SLIDES

The History and Future of Israel and the Middle East

Part 10

Today we are going to conclude our study of the history and future of Israel and the Middle East. First, we need to review, the five major events that are causing Israel and the Middle East to be in turmoil are:

1.  God put enmity between Satan and Israel.
(Genesis 3:15)

2.  Ishmaels’ descendants, the Ishmaelites, were prophesied to constantly cause Israel problems, do not exist today as a nation or people. However, their descendants continue to cause problems as they were absorbed into the Arab nations.

3.  Israel’s title deed to the land promised by God to Abraham and His descendants forever is found in Genesis 15 continues to demonstrate that the land belongs exclusively to Isarel and the Jewish people. In the Old Testament God reiterated to Isarel at least 18 times that In the Old Testament that He gave the land to them as an everlasting possession.

4.  Jacob received the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant instead of Esau. The descendants of Esau, the Edomites, have constantly caused Israel problems along with the Ishmaelites. In Psalm 83:5-8 we find that the Ishmaelites and the Edomites made a covenant with other peoples and nations at that time to destroy Isarel.

5.  God changing Jacob’s name to Israel. From him, the first Jew, came the 12 tribes and the nation of Israel.

I.                          Clarifications concerning the land of Israel.

Since Scripture teaches that God gave Israel land for an everlasting possession and gave the borders for this everlasting possession in the Abrahamic Covenant, means that Israel does not occupy the West Bank nor the Golan Heights. The West Bank and the Golan Heights are within the borders that God to them as an everlasting possession.

The land called Palestine was officially changed to Isarel on May 14, 1948, when Isael was reborn after 1900 years. There is not any land, state, or nation called Palestine today. Today it is called the nation or state of Isarel. Before May 14, 1948, all people living in what was called Palestine, whether Jew or Arab, were called Palestinians. Today all people living in Isarel, whether Jew or Arab, are called Israelis. There is no such thing as a people called Palestinians today. 

Concerning the two-state solution, they gave the Arabs Gaza and look what has happened for 25 years with the culmination on October 7, 2023. There are millions of acres owned by 17 Arab neighbor neighbors surrounding Israel. Why don’t they give the Arabs in Isarel some land for them to live on? The two-state solution is no solution at all and will never happen. God gave the land to Isarel not the Arabs, and Israel will not give any more of their land to the Arabs.

Let me show you two interesting verses concerning Israel, the land, and the Gentile nations in Deuteronomy 32:8-9 and Acts 17:26.

8 “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,

When He separated the sons of man,

He set the boundaries of the peoples.

According to the number of the sons of Israel.

9 “For the Lord’s portion is His people;

Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

II.                      Timeline of the End times

III.                 Clarifications concerning Scripture

Since I’ve been teaching this class, I tried to show how the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament, particularly during this series. I have had several people tell me that they have never seen anyone do that before. Demonstrating how the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament is something the writers of the New Testament did quite often. As I will demonstrate, The Old Testament is just as relevant as the New Testament and should be part of one’s study regiment.

The Bible never divides the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are one unit, not two. When Jesus, Paul, or other writers quoted what is generally called the New Testament, they just call the Scriptures.

Matthew 21:42

  42   Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, the Scriptures

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

1 Corinthians 15:3

     For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

he Scrip

The Scriptures, the Bible we respect, study, and obey, from Genesis to Revelation, are one unit, not two. The worst thing the publishers of Bibles ever did was to add the page between Malachi and Matthew that says the New Testament. (Tear that page out of a Bible.) It would behoove all of us to change our mindset from there being two different divisions in the Bible to the fact that the Bible is one unit. As a matter of fact, what people call the New Testament does not begin until Jesus died.

I’ve said all this because there are some Christians who do not want to study the books from Genesis to Malachai. In reality, they should amend their statement to stay that they do not want to study the Bible from Genesis to Matthew 27:50 when Matthew wrote, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”

John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine,

He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up

His spirit.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 wrote that, “All Scripture is

inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for

correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man

of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Without a knowledge from Genesis to Malachi, one cannot understand Mattew to Revelation. A few examples are:

·      The book of Genesis is the foundation for the entire Bible.

·       We are going to spend 1000 years in the Messianic Kingdom, but most of the information about it is found in the Prophets.

·      Information about Tabernacle and the ministry of the Priests are almost exclusively found in the Torah.

