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A California pastor has suggested that the Hamas terror attacks in Israel, which killed more than a thousand people, including fourteen Americans, were foretold by Scripture.
Greg Laurie, the head of California megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, made the claims in a sermon he delivered on Sunday.
‘Interesting how it always comes back to Jerusalem. The Bible predicted thousands of years ago that end-time events would revolve around Jerusalem,” he said. “Not San Francisco. Not Los Angeles. Not Moscow. Not Paris.’
“But Jerusalem, this little town, on this little piece of land, will play a key role in the events of the last days. It is the focal point of end-time events,” he added, quoting Zechariah 12:3, declaring, “On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All nations will unite against it to try to set it in motion, but they will only hurt themselves.”
Laurie has ties to former President Donald Trump and attended the Rose Garden ceremony to appoint eventual Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Greg Laurie, the head of California megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, made the claims in a sermon he delivered on Sunday
He then criticized current President Joe Biden for releasing $6 billion in funds for Iran, saying “what a bad move that is.”
Laurie added that this was a “super sign” that the “prophetic clock that is ticking is the reunification of the nation of Israel in their homeland.”
“Who would have thought that these Jewish people, who had lost six million of their population to the Nazis, would somehow gather in their homeland?” he said.
‘But it happened against all odds. And on May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation. I’m proud that the United States was the first country to recognize that.”
He then quoted chapters 37 and 38 of Ezekiel, which Bible scholars believe is about Russia – under the name “Magog” – invading Israel, according to Christian post.
Why would Russia ever want to invade Israel? Well, there is one more thing that the Bible says about Magog, if she is indeed Russia, and that one of her allies who will march with her is Persia,” he said, noting that Persia is an old name for Iran.
“So the Bible foretold hundreds of years ago that this great force from the north of Israel would attack it after it was reassembled, and one of the allies that would attack Israel with Mother Russia or Magog, whoever it is, would be Iran, or Persia.’
He backed off somewhat, saying he’s not saying this scenario will happen, but that it is “very interesting.”
Laurie has ties to former President Donald Trump and attended the Rose Garden ceremony to appoint eventual Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Laurie added that this attack was a “super sign” that “the ticking of the prophetic clock is the regathering of the nation of Israel to their homeland.”
“You’ll see Bible prophecies fulfilled in your lifetime, in real time before your eyes.”
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday with the heaviest airstrikes in its 75-year-old conflict with the Palestinians, turning districts into dust despite a threat from Hamas militants to execute a prisoner for each hit.
Biden addressed the nation after his third phone call in four days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I told him, ‘If the United States were experiencing what you are experiencing, our response would be swift, decisive and overwhelming,” Biden said during his remarks Tuesday afternoon.
He said they discussed how democracies worldwide are “safer when we act in accordance with the rule of law.”
A day earlier, the White House said it expected to meet additional security requests from Israel as soon as possible.
Biden notably skipped explicit mention of Iran during his speech, instead warning hostile actors to “take advantage” of the situation.
People mourn at the grave of Eden Guez, who was killed at a festival attacked by Hamas gunmen killing at least 260 people, during her funeral in Ashkelon, southern Israel.
Rockets fired from Gaza City (R) are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense missile system (L) on October 10, 2023
The president noted that Israel has “the right to respond – and indeed the obligation to respond to these vicious attacks,” and that the US is already assisting the nation, including by supplying Iron Dome interceptors and munitions.
Biden said in his remarks that the US has “strengthened the posture of our military power in the region to strengthen our deterrence.”
“The Department of Defense has moved the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean and strengthened our combat aircraft presence. And we stand ready to deploy additional assets if necessary.”
Biden notably skipped explicit mention of Iran during his speech, instead warning hostile actors to take “advantage” of the situation.
“Let me say it again: which country, which organization is someone thinking of taking advantage of the situation? I have one word: don’t do it.’
The White House has been careful to blame Iran for the attack, which killed more than a thousand Israelis.
Israeli soldiers remove the body of a fellow countryman killed during an attack by Hamas terrorists in Kfar Aza on Tuesday
In the aftermath of a Hamas attack, a baby seat and a child’s dress are found covered in blood
A day earlier, White House national security spokesman John Kirby went so far as to say Iran was “complicit” in Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel.
The United States has no plans to send American forces to the scene, Kirby also told reporters.
Biden also said he plans to ask Congress to quickly approve additional funding for the security of U.S. allies.
“When Congress returns, we will ask them to take urgent action to fund the national security needs of our critical partners,” Biden said.
‘This is not about party or politics. It’s about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America.”
This question may prove more challenging than usual, as the House of Representatives just ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a power vacuum remains. A power struggle within the Republican party could delay the process of confirming a new leader in the House of Representatives for days.
And the House cannot bring any legislation to the floor without a speaker present.
Biden also confirmed that Americans are being held as hostages by Hamas in Gaza.
“We now know that American citizens are among those held by Hamas,” he said, without giving further details.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed to reporters immediately after Biden’s comments that at least 20 Americans are still missing in Israel.
“We know nothing about their condition, and we cannot confirm the exact number of American citizens,” he said.
He noted that this does not mean that they have all been captured by Hamas, but that they are simply not being taken into account.
Israel has called up an unprecedented 300,000 of its own reservists.
Biden and Netanyahu, despite differences over the way forward in the Middle East, have found themselves in a war partnership following Hamas militants’ multiple attack from Gaza on Israel.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the death toll from Hamas’s weekend attacks has surpassed 1,000, dwarfing all modern Islamist attacks on the West since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Biden also addressed the potential of threats within the US and said additional security measures were being taken, especially at places of worship.
‘We are also taking steps at home, in cities in the United States. Police forces have increased security around centers of Jewish life,” he said.
“The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and Jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that may arise in connection with these horrific attacks,” the president continued.
Immediately following the president’s speech, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel “in the coming days” to engage directly with Israeli partners.
“The secretary looks forward to meeting with senior leaders in the Israeli government and continuing the conversations he and the president have had with them since the initial attacks on Saturday,” spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press conference on Tuesday.