Israel's Covenant Land Part Three
May 14th marks the 58th anniversary of Israel’s reformation as a nation in 1948; May 26th will mark another celebration of the unification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War of 1967. This is the first of several series of messages and studies on Israel's Covenant Land in honor of these two celebrations of God's Chosen COVENANT people! Let this writer make it clear to the reader. America’s freedom in coming years will depend a great deal on how we handle Israel!!!!! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob neither slumbers or sleeps and He watches over Israel with tremendous zeal and love. No matter how far away from God Israel may be at the present time, there is a special place in the Father's heart for the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Those who call upon His name for Israel can be sure God will fight for Jacob’s seed - even if that is sending chastisement on America, another beloved nation in the heart of God. The future of Israel stands now on a false peace treaty but on COVENANT promises God has made regarding the land of Israel and Jerusalem. If all those who believe in Christ, Israel's Messiah, will stand in the gap, before the Lord God of Israel, and cry out to Him, He will defend His Holy Name; He will remember His Holy Covenant with Abraham regarding the land; He will reclaim His holy city, Jerusalem, rebuild His Holy Temple and redeem His people, because HE IS THE COVENANT MAKING, COVENANT KEEPING God of Israel!
By Chris McDonald
TEXT: Isa 41:7-10- So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
There are several themes of prophecy in the Bible. These themes include the coming of the Messiah, the day of the Lord, the messianic age, and heaven and hell. The theme of the dispersion and restoration of Israel is also one of the major focuses of the Bible from Genesis 12 all the way through the book of Revelation. The story of prophecy is the story of Israel coming back to God after being cast off due to unbelief. ALL Israel shall be saved, according to Scripture. Before Israel accepts her real Messiah, she will accept the Antichrist, not so much as a Messiah, but as one who promises something Israel will be willing to sell its eternal soul for - peace.
When the prophets of old spoke about the rebirth of Israel, it was based on the everlasting covenant with Abraham and the promises made in the second covenant with Moses. The message of the prophets was not new. These messages were given to comfort the children of Israel and warn the world – including the United States – that the covenant with Abraham was still in effect despite Israel’s unbelief and hardness of heart. The Jewish people were dispersed under the second covenant, but one day would be brought back into the land under the everlasting covenant.
First, there was Isaiah who, in 750 B.C., wrote about the rebirth of Israel from a worldwide dispersion. Isaiah was written in the days of four kings—Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1). Their whole reign covered a period of 113 years. It was in the year that Uzziah (the first king) died that Isaiah saw the vision of Isaiah 6, so we can safely conclude that he was not a prophet very long before this. Estimates of his office run from 48 to 70 years. The kingdom of Israel had become great during the reigns of David and Solomon, but since then had become divided and weakened through civil wars, sin and conflicts with other nations over a period of 240 to 250 years before Isaiah began his ministry.
During Isaiah's time, Judah's safety was threatened by the advancing Assyrian Empire. When the king of Judah sought to protect the nation's interests by forming an alliance with Egypt to turn back the Assyrians, Isaiah advised the nation to look to their God for deliverance-- not to a pagan nation led by an earthly ruler. He also prophesied that the Assyrian army would be turned back by God before it succeeded in overthrowing the nation of Judah <30:27-33>. In about the fifth year of Hezekiah's reign the 10-tribe (northern) kingdom of Israel was destroyed and the people were taken captive to Assyria (2 Kings 17; 1 Chron. 5:26; Amos 1:5). Very few references are made in Isaiah to this kingdom and then only regarding the time when they fought with Judah and Jerusalem, which are the subjects of the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 2:1).
The general theme of the first part of Isaiah's book is God's approaching judgment on the nation of Judah. In some of the most striking passages in all the Bible, the prophet announces that God will punish His people because of their sin, rebellion, and worship of false gods. But this message of stern judgment is also mixed with beautiful poems of comfort and promise. Although judgment is surely coming, better days for God's Covenant People lie just ahead.
The second major section of Isaiah's book- (Chpts. 40—66) - is filled with prophecies of comfort for the nation of Judah, yet unfulfilled to this day. Isaiah looked ahead to the golden age of the Messiah’s rule after the Great Tribulation period. Just as Isaiah warned of God's approaching judgment in the first part of his book, the 27 concluding chapters were written to comfort God's people in the midst of their suffering after His judgment had fallen.
