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Lay it to Heart
The Future of Gaza
Isaiah 14 warns of the future destruction of Gaza. Hezbollah, Iran or Syria may strike with sarin, VX or tabun nerve gas.
| Isaiah 11 (bold emphasis mine):
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10 |
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. |
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11 |
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. |
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12 |
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. |
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13 |
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. |
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14 |
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. |
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15 |
And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. |
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16 |
And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. |
The Jews were recovered a second time by the restoration of Israel which occurred in the last century. It appears from this verse that in these last days, when Israel is recovered, that the remnant of the Philistines will exist and they are in Gaza. So what happens to them? In the future, it looks like all the Palestinians will disappear. In Isaiah 14, people focus on the fall of Lucifer, but don't talk much about the end of the chapter that has another section. Just because verses are placed together in a Bible chapter does not make them related.
| Isaiah 14 says (bold emphasis mine): |
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28 |
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. |
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29 |
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. |
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30 |
And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. |
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31 |
Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times. |
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32 |
What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it. |
Verse 28 appears to be an introduction for verses 29-32, rather than an end for the previous verses, but either way it will not change the meaning. Palestina (Strong's word 6429) is the land or place where Philistines (Strong's word 6430) in chapter 11 live. In verse 30, the root is killed with famine and the remnant slain. If this passage applied to destruction already fulfilled then the Philistines would not be around as described in Isaiah chapter 11. Since Philistines are present after the restoration of Israel, the passage in Isaiah 14 has to apply to the destruction of the Philistines, and hence, Gaza, in the future.
Who or what is the rod in verse 29? In the Bible rod refers to an actual physical rod as with Jacob and Aaron. It also refers to a rod as a means of discipline as well as other forceful means of discipline and those who implement it. A rod can mean a ruler or oppressor. If the rod, which is broken, were merely a physical rod the passage would be confusing. There would not be a reason for the Gazans to rejoice if it were broken. The definition of rod that I see the Gazans rejoicing over is Israel. They would rejoice at any destruction, setback or withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and we have seen some of that happen. The word serpent often refers to Satan. The word cockatrice is from the Hebrew word tsepha (see Strong's word 6848) that is a poisonous snake; some people think it is the Palestinian Viper or Daboia Palestinae. Isn't there a proverb, "In the face a brother. In the back a serpent."?
It does not seem likely that fiery flying serpents will actually come and wipe out Gaza. It looks more like this is a prophetic description of missiles that exist today. They take off with fire and smoke, continue with fire coming out of the back while they fly, then come and quickly strike with death. With chemical weapons, they actually have venom.
Verse 30 says the root will be killed with famine and the remnant slain. I could be wrong but it sounds like when the remnant is slain there will be no more Philistines. How do they die? Verse 31 says a smoke will come from the north. In a confined building the smoke from a fire will kill first but in the open countryside a smoke by itself would have to be very strong to wipe out a whole population. The word smoke here is 'ashan (Strong's 6227) (aw-shawn') from Strong's H6225; smoke, literally or figuratively (vapor, dust, anger):-smoke (-ing).
A massive rage of anger would hurt the Gazans as well as an extremely dense smoke. Also, though, a vapor would do it. A fiery flying serpent that kills with a vapor would describe missiles with nerve gas. Syria, for example, is said to have stockpiles of sarin, VX and tabun nerve gases. Mustard gas has also been used in the middle east as a weapon. Iraq used chemical weapons in the war with Iran during the 1980's. If something like this hits Gaza the vapor would destroy it. Today, the Hezbollah are ready to fight Israel again. The word now is that they have medium range missiles from Iran. Syria promised "firm and unlimited response" to any possible Israeli attack (AP). Iran warned Israel of "unimaginable losses" if Syria is hit (AFP). Hezbollah has said, "You will be surprised again like you were in Haifa" (Haaretz). It is very foreseeable that one of the groups, Hezbollah, Iran or Syria, will launch a deadly missile attack on Tel Aviv and overshoot the mark. A civil war may also be the cause. Fatah and Hamas have been at odds with each other. It is possible that Fatah will fire from the West Bank. Is would be difficult, but not impossible. When this will happen and who will be responsible is not clear. Sadly, the Gaza strip is a short time away from a catastrophe. We know the damage that will be done. Stop Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Fatah and Hamas.
While I cannot stop the groups, I can tell you about another way out. It profits you nothing to gain the whole world but lose your own soul. While you may be safe or you may get killed, without Jesus nothing else matters. What matters is that you spend eternity with God. God has a son. His name is Jesus. God sent his son to die on a cross and become the ultimate sacrifice. He paid the entire price for our sins on the cross. There is nothing we can do ourselves. We are unworthy. Jesus rose the third day to become the first of the resurrection and prove he is Lord. What really matters in life is whether you accept Jesus as Lord. Life is a test and the only answer is Jesus. Without Jesus it does not matter whether you die in Gaza, escape tragedy in Gaza or live a total life of luxury somewhere else. What matters is that you spend eternal life in heaven. Without Jesus, you will live in hell after you die. Instead, you can call upon the Lord to save you. Salvation is so simple to attain that most people don't want to accept it. It is based on faith. Jesus does all the work. If you want to be saved and have eternal life read about salvation.
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