Israel
September 17, 2012
The modern-day nation of Israel is no less than a miracle. The Israelis should have lost the 1948 War of Independence, the 1956 War, the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. In all of those wars, they were surrounded by enemy nations and outnumbered in every area: fighting men, guns, tanks, etc. But somehow, they have survived. It is no accident, however, that this country has “dodged all of these bullets.” This is the fulfillment of Scripture: that God would establish the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland in the last days.
There are many prophecies in Scripture regarding the return of the Jews to the ancient land of Israel. For example, “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth (Isaiah 11:12). It isn’t just coincidence that Israel “came to be” after over 2500 years of being in exile. It has happened through the providence and will of God.
God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). It would behoove any and all nations to treat Israel fairly and with the utmost respect. Unfortunately, our current leader is “snubbing” the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. It is sad, also, that the leader of the free world has not visited Israel, even once, in his first term in office. Hopefully, we will elect a leader who will treat Israel as an ally and not as an outcast. Otherwise, I fear for our nation’s future.
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The gathering and endurance of Israel in these modern days is no less than a miracle. The “leader” we currently have has repeatedly disrespected BiBi Netanyahu, and bowed to muslims, we are out of the will of God nationally , and that is a very dangerous place to be.
Thanks for the article. God Bless!
If we abandon Israel (which I think has already happened), we are in trouble. Bless you, also.
The best thing is to pray for Israel…
You are right, Wayne.
The modern nation of Israel should not be confused with the Kingdom of God. It is a kingdom of this world like all other nations. God’s favor depends solely on keeping covenant with Him. It is not defined by nationality, ethnicity, or possession of the land. Paul makes it clear in Romans 2 that God does not play favoritism in dealing with man. His covenant with his people has always concerned the condition of the heart (Deuteronomy 30). The terms of the New Covenant involves receiving the new heart and God placing His Spirit within (Ezekiel 36:26). That condition is found in the Church rather than the modern nation of Israel.
Amen to that, “not all Israel is Israel!”
Chaplain, I am not confusing the Kingdom of God with Israel. We refer to Israel, however, as the Holy Land. It is holy because it is God’s land just as we call the Bible “holy” because it is God’s Word. The Scripture that is available on the return of the Jewish people to their homeland, though, is unmistakable. I do not subscribe to “replacement theology” which substitutes “church” for “Israel” in Scripture. This is in error. I used one Scripture from Isaiah in my post on this subject. Here are many more: Isaiah 66:8; Ezekiel 37:21; Ezekiel 36:1, 8, 24; Zechariah 12:2-3; Joel 3:1-2; Zephaniah 2:1-7. The fact, however, that Israel exists is nonetheless a miracle!
I’m no supersessionist either, Scott. Nor am I a dispensationalist. Postponement theology is equally in error. It is not God’s plan to save ethnic Israel at some future time distinct from the Church, but in the present as part of the Church. Paul revealed this plan of God in Ephesians 3 where he makes the point that it is by the coming together of Jews and gentiles that the powers and principalities know that they do not rule this world and that Jesus Christ, in fact, does. And in Romans 11, Paul declares that the gentiles become heirs to the promises of God to ethnic Israel by being grafted in. This is the context for any application of Isaiah 11:12. Jesus the Messiah is the standard for the nations and He launched the gathering of God’s people with His resurrection as an ongoing project that will continue until God’s work is fully done.
As far as the events surrounding the birth of the modern nation of Israel being miraculous, that may be true in a casual sense. It was certainly statistically unlikely to happen under the circumstances. I agree that it was a wonderful occurrence. But it did not involve any perceptible interruption of of the laws of nature that would make it indisputably an act of divine intervention.
Chaplain Lampe, If believing in Genesis 13:7 which says, “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever,” makes me a “dispensationalist,” “fundamentalist,” or any other label that may apply, then I guess that I am. I believe that when God told Abraham that he and his descendants would be given the land forever (God made this same promise to Isaac and Jacob, by the way), that He meant it. That last word “forever” is hard to get around for those who think that it was just happenstance or luck or the United Nations that brought about the reemergence of the nation of Israel in the last century. I believe that God willed it.
