SHOULD TRUE CHRISTIANS SUPPORT ISRAEL - Part 2

SERMON TOPIC: SHOULD TRUE CHRISTIANS SUPPORT ISRAEL - Part 2

Speaker: Gavin Paynter

Language: ENGLISH

Date: 5 November 2023

Topic Groups: ISRAEL, PROPHECY

Sermon synopsis: At the second coming of Christ (the second Advent) God will rise up to defend his people when the world turns against them.

Zechariah 14:2-4 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped … Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west …

CHRIST JUDGES THE NATIONS WHO HATE ISRAEL:

Joel 3:1-2 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land …

God says to those nations who will oppose Israel in the end times:

Zechariah 2:8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.

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SHOULD TRUE CHRISTIANS SUPPORT ISRAEL OR NOT? (PART 2)

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

In Genesis 12:1-3 God established a covenant with Abraham (who was the forefather of the Jewish nation).

God promises 3 things:

A source of blessing to the nations

Descendants – and a great nation

Land (Israel)

It is from the Jews that we have received the Bible, the prophets, the apostles and our blessed redeemer.

Rom 9:4-5 (NIV) … the people of Israel. Theirs is … the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah …

1) A SOURCE OF BLESSING TO THE WORLD

2) A GREAT NATION

God promised to protect the nation of Israel. He will bless those nations who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. This alone is a good reason to support Israel.

Any nation in the world (including our own) who seeks to harm Israel will face God’s wrath – sooner or later.

US SUPPORT OF ISRAEL

God has blessed the USA because of its support for Israel. It is the world’s richest country having 31% of the total wealth in the world (2022). *

US President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day Ben-Gurion announced it - the first country to do so.

Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid.

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ List_of_countries_by_total_wealth

America’s concern for the Jewish people can be traced right back to their first president, George Washington, who wrote the following in his Letter to the Hebrew Congregations of Newport, Rhode Island, “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.” *

* https:// tourosynagogue.org/ history-learning/ gw-letter

The 6th president, John Quincy Adams, declared his support for the “rebuilding of Judea as an independent nation”. *

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, characterized the return of Jewish people to their homeland as “a noble dream and one shared by many Americans”. *

* https:// jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ u-s-presidential-quotes-about-jewish-homeland-and-israel-jewish-virtual-library

Every US president since 1948 has made noteworthy remarks about Israel. E.g. When welcoming Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel, Ronald W. Reagan (the 40th US president) said:

I welcome this chance to further strengthen the unbreakable ties between the United States and Israel and to assure you of our commitment to Israel’s security and well-being. Israel and America may be thousands of miles apart, but we are philosophical neighbors sharing a strong commitment to democracy and the rule of law. What we hold in common are the bonds of trust and friendship, qualities that in our eyes make Israel a great nation. No people have fought longer, struggled harder, or sacrificed more than yours in order to survive, to grow, and to live in freedom….

God promised Abraham’s descendants land. Today the land includes Israel although the boundaries actually incorporates all the land extending from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River.

3) LAND

Because of this, Israel has a God-given right to their land, a right to be a nation, and a right to defend themselves.

If we don’t believe God keeps his promises to Israel, how can Christians be sure that God’s promises to us will be fulfilled?

THE STATE OF ISRAEL

UN Resolution181 (calling for the partition of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states) was rejected by the local Arab population in the British Palestine Mandate and the Arab States.

David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. Five Arab armies (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) invaded the new state the same night, seeking its annihilation.

Israel prevailed in what came to be known as its War of Independence.

At war's end, Egypt had control of the Gaza Strip and Jordan annexed the West Bank.

Neither saw fit to establish a Palestinian state in the territory they were to control for 19 years until the Six Day War of 1967. *

* https:// mfa.gov.il/ Jubilee-years

THE MAGOG ATTACK ON ISRAEL

Ezekiel 38-39 predicts an end-time alliance of nations who attack Israel.

The alliance is headed by Magog (Russia) “in the far north” (Ezek 38:15-16).

Russia is joined by Muslim nations who hate Israel:

Persia: Iran

Put: Libya

Cush: Sudan (or Ethiopia)

Beth Togarmah: Turkey

In 1946, the land was NOT Palestinian but British.

Palestinians rejected this UN partition plan in favour of war.

Green areas were occupied by Jordan & Egypt, not “Palestine”

Green areas are the first-ever Palestinian-ruled areas – created by Israel.

Although there were periods when the land was occupied by Muslim Arabs, at no time did the land of Israel belong to a people group called the Palestinians.

Graphical overview of Jerusalem's historical periods

SOURCE: https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Timeline_of_Jerusalem

SO WHERE DID THE NAME “PALESTINE” COME FROM?

In the 2nd century the Roman Emperor Hadrian attempted to erase the memory of Judea by renaming the province Syria Palaestina.

This is the origin of the term “Palestine” and was a deliberate ploy to minimize Jewish identification with the land of Israel by naming it after their old enemies - the Philistines.

Did the modern Palestinians come from the Philistines?

No! A groundbreaking new study of DNA taken from the bones of ancient residents of the coastal city of Ashkelon suggests that Philistines came from Southern Europe. * **

* https:// timesofisrael.com/ know-thine-enemy-dna-study-solves-ancient-riddle-of-origins-of-the-philistines

** After two centuries, however, the European genetic markers were dwarfed by the Levantine gene pool, suggesting intensive intermarriage. The Philistine culture and peoplehood remained distinct from other local communities for six centuries.

A member of the Leon Levy Expedition’s physical anthropology team documents a 10th – 9th century BC burial in Ashkelon’s Philistine cemetery. Photo: ©Melissa Aja/ Leon Levy Expedition

The Philistines - the “sea people” from the Aegean (possibly Cyprus) - were more closely related to the Greeks and with no connection ethnically, linguistically, or historically with Arabia.

In the 12th century BC, they conquered a small pocket of land on the southern Mediterranean coastal plain between modern Tel Aviv and Gaza. They were the Biblical enemies of Israel with the most infamous Philistines being Goliath and Delilah.

So who are the modern Palestinians? They are ethnically Arab, as are many other Middle Easterners.

Before 1964 the modern Palestinians were simply known as Arabs.

In the 1947 UN Partition Plan, you don’t even find the term “Palestinians.” It refer to “the “Jewish population” and “the Arab population.”

Historian James L. Gelvin (an American scholar of Middle Eastern history) argues that Palestinian nationalism was a direct reaction to Zionism.

THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

The British never colonized the land from the Arabs.

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine from the Mamluks. *

Turks are not Arabs! They are a Japhetic race, not Semitic.

* The Mamluks were non-Arab, ethnically diverse mercenaries - mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern Europeans.

1517- 1917

The Jubilee Year in Israel is significant in Scripture. It occurred every 50th year - a sabbatical year after seven cycles of seven years (49 years).

The Year of the Jubilee included the restoration of property to its original owners.

From 1517 to 1917, what is today Israel, along with much of the Middle East, was ruled by the Ottoman Turks.

Eight Jubilees after the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem, the British liberated the city.

During World War 1 the British under General Edmund Allenby drove the Turks out of the Levant (the region along the eastern Mediterranean shores, roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and certain adjacent areas).

As an ally of Germany, the Turkish Ottoman empire was defeated by the Allied Powers in World War 1 and this resulted in the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Mandatory_Palestine

All the Arab nations were created from the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, following its defeat by the Allies in WW1.

Let’s put things in perspective. Can you find Waldo? The blue strip of land is Israel (smaller in area then the Kruger National Park).

On 2 Nov 1917, Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote an important letter to Britain’s most illustrious Jewish citizen, Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, expressing the British government’s support for a Jewish homeland in Israel. The letter would eventually become known as the Balfour Declaration. In 1948 we saw Israel become a nation again after almost 2,000 years of exile.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, promised British support for a Jewish “national home” in Palestine.

BRITISH MANDATE

At the war’s end the British and French set up a joint “Occupied Enemy Territory Administration” in what had been Ottoman Southern Syria. *

The land west of the Jordan River, known as Palestine, was under direct British administration from 1920 until 1948. *

The British mandate included the land east of the Jordan River, known as Transjordan. In 1928, Britain officially provided King Abdullah with full autonomy over this area.

JORDANIAN CONTROL

After the 1948 War of Independence, Jerusalem became a divided city. Israel only gained control of West Jerusalem, the newer Jewish Section of the city. The Old City of Jerusalem, the Biblical city, fell into the hands of Jordan. Jordan subsequently refused Jews access to their holy sites (including the Temple Mount and Western Wall) in violation of the Armistice Agreement.

During Jordan’s 19-year occupation of eastern Jerusalem (1948-1967), Jewish holy places were desecrated, vandalized and destroyed. Christian churches were prohibited from buying property in Jerusalem and Christian religious organizations were restricted from owning property near Holy places. *

* Ibid.

1967

Interestingly several significant events have occurred every 50 years since the liberation of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Turks.

In 1967 the six day war occurred 50 years after Balfour Declaration in 1917. Israel captured the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula up to the Suez Canal, the West Bank and most significantly took control of the Old City of Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM

Under Jordanian rule no Jews were permitted to live in the city, and the Christian population plummeted from 25,000 to 9,000. *

Freedom of worship by members of all faiths was restored immediately following reunification. In later years, synagogues demolished during the Jordanian rule, including the Hurva Synagogue were rebuilt. *

In July 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, which declared unified Jerusalem the capital of Israel. The UN Security Council ruled the law “null and void” in Resolution 478 – and called for UN Member States to withdraw their embassies from the city. *

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Israeli_annexation_of_East_Jerusalem

1967: 50 years later, the Jordanian occupied Old City of Jerusalem is recaptured by Israel.

2017: 50 years later the US officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel when President Donald Trump ordered the relocation of the American diplomatic mission to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

1917: Eight Jubilees after the Turkish occupation of Jerusalem, the British liberate the city. The Balfour Declaration is also issued.

Trump's decision was rejected by the vast majority of world leaders; the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on 7 Dec, where 14 out of 15 members condemned it, but the motion was overturned by U.S. veto power. *

Federica Mogherini, foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), stated that all EU member states were united on the issue of Jerusalem — she reaffirmed the EU's firm stance on East Jerusalem being the capital of an independent Palestinian state. *

* Ibid.

ARMAGEDDON

Rev 16:16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Armageddon is a transliteration of the Hebrew “Har Megiddo” and means literally “the mount of Megiddo.”

During the past 4000 years, at least 34 bloody conflicts have already been fought at the ancient site of Megiddo and adjacent areas of the Jezreel Valley.

The adjacent Jezreel valley measures 32 km long and 11 km wide.

Jerusalem is actually the focus of the battle and Megiddo, is 88 km away from Jerusalem. The troops are gathered at Armageddon (Megiddo) because of the vast flat valley of Jezreel – the battle does not necessarily take place there.

THE KINGS OF THE EAST

Before the battle of Armageddon, we read:

Rev 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

The drying up of the river relates to the removal of a natural barrier to clear the way for advancing troops.

Rev 16:12 … to prepare the way for the kings from the East.

Many believe that this might be a reference to China. It is more likely to be an alliance that may include China (hence the plural “kings”), coming to assist the Antichrist at Armageddon.

Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in China’s power and influence. The development of enormous military strength; intimidation of Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan, and other regions; pursuit of global economic dominance; aggressive rhetoric on the world stage…*

* https:// gotquestions.org/ China-end-times.html

THE KINGS OF THE EAST

CHINA & ISRAEL

Chinese companies have removed the name of “Israel” from their online maps, Fox News has confirmed. Maps from the companies like Baidu and Alibaba list all the countries around Israel, but no longer name of Israel. *

Screenshots (right) show Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon and other countries on the map, but not Israel.

* https:// foxnews.com/ live-news/october-31-israel-hamas-war

The Wall Street Journal first reported that internet users in China were confused by the missing Jewish state. “Baidu’s Chinese language online maps demarcate the internationally recognized borders of Israel, as well as the Palestinian territories, plus key cities, but don’t clearly identify the country by name,” the outlet reported. *

“The same is true with online maps produced by Alibaba’s Amap, where even small nations like Luxembourg are clearly marked. Neither company responded to questions on Monday. It is unclear whether the development is new, though it has been discussed by Chinese internet users since war broke out.” *

* https:// foxnews.com/ live-news/october-31-israel-hamas-war

CHINA & IRAN

China has a close relationship with Iran, and Iran is a known backer of Hamas. China remains Iran largest trading partner. Over the past several months, the Chinese have bought a record amount of Iranian oil.

* Ibid.

ALL NATIONS WILL ULTIMATELY TURN AGAINST ISRAEL

Scripture predicts that the nations of the world will turn against Israel

Zechariah 12:3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.

The Armageddon alliance consists of the leaders of the whole world, not just the kings from the East. Demonic spirits “go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.” (Rev 16:14)

Ps 2:1-6 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

KINGS OF THE WHOLE WORLD

GOD DEFENDS HIS PEOPLE

But at the second coming of Christ (the second Advent) God will rise up to defend his people when the world turns against them.

