Land of Israel
Land of Israel
By Dennis Huebshman
Genesis 12:7: “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this Land. So, Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.” (NET)
Genesis 26:3: “Stay in this land then I will be with you (Isaac) and will bless you, for I will give ALL these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father, Abraham.”
Genesis 35:12: “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you (Jacob – Israel). To your descendants, I will also give this land.”
Exodus 32:13 (Moses speaking to the Lord who was about to discipline the Israelites): “Remember Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob), thy servants to whom Thou swearest by Thine Own Self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of Heaven, and ALL this land that I have spoken of will give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.” (NKJV- emphasis mine) After this, the Lord withheld His discipline for this particular occasion.
Numbers 34 gets really explicit as to the boundaries North, South, East and West of the land God gave to Abraham and his descendants. I had initially tried to list all the references, but it was clear as mud afterwards. One would have to have a map of the ancient towns and landscapes to make sense of it all. One map that I located was an over-lay onto a “today” map which showed where all the area would be today. It included all of the land Israel currently has; all of the West Bank with Judea, Samaria, Jordan and Gaza; parts of Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and much of the Mediterranean Sea.
When people complain about how much land Israel currently “occupies”, just wait until the Millennium when all is restored to them, and when the New Earth with the New Jerusalem is here at the end of the Millennium. At that time, no one will be saying anything about God’s chosen people as everyone will be His People.
When God made His covenant with Abram (exalted Father) who later became Abraham (Father of Many), He declared some very serious “I Will” conditions Genesis 12:2-3: “Then I Will make you into a great nation, and I Will bless you, and I Will make your name great so that you will be a divine blessing. (3) I Will bless those who bless you, but the one who treats you lightly (curses you), I Will curse, and all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name.”
First, any evangelical minister that is still saying the Jews were replaced by the Church after the Cross do not have a good biblical working knowledge. To put it in plain terms, God made the Covenants, and they still stand. The Jews are His chosen people because of the special bond with Abraham, even though He has had to discipline them numerous times for turning away from Him. This did not cancel His covenant as many would proclaim. We have a newly added covenant because of the Cross, which Jesus spoke of in John 10:16: “I have other sheep (Gentiles) that do not come from this sheepfold, (Jews) and I must bring them too, and they will listen to My voice, so that there will be one flock and one Shepherd.” This Shepherd laid down His life for His Flock – All who would believe in Him.
God said All Nations would bless one another in Abraham’s name. He literally meant it was open to everyone on Earth, and it wasn’t just from the Cross Forward, but from the time He made that covenant with Abraham.
When the time of the fullness or completion of the Gentiles – understood to mean All Believers – has been reached, the “Church Age” will end with the Rapture, and God will turn and give complete attention to His chosen people for refining and discipline. (Romans 11:25) There is no particular race, creed or “religion” involved with the Rapture. It is for all believers because Jesus wasn’t a “religion” but a Messiah looking for true and honest relationships.
Most of the world-wide Jewish population today do not accept Jesus as Messiah. Only about 1%-2% who have accepted Him will not be here for the Tribulation that their brothers and sisters will have to endure. Though it sounds like a lot of people will disappear in the Rapture, only about 10% of the total world population will leave along with the 1%-2% of the Jews. That leaves about 90% of the world and 98% of the Jewish population to face the anti-christ and all the evil he will bring. It will not be a very good time for any of them.
Moving on to all the people who are cursing Israel and the Jews today; they are directly in line for the Father’s Discipline. All the Palestinians that want to totally eliminate every Jew; all the world leaders and organizations that condemns Israel as “occupiers”; all people including the “Faux-News” people that report that Israel is criminal in their treatment of the “poor Palestinians” that are really terrorists, even though Israel is acting in self-defense; all who are advocating the “dividing” of the land and especially Jerusalem and making a “State of Palestine” that has never existed; and all who ignore all the marvelous contributions Israel is giving to make this world better will also answer to the Father. And speaking of Jerusalem, where do people believe Jesus is going to reign from at the end of the Tribulation and all through the Millennium? It will definitely not be Chicago!
When the Ezekiel 38 attack takes place, Israel will stand alone. No one knows why the U.S. and other countries won’t be there, but the Bible is clear the whole world will turn away from them. Doesn’t matter though, as Jehovah will be in charge of the whole outcome, and will take care of all the attackers. Israel will finally realize Jehovah is God, and Jesus is Messiah. After this, a peace treaty will be signed, and the Tribulation is underway. Before the 7-year period is finished, 2/3 of the Jews will have perished (Zechariah 13:8).
With all this in mind, True Believers will not have any part of the Wrath years. We will be with Jesus. Just imagine having new immortal bodies that will last pain-free and fatigue-free Forever! There will be no more temptation that we will be subject to, no jealousies, envy or destructive pride; no illness or death or sin of any kind. No sitting on clouds playing on harps. (had to throw that one in). Our lives will have a significance we can only imagine. Thing is, it will only be for those who accept the Savior, either before the Rapture or before they take their last breath on this earth. This applies to everyone – Jews and Gentiles.
Therefore, everyone who is concerned about their eternal soul, and has not done so, needs to call on Jesus to forgive them of their sins and have Him come into their hearts as their Lord and Savior. He will refuse no one who is sincere about wanting a relationship with Him. You will still not be perfect, but when the Rapture takes place, you will be Heaven-bound. The movies about what will be happening with those who are “Left Behind” don’t begin to describe the actual terrible times that will be here. Be assured of being with Jesus and call on Him today.
Shalom!