[Darris McNeely] The latest war in the Middle East between the State of Israel and Hamas, the terrorist group that has its base in the region of Gaza, they're on the Mediterranean Coast, all of that has been meant to polarize world opinion, largely against the Jews is what has happened. But through it all, there is still some fundamental misunderstanding about what is happening, why, and why it matters.

And the series on BT Daily's, I've been taking you through three points that have sought to bring us deeper into the real issues here, the Biblical meaning and Biblical worldview behind all of this. We talk first about the fact that this story is a part of the larger biblical story going back to the time of Abraham, and the promises made there, and the two peoples, Palestinians, Israelis, who are descended from Abraham. And then I showed you that there are key biblical prophecies that are involved as well that that do require the presence of a Jewish state in the land for those prophecies to come to pass, that's critically important.

And thirdly, we talked about the enduring promises that are part of the story as well, the very fact that there is the State of Israel, a Jewish state, in the land promised to Abraham as a part of God's story of faith and promises that you and I can count on.

And still yet, when we think it all through, and hopefully, avoid all of the polarization that today's media is so adept at creating among its audiences, as it reports the story, shading the facts, telling only one side, turning people, one side against the other. What does it really matter to us and what should be our big takeaway?

You know, in this, I have to tell you that... I have to realize that both sides, Israelis and Palestinians have blood on their hands. The Bible says that there is none righteous, no, not one. And so, remember that before you get to polarize before you think that one side is better than the other, the Bible says there's there is none righteous.And when we look at all of this, in the context of the Biblical record, prophetically, historically, what then should we do?

Well, here's what we should do, is what the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 3. I've turned to this Scripture many, many times on Beyond Today and in Daily's to help anchor ourselves in a Scripture to understand Bible prophecy and world events. 2 Peter 3:12, Peter is talking about the events that culminate in the day of the Lord, the end of the age. And he says, "Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord since all these things will be dissolved. What manner of persons should you be in holy conduct and godliness?"

What type of person should you be in holy righteousness and godliness? That's the question you and I have to consider. And that's what we must take away from this.

In other words, let me put it in a bit more of a vernacular way, we've gotta get it together. At some point, we have to get our lives together, get right with God, get right before God, make a decision to walk the line, to walk between the lines, to get it together, to do what God says, to clean up some of the matters of our lives. And I know at times all this can sound like cliches. But at some point, you have to have that inner conversation with yourself and decide that you're going to live Godly because these things are going to come to pass. And then the overarching story, this is really talking about judgment. There will be a day of judgment upon the nations and upon the peoples of the Earth, and upon you and I. What we come to know, what we come to believe, then we must act upon because we will be judged by what we know and what we have committed to. And we need to get it together. When we look at prophecy, it's so easy just to shuffle it off into well, we've seen these things come and go in the past. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and no need to get excited. Everything's going to continue just the way it has been. We'll get back to normal.That's really what Peter addresses earlier in this chapter. And it's what people scoff in saying, and if we're not careful, it can impact our lives.

You know, one of the things I've learned about prophecy over the years is exactly what Peter warns against. And that is, you can see prophecy begin to speed up as it moves towards certain events. And it looks like we might be seeing certain Biblical events take place, and then it kind of stops. And things return to normal.

I've learned to liken it to the way we understand the Earth's crust shifts in the plates of the Earth beneath the surface that shift every once in a while. Have you ever been through an earthquake? Have you ever experienced the Earth shaking? I have several times. It's unnerving. But usually, most of what I've been through have been just minor movements of the Earth's tectonic plates. And when friction and pressure builds up, they move just a little bit. Of course, that creates a big effect on the surface. Sometimes buildings collapse, freeway overpasses fall, fissures open up in the earth, rivers reverse their course, and change topography. But things continue on until the next shift. And every geologist knows that there comes a time in the geologic history of the Earth when sometimes those plates are going to shift really big and come apart. And some big things are going to happen. Bible prophecy is a lot like that. We see things happen. We see things shift. And then it stops and life goes on. And we are low back to the normality.

Peace may return for a period of time to the Middle East. Gas prices may go down. The tensions subside. There's the next baseball game, the graduation, the wedding, life goes on. Understanding how Bible prophecy works is important to us. When we look at the Bible, it tells us how it is all going to work out. What Peter is addressing in this verse is the fact that because we can see the overview through Bible prophecy, we know what's going to happen. And events at some point, it will transpire that will fulfill some of the big shifts that Bible prophecy talks about.

When that happens, you need to have it together. You need to be living a Godly life, holy righteousness, that's what He's saying. In advance, you make the decisions now.

And so, I hope that what we've gone through and looking at wireless matters brings it down to that very important point, why it matters to you and I, and how we live our life. And we believe God, we believe His word. And we know that history is coming to a point of conclusion, where God is going to intervene. This particular event may not be the one that triggers it, but it might trigger other events. We lived through a pandemic, we're going to see other things take place. We are living through some big changes in a big time in world history.

Don't get caught unawares. Learn the lessons. It all matters. Ultimately, it matters to God and it should matter to us. I hope this has helped you, put it all in the proper perspective.

That's "BT Daily." Join us next time.