Israel: Now and Forever

The following article is posted on the Rapture Ready site (link here) and is both timely and important to understand - and it puts Israel in the proper perspective in these last days:



ISRAEL CANNOT BE DESTROYED AGAIN

By Daymond Duck

The Bible clearly says that God gave the Promised Land to the Jews forever. It’s even an undeniable fact of history that Jews have lived on the Promised Land for centuries. Even during the Babylonian and Roman dispersions there were still some Jews on the Promised Land. Nevertheless, it’s not uncommon to hear Church leaders in mainline denominations refer to major portions of the Promised Land as “occupied territory” because Jews live on it. These Church leaders claim to understand the Scriptures, but if they do they are making themselves willingly ignorant of what the Scriptures say.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

God asked Abraham to move to the Promised Land. After he moved, God said, “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. 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” (Gen. 17:7-8).

A) God’s covenant with “thee” means with Abraham.

B) With “thy seed after thee” means with Abraham’s descendants after him.

C) In “their generations” means anytime Abraham has living descendants.

D) For an “everlasting covenant” means God’s covenant will last forever.

E) “I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land” means God gave the Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants (the Jews; see below).

F) “All the land of Canaan” means all (not part) of the Promised Land belongs to Abraham and his descendants (the Jews).

G) “For an everlasting possession” means all of the Promised Land belongs to Abraham and his descendants (the Jews) forever.

H) “I will be their God” means God made a covenant with Abraham to be Israel’s God.

THROUGH ISAAC NOT ISHMAEL

Some ask, “Does God’s covenant with Abraham go through Isaac, Ishmael or both?” God answered the question: “Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year” (Gen. 17:18-21). God said the covenant will go through Isaac not Ishmael.

This is not unfair. God loved Ishmael and promised: 1) to bless him, 2) To give him many descendants, and 3) to make him into a great nation. Ishmael now has about 300 million descendants. Ishmael’s descendants now rule in more than twenty Arab nations. God gave them billions of barrels of oil. But God didn’t give Ishmael’s descendants (the Arabs) the Promised Land. God said His covenant will go through Isaac.

The descendants of Isaac (not Ishmael) will eventually possess all of the Promised Land forever.

THROUGH JACOB NOT ESAU

The answer to this question is found in God’s covenant with Jacob. God told Jacob, “Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel . . . And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land” (Gen. 35:10-12).

WHAT IF GOD DOESN’T KEEP HIS COVENANT

If God didn’t keep His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants through Jacob, God would be a liar or the Bible is wrong. But God does not lie and the Bible is not wrong. All of the Promised Land belongs to Israel and none of the Promised Land belongs to the Arabs or Muslims.

WHAT IF THE NATIONS REJECT OR IGNORE GOD’S COVENANT

God’s Word is settled forever (Psa. 119:89). He won’t break His covenant. If the nations keep rejecting and ignoring God’s covenant by attacking Israel without His approval they will eventually wind up in a battle with God called the Tribulation Period and the Battle of Armageddon. Don’t forget that the covenant says God is Israel’s God.

WHAT IF THE JEWS SIN

God clearly said they would sin and He would put them off the land, but He would not forget the covenant. Concerning their sin, He said, “And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD” (Lev. 26:44-45).

In the days of Jeremiah, He said, “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: 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. 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. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner” (Jer. 31:35-38). Israel won’t cease to be a nation as long as the sun, moon and stars are shining.

ISRAEL WILL EVENTUALLY OCCUPY THE LAND AND NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO REMOVE THEM

God said, “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 9:15).

The prophet Ezekiel spoke of a time that the Jews believe is beginning to come true today. God said, “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 an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 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. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded” (Ezek. 36:26-33).

ISRAEL IS THE KEY TO BIBLE PROPHECY

Israel must exist to be God’s people and exist in the latter years and latter days (Ezek. 38:8, 13). Israel must exist to be God’s people and God heritage at the Battle of Armageddon (Joel 3:1-2). Israel must complete all seventy weeks or 490 years of her punishment all prophecy is fulfilled and the time of everlasting righteousness begins (Dan. 9:24). Israel must exist for Jerusalem to be a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for the whole world at the end of the age (Zech. 12:2-3). Israel must exist to sign a seven-year covenant at the end of the age that will begin the Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:27). Israel must exist to rebuild the Temple (Matt. 24:15; II Thess. 2:4). Israel must exist to resume the animal sacrifices before the Antichrist can stop them (Dan. 9:27). Israel must exist to flee into the wilderness when the Antichrist defiles the Temple (Matt. 24:15-17).

WHAT THE NEW TESTAMENT SAYS

Paul addressed the question this way, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” (Rom. 11:1-2a).

Paul also said, “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 fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 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: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11:25-30). God will not repent or change His mind about His gifts and calling of Israel.

When the angel Gabriel announced the virgin birth to Mary, he took a message from God and addressed it this way, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:26-33). Jesus didn’t sit on the throne of David or reign over the house of Jacob forever at His first coming, but He will. He will come back and the government will be on His shoulder (Isa. 9:6).


----------


We must also recall God's words, in the context of His bringing Israel back into their land - during this last generation:

"You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:28)

And why does He do this? The answer is found in Ezekiel 36:22-23:

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations...Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes."

These passages serve as yet another reminder that God is completely in control - everything will come about because it is part of His overall plan.

Our job is to watch it unfold and to use fulfillment of biblical prophecy as a witnessing tool. We have been given this knowledge of God's prophecy for a reason - and that reason is to be spiritually prepared for Jesus' coming, and to witness on behalf of Christ Jesus.

It's pretty simple really.

Maranatha! The signs of His return are all around us - that is an undeniable fact. The nation's return to their land - Israel - is one of our most important signs. God's plan is in the process of reaching complete fulfillment. We are greatly blessed to be living in a biblical age.