Sound The Trumpet : ISRAEL AND THE LAND

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“ISRAEL AND THE LAND”
by Art Sadlier
August 1st, 2012

God promised the Land of Canaan to Israel. Later the Romans renamed it Palestine. Those who now call themselves Palestinians have no claim to the Land of Israel. There never has been in all of history;

x a Palestinian people,

x a Palestinian nation,

x a Palestinian government

x a Palestinian language or culture

x a Palestinian economy

As late as the 1950’s Arabs refused to be called “Palestinians.” Until fairly recently the name Palestinian was given to the Jews living in Israel. During WW2 there was a Palestinian military brigade which was all Jewish. There was a Palestinian Symphony Orchestra which was all Jews. There was a Palestinian Post which was a Jewish newspaper.

Palestinians claim to be descended from a Palestinian people who lived for thousands of years in a land called Palestine. That claim is hoax yet the world accepts this lie as the basis of a false peace that they have attempted to force on Israel for some years now. The purpose of it all is to force Israel off the land that God promised to her.

The Land Promised

God decided that through Abraham and his descendants He would bring salvation and blessing to the world. “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee” (Genesis 12:1). Bound up in the program of God to bless the world through the Jew is a land. “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him” (verse 7). The land which the Canaanites once dwelt was given to Israel.

That promise was repeated to Abraham and his descendants many times. We see an example of that in Genesis 13:14-15, “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” There are three key words in this text;

· ALL
· THY SEED
· FOREVER

The land of Canaan belongs to Israel forever. That is the major issue in the world today! God gave it to them.

In Genesis 13:17 we see the extent of the Promised Land. “Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Notice, “... the length of it and in the breadth of it...” That is all of it.

In Genesis 17:7-8 we see who the land was given to and for how long it was given. “And 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.” God cannot lie and He cannot break His covenant! There is no doubt or confusion as to what Israel’s position is in relationship to the land of Israel. God’s Word is crystal clear.

Abraham’s Seed Identified

God said to Isaac, “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father” (Genesis 26:3). The Lord said to Jacob, “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” (Genesis 35:12). The Promised Land was not given to Ishmael through Abraham but to Isaac and Jacob through Abraham. The Lord said in Genesis 21:12, “...for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Again not through Ishmael, the descendants of Ishmael have no inheritance in the Promised Land.

Lost Possession of the Land

In Deuteronomy 28 we read that disobedience and unbelief would result in the loss of possession of the land. That loss of possession would be temporary and along with it would come judgment. That judgment would be not only drive them off the land, it would also bring them great troubles and persecution. Israel’s history over the last 2000 years is a shocking record of incredible suffering and devastation.

Believer, be reminded that God will not tolerate sin and disobedience and unbelief in our lives either.

The Promise of Ultimate Restoration and Blessing

In spite of the chastening hand of God on His chosen people He promised that He would preserve them in the midst of the dispersion and tribulations. The Lord also stated that He would restore them to the land, and to the promised blessing. Jeremiah 30:10-11 declares “Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” The Old Testament is filled with these promises. God is not finished with Israel.

God’s Promises Cannot be Broken

Jeremiah 31:35-37, “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.”

There is a great struggle going on in the world today; it has been the focus of world attention for over fifty years. This struggle is over Israel’s right to the Promised Land. Islam has claimed the Land of Israel as their rightful possession. The Palestinians are just a means to an end for Islam. The fact is that this whole contest is but an end time expression of the age long conflict between God and Satan. This hatred against God’s people is but an expression of Satan’s hatred for God.

The whole Muslim world is ready to die to remove Israel from the land. The nations of the world are supporting this Islamic quest. The fact is that there is not a nation on earth, including Israel, who is not supporting division of the Promised Land. Israel has tried in vain for decades to give up a significant portion of their land but the Lord has prevented it.

“Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11).

According to my understanding of the prophetic scriptures the Palestinians will not have a state in the West Bank. In the coming war of Psalm 83 the Palestinians and their associates, Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria will be totally decimated. (Read Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, Ezekiel 35-36 and Obadiah 10, 18 for the record of this coming war)

This war will be followed by the peace treaty of Antichrist. During the first half of the tribulation period Israel will experience peace provided by Antichrist. The war of Ezekiel 38-39 will occur early in the tribulation period but will have little effect on Israel as God will intervene and wipe out those enemies without Israel’s involvement.

During that time Israel will be enabled to rebuild the Temple and re-establish the worship system.

Satan wants the temple rebuilt because he not only wants to be worshipped as God but he wants to be worshipped in the very place that God has been worshipped: in the Temple.

At the mid tribulation point Satan is cast down from heaven and turns on Israel to destroy her. “And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel) which brought forth the man child” (Revelation 12:13). A portion of the Jews flee to the wilderness. This is recorded in Revelation 12:14, “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” A remnant of Israel is hidden and preserved by God for the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. Jesus also spoke of this event in Matthew 24:15-16, “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:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.”

This would be the wilderness area south east of Judea.

At that time Antichrist and the nations of the world will divide the land of Israel. We read about this in Joel 3:2, “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” That will be the battle of Armageddon, the final destruction of Israel’s enemies.

God will have the last say concerning Israel and concerning Israel’s enemies. “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jeremiah 32:37).

Those who think God is finished with Israel are walking in darkness and have no concept of the program and purposes of God for this world.

God has chosen to bless this world through Israel and He has chosen to place His Son on the throne of David to rule over this world forever. God’s purpose concerning a theocratic kingdom will be realized.

There will be two great victories of our God over His age-old enemy Satan.

The first victory will be in heaven and is recorded in Revelation 12:7-9, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” That will occur at the mid tribulation point.

The second victory will be on earth and is recorded in Revelation 20:1-2, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”

There will then be the final victory as recorded in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Believer, we are on the winning side; the battle may be hot and we may appear to be losing at times but we are on the winning side. “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Psalm 32:11).

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13