Throughout the lifetimes of all of us the Middle East has been a troubled region of the world, and in the last couple of years the strife has exploded once again. We have seen conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, conflict between Israel and Iran, and since October 2023 the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

As Christadelphians we take note of these events, not merely from a political or humanitarian point of view, but because we believe they fit in with what the Bible has to say about the state of the world, and the Middle East in particular, before God intervenes to set up His kingdom upon earth. At that time, with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth, the strife we see at present will eventually be replaced by peace. The prophet Isaiah foretold this many years ago when he said: “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness …  And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:1,17).