Is the Gaza War mentioned in the Bible? Joel Rosenberg discusses Israel’s war against Hamas and its connection to the 'End Times'

In an episode of “Inside the Epicenter” – the weekly educational podcast produced by The Joshua Fund – host Joel C. Rosenberg tackled the question, “Is the current Gaza War against Hamas connected in any way to End Times Bible prophecy?”

[The episode was originally recorded shortly before the start of the ground campaign in late October.] 

Rosenberg addressed several questions: Is the war in Gaza part of end times prophecies? What does the Bible say about Gaza's history and its future? How should Christians pray right now, and where can they give to make a difference? And why haven't Israeli leaders called for a national day of prayer when they absolutely should? 

Rosenberg connected these questions and answers to the Bible.

“The same hatred for God – the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, the God of the Jews, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – that same hatred that was true in ancient times, it's still there today.” 

He noted several significant points regarding the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.

“More Jews have died [in one day] than at any other time in the modern history of the world since the Holocaust.”  

However, it was also the ferocity and hatred of the attacks which was startling. 

“Mothers and fathers have been murdered in front of their children; children have been murdered in front of their parents,” he said. “Hamas has murdered babies, even decapitated some of them. They raped women and children. They gunned down hundreds of young people at a music festival. They burned Jews alive in their homes and in their cars,” Rosenberg pointed out. “It's all so evil, so satanic. The images are so terrible, it's almost more than we can bear.” 

Rosenberg spoke about the IDF's call to Palestinians living in northern Gaza, down to Gaza City, to evacuate and find shelter in the south. He compared it to Hamas leadership, who urged Palestinians to remain where they were. Rosenberg said Hamas leaders “want CNN, MSNBC, the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and the rest of the international media to broadcast images of dead Palestinians around the world. They want these media to splash these photos on the front pages of their papers.” 

It was not just Hamas that declared war on Israel, said Rosenberg, but mainstream media also declared war on Israel, accusing it of committing war crimes even before the first Israeli troops entered Gaza. 

Rosenberg said, “This is exactly why we launched the Rosenberg Report last year, and why we launched All Israel News and all Arab News a little more than three years ago - to give Christians who love Israel and are following what's happening in this region fair, honest, and credible reporting that they can trust.” 

In a prophetic warning, he stated: “The media's war against Israel is about to get much, much worse.” 

Turning to the question of the war in Gaza and its connection to the Bible, Rosenberg noted that Gaza is mentioned 20 times throughout the entire Bible. Most references to Gaza “are about how wicked its people and leaders are, how much they hate Israel and the Jewish people, and how God repeatedly has to send his prophets to warn of Gaza's impending judgment.”

In the period of Joshua and the Judges, Gaza was temporarily conquered by the Israelites. However, that situation didn’t last. The Philistines regained control, according to the Bible, and became enemies of Israel. 

Later, one of the Egyptian pharaohs conquered Gaza, taking it away from Judah and Israel, and “beginning a very long and complicated relationship between Egypt and Gaza.” 

Rosenberg believes the relationship “remains complicated” even today. 

He continued by mentioning several places in the prophetic books – both before and after the fall of Judah to the Babylonians – in which the prophets foretell a coming judgment for Gaza, including in Zechariah, chapter 2 and chapter 9, which speak of destruction and the death of the leadership of Gaza. 

However, Rosenberg also noted that the final mention of Gaza in the scriptures can be found in the Book of Acts, when Philip the evangelist travels to Gaza to share the Gospel. 

“I love that story because it reveals an important truth,” Rosenberg shared. “Yes, many of the leaders and people of Gaza, unfortunately, are wicked. They hate Israel and the Jews. Not everybody in Gaza, but some. And if they don't repent and turn to Christ, the Bible is clear they will face judgment. But God loves the people of Gaza. Christ commands us to love Israel and her neighbors.” 

“Jesus sends his servants to bring the Gospel everywhere in this world: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth, even to Gaza,” he said. “Maybe many Palestinians in Gaza will reject the gospel, but some won't. Some will receive Christ as their Savior and Lord. And actually, that's already happening.” 

Rosenberg discussed the results of The Joshua Fund’s work in Gaza and neighboring countries.

“I know that God can do anything and I’m telling you it's our job to pray without ceasing, not just for the rescue salvation healing and blessing of Israel, absolutely, but also for God to do miracles in the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, including the leaders and foot soldiers of Hamas. For as the scriptures teach us, nothing is impossible with God.” 

Toward the end of the podcast, Rosenberg turned to what he considers a key passage for understanding the current Gaza War: Psalm 83. He noted how the verses accurately describe today’s events and said it looks like “today’s headlines are literally ripped right out of the verses in Psalm 83.” 

However, despite the hatred towards Israel described in the passages, Rosenberg notes that the psalmist doesn’t call for the destruction of the nations that are trying to destroy Israel. 

“The writer, filled with the Spirit, is praying for the Lord to bring judgment on these folks,” he said, but “he doesn’t want them wiped out, he doesn't want them judged, he does want them stopped… He does want justice done.” 

The psalmist also wants them to know the name of God, to understand that the God of Israel is “the God of the ends of the earth.” 

Rosenberg calls on believers to pray for Israel and Israeli leaders but to also pray for the enemies of Israel, especially Palestinians “who live under the reign of terror of Hamas.”