Israel Experienced Their Version Of America’s 9/11

A few weeks ago, Israel experienced the worst terrorist attack and the greatest loss of life since the holocaust during World War 2. In one day, over 1,300 people were killed. Over 120 people were kidnapped by Hamas, an Iran-backed terror group controlling Gaza. Hamas attacked Israel using rockets, paragliders, boats, motorcycles and whatever other means they could to infiltrate Israel. They killed babies, murdered and abducted people and the elderly on the street. There are even reports of families being burnt alive together with their children. Hamas then pushed a propaganda saying that Israel killed women and children whereas it is Hamas’ known practice to use women and children as human shields when attacking Israel. This practice of using women and children is not isolated to Hamas alone but terrorist groups around the world are known to do the same, even using them as suicide bombers.

This was a modern-day version of an event in the Bible where the Amalekites ambushed Israel when they came out of Egypt. It was vicious, unprovoked, and wicked. God came out in the scriptures to say that He would protect His people and punish the Amalekites.

Evil Is Never Justified

There are some who feel that Israel is not behaving righteously and deserves judgment however, no matter what a nation commits, no terrorist attack is every morally right or justified. We grieve with the people of Palestine, we pray for the people of Palestine, and we love them. The Bible says we are Gentiles just like them. We must also understand that while Israel has not always acted blamelessly in its conduct towards the Palestinian people but it doesn’t make terrorist attacks less demonic or morally justifiable.

Israel Is Still God’s Holy People

God said in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 that the nation of Israel is a holy people separate unto Him.

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a holy people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you not choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep an oath which He swore to your fathers…”

Deuteronomy 7:6-8

The reason we pray for Israel is not because they are perfect but because God makes it clear in His Word that He chose them to be His special people. If that is a trigger word for you, see a therapist! That is God’s Word. We don’t go to God and say I don’t like Your Word; we accept God’s Word and find out why He said it. God Himself said that He did not choose Israel because of their righteousness in Deuteronomy 9:5.

“It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fahters, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 9:5

The land currently under conflict never belonged to the Palestinians because thousands of years ago, God gave it to Abraham before there were any Palestinians. It was the Roman empire who named the area Palestine in order to insult the Jewish people. This came from the name Philistines because the Israelites always had conflict with the Philistines.

The Promise To Abraham

God came to Abraham and made him some promises. Firstly, God promised Abraham would be a father of many nations. Secondly, that his seed would bless the nations and thirdly, that He would give him a specific area of land. If you have a problem with that and think that God should break His promise to Israel and Abraham, why should He keep His promise to you? Through Christ, God promised to forgive our sins, to take us to Heaven, and to be with us. God made a promise and He is going to be faithful. God said that the land of Israel that He promised them would belong to the Jewish people forever and they have always historically owned it. In the Holy Bible, we do not see a lot of mentions where God gives people land except in this promise to Abraham.

Israel In History

In 1948, Israel became a recognized nation by the United Nations. The moment after its recognition, neighbouring countries attacked Israel. Despite the attack, Israel won the war against nations like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. In 1967, these countries attacked Israel again, which led to what was known as the Six Day War, in which Israel took control of areas like the West Bank and East Jordan. Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1979 but still controls other areas like the West Bank and Gaza. Why I am bringing this into focus in church is that there can be danger when the church gets its theological understanding from CNN and world news, rather than the Bible. When we allow the propaganda of our culture and generation to affect our world view, it is very dangerous.

Replacement Theology

Replacement theology says the church took over Israel’s role in God’s plans and promise. In other words, Israel stood as a place holder for God’s promises until Jesus came. When Jesus came, all the prophecies were fulfilled and Israel no longer had any relevance to the promises. This is false. This would imply that God cancelled His promise to Abraham. If God broke His promise to Abraham, how long is it going to take Him to break His promise to you? Those who believe replacement theology are in error. The Bible does not teach that.

