“Can Israel Survive In A Hostile World?”
(Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Preached April 14th 2002
For the last 18 months we have all watched the turbulent events in the Middle East. We’ve witnessed the aguish resulting from the shootings, the suicide bombings & in the last couple of weeks we’ve seen the Israeli Defense Forces launch “Operation Defensive Shield” into Palestinian cities in the West Bank in an all out effort to destroy the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure & reduce the risk of terrorist attacks against the Israeli people.
Every time there is a crisis in the Middle East we move another step closer to Armageddon & the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the meantime, while many may feel that there remains a possibility for a peaceful solution to the centuries-old conflict between Israel & it’s Arab neighbours, the potential for greater conflict is also very possible.
Today I want to talk to you about the crisis in the Middle East. I feel compelled to address this conflict between Israel & her enemies. Why? Because I have to friends! I have to when news reports from CNN, CBC, the BBC & other major news networks present heavily biased, anti-Israeli accounts of what is going on over there. I have to when Palestinian officials both in the Middle East & in Washington make propaganda statements that go forth unchallenged & unhindered into the living rooms of naïve citizens of the western World who have no understanding of what is going on other than what they see & hear through the biased reporting of the news media.
I also feel compelled to speak on this matter because I believe it is imperative for Christians to know from a biblical perspective of what is truly going on.
Read Ezekiel 37:1-14
To understand the situation in the Middle East today, we have to go back in history. Twenty-six hundred years ago the Jewish people who had turned their backs on God were defeated in battle by an Arab king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, taken out of their nation of Israel & enslaved in the land of Babylon (known today as Iraq & ruled by Saddam Hussein).
During the early part of the Jewish exile into Babylon the Prophet Ezekiel gave the prophecy we just read predicting that the Jewish people would one day return to the land of Israel And seventy-years later 50,000 of them did return. They rebuilt the temple & started rebulilding their lives & their nation once again. It was a miracle that had been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah 200 years earlier before the exile occurred. Isaiah even named the Persian king who would issue the edict for the Jews to return – he said the king’s name would be Cyrus (Isa 43:28). And sure enough 200 years later a Persian King named Cyrus conquered the Babylonians & issued a decree permitting the Jewish people to return to the land of Israel (Ezra.1:1-4). Folks I want you to know that the Bible is the Word of God & you can put your trust in it!
But the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile is not the return Ezekiel had in view when he gave his prophecy. We know this because the return he predicted will be followed by a devastating war that is prophesied & described in detail in chapters 38 & 39 of Ezekiel; a war that has not yet occurred but may very well be on today’s immediate horizon!
The return prophesied by Ezekiel began to take place in 1948. You see, even though the Jews returned to their homeland from Babylon in the 6th century B.C. they were dominated by the gentiles for the next 700 years until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. driving all but a remnant of Jews out of Israel & scattering them all over Europe, Asia & Africa where they remained for the next 2000 years.
In the meantime, Israel & the city of Jerusalem was controlled first of all by the Romans (who named the area Palestine), then by the Arabs, then by the Crusaders, followed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Then, during the First World War, the British defeated the Turks & General Allenby captured Jerusalem. Britain then governed the land until after World War Two & the Holocaust when, in one day, the United Nations voted to establish the modern State of Israel thus fulfilling a prophecy in Isaiah 66:8.
So in 1948, for the first time in 19 centuries, Israel once again became the Sovereign Nation of the Jewish people & ever since then the Jews have been returning to their land as prophesied by Ezekiel & several other O/T prophets. But history often repeats itself & no more so than in the case of the Jews & the land of Israel. You see, throughout history many rulers of nations & empires have sought to exterminate the Jewish people & drive them out of Israel. In the book of Esther a high official in the courts of King Xerxes named Haman, plotted to kill all of the Jews in the land. Here’s what he said in Esther 3:8-9…...
