We hear from the Muslim population of the world that Israel is “occupying” the land that belongs to Palestine, which never was a nation to begin with. Sad part is, the rest of the world is going along with this just as the Bible said they would.
How about all the different so-called “Christian” churches that are saying Israel lost its right to the claim of the covenant God made with Abraham in favor of the covenant of the Cross which Jesus paid for with His blood at Calvary.
First, let’s go to Genesis 12:2-3-7; “And I (God) will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Then the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, to your offspring, I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord who appeared to him there.” (emphasis mine)
To be perfectly clear, when God says, “I will,” it’s a covenant that He will not break – ever! It’s forever as far as He is concerned. If He says, “I will, if you…” then it’s a conditional covenant with the person receiving it having to do something to make it complete.
So, what’s a conditional covenant example? Let’s go to Romans 10:9, “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Going to verse 13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
In these verses, we have the perfect illustration that our eternal destiny is in our hands. We rely on the Father to keep His covenant, that if we do these “simple” things, we receive the benefit of His Son’s sacrifice for our sins for which we deserve the punishment that Jesus endured for us. God does not lie (Titus 1:2) as this is impossible for Him. Also, He can tolerate no sin whatsoever, no matter how great or small. The only way we can ever be free from our sin is to accept the “free gift” that Jesus gave for us at Calvary. Once we are His, and we have the Holy Spirit within us, God sees His Son in us and can and will forgive us our sins. To try to attain forgiveness without Jesus is totally futile.
Now, for all those people: Muslims, Christians, and everyone else who believes Israel is “occupying” Palestinian land; get ready for some reference verses from God’s word. I’ve already given Genesis 12:7, so we’ll go through a number of other verses that refers to them getting “back in their land”:
Deuteronomy 30:3-5; Isaiah 11:11-12; Isaiah 60:18-25; Jeremiah 23:3-8; Jeremiah 24:5-6; Jeremiah 30:18; Jeremiah 31:10, 31-34; Jeremiah 32:37-40; Jeremiah 33:6-9; Ezekiel 28:25-26; Ezekiel 34:11-13; Ezekiel 36:24-26; Ezekiel 37:21-25; Ezekiel 39:28; Hosea 3:4-5; Joel 2:18-29; Amos 9:14-15; Micah 2:12; Micah 4:6-7; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Zechariah 8:7-8; Zechariah 13:8-9, to name a few.
I have made the statement in the past that if God says something, it’s worth taking note of. If He repeats something, we should definitely pay attention. All the above verses tell of Israel being gathered back in their land. The first time that took place completely and they were declared a sovereign nation was May 14, 1948, or 71 years ago. How about another “I will” covenant? Amos 9:15, “I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God.”
That sounds pretty definite to me, and if we go further: at this time, Israel doesn’t possess all the land given to them. For now, it’s about the size of New Jersey; however, when the tribulation is over and the Millennial reign of Jesus takes place, God will honor them with the territory that was originally theirs. In fact, people from all over the world will travel to Jerusalem to worship the Lord in person.
There is one point that does have to be made: most of the problems Israel has had was their own disobedience to God’s will. They are His people, and He has prevented them from being totally exterminated. However, when they repented and truly called out to Him, He would bless them. For today, they have the same promise that all believers have. Those who accept Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah will be saved. Those who don’t will go into the Lake of Fire along with all the unbelievers from the beginning of time.
Jesus told the Jews that He came to be their Savior, but was here for “others” as well (John 10:14-16). He went on to say in verse 16 there would be one shepherd, one flock. The Jews were again given first chance; but when they rejected Paul, he went to the Gentiles, and the word has not stopped spreading yet.
The time is coming when the world will turn against Jerusalem, and by extension all of Israel (Zechariah 12:3). To say God has turned against them is to ignore the miracles already done there, just in our lifetime.
By all rights, when the May 14, 1948, declaration was made, Israel should have been annihilated. They were viciously attacked from all sides; but with limited weaponry, and armed forces, they defeated the attackers. Luck, you say? I say God’s hand was very visible. How about the famous 6-day war in June, 1967? Again, Israel was attacked but fought back with such aggression that they once again took the city of Jerusalem. There have been other conflicts, and Israel has always come out on top.
Yes, even today, they are being attacked by terrorists, but overall are living in relative safety. They have a military that ranks with the greatest nations. Their knowledge is increasing rapidly as given in Daniel 12:4.
Once a wasteland that Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) said wouldn’t support any agriculture, Israel now exports fruits and vegetables to other countries. To say God has not had a hand in this would be to declare oneself blind.
Israel will face a 7-year period of tribulation right after signing a peace treaty with the antichrist. The number of Jews worldwide that will go with Jesus in the Rapture is estimated to only be 1% – 2% of their total population.
They will be attacked again (Ezekiel 38-39), and God will protect them. Approximately 2/3 will die during the wrath years, but all who are here for the touch-earth coming of Jesus will believe in Him.
So, for all who speak evil against Israel, I invite you to re-read Genesis 12:3. It still applies. For all – Jews and Gentiles – who wish to avoid the wrath, follow Romans 10:9-13; it’s the only way (John 14:6) to salvation.
Also, pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6)
Ahava b’Shem Yeshua (Love in the name of Jesus)