Where is God in the Middle East?

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus laid out what would be in store for the earth in the days prior to His coming. We are literally seeing these events come to pass. We can read these words in that chapter:
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

He refers to other events that will occur, and later states:
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

This passage communicates a sense of urgency - when there is great trouble on the earth, it is important that we regard these events as signs from God and reminders that the "end" is coming, that the second Advent of Jesus will occur.  So, we can make certain that we are ready, and consider how we can make sure that others are ready, as well.  If we truly believe that the days are short, that should determine how we live our lives.

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The modern-day re-establishment of the nation of Israel is a critical event on the prophetic timetable. In Ezekiel 36, we can find this promise from the Lord:
22 “Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.
23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
24 “ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

Two chapters later, we find the unfolding of a massive attack on Israel that will be carried out by some familiar players in and adjacent to the region, and the protecting of the Israeli people by God Himself.

One could look at the Israel-Hamas conflict and ask, "where is God?"  Well, on the macro level, it is clearly a battle between good and evil - think about the atrocities that were committed by Hamas on Israeli people, and this terror group has yet to release hostages.  Israel's forceful, yet imperfect, response is an attempt to protect its people long-term against people in the Middle East who desire to see their extermination.  

And, as it's been said time and again, the establishment of a nation of Israel in 1948 was a miraculous occurrence and a pivotal fulfillment of Bible prophecy.  In order for Bible prophecy to come to pass, Israel has to be in the geographical area in the vicinity of what was promised to Abraham.  Last-days events surrounding Israel pave the way for the return of our Lord and remind us that the days are short.

But, there's something else to keep in mind - even in the midst of turbulent times, God is working to turn hearts to our Savior.  Tom Doyle has worked for years in the Middle East in the arena of missions, and a Mission Network News article stated:

Uncharted Ministries’ Tom Doyle says today Christians in the region may be at risk as a result of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Groups and individuals that carry animosity toward Jews often hate believers, too, he explains. “With terrorist groups like Hamas, there are two targets. It’s Jews and then Christians,” Doyle says.

“Even in [the] mantra that they shout out, they’re talking about eradicating the Jews, and they’re angry at Christians, too.”

Antisemitism rose globally as the Israel-Hamas war raged in October.

Antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom surged 300 percent during the first four days of the conflict. Dozens of anti-Jewish rioters stormed a Russian airport. The U.S. Anti-Defamation League reported 312 antisemitic incidents in two weeks.

“Once that evil is stirred up, it just seems to spread,” Doyle says.

Doyle is quoted as saying: "It’s not just a conflict over land. It’s a spiritual war raging in the heavens that’s much bigger than the nation of Israel and the Muslim countries..." He related the story of a Palestinian man who had given his life to Jesus; the article says that he "used to wear a permanent scowl, and his words were full of poison. Then, he heard the Gospel and accepted Jesus. Today, Amir radiates the joy and peace of Christ." Doyle says, "One of the things that happened was he didn’t hate Jews or Israel anymore. As he read the New Testament, where [Christians are] called to love our enemies," the man, who has a "Muslim background," "realized he had always hated them (Jews.) He laid that down [and prayed,] ‘God, forgive me, I don’t want to hate anyone!’”

This can be a reminder of how the love of Christ can be a healing agent in an explosive situation. In another MNN article, Doyle states: “We’re seeing text messages going back and forth; Palestinian and Jewish believers are coming together and supporting each other, which is a beautiful thing – to see the body of Christ operating that way,” adding, “The news, politics, everything would divide, but the love of Christ unites.” He is quoted as saying, "God’s heart is big enough to love Jews and Arabs. As the church, we want to bring the love of Christ into this situation and help them both.”

In the first article I mentioned, which is the more recent one, the headline said that Doyle "parallels antisemitism and persecution."  On this day following the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted, we recognize that there is a hatred of Christians that is directly related to their support for the Jews.  We have spotlighted Christians who convert from Islam who are in a precarious situation. Some Christians of a Muslim background worship and serve Jesus underground because of stiff penalties, even death, that are threats to them.   

The Uncharted Ministries website says:

Please pray for Israel as they live in a region packed with terrorism as they are fighting back.

Please pray for Gaza Palestinians who want nothing to do with Hamas. They are caught in the middle of the war and Hamas is now preventing them from leaving to flee for safety to Egypt.

There are believers on both sides, so let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in Israel and in Gaza.

As the late Jimmy DeYoung taught, there is certainly a plan for Israel, as well as a negative plan for the Palestinian people, the descendants of Esau.  But, even those who are, as a people group, under the judgment of God, the love and power of Christ can set individual people free through Jesus, such as the man I referred to earlier.   For, all of us are destined for judgment, but thankfully, the mercy of God has been made available to us. No matter what the religious or ethnic background, all can come into a relationship with Him through believing on Jesus, His Son.  We can continue to pray concerning this deeply spiritual situation in the Middle East.