Does Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon fulfill Bible prophecy?

Hi,

thanks. I'll include the link to the Q&A on the Gaza war for others as it provides a foundation for what is currently happening with Israel and the Middle East, and also what will occur.  

https://jesusplusnothing.com/series/post/does-war-gaza-fulfill-bible-prophecy

In the Gaza Q&A I spoke about how there has to come a time when Israel will live securely BEFORE the Gog / Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39 occurs. I didn't know at the time if the Gaza war would expand to include Hezbollah in Lebanon and potentially other countries/militant groups who have what the Bible calls an everlasting enmity against Israel (Ezek 35:5 NASB). But it was clear that the threat from the 'inner circle' of hostile nations surrounding Israel would need to be taken care of at some stage. In the last few days (as at 29th Sep 24) we've seen the almost unbelievable elimination (in amazingly quick time) of Hezbollah's leadership and their ability to fire their 100,000+ rockets. Their entire leadership, including their leader Hasan Nasrallah (who has led Hezbollah since 1992) have been killed. Some of the tactics employed by Israel, like booby trapping Hezbollah's pagers, is the thing of movies. Now Hezbollah will no doubt try to regroup and fire as many rockets as they can at Israel, but I can't see it making any difference in the long term. Israel has already, in the matter of a couple of weeks and without the use of a ground invasion, severely restricted their capabilities. That is not to say the war is finished and all objectives have been met. Hezbollah has spent a couple of decades training their forces and building an underground tunnel network system, hundreds of Km's in length, that exceeds that of Gaza's tunnel system. Their command centers, launchers and precision guided missiles are underground. This will all need to be taken care of to ensure Israel's ongoing safety.  

A closer look at the safety and security Israel must come into

Let's look at the peace and security that has to exist before the coming end time Gog and Magog war once again. The key verses are:

Eze 38:8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

Eze 38:11 You will say, 'I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'--

Eze 38:14 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, 'Thus says the Lord God: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?

So three times God says that His people Israel will be dwelling 'safely' in this coming day leading up to the Gog/Magog war. To reiterate this, He also adds they will be 'a peaceful people', 'dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'. Obviously this doesn't sound like conditions right now with war raging and hostile enemies, but it will come about. So let's look at this word translated 'safely'. It is:

'Betah': A masculine noun or adjective meaning security. As a noun, it primarily means security or calm assurance (Gen_34:25; Isa_32:17). As an adjective, it means assurance or confidence. It is primarily a positive term: to dwell in safety because of God's protection (Lev_25:18).' (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). 

Again, Israel must come into this place of safety / security, where they can feel at ease. So the question is how? 

Where else does Ezekiel use this word 'betah' (safety)

When we look at all the uses of this word, especially in relation to Israel living securely/safely, we find that Ezekiel's first use of this word is very interesting. 

Eze 28:25-26 'Thus says the Lord God: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. (26) And they will dwell safely (betah) there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God." ' "

So their dwelling 'safely' and 'securely' comes:

• After God regathers Israel from the nations in which they were scattered
• When God executes judgments upon the nations all around Israel that despise them
• And at that time many in Israel will see God's hand in their victory and will know that He is God once again.

Now this will be ultimately fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus when He fights for Israel against all the nations that come against her. But I believe it also has an earlier fulfillment in preparation for the last days invasion of Gog/Magog. We have seen that they must be dwelling in safety and security at the time of the God/Magog invasion. So God will give Israel victory over the surrounding nations that hate her, and the context of this passage makes it all the more relevant for today. 

Is the current war against Hezbollah in Lebanon prophetic?

Straight before the prophecy above, where God says He will bring safety/security to Israel by executing judgment upon those around them that despise them, is this prophecy (and a shout out to Bible prophecy teacher Bill Salus for pointing out this prophecy):

Eze 28:20-24 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, (21) "Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, (22) and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst; And they shall know that I am the Lord, When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her. (23) For I will send pestilence upon her, And blood in her streets; The wounded shall be judged in her midst By the sword against her on every side; Then they shall know that I am the Lord. (24) "And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God."

This is a prophecy against Sidon (and follows one against the king of Tyre). So where is Sidon and Tyre? North of Israel in the south west of Lebanon. Again, this is very interesting given the current war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Israel's determination to clear a buffer zone in the south of Lebanon so that their 70,000-80,000 displaced residents of the north can return to their homes and dwell peacefully without rocket fire! This prophecy says:

• God will make His name known by the judgments that are against Sidon (south west Lebanon).
• They will no longer be a 'pricking brier' or 'painful thorn' to Israel. That is a good description of Hezbollah and Hamas over the last few decades. But both are now being dealt with and won't be that pricking brier in the days to come. 

Concluding thoughts...

So... these are VERY interesting days to be alive! There is still a lot of water to go under this bridge and a lot of setting up for the final days to come. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen are all proxies of Iran. But Israel is defeating them all. This war will likely spread into Syria (Damascus - Isaiah 17?) with Iran's influence and proxies there as well. What we are seeing is God enabling Israel to be victorious over her close enemies which I believe will eventually lead to a time when Israel shall become much more powerful, potentially have more land, and will dwell safely and securely... for a time at least. 

All until an evil thought (Ezek 38:10) comes into the minds of her enemies further afield when a coalition of Russian, Iran, Turkey and others shall make their move against Israel. And if you know Ezekiel 38 and 39 you know how that ends!

So in short, yes, this war is prophetic. God is moving and granting victory to Israel. But it is all for the purpose of the bigger picture still to come. And thankfully, amongst all the warfare, God is also moving powerfully in salvation... in Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, Israel and other countries. Praise God for that. These are incredible days!

Blessings.