A Time for War :: By Daymond Duck

Most Bible students are familiar with these famous words of King Solomon:

• To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace (Eccl. 3:1-8).

It is my opinion that this is a philosophy that Solomon tried out for a short time in life to see if it made him happy.

If someone died, he would say, “Oh well, it was time for them to die.”

If someone broke something, he would say, “Oh well, it was time for that to break.”

It was a Que Sera, Sera (whatever will be, will be) attitude.

Some people call this “fatalism,” and ultimately, Solomon abandoned that philosophy.

In addition to philosophy, he tried entertainment, wine, owning a lot of buildings and vineyards, planting gardens and orchards, servants, many wives, accumulating silver and gold, buying anything he wanted, etc., but it didn’t make him happy.

He eventually said, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccl. 12:13).

If you want to be happy, reverence God and do what He said.

Anyway, Solomon said there is “a time of war,” and six days after the demonic, religious fanatics called Hamas invaded Israel, decapitated babies, shot children in the head, raped women, etc., Israel’s Defense Min. Gallant said, “Now is a time for war.”

(FYI: God sometimes decides that a nation or people needs to be destroyed. He used Assyria to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel; Babylon to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah; the Medes and Persians to destroy Babylon; and the Roman Empire to destroy Israel in 70 A.D.)

Here are some of the things I have seen in the news, and as you read them, I encourage you to watch for the words Russia, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Damascus, Lebanon, and Jordan because there are prophecies about wars that they will be involved in at the end of the age (possibilities include Israel’s neighbors in Psa. 83, the destruction of Damascus in Isa. 17; the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Jer. 49:34-39; the Battle of Gog and Magog in Ezek. 38-39).

(Do not forget that Jesus was asked about the signs of His coming and the end of the age, and He said there will be wars and rumors of wars. Also, know that we do not know whether the Rapture is before or after some or all these wars. We may be here and we may not, but if we are here, they will be a sure sign that the Rapture is close.)

Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023

• Israel formed a new war cabinet. Prime Min. Netanyahu said, “Every Hamas member is dead.” Israeli Defense Min. Gallant said, “Hamas—the Islamic state of Gaza—will be wiped from the face of the earth.”
• Hezbollah (in Lebanon) will not sit idly by why Israel destroys Hamas.
• Ynet News reported that France relayed a message to Hezbollah saying the “IDF will destroy Damascus and target Syrian President Assad if Hezbollah joins the war.”
• Israel decided to release videos and photos of burned bodies, deceased women in Hamas vehicles, Hamas setting fire to homes, etc.
• Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan condemned Israel for bombing civilians in Gaza, but he has been bombing Kurdish civilians in Syria and Iraq for months.
• Former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal called upon Muslims in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt (but also other countries) to enter Israel any way they can and fight the Jews.

Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023

• Gloating Hamas terrorists filmed and broadcast video of their members killing Israelis, raping women, beheading babies, etc.
• Israel showed video of Hamas atrocities to the NATO defense ministers.
• Israel’s Defense Min. told NATO he went house to house in some of the places that had been attacked and saw bodies of Jews that had been burned alive and bodies of Jewish children that had been tied up and shot.
• He told NATO, “Young girls were raped violently, kidnapped or killed, and dragged to Gaza while blood was dripping down their legs.”
• After seeing the evidence, several NATO allies pledged support for Israel.
• The photos were shown to the international media, and the Jerusalem Post verified that they had seen photos of babies being burned and babies being decapitated.
• The photos were shown to U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken and have been posted on Twitter.
• Prime Min. Netanyahu said one group of Israelis was burned alive using tires to fuel the fire.
• Defense Min. Gallant said Jews haven’t endured anything like this since the Holocaust.
• Concerning forcing the Palestinians to leave Gaza, Amir Tsarfati (a well-known Messianic Jewish prophecy teacher) said they are not victims of the IDF; they are victims of their own leaders.
• Tsarfati said Israel is fighting on three fronts (Syria under the influence of Russia and Iran, Lebanon under the control of Hezbollah, and Gaza.
• Tsarfati said he has seen the pictures and heard the stories, and it is a second Holocaust, not in numbers but in brutality and depth of evil.
• The U.S. reported that 27 Americans have died and 14 are missing.
• There are 1.1 million people in Gaza City, and Israel asked the UN to urge all of them to evacuate in the next 24 hours.
• The Israeli military urged everyone in Gaza, including UN officials, to get out in the next 24 hours.

