Recently an article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel Insight section (October 3rd) addressing the issue of the Palestinian Intifada against Israel. The writer, Laura King, cited an interview with a young Palestinian militant who had become disenchanted with the intifada. He recognized that the intifada had failed to achieve the hoped-for victory over Israel and had been destructive to the Palestinian movement. The article also quoted the governor of Bethlehem, Zuhair Manasrah, saying, “We have witnessed the destruction of Palestinian society - its civil institutions, its economy, its infrastructure. The result has been a complete disaster for the Palestinians, at all levels. Now we must think how to rebuild”. Through the intifada, Palestinians have managed to kill over 1000 Israelis and maimed many more, yet, another impact, an unforeseen one, has been the destruction of the Palestinian community.

This, indeed, has been the case concerning opposition to the modern ingathering of the Israeli people to the land of Israel. The Arab-Moslems of the area have attempted to destroy that Jewish community made up of those who have returned to the land, but they have miserably failed. We could cite a long list of atrocities to document this observation such as the annihilation of the Jewish community of Hevron in 1929 and the siege of Jerusalem following the War of Independence (1948). There have been five major wars initiated by the Arab-Moslems in an effort to destroy the Jewish state. They all failed and each brought defeat and humiliation to the Moslem states. After defeat in Lebanon in 1982, a new tactic was embraced, the intifada from within Israel itself. The first intifada lasted from 1987 until 1993. In it, rocks were used in the struggle against Israel. In the second intifada (2000 until the present), suicide bombers, rifles, mortars and rockets have been the weapons of choice. Again, even though many Israelis have been injured or killed, the two main results of the intifada has been destruction to the Arab-Moslem communities and the strengthening of the resolve of the Israelis.

There is a Biblical explanation for this phenomenon. The hand of the Lord is upon the Israelis and his wrath is upon the Arab-Moslem opposition to Israel. We have written many articles in this newsletter documenting that the present ingathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is a fulfillment of ancient Biblical prophecy. One of the most common subjects of prophecy is that of the ingathering of the exiles to the land. On the other hand, God’s judgment is on those who are standing in the way of the ingathering and, in particular, those who are boldly opposing it. In the Biblical era, we read that on occasion God hardened the heart of the people opposing His purpose. We believe that same thing is happening today.

When I think of God hardening someone’s heart, I tend to think that they are becoming unusually stubborn, but that is not what is meant by the expression. The hebrew word that is translated “hardening” is Hazak. This word means to be strong and bold. When applied to the heart, it means to become boldly moved to act. My favorite translation of the expression is to become “foolishly aggressive”. By becoming “foolishly aggressive” the Arab-Moslems, who are attempting to oppose God’s will, become systematically defeated. Their resources, including human, are depleted and God’s people will prevail as a result. In the Biblical era, God hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so they would be destroyed from the land (Joshua 11:20). I do not believe that this is God’s purpose with the modern Palestinians. With the intifada, the Moslems have learned to appeal to the sympathy of the nations for support. The United Nations is their favorite agency for this activity. The world media is a willing accomplice. The governments of the various nations continually express their solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Recently, we have read that some Protestant Church denominations have begun to divest themselves from anything involved in Israel as a step to demonstrate their sympathy for the Palestinian cause.

The Bible declares boldly that in the end-time, all the nations will come up against the restored remnant in Israel. We believe that the Israeli-Moslem conflict is the most likely cause for this. This is the “hook in the jaw” (Ezekiel 38:4) that God will use to bring the nations down in the valley of decision, Armegiddon. As believers, you must take special care today not to act in opposition to what God is doing. He is building Zion, and we must be boldly involved with this process. Those in opposition will certainly suffer grave consequences.