#816

Trump’s Real Estate Deal With God?

Trump And Gaza

When they held a joint press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump gave remarks, but it was Trump who stole the show when he floated the idea of the US taking over the Gaza Strip:

"I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East. And everybody I've spoken to—this was not a decision made lightly—everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing it, and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent in a really magnificent area that nobody would know. Nobody can look because all they see is death and destruction and rubble and demolished buildings falling all over."

To say that those comments ignited a firestorm of media activity is not an understatement. Some even think that Netanyahu was taken by surprise when that happened, but since that fateful moment the PM is fully in favor of it. We can discuss the merits of Trump’s plan all day long, but I am more concerned about how all this fits into Bible prophecy since I do say I talk about current events with a Biblical perspective, right? And you may not know it, but the US President could actually fulfill prophecies in the book of Zephaniah. Crazy talk you say? Maybe not.

Joel Rosenberg Thinks So

In a video Christian and author Joel Rosenberg seems to think that Trump could be fulfilling Bible prophecy with his bold Gaza plan. Here is what he pointed out:

Is it possible that President Trump's plan to fix Gaza, clean up Gaza, and reform Gaza is actually swerving into fulfilling ancient biblical prophecy?

The central question is: Is it possible that President Donald Trump is going to carry out what he's saying when he says we're going to move all the Palestinians of Gaza out of the Gaza Strip and never let them come back?

Rosenberg then brought up the specific prophecy which he originally saw happening in the Millennium:

The Hebrew prophet Zephaniah tells us that in the last days of history, Gaza will be abandoned. Not only will all of its inhabitants leave and Gaza be abandoned, but then Gaza will be restored to the tribe of Judah as a part of the nation of Israel. That's an end-times prophecy very few people have ever looked at or studied. I've studied it, but I kind of thought that was a prophecy about something that would happen in the Millennial Kingdom, not in our own lifetime.

He then went on to set things up:

I want to say two quick things before walking you through the actual second chapter of Zephaniah. First, I believe that the people of Gaza are under biblical judgment. I don't say that lightly and I don't say that with glee, but for the last eight decades, the people of Gaza have been cursing Israel and the Jewish people day after day after day. They've engaged in multiple wars and all kinds of terrorist attacks against Israel.

Blessings And Curses

Rosenberg rightly mentions that you don’t mess with His chosen children without consequences:

When you violate Genesis 12:3, you're going to be under judgment. God said in Genesis, speaking about Israel and the Jewish people:

"I will bless those who bless you, but those who curse you, I will curse."

Hamas has certainly crossed that line. He then mentions that the people of Gaza who elected Hamas with over 80% of their votes chose to curse Israel:

God has been patient—the God of Israel, the God of the Bible has been patient with the people of Gaza. But the people of Gaza have chosen a horrific destiny, and I believe they are under judgment.

But he also mentions that we as Christians should give these Gazans some compassion and prayer, but governments are not bound by those same commands:

The second point is that we should still have love and compassion for them. They are under judgment, and I believe they deserve this judgment—but so did the people of Nineveh. Remember the story of Jonah? Jonah was sent by God to preach judgment, but when the people of Nineveh heard that judgment was coming and that they were condemned by God, they begged God to forgive them. As they repented, God relented. We need to have the same level of compassion for the people of Gaza, preach the gospel to them, and try to help build the church inside Gaza. How do we do that? That's a different topic for a different day, but we need to pray for the people of Gaza. They're under judgment, but we need to show them love and compassion as believers and as the church. Governments, however, have a different approach.

Trump And Zephaniah 2

Rosenberg then jumps right into the prophetic connection between Trump and Bible prophecy:

The question for me right now is: Is it possible that Donald Trump is, in effect, setting into motion Zephaniah 2? Will Gaza be abandoned? Will the people of Gaza leave and never return? And will Gaza be rebuilt—not handed back over to the Palestinians but instead given to Judah, to Israel? It's possible. I'm not saying that's what’s going to happen—I don’t know what’s going to happen. But let’s take a deeper look. If Gaza is under judgment and facing total destruction, could God's judgment include saying that the people of Gaza have forfeited any right or opportunity to continue living there? Could they be moved out, and Zephaniah 2 come into play?

He then actually breaks down the verses in Zephaniah 2:1-7 starting with verse 1:

"Gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, before the decree takes effect, and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's wrath comes upon you."

Rosenberg highlights three places the word “before” shows up in these verses all in verse 2:

The Hebrew prophet is emphasizing that before the great day of the Lord—before the end times fully come into fruition—something is going to happen.

The prophet offers the Gazans a chance to repent in the next verse as Rosenberg notes:

"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord's anger."

The Lord is saying: Seek Me. Repent. Turn to the Lord.

Gaza Will Be Abandoned

In Zephaniah 2:4 Gaza is mentioned specifically, and yes it is the exact area we know today:

Now, verse 4 is the key:

"Gaza will be abandoned."

America isn’t even mentioned in the Bible, but Gaza is. In this end-times prophecy, it says Gaza will be abandoned.

The next verses give more specifics:

Verse 5:

"Woe to you who live by the sea, the word of the Lord is against you, Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you, and none will be left."

Verse 7:

"That land will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah."

He reminds us that it will Israel that will get the land back:

What land? The land of Gaza. It will belong to the remnant of the people of Judah. And at the end of the passage, it says:

"The Lord their God will care for them and restore their fortunes."

Does that mean the Palestinians of Gaza? No, it means the people of Judah. The land of Gaza will be returned to the Jewish people—the people who practice Judaism, the nation of Israel.

That seems pretty clear that the Gazans are not going to have the land back. No two state solution. These people will not have it back because of how they treated Israel.

Is God Using Trump?

Rosenberg sums things up and starts by noting what many of us probably were thinking up until now and that is these verses aren’t for the situation in Israel right now. But now it could be:

Zephaniah 2 is not a text that most people have studied carefully, but I think we need to look at it in its full context. The prophet tells us that:

The people of Gaza are going to be judged in the last days. Gaza will be abandoned by its residents. Gaza will be handed back over and returned to Judah. If you go back to Joshua or Judges in the Old Testament, it's clear that Gaza is part of the land grant that God gave to Judah. We don’t talk about this much, it doesn’t get preached much, but it’s true.

As I’ve told you before in other teachings, the Great Day of the Lord is the Tribulation. Rosenberg agrees:

And in Zephaniah 2, God is saying that He is giving the land back to Judah before the Great Day of the Lord. Before, before, before—the tribulation.

But enough of the teasing. Is Trump's grand plans for Gaza God’s way of fulfilling these prophetic words given to the prophet Zephaniah? Rosenberg isn’t totally sure, but he as do I can’t ignore the apparent connections:

Does this mean it’s going to happen now, under Donald Trump? I don’t know. I’m not saying it will. But the events of the last few weeks have been stunning. The controversy that President Trump has set into motion is a real one. People are asking: What’s going to happen to Gaza? What Trump is saying—whether he fully means it or not—I don’t know. But what he’s saying is actually consistent with Zephaniah 2. I think this is something important for you to be aware of. I encourage you to study it for yourself.

Amen to that.