·      The Feasts of Israel are almost found exclusively in the Torah.

·      Much about the everlasting Covenants are mostly found in the Torah, 2 Samuel, and the Prophets.

·      The title deed of the land given to Israel by God as an everlasting possession with the borders are found in the Torah and Prophets.

·      The promises of the giving of the Holy Spirit and the salvation of the Gentiles are found in Genesis and the Prophets.

·      How would you know anything about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, Ishmael, King David, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc. without studying the books from Genesis to Malachai.

·      One cannot understand Revelation without understanding Daniel.

·      One cannot understand the end times without understanding Daniel and the Prophets.

·      There is as much about the Tribulation and the events that will happen at the second coming in the Prophets than in Revelation.

How many times do the writers of the New Testament quote the Old Testament? An index in the Jewish New Testament catalogs 695 separate quotations from the books of the Old Testament in the New Testament (Jewish New Testament Publications, Jerusalem, 1989). There are many other passages where the Old Testament is referred to, as in cases where an Old Testament figure is mentioned, but no specific scripture is quoted. Depending on which scholar's work you examine, the number of quotations and references in the New Testament to the Old may be as high as 4,105 (Roger Nicole, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1979, Vol. I, p. 617).

Compare those figures to the number of times other writers are quoted in the New Testament: four. The apostles themselves quoted the Old Testament 695 times, but some believe we should not study the Old Testament.

Consider a few more statistics. Of the 27 books and letters forming the New Testament, 21 quote the Old. The only ones that don't directly quote the Old Testament are the six shortest-Titus, Philemon, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. However, Titus, 1 John, 3 John and Jude allude to Old Testament personalities or passages.

V.      What does God think about Israel?

Romans 11:25-36

   25   For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

  26   and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,

He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”

  27   “This is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

  28   From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;

  29   for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

  30   For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,

  31   so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.

  32   For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

  33   Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

  34   For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?

  35   Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

  36   For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

VI.                 Antisemitism

A basic definition of anti-Semitism is “the hatred or persecution of the Jew.” To dislike a person who merely happens to be Jewish is not anti-Semitism. To dislike a person because he is Jewish is anti-Semitism. It can be passive or active, mild or severe. Anti-Semitism comes in various forms: political, national, religious, economic, social, theological, etc.

Satan is the cause of anti-Semitism. We see this in Genesis 3:15 when God prophesied that He would cause there to be enmity between Satan and Israel.  This hostility continues throughout the entire Bible until Revelation when Satan tries to destroy Israel during the Tribulation period as highlighted in Revelation 12. At the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom, Satan will be chained for 1000 years. At the end he will be loosed.  At the end of the Messianic Kingdom as seen in Revelation 20:7-12 he will try again to deceive all who live in the Messianic Kingdom to include Israel.  He will finally see his demise in Revelation 20:10.

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Since the Abrahamic Covenant was made, the principle of I will bless those who bless you and will curse those who curse you his seen in biblical, as well as secular history. The United States is on the precipice of going down a road that will bring curses to our nation instead of the blessings we have seen thus far for blessing Israel. The United States on not seen in prophecy except among the nations who receives curses because of our abandoning Isarel.

VII. What should the Christian’s View of Israel Be?

 Do we owe the Jews anything as Christians? Yes, we do! They wrote every book of the Bible except maybe one, Job. Job may have been a contemporary of Abraham. They also gave us the Messiah for John 4:22 says, “Salvation is from the Jews.”

If God loves Israel with an everlasting love, should we not support them? No. we don ‘t agree with everything they do, but do you agree with everything your spouse and/or children do? They are God’s chosen people who He says He loves with an everlasting love.

We should certainly pray for Israel as seen in Psalm 122:6- Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: For they shall prosper that love you.

Many were silent when this happened only a few generations ago in Nazi Germany, but we cannot be now. As Christians, we must stand up for our Jewish friends and the nation of Israel.

Again, God gave them this homeland that they returned to as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. They have every right and responsibility to defend themselves from this evil that has come upon them like a violent storm from Hell itself. 

I’m going end by reading a profound poem that is attributed to two men, William Norman Ewer, a British Journalist (1885-1975) And Leo Rosten, An American playwright (1908 – 1997)

How odd

How odd of God

To choose the Jews

But not so odd

As those who choose

A Jewish God

Yet spurn the Jews

Selah!