Pastor Jack Hibbs on Israel: What's Next According to Matthew 23–24 and Ancient Prophecy

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Pastor Jack Hibbs on Israel: What's Next According to Matthew 23–24 and Ancient Prophecy

Pastor Jack Hibbs delivers a comprehensive Bible study examining Israel's past, present, and prophetic future through the lens of Scripture. Drawing from Matthew 23–24, Genesis, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and other Hebrew prophets, he addresses Israel's origins, the conflict with surrounding nations, the spiritual significance of Jerusalem, and what believers can expect as events unfold. Hibbs emphasizes that current conflicts represent not merely regional disputes but the fulfillment of ancient biblical warnings about the last days, urging viewers to understand God's unchanging promises to Israel and the implications for faith today.

October 20, 2023

Introduction: Israel in Crisis and the Call to Biblical Understanding

Pastor Jack Hibbs opens by addressing the gravity of the moment. Israel is fighting its greatest war since the Holocaust, with more Israelis murdered than at any other time since that dark chapter. He urges the audience to take extensive notes, stay attentive, and pray as the message unfolds. This is not just another Middle East skirmish; it is different, and the stage is set for the fulfillment of end-times prophecy. Since May 14, 1948, when Israel was reborn as a nation, the world has entered the most accurate age for understanding biblical prophecy. The fuse, Hibbs suggests, may already be lit.

He clarifies upfront: the current situation is not fundamentally about Gaza or the Palestinians. Gaza and the Palestinians are being used as a pretext for the advancement of Islam — a geopolitical and theocratic worldview that aims for a global caliphate. This is a deadly serious agenda rooted in the teachings of the Quran and Islamic Hadith, and it will not simply disappear. Western ignorance and distraction have left many unaware of these realities, but the hour has come to face the truth head-on.

Nations Involved and the Prophetic Landscape

Hibbs lists the nations now directly or indirectly involved in the conflict: Iran (a key player), China, Russia, Turkey (referred to in the Old Testament as Togarmah), Syria, Lebanon, and even North Korea. Saudi Arabia, once part of the Abraham Accords, has sided with China in condemning Israel — though the Book of Ezekiel prophesies that Saudi Arabia will eventually become an ally to Israel. The United States, England, France, and Taiwan are also caught in this web, either supporting or falling victim to the nations aligned against Israel.

He reminds the audience that the Bible is the only eschatological book in the world with a proven track record. Unlike the Quran, the Book of Mormon, Jehovah's Witness teachings, or other religious texts, the Bible's prophecies have been fulfilled with precision. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is Jewish, and the scriptures — both Old and New Testament — are inextricably linked to Israel's past, present, and future.

What Do We Know for Sure?

Hibbs anchors his message in Scripture, beginning with Matthew 23:37–24:14, where Jesus laments over Jerusalem and warns of coming tribulation. He then traces Israel's divine origin through Genesis 32:28, where God renames Jacob "Israel." This is the first time the name appears in the Bible, and it is God's invention. Deuteronomy 4:29 promises that if Israel seeks the Lord with all their heart and soul, He will not forsake them nor forget the covenant made with their fathers.

Isaiah 42:9 declares that God knows the future in advance and announces new things before they come to pass. Isaiah 66:8 prophesies the rebirth of Israel in a single day — fulfilled on May 14, 1948, when Israel became a nation again. Zechariah 12:2–3 warns that Jerusalem will become "a cup of trembling" and "a burdensome stone" to all nations, even though the city has no rivers, no oil, no airport, and grows rocks when it rains. Yet Jerusalem is the epicenter of the world, and the conflict is ultimately about this city, not Gaza or the Palestinian people.

Joel 3:1–2 prophesies that God will gather all nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and enter into judgment with them on account of His people, Israel. The god of the Bible says, "I have a people," and He has chosen them. Isaiah 27:6 foretells Israel's return and flourishing: "Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the earth with fruit." Today, Israel is a paradise, exporting fruit to Europe and beyond — a stark contrast to Mark Twain's 19th-century description of it as a worthless, treeless landscape.

What Is the Origin of the Land of Israel?

Hibbs addresses the common claim that Palestinians were in the land first. He explains that the flesh — sin and paganism — always comes first, but God does His work second. Genesis 12:1 records God calling Abram, a pagan-worshiping Gentile from Ur of the Chaldees, out of his country to a land God would show him. Abram became Abraham, and God declared him righteous before Moses gave the Ten Commandments and before Abraham was circumcised. God called Abraham righteous based on his faith in God's promises.

Genesis 12:7 records God's promise to Abraham's descendants: "To your descendants I will give this land." The Canaanites were in the land at the time, worshiping pagan deities like Ishtar, Zeus, Molech, and Reman. Artifacts from these ancient civilizations are displayed in museums like the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University. Christian faith is founded on facts, not blind belief. Every claim in the Bible can be investigated and verified.

What Is the Origin of the Jewish People?

Genesis 12:2–3 records God's promise to Abraham: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." This is a Messianic promise. The word "Jew" comes from Judah and means "one who praises God." Paul writes in Romans 2:28–29 that a true Jew is not one who is circumcised outwardly, but one who is circumcised of the heart by the Lord's hands.

