Israel, Hamas, and End Times - Part 1 - Pastor Gary Hamrick

Blessings to Israel presents Discerning the Times, a program committed to encouraging you to view current events through the lens of the Bible.

Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's program. For today, I'm going to be bringing a message with a biblical perspective relating to current events unfolding in Israel. Why is it important for us to keep our eye on Israel? First, because the Bible is a book about Israel. The Bible records historically things about Israel, and the Bible records prophetically things that are yet to happen in Israel.

In addition, of course, God gave a savior to the world, his name is Jesus, who was born in Israel, died in Israel, rose again in Israel, and by the way, is coming again to Israel. And so we need to keep our eye on Jesus. And so that's why I'm delving into this, to bring a biblical perspective to what we see happening in the Middle East. Welcome to Discerning the Times.

So great to be with you once again this week. And that opening clip was the voice of Gary Hamrick, the pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia. And he is discussing the fact that we need to keep our eye on Israel. So for the next week or so, I want to discuss the events that we saw take place in October of 2023. Just the barbaric terrorism that was perpetrated against the nation of Israel at the hands of Hamas. And I want to share this because the world, for the most part, has moved on from that event.

But sadly, there are still over 100 hostages that are being terrorized at the hands of Hamas. And we must not forget what has taken place to the nation of Israel. So we're going to listen to a sermon from Gary Hamrick on today as he discusses the fact that, again, we need to keep our eye on Israel. But before we get to that, I want to remind you, as we always do, that your eternal state is far more important than your current state. If you have never received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do so today. Otherwise, you will spend eternity in the lake of fire separated from Almighty God.

So will you please give your heart to Jesus Christ on today? So again, folks, we want to talk about the fact that it is so important to have a biblical worldview, why that matters so much. As we look at our society today, when it comes to things like sexual morality, which is just out of control, the world says you can do it with whoever, whenever, wherever.

Whereas the Bible says, no, it is to be between a married man and a married woman when it comes to sexual intimacy. And then a direct consequence of that disobedience to God leads to the topic of abortion, where the world says, is my body my choice, my rights, I can do what I want. But the Bible says the Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood. And then we look at the nation of Israel. The world says Israel is the evil occupier. But what does the Bible say?

How should we view the recent attack by Hamas against the nation of Israel? If you look in your Bibles at the book of Genesis, 12 verse three, the text tells us I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.

God was not only referring to Abraham as an individual, but he was also referring to Abraham's descendants, which are the Jews. And we are therefore commanded to not only bless the physical nation of Israel in the Middle East, but to also bless all Jews throughout the world. And when God made the covenant with Abraham, he also made a promise to the entire world that he would bless anyone that blesses Israel. And he says all the world would be blessed.

And the reason why all the world is blessed is because of Jesus Christ. As you heard Pastor Hamrick say in that opening clip, Jesus Christ came to us through the nation of Israel, and he is returning to the earth to the land of Israel. So that is why we must keep our eyes on Israel. That's why Satan hates God's holy land and holy people. So we're going to again, listen to more from Pastor Gary Hamrick, pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leaguesburg, Virginia. Today actually I was supposed to be broadcasting from Israel back here to the church, a video for this morning's teaching, leading a group of a couple hundred from our church. And thankfully the, you know, we weren't there when the war broke out.

So we thank the Lord for that. One day before Terry and I were supposed to board an airplane to fly to Israel, on Saturday last week, Saturday, October the 7th, 2023, 1500 Hamas terrorists penetrated the security fence around Gaza, came into Israel on motorcycles, jeeps, and paragliders from the air, and brutally savagely murdered Israelis at this music festival in Re'im. And then they went on to raid several kibbutzim along the border there with Gaza, murdering, you've heard the stories, I don't need to go over the details, but it was brutal and there's nothing to describe it other than using the words pure evil.

This is a picture of the face of this war. This is a young couple, her name is Hadar, his name is Atay Britachevsky, and they're twin babies. They lived in a kibbutz called Kefar Azar, near the border with Gaza. Their kibbutz was stormed by Hamas terrorists along with other kibbutz. When they heard Hamas gunmen approaching their home, they quickly took their twin babies and hid them in a safe room in their home and then came back out engaged with these Hamas terrorists and this young couple was brutally murdered. Fourteen hours later, when the Israeli Defense Force took back Kefar Azar, they found those twin babies unharmed, alive, and they rescued those little babies who are now orphans because those terrorists killed their mom and dad.

