“Today
friend if I were to ask you, ‘what is the most volatile, political,
religious and military problem in the world, what would your answer
be?” I’m confident most would answer the ARAB-ISRAELI conflict in
the Middle East!’”
I’m
Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You!
Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about Israel the most despised
and rejected nation of the world…
… Hello listening friends and welcome again to
the World, the Word & You! Broadcast, and speaking today is Dennis
Finnan, your host and speaker thanking you for joining us on this
weekend of broadcasting. Now
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Well today as I briefly introduced my topic, we're
going to talk about our world’s greatest problem ¾
peace in the Middle East. However, before we do, let’s take a moment
to listen to a lovely musical presentation after which I’ll return
with today message entitled: THE MIRACLE OF ISRAEL!..
…Of all cities on the face of the earth there is
no city like Jerusalem! Indeed, it is an ancient city with a thunderous
past. The name “Jerusalem” means of all things ¾
CITY OF PEACE, but alas the history of Jerusalem has been wrought with
violence, war, bloodshed and destruction. In fact one commentator has
said, “the sounds of battle, the clash of arms, have been heard in
Jerusalem through the centuries. From the siege of David in 1000 B.C.,
to the Six-Day War of 1967, the city of peace has experienced forty-six
sieges and thirty-two partial destructions and it has been the scene of
four wars in the past twenty-five years…It has been burned to the
ground five times, yet it always has risen from the ashes…”1
Today, I want to examine and talk about the MIRACLE
NATION OF ISRAEL. How has it been possible that this small ethnic nation
of people has stayed alive through the centuries and continues to exist
when every other nation of people, has disappeared from the face of the
earth? Friends, I’ll tell you the answer and give you some exciting
news after we pause one more time to listen to another selection of
music…
…Will there ever be peace in the Middle East?
Will the fighting, hatred, war and bloodshed ever stop? Will the United
Nations ever be able to bring peace to Israel and its Arab nations that
surround them? Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes, one day there will
be peace, but no, it will never happen by the efforts of any man, nation
or organization of this world. The Jewish cry for “peace” for
Jerusalem has been its heart throb since they first moved into the land
and territory of Palestine God gave them over 4000 years ago. Why even
God himself has called for peace,
Psa
122:6-8 (NIV) "Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. 7
May there be peace within your walls and security within your
citadels." 8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say,
"Peace be within you.""
Yes, even the Psalmist cried out for peace, but now
four millenniums later there is still no peace. The issue surrounds the
tiny nation of Israel located there in Palestine. Indeed, Israel
although it exists nationally and ethnically, it has been an enigma to
the world. And, shall we be honest, the MIRACULOUS continuing existence
of the Jewish people through all this time is mysterious to our world
and sadly to many in the vast world of Christendom. Yet, I submit to you
there is an answer for finding peace in the Middle East, but that answer
can only come as one seeks it by studying the pages of the
Judeo-Christian bible and finding out God’s plan and purpose for these
wonderful “chosen” people. Yes I use the word “chosen,” because
in the Bible that is a specific reference to God’s sovereign choice of
calling out a people for His blessing, pleasure and glorious purpose in
eternity.
You see in the Old Testament we are told that God
did sovereignly choose out of all the nations of the world, a single
people for His glory, presence and grace. We also understand that choice
was not made because God looked down the annals of time and saw the
“greatness” of Israel. We are told the opposite,
Deu
7:7-8 (NIV) "The LORD did not set his affection on you and
choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you
were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you
and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out
with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the
power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
Yes, God says in His Word that He chose to make a
small single nation, the source of His blessings that would flow out to
all the peoples of the world,
Gen
12:1-3 (NIV) "The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your
country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I
will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I
will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.""
We discover here, that God chose to make a nation
of people who descended from one man named Abraham, and that these
people whom God chose, He would protect and keep through the centuries,
to be the source of His great plan to bless all the nation of the world.
However, that plan has only been fulfilled in part, because we are
further told of how God was going to work among the people who would be
born of Abraham’s chosen seed. For this is where today’s real
conflict comes in. The Arabs of the lands surrounding Israel are in true
sense the very brethren of the Israelites. A vast majority of the Arab
nations descended from Abraham’s first-born son – Ishmael, a son
born to Abraham through his wife’s handmaiden Hagar. Abraham with his
wife’s suggestion foolishly attempted to fulfill God’s plan of
gaining a son in the hopes of him being the fulfillment of God’s
promise to make of him a “great nation” (Gen.
2:23; 1 Tim. 3:2). Alas, a
son was brought forth, but it was not God’s plan, and since that time
the peoples who have sprung forth from Abraham’s seed through Ishmael
and later born true son, Isaac, have been at war since.
Yes, the wars,
fighting, bloodshed and terror over in the Middle East all are a war of
ownership of the land of Palestine. The Arabs say it belongs to them
because “Ishmael” is the rightful heir to Palestine.
The Jews say they are the rightful heirs because of God’s
promise to Abraham. Who is right? Well the only answer is God’s Word,
and it explicitly says modern day ethnic Israel is the future heir to
the land and will one day see the fulfillment of God’s fantastic
promises to Abraham. Now let’s get down to the basics and ask a
question…
IS MODERN DAY ISRAEL STILL THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD?
