1. Introduction
The tiny nation of Israel is of mighty significance in this troubled world. With a population of about six million, Israel has become the focus of attention to all peoples. Geographically and economically, Israel sits at the control centre of the world. Its capital, Jerusalem, has been revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims for millennia; and Israel's God has been worshipped by billions of believers of all nations since time began. Why is this tiny nation so important? And how is it that Israel exerts so great an influence on mankind? The answer is: Because the Almighty God is with Israel! Without Him, Israel would be as unimportant as the weakest nation on earth - as nothing! Yes, the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is with Israel. In the Bible He refers to Himself as the God of Israel or the holy One of Israel over 230 times! The pages of His diary are filled with appointments with Israel. Over the centuries the Most High has shared His plans with Israel. Through Israel came His law, His prophets and finally Yeshua His only begotten Son - the Messiah! Yes, Yahweh is with Israel! To be sure other nations and individuals count; but only as they affect Israel and relate to Israel's Saviour - the Son of God! The Bible is, in fact, the record of Israel's history and Israel's future. Let us further consider why this nation is so important.2. Israel, Yahweh’s Chosen People
No matter what the majority of mankind think, no matter what the Christian church may believe or preach, the fact is the nation of Israel is the chosen people of God! Not chosen because she is intrinsically better than other nations; but because of Yahweh's great love for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because He is keeping to an oath made to Abraham many centuries ago. This fact is plainly taught in the Bible:| Deuteronomy 7: | 6: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy
God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7: The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” |
| Deuteronomy 10: | 15: “Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.” |
| Deuteronomy 14: | 2: “for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” |
| Isaiah 41: | 8: “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. 9: Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away” |
3. Anti-Semitism
The people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem have been the focus of attention for centuries. Anti-Semitism began centuries before the days of Hitler's Germany and may be traced as far back as the 3rd millennium BC. Sad to say the Christian church is as guilty of Anti-Semitism as any other religious body. Consider these views as recorded by prominent writers:- Richard Rubenstein, Professor of Religion, Florida University
- “In the rivalry between religions, no other religion in the world makes the accusation that Christianity makes against the Jews, that they are literally murderers of God ... to be a murderer of God means to be the opponent of anything decent, anything humane, anything moral, anything ethical.”
- The Longest Hatred, A Study Guide To Thames Television Series On Anti-Semitism, Page 5
- “A theology was developed claiming that Christians were the true Israel, God's chosen people. God had cast aside the Jews. He had sent them His only son and they had rejected him. God's chosen people had betrayed Him and had become the false Israel, the Devil's Israel. The Christians were now God's chosen people. The Jews had forfeited everything, including their own past, Abraham, Moses and all.”
- From A Pamphlet By Martin Luther On The Jews And Their Lies, Published In 1543
- “Their (the Jews') synagogues are pigsties, they ought to be burned ... they live by evil and plunder, they are wicked beasts that ought to be driven out like mad dogs... May (we) all be free of this insufferable devilish burden - the Jews.”
- Ezra Chapter 4
- 12: “Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came
up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and
the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the
foundations.
13: Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.”
- 12: “Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came
up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and
the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the
foundations.
- Esther Chapter 3
- 8: “And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the
provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.
9: If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.
10: And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
11: And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.”
- 8: “And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the
provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.
4. Israel’s Rebellion
Israel was the name given to Abraham's grandson Jacob when he successfully wrestled all night with God at a place called Peniel, which means ‘I have seen God face to face.’| Genesis 32: | 27: “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” |
| Romans 3: | 1: “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2: Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. 3: For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” |
| 2 Kings 17: | 9: “And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God … Verse: 13: Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. 14: Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. 15: And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. 16: And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.” |
| Jeremiah 6: | 16: “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and
see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,
and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17: Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. 18: Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. 19: Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.“ |
| Matthew 27: | 22: “Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23: And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.” |
| Romans 3: | 10: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12: They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” |
5. The Scattering of Israel
How then did the Almighty respond to ancient Israel's rebellion and rejection of His law and of His Son? The Almighty carried out the punishments given through His prophet Moses. One of those punishments was banishment from the Promised Land. This happened: Yahweh scattered Israel, scattered His chosen people to the four corners of the earth. The warning to scatter Israel, if she persisted in disobedience, was made centuries before the event took place. Texts about the scattering of Israel are legion. I quote a few:| Deuteronomy 4: | 25: “When thou shalt beget children, and children's
children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt
yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and
shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: 26: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27: And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.” |
| Deuteronomy 28: | 64: “And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65: And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:” |
| Ezekiel 20: | 23: “I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries; 24: Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.” |
6. Israel not Abandoned
Even though ancient Israel sinned grievously and was scattered to the four corners of the earth, the Almighty did not abandon His people. To be sure He punished Israel over and over again with war, famine, and pestilence: but the Holy ONE of Israel has not abandoned His people. Israel is still the chosen race! The LORD God is still with Israel! Pause awhile and consider these little-known divine promises.| Ezekiel 11: | 16: “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although
I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have
scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little
sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17: Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” |
| Jeremiah 31: | 35: “Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a
light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a
light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The
LORD of hosts is his name: 36: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37: Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.” |
| Romans 11: | 1: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2: God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,” |
7. The Re-Gathering of Israel
Even while the Most High was predicting the Diaspora (the scattering of Israel) He was also forecasting Israel's re-gathering. Over and over again He said that He would re-gather His scattered people; and bring them back from the four corners of the earth to the land He had promised to give them. That is why that land is called The Promised Land! The re-gathering of Israel is predicted over and over again in the Scriptures. Once more I quote and list a few of the many texts as proof:| Deuteronomy 30: | 1: “And it shall come to pass, when all these things
are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before
thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither
the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 2: And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3: That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 4: If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.” |
| Ezekiel 11: | 17: “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” |
1948 ... 657,000
1950 ... 1,203,000
1958 ... 1,810,000
1962 ... 2,069,000
Currently thousands of Jews, especially from the former Soviet Union, return to Israel every year and the population is heading towards 7,000,000 mark.