Those parents gave their lives in defense of their children. This is the face of that war. For the first time in 50 years, since 1973 in the Yom Kippur War, for the first time in 50 years, Israel has now officially declared war in response to Hamas terrorism. It is, as people are saying, Israel's 9-11, but here's what they're not always saying, which is that when you look at proportionally the population of Israel, which is about 7.1 million Jews, compared to the population of the United States, which is around 330 million Americans, their 9-11, Israeli's 9-11, proportionally the number of deaths compared to our number of deaths on 9-11 is 30 times worse for Israel. Let that sink in.

30 times worse in terms of the numbers. I want to say from the outset that our church is unequivocally standing with Israel and the Jewish people. And I also want to say that just as there were in the 1930s and 1940s some sensible Germans who were opposed to Hitler and Nazism, there are also today some sensible Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas and Islamic terrorism and who believe also in Israel's right to exist and to those Palestinians we also say we're standing with you too.

So I'm devoting the entirety of today's teaching to try to answer these five questions. Number one, who or what is Hamas? Number two, why is Hamas so intent on destroying Israel and the Jewish people? Number three, what is the history of the Palestinians and the land of Israel? Number four, why are so many American youth and young adults supporting the Palestinian cause today?

Number five, how might any of this fit into Bible prophecy about the end times? So let's start with the word of prayer shall we? Father in Heaven our hearts are heavy today as we are really so far removed from what is happening in Israel yet at the same time because we love you and we love our Bibles we also love the Jewish people and we thank you for the redemptive plan for the universe that came through the Jewish people through a Jewish Messiah whose name is Jesus, Yeshua. And Lord while our hearts are heavy at the same time our hope is in you and we thank you for Psalm 121 that you who watch over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. So we pray for their peace, we pray for their protection, we pray for a quick end to this war. We know Lord that ultimately peace will only come when you the Prince of Peace come again but Lord until that time we ask for you to be merciful and to intervene and Lord as your word tells us to in Psalm 122 to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

So Lord we do that and we ask you Lord please help, please intervene, please show yourself strong on behalf of the nation of Israel and we ask these things in Jesus name and everyone said amen. Here's the first question, who or what is Hamas? Hamas is a terrorist organization made up of Sunni Muslims. Hamas the name of the organization is actually an acronym that translates from Arabic the Islamic resistance movement so it is an acronym that the group has used. However the word Hamas itself it's kind of a dual play on words because Hamas in Arabic means zeal or strength. It's interesting in Hebrew the word Hamas is also a Hebrew word spelled C-H-A-M-A-S and Hamas in Hebrew means violence, violence. A more appropriate definition of what Hamas is all about.

Hamas does not care about anyone or anything that stands in the way of their one mission which is to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the map. If you are just now joining us we are listening today to a sermon from Gary Hamrick the pastor of Cornerstone Chapel in Leaguesburg Virginia a sermon that he delivered just a few days after the Hamas attack on Israel back in October of 2023 and again we want to keep this in the forefront of people's minds because a lot of people have moved on from it but there is still great suffering that has taken place in the land of Israel and these events are building toward the return of our great Lord and King our Messiah Jesus Christ and I just want to take a moment to also state that if you are at a church that said nothing concerning what took place in Israel in October if that is where you are a church that said nothing or a church that was actually against Israel in its stance you need to look to leave that church because we as believers in Jesus Christ should be on the side of the nation of Israel. We here at Discerning the Times unequivocally stand with Israel just as Gary Hamrick stated that his church does as well so we're going to pause for a brief announcement but please don't go away on the other side we'll be back with more from Pastor Gary Hamrick again speaking on the attack in Israel in October of 2023 and why our worldview matters don't go away and you're tuned into Discerning the Times. You are tuned into Discerning the Times if you believe in what we stand for would you consider partnering with us our partners program is based on Genesis 12 3 I will bless those who bless you for a recurring donation of $12.03 per month you can help us share the message of Discerning the Times as we await our Lord's return to Israel. For more information please visit our website BlessingsToIsrael.com or write to us at Blessings to Israel, Keobach 266, Knightdale North Carolina 27545.

