MASADA WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN

Final part

Hamas' detestable actions demonstrate that these attitudes persist in their modern descendants-as does God's perpetual warfare against them! Today's conflict in Gaza is only the latest round of a conflict-between brothers Jacob and Esau-that has persisted for centuries and that will persist to the very end of this age. Indeed, Netanyahu's mention of Amalek in the context of these recent troubles carried far more meaning than he likely understood.

What About Iran? And the connections go further! Consider the role of Iran, the main supplier of weapons to Hamas and to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The effort to make the name of Israel disappear from the earth is funded in large part by Iran. What does the Bible reveal about that nation's role? The peoples of the Middle East today are a blending of many ancient families. Sometimes the lines are clear and nationalized, and other times they are not. Intermarriages, migration-both forced and voluntary-and other circumstances have moved and mingled peoples in ways that make them hard to identify without the Bible's help. But, again, characteristics described in God's word reveal themselves in the fruits of the people and their leaders! The people of modern Iran are roughly 50 to 60 percent Persian in origin, with the rest consisting of peoples from other areas, including those with Ishmaelite and Edomite origins. Such origins are vital to understanding the role of this nation in Middle East relations and how that role has changed-and may yet change. In the modern day, we have seen the attitude of the leaders of Iran toward Israel and the Jews swing wildly. Before 1979, Iran had been ruled for decades by Shah Reza Pahlavi-a friend of the Jews, who even included Jews in the cabinet of his administration. But in the year 1979, with the fall of the Shah during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, his leadership was replaced by a Muslim theocracy with greater non-Persian influence. This change in leadership brought with it a radically different attitude, and it is this new leadership that constantly funds terrorism against the Jews in Israel, seeking to wipe the nation from the map. All of this is mirrored by the biblical record of this nation, as well! Anciently, it was the Medo-Persian emperor Cyrus whom God foretold would give freedom to the Jewish captives in Babylon and order the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:27–28; 45:1–4). Read the beautiful words of support for the Jews, Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of the Temple coming from ancient Medo-Persian rulers such as Cyrus and Artaxerxes, as recorded in Ezra 1:1-4 and Ezra 7:12-26. They stand in shocking contrast to the vile and shameful words of hate, death, and destruction for the Jewish nation coming from the present-day rulers of Iran! The Persian people have no quarrel with Israel, but Iran-and its leadership, in particular-is a mixture of people of different origins and attitudes. And leaders make all the difference. So, too, was this true anciently! The goodwill between the ancient Medo-Persians and the Jews of their kingdom, under the Persian King Ahasuerus, was corrupted by leadership with ill will toward the Jews when the king appointed a man named Haman

as prime minister of his empire (Esther 3:1). This Haman launched a deceptive effort to wipe out every Jew in the empire (vv. 6-11). Yet Haman was not a Persian. Like modern Iran, the Medo-Persian empire contained many peoples and leaders from many families. So, who was Haman? The book of Esther says he was a descendant of King Agag , who was the king of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:8). The ancient historian Flavius Josephus confirms in his own account that Haman was an Amalekite (Antiquities of the Jews, 11.6.5)!

My friends, history repeats itself. Countries change hands, leaders of peoples change, groups are scattered and transplanted from one place to another-but the biblical characteristics shine through! Today's geopolitical experts may think it ridiculous, but only God's word explains these matters with clarity and simplicity! It is the greatest geopolitical manual in existence.

 From God’s word we can be sure that no modern-day Edomite or Amalekite will succeed in destroying the nation of Israel. Any such attempt will ultimately fail-not because of the righteousness of the Jewish people, but because those nations will be fighting against God's established plan. Yet we must tell the full truth: The modern Jewish nation of Israel is repeating history itself and is also provoking God's wrath by repeating its ancient forefathers' descent into sin and rebellion against the laws of God. Consider that modern Israel holds parades to exalt licentious lifestyles that God explicitly condemns in the Torah, which all Jews know-promoting those lifestyles in the very streets of Jerusalem, the city that will soon become the seat of the Messiah's government. In such rebellion, they are, in their own way, doing as the Amalekites-raising their hand against the throne of God and challenging His design. Sacrifices will begin for a short time and then be stopped. Then Jerusalem will be captured by the seventh restoration of the Roman Empire, and the times of the Gentiles will commence. This will be a time of unprecedented suffering for Israel, for the United States, and for the British-descended nations, followed by the Day of the Lord and God's wrath upon all nations of the world. Peace at Last Yet, after those years of anguish and woe, the Messiah will come back with very good news-both for Israel and for the rest of the world. The world will not perish in a global nuclear catastrophe. There is hope! These dilemmas that human beings cannot solve will be solved by Jesus Christ, who very soon will return on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory to usher in a thousand years of peace. So, despite the continuing bloodshed in that land that has known so much suffering, we can see past this conflict to the hope of the world and the peace it will bring. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, all the implements of war-guns, rifles, grenades, tanks, drones-will be melted down to become implements of agriculture, and nations will no longer train for war (Isaiah 2:3–4). That is the hope-for the desperate and confused nations of the Middle East and, indeed, for the whole world.

That is great news!

Our world is now entering a very dark time, but the dawn is already near. Good days are coming as God prepares to establish the Kingdom of the Messiah on the face of the earth, which will bring peace at last to all the peoples of our world.