Israel under attack. What should be our response?

This morning’s news (07.10.2023) is that the rocket attack from Gaza, which is unfortunately a frequent occurrence, is now many times more than what we read in the news, and also armed men have entered Israeli territory. Israel has declared a state of war.

The terrorist organisations seem to have almost inexhaustible resources for these attacks, which have been making the daily lives of people in Israel – Jews, Arabs and everyone else – difficult for decades. Obviously, this can only be financed by support from countries that have an interest in destroying Israel and, with it, destabilising the Middle East, even starting a third world war.

Its unfolding was foretold by the prophets of Scripture, and we know that it will not only involve Arab countries (see Ezekiel 38-39).

It has long been known among Christians that God’s Word teaches us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We must understand that this is not just an extra religious obligation on our part. God has foretold in His Word that Israel will always be under attack, and He has given us specific instructions on how to respond to counteract this.

While in the books of Old Testament prophets we read of God’s purpose for Israel specifically, the New Testament speaks in general terms of praying for the leaders in power so that we can live quiet, peaceful lives.

Are we to think that these events lead to the unfolding of the end times?

Virtually every event in this world is leading to the prophesied end, the day and hour of which we still do not know, but we must also see that there is a restraining force that will not allow one of its climactic events, the Antichrist’s world domination, to just happen at any time. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (2Thessalonians 2:7-8 NKJV)

The fervent supplication of the righteous is very profitable, James teaches us in the pages of Scripture (5:16), but doubting does not help the effectiveness of our faith – something James also admonishes us about (1:6-8). Note: doubting does not primarily mean that I cannot concentrate hard enough, with a supernatural revelation in my heart; but rather that besides what I want to pray for in faith, I have another idea, too. Double minded thinking feeds doubt.

If I pray for peace, for an end to the war, while I think that this war is quite justifiable, and it must have happened so, because it was not without reason that God allowed it, so I add with great uncertainty the phrase, so often misunderstood, “Nevertheless, Thy will be done…” – I am only proving that I do not insist on an end to the war!

And this mentality is incompatible with a clear faith. If this is the way thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of Christians pray (because it is the way they think), no wonder there were two world wars and countless senseless killings in the twentieth century, not to mention genocides, the Holocaust, and the latent anti-Semitism among Christians that was exposed in the process. Their prayers cannot stop wars. (Yet our God makes wars cease! Psalm 46:9)

Neither will the senseless destruction against Ukraine stop by our prayers, as long as we think, influenced by various newspaper articles and opinion leaders, that the Ukrainians deserve it for some reason or another… No! Ordinary people do not deserve that, not even close. The situation of politicians, of a state, of people in positions of power, is another matter (even there, killing people is not the solution according to a Christ-centered view!), but that is why we cannot allow ourselves to have even the bud of the idea that this or that war should happen. However, there is a way for us to say that it had to happen: of course it had to happen this way, by the will of the scrounging, hate-filled psychopaths in the background, having power or craving for power, who are motivated by the spiritual rulers of the darkness of this world, under the leadership of Satan – who came only to steal, kill and destroy.

If there is any just cause behind what is happening, let it be achieved without weapons, as there are other means available to political and economic actors. Not to mention the supernatural intervention of God. We can pray in faith for these things.

In other words, let us not just ask for peace – let us believe in it. Let us love peace with all our hearts! The reason Jesus mentioned that we would hear of wars, was not to say that if we hear of such things, we should just calmly agree with the one who is invading another country – but that we should not be be troubled (see Matthew 24:6). The phrase “all these things must come to pass” can be properly understood if we read the context: it is the beginning of sorrows or “labour”, that is, the beginning of the birth pangs. When a mother gives birth, it is not an outsider who causes her pain, but the necessary processes that take place within her. However, even she is helped by midwives, both to get to the final outcome of the birth and, as far as possible, to ease her pain. May we have the same compassion and sympathy as a well-meaning midwife…

So we need to pray, now refocusing our faith more on Israel too, on the ordinary people living there, that there will be peace; in addition to continuing to pray for the people of Ukraine and for an end to that war (as well as the others). But all of this will only make a difference (indeed, according to James, it will make a big difference!) if THE RIGHTEOUS, that is, people who live and think according to God’s true values, pray – not being double minded, but with a purpose, in tune only with God’s heart, and therefore truly by the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 6:18).

György Országh
Editor of the Prophetic Journal (Prófétai Napló)
and Director of Wisdom Bible School

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