Yes, I do believe in the New Covenant that Jesus brought about at Calvary with His shed blood. Yes, I also believe that we, as Gentiles, share in the promises of God with the Jewish people. But that does not negate the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob regarding “Canaan land.” It also does not negate the many words written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the prophets that God would return the descendants of Abraham to their homeland. Zechariah wrote, “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves” (Zechariah 12:3). We see this happening right now. All the nations, including the United States, are turning against Israel just as was predicted here. I don’t believe that any promise from God or prophecy in His Word is “casual.”
I am a Dispensationalist, Chaplain, and Israel is not part of the Church; it is its own church, the Bride. The only way Israel can be part of the Body of Christ is to become born again. Short of that they will have to wait for the Awakening of the Just or the Sheep and Goat Judgment.
Eph 3 in no way says that Jesus Christ is now ruling this world. Satan is and will until the end of the battle of Armageddon. Christ is the Head of his Body which is his spiritual Church of the born again only. Too simple?
Fred, I know many Messianic Jews who are indeed a part of the Church. They are born again ethnic Jewish believers. As for Jesus Christ ruling and reigning now, He indeed is. It is Ephesians 1:20-22 that makes this abundantly clear.
The question then becomes, what does God mean by forever? Historically, since God made that promise to Abraham, ethnic Israel has spent very little time in the promised land. However, if God meant “eternity” by the term “forever,” Abraham’s spiritual seed (Galatians 3:7) will indeed occupy the promised land forever on Christ’s return.
No, technically, there has always been a “remnant” left behind in the “Promised Land.” For example, Jeremiah and others were allowed to stay after the Babylonian exile. The land has never been “cleansed” of all Jews. So a Jewish “surviving trace” has continually lived in this region of the earth for thousands of years.
The question, then, for me, becomes: Is Israel merely a “fluke?” Was it merely by chance that this ancient people living in their ancient homeland were to be given sovereignty in 1948 thereby allowing the scattered tribes to return from all over the world?
Guess you got me on a technicality
Bless you, Scott
Chaplin—If they are born again Jewish believers they belong to the Church of God. There are only 3 groups of people in the Grace Administration: Jew, Gentile and Church of God. They can no longer be Jewish believers.—-Scott—Reigning, yes; ruling, no.
I agree that Jewish believers belong to the Church. But there are are really only two groups of people: believers and unbelievers. I’m not sure how you define “rule,” Fred. Jesus seems to believe He rules now. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18
I don’t have much time right now but I want you to imagine a long arched bridge going over a river. The beginning of the bridge is the end of the Gospels; the end of it is the beginning of the Book of Revelation. This bridge spans the chasm of the sacred Secret. Everything in between was contained in a Secret that God kept from Everyone including His Son. There are many things Jesus said that he thought were going to occur within 7 years of his ascension but have not yet occurred.
One example of this is that he told some of his followers that some of them would not die until they saw him coming in the clouds. Yet they all died and he has not yet come.
What else could possibly explain why Jesus would say things that did not come to pass when he said they would?
Everything he and the apostles expected to happen within those 7 years have not; and they will not happen until 7 years after the Rapture of the Church.
Reigning is not the same of ruling. It is in my book. Will cover later. Need to go to work now. God bless,
In Exodus 15:18 the word reign does not mean rule. It is the word malak, ascend the throne, to induct into royalty; to take council. The next usage of reign in Lev 26:17 is the word radah, which does mean to rule, to have dominion, to dominate. Still another word translated reign in De 15:6 is the word mashal. It also means to rule, to have dominion. Only malak is used of the Father.
In the NT the dominate word used is basileuo. It is used in the aorist tense, anticipation for a future event. (See Vines Expository Dictionary.) Another word only used in Ro 15:12 is archo, to be first (in rank or power.) Another one relative to the subject is hegemonia, is used of Tiberias Caeser in Luke 3:1
There are 4 usages of basileuo in the Book of Revelation which to me is future: One of Christ in the Millennial Kingdom; twice us “us” reigning with him and once of God and Christ reigning together in the final kingdom.
The space in time under the bridge i asked you to imagine is the dispensation of Grace: Eph 3:2-3 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery (musterion = secret). KJV
Col 1:25-26
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the secret which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: KJV Dispensations are real. Choosing to not believe in them will lead to tantamount misunderstandings. No one can explain why Jesus didn’t know when he was coming back without understanding the revelation of the secret first revealed to Paul.
God bless,
P.S. All of this is in my book at http://fredswolfe.com