Friday, Oct. 13, 2023

• S. officials expressed concern that the war could spread, with Iran warning of a response from its allies, which include Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
• An untold number of Israeli tanks and armored forces entered the Gaza Strip to strike localized Hamas sites and set the stage for a full-scale invasion.
• The leaders of Hamas have gone into hiding, and many of the Hamas terrorists have dressed in civilian clothes and are trying to hide among Palestinian citizens.
• The Jews near Israel’s border with Lebanon and Syria were told to have a safe place to hunker down and to have a three-day supply of food and water.
• An untold number of Israeli drones struck Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
• Russia’s Pres. Putin said an Israeli ground attack in Gaza would result in a level of civilian casualties that would be absolutely unacceptable, and he said the conflict can only be resolved through the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023

• Due to international pressure and a request by the U.S., Israel is delaying her attack on Gaza to allow more time for citizens to get out.
• Israel is using the extra time by sending in special teams to search for landmines and boobytraps in Gaza City and the Gaza Strip.
• Iran sent a message to Israel through the UN, saying Iran does not want further escalation in Israel’s war with Hamas, but Iran will have to intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza
• It is understood that Iran is saying if Israel invades Gaza, Iran will get involved, the conflict will spread to other nations, and the war will become a regional war.
• An Israeli official said Iran is trying to deploy strategic weapons to target Israel in the north.
• Prime Min. Netanyahu visited Israeli troops in the south. He asked them, “Are you ready?” and told them, “The next stage is coming.”
• Netanyahu addressed the nation and said, “This is just the beginning. Our enemies have only begun paying the price, and I will not say more.”

Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023

• On Meet the Press, Sen. Lindsey Graham said, “If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I will consider that a threat to the State of Israel, existential in nature. I will introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business. Iran, if you escalate this war, we’re coming for you.”
• Israel reported that the exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is growing more intense.
• Israel’s military estimated that 600,000 people have left Gaza City (another 500,000 still need to leave).
• Iran has more than 100,000 troops in Syria.
• Israel evacuated 28 communities near its border with Lebanon in case war breaks out there.

Monday, Oct. 16, 2023

• Israel announced the evacuation of 28 communities near its border with Lebanon in case war breaks out there.
• Iran has more than 100,000 troops in Syria.

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023

• Over the past decade, Iran has built up a formidable array of militias and proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen in addition to Hamas, and all or any of them could be called on to open up new fronts.
• The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said, “Another shockwave is on the way if Israel does not end atrocities in Gaza.

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023

• Jordan scheduled a meeting with Pres. Biden and leaders from Egypt and the Palestinians to find ways to end the war in Gaza and revive the peace process (draft a peace treaty to divide the land of Israel) and canceled it when a stray Islamic Jihad rocket aimed at Israel destroyed a hospital in Gaza.
• Massive protests broke out in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, and Iran. Due to rioting, the U.S. issued a do-not-travel to Lebanon order and told non-essential employees at the U.S. embassy to leave.
• Following the destruction of a hospital in Gaza, Iran’s Foreign Minister said Israel is “running out of time,” and the Iranian embassy in Syria tweeted, “Time is up.”
• They were referring to a multi-front attack on Israel.

Here are some of my opinions about these events:

• Radical Islam believes in a world government and a world religion, but they believe it must be an Islamic world government and religion.
• Radical Islam is not just about killing Jews. They will kill anyone who opposes the spread of their Islamic world government and religion.
• God may have allowed Israel to be violently attacked a couple of weeks ago because it was beginning to look like Israel was going to give away some of the Promised Land to get a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia. God gave all the Promised Land to Israel (not just some of it), and His Word must be fulfilled.
• Jehovah may be ready to impose a terrible defeat on Hamas to send the message that He is God, not Allah.
• The Apostle Paul said in the last days, perilous times will come. The situation is extremely perilous.
• This war could change the world. We must wait and watch, but it could happen in a matter of days.
• Some officials and pundits say the recent attack on Israel is the worst since the Holocaust. I am not saying that isn’t bad, but worse events are on the way (the destruction of Damascus, the defeat of nations in the Battle of Gog and Magog, etc.) and disasters worse than anything that has happened before (the Tribulation Period). People said nothing could sink the Titanic, but they were wrong. Some people don’t think these events will happen, but they are wrong.

Here are other events that seem to indicate that the end of the age is near:

One, on Oct. 12, 2023, Rabbi Yehudah Glick (of Temple Fame) said the Arab murder of babies is not new.

Pharaoh did it 4,000 years ago, God intervened by protecting and raising up Moses, God sent ten plagues on Egypt, and Pharaoh was forced to let God’s people go, and they eventually wound up in the Promised Land.

Two, concerning world government and America’s open borders: on Oct. 10, 2023, it was reported that the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended more than 24,000 immigrants from China in Fiscal Year 2023.

Three, concerning America’s decline as a Judeo-Christian nation: on Oct. 10, 2023, it was reported that a self-described wizard is running for the school board in Manheim Township, PA, and the Democrat Party is endorsing him.

Who would have imagined that a wizard would have the support of one of the two main political parties in the U.S.?

Will they endorse a witch next?

On second thought, perhaps wizards and witches won’t make some school boards worse than they already are.

FYI: God does not send anyone to Hell (all of us are born with a sin nature and destined to go to Hell because we sin), but God has provided a way (Jesus) for everyone to go to Heaven (and He is the only way to get there; John 14:6).

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

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