“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.” (Gen. 12:2-3)
“Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.” (Hos.1:9)
What of the state of Israel which was formed in 1948? Is this political regime, God’s “chosen people”? You would certainly think so if you take into account the activities and sermons of prominent evangelicals such as John Hagee and even the rallies by political commentators such as Glenn Beck. However, is it scripturally accurate to say that Israel is currently God’s chosen people and that one is in danger of bringing upon themselves the curses of Genesis 12 if they do not support the state of Israel?
First, I think the state of Israel does many good things and I support their right to defend themselves against attacks by other nation-states and/or terrorists. This article is not about the state of Israel’s foreign policy and defensive or offensive strategies. Having said that; I will also note that evangelicals knowingly turn a blind eye to bad things done by Israel out of a (in my opinion) misplaced sense of religious obligation.
A Brief History of Israel
As the passage cited above (Genesis 12:2-3) indicates, God called Abraham to be the father of a great nation. God had washed His hands (temporarily) of the nations at large and culled out a people chosen by Him. The history of Israel as a people chosen by God has a cyclical pattern well-laid out in scripture. It is typified by the pattern of: covenant relationship with God, followed by backsliding, followed by apostasy toward God, followed by judgment by God, followed by repentance toward God, back to covenant relationship…kicking the cycle off again. This cycle has typified Israel’s long history documented throughout the Old Testament and even into the New Testament.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)
The above passage (although commonly misapplied by Christians in connection with the United States) was a part of the covenant between God and Israel (not the United States or Christians). The relationship and covenant was a “if, then” relationship. God would declare “if you do this, then this will happen!”. Israel’s history during the Old Testament times was typified by years of obedience to God, a slide into idolatry and then being taken into captivity with God using foreign kings and armies as “attention getters”.
If you remember, the week before Jesus’ crucifixion, He lamented that Israel would not gather to Him (although He knew it wasn’t time for them to believe) and He pointed out to the apostles that the Temple would be utterly destroyed and “no stone left on top of another”. As a side note, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus points to this destruction of Israel and their afflictions (torment) they have experienced as a people ever since.
John the Baptist was preaching repentance to Israel and that the kingdom of heaven was at hand:
“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand(Matt. 3:1-2)
John was heralding a literal, political, earthly kingdom which would be headquartered in Jerusalem with the Messiah as its head of state. This was in line with the promises of God to the patriarchs of Israel and in line with Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel, etc. However, one thing that the Old Testament prophets could not see was that there would be two comings of the Messiah and that there would be a rather large gap (currently clocking in at a bit over 2,000 years) in between the suffering Servant and the triumphant Messiah. So, why the gap, why has Israel waited so long to come into their promises to be “the head and not the tail”? Relatively, it is due to their unbelief, rejection of their Messiah and rejection of the kingdom. In the absolute sense, it is because God gave them a spirit of stupor that they would not believe (read Romans 9-11). It wasn’t their time.
The kingdom was relatively close when Jesus came to Israel the first time. That is, just as the Promised Land was relatively close when Moses led Israel out of Egypt. Based on the time it took to take Joseph’s body for burial from Egypt to Canaan, it should have been just a few days journey for Israel. How long did it take them to actually get to the Promised Land? Forty years!!! Again, the reason was their “stiff-neck” and unbelief. This forty year journey foreshadowed the future abeyance of the kingdom.
“When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see yeto it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” (Matt.27:24-25)
I wonder if the Jews ever look back and consider just how bad that pronouncement turned out to be. In the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70, the Israelites as a people were dispersed into the wilderness of nations, where they have been ever since. Has God forgotten His people? Has He washed His hands of His people? Has He shifted His promises to people who would believe Him (aka “The Church”)? Not according to the Apostle Paul. This was all calculated and planned by God. Paul quotes the prophet, Isaiah, in Romans 11:25-26 and explains that God has temporarily set Israel aside and, “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 fulnessof 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”
So, God, once the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled, will resume His program with Israel. What will God use to precipitate the needed repentance by Israel to come back into relationship with Him? First, let’s look at the more recent history of the State known as Israel.
“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.” (Isa.66:8)
1948-The Statehood of Israel
Was the above passage of Isaiah fulfilled in 1948? In prophecy circles, sermons on Sunday mornings, and among prophecy buffs of the evangelical persuasion, “yes”. I know I certainly used to think this was the case. This belief has led to famous (and more often than not; infamous) date setting for the second coming of Christ. However, once you study the history of the establishment of the Israel nation-state founded in 1948, you begin to see something else. At least, I see a usurper, an attempt to rule the world apart from God, not under God. As a matter of fact, beginning back in the 1600s a real Zionist movement began. Much of this due to upon the translation of the scriptures into English; truths (one of which was the re-gathering of Israel) began to be regained.
Some of the push to re-establish the people of Israel in Palestine was political power play; however, there was also a very real attempt to fulfill (by man’s designing) biblical prophecy and bring in the millennial age. There were also attempts by charlatans, posing as false messiahs who in a lust for power, wanted to lead a re-taking of Palestine.
