What does Bible Prophesy say about Gaza? Gaza has taken center stage as the world holds its breath. Hamas struck Israel with a horrific surprise attack on October 7, 2023, torturing and murdering more than 1,400 hundred Israelis, and kidnapping more than 200 others. After a 21-day delay (from October 7th to October 27th), Israel launched a massive ground campaign into Gaza to root out the violent terrorist group Hamas. Israel delayed the ground invasion in order to drop leaflets warning the Gazans to flee to the south. Hamas has been launching attacks into Israel from a vast labyrinth of tunnels underneath Gaza.
Thousands of leaflets were dropped into Gaza, calling on residents to flee south of the enclave within 24 hours, before an expected ground invasion. ‘Don’t return to your homes until further notice from the Israel Defense Forces. Leave all public and known shelters in the city of Gaza. Do not approach from the security wall, and whoever does so, is risking their lives,’ read the leaflets from the IDF. The Israeli military said it would operate ‘significantly’ in Gaza City in the coming days and that civilians should return only when advised to do so.
Several Old Testament prophets spoke about the condition of Gaza as we near the “Day of the Lord”. The Day of the Lord is the time of God’s Wrath, when God pours out His final indignation on a rebellious world. The day of the Lord is not simply a literal “day” (although it does include the literal day that the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth), it is also a timespan of Great Tribulation coming to the earth.
The Old Testament passages referring to the day of the Lord often convey a sense of imminence; however, we know that the Day of the Lord still hasn’t happened yet. This is because the Old Testament prophecies often speak of both a near and a far fulfillment (a “then-times and an end-times”) fulfillment. Like the leaflets dropped on Gaza that warned citizens of imminent danger, God (YHWH) has issued a stern warning to the entire world regarding the soon approaching day of the Lord.
“For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations.” (Ezekiel 30:3);
“Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand” (Joel 2:1)
“Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near” (Zephaniah 1:7).
The day of the Lord is a time of judgement, but it is also a time of salvation and restoration for those who heed the warnings and turn to Jesus Christ.
What is the Biblical HIStory of Gaza and where does Gaza fit into end-times prophecy?
Gaza is one of the oldest cities in History.Gaza is associated with the Biblical Philistines who lived on the Sea Coast. In the Bible, the Philistines are remembered as an uncircumcised people with advanced technology and a formidable military. The giant Goliath (a Nephilim) is a famous Philistine who harassed Israel mercilessly.
Judah (Israel) inherited Gaza from God (YHWH) as part of the Promised Land(Joshua 15). At this time, the Canaanites had control of the land, but God (YHWH) was taking the land from the Canaanites and giving it to Israel. Why? The idolatrous pagan practices of the CANAANITES that includedMANY sexual sins and child sacrifice caused the LAND to vomit them out. 🤮
Pagan sexual practices and child sacrifice defile a land and will eventually bring about God’s wrath.
Leviticus 18:Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.
Leviticus 18, verses 4-23 list the prohibited sexual sins including incest, homosexuality and bestiality, along with child sacrifice (aka abortion, human trafficking, human shields).
Leviticus 18:24: ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these things the nations which I am driving out from you have become defiled.25 For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 🤮🤮🤮
26 But as for you,you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the stranger who resides among you 27 (for the people of the land who were there before you did all these abominations, and the land has become defiled), 28 so that the land will not vomit you out should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which was there before you. 🤮🤮🤮
29 For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people. 30 So you are to keep your commitment to Me not to practice any of the abominable customs which have been practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves with them; I am the Lord your God.’”
God (YHWH) warned Israel that they MUST drive out these nations SO THAT they will not partake of their ungodly practices and the land vomit them out as it did the pagans. But did Israel listen? NO.
Just as God had prophesied, Israel did NOT drive out the Canaanites completely. The Canaanite gods were a snare to Israel who participated in their ungodly pagan practices. This is why Israel was eventually exiled from Judah into Babylon c 586BC. God says what He means what He says!
During the time of the Biblical Judge Samson, and into the time of the last judge Samuel, Gaza was controlled by the Philistines. The Philistines made this city one of the five cities in its pentapolis along with Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. The name Gaza means “fierce” or “strong”.
