My dear readers,

Answering Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2024 (2)

Question 1: God chose Israel as His people. Through Israel, all the nations of the earth have been blessed. Whoever curseth Israel, the LORD will similarly curse. What is the correct Christian response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East? Please cite the relevant Bible verses.

Question 2: In light of the current Middle East situation, what should our position be from the biblical perspective? How should we respond to such views? What should Christians do in light of these protests from both sides? How should we share this issue to our children from the biblical and spiritual point of view?

Answer 1 and 2: The above questions are related to the Middle East conflict and will be answered together. Christians should look at the world through the lens of the Bible. In this way, they will see the world through the eyes of God, their heavenly Father. They can interpret world events as their God would want them to be interpreted and live their lives in holiness for Christ in light of these interpretations.

Christians look at the big picture through the telephoto lens of God’s prophecies. Biblical prophecies are understood as “God has revealed to His children what their heavenly Father will do in the future.” When prophecies focus on the last days, God’s children are blessed with knowing the end as God also knows, just as they already know the beginning from the Book of Genesis. Below are Bible passages that will help us understand the present and how they will all climax in the fulfilment of God's prophecies. Christians should evaluate all world events with God’s prophetic worldview.

The first and second coming of Christ prophesied. Daniel 9:25-27: “²⁵ Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶ And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Verse 26a prophesied the first coming of Christ, i.e. His death on the cross at Calvary for our sins. The “prince” in verses 26b and 27 is the Antichrist (or the Beast of Revelation 13). He will make a covenant with Israel for seven years, and in the midst of these seven years, he will break the covenant by desecrating the Holy Place with an abomination of desolation. Jesus prophesied of this event in Matthew 24:15-22: “¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: ¹⁷ Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸ Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹ And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰ But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

Jesus mentioned Daniel’s prophesies in Matthew 24 in the context of His Second Coming. These seven years of Daniel will be the final years of this earth’s existence before the Battle of Armageddon. After the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the world, and the separation of the wheat and tares will begin as Christ prophesied in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.

After this judgment, the Millennial reign of Christ on earth with the restoration of Israel will begin. God will preserve Israel for this prophetic event. There will be at least 144,000 Israelites who will form the Israel of the last days and enter the Millennium with Christ as He begins His reign for 1,000 years.

Revelation 7:1-12: “¹ And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. ² And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, ³ Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. ⁴ And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. ⁵ Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. ⁶ Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. ⁷ Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. ⁸ Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. ⁹ After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; ¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. ¹¹ And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, ¹² Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”

The reign of the Antichrist prophesied. A global leader whom God describes as the Antichrist (or the Beast in Revelation 13) will rule during the final seven years of the earth’s existence. He will conquer the world by peace, and not war. This modus operandi of the Antichrist’s conquest is revealed in Revelation 6:1-8: “¹ And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. ² And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. ³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. ⁴ And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. ⁵ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. ⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. ⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

The white horse of Verse 2 represents peace, and the rider carrying a bow without arrows symbolizes conquest without war but by offering peace. The end of World War II began the nuclear age. Today's superpowers like America, China, and Russia are atomic superpowers, unlike past empires such as the Babylonians, Persians, Grecians, Romans and Great Britain. Past superpowers replaced each other by forceful military conquest. This military conquest is not possible in conquering America, Russia and China. For the Antichrist to rule the world, he will use peace. After he rises to power as a world ruler, he will use force, as verses 3 to 8 reveal. The red horse (verse 4) symbolizes the blood that he will shed. The black horse (verses 5-6) symbolizes famine, whereby he will use economic sanctions to control his subjects, for no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast (cf. Rev 13). The pale horse (verses 7-8) describes the extent and nature of his might and power to rule, kill and destroy.

Christians should interpret present global events in light of the prophecies of our heavenly Father. The only side God's children must take is God’s side, according to Holy Scriptures. The world is ending, and the climax will be in the

appearance of the Antichrist. He will reign seven short years before Christ’s return to judge and cast him into the Lake of Fire (cf. Rev 19). Christians have nothing to fear. Their heavenly Father is in absolute control, for prophecies are His future work revealed for the sake of His children so that they will take heed and live their lives in light of these certain future events.

As we see these global events, what is most needful is to make sure of our salvation with fear and trembling, especially after knowing how this world will end. The counsel of Christ in Mark 8:34-36 is a fitting conclusive answer to

the above two questions: “³⁴ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. ³⁶ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”