<prophesy in the news accounts>
<account on Napoleon>
In the late 19th century, a new European Zionist movement began. Many Jews lived in Eastern Europe and began facing persecution which forced many to immigrate to Western Europe and/or the United States. After World War I, the British Empire (who controlled after the fall of the Ottoman Empire) much of what now is modern-day Israel and Jordan, formulated a plan to give the Jews their own state in Palestine. It is likely this was done out of the belief that Great Britain represented (at least in part) the “lost 10 tribes” under the doctrine of what has become known as “British-Israelism”, which includes the theory that the British Royal Family is directly descended from King David.
For more detail on how this evolved with the granting of the land, the Balfour Declaration, the U.N. Partition of Palestine and the State of Israel in 1948, I would suggest doing a Google search for the previously referenced terms.
At any rate, the Zionist Movement which began in Europe was; for the most part, a secular movement which was based more on an elitist mindset than on a quest to come back to covenant relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Remember, Israel of scripture was a true theocracy. Israel’s prosperity or curse rode on the peoples’ obedience to God. Can that be said of the “Israel” of today? As a matter of fact, according to Joel Greenberg writing in an article on McClatchyDC.com, entitled, “Israel Likely to Hold New Elections as Centrists Break With Netanyahu” one of the primary and most devisive issues facing Israel right now is “…a contentious bill affirming Israel’s status as the Jewish nation-state…”.
Counterfeit Israel?
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matt.24:32-34)
With the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, Evangelical Christians started their prophetic stopwatches. Many saw the second coming and of course; the rapture of the Body of Christ, as at the doorstep. Calculations were performed on what exactly constituted a “generation”. Many used the number “70” as a basis for a generation and of course the mathematical equation of 1948 + 70 was born. As the years approached closer and closer to the year 2,000 (which, c’mon, just sounded ominous) and constant turmoil of East vs. West and Israel vs. Everyone continued to boil over, books such as Hal Lindsay’s The Late Great Planet Earth and novels such as Left Behind, sold by the millions. Date setters would step forward with more and more plausible scenarios of what year (depending on your theological persuasion) would see the snatching away of the “church”, the Tribulation, and/or the second coming of Christ. More than anything else, the primary event on which prophetic date-setters have operated is the formation of the state of Israel.
Satan is masterful at counterfeiting. That’s what he does. He cannot create, he can merely contaminate, counterfeit, poison, and so forth. He has operated this way since his creation. Scripture (popular Christian myth notwithstanding) tells us that Satan “was a murderer from the (his) beginning” (see John 8:44). He has used false prophets during the Old Testament times to counterfeit the actual prophets of Yahweh, he used counterfeit priests in the persons of the Pharisees who usurped the seat of Moses, he uses false miracles and signs to counterfeit the works of the Holy Spirit, he has a counterfeit movement which claims the name of Christ Jesus to lead many astray, he will use a counterfeit messiah to fool Israel and the whole world in the last days, and I would contend that he is using a counterfeit Israel right now. I believe that the current state of Israel and its secular form of government is just another counterfeit which Satan is currently utilizing.
The Third Temple and the Temple Mount Contention
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Dan.9:27)
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” (Matt.24:15-16)
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess.2:3-4)
There are several things to be gleaned from the above passages concerning the last 7 (years) weeks of Daniel’s 70 weeks, the condition of Israel’s relationship to God, and the Day of the Lord:
1. There will be a returning of Israel to right relationship with God (evidenced by the daily sacrifice and oblation which the Antichrist will cause to cease)
2. The Antichrist will enter into an agreement/covenant with “many”.
3. There will be a rebuilt “Third Temple” in which this daily sacrifice/oblation will be performed.
4. There will be yet another (remember the cycle of Israel?) “falling away” of Israel.
5. The Antichrist will annul this agreement after 31/2 years and desecrate the Temple.
6. These events must precede the Day of the Lord (latter 31/2 years).
The Temple Mount of Jerusalem is the most contentious location on this planet. This mount holds significance for the faithful of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. For Muslims, this mount is the site of the Dome of the Rock (completed in 691 A.D.) and houses the “foundation stone” which rests on what is believed to be the site of the Holy of the Holies of the second Temple prior to its destruction by Titus in A.D. 70.
Activities on the Temple Mount are highly regulated as to what areas non-Muslims are allowed to visit and/or to pray in. Neither side, is willing to budge on the issue and the government of Israel seems to be as protective of the Dome of the Rock (to prevent war) as the Muslims are. There are organizations such as the Temple Institute and The Temple Mount Faithful who are working toward the rebuilding of this Temple.
According to an article, entitled, “The Political Role of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate in the Temple Mount Question” from The Jewish Political Studies Review, as to a rebuilding of the Temple, Chief Rabbi Unterman said, “"The Temple Mount has still not been freed, as mosques are situated on the Mount. When the Messiah comes and removes the mosques, then will be built the Temple." That is a profound statement. Most of Christianity (of the minority of Christians who believe in a Pre-Trib eschatology) believe that the Israel will rebuild the temple on their own and are waiting for circumstances to be right for this to be done.
While no one (especially myself) knows how all of these pieces will ultimately come together, I do think the theory I am about to describe is a very viable one.
