As I write on this Tuesday, television commentators are claiming that Israel is nearing a state of "total war" with Lebanon. According to today's New York Times, Israeli Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinski has told Israeli radio that his army will be fighting in Lebanon for "a few weeks" until they achieve "very clear goals." More than 200 Lebanese have died, most of them civilians; 24 Israelis have died. The White House is announcing today that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will be traveling to the region soon. Nothing in recent months has captured our attention and fanned the flames of our fears like this.

Since so many are following this story and wondering about the biblical questions it raises, it seemed appropriate to me to write a second essay for today. We'll look briefly at the issues which have caused the present conflict, then explore ways to understand them in light of God's word.

"Hezbollah" (also spelled "Hizbollah" or "Hizbullah") is Arabic for "Party of God." This organization was created in 1982 in response to the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the country just to the north of Israel. Hezbollah has consistently called for the destruction of the nation of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state. America and Israel claim that Hezbollah receives financial and military assistance from Iran and Syria. Syria denies supplying weapons, but says that it supports the movement. Israel claims that Iran helped Hezbollah in recent attacks against Israeli ships and positions. Iran denies the charge.

The organization is made up of Shiite Muslims, and follows the ideology of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the cleric who led the Iranian revolution. It is a recognized political party in Lebanon, where it holds four seats in the government. While many Muslim nations consider it a legitimate resistance movement, it is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and Britain. The European Union stops short of this designation, but supports measures intended to end the movement's "terrorist activities."

The civilian branch of the movement operates educational facilities, hospitals, and news organizations. It has led in numerous economic and building developments in Lebanon. Its military wing is far stronger than the Lebanese national army, and has nearly complete control of the southern part of the country.

The major political division in Lebanon today regards the need for Hezbollah. Since the Israel pullout of Lebanon, many in the country feel that only the national army should be permitted to bear arms, and that at least the military wing of Hezbollah should be disbanded, if not the entire organization. Supporters claim that Hezbollah's army is still needed as a deterrent against predicted Israeli aggression in the future.

"Hamas" is an acronym for the Arabic phrase "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya," which means "Islamic Resistance Movement." The word also means "zeal."

Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political organization reaching across the Arab world with origins in Egypt. In the 1960s, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin worked to expand the Brotherhood in the Gaza Strip (southwest of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea) and in the West Bank (the area west of the Jordan River where a high concentration of Palestinians live). Hamas was formed by Yassin in December of 1987, in response to the Palestinian "intifada" ("uprising") against Israeli control of the area.

The organization is pledged to the destruction of Israel and the replacement of the Palestinian Authority (the current government in Gaza and the West Bank) with an Islamist state. It wants to raise "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." It has been most infamous in recent years for a string of suicide attacks staged against Israel. In fact, its leaders have called suicide bombings the "F-16" of their resistance. Such attacks have killed more than 500 people since 1993. The organization recruits deeply religious young men with the promise that their deaths will be painless and that dozens of virgins await them in paradise. Hamas then gives the families of the suicide bombers between $3,000 and $5,000 and assures them that their sons died as martyrs.

Hamas also operates an extensive social service network. The organization funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues, few of which the Palestinian Authority can provide. Its resulting popularity with the Palestinian people led to its victory in the general elections last January. Because it refuses to recognize the state of Israel, the Hamas-led Palestinian government has faced crippling economic sanctions.

Israel is now waging a battle on two fronts, with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon. On June 25, Hamas militants dug a tunnel under a Gaza fence, killed two Israel soldiers, and kidnapped Corporal Gilad Shalit. He is believed to be held hostage in the Gaza Strip today. Then last Wednesday, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israel soldiers in a daring raid into northern Israel, provoking the Israeli military response which has led headlines ever since.

Why did Hamas and Hezbollah mount their attacks? Some speculate that Syria and especially Iran are behind the actions, seeking to justify further military build-up and divert attention from the Iranian nuclear weapons issue. Both organizations want Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, and may hope to use their current hostages toward that end. And both need to shore up support within their own countries at a time when many are wondering if these military organizations have outlived their usefulness.

For its part, Israel appears to see the recent Hezbollah actions as warrant for dealing with this long-term threat to its northern security. Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz is quoted as saying, "The goal is for this to end with Hezbollah so badly beaten that not a man in it does not regret having launched this incident." Israel has vowed to disarm the militant organization, and says it will not end its present military engagement short of that goal.

It is possible that mounting pressure from moderate Arab nations may cause Hamas or Hezbollah to return its Israeli hostages and end this engagement. But it is also possible that Syria or Iran may increase their involvement in the conflict, leading to a full-scale war in the region. Western leaders are debating ways to help resolve the escalating battles, but as of this writing no decisions have been finalized.

There are two basic answers to that question. One "eschatology" (theology dealing with the "end times") believes that the creation of Israel in 1948 is a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and that the nation plays a key role in God's plans for the end of history. This is a very common belief here in Texas and in other areas influenced by this theological approach. In this view, the "end times" will center in a global war waged over Israel.

Back in the Cold War era, many in this perspective predicted that Russia and America would come to nuclear war over Israel. Today many predict that the Arab nations will unite in a conflict designed to destroy Israel and return the region to Palestinian control, and that Western nations will fight on Israel's side. The result would be a global war which would bring history to its end.

Seen from this perspective, current events in Israel could be the beginning of the end of history, if the conflict escalates into a full world war. If the Muslim world were to unite in support of Hamas and Hezbollah, and the Western world were to united in support of Israel, such a war could result. It is not surprising that some are already speaking of the present conflict in this light.

The other answer to the question is that Israel is fulfilled in the Church, and that the nation reconstituted in 1948 is important but not necessarily part of the "end times." Those who adopt this perspective look to passages such as Galatians 3:26-29: "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

All who follow Christ are "Abraham's seed," not just those who are descended from him by race. Many who adopt this view see Israel as significant and valuable, the most significant democracy in the Middle East and a needed homeland for the Jewish people. But they do not tie end times predictions to events related to the nation. While this would be my perspective, I understand that many take the first approach.

Whether or not we see current events as fulfillment of biblical prophecy, it is important to remember that no one will know the precise time of the Lord's return until it happens: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). God put us on the preparation committee, not the planning committee.

The violence in the Middle East proves again that the future is unpredictable. Tragedy can find us anywhere, whether a tourist in Beirut or an office worker in New York City. We have only today to be ready for eternity whenever it comes.

And so the most urgent question today does not concern the end of history but the end of this day. Are you ready for the next world? Have you asked Jesus Christ to forgive your mistakes and become your Savior? Have you turned your life over to him as your Lord? Are you living by his word, in his will? Being ready for heaven is the most joyful and fulfilling way to live on earth.

We cannot influence events in Israel, but we can choose our own eternity. That decision determines our destiny. This is the promise, and the warning, of God.

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