Now let's return to the conclusion of today's program. I'm not saying this this is what their own charter says the Hamas Covenant the Hamas Charter which was adopted in 1988 in part says this this is the opening paragraph quote Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it just as it obliterated others before it and also article 7 says quote the day of judgment would not come until the Muslims fight and kill the Jews. So they are bold in making this declaration this is not you know conspiracy this is not you know false information they have a desire to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the map and to establish it as an Islamic state and they will kill and destroy anything and anyone who stands in the way of that mission and not just Jews. They also don't care about Palestinians. Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields. Hamas intentionally sets up rocket launchers at schools and hospitals and civilian apartment buildings knowing that when Israel retaliates it will be wonderful optics for Hamas when it shows innocent civilians killed in hospitals and schools looking like Israel was targeting those things. No Israel is targeting the rocket launchers that Hamas intentionally sets up there because they are using Palestinian civilians as human shields. They've even prevented their own Palestinian people from exiting Gaza City.

Have you been hearing this? Listen by the way what nation drops leaflets in the language of that nation and tells them in advance you better get out we're coming in for the bad guys? But that's what Israel's been doing. They've been dropping leaflets from the sky in Arabic telling Palestinian civilians exit the northern part of Gaza, go down to the south because we're about ready to come into Hamas and destroy Hamas we're coming into the northern part of Gaza first.

We're giving you advance notice. Do you know what the terrorists are doing? Hamas terrorists have actually kept 170,000 Palestinians from exiting Gaza City itself as a sign of solidarity stand with us we're forcing you to stand with us and to stay here.

They don't care. They don't even care about listen to this when that music concert was happening in Ra'im it was mostly attended to by Jews but there were some Arab Israelis there who were killed as well. In Israel you have not just Jews living in Israel proper you have Arab Israeli citizens. These are Arabs who are either Muslim or Christians okay I just spoke to I've had an Arab Israeli as a bus driver on our tours to Israel for the past 25 years.

He just called me two days ago his name is Munir Sayag. Munir is an Arab he's a Christian he became a believer in Jesus about 10, 15 years ago and he lives presently in Nazareth. They live, they work, they raise families in Israel proper and they peacefully coexist with Jews. There were some Arab Israelis at that music concert Hamas didn't care they killed them too. See they don't care they will kill Jews, they will kill Palestinians, they will kill anyone and anything that stands in their way of the mission to kill Jews and to wipe Israel off the map because Hamas is an evil demonic ideology and they want to advance their agenda at whatever cost, whatever cost. So let me walk to the back wall here and give you a timeline of the history of Hamas.

This is very brief, this is a brief summary. 1987 Hamas was founded in Gaza by Sheikh Ahmed Yasin a Palestinian cleric as an offshoot of the Egyptian based Muslim Brotherhood. In 1988 Hamas published its charter calling for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state in its place.

I just read you a couple excerpts from their covenant or their charter. Then in 1991 its military wing the Izadin Al-Hasam Brigades was established. In 1993 Hamas began suicide bombings in Israel just prior to the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords was intended to bring some peace between Israel and the Palestinians but you see Hamas is opposed to the Palestinian Authority because they think the Palestinian Authority is too secular and Hamas is more violent.

The Oslo Accords gave the Palestinian Authority autonomy and limited authority in Gaza and the West Bank. So in 1997 Hamas was designated a terrorist organization by the United States and dozens of other countries. In response to the groups Iran supported use of explosives and rockets along with suicide bombings and kidnappings to target Israel. In 2000 they started their deadly intifada.

This is actually the second intifada, that's just an Arabic word that means uprising. It was a deadly intifada of Palestinians against Israelis. That's when you started to see the Israeli government put up a fence to protect themselves. By 2005 Israel evacuated all their troops and settlers from Gaza and built a security fence around Gaza itself for Israel's national security.

In 2006 Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections and then seized full control of Gaza overthrowing forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. As a result much of the international community cut off aid to Gaza because they did not want to finance a terrorist sponsored territory. You begin to see all the suffering of the Palestinian people Israel gets blamed a lot for that. Israel has been supplying up until this war electricity, humanitarian aid, food, allowing people from Gaza to come over for work. The international community realized when a terrorist organization begins to run a territory we can't continue to finance that at least not at the same level.

And then of course on October the 7th, 2023 Hamas terrorists penetrated the security fence around Gaza and 1,500 terrorists enter Israel and attack, slaughter, and abduct Jews in the worst mass murdering of Jews since the Holocaust. Ladies and gentlemen the Palestinian people in Gaza have no one to blame except Hamas for their poor living conditions, for their isolation, and for now the defensive war that Israel is waging in that region. Hamas is responsible for the poor conditions that the Palestinians are experiencing in the land and the territory of Gaza. These protesters in the United States who are holding up signs that say free Palestine, free Palestine, it should say free Palestine from Hamas. Hamas is responsible for their suffering. In 2006 when Hamas came to power through parliamentary elections, instead of taking finances that they had accumulated to help build infrastructure in Gaza, to help assist with humanitarian aid, instead of building factories they took their finances and they built tunnels underground, hundreds of them.

And they also amassed munition to target Israel. So they took all their resources and they devoted it to the destruction of Israel rather than helping to improve the condition of the Palestinian people that they supposedly represent. So number two, the question is then why is Hamas so intent on destroying Israel and the Jewish people? There are ideological answers to this, there are political answers and even religious answers.

But I'm going to give you the spiritual answer. All right, so we're going to pause there for this week, but that is the first portion of a sermon given by Pastor Gary Hamrick in the week following the attack from Hamas into the land of Israel, October 7th, 2023. And as I said in the opening, I want to keep this in the forefront of our minds because there's still suffering that is taking place in Israel where hostages are still being tormented, still being killed by these terrorists. Now I stated in the opening that the world says Israel is the evil occupier, but what does the Bible say? Well, God made a covenant with Abraham and it is an everlasting covenant.

Thanks be to our almighty Lord that he's not like man. He doesn't break his promises. And he made a promise, a covenant that is unconditional in nature to Abraham. In the book of Genesis chapter 15, beginning with verse 18, on the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying to your descendants, I have given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the Canaanites, the Canaanites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphael, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. And then in Genesis 17 seven, and I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you. So folks, God gave the land to the nation of Israel as God's land.

And he has the right to do whatever he wants with his land. And he gave it to the descendants of Abraham. And as I stated earlier, if you're in a church that is either indifferent to the nation of Israel or opposed to Israel's right to live in that land, you need to leave that church because that is a church that is either in a state of apathy or it is in a church that is been deceived by the satanic false teaching of replacement theology, which states that all the promises that God made to Abraham and Israel were transferred to the church. And folks, that is a false teaching. I just read the scripture that says God made an everlasting covenant.

And all you have to do is look in the book of Romans chapters nine through 11. And we see clearly that God has not revoked his promises to the nation of Israel. And so we must stand with Israel, stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters.

So we're at the end of the program today. But before I close, I want us to pray for Israel. And I want you to touch in agreement with me in the spirit for God's holy nation and for the people that are still suffering at the hands of Hamas. Because again, Jesus Christ is coming back to rule and reign from Israel and Satan wants to bring a stop to it.

And that is why he's trying to destroy Israel so that they do not have a land for Jesus to come back to rule and reign from. So let us pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for this day. We thank you for the great God that you are, that you, Jesus, came and died for our sins.

You took on what we deserve so that we might have the opportunity for eternal life. Now, Lord, as you say in your scriptures, that Israel is the prophetic time clock. And as we look at what is taking place, we know that these things are pointing to your coming. And so, Lord, we are looking forward to that day. And as we await, Lord, we just pray for those in Israel who are suffering at the hands of Hamas.

Babies, Lord, all the way up to the elderly who are being beaten and tormented and killed and tortured. And so, Lord, we just pray that they will look to you if they've never received you as Lord and Savior, that they will come to do so in these last and evil days. So as we close today, Lord, we give you thanks, glory, honor and praise. And we remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, blessings over your great nation of Israel and unto you, the only wise God. Be glory through Jesus Christ forever, amen. Thank you for tuning in to Discerning the Times. Please come back and join us next week as we continue to encourage you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God. Discerning the Times is presented by Blessings to Israel.