Isaiah 40:1-2 - Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. [2] Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins.
Isaiah's message in this part of his book is that after their period of judgment has passed, God's Covenant People will be restored to their place of responsibility in God's plan for the salvation of the world. The great suffering through which they were passing was their period of captivity as exiles of the pagan nation of Babylon. This theme of suffering on the part of God's people is demonstrated dramatically by Isaiah's famous description of the Suffering Servant, a beautiful prophetic portrait of Christ. The nation of Israel in many ways was also God's suffering servant who would serve as God's instrument of blessing for the rest of the world after their release from captivity and restoration as His Chosen People <42:1-9>.
Isaiah closes his book with a beautiful description of the glorious age to come after the Tribulation period when the city of Zion or Jerusalem, will be restored. God's people will gather there to worship Him in all His majesty and glory. Peace and justice will reign, and God will make all things new.
In the 66th chapter of his book, Isaiah foretold the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948:
Isaiah 66:8
Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Thus, Isaiah was one of the prophets who saw a coming dispersion, then restoration in full for the nation. The Jews have now come back to Israel literally from the east, west, north and south. To the location of Jerusalem, they have returned from the ends of the earth! And friend, the journey has not yet finished – millions more are coming home as the stage continues to be set for the fulfillment of God’s Word concerning her that “ALL OF ISRAEL shall be saved!”
Isaiah 11:11-12
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. [12] And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah 43:5-6
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; [6] I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Secondly, we have Jeremiah, who was a prophet right at the time of the first dispersion about 600 B.C. He warned the people of the coming captivity in Babylon, but he also warned about dispersion into the entire world. He prophesied the people would return from the coming captivity in Babylon and also from a worldwide captivity. The prophets all warned on the coming judgment, but they also comforted Israel that they would be a restoration.
Jeremiah like all the prophets told of the rebirth of the nation. Jeremiah states that the return of the Jews was going to be the direct act of God who would be directly involved in leading the Jews back to Israel. This regathering of the people was to serve as a warning to all surrounding nations as well. Jeremiah’s prophetic words were written 2,600 years ago!
Jeremiah 31:8-10 - Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. [9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. [10] Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
Jeremiah said the rebirth of the nation would be greater than the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. The Jews coming back to Israel from the nations of the world would be of such a magnitude that no longer would the exodus have a great impact, but the worldwide gathering would supplant it. This regathering would, as stated many times, be based upon a COVENANT made by God with Israel’s ancestor – Abraham!
Jeremiah 16:14-16 -Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; [15] But, The Lord lives, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. [16] Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
Ezekiel was a third prophet who lived and wrote during the first exile about Israel’s restoration. In 570 B.C., He was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and brought to Babylon. While in Babylon, Ezekiel wrote incredibly detailed prophecies about the worldwide dispersion and rebirth of the nation of Israel. In beautifully written language with awesome imagery, the prophet gives detailed look of God’s plan for Israel and the nations. Entire chapters of Ezekiel are devoted to this dispersion, restoration and events that happen after the restoration.
Ezekiel 35 and 36, a source and subject of a coming study guide by this ministry, detail in depth the ancient hatred against Israel by the seed of Ishmael, along with a panoramic view of what was going to happen to Israel once God intervened and brought down those who hate her. Both chapters talk about both the nation being destroyed and land wasted, followed by the promise the land will once again be fruitful and inhabited.
Ezekiel promises they would again dwell in the land that God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with whom God made the everlasting covenant. Ezekiel ties the regathering of the Jews from all the nations once again back to the covenant God made with Abraham:
Ezekiel 36:19
And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
Ezekiel 36:24
For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Ezekiel 36:28
And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
The prophet follows the general statements in chapter 36 with a vivid picture in chapter 37 of the full restoration and rebirth of the nation. Israel is described as being a huge pile of dead, dried bones lying in a valley. In reading this chapter, the picture comes to mind of the prophet standing on a mountain ledge over looking a large valley full of dead men’s dry bones. One can almost see the noonday sun shining on these bones causing them to glisten white. God gave this picture to Ezekiel to show the utter hopelessness of the nation of Israel without Him. That has not changed today! What hope can dead men’s bones have for ever living again? NONE!
