There were even those who spoke of the need for Israel to respond proportionally. So, I am curious: does that mean that IDF soldiers should have gone into the Gaza Strip andbrutally murder infants, children, women, the elderly and the handicapped? That would be equivalent to what took place on October 7, but I do not think that this is what they meant. This is the epitome of double standards! On October 7, Hamas declared war on Israel, and when a war takes place, there are casualties, which include civilians. It is inevitable. Israel didn’t provoke Hamas, but sheresponded to the bloodiest terrorist attack since 1948. Additionally, as they always do, the IDF reached out to the Palestinians living inside the Gaza Strip to let them know in advance that they would get in to destroy Hamas. No other country in the historyof the world has ever warned people before they attack. This goes contrary to basic warfare. But Israel is more concerned about saving lives than killing innocent people, even if the lives saved are on the enemy’s side. To be sure, Palestinians are not the enemy…Hamas is! Palestinians are victims of Hamas, as we have seen them [Hamas] force people to stay in Gaza and even use people as humanshields. The issue of Israel is quickly and globally becoming a dividing factor. We are witnessing people chanting, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free!” on universitycampuses, public places and even government places. The vast majority of young people chanting that motto do not even know its meaning. In the search for what they believe is social justice, they become blinded to the truth and misguided by historical revisionism.Unbeknownst to them, they are calling for a complete genocide of the Jewish people. They are promoting a 21st-century version of “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” There will always be people who support Israel’s right to exist, based on the biblical covenants and brought onto the modern stage by the Balfour Declaration (1917), the SanRemo Conference (1920) and the United Nations partitioning vote (1947). The concern is that people who support Israel are becoming a rarity, even within the evangelical camp. Why are Christians turning their back on Israel? Why are people silent about theoriginal massacre that took place on October 7? How could such an irrational move take place? How could the victims become the perpetrators and be called the “Nazis of the Middle East?” The answer can be found in the Bible through the words of the prophetZechariah. In the End times–which we are very quickly approaching–the entire world will gang up against Israel. Zechariah 12:3 says, “It will come about in that day that I will makeJerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” Taken literally and in context, this simply means that eventually, the whole world will go against the Jewsand Israel without exception, at least corporately. It doesn’t mean that every single human being will become an enemy of the Jews, but rather that every country and/or government will become Israel’s enemy, while some of the people within might remain friendlyto the Jewish state. The result will be the same and can be found just a few verses later in Zechariah 12:9, “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem,” when God vows to avenge Israel and destroy all of her enemies. None of what is happening should come as a surprise to students of the Bible who also take Bible prophecy seriously. The world is not falling apart; God’s program is fallinginto place! Israel might increasingly be viewed as a thorn in the flesh of the world and a hindrance to world peace, but God will not be fooled. As we approach the final chapter of history before the return of the Messiah, Israel will undoubtedly become more and more of a pariah on a global scale, but that will neverchange God’s promise to preserve her and His promise to also destroy all those who go after her. It is very sad to see people take sides with Hamas and victimizing the perpetrators. I personally cannot fathom how a Bible-believing Christian can possibly loveGod so much and hate Israel so much at the same time. Asaph spoke against that very behavior in Psalm 83:1-5, “O God, do not remain quiet; Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, And those who hate You have exaltedthemselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, And conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more.” For they have conspired together with onemind; Against You they make a covenant“ That’s right… if you hate Israel, you hate the God of Israel! As a Christian, you cannot be in God’s will to bring Him glory and hate His chosen people. As the whole worldis becoming increasingly polarized on the issue of Israel, Christians shouldn’t hesitate; they should take God’s side and be friendly to Israel. This might become the best opportunity we have to rebuild bridges burnt by centuries of antisemitism and sharethe hope we all have in Messiah. Standing up and speaking out for the truth and in support of Israel and the Jewish people might feel lonely, but ultimately, we are standing with God!