The Philistines used this land to launch attacks into Israel (Judah), similarly to how Hamas is launching attacks into Israel today. During the time of King Saul and King David, Gaza became part of Israel. However, due to Israel’s idolatry, Gaza later fell into the hands of the Assyrians, the Egyptians, and the Persians. The Greeks took Gaza under Alexander the Great. Eventually the Romans conquered the city. This is why there is such diversity in the city today.
The ancient Romans pinned the name “Palestine” on the Land of Israel. In 135 AD, after stamping out the province of Judea’s second insurrection, the Romans renamed the province Syria Palaestina—that is, “Palestinian Syria.” They did so resentfully, as a punishment, to obliterate the link between the Jews (in Hebrew, Y’hudim and in Latin Judaei) and the province (the Hebrew name of which was Y’hudah). “Palaestina” referred to the Philistines, whose home base had been on the Mediterranean coast. . [emphasis added]
The Jewish people revolted against Rome in 66AD. They were defeated and the Jewish Temple was destroyed in 70AD. The Jews were exiled from the land.This was the second diaspora, the first being c586BC when the Jews were exiled into Babylon.
After the breakup of the Roman Empire, Palestine fell under the Christian Byzantine empire. Many holy wars ensued in the 600’s with the emergence of the newly formed and very aggressive Muslim religion. The Byzantine Empire maintained control over the area until about 900AD when the Muslims gained power and took the area by force. The people living there were enslaved, deported or murdered. Between 1095 and 1291, Christian Crusaders battled the Muslim Caliphate for control over the Holy Land of Israel. The Ottoman Empire eventually took control of Gaza.
After WWI, the Ottoman Empire was no more, and the British took control of the land known as Palestine.
“The 1917 Balfour Declaration had declared Great Britain’s support for the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in Palestine, in recognition of the ancient Jewish claim and connection to the land of Israel, describing this land as the “national home for the Jewish people.” The League of Nations (predecessor the the UN) unanimously adopted the British Mandate in 1922, overturning Ottoman-era restrictions and creating a legal right for Jewish people to settle anywhere between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.“
The State of Israel was born in 1948!
While Christian Crusaders and the Muslim Caliphate fought over the Holy Land of Israel, the Jewish people, small in number, could just sit back and watch helplessly. But God, in His Sovereign Will, regathered the Jewish people to their homeland a second time as prophesied in Isaiah 11:11. There were two diasporas (exiles)…and two returns.
Jews exiled into Babylon c586BC and returned to homeland 70 years later, c515BC
Jews exiled into all the nations of the world c70AD and returned a second time in 1948AD
Isaiah 66:8: Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be given birth all at once? As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.
Isaiah 11:11:Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover with His hand the second time The remnant of His people who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea.
As it was in ancient days, so it has been in modern times. Israel’s neighbors are NOT happy that the Jews are once again back in the Promised Land. They may say this is a territorial issue, but it goes much deeper than that. The adversary (enemy of mankind) 😈 knows that once the Jewish people are resettled in their land A SECOND TIME(Isaiah 11:11), his (the devil’s) time is getting extremely short.
Satan understands that the Jewish people living in their land GLORIFIES the NAME OF YHWH/JESUS CHRIST (THE GREAT IAM). And…it makes the devil angry. 😈
Revelation 12:12: For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them.Woe to the earthand the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” 😈
In the Spring of 1967, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon were poised on the borders of Israel to wipe out the Jewish state. Standing behind them were the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation.
President Abdur Rahman Aref of Iraq joined in the war of words: “The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified.This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear — to wipe Israel off the map.“12 On June 4, Iraq joined the military alliance with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.😈
“Their stated “goal” was to “wipe Israel off the map”. Israel takes this kind of threat very seriously. Understanding that they were facing yet another holocaust, Israel struck first (1967 – SIX DAY WAR).
On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In response, Iraq attacked Israel. In less than a week, Israel captured land all around its borders – the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. In less than a week, tiny, little Israel gained territory four times its original size. The war came to be known as The Six-Day War.
The six-day war was a MIRACLE of God (YHWH), a David and Goliath moment!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Israel’s neighbors regrouped, and their hatred for the Jewish state only intensified. This would be a war of attrition. Terrorist attacks within the Jewish State continued after 1967.
Israel retained control of the Gaza strip until 2005, when it began to withdraw from the area under heavy diplomatic pressure.
In the midst of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to promote disengagement as Israel’s best way of extricating itself from the conflict and decreasing its vulnerability to terrorism.The pullout was seen as a disaster by Israelis, with thousands of rockets from Gaza having rained down on Israel since 2005.
