| “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 |
| Happy 75th Independence Day to Israel. On May 14, 1948, Israel formed as a nation for the first time in 2,000 years. Israel celebrates their Independence Day yearly, on the 5th day of Iyar, on the Jewish religious calendar. That date happened just last week, on April 26th. As of that date, Israel is officially 75 years old as an independent nation! Why is that so important and why should you care? Because Israel is at the center of God’s end-time plan, because forming as a nation starts the end-time clock ticking, and because it is the fulfilment of thousands of years of prophecies in scripture. God is the owner of the land of Israel, and He promised it to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If there is any consensus concerning Israel, it’s that it seems to be the center of discussion in politics, and it also seems to be in trouble a lot. If Israel represents God’s end-time plan, then there will continually be satanic opposition to its existence. In Genesis 13:14-15, God speaks to Abram, Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring forever.” This is God the Father, giving Abraham and all his descendants, that small piece of land in the Middle-East in perpetuity. This is God’s “land grant” to the people of Israel. If God had stated it only once, we might be able to reinterpret it or dismiss it as too difficult to understand. However, there is no book of the Old Testament, that is without a multitude of prophecies concerning Israel being gifted to the Jews by God. God said that the land and the nation will be reestablished, and that the Jews will come back in great numbers, to their ancestral homeland. Again, in Genesis 17:5-8, God repeats His promise, “Neither will your name any more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you. I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.” The key to the fulfilment of all these thousands of prophecies are the words, “seed, offspring or descendants”. Without the Jews, there would be no one for God to fulfill these promises to. According to the Pew Research Center*, about 70% of American Christians know when the Holocaust happened, but less than half of them know that over 6 million Jews lost their lives. The numbers according to two studies**, is that about 6.6 million Jews million were killed; or about 50% of the world’s Jewish population. In Isaiah 54:7 we find, “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” Although persecution of the Jews historically is all a fulfilment of scripture, still, it’s Satan’s plan to destroy the Jews completely, or reduce them in number, or marginalize them politically on the world stage. But we must not be involved in any part of that. The angel speaking to Zechariah in 2:8 said, “For thus says Yahweh of Armies: ‘For honor He has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” We must not in any way, poke God in His eye, or touch what is pleasing in His eyes. When nations attack Israel with military strategies, or want the UN to impose political sanctions, or political leaders desire to impose economic sanctions, or boycott Israeli products and companies. We instead as individuals, denominations, and as a country, must not throw our hat in with them. Instead, we must verbally, politically, and economically support Israel fully. Why? “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those that curse you…” In Isaiah 11:11-12 we read, “Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. This process began at first in the late 1800’s, and is still in the process of fulfilment today. The four stages of much of the prophetic fulfilments of God’s promises are: First, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD; then second, the great dispersion (from the Greek, ‘diaspora‘, meaning scattered), from 70AD on; then third, the renationalization of the land of Israel in 1948; and finally fourth, the gathering of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland. The last two of these four Biblical promises have taken place in just the last seventy-five years! Again, in Ezekiel 11:17, “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.'” What are the three parts that God’s eye looks upon concerning Israel? He is watching the land, the nation, and the people. We should be blessing the land, blessing the sovereignty of the nation, and blessing the people of Israel. King David said in Psalms 122:6-7, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.” When we bless Israel, we get blessed, when we pray for the welfare of Israel, we are blessed! The time clock for the end of the age began ticking at the reformation of the state of Israel in 1948. Jesus said in Luke 21:29-32, “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.” The generation that sees the recreation of Israel will also witness the return of Jesus on the clouds. Again, in Luke Jesus said, “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Pray for Israel, bless her and celebrate with her. Pray for revival over our ministry and our country. Jesus is coming soon. Shalom, Pastor David Gonzalez *https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/01/22/what-americans-know-about-the-holocaust/ **https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/estimated-number-of-jews-killed-in-the-final-solution |
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