The Nation of Israel - "I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land." Joel 3:2
The Land of Israel and its History in regards to Biblical Prophecy
While wanting to complete these articles it has come to my attention that there is so much that can be said and written about each topic that I am going to try my best to give you some places to search out these things. Israel is the heated debate and topic of our day in so many ways. What does the bible say about Israel? What place in history does Israel have? Is God done with Israel? Does the church replace Israel like so many claim? Is the current middle east crises Israel's fault?
These questions are at the heart of this section of the site. There is so much information that honestly it would probably take 100's of pages just to answer these very issues and questions. Make no mistake about it the bible has allot to say about Israel. Mentioned over 2500 times in the bible it is one of the biggest studies in the scriptures.
Now some of you might ask "Why does it matter about how we view Israel in light of scripture?". Well there is allot at stake. Just for one example if God can not keep his promises to Israel then why would we expect him to keep his promises to us?
Jeremiah 31:35-37
"Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever. Thus says 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, says the Lord."Ezekiel 35:10-13
"Because you have said, 'These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,' although the Lord was there, therefore, as I live," says the Lord God, "I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, 'They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.' Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them."Ezekiel 36:1-5
"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 'Thus says the Lord God: "Because the enemy has said of you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,' " ' therefore prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people 'therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around 'therefore thus says the Lord God: "Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with whole-hearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country." 'Ezekiel 36:8-10, 21-24
"But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord," says the Lord God, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land."
So we can see that God has made special promises to the people of Israel. Its not that they are any better then us mind you or that they have a separate salvation plan like some claim. The plan of salvation that has been given to us is for everyone just as Paul says
Romans 1:16
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
So we have been included in the plan of salvation that God had planned for the world. First for the Jew then for us Gentiles as shown in the scriptures. It is so important to have a correct view of Israel in regards to biblical interpretation because if you get Israel wrong you will get allot of scripture wrong.
Those above verses are just but a taste of all of the rich scripture that speaks about Israel and what God has planned for them. His plan for them is the same for us as well. We are both called to repentance and to put our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ ( Yeshua ben Yoseph ) that God gave that no one should perish.
John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
So in closing I really wanted to try and get some exact points across that would give you a taste of what the scripture says in regards to Israel. I hope this has peeked your thirst to know the bible more and that it has encouraged you to study. Remember to always check scripture when you read any article or do any research. We all need to read and study the bible every day and continue to draw close to the Lord. If you do have any question please do feel free to contact us here and we will be happy to answer any questions you do have. The links below will give you some additional information. God Bless
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