Hibbs emphasizes that you can be an Israeli atheist, but that does not make you a Jew. You can be of Hebrew DNA and not be a Jew. To be a Jew is to worship Yahweh, to praise the one true God. God has promised to graft Gentiles into His great salvation (Isaiah), and this is a remarkable gift.

What Is the Issue Between the Jews and the Palestinians?

The Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the land of Israel "Palestina" in 135 AD to remind Israel of its ancient enemies, the Philistines. The word "Palestine" comes from "Philistia," meaning "invaders from the sea." To call Israel the "occupying force" is to deny the Bible, to deny history, and to reject God's promises. The etymology of "Palestine" itself testifies to invasion, not rightful ownership.

Hibbs addresses the question of proportionality in war. He plays a clip where a commentator explains that proportionality in conflict is a strange British concept applied almost exclusively to Israel. When someone invades your home to harm your family, you do not dialogue or turn the other cheek in passivity — you protect them. The Bible's command to "turn the other cheek" applies to insults, not to violent attacks on innocent lives. God sanctions war because He knows that until the Prince of Peace returns, wars will continue.

A powerful testimony from Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a Hamas founder and author of "Son of Hamas," reveals that Hamas does not care about Palestinian lives, Israeli lives, or even their own lives. They consider dying for their ideology an act of worship. Hamas targets civilians as a tool of war and teaches children as young as five that shedding innocent blood is necessary to build an Islamic state. Yousef's own journey led him to reject Hamas, convert to Christianity, and warn the world about the true nature of the movement.

Why Is the Existence of Israel and the Jew Such a Big Deal?

Hibbs explains that if Israel ceases to exist, then God's Word has failed, and He is not the God He claims to be. But God's promises are not contingent on human belief — He is true whether we believe in Him or not. Habakkuk 2:4 declares, "The just shall live by faith." Genesis 15:6 says of Abraham, "He believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." Psalm 14:7 and 53:6 proclaim, "Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!"

Genesis 22:18 promises, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Psalm 22:27 says, "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord." Isaiah 49:6 declares that Israel will be "a light to the Gentiles," bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. This will be fulfilled during the seven-year tribulation period when 144,000 Jewish men — 12,000 from each tribe, all virgins, speaking Hebrew — will preach the gospel around the world (Revelation).

Daniel 7:14 prophesies that the Messiah will be given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages will serve Him. His dominion is everlasting, and His kingdom will never be destroyed. Isaiah 60 foretells that the glory of the Lord will arise over Israel, and Gentiles will come to her light. Amos 9:14–15 promises that God will plant Israel in their land, and they will never again be uprooted.

Where Is God in All These Things?

Psalm 2:1–4 asks, "Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?" The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed (Messiah). Yet "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision." God has set His King on His holy hill of Zion. The United Nations has condemned Israel with over 700 official documents — four times more than the next closest nation (Syria at 37). China has zero. This is not coincidence; it is the fulfillment of prophecy.

Hosea 5:14–15 records God saying, "I will be like a lion to Israel… I will tear them to pieces… Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and turn to Me; for as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for Me." The Holocaust is foreshadowed in Deuteronomy 28. It did not have to happen, but God says, "If you don't want Me, I'll leave you alone." He is waiting for Israel to invite Him back.

What's Next for Israel?

Hibbs turns to Isaiah 17:1 and Jeremiah 49:26–27, which prophesy the destruction of Damascus. Isaiah declares, "Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap." Jeremiah adds, "I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces." The word "ruinous heap" means uninhabitable. Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, never abandoned since its creation. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled — but it will be.

This week, Israel bombed the runways of Damascus and Aleppo airports to stop Russia from flying in military arms to supply Hezbollah. The stage is being set. Hibbs is not wishing for the demise of anyone, but he is confident that Bible prophecy will happen.

What's Next for You?

Hibbs concludes by asking the most personal question: What's next for you? He walks through a series of messianic prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures. Psalm 22:16 speaks of hands and feet being pierced — a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Isaiah 7:14 foretells a virgin conceiving and bearing a son called Immanuel ("God with us"). Isaiah 9:6 declares, "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given… His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Deuteronomy 18:15 records Moses saying, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst… Him you shall hear." Jeremiah 31:31–37 promises a New Covenant with the house of Israel and Judah, written on hearts, not stone tablets. Zechariah 9:9 prophesies the Messiah entering Jerusalem "lowly and riding on a donkey" — fulfilled on Palm Sunday. Micah 5:2 specifies that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah, "whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

Hibbs ends with Proverbs 30:4, which he calls "the Everlasting Jew-stopper": "Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know?" God's name is Yahweh. His Son's name is Yeshua (Jesus). The god of the Bible has a name, and His Son has a name. The pierced hands and feet, the virgin birth, the Prince of Peace — all point to the Messiah who has already come and will come again.

The only hope for eternal life is in Him. The price of sin has been paid by the Lamb of God. The ancient promise of eternal life is for those who live by faith. The just shall live by faith. Hibbs closes by urging everyone — Muslim, Jewish, or Christian — to say yes to the gospel now.

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