To the natural eye, Israel of old had no hope. The nation was destroyed and dispersed into all the world. The language was gone, and they were persecuted and rejected from country to country. Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah didn’t record the horrors of the Holocaust of Adolf Hitler from 1938-1945 that would kill close to 6 million of God’s chosen people; yet, they each saw a time of great trouble for Israel before her full restoration.
The vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 was a perfect picture of the nation of Israel after its destruction in A.D.70. There was NO HOPE. But the HOLY GHOST does not end with hopelessness. He told us through Ezekiel how the nation would be reborn as God worked in the affairs and hearts of men and governments to resurrect those bones in 1948. The rebirth of Israel in 1948 is only part of a bigger story. Israel has been restored physically to her land, but not spiritually! She STILL has not recognized Jesus as Her Messiah, which is ultimately the goal of all of God’s dealings with her – both past and present.
Ezekiel 37:1-10 - The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, [2] And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. [3] And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. [4] Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. [5] Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: [6] And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. [7] So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. [8] And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. [9] Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. [10] So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
The prophet calls the world’s attention to view Israel’s graves so it can witness the power of God in bringing these bones together as a nation being reborn:
Ezekiel 37:11-12
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. [12] Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:21
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Ezekiel 37:25
And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
Ezekiel clearly states in verse 25: THEY SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN UNTO JACOB MY SERVANT! He connects the resurrection of the nation from the dead, with the land being given to Jacob. This is again a reference to the covenant God made with Abraham. Time after time, over and over again, the Bible connects the dispersion and rebirth of Israel with the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham.
Genesis 12:1-7
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: [2] 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: [3] 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 15:18
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Genesis 17:7-12
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. [8] And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. [9] And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. [10] This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. [11] And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. [12] And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
When the nation was reborn in 1948, it was a sign to the entire world that God was honoring His covenant Word. God cannot lie and His promises and Word cannot and will not fail. When it comes to Israel those statements mean even more!
Lastly, there was Zechariah, who was one of the prophets after the Jews returned to Israel from the Babylonian captivity. He wrote about 520 B.C. Zechariah is unique because his focus is on the city of Jerusalem. The other prophets talk about the land and some touch upon Jerusalem, but Zechariah gves details about the city. He says that God has chosen Jerusalem for His purpose. Of all the cities of the world, God has chosen the city of Jerusalem to work out His redemption plan for man:
Zech. 2:12
And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Zechariah shows us that Jerusalem, like Israel, will be inhabited and restored. The people would come back to Jerusalem from all over the world.
Zech. 8:7-8 - Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; [8] And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
The city will once again be the center for the worship of God. All the peoples from the nations of the world would come to Jerusalem and it would be the center of world attention.
Zech. 8:22 -Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
Zech. 12:6 - In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
When the Jews returned from their worldwide dispersion and the nation was reborn, it would be and is a final return. There will be no second or third dispersion into the entire world. Get that last statement in your spirit for it is the foundational thought for this entire series. Israel’s return in 1948 has set the stage for the entire prophetic conclusion to the church age that will end with the rapture for the saints, the time known as Jacob’s trouble for Israel, and the physical, SECOND COMING of the Lord Jesus Christ to Earth with the saints.
The world is now entering into the end play of God’s prophetic plan for OUR TIME. The entire script has already been written by the prophets! The events of 1948 and 1967 with the reunification of Jerusalem are the fig tree budding again! Israel will dwell for ever and Jerusalem from generation to generation!
Joel 3:20 - But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
The Last Days Are Here; The Latter Day Is Today!
Hosea 3:5 - Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.
The prophet Hosea said in the latter days the Jews would return. Ezekiel also said they would return to Israel in the latter years and describes the latter days as the time when they would return to Israel AND be reborn nationally. It would be the time when the Jews came back from the nations of the world and to the covenant land which had been continually a waste land. For centuries upon centuries, the land had been waste and the Jews scattered throughout the world.
Ezekiel saw the great Battle of Armageddon that would take place when Israel was “back in the land, dwelling in safety.”