Verse 9 has a familiar ring in today’s world in which Saddam Hussein is paying $25,000 to the families of every Palestinian suicide bomber for killing Jews. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 83:1-4…
And that, friends, has remained the goal of many concerning Israel & the Jewish people in the past & in the present. Let me give you just a few examples. In the years after the Muslims conquered Palestine in 640 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Bethlehem, which is in much of the news today, was pillaged by the Turks & Christians were barbarically persecuted. This ignited the wrath of the European church resulting in the infamous era of the “Christian Crusades.” For the next 200 years, nine Crusades took place aimed at “Purifying the Holy Land” when, under the “Sign of the Cross” (hence the name “Crusade”) the church determined to liberate the holy places of Palestine from the Arabs.
Now that may sound very noble; but the Crusader did more than liberate Christian sites from the Muslims. You see, the church had labeled the Jews as “Christ Killers” because of the cross. And the Crusaders figured that they would avenge the shedding of the “Blood of Christ” by “shedding the blood of the Jews.” And so for two centuries the Crusades represented a Jewish horror-story in which most of their communities were destroyed by the Christian Crusaders & vast numbers of Jews were massacred. Out of those who escaped death, some managed to escape from the land thus becoming the “wandering Jews staggering from sea to sea” prophesied of in Amos 8:12.
But that didn’t eliminate the persecution of the Jews because the spirit of revenge that gripped the Crusaders wasn’t limited to the Holy Land. Throughout Europe the popular motto had become: “Kill a Jew & save your soul.” Pope Innocent the 3rd even issued an edict, which, & I quote: “required Jews to wear special clothing, or a red or yellow badge on the front & back to distinguish them.”
As a result, Jews were constantly jeered, mocked, insulted, stoned, pelted with mud, attacked & robbed causing them to become what one historian describes as a “hated, hunted, persecuted people to whom everyday life became something to endure, & tomorrow something to fear.”
The passion of the Crusades for Jewish blood continued throughout the centuries that followed & the Jews became the target of revenge following every failure, every disaster, every dissatisfaction & every superstitious belief. One of the ultimate excuses for their destruction presented itself during one of history’s most devastating catastrophes when, in 1338, Europe was hit with a devastating Bubonic Plague also known as the “Black Death.” Some estimates say that as many as three-quarters of the population of Europe & Asia died in its 20 year rampage. No natural explanation was ever found for the cause of the plague. However, fingers soon began to be pointed toward the handiest scapegoats for such a calamity – the Jews!
And the rumour soon surfaced that the Jews had compounded a poison consisting of, quote: “A mixture of spiders, lizards, frogs, flesh & the hearts of Christians” & mingled it with the dough used to make the Host (That’s the wafer used in Communion) which they reputedly distributed throughout Asia & Europe. Consequently, Jewish villages & communities were attacked & destroyed & all of their occupants, men women & children together with their holy writings were cast into the flames. As a result, half of the Jewish population in Europe were massacred.
Leaping forward now to the twentieth century, the Jews became the target of a madman known as Adolph Hitler & 6 million were murdered, tortured & experimented upon in the most horrendous manner. It was following the discovery of the Holocaust that the United Nations passed the motion in 1948 to make Israel a nation once again as a sovereign homeland for the Jewish people.
However, within hours after the resolution was passed, all of Israel’s Arab neighbours declared war on the Jewish state determined to destroy them & push them into the sea. But again, a miracle happened & rather than being destroyed, the tiny nation, poorly armed, ill-equipped & consisting of a very small armed forces, defeated the vast Arab armies & chased them out of the area. Last Tuesday I sat watching a Palestinian spokesman telling their CNN interviewer that Israel had invaded Palestine in 1948 with tanks, aircraft & heavy artillery slaughtering thousands & forcing them from their homes & out of their country. Nothing of the kind happened. It was the Arabs who attacked Israel determined to destroy them immediately after they had become a nation! But God didn’t let it happen!
And since then Israel has been forced to defend itself numerous times when their enemies have declared war against them & as impossible as it might sound, they have won every time. How? Because God has promised they will never be taken out of their land again – Amos 9:14-15
Today we see Israel once again fighting for her very existence. For 50 years Yasser Arafat, the dean of terrorism, has tried to destroy them & today we see Israel once again facing the anguish, the wrath, the criticism, the hatred & the racism of the whole world. Thank God that the United States still stands by Israel! I hope the day never comes when they desert them. God has said of Israel: “I will bless those who bless you & I will curse those who curse you.” I believe that the major reason that America’s economical, military & political position remains the strongest in the world is because they have supported Israel since the day it once again became a nation in 1948! I wish I could say the same about the Church…
You see friends, there is a doctrine that surfaced in the church a number of years ago known as “Replacement Theology.” Simply put, it teaches that when the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah & He was crucified, God withdrew His promises & blessings concerning Israel & the Jews, & replaced them with the church. Thus the church has replaced Israel & the Jews & has become become “Spiritual Israel.”