Zechariah 14:2-4 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped … Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west …

In contrast, British General Allenby entered Jerusalem on foot in 1917 to show respect for the holy place.

But one day Jesus will indeed enter Jerusalem on a white horse and rule the city.

In 1898 the German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Jerusalem. Local legend said that Jerusalem would be ruled by a king who entered the city's gates on a white horse, so to satisfy the Kaiser’s vanity, it is rumoured that he insisted on entering the city mounted on his white horse.

CHRIST JUDGES THE NATIONS WHO HATE ISRAEL

Joel 3:1-2 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land …

SHOULD CHRISTIANS SUPPORT ISRAEL OR NOT?

Zechariah 2:8 For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.

God says to those nations who will oppose Israel in the end times:

THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL

Many Jews saw the capture of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in 1967 as an event with messianic significance, while many Christians recalled the words Jesus spoke:

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Prophetically, the Old City of Jerusalem had to come under Jewish control.

4 passages of Scripture describe a specific mid-Tribulation event regarding the Temple. Each passage (Daniel 9:27; Mt 24:15; II Thess 2:3-4; and Rev 11:1-2) speaks of the 3rd Jewish Temple.

All 4 make the point that in the middle of the 7-year Tribulation, the Antichrist will take control of the Temple and commit the abomination of desolation.

These verses view the Temple as having been rebuilt, and presuppose Jewish control of the Temple mount, as well as the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Jewish control of Jerusalem was clearly fulfilled in the Six Day War of 1967.

Jesus foresaw the church age where the whole world had the gospel preached to them:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14)

TIMES OF THE GENTILES

What will signal the end of the time of the Gentiles?

“Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

Dispensational Christians view see the retaking of the Old City of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War as a significant milestone, which will ultimately usher the Second Coming of Jesus to establish his millennial kingdom on earth.

ISRAEL’S RESTORATION

The Dispensational view holds to a rigorous distinction between God’s program for Israel and for the Church. Israel has a separate irrevocable covenant with God and will be restored.

Rom 11:25-27 (NIV) I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

ISRAEL’S RESTORATION

Clearly God has not nullified his promises to Israel.

Rom 3:1-4 (NIV) What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew…? Much in every way! ... What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar.

Some are bothered by the fact that the Jews have returned to Israel predominantly in unbelief with regards to the ministry of Christ. Why hasn’t Israel been restored spiritually en masse yet?

The Bible predicts a 2-stage restoration of Israel, notably Ezekiel’s vision where he is told to prophesy to a valley filled with dry bones. He is told “these bones are the people of Israel” (Ezek 37:11, NIV).

Initially the bones assemble but have no life:

I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. (v 7-8)

But God then commands Ezekiel to prophesy again:

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet - a vast army. (v 10)

So the two phases of Israel’s restoration are:

We have seen the start of this in the 20th century:

Ezek 36:21 For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

Ezek 36:28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers…

Ezek 37:12 … I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

Ezek 37:21-22 … I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.

1) LAND RESTORATION

Isa 14:1-2 The LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Aliens will join them and unite with the house of Jacob. Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And the house of Israel will possess the nations as menservants and maidservants in the LORD’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.

2) SPIRITUAL RESTORATION

Ezek 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live…

Ezek 36:23 … I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezek 36:28-31 … you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness … Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.

The spiritual restoration will begin in the Mid- Tribulation when a remnant of Israel flees to the desert to escape annihilation by the Antichrist:

Jer 31:1-4 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people… The people who survive the sword will find favour in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.”

After Jesus liberates Jerusalem following Armageddon, the Jews will recognize Jesus as the Messiah and repent over their previous rejection of him.

Zech 12:10-11 (NIV) And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

THE MILLENNIAL RULE OF CHRIST

The complete restoration of Israel is played out in the Millennium.

Jer 31:33-34 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbour, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Jews will no longer be despised.

Zech 8:23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”

Zech 8:13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. *

Zech 14:10-11 … But Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place … It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

Isa 65:19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

* https:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Timeline_of_Jerusalem

But in the Millennium, Jerusalem will rise to become the capital of the Earth.

Jer 33:9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honour before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

CONCLUSION

The Bible teaches that God loves both Jews and Gentiles (John 3:16). But God does have a special love and plan for his chosen people. And his covenant with Abraham is an everlasting covenant – which he still upholds today.




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