Opinion
By Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr.
10/12/24
The nation of Israel is now fighting for its very survival. They were savagely attacked on October 7th last year by the Hamas terrorists from Gaza; 1200 Israelis were slaughtered, and many taken as hostage, the worst attack since the Holocaust. Now, they have also been attacked by Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon, another proxy for Iran. Missiles are also being fired at them from the Houthis in Yemen. And Iran itself has now fired 180 missiles at Israel as well in a brazen attack. Biden and Harris and the Democrats keep calling for a “cease fire” and “peace” without further “escalation.” But President Netanyahu of Israel has stated that we cannot have a cease fire and peace unless all of the terrorists are destroyed. What is God’s perspective on this battle?
First, God has given the land of Israel to the Jewish people forever. Genesis 15:18. God said to Abraham: “To your descendants, I give this land, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates.” In Exodus 23:31, God also describes the borders of Israel as “from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River.” This means that the borders of Israel will someday be greatly increased, because that is God’s plan. Moreover, Jews from all over the world will be returning home via “Aliyah”(the right of Jews to return to the Holy Land), so Israel will need more land.
Second, Iran and the terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon have vowed to kill all the Jews and wipe Israel off the map. That threat is embedded in their charters and public statements of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PLO. For example, they have said “We will not recognize Israel; Palestine must stretch from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea.” They also teach their children to hate the Jews and to kill them. Israel cannot live next door in peace with such people. Rather, they are terrorists who must be destroyed. Many times in Scripture, God totally destroyed the enemies of Israel, and I believe He will do so again. Some examples include the destruction of the Canaanites by Joshua, and the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 10:15-19; Deuteronomy 20:16-17; Joshua 11:23; 1 Samuel 15:2-3. God told the Israelite to totally destroy seven pagan Canaanite nations when entering the promised land. These nations were guilty of great and prolonged wickedness, which incurred the wrath of God. He told them to kill every person (men, women and children) and all their animals as well, and He was very angry when that was not done. See: Deuteronomy 7:1-2 and 26; Deuteronomy 18:1-12; Zechariah 9; Genesis 15:13-21; Leviticus 18:24-28. God also told Israel and King Saul to totally exterminate the Amalekites. 1 Samuel 15:203. God is a god of holiness, judgment and wrath as well as a god of love, and he is very zealous in defense of His Chosen People. The ultimate enemy of Israel, Iran may soon have a nuclear bomb, a great threat not only to Israel but America. For this reason, Israel must now destroy their nuclear facilities in response to their recent missile attack. Biden is weak and opposes this, but President Trump favors this bold action.
Third, Biden, Harris and the Democrats keep calling for a “two state solution” with a state for the “Palestinian people.” This is not possible, because, as stated above, the so-called “Palestinians” will never live at peace with Israel. Actually, as Golda Meir once said, there is no such thing as the “Palestinian people” or nation. Palestine is a pagan name given for Israel by the Romans. There is no Palestinian nation, people, history or language. They are just Arabs living in Biblical Israel. By contrast, the Jews have lived in Israel for 3000 years, since the time of Abraham.
Fourth, America must stand strong with Israel, and never flinch from that support. The Bible says God will bless those nations that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel. Genesis 12:3. President Trump stood strong for Israel and was the best President in American history for Israel and the Jewish people. He moved our Embassy to Jerusalem (the Biblical capital of Israel),(which many Presidents had promised but never done), he recognized the Golan Heights, and he brought peace to the Middle East with the Abraham Accords. No other President can claim such a great record, and this is one reason we had “peace and prosperity” under President Trump.
Finally, the only real solution here is a “One state solution” and that one state is Israel! The Biblical borders of Israel are set forth by God in Genesis 15:18-21, Genesis 17:8 and Exodus 23:31. Those borders are from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Sinai Desert to the Euphrates River. From the river Jordan in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. This means that Israel will someday control Gaza and the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), the Sinai, part of Syria and probably all of Lebanon and well. During the Millennial Thousand year rule of Christ on the Earth, the Bible says that God will re-establish those expanded borders, regardless of what the politicians may say or want. Based on this Biblical promise, I believe that Israel should re-take Gaza and the Sinai, and the so-called “West Bank” (the Biblical Judea and Samaria) immediately and move the “Palestinians” out of their land. See also: Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47.
American Christians should pray daily for Israel, the Holy Land of God, and the land of the Lord Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamachia, the Messiah and Holy One of Israel. We should pray for Divine protection for the Holy Land, for the peace of Jerusalem, for total victory of Israel over her enemies, and for the recreation of the Biblical borders of Israel. We should pray that, (as it says in Scripture) God will make Jerusalem a praise in all the earth, and that because of Israel, all the nations of the world will be blessed. Isaiah 62:7. We should also pray that the Holy Spirit would open the eyes of the Jewish people to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and that “all of Israel will be saved”. Romans 11:26. God promises in Genesis 12:31 that if we pray for Israel and bless Israel, that we will also be greatly blessed. This is a great promise in Scripture that applies to us personally, and to our nation as well!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR- JUDGE JOHN MARSHALL MEISBURG, JR.
Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr., was a U.S. Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration for 26 years in Jacksonville, Florida. He retired as a judge in 2021 and is now practicing law in Fernandina Beach. He has been married for 44 years to Dr. Denise Meisburg, a Christian counselor. They have six children and 11 grandchildren. Prior to being a judge, he was a lawyer with the Federal government for 23 years, serving in all three branches of the government, with the U.S. District Court, EEOC, Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S. House of Representatives, Office of Special Counsel and FDIC. He was in the private law practice one year in Washington, D.C. and filed the lawsuit that became the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case on sexual harassment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He is a member of the Bar of Florida and Kentucky. He is a lifelong Christian, being raised in the Baptist faith in Louisville, Kentucky. He was an Elder at New Life Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville where he taught Sunday School, the Jewish Roots of the Faith and the Christian Heritage of America. He was a leader of both the National Day of Prayer and the House of Prayer in Jacksonville for over ten years. He has published 12 books relating to Christian and legal issues. He is now a member of Living Waters World Outreach Center in Fernandina Beach, where he serves in the prayer and home group ministry, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Faith Christian Academy. He is now an Honored Listee in the Marquis Who’s Who in America.
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida
