ST. PAUL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP

"Be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ." (I Corinthians 11:1)

(With Frank Eiklor and Walter Contreras)

ISRAEL: GOD'S PROPHETIC TIME CLOCK-PART 2

(Sincere Questions-Scriptural Answers)

LESSON 62 Part 2

INTRODUCTION

This lesson about Israel and prophesy is unapologetically slanted-with a tilt toward the Bible as the unique record of Israel's birth and covenants as well as the Book that has been twisted as no other by haters wishing to obliterate the Jews. History's Hamans, Herods and Hitlers have not disappeared. They arise in every generation wishing that the Jewish presence would end with death. Yet the Bible itself declares that the preservation of the Jews and the remarkable rebirth and survival of Israel are more than coincidences, and that a history that began with God will not end in genocide, but in glory.

I am sharing the sincere questions I have been asked regarding the link between the Jews, Israel and the Church-and offering Scriptural answers that have strengthened my own faith in the God of history and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's study four more questions being asked and look for answers in the Bible.

Remember, Christians are not called to accept all of Israel's politics as being inspired by God. Today's Israel is as lost and sinful as the USA. But when enemies of Israel vow the Jewish nation's destruction, Christians had better stand up and be counted as friends and supporters of Israel or else risk being found enemies of God's covenants, purposes and plan.

5.  IS GOD'S PROMISE TO BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS THE JEWS FOR TODAY?

Scripture presents both a promise and a warning that have never been cancelled. "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curseth thee…" (Genesis 12:3). This same fact is repeated throughout Scripture. For example, the book of Numbers shows a heathen king trying to pay the prophet Balaam to curse the Jews. Instead of being able to curse them, God filled Balaam's mouth with these words, "Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee" (Numbers 24:9).

When Balak raged and told Balaam he had missed out on becoming a rich man, the prophet's answer was, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord…" (Numbers 24:13). History is filled with examples of individuals and nations cursed and destroyed by God because they reached out to harm the Jews. Centuries that have come and gone are our best witness that  "the Hamans and the Herods and the Hitlers disappear-God blesses those who bless the Jew and curses those who jeer."

6.   IS THERE SCRIPTURAL PROOF THAT THE JEWS WOULD BE REGATHERED

      TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL BEFORE THE END OF TIME?

Perhaps the strongest chapter on this subject is found in the book of Ezekiel, where the prophet is given the vision of dead bones that are specifically pointed out to be the whole house of Israel. A physical and spiritual resurrection then follows. "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 37:11, 12).

Amos speaks powerfully, "And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 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" (Amos 9:14, 15).

That the Jews would first return not believing in the Messiah is also indicated: "For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then (author's italics) will I sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

A magnificent portrait of the future millennial kingdom where the wolf and the lamb dwell together is also seen: "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 11:12). Our generation is watching this take place. The Jews are back in their land, God miraculously preserves them in the midst many neighbors who wish to destroy them, and a Jewish call for the Messiah builds in Israel.

7.   WHAT DOES THE WORD "ZION" MEAN?

The Bible says, "Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory…When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory" (Psalm 102:13-16). While the word "Zion" could refer in Scripture to a mountain, the land, or even the people, it was always a tag applied only to the Jews. In the above verses, many theologians point at the 1948 rebirth of Israel as at least a partial fulfillment of God's promise to restore the Jews to their ancient land.

Again the Book affirms, "And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: for the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Micah 4:2). These scriptures indicate that the future seat of the Messiah is not in Washington, Moscow, Paris or London, but in Jerusalem-the Zion of the Great King.

8.   WHAT ABOUT GOD'S LOVE FOR THE ARABS?

Many people believe that to be pro-Jewish one must be anti-Arab. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because one loves his wife, must he hate his mother? Obviously, he can love them both.

Many Christians carry a special affinity and debt of love for the Jewish people. However, it should not mean a lesser love for other people-including Arabs. On the contrary, a true follower of Jesus is to love all men equally. Isaiah 19 is often pointed to as God's final picture of the unity that will come about between Jew and Arab when the Messiah reveals Himself to all peoples of the Mideast.

For example, He both smites and heals Egypt with a revelation of Himself. When God's plan is completed, this amazing prophecy follows: "In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance" (Isaiah 19:23-25).

At last, Arab and Jew greet each other with "Salaam" and "Shalom" and mean it with all their hearts. The family feud is over. Ishmael and Isaac walk together as brothers. Both sons of Abraham finally enjoy that elusive peace. And the earth rings with the glory of God. God is just as busy today loving the Arab as He is the Jew. And his followers are to build bridges of love to both of these offspring of Abraham.

(TO BE CONTINUED)