September 2011 has been quite a month for Israel and the Palestinians. As the reader may be aware, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, made his bid for Palestinian statehood before the United Nations. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded with a tremendous speech to the U.N. Having said this, I would like to discuss these recent middle-eastern happenings in light of the Bible, the word of God.
God Chose Israel
Israel, in Old Testament times, was God’s chosen people. Because of their rejection of their Messiah, God cut Israel off that He might deal with the Gentiles. From Israel’s rejection of Christ came the church of Jesus Christ.Romans 11:11 – “I say then, Have they [Israel] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.”
Some Bible scholars use verses such as the above verse to teach that since salvation has come to the Gentiles from the fall of Israel, then God is completely finished with Israel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth! All one must do is read the beginning of the verse! “Have they stumbled that they should fall? GOD FORBID!” The very next verse shows us that, though Israel has fallen, their stumbling is not a permanent fall!
Romans 11:12 – “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”
Israel most certainly will experience their fullness! They will experience a kingdom to the fullest extent. They will experience a King reigning to the full from Jerusalem! God is not finished with Israel!
God chose Israel; and although Israel has broken the covenant, God will choose them again in the latter times!
Zechariah 3:2 – “And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?”
Yes, God chose Israel as a brand plucked out of the fire! Some say that God’s choosing of Israel is only in the past. But, what says the scripture? The same prophet who recorded what the Lord told Satan in the above verse also wrote that the election of Israel is also relevant to the future.
Zechariah 1:17 – “Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and SHALL YET CHOOSE JERUSLAEM.”
No, God is not finished with Israel! He chose Israel, and Israel is His covenant people, and will be such even in the end of time. Paul brings out this truth in Romans 11:25, 26.
Romans 11:25 – “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Let us notice three things about the unveiled mystery of this verse. First, BLINDNESS IS HAPPENED TO ISRAEL. I know of no one who denies that. Only one who is spiritually blind can read Isaiah 53 and not see Jesus Christ, the suffering Messiah. The fact that the Jews are still waiting for their Messiah to come the first time is sufficient proof of spiritual blindness. Israel is blinded. Secondly, Paul tells us that blindness IN PART is happened to Israel. “In part” means that the entire nation is not blinded. There is a remnant of Jews who believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. We call these Jews “Messianic Jews.” Thirdly, Paul tells us that blindness in part is happened to Israel, UNTIL…” The word, “until” means that Israel’s blindness is only temporary. Israel’s eyes will be opened! Some scholars insist that Israel’s eyes will indeed be opened, but it will be too late and the nation will perish forever. But let us read the next verse.
Romans 11:26 – “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.”
“All Israel shall be saved.” No statement in scripture is plainer! I have actually read authors who state that this verse means that the whole church will be saved. My question to them is this: “If the blindness of “Israel” in verse 25 is referring to the nation of Israel, then why, in the very next verse, does ‘Israel’ mean the church?” The one who interprets “Israel” to be the New Testament church in verse 26, but not in verse 25, is not consistent in their interpretation. They are not studying the scripture with intent to find truth; but they are rather interpreting scripture with an agenda!
The Bible is clear on the subject of God’s election of Israel! God chose Israel; and God is not finished with the nation of Israel!
God Preserved Israel
As certain as God’s election, or choosing, of Israel, the reader can be assured that God has preserved Israel. There was once an atheist who later became a staunch believer in Jesus Christ. When asked what changed his mind concerning spiritual things, the reply came in one word: “Israel.” It has been rightly said that no nation has been persecuted to the extent that Israel has. Yet, Israel is the strongest of the middle-eastern nations by far. This is not by accident. God Almighty has preserved Israel! In the Bible, there were a people known as the Philistines. That group of people today is nonexistent. That nationality became extinct! Israel has suffered far more than the Philistines, and yet you cannot destroy them!
In the United Nations assembly last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave his speech. Now, if you’re a liberal, I am sure you were tickled to hear him speak and probably want to have dinner with the man. There has been news this past week of an Iranian pastor set to be executed in Iran. His charge? Apostasy. There are reports as I write this post that the charges have been changed to rape. It doesn’t take a scholar to figure out that Iran is intolerant to any who serves the God of the Bible. No rape has been committed. The Muslims in Iranian leadership are like the liberals who love their “tolerance” so much – they are liars. Meanwhile, in America, public school teachers teach children of a “peaceable” and “tolerant” religion called Islam.
Iran has long been known for its hostility toward the United States and Israel. In September 2003, Iran unveiled for the first time to the public the Shahab-3 missiles, capable of reaching Israel. The missiles were daubed with slogans including: “We will crush America under our feet” and “Israel must be wiped off the map.”*
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| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad |
In August 2005, Ahmadinejad became president in a landslide “election.” Ahmadinejad has echoed the desires of Iran to wipe Israel off the map. Mark it down – it is an absolute impossibility to wipe Israel off the map! You may as well remove all the sand from the desert and drain the oceans dry as to annihilate Israel. To destroy Israel, Ahmadinejad must destroy God! God Almighty (the God of the Bible) has His hand upon the nation of Israel. He has preserved Israel, and will continue to do so. The atheist reading this may not like it, but his refusal to like it doesn’t change it! Ahmadinejad along with his god, the devil, may hate what I am writing. But their hatred won’t change the truth! Israel is a preserved people!
The Restoration of Israel
A third Biblical fact regarding Israel is that they will be fully restored. This point is a vast subject of its own, and the scriptures declaring it are too numerous to articulate individually. Some such scriptures include, but are not limited to: Jeremiah 30:7-10; Jeremiah 50:20; Micah 7:18-20; and Romans 11:25-32.
The nation of Israel will be restored in several ways, although I will focus on just one. First, Israel will have their King restored to them. Yes, the very King they crucified 2,000 years ago! Only a King who rose from the dead to live forevermore can perform such a miracle! The very King they killed will rule in Jerusalem. Secondly, Israel will have a kingdom restored to them. In Acts 1:6, the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” In Christ’s answer in Acts 1:7, 8, He does not deny that a literal kingdom is coming. He simply stated that it is not in their power to know WHEN that literal kingdom will come. Thirdly, the nation of Israel will have salvation in their Messiah restored to them! Fourthly, the people of the nation of Israel will be restored to the land that God promised Abraham – ALL OF IT! The scriptures that teach this are too many to mention here. This is the point upon which I wish to expound.
Last week, President Abbas made his bid for Palestinian statehood. Of course, this request for statehood is a request for Palestinian acquisition of portions of Israel’s land. Mark this down: Israel should not give up one ant hill of one of their landfills to the Palestinians! Jerusalem, every square inch of it, belongs to Israel! God said so! And when Jesus comes, they will have every square inch of what they have now, plus what they should have!
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, in the conclusion of his speech, read from Isaiah the 9th chapter. How ironic - he read a passage dealing with the Messiah. And that is when there will be peace in the middle-east - when the Jewish Messiah comes to reign in Jerusalem!
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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu |
The subject of nation of Israel is a vast one, and one which I love to study. But I must save some of it for another post!
*Vollmer, Chuck. Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Islamic Eschatology, and Near-Term Implications. January 26, 2006.
