Swords of Iron/A Message to the Church
Dear Christian Leader,
We are writing today to give you an update on Israel's war with the terrorist organization, Hamas, which started on October 7, 2023, when terrorists breached Israel's border with Gaza and carried out a massacre of Jewish civilians, the likes of which has not occurred since the Holocaust. We are also writing to issue a call to action, including a beautifully articulated video message to the church in the west. Please read all the way to the end and listen to the video message for such a time as this!
As of this writing, over 1,200 people have been executed - innocent civilians murdered in cold blood, including elderly, women and children - simply because they were Jewish. 76 soldiers have also been killed. The number of IDF casualties will undoubtably increase as forces go into Gaza to root out terrorists and rescue the more than 150 hostages taken captive by Hamas. There are also over 3,000 Israelis who have been wounded, some critically.
In addition to the more than 5,000 rockets launched from Gaza in the first 4 days of this war, mortars are now also falling on the north of Israel, fired from Lebanon and Syria. This is an attempt on the part of Israel's enemies to create an escalation to force the IDF to have to operate on 3 fronts at the same time.
As Israeli forces have liberated the communities that were overrun by the terrorists from Gaza, graphic details have been revealed concerning the extent of the mass atrocities committed against Israeli citizens on Oct. 7th. Survivor testimonies, combined with images the terrorists themselves filmed and live-streamed, present a horrific account of the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history and the largest mass murder of Jewish civilians since the Holocaust.
As CAMERA analyst Sean Durns summarized in the Washington Times on October 10th:
Children were shot in front of their parents. Men and women were murdered in their homes. One elderly disabled woman was set on fire in her house. One granddaughter found out that her grandmother was murdered after a terrorist uploaded pictures to the dead woman’s phone and shared them. At one outdoor festival, 260 civilians were massacred, many gunned down while running or hiding. Women were raped on the corpses of their dead friends. Terrorists proudly broadcast footage of their atrocities, including women being loaded up, their pants bloodied, to be taken back to Gaza as hostages.
Since the summary above was published just one day ago, even more atrocities have been confirmed, including the massacre of 40 toddlers and babies in one community alone.
As disturbing as it is to read these things, it is important for us to know the facts concerning the blatant evil manifested this week. In total disregard for what has happened, there are already voices calling for Israel "to show restraint," to not take the steps it must take to make sure the forces responsible for this savagery are never able to do it again. In the coming days, we will most certainly see an increase in criticism and opposition to Israel as the IDF does what must be done to destroy the capabilities of the wicked and search for hostages in Gaza.
Therefore, this is the time for us as Christians to rise in support of Israel like never before! It is not enough to say, "I support Israel." We must stand up, speak out and confront the twin evils of antisemitism and opposition to Israel wherever and however they manifest.
It is also more critical now than ever that the US stand with Israel and support Israel's efforts to protect its people. We are thankful for tangible steps the US government has taken so far to demonstrate support, but we must make sure it continues!
As Sean Durns said in the same article quoted above:
Israel has just faced the worst terrorist attack in its history, with the largest mass murder of Jewish civilians since the Holocaust. And the United States has a choice to make: will it stand with its ally, Israel, and the civilized world? Or will it continue to appease Iran and its proxies in all their barbarity? The U.S. can no longer pretend to do both.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Contact the White House online or by phone immediately and insist:
1) That the United States continue to support Israel in its efforts to destroy the evil terrorist regime so what happened this week can never happen again.
2) That the US stop all forms of appeasement of Iran, which funds and directs Hamas.
Contact your senators and congressmen as well!
As Christians we MUST take a stand!
We can no longer be silent! We can no longer be complacent!
We must recognize our biblical responsibility to stand with the Jewish people AND we must also understand that the assault on Israel - whether physically as has happened this week, OR through the media, government and academia, OR through the church as a result of bad theology - is not only an attack on the Jewish State, but on all of western civilization as well.
Too much of the church has been, and continues to be, complacent concerning an understanding of the significance of Israel for our Christian faith.
The church needs to wake up, especially in such a time as this!
Please listen to the video below, recorded by Bishop Robert Stearns of Eagles Wings from Jerusalem in the first days following the horrific events of October 7, 2023. As of this writing, he is still in Jerusalem, having just led a tour of 300 pilgrims through the land and hosting Eagles Wings' annual Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.