The answer is yes and no. Yes in the sense that God
is “preserving” them as a remnant nation of peoples to fulfill his
promised Word to Abraham through what the Bible calls ¾
COVENANTS. As one reads the Scripture they find God made a pact or
promise with Abraham that still has not been fulfilled. These
“covenants” are several ¾
the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenant to name a few, are the
special ones that God has said were, BINDING, UNCONDITIONAL and ETERNAL
COVENANTS. That means nothing Israel does as a nation of people will
ever void the contract God made with Abraham and his children. No other
nation of course can make that claim, nor can the Arabs with their claim
to Palestine. Listen to God’s thoughts on the binding aspect of these
promises,
Jer
31:35-37 (NIV) " This is what the LORD says, he who appoints
the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by
night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD Almighty
is his name: 36 "Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,"
declares the LORD, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be
a nation before me." 37 This is what the LORD says: "Only if
the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below
be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of
all they have done," declares the LORD."
Did you hear that? God Himself swore that before
Israel ceases to be a nation of people, the universe itself would
collapse. That is God’s unconditional promise that Israel will stand
as an ethnic remnant of people till God returns in the Person of Jesus
Christ to the earth to set up His millennial kingdom in fulfillment to
the nation of Israel.
Now the most important thing to understand is this.
God has “adopted” the nation of Israel as His “first born,” son.
Exo
4:22-23 (NIV) "Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD
says: Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I told you, "Let my son
go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will
kill your firstborn son.'""
Amazingly, this is why God sent the plagues upon
Egypt culminating with the greatest plague, the destruction of
Pharaoh’s first-born son. God’s adoptive love was so strong that
when Pharaoh refused to release God’s adoptive son, Israel, God warned
He would slay Pharaoh’s. This He did in the mighty deliverance of
Israel from Egypt. Yes friends, remember God has told us in no uncertain
terms that His Old Testament adopted son is ISRAEL and He has never
disowned them and NEVER will!
Now does this mean the children of Israel in any
generation are like the “spoiled child of a rich man?” Not on your
life! The Bible is filled with God warnings that as a son, He
disciplines every son that is wayward. Israel was promised not only “sonship,”
but also to be heir of God’s property and blessings, but also God
warned them of His wrath for disobedience. Now God owns the universe ¾
He made it! But specifically God owns the Middle East, and He chose long
ago to give it to the children of Abraham’s son, Isaac, who are the
Jewish people of today. But… for each generation to take hold of
theses blessings and ownership, there was the conditional covenants God
struck with Israel. These conditional covenants are the Mosaic, and
Palestinic Covenants which were CONDITIONAL upon their obedience to
God’s Law, His will and purpose for their special choosing.
Israel was to point to, by faith, the coming of the
Messiah and when He came they were to accept Him. Alas, God’s chosen
people of the 1st Century, did not and as such God cast them
out of the Promised Land, and fulfilled all the curses He said would
befall them for disobedience and unbelief. But my friend being cast out
of the place of fellowship and blessings is not the same as being
disowned! Remember, God promised that one day after a long period of
time of disobedience, God would restore Israel to its place of a blessed
“sonship.”
Now what is God doing while Israel is in unbelief
and cast out? This gets us back to the question we asked earlier, “IS
MODERN DAY ISRAEL STILL THE CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD?” The answer is
yes, for God’s promises to Abraham for His children have not been
fulfilled, and God has promised NEVER to forsake them. So while Israel
is a nation in “unbelief,” and” disobedience,” God has chosen to
do “another” great work. He has chosen another people to call out
for His name. Who is this people or nation? The Bible tells us it is not
an ethnic nation or family as Israel is, rather it is a spiritual nation
founded upon the “seed” of one man, the infinite GOD/MAN Jesus
Christ. All who are born from Him become His children and heirs to His
riches and glory.
So now, there exists TWO CHOSEN PEOPLES OF GOD
¾
(1) The Nation of Israel, and (2) The Christian Church. “Israel”
is God’s work of keeping, and the “Church” is God’s work
of formation now in this age of grace. These two chosen peoples
of God live side by side in the world today, and both for the most part
are unaware of their duel citizenship! Each has its own purpose and
destiny, and each will one day reach its promised fulfillment regardless
of their temporal obedience in this world of sin. Again, God has struck
two unconditional covenants with them (Abrahamic & Davidic
Covenants) and He will at all costs, fulfill them.
Now, for the Church of Jesus Christ, we are told
unconditionally all who enter this family of God will be kept eternally.
Rom
8:38-39 (NIV) "For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor
any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."
John
10:27-30 (NIV) " My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my
Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.""
Yes, God is preserving two nations of “chosen”
peoples. The Jews although set aside as Paul states in the Bible, the
are still being preserved for that wonderful day when God will revive
them and draw them to receive the Savior they rejected long ago. So the
Bible states,
Rom
11:5 (NIV) "So too, at the present time there is a remnant
chosen by grace."
