In the News
So many new things have happened in this last little while, especially since President Trump has taken office a couple of weeks ago. The newest thing is about a place very often spoken of in the Bible since ancient times. This place is called Gaza or what is known today as the Gaza Strip. President Trump declared that once Israel wins the war, she would hand Gaza to the U.S. whose intention is to make this place “the Riviera of the Middle East”. At the same time, the U.S. is thinking of ways to move some 2.1 million people who are currently residing in this small piece of land, and temporarily placing them in other countries, such as Egypt or Jordan. That is a very bold decision, and Israel is taking it very seriously.
In the Israeli media, we read that the minister of defense, Israel Katz, told the army to prepare a plan to “allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so”. This has brought so many countries to protest this idea. It is true that about 70% of Gaza has been destroyed and according to the UN Environment Program, it could take 21 years to remove and dispose of all the debris.
And currently, healthcare, water, and sanitation systems have collapsed and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter. But would this bold venture of relocation and takeover succeed?
Perhaps partly or just for a while for there are yet many specific and clear prophecies concerning Gaza in the Bible that need to be fulfilled before or around the time of the Second Coming of Yeshua and there are many of them in the Scriptures.
The word Gaza itself is mentioned some 21 times in the Bible, seven of which are prophecies concerning the end times, prophecies given by Jeremiah, Amos, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, all of them predicting its final destruction in the final wars of Gog and Magog and/ or Armageddon. For instance, the LORD says through Amos 1:7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces. And the importance of this place could be seen in that Amos mentions it right at the beginning of his prophecy in chapter 1 along with Syria, Lebanon, and the West Bank.
But these are only a few of the many prophecies concerning the ancient occupants of Gaza, the Philistines, from where the name Palestine comes to us. The Philistines are mentioned some 296 times, and while they have disappeared as a people, there are yet prophecies concerning them in the end times. Usually when a people, as an entity are no more, the prophecies pertain to the territory they occupied. We see this in Isaiah and Ezekiel as well. This makes for a lot of prophets who are giving such attention to this small place, for it has always been a thorn in the flesh for the nation of Israel and we can say that they will still play a major role until Jesus comes back.
And notice one thing concerning Gaza. While the size of the other territories changes with time, not so the Gaza Strip. Looking at a map, we can see how the strip at the time of David and at the time of Jesus are both at the same spot and are almost the same size. The Gaza Strip was always there and consistently after Israel, and according to prophecies, it will continue to be a threat until the end.
On a positive note, the Lord through Zechariah 9:7 speaks of a remnant from Gaza who will be saved; we read, And I will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God. I personally know of believers who once lived and perhaps are still in Gaza and they are evangelists. Beyond the chaos, we rejoice knowing that the LORD is there and always looking to save souls. It is heart-wrenching to see so many people suffering and so it is our prayer that in spite of so many things revolving around this small piece of land, many will be saved.
In the meantime, history and prophecies point out that the days of Gaza have not ended, and Bible prophets speak of yet major events to occur in this place. It is not an easy place to just take over and our prayer is for the peace of Jerusalem which is equivalent to praying for peace over this whole world. We are indeed living in times where events are very fast paced, seeing how Bible prophecies become forever real as we move toward the soon coming of our LORD.