ISRAEL’S TRILOGY

At the moment, there is a cease fire between the Palestinians and Israel.    That’s good news for both the Palestinians and the Israelis.    Some Palestinian observers believe however that this is simply a time of re-arming for the next barrage of missiles.   It seems that at any given time in the Middle-east that when there is break in the open hostilities, there are hostilities below the surface just waiting for the opportunity to be expressed.    Peace is always hoped for but never truly realized.

So far in this little series of blogs we’ve seen the biblical and historical background in the Middle-east.

 

God’s Promise To Abraham
• A Land

• A Great Nation

• A Great Blessing

• A Blessing Or A Curse

The Problem
The problem is that if Israel was unfaithful to God they would be scattered throughout the world.    As a result of disobedience there were three great departures from the land.

• Captive In Egypt

• The Captivities in Babylon and Assyria

• World Wide Dispersion (70AD)

The Jews were scattered throughout the world for 2,000 years.    Yet, God’s prophecy and God’s promise to Israel is that they will not always be dispersed from the Promise Land. Many Bible scholars believe there are three things that will happen to Israel in accordance with God’s plan for them and in preparation for the second coming of Christ.

Watching your daily news,

you may be watching biblical prophecy being

fulfilled before your very eyes.

Today, let’s just look at the first prophecy in Israel’s Trilogy
REBIRTH OF THE NATION

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament indicate that the dispersion of the Jews in 70 AD would last a long time, but at the end of that time Israel would return to the land as a sovereign nation.
After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. (Ezek 38:8)

It is this restoration that directly triggers the hostilities that lead to Armageddon and the Coming of our King, Jesus Christ. Israel in the land incites the wrath and displeasure of her enemies.

We see this in our daily news with calls from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinnejad and others for the destruction of Israel. For instance on Quds Day he stated, "The Quds Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems; any freedom lover and justice seeker in the world must do its best for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the path for the establishment of justice and freedom in the world." ¹
May 14,1948The United Nations carved out a small piece of land at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea to be the homeland of modern Israel.    The new nation had a population of 650,000 but today its more like 7 million.

To Create  the nation, the Arabs living in Palestine either had to come under Israeli rule or become refugees to other Arab nations.    They became known as Palestinians.    Before that time there was not a Palestinian people.    Now you begin to see why there is such conflict.

The acts of terrorism committed around the world, including 9/11 are the result of the fulfilment of Biblical Prophecy or Israel returning to the land.    There is deep rooted hatred for Israel that festers in the Middle-east that has lead to many a conflict and war.    For much of the Arab and Muslim world, the goal is to destroy Israel.    We’ve seen this in countless conflicts and wars against the young nation. Let me just list a few.

War of 1948-49The Arab nations - Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia immediately attacked the new nation. The Arab armies sought to destroy Israel but instead Israel extended its borders by another 3,000 square miles.

War Of 1956During this war Israel too the Gaza Strip. The major powers of the world had to convince Israel to stop or all of Egypt could have been taken.    Later Israel left the Gaza Strip.

1967 Six Day War - June 1967
President Nasser of Egypt believed it was time to destroy Israel. The Arab world announced its goal of total war and the total destruction of Israel and to reclaim the land for the Arabs.

The short war saw the armies and armaments of much of the Arab world almost completely destroyed.    Israel literally took the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt (later returned) and left over $ 3 billion dollars in Arab military hardware destroyed.    The Israeli advance was so quick and powerful they could have overrun the Arab capitals of Cairo, Amman, and Damascus. The Arab nations called for a cease fire but Israel would not agree until they recognized Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign state.    The Arab nations would not quit until Israel had taken Jerusalem and the Jews occupied the city for the first time since 70AD. Israel then swept over the Jordan River and took the West Bank and then the Golan Heights from Syria.

In 6 days the war was over. The military might of the Arab world was virtually destroyed.

Israel’s territory had increased from original 5,000 sq. miles to 34,000 sq. miles and Jerusalem was back in the hands of the Jews for the first time in 2,000 years.

1973 Yom Kippur - Oct. 1973Yom Kiippur is the Jewish day of Atonement.    Egypt attacked Sinai Peninsula and the Syrians attacked Golan Heights as they sought to regain territory to use in negotiations. Having rebuilt the military with oil money they were better prepared than in 1967.

In the early part of the war Israel sustained heavy casualties but they had a breakthrough at the Suez Canal which made it possible to isolate the Egyptian army and soon it looked like Israel would soon over run its Arab enemies again.    It was then that a Peace Treaty was negotiated with Egypt and Israel gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt.

Gulf War - Aug. 1990
Iraq invaded Kuwait not only for the purpose of controlling the world’s oil supply but also to establish a front from which to attack Israel.

The attack on the World Trade Centre and the continual conflicts that you see in the Middle -East, the threat of Iran developing the nuclear bomb, the daily shelling of Israel from the Gaza Strip, are all rooted in the fact that Israel has returned to the land just as God promised.

Christ Our Ultimate Hope

Somehow the sovereignty of God and the choices of man and the nations work to fulfill God’s ultimate purpose for the world and for the coming of His Son in glory.    Yes, the reality is that we look at current events in the Middle-east and we fear, yet we know that all these things must take place in preparation for the coming of Christ who is our ultimate Hope.

 
1   Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. Quds Day which began in 1979 by the Ayatollah Khomeini. It is promoted as a day of solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposition to Israel. In particular is opposes Israel’s control of Jerusalem. This possess a continual problem because Jerusalem is central to the religion of the Jews. Though started in Iran, Quds day is celebrated throughout the Arab and Muslim world.

On 17 August 2012, saw millions of Iranians waving Palestinian flags, chanting "Death to Israel." President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called to destroy Israel, which he termed an "insult to all humanity" and called to remove the "Zionist black stain." ... "The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour. Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel’s existence) will repeat. He further stated that "The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land. A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionist."