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Home » Israel, Hamas, and End Times: Gary Hamrick (Transcript)

Israel, Hamas, and End Times: Gary Hamrick (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript of Gary Hamrick’s sermon titled “Israel, Hamas, and End Times” [Ezekiel 38] which was delivered at Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, VA.

In this sermon, Pastor Gary Hamrick discusses the recent Hamas terror attack in Israel, the history and goals of Hamas, the conflict between Palestinians and Jews, the historical context of the land, and the potential connection to biblical prophecies. He emphasizes the tragic nature of the attack, highlights the church’s support for Israel, and urges listeners to pray for the victims and their families. Hamrick also explores the origins and intentions of Hamas, the division of Palestine and Israel, and the current alliance between nations that may relate to biblical prophecies. 

Listen to the audio version here:

TRANSCRIPT:

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. 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 we weren’t there when the war broke out. So we thank the Lord for that.

One day before Terri and I were supposed to board an airplane to fly to Israel, on Saturday last week, Saturday, October the 7th, 2023, 1,500 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 Itay Berdichevsky, and they’re twin babies. They lived in a kibbutz called Kfar Aza, 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 Kfar Aza, they found those twin babies unharmed, alive. And they rescued those little babies who are now orphans because 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 and 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 9-11 number of deaths on 9-11 is 30 times worse for Israel.

Let that sink in. Thirty 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 in Psalm 122, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.