Ezekiel 38:8 - After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
In just 58 years, Israel has become a world military power with nuclear weapons. The land itself is no longer a wasteland but a flourishing valley of rich agriculture and millions of trees. When the Jews left the land a curse seemed to have settled. With Israel’s return the desert has bloomed again! That too is prophecy fulfilled in part according to Isaiah:
Isaiah 35:6-10 - Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. [7] And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. [8] And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. [9] No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: [10] And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
When we say “in part,” we mean that the total fulfillment of what the prophets saw concerning Israel’s restoration will not take place until the Millennium Kingdom. But the rebirth of Israel has fulfilled in part the prophets’ view of a restored nation. The rebirth of Israel is no fluke of history; neither is the reunification of Jerusalem. Israel is on the brink of fulfilling the covenant God made with Abraham nearly 4,000 years ago! This writer needs to make it clear however, that before that covenant is granted in totality; Israel is in store for her darkest hour.
Much of the land that is contested at this time may very well be lost for a season because of pressure from the nations. This may seem like God has abandoned Israel; He has not. But His plan for Israel in these last days goes much deeper than the covenant of land; His plans for Israel are that through her tribulation, she finds Christ! I’ve said this recently and I’ll say it again. It is better for Israel to lose her land and gain her soul than to inherit the land in full and lose her soul and miss Christ. NEITHER WILL HAPPEN based on the covenant of God with Abraham. Israel will one day inherit the land promised to her and she will come to know the Messiah – the one whom Abraham “saw” in his day and was “glad.” Abraham recognized the coming Redeemer through the spirit.
This writer believes that is how he could find the faith to offer up Isaac to God without question; He knew in his heart what and Who Isaac represented. Neighbor that is TRUE FAITH! True faith always rests in the CROSS! Abraham saw the CROSS and “was glad!” He rejoiced at what the Lord would do through the coming ONE in redeeming fallen humanity back to Him. And that is the ultimate purpose and heart of God for Israel – that SHE MIGHT BE SAVED!
Romans 11:25-28
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 fullness of the Gentiles be come in. [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: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. [28] As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Let this writer warn those in the evangelical community. If we’re not careful we can be so zealous of defending Israel’s right to the land and make that defense an idol! Millions will militantly want to defend Israel yet care nothing about seeing the souls of Jewish people come to Christ. Those who don’t care about Jewish people coming to Christ usually don’t care any Gentiles coming to Christ either. Many evangelical movements campaign and loudly proclaim their support for Israel without doing one single thing to win souls to Christ! They major in warning the world about the consequences of dividing the land, which they should, don’t get me wrong. But we can want to defend the land so much we forget that the land will never be returned to Israel until Israel RETURNS TO GOD THROUGH CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED!
Friend, hear me. Israel is not just any other nation, believe me. This writer’s heart bursts into tears at the thought of the pain and suffering of Jewish people through the centuries. Most of this pain and suffering has come as a result of two things – the Jewish people’s rejection of the Lord 2,000 years ago and two, Satan’s intense hatred for God’s chosen people who has sought to keep the hearts of millions of Jewish people in blindness and inflict as much pain as possible on Jacob’s seed. Israel’s cry to Pilate, “let HIS blood be upon us and our children,” unleashed a torrent of centuries of suffering unknown to any nation on earth.
The scary thought is the worse is still yet to come through the rise and season of the Antichrist! There is no nation in history that had its capital and religious center destroyed and the people en masse twice taken captive off the land – AND STILL SURVIVE! The last captivity was for 1,900 years. The language was all but extinct For this nation then to be reborn and have the same capital has to be seen as supernatural! The people even speak the same language and have the same religion.
If one was to have predicted one hundred years ago that the Jews would return to Israel from all over the world; Jerusalem would be again the capital; the land would produce incredible agriculture; and the nation would be a military power, FEW if any would believe! Such a prophecy would have seemed incredible if not impossible. On May 14, 1948 the process for all these things to take place happened before the world’s eyes! During the Six Day War of 1967 Jerusalem came back under Israel’s control since A.D. 70. That too sent prophetic shockwaves through the Body of Christ. No other generation like ours can attest or testify to such tremendous events.
What force has kept this people as a nation though they were scattered into the entire world for 1,900 years? What force kept the language and religion intact? What force kept the Jew from being completely destroyed through pogroms, crusades, holocausts and all the other attempts to destroy them? The Jewish people and the nation of Israel (And Jerusalem as a city for that matter) are but an enigma unless one understands the Word of God and what it says about the future.
