WATCH VIDEO: Will Hamas ‘let my people go’ or will God harden their hearts like Pharaoh and bring catastrophic judgment on the terror group?
Hamas faces IDF and Trump ultimatum
DENVER, COLORADO — As much as Lynn and I wish we could have been home in Israel to mark the second anniversary of the October 7th invasion with our nation, and to pray at the Western Wall for every Israeli and Palestinian to find hope and healing after two hellish years, we needed to be in Denver this week.
Why?
Because my beloved mother — Mary Jo Rosenberg — went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, October 2, in a skilled nursing facility just outside of Denver.
Lynn and I were in Hawaii, wrapping up a trip to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, when we got the news.
Rather than flying back to Tel Aviv on Friday, the 3rd, we immediately rerouted to Colorado to be with my father and two sisters and to help organize the memorial service.
My mother loved Jesus with all her heart — she was born again in 1973 in the early years of the Jesus Revolution — so we know she is in heaven right now, worshipping her risen Savior and Lord.
Yes, we miss her dearly, but we are rejoicing that she now knows personally and literally the astonishing and glorious truth of Revelation 21:4, that the Lord Jesus “will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Amen.
Isn’t that such good news?
Sadly, very few Israelis — or Palestinians — have yet discovered the hope, healing, and peace that my mom found.
[NOTE: To read an article about the life and faith and ministry of Joel’s Mom — and about her deep love for Israel and Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors — please click here.]
Because of the promises she read in the Bible, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that all of her sins had been forgiven, that her soul had been made utterly new, and that she would spend all of eternity in heaven because she had been adopted into God’s royal family by placing her full and confident trust in the death, resurrection, and promises of the Messiah.
Two years into this ghastly war, my prayer is that every man, woman, and child in the Epicenter of the world will discover and embrace these beautiful truths.
I want them all to read the Bible — especially 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land.”
Unfortunately, too few Israelis and Palestinians are seeking the Lord and embracing these promises.
Most, instead, are wracked with grief.
They’re exhausted.
They desperately want this war to be over.
And they’re wondering — as am I — if President Donald J. Trump’s 20-point peace plan can really succeed.
In this video, I analyze the current mood in Israel.
I explain why I’m impressed with the Trump plan.
Why I believe it helps Israel achieve all of our war aims while also showing compassion to the Palestinian people of Gaza.
And why I’m intrigued that so many Arab and Muslim countries have embraced and endorsed the plan, alongside Israel.
That said, I also explain that it’s far from clear yet whether Hamas will truly accept this plan and comply with it.
I pray they will.
I want God to force Hamas to “let my people go!”
I want God to force Hamas to lay down their weapons, surrender, and go into exile.
And I’m urging Christians all over the world to pray urgently and without ceasing toward these ends.
But let me be clear: God in His sovereignty may have other plans.
It’s possible that the God of Israel will harden the hearts of Hamas leaders and fighters — just as He hardened the heart of Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible — so that they will refuse to release their Jewish captives and will instead face divine judgment and utter catastrophe.
What exactly will happen next?
How might God’s sovereign purposes play out in the coming hours and days?
How else should we be praying at this critical time?
Watch the video, share it with others, and discuss it with family and friends.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