A Possible Scenario
Believe it or not, Jews, Christians, and Muslims (for all their differences) are all waiting on “Christ”. Of course, the problem lies in the fact that they are each waiting on a different “Christ” and a false one. The religious Jews are awaiting their long-promised Messiah (they rejected the actual Messiah) who will vanquish their enemies and place Israel as the head of the other nations. Christendom has been misled for 2 millennia believing in a “Christ” who is actually foreign to the scriptures and is divided as to his return. Finally, you have Muslims, who believe that Jesus was a prophet who never died on the cross but will return withtheir messiah.
The world is reaching a boiling point on many fronts. The worldwide population seems to be under the constant threat of war, pandemics, terrorism, etc. The world’s banking and financial markets are begging for a solution to the economic uncertainty and turmoil which has the ability to turn first-world powers into third-world catastrophes overnight; pushing the world toward a unified currency. Technology (and its exponential rate of increase) continues to push the boundaries of ethics, morals, and law. My point in all of this is to say that the world awaits someone who can bring real answers and a new world order.
I have stated in a previous article that in God’s overall plan, we are situated in a unique place-holder. It is an age in which God has set Israel aside and has called out a new group of believers to herald a message of conciliation by God toward man. We live in an age of grace. However, God’s program with Israel will resume (Rom. 11:25) and this age of grace will end. I believe the catalyst for this will be God removing the Body of Christ from the earth, which will in turn displace Satan and his angels from the celestial realm, which will then usher the “man of sin” onto the world stage (see 2 Thess.2:8-9 and Rev.9).
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thess.2:11)
We know that world will become united in a political and religious system under the Antichrist. This will be the final world kingdom symbolized by the feet of iron and clay in Daniel 2. How will the world (with all its religious, political, and ideological factions) unite under one system? God in His plan will cause the world to believe the lie. It seems that the lie is that the Antichrist is God. Will the belief in this false messiah simply materialize out of nowhere?
As I stated earlier, Satan is a counterfeiter. Why not counterfeit the second coming of Christ? Why not counterfeit the Kingdom of Heaven? Imagine this scenario for a moment:
The world teeters on the brink of war as the Middle East inches closer to war. ISIS moves further into Syria with an eye toward Jerusalem. Israel threatens a preemptive strike against Iran and Damascus in order to cripple Iran’s leadership who is on the verge of obtaining nuclear strike capability. Violence erupts on the Temple Mount as religious Jews enter the Muslim holy area. Radical Islamic forces stand at the ready with Western countries calling for restraint on both sides. There are further accounts of Muslims converting to “Christianity” based on supernatural visions many Muslims have reported as seeing “Jesus” in visions. The Pope calls for Muslim extremists to be denounced by all practitioners of Islam while stressing the need for Muslims to unite in prayer with Christians, who “worship the same God”. Oil fields are set on fire and distribution of oil from OPEC is halted due to escalating likelihood of war. Financial markets world-wide drop by more than 50% due to economic pressure. The Western nations are contemplating intervention in the Middle East in order to stabilize their crumbling currencies.
…do you have this pictured in your mind?
…Now imagine…
The State of Israel’s enemies (representing much of the Islamic states) decide to attack and in a confederation; amass from all sides and gather on the mountains of Israel. Even with Israel’s military capabilities, they know there is going to be no overcoming this unprecedented onslaught which completely and utterly surrounds them. The world is watching. Then, just before an attack commences; hail, fire, and brimstone rain down from the heavens completely and utterly destroying the amassed forces, likely the capitals of the countries, and quite possibly the Muslim structures situated on the Temple Mount. This scenario is what is pictured in Ezekiel 38-39. It happens at a time when the people of Israel are in apostasy toward God, live in relative safety in unwalledcities, and enjoy much riches. Is this not a picture of Israel today? Why does God destroy apostate Israel’s enemies?
“So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.” (Ez.39:22)
What do the coming days after such an event look like? I think that it quickly and decisively settles the question which secular Israel wrestles with right now. There will be a wholesale repentance of Israel to God,there will be a huge migration of the world’s Jewish believers to the land promised by God. The prophet Elijah will also return to Israel (see Matt & Malachi 4-6).
There will be a very quick re-dedication to the God of the Old Testament and a return to the Mosaic and Levitical laws, necessitating a rebuilding of the Temple on the recently vacated Temple Mount. World-wide concerns over looming war have been replaced with something very different, while economic concerns and world governmental fears likely ratchet up due to the new imbalance which now exists.
What effect are U.N. mandates on a country whose God just annihilated all her enemies? This will last for (I believe) a fairly short period of time. The reason why is, I believe, found in Matthew 24 and Jesus’ explanation as to what will signify the end of the age.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” (Matt.24:14-16)
Would not this time, after the Temple Mount has been cleansed, Israel’s enemies destroyed, clearing the path for rebuilding of the Temple not be the perfect time for preaching “this gospel of the kingdom...in all the world…”? Israel will be expecting their Messiah, what remains of Islam will be in utter confusion and chaos, and I would wager that Christendom will still be looking for Christ’s return. At this point is when I believe the Antichrist will show up (I believe it will be a supernatural arrival
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