What in the World is Going On: The Israel Connection
Dr. Barry D. Lovett
The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will place a curse on those who harm you. And all the people on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1-3 (NCV)
"It is the self-evident right of the Jewish people to be a nation as all other nations, its own sovereign state. Accordingly, we meet in solemn assembly today. Thus, by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people and the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, we hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine to be called the state of Israel." David Ben-Gurion, May 14, 1948
“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?” –Isaiah 66:8-a
Israel's rebirth as a nation sets in motion the rest of the end-time prophecies.
· Two chapters in Genesis are given to the whole story of creation.
· One chapter is given to the record of the fall of man.
· Eight chapters cover the whole history from creation to the time of Abram.
· Thirty-eight chapters deal with the life stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I want you to notice all the things that God promised to Abram.
1. He promised to bless Abram.
2. God promised to make out of Abram a great nation and to multiply Abram's seed. (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5)
3. God promised to make Abraham a blessing to many.
4. God promised to bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who curse Israel.
5. God promised to give Abram the land of Canaan.
The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1
"For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." - Deuteronomy 7:6
Why would God choose Israel out of all the nations of the earth?
· It is not because Israel is more in number than other nations:
“The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples...” Deuteronomy 7:7
· It is not because Israel is more sensitive to God than other nations: “For Jacob My servant's sake,
And Israel My elect, … I have named you, though you have not known Me.” Isaiah 45:4
· It is not because Israel was more righteous than other nations. “Therefore understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you a stiff-necked people. Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord." Deuteronomy 9:6-7
God has blessed Israel just because.
God's Covenant was an Exact Covenant - Genesis 15:18
God's Covenant was an Eternal Covenant - Genesis 18:7-8
The Scattering of the Jewish People Foretold - Deuteronomy 4:27; Ezekiel 12:15; Hosea 9:17
The Suffering of the Jewish People Foretold - Deuteronomy 28:65
The Rebirth of the Nation of Israel Re-Affirmed - Isaiah 11:11-12
"What an incredible act of God this is. You cannot find the ancient neighbors of the Jews anywhere. Have you ever met a Moabite? Do you know any Hittites? Are there any tours to visit the Ammonites? Can you find the postal code of a single Edomite? No! These ancient peoples disappeared from history and from the face of the earth. Yet the Jews, just as God promised, returned to their land." Gary Frazier, Signs Of The Coming Of Christ
The Return to the God of Israel - Ezekiel 36:24-28
The prophecies about Israel's total possession and blessing in the land have not yet been fulfilled. The most dramatic events are still ahead.
A future leader will broker a seven-year peace deal, fulfilling Israel's longing for peace. But this peace plan will be broken, and countless armies will amass against her with no human hope of victory. Only Christ's return, judgment and reign will finally bring true peace to Israel.
There will be a spiritual return to God. Ezekiel 36:24-28; Jeremiah 32:37-38
From when the Jewish state was founded in 1948, there were 650,000 Jews. Today there are over 5 million, and by2020 that number is expected to reach six million.
Why is this important? Israel's return to her ancient homeland had to occur in order to set the stage for the final fulfillment of other Biblical prophecies about the future.
What are the implications of this for us today?
1. This should instill confidence in Gods Word.
2. Christians should feel an urgency to share Christ with loved ones and the world.
3. The time for un-believers to come to faith in Christ is short.
Jesus is coming. Is he coming for you?