Israel And The End Times

HoHum:

A Texan is visiting Israel and feeling thirsty, he stops at a house along the road. "Can you give me a drink?" asked the Texan. "Of course," says the Israeli, and he invited the Texan to come in. "What do you do?" asks the Texan. "I raise chicken," says the Israeli. "Really?" says the Texan. "I'm also a farmer. How much land do you have?" "Well, out front it's 50 meters, as you can see, and in the back we have close to 100 meters of property. What about your place?" "Well," says the Texan, "on my ranch, I have breakfast and get into the car, and I drive and drive and I don't reach the end of the ranch until dinnertime." "Really," replies the Israeli. "I once had a car like that too."

WBTU:

Isaiah 66:8- Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. Many people feel that this was fulfilled on May 14, 1948 when Israel was declared a nation, felt like it happened in a day.

Give some history since the close of the NT on Palestine. I am painting this picture with broad strokes and some artistic leeway. When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, many Jews died and many of the remaining Jews scattered from Palestine. Yes, some stayed around Jerusalem but, like when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in BC 587, they dispersed. The diaspora (scattering about) of the Jews from their homeland has occurred throughout history. Palestine has had a complicated history. After the destruction in AD 70, as far as the faith is concerned, paganism reigned until Constantine. Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Empire (well, he started the process). Christian oriented government reigned in Palestine until the advent of Islam. Islam reigned until the Crusades. The Crusades happened when Christian pilgrims were mistreated (some cases killed) and turned away from the historical sites of the Bible. Christians held Jerusalem for some years. After these times of animosity, the Muslims began to realize that it was to their best interest (money) to engage in tourism. Like the Jews, they now gladly welcome guests. Before WW1, Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Empire (Muslim based). After WW1, the UK controlled Palestine until after WW2. In 1948, through the help of the UN, Jewish people proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel. The modern state of Israel has done well for itself. Their population and territory has grown immensely from very humble beginnings. Jewish immigrants began arriving around WW1 and a flood of immigrants came with the advent of WW2. The Nazi party in Germany systematically tried to eliminate the Jews. Probably seen information about the concentration camps and the showers that were used to practice genocide. 11 million undesirables were murdered with 6 million of them being Jews. Persecution against the Jews has been widely practiced throughout history but in the last 100 years it has been intense. The issue is that these Jewish immigrants have pushed out the Palestinian Arabs who have lived there for generations. The Israelis have moved these Arabs to places like Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Much like what Americans did to the Native Americans (Indians) and moved them to reservations, this is what the Israelis have done to the Arabs. Many have proposed a 2 state solution where these Palestinian Arabs would have their own country. Hard line politicians are against this. They want to destroy each other or at best think that the other group just needs to go away. If they would just leave (the Israelis go back to where they were before, or if the Palestinian Arabs would just go to other Muslim countries) then things would be so much better. It is a complicated situation especially with the war in Gaza right now, Hamas started it and Israel wants to finish it.

This brings us to our topic at hand, the signs of the end of the age. Many say that the establishment of the modern state of Israel back on their ancestral home is a big sign of the end of the age. I am thankful that many Hebrews have gone to Israel and made that place their home. It seems like a good place for them in their ancient homeland. However, when it comes to end time (eschatology) doctrine, I think that many people are leaving out the NT book of Hebrews. Bringing back the temple and OT practices is against what is talked about in Hebrews. Jesus came to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). Throughout the book of Hebrews, the covenant through Jesus Christ is mentioned as better than the covenant given to the Jews (Hebrews 7:22; Hebrews 8:6 says that the covenant through Christ is superior). Considering that Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT it would seem that many Jews would be Christians. This is not the case with very few claiming Christ. As it was in the days of Paul, so it is today. Romans 10:1, 4: "Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved… Christ is the culmination (end) of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." Robert Jeffress, preacher in Texas, said this recently, “Jesus and His apostles made it clear that Israel is central to the events and purpose of the End Times. That’s why questions about the end of history inevitably arise whenever Israel faces existential threats, as they have in nearly every generation. The apostle Paul, himself a Jew, reminded the Romans that “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:28-29).” Must be cautious about equating the modern nation of Israel with the promises of God that come through Jesus Christ