Rom
11:23 (NIV) "And if they do not persist in unbelief, they
will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again."
Indeed, God is preserving Israel. That is why this
nation of people still exists in spite of all the forces of Hell to
destroy her as a nation. The Arabs cry, to kill every last Jew and take
over the land of Palestine, rings through the Middle East, but that cry
falls on deaf ears of the God who created all men. His plan is to one
day, when the Messiah returns from Heaven to set up His kingdom at the
end of the Great Tribulation Period, restore Israel to its place of
promised blessing. Paul the apostle shouts out,
Rom
11:28 (NIV) "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are
enemies on your account; [Church] but as far as election is concerned,
they are loved on account of the patriarchs,"
Rom
11:26 (NIV) "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is
written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn
godlessness away from Jacob."
Yes, the MIRACLE NATION OF ISRAEL exists because of
that very truth. God’s sustaining hand behind the scenes will never
let an ethnic remnant of Israel to be destroyed as a nation of people,
for they are being PRESERVED for God’s glory to come.
But now while Israel is set aside, God’s greater
plan is in effect. The Messiah of Israel is calling out of every nation
a new “FAMILY & PEOPLES” for His name. Jews and Gentiles can
become God’s “chosen ones,” if they are willing to be born into
the family of Jesus Christ. The Bible says,
1 Pet 2:9 (NIV) "But you [Church] are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may
declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light."
Can you see, God promises every human being in this
age of grace, since Christ’s death on the cross, that all can become
His children and enter this “new” family that will live on forever
and ever in the wonderful abiding presence of God. Hear the Word of the
Lord on this,
Rom
10:11-13 (NIV) "As the
Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to
shame." 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the
same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for,
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.""
What is the answer to the Middle East problem? I
believe the answer is Jesus Christ’s coming again. He alone, the
Prince of Peace, will bring peace to Israel and the Arabs whom God’s
loves. Meanwhile, it is our duty as Christians, to do all we can to help
support and care for Israel and not allow any of her enemies to harm or
destroy her. Secondly, we also must be concerned about any atrocities
unsaved Israel may perpetrate against her Arab neighbors. God does not
delight in the death of any people. His plan is to bring life and a life
more abundantly to all (John 10:10) ¾
but that life can only be found in and through Jesus Christ...
...Say friend, are you a member of the Chosen
people group called the Church? I’m not talking about belonging to a
denomination. If you are not a “member” of the Body of Christ,
you will perish from not only the face of the earth one day, but
you will perish from the presence of God and be cast out into the Place
called HELL!
Mat
10:28 (NIV) "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both
soul and body in hell."
Don’t despair, God is not willing that any should
perish. As much as possible God wants us to be PEACE MAKERS. We must do
all we can to broker peace, but also not without declaring the only true
means of peace is for the nations which is for all to take Christ as
their Lord and Savior. But let’s get personal here. How about you?
Unless you have trusted Christ, you will not be a source of peace in
this world for you are at war with God and as such you are the enemy of
His plans and purpose. Hold high the white surrender flag of peace and
call upon Jesus Christ to save you from your sins. For when we make
peace with God, we will have peace with one another. May Jerusalem find
its peace, and now most importantly may you find your peace in and
through Jesus Christ. Call upon His name, confess your sins, claim His
promise of forgiveness through His blood death on the cross, and ask the
Lord Jesus to save you from your sins and grant you His gift of peace
and life eternal. It’s all yours for the asking. God grant you a heart
to hear and believe, Amen...
... You know friends, the past, present and future
of Israel is all bound up in the miraculous care and keeping of the
Creator God, our Lord Jesus Christ. One day when Christ returns in glory
the Bible says of Israel,
Rev
1:7 (NIV) "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye
will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the
earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen."
“even the ones who pierced Him,” refers to the
Jews recognition of Christ’s death on the cross, and the promise of
God that as a nation they will be saved and given the fulfilled promise
to their father Abraham. Meanwhile we can all enter God’s greater
covenant for the peoples of the earth, which is to receive Jesus Christ
as our God and Maker, and as our Savior from our sins. Upon doing so we
enter the greater family of God, and the chosen people of the Church of
Jesus Christ. Friend, our future is glorious and our promises are
bright. May God so move in your heart today for Jesus sake. Amen.
Well friends, you’ve been listening to yet anther
broadcast of the World, the Word & You! And speaking has been your
host and commentator Dennis Finnan. Say if you enjoyed today’s radio
talk and would like to hear it again, please write for your free
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world free of charge. Here’s our address: The World the Word &
You! Broadcast, Post Office Box 40133, Grand Junction, CO 81501
Meanwhile, as this broadcast is usually hear don
the weekend, I invite you to attend a Bible believing church of your
choice and then to tune us again next week for another look at our
world, God’s Word and its relationship to you and me. Thanks for
listening, may the Lord Jesus Christ truly be your Lord and savior and
may He keep you throughout this week till we meet again. Have a
wonderful great and godly day, good by for now.
1
ISRAEL’S FINAL HOLOCAUST, Dr. Jack Van Impe, Intelligence
Briefing, August 2000.