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Romans 11:25

Paul explains that there is a blindness in part that has affected Israel concerning Jesus Christ. Not all Jewish people are blind to the truth. This was allowed by God for the grace of salvation to reach the Gentiles. Up until that point, the Jewish people kept away from other nations because they did not want to get contaminated. From the turning point of Christ, the Jews started to take the message of righteousness to the ends of the earth. God’s calling and election are irrevocable; God doesn’t take them back.

Old Testament Foretellings

In the Old Testament, there are pictures of the future of Jesus the Messiah, as it relates to the Jewish state and the people of Israel. One of these is the story of Joseph, who is a clear shadow and type of the Messiah.

• Joseph was beloved of his father.
• He was like a savior to his brothers.
• Got rejected by his brothers for the price of 30 shekels.
• Joseph got falsely accused and thrown into a dungeon with two crazy people – one of whom gets killed and the other promoted.
• Joseph married a Gentile bride.
• He was also the second in command of the kingdom after Pharaoh.
• At the end of Joseph’s story, he reconciles with his brothers. The first time they came, they didn’t recognize him so they didn’t reconcile. In the brother’s minds, Joseph was dead, whereas he was feeding the rest of the world in his exalted position.
• Egypt benefitted from Joseph while his own family didn’t think he was alive.

The Fulfilment In Christ

• God audibly said of Jesus that He was His beloved Son.
• Jesus was sent to His own but was rejected by them.
• Jesus was sold for 30 coins.
• Jesus was falsely accused and tried at night by six different courts and killed on the basis of a false accusation.
• On the cross, Jesus hangs between two criminals – one of whom goes into the lake of fire, and the other who goes to paradise.
• Jesus gets raised from the dead and goes from the prison to the palace, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father.
• Jesus is coming back for His bride, the Church, comprising of Jews and Gentiles.
• Jesus the Messiah is carrying out the mission of reconciliation, healing the sick, and driving out demons among the Gentiles.

Israel is still blind in part to who Jesus Christ is. He was not a heretic that used magic to perform miracles; He was filled by the Spirit of God. In His first coming, He fulfilled 333 prophecies given by God in the Old Testament. 150 of the prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled in the six hours when Jesus hung on the cross. Professor Peter Stoner, a professor of Mathematics and Astronomy, said “the probability of just 8 out of the 333 prophecies coming to pass is equivalent to covering the state of Texas (268,597 square miles), two feet deep in silver coins, one of which has a special mark on it. And then expecting a blindfolded man to walk across the state and on the very first try find the one marked coin.”

The Ending

On the brothers of Joseph’s third visit to Egypt, Joseph reveals himself and they wept. The Bible says they will see Jesus who they pierced and they will weep, concerning the nation of Israel. Concerning the signs of the future, Jesus told us to look at the fig tree to see how it is budding. The fig tree in this parable is Israel. Look at what is happening to Israel and you will know when something is about to happen.

Jesus is going to land on the Mount of Olives, He will defend Israel during a very difficult war but that cannot happen if Israel doesn’t exist. That means the time is coming, when Israel are going to re-enter the land just like they did in the Old Testament with Joseph. The Bible prophesies every eye will see Him and there will be the sound of a trumpet when He will come. The Jewish people who rejected Him will weep and embrace Jesus as their Messiah and King.

The Old Testament is Christ concealed; The New Testament is Christ revealed. Click To Tweet

Seven Feasts Of Israel

Israel has seven annual feasts and all of them are a symbol of Jesus. Four feasts were fulfilled in His first coming; three feasts will be fulfilled in His second coming. Below are the feasts and their symbolism.

