The other day an AP article caught my attention. It was entitled "Amid Gaza calm, Israel and Hamas prepare for battle." This immediately brought to mind the prophecy found in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, "While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." However, unlike the peace that will be brought during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation (which will bring peace to the world only for it to be disrupted when the Anti-Christ declares himself God and breaks the peace covenant with Israel), this "unprecedented calm" in Gaza, to use a quote from the article, is about ready to be disrupted by war between Israel and Hamas once again.
Last December, Israel began an offensive against Hamas, which ended in January with a ceasefire. And according to news reports, things have been relatively calm in the region since that time. However, analysts are warning that the tension is still there and that the war may not be finished yet. Some sources even believe that the next round will bring more destruction than last year.
This belief was bolstered a few days later by a Ha'aretz article entitled "Year after Gaza war, Hamas says ready to fight Israel again." In which Hamas made it clear that they had the right to protect themselves no matter the cost. As reported by Ha'aretz, Hamas was quoted as saying "But if any battle is imposed on us, we are ready with all our manpower and equipment to confront any Zionist war, any crime and any attack regardless of scale" [emphasis mine].
It is believed that Hamas has been smuggling weapons and developing war tactics with the aid of Iran and Syria, who are both known advocates for the destruction of Israel. This holds significance for students of Bible prophecy because the Bible predicts there will be a two wars involving Israel during the Last Days: The Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39 and the Psalm 83 War. In the Gog-Magog War, Iran (Persia) will take part in this Russian (Gog-Magog) led invasion against Israel. In the Psalm 83 War, Arab nations and factions, including Syria and Hamas, will come together to try to destroy Israel. There is debate on which war will occur first but the truth is that no matter which one happens first, it's quite possible, if the news reports are correct, that this current situation may escalate into one of these wars that the Bible speaks about, which means that the return of Jesus Christ is near! Are you ready?
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