God’s invisible hand has been working since the days of Israel’s dispersion to fulfill His Word and confirm His covenant with Abraham – through the modern nation of Israel! The everlasting covenant spoken of in Genesis 17 is still in effect today. This writer cares less what the United Nations, Europe, Russia, China, Iran, Syria and sadly even many in the ever increasing apostate United States says about it. The Palestinian led government Hamas may stomp their fists and declare Israel must be destroyed – but when the Palestinians are long gone ISRAEL will still be standing! It may look at times in the near future the Palestinians will get their wish and acquire a new state. But the day is coming when Israel will cry out to God in such a way that heaven will hear and bring salvation to her at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah records Israel’s prayers during the Great Tribulation period when she has no where to turn as the Antichrist advances with his armies against Jerusalem with enough power amassed to destroy her totally and fulfill the ancient hatreds of the Hamans, the Hitlers and the Stalins. Neighbor, those events are not that far off! Time is getting short. We are living in the latter days!
Amos 9:15 - And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
Israel: God’s Anvil For America, The World And The Church
Isa 41:7-10- So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth
with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering:
and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of
Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the
chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee,
and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness.
Psalm 12:6
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Jeremiah 31:35-37
Thus saith the Lord, which gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: [36] If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. [37] Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
It is very serious to be on the wrong side of God when He is defending His everlasting covenant! The wrong doctrine can cause a person to be apathetic to Israel and the Jews. This can lead to a failure to pray for and support Israel in a time of crisis and blinds a person’s ability to see God’s judgment falling on America for forcing Israel to give up land for peace.
God is serious about the land and covenant. Israel will literally be used as an anvil to destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem. The nations will be drawn to Jerusalem like a moth to a light. Multitudes of people have rejected God and the Bible or just do not believe His Word. This rebellion will cause the nations to come against God’s anvil. God has warned before hand what will happen when armies try to destroy Israel and take Jerusalem. The entire world will see the mighty power of God, as He uses Israel as His anvil. This is all laid out in the Bible, and will be covered in depth in journals to come. God is using the rebirth of Israel like an anvil to expose false prophets, doctrines, and to have a literal witness on the earth to the authority of the Word of God!
The first effort by America to pressure Israel to give up land for peace began in 1991 under then President George H.W. Bush and continued until 2000. The disputed land known as the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights are the central places of all the tension and reason for Middle East terrorism. This peace plan also involves Israel giving East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as their capital. The ruins of the ancient Jewish Temple are located in East Jerusalem. The peace plan in the Middle East involves Israel giving disputed land to the Palestinians “for peace.”
Since the Six Day War of 1967 when, like a lightning bolt, Israel regained Jerusalem and united it as its capital, the world has done everything possible to take it back. Since 1967, there has been a major war, plus fighting in Lebanon and continual terrorist attacks against Israel. Starting in September 2000, a low-grade war was started over Jerusalem. This war in a way is a continuation of the fighting that started in 1920. It has been almost forty years since Jerusalem was united. Now, the righting is directly over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount area.
The Bible states the last great world war will be over Jerusalem. All the nations of the world will be drawn to Jerusalem. God is going to use Jerusalem as an anvil against the nations of the world and those who seek to destroy God’s covenant nation will be broken and destroyed!
The nation of Israel is also an anvil for false views of God and Bible doctrine. Most religions of the world do not recognize God’s covenant over the land of Israel. Some believe the Jews had a covenant, but this covenant is no longer in effect. God is using Israel to now show the literalness of His Word. The rebirth of Israel confronts false teaching, doctrine and prophets. Israel has become an anvil to break the false doctrines and misunderstandings of the Bible.
Islam does not recognize the covenant with Isaac and Jacob, but instead believes God made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael. Islam believes the Koran and not the Bible is the word of God. The Koran fails to mention Jerusalem even once, and it does not mention the rebirth of Israel. Jerusalem is mentioned 811 times in the Bible. The rebirth of Israel is on page after page in the Bible, while the Koran is silent.
The rebirth of Israel shows the authority of the Bible as the word of God. God’s everlasting covenant and the rebirth of Israel are like an anvil against the Koran! Israel is proof that Koran and Mohammed are WRONG and FALSE! That is why the Muslims have such a deep ancient rooted hatred for Israel as they spew their venom out with terms like “the Zionist entity” and “Zionist regime.” They will not even recognize the nation of Israel.