• Feast of Passover – the death of Jesus (Leviticus 23:5, 1 Corinthians 5:7).
• Unleavened Bread – the burial of Jesus (Leviticus 23:6).
• The feast of First-Fruits – Jesus’ resurrection (Leviticus 23:10, 1 Corinthians 15:20).
• Pentecost or the feast of Weeks – God gave the Holy Spirit (Leviticus 23:16, Acts 2).
• The feast of Trumpets – The return of Jesus (Leviticus 23:24, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
• The day of Atonement – a fast symbolizing when Israel would all be saved (Leviticus 23:27, Romans 11:1-6).
• Feast of Tabernacles – Jesus reigning forever with us (Leviticus 23:34, Micah 4:1-7).

Israel missed Jesus’ first coming because they were fixed on His second coming. Most of us are not interested in His second coming because we are so impacted by His first coming. Israel was expecting a king to come, but instead, they got a priest and a prophet. Jesus has three functions: as a priest, prophet, and king. He fulfilled the function of the prophet in the three years of His earthly ministry. Jesus fulfilled the function of the priest by living a holy life, dying on the cross, and rising from the dead. His third function is to return as the King who will rule and reign. There are eight times more verses in the Bible concerning Jesus’ second coming than about His first coming.

There are at least 300 references in the New Testament about Jesus’ Second Coming. Apostle Paul mentions them at least 50 times in his epistles.

The Second Coming Of Christ

Jesus’ second coming will be visible, personal, literal, and glorious. Some people believe and teach, wrongly, that the second coming of Jesus is only symbolic. Jesus Himself said that lightning would light up the sky and the sound of a trumpet from Heaven would be loud. How else can every eye see it? Everyone will see it. Jesus’ second coming gathers the saints. We will be caught up to meet Him in the air, our bodies will be instantly transformed, the dead will be raised and we will meet the Lord at His coming.

My personal belief is that Christians will be protected during the tribulation but we will not be rescued completely from it because God didn’t rescue people from them in the last 2,000 years, Christians are the only ones who can endure it, and God will use them still to expand His Kingdom. You can disagree with that and still be nice.

It is important that our beliefs and ideas don’t come just from our experience but from a place of Biblical understanding.

The Endtime

After we meet Jesus in the air, His feet will land on the Mount of Olives, according to Zechariah 14:4. When Jesus lands, He will slay the Antichrist, who is a man, who signs a seven year peace treaty with Israel, and desecrates the temple during this time. That is when the war against Israel begins. When Jesus lands, He is coming as a man of war and conqueror. A lot of Christians do not know that nature of Jesus yet. But when Jesus comes as King, He will defend Israel, kill the Antichrist and judge the nations, and rule them. Jesus is the only One worthy of ruling the earth. The Bible says every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The Bible is about Jesus! Click To Tweet

What Do We Do About Christ’s Second Coming

The Bible tells us to wait for His second coming. My recommendation is we should wait for it. God is not done with Israel, therefore we should not cease to pray for its peace, (Psalm 122:6). Why is there such an attack on that small peace of Middle Eastern real estate? Because the devil knows that is where the future incontestible King of the Universe is coming to earth. The enemy has tried to remove Israel as a nation before that can happen and he failed; he will continue to fail until the end.

While we wait for Jesus’ second coming, we must work hard to let the world know about His first coming, (Matthew 28:19-20). Many people don’t know Jesus; they know about Him but don’t know Jesus. We must train believers to endure sufferings, not just teach them to enjoy blessings, (Matthew 24:9-12). Let us not be snowflakes but soldier; let us be an army. We have to endure suffering and misunderstanding in the cause of Christ.

The Strong Church Of The End Times

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. We are going to build a church that is strong, and sacrificial, a church that will lay down its life for Jesus, and live without regrets. We will not merely maintain; we will multiply. It is not time to go into hiding until Jesus comes; we are going forth in His name and we will fish for souls, multiplying the Kingdom.

At Hungry Generation, we will have revival in the church and reformation in society. We don’t just want revival in the church, we want reformation in society and that cannot happen if we only maintain and go into hiding. The church must go into the world and multiply. We don’t have fear, we live on fire! The church must fear God too much to fear death and live for the One who died for us. Hell was always doing its thing but hell can’t stop what Heaven started.

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