| Isaiah 11: | 11: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from
the islands of the sea. 12: And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” |
| Isaiah 43: | 5: “Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6: I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;” |
| Ezekiel 39: | 27: “When I have brought them again from the people,
and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them
in the sight of many nations; 28: Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which cause them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.” |
8. Israel Refined as Silver
What does Yahweh plan to do after re-gathering Israel? What does His Holy Word the Bible tell us? It tells us that the Most High is going to refine Israel as a silversmith refines silver; with the sole intention of producing an obedient and holy nation, a nation that will reflect His perfect character. He is going to do this for His great Name's sake, which Israel has profaned among the nations by its sinful practices. Yahweh is about to act, not because the Jews are better in any way than Gentiles, because they are not, but to clear His slandered Name and reputation throughout this rebellious planet.| Ezekiel 22: | 15: “And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. 16: And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 17: And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18: Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. 19: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20: As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 21: Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22: As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.” |
| Ezekiel 36: | 21: “But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22: Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23: And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24: For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25: Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26: A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27: And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28: And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” |
9. Israel’s Future
According to Bible prophecy Yahweh is going to gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city is going to be captured and be under Gentile domination for a period of 42 months, 1260 days or 3.5 years. Texts concerning this last-day confrontation are numerous. Zechariah 12: 3, Hosea 10: 10, Micah 4: 11, Joel 3: 1-14, Zechariah 14: 1-2 and Revelation 11. These predictions, though partially realized in days gone by, will all find fulfilment in the near future!10. Summary
- Israel is unwelcome in the Middle East.
- Israel will lose most of her friends.
- As she clings to territory promised her by the Creator centuries ago.
- The world does not recognize the promises Yahweh made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so is unimpressed with Israel's claim to the Promised Land.
- The world dismisses such claims as ridiculous.
- Mankind is about to learn two stunning, stinging truths.
- This includes modern Israel, the Muslim nations and the Christian Church.
- That the nation of Israel is still Yahweh's people. (Jeremiah 31: 35-37)
- And that the Almighty is still in charge of human affairs. (Daniel 4: 32 & 5: 21)
- Muslim hatred will increase towards Israel.
- Israel's allies will desert her one by one; simply because religious and economic pressures will become too much for them.
- Israel will be shunned by hitherto friendly nations.
- She will even be looked upon as the cause of Middle Eastern turmoil; and her stubborn claim to territory and mishandling of Arabs will be abhorred.
- Soon world opinion will be galvanized against Israel.
- Anti-Semitism will sweep the globe and Jews will again be massacred in many lands.
- To be sure many noble efforts for peace will be put forth; but they will not produce peace.
- Peace in the Middle East will only come when Yeshua the Prince of Peace arrives.
- Till that time expect growing hatred, turmoil, violence and war.
- All Nations will unite in an attack on Jerusalem and the city will be taken.
- For 42 months (3.5 years) Jerusalem, where our LORD was crucified, will be under the ‘heel of the Gentiles.’
- Zechariah 14: 1: “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2: For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken.” - Revelation 11: 2: “... and the holy city shall they (the Gentiles) tread under foot forty and two months.”
- After Jerusalem’s 42 month subjugation.
- The Messiah (Jesus Christ) will return to earth and deliver the city.
- He will descend upon the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and liberate the city.
- Zechariah 14:
3: “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4: And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south…
5: And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8: And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9: And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
Might we encourage you to read other articles in The Sacred Calendar of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Request your free booklet. You are under no obligation and no one will call on you.
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