A Message Of Hope

Why the Middle East Awaits the Coming of Christ: Jesus’ Birth is the Promise of Eternal Peace!

As I write this article (autumn 2025), President Trump is returning from Israel after securing a peace deal between Hamas and Israel. I am celebrating this cessation of hostilities and praying for this peace to last a long time. Perhaps there will even be an opportunity for a wider Middle East peace deal. I pray that there is!

However, the unfortunate reality is that a lasting peace will be much harder to secure. Israel is a land drenched in history; a land acquainted with war; a land to which all believers will someday return with our great and glorious King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, we can expect conflict, unrest, and the threat of war.

So, what chance does ultimate peace have in the Middle East? In my opinion, none until Jesus returns to establish His kingdom. Politicians speak about a “two-state solution,” “land for peace,” or other bargaining incentives to bring peace. We should pray these temporary solutions will be effective and limit the conflict and suffering, but I believe all of these plans shall fail for one good reason: radical Muslim leaders cannot allow true peace to come to the Middle East under any settlement. For them, it’s not just history and land that’s at stake, but Islam itself.

While many Palestinians would like nothing better than a reasonable peace with Israel, political organizations and militant groups will continue to reject the existence of an Israeli state. First, because the radicals do not simply want land—they want the Jewish people to be destroyed, fueled by the teachings of the Qur’an. Second, they believe that God gave the land to Ishmael’s descendants—the Muslims. Third, there is the Islamic teaching that a land once under Muslim control (as Israel was under the Turks) should never be surrendered, but must be reclaimed by a jihad (holy war). The Islamic nations that surround Israel cannot rest until “Israel is pushed into the sea,” as the saying goes.

We can support our politicians seeking peace, hoping against hope that the recent peace treaty will hold, but we can expect the road ahead will be rocky, filled with broken promises and conflict. Yes, there might be a temporary peace, such as between Israel and Egypt, but that will last only until the Islamic states think they have enough armaments to finally destroy Israel. At the end of the day, the cause of conflict in the Middle East is deeply rooted in the religion of Islam, whose radicals insist that they must dominate in the Holy Land, and more ominously, eventually the entire world.

Meanwhile, even as we affirm Israel’s biblical significance and right to exist securely, we must also acknowledge that Palestinians have legitimate needs that deserve compassionate attention. They have suffered terribly in the past two years. And I’m sure the vast majority desire nothing more than to live in peace. But their leaders will not allow it. And indeed the Bible predicts that eventually, Israel will become the epicenter of world conflict.

Zechariah predicted that God would make Israel a “cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples” (12:2). The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages, demonstrated the persistent commitment to violence from radical Islamic groups—the annihilation of Israel is the goal.

But there is still hope! The coming of Jesus will change all that. He will first come for the church (the rapture) but later, after the Great Tribulation, He will return to the Mount of Olives and peace shall finally be established. What a day that will be!

Meanwhile, God is working mightily in Muslim countries. Tens of thousands are coming to trust Christ, even Muslims in Iraq and Iran. In Africa, whole Muslim communities are turning to Christ. On pages 4–5, you’ll see the worldwide impact of Running To Win throughout the Middle East. Islam is not a barrier to God; Christ is able to save all who come to God by Him.