Significance of Operation Swords of Iron and Bible Prophecy

On October 7, 2023, more than 3,000 Hamas terrorists entered Israel from the Gaza Strip. They murdered more than 1,400 Israeli's, over 1,100 of which were civilians, 300 soldiers, and kidnapped at least an additional 242. This was the largest terrorist attack since 9/11 and, proportional to population, much larger.

This attack completely surprised Israel, which is the most significant aspect relative to Israeli defense. Coupled with statements like the following, from Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad, Israel is realizing it can no longer live in the shadows of terrorists on any border. Hamad said, "Israel is a country that has no place on our land...we must remove it because it constitutes a security, military and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation. We are not ashamed to say this." Hamad is referring to Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948 when Israel took the Palestinian homeland, which in their mind is an affront to Allah because it challenges his sovereignty. Allah is in disrepute until the land is restored. Thus, it is war since 1948. Hamad continued, "we must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it twice and three times. The al-Aqsa Deluge [the name Hamas gave its October 7 onslaught] is just the first time," and added, "will we have to pay a price? yes, and we are ready to pay it." Further, "we are the victims of the occupation. Period. Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October one-millionth, everything we do is justified." (Jinsa.org) It becomes quite apparent that they never intend to stop fighting Israel. Therefore, what is Israel to do? 

Israeli Minister Gantz is now making significant comments to the effect that Israel can no longer live under the shadow of terrorists. Currently there are terrorists on all sides. Hezbollah on the North (proxy terrorist army of Iran), Fatah in the West Bank, along with Hamas in the South, and many other smaller terrorist organizations all around Israel. While the main operation is against Hamas in Gaza, things are heating up in the North with Hezbollah. Israel may be waiting for things to escalate to a breaking point, but it is already beyond anything seen since 2014.  Israel probably does not want to be seen as the aggressor and be positioned in a two-front war. Things are also taking place in the West Bank with Fatah as well as Hamas operatives, and casualties are on both sides. 

Israel is realizing that ultimately their position in the Middle East is an untenable and unlivable one. They need to remove all terrorists from their borders. This is where Bible prophecy comes into play. Ezekiel 38:8 predicts a time when Israel is restored from the sword and living securely. No one can convincingly argue that they have been living in such conditions since 1948. For Hamas and all terrorist organizations in the region such as Hezbollah (terrorist proxy army of Iran), Fatah, Palestinian Jihad, et.al., it is war since 1948. Israel is under constant rocket fire keeping their population in constant fear and psychological stress. But if the terrorists are all rooted out, then the conditions of Ezek 38:8 would be in place. Israel would be living securely. 

However, if Israel took this large-scale action, it could induce international anti-Semitism, including the final turn of America against Israel, leaving Israel all alone. Then the waiting game would begin, and the question of how long Israel will be living in peace and security before the Ezek 38 war. Of course, many other prophecies get in the mix, most importantly the rise of the anti-Christ and the ten-nation confederacy. Israel may eventually sense an existential threat of an Ezek 38 war and make the treaty with the anti-Christ for security purposes.

In the end, we may have to live out our days, but the situation in Ezek 38:8 is hard to imagine with terrorists living on every side, and if they are eliminated, then there can be no doubt that the rapture is very soon, as it is difficult to imagine these things taking more than 50 years seeing that Hamas planned 16 years for the current unprovoked attack. At any rate, the stage must be set, and we could be seeing that happen in Operation Swords of Iron.