Tipping Point Quick Hits (10.19.23)

Arab rage, rising antisemitism, and Russia joins arms with China

Khamenei: “Muslim Nations are Angry”

As Israel defends against the October 7 massacre by Hamas, Iran is predictably starting to make its own threats against Israel. Earlier this week, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that all of the Muslim world would soon turn against Israel, The Times of Israel reports:

“If the crimes of the Zionist regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will become impatient, and no one can stop them,” Khamenei said. “Bombardments should be immediately stopped, Muslim nations are angry.”

Iran has been in close contact with its regional allies, including Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and pro-Tehran Iraqi militias, since over 1,500 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, breaking through the heavily fortified border from Gaza, killing some 1,300 people, the vast majority of them civilians including children and the elderly, and abducting at least 199 people to the Strip.

Israel has been bombarding Hamas targets in Gaza since the attack, and is preparing for a ground offensive after deploying tens of thousands of troops to the border with Gaza. A few days ago, Israel warned residents of northern Gaza to leave the area in order to avoid civilian casualties.

Khamenei used the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s air campaign and has connected Israel’s response to the support of the United States. If Iran is already warning about the response of the Muslim world, then Israel may be facing the possibility of a wider conflict.

Remember, Israel is surrounded on all sides by Arab nations and predominantly Muslim countries. Iran’s stated purpose is to destroy Israel. The charter of Hamas literally calls for the annihilation of Jews.

Tuesday’s hospital explosion in Gaza has spread anger further across the Muslim world. Israel and Hamas are both blaming each other for a blast thought to have killed hundreds at a hospital. (American intelligence indicates it was caused by a Palestinian group rather than Israel.) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been working to ease tensions all week in meetings with Arab leaders and President Biden traveled to Israel—where he embraced Netanyahu.

However, the explosion and Biden’s strong support of Israel have complicated American efforts to defuse the situation. One of the United States’ best allies in the region, King Abdullah II of Jordan, even offered a grim view of the current moment:

“This war, which has entered a dangerous phase, will plunge the region into an unspeakable disaster,” warned Abdullah, who is among the closest Western allies in the Mideast.

Israel is already at war with Hamas, and the prospect of a wider war between Israel and its Muslim neighbors has the world on edge. But ultimately, we know Israel’s enemies will be defeated.

God knows the nations of the world will want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. He is never surprised by this:

For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”—Psalm 83:2-4

That’s why God has promised to protect Israel against her enemies. That’s why Ezekiel 38:4 says God will “put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out” when Israel is invaded in the Ezekiel 38 war, which also says God will destroy those who are aligned in their hatred of Israel.

If they do challenge Israel, God’s response will be unmistakable. All the nations Ezekiel lists are present and accounted for in today’s world, and they are aligned and unified in their hatred of Israel. When it is time to intervene, God will intervene.

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Sharp Increase in Antisemitism since Hamas Attack

Old Testament prophecy speaks of a day when all the world is aligned in its hatred of Israel. The growing antisemitism around the world since Israel was attacked has shown the truth of this prophecy. The tide can turn quickly.

Zechariah 12 describes Israel as a “cup of drunkenness” and a “heavy stone” around the world’s neck: