It’s Going To Fail

There certainly are a lot of opinions about the eventual fate of the ceasefire in Israel, but one Pastor doesn’t have a lot of hope in it as we read from an article from the Christian Post:

Pastor Jack Hibbs claimed during a recent interview that rising antisemitism across the political spectrum is demonic in origin and evidence of the End Times. Hibbs, who pastors Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino Hills, California, and adheres to a premillennial dispensationalist eschatology, also asserted that President Donald Trump's recent Gaza peace plan will fizzle to make way for the Antichrist.

I see this ceasefire falling apart although we may disagree on why. He has prophetic logic for it:

"It's really an amazing time. First of all, we have to make sure that we put it in the proper context, as all things," Hibbs told the Christian Broadcasting Network last week in response to a question about alleged conspiracy theories and antisemitism from prominent voices on the political right, such as Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes.

"Number one, this is one of the signs of the End Times: an increasing antisemitic, anti-Israel view. How do we know this? Because the Bible tells, both in Ezekiel and in Zechariah, that in the last days, the world will turn against Israel."

Hibbs was apparently referencing Ezekiel 38–39 and passages in Zechariah 12, the interpretation of which Christians disagree. Some who adhere to non-futurist interpretations believe such passages were fulfilled in antiquity or apply symbolically to an ongoing attack against the Church throughout history.

The article goes on to explain Hibbs view:

Many premillennials take a futurist view, interpreting such verses to refer to a modern time when the world will militarily oppose the present state of Israel. According to Hibbs, Ezekiel 38 prophesies that modern-day Israel will "prosper in unbelief" until a seismic battle that causes "the veil [to be] lifted from their eyes."

The Pastor had some strong words for a few antisemitic podcasters:

Hibbs went on to suggest that Owens and Fuentes, both of whom have been outspoken against Israel, are under demonic influence, though he later noted the Israeli government is "not sinless."

"When you hear people saying what they're saying, I immediately go to [1 Timothy 4:1], where, in the last days, there will be those propagating doctrines of demons and teachings that are spawned on by deceiving spirits. That's what's happening," he said.

Israel is very secular and is playing the role of the prodigal son right now. Hibbs also sees a satanic angle in the rise of Jew hatred:

He suggested the rising opposition against Israel is a satanic strategy to undermine the nation where he believes Jesus will be enthroned in Jerusalem.

"If Satan knows this, wouldn't it be advantageous, in his twisted thinking, to get an antisemitic flow to try to abolish the viability of the nation of Israel? To say that Israel is illegitimate, that it doesn't exist, that God didn’t know what He was talking about?"

And About That Deal

As I alluded to earlier, Hibbs sees the current ceasefire falling apart because of Bible prophecy:

Hibbs also expressed his belief that Trump's recent peace deal is doomed to fail because the Antichrist is prophesied to rule for a time in Israel during the Tribulation.

"Over and over again, you name the president, they've all done it. The peace treaties don't last. This one's not going to last, either. I don't base that upon opinion, and actually don't even base it upon history. I base it upon Bible prophecy."

He sees the deal brokered by the Antichrist as being the only one to have any chance of working:

Hibbs offered his geopolitical predictions by citing the prophecy in Daniel 9 regarding the 70 weeks, which many of the early church fathers believed was fulfilled during the first century; Revelation 13, which mentions the beasts from the sea and earth, as well as 666; and Matthew 24, during which Christ speaks of the signs of the end of the age.

"There's going to be a peace treaty brokered by one that is of European descent, because it is the rise of the ancient Roman Empire," Hibbs said.

Hibbs comes from the school of thought of the Calvary Chapel’s founder, Chuck Smith. He, too sees the Antichrist rising soon as a real person, but whose spirit is working all around us:

Christians have historically debated the nature of the Antichrist, which derives from a Greek word used only in the epistles of John to describe a spirit that denies God and denies that Jesus comes from God, according to 1 John 4:3. The Antichrist is often modernly associated as a future figure symbolized as the beast from the earth in Revelation associated with the number 666, though Christians historically maintained such was a code to indicate Nero, who was the first Roman emperor to systematically persecute Christians using state authority.

A Debated And Ancient Dream

Hibbs also says the kingdom of the Antichrist is seen in the dream of a Babylonian king:

Hibbs also provided a premillennial dispensationalist view of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue in Daniel 2, which Daniel interpreted as a vision of four successive empires that would manifest before the advent of God’s Kingdom. Christians generally agree that the statue's head of gold represented the Babylonians; its chest and arms of silver indicated the Medo-Persians; its middle and thighs of bronze indicated the Greeks; and the legs of iron symbolized the Roman Empire into which Christ was born.

I grew up with a similar view of the statue, but it is the feet of the statue that is debated:

Christians have disagreed for centuries regarding the meaning of the statue's iron feet that were mixed with clay, with some believing it was an image of the decay and dissolution of the Roman Empire, while others believe its symbolism extends into a future political system during the End Times. Hibbs takes a futuristic view of the statue's feet, maintaining that one of its toes symbolize a leader who "will rise up and craft a seven-year peace treaty with the nation of Israel."

While I see the reasoning for the covenant differently than most, such an agreement will be made to protect Israel from the future power grab and provide a false sense of peace for half of the Tribulation. Hibbs sees the nation of Israel and Jews overall as thinking they will be able to survive the Antichrist’s reign, but it will lead to them turning back to God, for now they are not serving Him nor are they acknowledging Jesus as their messiah:

Hibbs also acknowledged the Israeli government exhibits the corruption inherent in any government, but suggested Israel nonetheless has God's special blessing.

"Of course it's not sinless," he said of Israel. "Listen, Israel is as messed up as America is, which is exactly how messed up Canada is. Nations are messed up. But there's only one nation that has a covenant that God says, 'I've made with them forever,' and it's not America — it's Israel."

Teach Your Children Well

The article rightly notes that young Christians don’t see modern day Israel as being part of end time prophecy:

A generational gulf appears to be widening among American Evangelicals over the eschatological role of modern-day Israel.

Such logic stems from a shift in belief systems that don’t see the Tribulation or the Millennium the same way as Hibbs and I do:

According to a recent study, the number of young Evangelicals in the United States who support Israel and view it as crucial to the End Times is declining as they increasingly move toward amillennial and postmillennial eschatology, neither of which emphasize the role of the Jewish people in the Second Coming of Christ.

Trust me when this is not just a youth view as many believers I know are espousing that today’s Israel lost its place in God’s future with the Church replacing them. Why apart from not being taught it growing up has a few reasons:

Experts who spoke to The Christian Post last year offered various explanations for such trends, which included the growing influence of cultural Marxism on college campuses or greater exposure to various theological views because of the internet.

Yes, the number of different views can come from the availability of them on social media and the algorithm that supports them. But the real culprit is that Bible prophecy isn’t being taught from the pulpits like it once was. Whether it is because churches don’t think it will fill their pews or that they don’t understand it I don’t know, but I know from the young people I interact with it is intriguing to them and they want more not less of it being taught. Regardless, God still sees Israel as the apple of His eye and will draw them back to Him. Add that fact to your prayers for the peace of Jerusalem today.