Since the vicious, inhumane attacks against the people of Israel on October 7th by terrorist called Hamas, Israel has become front and center in world news headlines. Christians wonder if the prophecy in Zechariah 12 is being fulfilled:
"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 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 12:2-3)
THE USA AND ANTI-SEMITISM
In America, a place that has spent over a century working to eradicate racism and prejudice, the recent attacks on Israel and Israel's subsequent national defense, along with demands for the return of hostages, has brought to light an ugly and raging racist, anti-Semitic movement that has been festering in our universities. Christians still support Israel, but the USA has lost our young college aged-generation. Today's young people ridicule Christ, hate Jews, and are intolerant of Israel's right to exist. They claim to hate racism and genocide while embracing a hatred for Jews and calling for their destruction.
HISTORY OF ISRAEL
The Bible is our primary resource when studying Israel. The word "Israel" occurs 2,568 times in 2,294 verses in the KJV of the Bible. The story of Israel, (along with God's promises to the nation), is found in scripture. Israel begins with the man Jacob, evolves into a nation, is established permanently in Christ, and culminates in Christ's Kingdom and New Jerusalem. It is a work of Almighty God!
"I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory." Isaiah 46:13 KJV
Luke recorded the words of Simeon when he saw Christ Jesus. Simeon is described as a just man who was devout and the Holy Ghost was upon him. His words in Luke 2:30-32 reveal Christ as the glory of Israel.
GOD ESTABLISHES THE NATION
The nation begins with Almighty God and His promise to Abram. The promise is first recorded in Genesis 12:2. Six times God repeats His promise to Abram, who is later called Abraham…
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." Genesis 12:2
The first mention of the nation by name is in Genesis 32: 8 where God tells Jacob:
"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."
The story of Israel, formerly called Jacob is given to us in God's word. Israel has 12 sons from which God established twelve tribes and from these 12 tribes, God established the nation of Israel! The nation grew and eventually we read:
"And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?" 2 Samuel 7:23
Definition or meaning of Israel See: The Name Israel - Summary
GOD'S PROMISES TO ISRAEL
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
Genesis 12:1-3 KJV
Some of what is written is written as factual information. An example is Deuteronomy
"It is a land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year." Deuteronomy 11:12 CSB
God promised Abram that He would bless those who blessed Abram.
SEE - HOW DOES GOD BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS ISRAEL?
SEE: BIBLE TOOLS
The details of the history of Israel are found in the Torah or first five books of the Hebrew Bible. It became a country when the 12 tribes settled in Canaan and a Kingdom under King Saul. Rome conquered Israel between 63-37 BC. The Kingdom was dissolved following the destruction of Judea and the resulting diaspora around 114-155 AD. Israel ceased to exist until the creation of the modern State of Israel in 1947-1948 by the United Nations.
RECENT HISTORY AND ISRAEL TODAY
In February 1947, Great Britain gave up control of the land known as Palestine to the United Nations. On November 29, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations voted to provide Arabs and Jews with their own land. The rebirth of the nation of Israel was official and legal, but the Palestinians refused to accept Israel and war broke out almost immediately. Many, however view this as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Amos:
"I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel. They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities, plant vineyards and drink their wine, make gardens and eat their produce. I will plant them on their land, and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them. Yahweh your God has spoken."
Amos 9:14-15 HCSB
Battles continued until the United Nations Security Council called for a permanent armistice on December 29, 1948. On July 5, 1950, the state of Israel passed the Law of Return. Its opening line read: "Every Jew has the right to immigrate to the country." The population more than doubled in the next five years as Jews returned to their homeland.
As the reborn nation struggled to meet the challenges of different Jewish groups, economic challenges and Arab resistance, life was often difficult. In the 1950s, the Arab world attempted to pressure Israel through economic sanctions; Israeli ships could not use Arab ports, and Israeli airplanes could not use Arab air space. In 1955, Egypt purchased large amounts of weapons from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. The next year it announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal. These events led to intervention by the UN and eventually the six day war in 1967.
In May 1967, Egypt expelled the United Nations Emergency Force from the Sinai Peninsula and amassed 100,000 soldiers at the border with Israel. The Six-Day War began on June 5, 1967, when the IDF, led by Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin, preemptively attacked Egypt's air force and Jordan attacked Israel.
WHY WAS THERE A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE BY ISRAEL?
May 14, 1967, the Egyptian Prime Minister, Nasser mobilized Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Then on May 18 he made a formal request asking fir the removal of the UNEF (United Nations Emergency Force) that had been stationed there. On May 22 he closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, which blockaded the port city of Elat in southern Israel. Seeing Egypt prepare for war, Israel tool action.
In these six days of war, Israel gained control of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Jordan had occupied this territory since 1948. Israel also gained control of the Gaza Strip (which Egypt had occupied since 1948), the strategic Golan Heights from Syria, and the Sinai Peninsula. No longer were Jews barred from the western wall or their own Jewish cemetery which was on Mount Olives. Land that God had originally given to them through Abraham was restored. Amazingly, when Israel gained East Jerusalem in 1967, it gave each religious group control over its own holy sites. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – all consider Jerusalem to be a sacred place. Now each have a district in Jerusalem.
SEE: TOURIST ISRAEL
PROPHECY YET TO BE FULFILLED
Jesus spoke of a future time when there will be a desolation of the city. This will be followed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His millennial reign. Judgement follows this period and then, the New Jerusalem will be established that last eternally.
""When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near. …But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near! "
Luke 21:20, 28 HCSB
READ REVELATION CHAPTER 20 and REVELATION 21
In America, a place that has spent over a century working to eradicate racism and prejudice, the recent attacks on Israel and Israel's subsequent national defense, along with demands for the return of hostages, has brought to light an ugly and raging racist, anti-Semitic movement that has been festering in our universities. Christians still support Israel, but the USA has lost a generation. Today's young people ridicule Christ, hate Jews, and are intolerant of Israel's right to exist. They claim to hate racism and genocide while embracing a hatred for Jews and calling for their destruction.
According to the web-site, Israel Today, a majority (66%) of all Jewish Israelis believe that yes, the rebirth of the State of Israel has changed the way Christians see Jews. Three out of every four Israelis (75%) say that Christians (Evangelicals mostly) changed their attitudes towards Jews because they support Israel.
WHAT ARE WE WHO LOVE GOD AND LOVE ISRAEL TO DO?
Praying for the peace of Jerusalem means praying they will come to know and receive Messiah, Jesus the Christ (Yeshuah). Love the Jews and be a witness. Helped them know that Joel spoke of Jesus. The angels declared "Peace on earth good will to men" at His birth.
"Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity. Therefore, He will abandon them until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of His brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd them in the strength of Yahweh, in the majestic name of Yahweh His God. They will live securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth."
Micah 5:2-4 HCSB
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