The Immovable Rock
October 7, 2023, a day when Israel was savagely attacked by Hamas militants who brutally killed more than 1,200 and abducted 251 citizens. This incursion represents the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) quickly mobilized to suppress this unprecedented attack by marshalling their forces to eliminate not only the terrorist group known as Hamas, who led the surprise attack, but also other Iranian puppet regimes including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi’s in Yemen. The response by the IDF was well planned, methodical, and unrelenting. Decades of unprovoked attacks against the tiny nation were the motivating factor in their drive for long-term peace. So, why is the world turning against Israel? Why does the world have so much hatred for a small country approximately the size of New Jersey? Why would the world take the side of brutal terrorist organizations who have viciously attacked Israel since they became a nation in 1948? Why do governments allow Palestinian protesters to freely march in the street while the Jewish population stares in disbelief? Why are antisemitic attacks increasing across the world? Why are governments soft on perpetrators who commit antisemitic crimes? Why is antisemitic rhetoric, which adds fuel to the fire, allowed under freedom of speech? Why do so many find it acceptable to kill Jews? It seems that killing Jews is becoming normalized and accepted by many. What will the future bring? Will Israel ever find true peace? Will Islamic nations continue to wage a gorilla war against Israel? How can such a small nation of approximately 10 million defeat the combined power of almost 2 billion people in the Muslim nations? Does the Bible provide us with any insight into what may unfold in the future? Yes, it does!
We have all heard the popular Palestinian chant echoed on American campuses, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What does this phrase mean? The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) began using the phrase as early as the 1960s and though the Muslims community will say the phrase implies a one-state solution where both Muslims and Jews can live together in peace, within Israel’s borders, the true meaning is driven by a more malevolent ideology which can only be explained by defining the words “river” and “sea” in the chant and better understanding what the Islamic holy book, the Quran, teaches.
What is the true meaning for the terms “river” and “sea” in the chant? The river refers to the Jordan which flows along the eastern border separating Israel from the country of Jordan. The sea is the Mediterranean located on Israel’s western border. This means the chant clearly refers to the state of Israel. Now that the first portion of the chant is understood, the second half of the chant, “Palestine will be free”, underlines the true motive of the Islamic community which is to “wipe Israel off the map”, spoken by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, and retake control of the land given to the Israelis by God. Why is it so important for Muslims to retake Israel? So important they want to wipe Israel off the map.
Muslims controlled Jerusalem and surrounding territories, within Israel today, for about 451 years from approximately 638 CE to 1099 CE. Even though they lost the land they have managed to maintain control of the Temple Mount, which continues to be a thorn in the side of the Israelis to this day. The Temple Mount happens to be a holy site for the Jewish people. This is where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). This is also where the first temple (destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC) and the second temple (destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD) were built. This site holds symbolic meaning to both the Jews and Christians. Reclaiming the Temple Mount is also critical to end time prophesy because the Jews must rebuild the third and final temple on the Temple Mount prior to Jesus’ return. Now that it has been confirmed the Muslims did control Israeli territory in the past it is now imperative to explain why they feel the need to reclaim the land for Allah.
The source for why Muslims are driven to recapture the land they lost almost 1,000 years ago can be found in the Quran. The Muslim worldview is shaped by their holy book which says they are destined to rule over all other religions, which in turn, gives them power and control over all nations. This belief is not found in a single verse, or Surah, but in multiple Surahs in the Quran. A few of the Surahs which support this ideology are as follows:
Surah 61:9 – Islam is greater than all other religions:
“It is He (Allah) who has sent for His apostle [Mohammad] with guidance and the true faith (Islam), so that he may exalt it above all religions, much as the idolaters may dislike it.”
Surah 2:193 – Muslims are to wage jihad so the world will be united under Islam:
“Fight against them until idolatry is no more and (Allah’s) religion reigns supreme”
Surah 3:110 – Many Muslims have long dreamed of an Islamic empire, a caliphate, united under the leadership of a single Muslim ruler or caliph, as it was in the days of Islam’s founder and his immediate successors. They see this as promised and commanded in the Quran because they are Allah’s chosen people:
“You are the noblest community ever raised up for mankind. You enjoin justice and forbid evil. You believe in (Allah)”.
Surah 24:55 – Muslims believe they are promised rulership in a land where Allah alone is worshipped, and all people submit to him:
“(Allah) has promised those of you who believe and do good works to make them masters in the land as He made those who went before them, to strengthen the Faith he chose for them (Islam), and to change their fears to safety. Let them worship Me and serve none beside Me”
The Quran clearly commands Muslims to spread the Islamic religion around the world at all costs so Allah’s “religion reigns supreme”, and followers of Islam will be “masters in the land” regardless how much “the idolaters may dislike it.” The Muslim community wants to tell you a different story. They say they are a peaceful religion. The radicals are just a few outliers. But the Quran is very clear when it comes to defining their goal of world domination. So, what does the Bible have to say about the Islamic plan? Does God have a plan or will Israel, and the world, fall to Allah and his Islamic horde? Yes, God does have a plan, but the final victory over Islamic terrorists will be at a terrible cost.
At some future time, two military forces will conduct an overwhelming surprise attack against Israel from the north (Daniel 11:40-45). Daniel names the invading forces as the king of the North (Russia) and the king of the South (Islamic nations). They “will storm out against him (Israel) with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships”. The IDF is so ill-prepared for the invasion the intruders sweep through the “Beautiful Land” (Israel) “like a flood”. The invading troops are so powerful they will even overrun nations in northern Africa. But fear of other foreign powers possibly joining the battle to rescue Israel, the Russian and Islamic forces retreat to northern Israel and consolidate all forces in a single location to prepare for possible attack. This mistake will put the Israeli government and the IDF in a unique position to make a critical decision that will allow them to not only gain control of the war but decimate the invading forces. A decision that will change the world forever!
Israel cannot afford to ignore this extraordinary opportunity. All Russian and Islamic forces have retreated to northern Israel. With their backs against the wall and on the edge of losing their country, the Israeli government makes the unprecedented decision to launch a nuclear strike against the invading forces while they are still on Israeli soil! This strike is so effective it will eliminate 85% of all enemy warriors (Ezekiel 39:2-5). And they do not stop there. The Israelis also launch a nuclear strike on key targets in the Russian homeland (Ezekiel 39:6). The results of this decision will leave Russia and Islamic nations decimated and, in such disarray, they will never be able to field a military force or threaten peace in the world again. Israel has not only destroyed their two most hated enemies; they also now have full control of the Temple Mount. God has not abandoned the Jewish people and Israel will remain relevant until Jesus returns!
The global intifada is a real thing. Jews are being persecuted. Israel is hated by the world. But God has his own plan for how this story will unfold. Israel will be victorious! How do I know this? Because Zechariah 12:3 sums it all up in a short simple statement, Jesus “will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves”.