And unless the reader has not heard this yet on this website let me say it for the 10,000th time – there is a huge confrontation on the horizon between the God of the Bible and Islam. The heart of the confrontation will be the JEWISH control of Jerusalem. God is using Israel as an ANVIL against Islam. When the Islamic nations come against Israel in the end times they may look like their victorious for a season but in the end – THEY WILL BE DESTROYED!
The Anvil Concerning False Doctrines in The Church
God is using Israel as an anvil against false teachings and doctrines in the church. There are doctrines called “replacement theology,” and “dual covenant theology,” which are fluid with many many branches on them throughout the Body. Some believers really think the church has replaced Israel in the everlasting covenant. These doctrines hold that God has no future plan for the nation of Israel, and when Israel was destroyed in A.D. 70 it ended the everlasting covenant. Israel then fell under the curse of the law, but all the blessings in the Bible written for Israel “now belong to the church.” These doctrines are in STARK contrast to what the prophet Jeremiah states that Israel will remain forever as a nation before God:
Jeremiah 31:35-37
Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: [36] If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. [37] Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.
God has used the rebirth of Israel to prove both these doctrines to be incorrect. The Bible is to be taken literally about Jerusalem meaning Jerusalem and Israel meaning Israel, and not spiritualizing it to say Jerusalem and Israel now mean the church.
To try and get around the error of the replacement and covenant theology, some believers in these doctrines have gone so far as to say the Jews in Israel are not real Jews. To show you the hypocrisy in this when these “Jews” were being killed in pogroms in Russia, no one said, “Stop, they are not real Jews.” When these “Jews,” were being killed by the Nazis, no one said, “Stop, they are not real Jews.” Now, when these same “Jews” go back to Israel, all of a sudden they are no longer Jews. That is as they say in Greek, “GAAAR-BAAAAAAAGE.”
God is using the rebirth of Israel to cut right through false and incorrect views of His Word. The promise of God in the Bible is crystal clear on page after page. Man-made doctrines and false prophets have tried to alter this covenant, but in the latter day, God has made the truth clear for all to see. God is very serious about His Word. God is about to hasten His word concerning Israel!
Jeremiah 1:12
Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
Believing false doctrines about the literalness of the rebirth of Israel blinds people to the working of God that is occurring right before their eyes. God is moving to fulfill His Word, and millions cannot see it because they are following false prophets or wrong doctrines about Israel and Jerusalem! The very sad part is believers in Jesus Christ because of false doctrine can actually be against the work of God and satanically inspired. Many fail to support God’s covenant nation and can be against it because of a false understanding of Israel and the everlasting covenant.
There is another false doctrine that has just crept in within the last year or so called “dual covenant theology,” which we will address in a separate journal very soon. This doctrine basically denies that Jewish people have to be saved through faith in Christ but, because they are Jews have a unique way of salvation through the covenant with Abraham. That is a LIE. There is not two ways to God neighbor. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY and it’s THROUGH HIS BLOOD AND HIS BLOOD ALONE that man is saved! There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Closing
We did not touch the surface of what we set out to write about in this message, so we will pick up this more in part four of this message series. As we near the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem on the 26th, let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Let us search our hearts today and see if we truly love God’s chosen people – AS HE LOVES them! Let us search our heart today and ask ourselves the question, “am I doing everything possible to insure the Jewish people are hearing about Jesus!?” Yes, it is important to support Israel’s land but it’s much more important to support Israel’s search for the real CHRIST! Israel’s soul is at stake and it won’t matter if she gains the whole world and loses it in the end!
May God bless you today and we pray you have made your calling and election sure. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those who love Jerusalem will prosper!
Psalm 122:6 - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Storm clouds in Wisconsin, Spring 2006; A Prophetic Picture of coming events on Planet Earth and especially here in America unless we repent
corporately and individually.
If you were blessed by this journal or have a question, please leave us a post below.
Related:
The Times of the Gentiles (Covenant Land Series)
A Covenant God and A Covenant Land (Covenant Land 1)
The Two Covenants (Covenant Land 2)
Israel: God's Prophetic Anvil (Covenant Land 3)
A Covenant With Death and With Hell We've Made Agreement (Covenant Land 4)
The Mountains of Israel Part One (Covenant Land 5)
Israel's Return To The Land (Covenant Land 6)
The Prophetic Promise of Return (Covenant Land 7)
The Palestinian Cause And Israel's Land (Covenant Land 8)
For a complete Bibliography of this message series click here