“Israel’s pullout from Gaza created a new reality that contributed to the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, 😈a steep rise in weapons smuggling, the strengthening of terrorism, and the ensuing cycle of escalation,” ….“It appears that most of the security events in the south over the past decade were the result of the disengagement.”
SHARON NEVER SEES RESULTS
Less than five months after the withdrawal from Gaza, Sharon, then 76, suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. He died eight years later having never regained consciousness to learn of the full consequences of his initiative.
Since then, the world continues to pressure Israel into giving up land for “peace”. But the land really is not theirs to give and any attempt to give YHWH’s (God’s) land away always results in VIOLENCE, WAR, TERRORISM…DEFINITELY NOT PEACE! Satan does not just want “part of Israel” (back to the 1967 lines)…he wants ALL of Israel “From the River to the Sea“.
1 Thessalonians 5:3While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
The enemy (Satan) wants to WIPE OUT the NAME of ISRAEL so that it be REMEMBERED NO MORE!
The name Israel means “God contends”, or “Wrestled with God” or “Triumphant WITH God (YHWH), or YHWH RULES! This name was given to Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, when he wrestled with the angel of the Lord (A Christophany).(Genesis 32:22-32)
The Land of Israel belongs to YHWH, and He gave it to the Jewish people. This is what the Lord has to say about the nations who attempt to shrink the State of Israel –
They will face JUDGEMENT/DAY OF THE LORD.
Joel 3:2: I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there🔥 On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.
What does the Bible say will happen to Gaza?
Amos 1: This is what the Lord says: “For three offenses of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they led into exile an entire population To turn them over to Edom.
7 So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza And it will consume her citadels. 8I will also eliminate every inhabitant from Ashdod, As well as him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; And I will direct My power against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” Says the Lord God.
Zephaniah 2: Gather yourselves together, yes, join together, You nation without shame, 2 Before the decree takes effect— The day (DAY OF THE LORD) passes like chaff— Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you.
3 Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the Lord’s anger.
4 For Gaza will be abandoned, And Ashkelon will become a desolation; The inhabitants of Ashdod will be driven out at noon, And Ekron will be uprooted.
Zechariah 9:5:Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, because her hope has been ruined. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited.
Anda people of mixed origins will live in Ashdod, And I will eliminate the pride of the Philistines.
God loves the innocent people of Gaza. But like many other nations, they have a wicked king over them😈 who desires to wipe Israel off the face of the map so that the name of Israel be remembered no more (Psalm 83). The evil group Hamas😈 (means violence) launched attacks against Israel fully understanding what would happen to the people of Gaza. In-fact, Hamas is using the people of Gaza as human shields while they launch rockets into Israel. This is similar to how the devil uses God’s (YHWH’s) LOVE for humanity to shield himself from the wrath of God.
The Bible prophesies that Gaza will be forsaken. She will be writhe in pain and be abandoned. We currently see the people of Gaza FLEEING to safety. However, there are also reports that Hamas is not allowing some Gazans to FLEE!
What can be done? Pray. Pray for Israel. Pray for the people of Gaza, many of whom are being used as human shields. Pray for mercy! Pray that God (YHWH) remove the evil Hamas and expose all the wicked leaders who have lied to the people. Pray for all of the people of Israel and Gaza, Jew and Gentile, to give their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. ✝️Even in their pain and suffering, Jesus will never leave or forsake His own. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
The Jews “Promised Land” is the nation of ISRAEL. Our Promised Land is the Kingdom of God (Heaven)!💖
What we see happening now in Gaza is coming to a “theater near us”. The only safe place to “hide” during the Day of the Lord is in the Shadow of the Almighty, Jesus Christ. ✝️
Isaiah 24: Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants.
3The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord (YHWH)has spoken this word.4 The earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth dwindle.
5The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, All you humble of the earth Who have practiced His ordinances; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will remain hidden On the day of the Lord’s anger.
Jesus Christ IS coming again! Be ready Church!!! Jesus Christ, the GREAT I AM, is COMING SOON!
My name is TFJ, which stands for Thankful for Jesus. I'm a wife, a mom, and a grandma. I have a passion for Jesus because He literally drug me out of the pit, washed me clean, and made me new. I know He will do the same for you, if you let Him.
