When I heard the news of Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023 I, like many, many other Watchmen on the Wall, was immediately directed to Psalm 83 by the Holy Spirit:
O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.
See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads.
With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.
“Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
Sounds as though it could be said today, doesn’t it? The modern version goes like this: ”From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” (Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea) In order to accomplish that, there can be no Israel; they’d be wiped off the map.
Note: the Psalm says “your” enemies, meaning God’s enemies not just Israel’s.
There has never been a country named Palestine and there is no such thing as a genetic Palestinian. DNA testing shows that all those people who call themselves Palestinians are actually modern day descendants of people from various Arab countries. BTW, there is no such country as Palestine and if they’re talking about Gaza, it’s been free since Israel handed it over to the Palestine Authority (former PLO- Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1994. They freely chose Hamas as their government. We’ll talk more about Palestinians and about Gaza in future blogs.
Back to Psalm 83. God gives us a list of the countries/peoples involved in this attack against Him and His people, Israel:
With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you-
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagarites, Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot.
So who are these people today? Ancient Edom and Moab and Ammon are modern day Jordon. Ishmaelites and Hagarites refer to the descendants of Hagar (Abrahams’ concubine) and her son Ishmael – the Arabs in general. Gebal was a city on the bluffs of Lebanon; the Amaleks were a very cruel tribe who committed atrocities much like the Hamas attack on Israel. They Amaleks attacked Israel as they escaped from ancient Egypt. Philistia (today’s Gaza) are the Philistines, long-time enemies of Israel who David battled. Palestine is the Roman version of the name Philistia. Tyre is a city in Lebanon. Assyria, more or less, became today’s Iraq. The descendants of Lot settled near the city of Sodom in the plains of Jordon.
Today Israel is being attacked on seven fronts: Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. It is also fair to say they are at war with Iran although not directly. Iran is the money, the munitions and the mastermind behind the terrorist organizations of Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi and other smaller groups.
Interestingly, the United States is actively involved in some of the fights thus taking a little pressure off Israel. The US and the UK along with some other countries are fighting with the Houthis of Yemen who are attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea purportedly to show support to Hamas’ fight against Israel. The US is also striking Syria and Iraq because Iranian sponsored groups are attacking US bases there, mostly through drones.
If this is, in fact, the Psalm 83 war, you can expect it to get significantly worse and perhaps come to an end only with Israel using its nuclear weapons to destroy the surrounding Mideast countries. There is quite a bit of unfulfilled prophecy that points out utter desolation and destruction coming for those countries. If that happens, this writer believes that it will lead to the seven year treaty being signed; that’s the treaty that guarantees Israel’s safety and starts the clock ticking for the Tribulation and Jesus’ triumphal return.
Please, neither off-handedly accept nor reject what is said in this blog. Check it out. Look it up for yourself in the Bible. If you are a child of God, you are in good hands and there is the most wonderful eternity waiting for you. If you are not a Christ follower, now is a really good time to honestly explore the truth claims of the Bible.
Ringing the Bell 