Now listen to me friends - this teaching, although held to by many evangelical Christians, is a heresy! It has paved the way for many to reject Israel & the Jewish people as God’s chosen people, as evidenced a few days ago at the funeral for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Now I really do have your attention don’t I? How many watched that funeral? It was very stirring wasn’t it? In that service a soloist sang the first three verses of Psalm 121: “I look unto the hills, where does my help come from. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven & earth He will not let you foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber.” Then they skipped verse four & the song continued beginning with verse five. Verse four, the verse that was omitted at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen mother & televised to a world-wide audience numbering in the millions, says this: “Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
As I wind this down, we must understand that the hostility toward the nation of Israel & the Jewish people is rooted, not in the realm of humanity, but in the realm of the spiritual. Satan hates Israel & he hates the Jewish people because they are the chosen Ones of God. He also hates them because our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ was a Jew (not a Palestinian resistant fighter as stated by Mr. Arafat). Satan has tried various times to destroy them & has failed.
Please listen as I read to you from Rev. 12:1-6 …
The Dragon is described in verse 9 as Satan. The woman is Israel; the male Child is Jesus Christ. Satan tried to devour Him when He was born in Bethlehem by inspiring King Herod to murder all the male children up to 2 years old, but Jesus was taken to Egypt by his parents & escaped the danger. Christ was later crucified for our sins, He rose from the dead & He ascended into heaven & now is in His rightful place seated at the right hand of God. Interceding for all believers. Satan hates this but he can’t do anything about it. But right now, he still has access to heaven where, we are told, he is the: “Accuser of the brethren.” But these verses tell us that there will come a time when Satan is once & for all cast out of heaven & we pick up the events again in verse 13 where it says: “When the Dragon (Satan) saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman (Israel) who had given birth to the male child (Jesus Christ).”
The bottom line is that the battle is a spiritual one. Satan hates the Jews & he hates Israel & he will do everything & use anyone, Nations, Kings, Rulers, demons, the News media & yes, even the church, to destroy the Jewish people & the nation of Israel!
“Can Israel Survive in a Hostile World?” Is the question asked in the title of this message. The answer is “yes.” God has called them, in own His words: “My Chosen People… My Treasured Nation…& the Apple of My Eye.” He promised to return them to their land & we see that happening now. He has also promised that they will never be taken out of their land again. So they will survive.
However, Israel depends upon her military strength & her relationship with the United States for her survival, not, unfortunately, upon the Lord. Therefore, God will someday allow them to be brought to their knees by allowing the “armies of the nations of the world” to bring her to the point of annihilation & at that time the Lord Jesus Christ shall return. Zechariah tells us that at that moment the Jewish people “Shall look upon the One whom they have pierced” (12:10) & Paul says in Romans 11:26 that “All Israel shall be saved.”
What must we do as Christians? Well begin by understanding this: Jesus was a Jew. Understand this also: The Jew is coming back! The book of Revelation calls Him “The Lion of (what?) of Judah!” Are you ready to face Him & give account of how you have treated His Word & His brethren?
If your heart has been hardened against the Jewish people or if you have embraced any of the doctrines that deny Israel’s place in God’s plan, then you must repent, ask for God’s forgiveness & ask Him to place in your heart the same love He has in His heart for the Jewish people.
All of us can continue supporting the ministries in Israel that are spreading the Gospel message through our missionary offerings. We can also take a stand wherever necessary against anti-Semitism that is growing at an alarming rate all across the world.
Finally we can & must pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Not an earthly peace, but an inward peace that can only come from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that, I believe, requires an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to sweep across that nation once again just as He did on the day of Pentecost!
Song: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Jonathan Settel)
