SP2. The noose around Israel will tighten

Description

WHY ISRAEL WILL NOT OBTAIN GENUINE PEACE UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS

Israel subscribes to Old Testament prophecies but the world does not.

For all the peace talks, political rhetoric and US-led negotiations, authentic peace for Israel will remain elusive. Apart from Jews and Bible-believing Christians, everyone else does not recognize that God's Word is totally binding upon kingdoms, nations, rulers and peoples throughout mankind's history.

More moderate Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan have treaties with Israel. On the other hand, Iran is the most conspicuous hostile player that vows to drive the Jews off the land into the Mediterranean Sea. The view held by the UN is that the Jews are illegally occupying Palestinian territories (UN Security Council Resolution 2334).

In the Old Testament, God had covenanted with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give their descendants the land that is today the nation of Israel. As Christians, we accept the inerrancy of the Bible by faith that the Jews are God's legitimate heir to the land.

What does God have to say about it?

• "And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land." Gen 35:12

Israel and the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel officially regards Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians with the support of the United Nations, has for decades claimed the city as its capital. Given that the United Nations holds the key to the legal recognition of Jerusalem, and this cannot be legislated by the UN or by a court, the status of Jerusalem will remain unsettled from a legal standpoint.

What does God have to say about it?

• "For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation." Ps 132:13

Both the Jews and Muslims regard Jerusalem as their holy city.

At the centre of Jerusalem on the Temple Mount, sits the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine, and Al-Aqsa mosque, Muslims' third holiest site in the world. Israel captured the Temple Mount from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War, annexed it but allowed Jordan’s Waqf, a Muslim religious organization, to continue to oversee the compound.

To the Jews, the Temple Mount is considered to be the holiest place in Judaism, regarding it as the site of the first and second Jewish Temples. They await the rebuilding of the third temple to welcome back the Messiah.

For now, Israel has access to the Western Wall but longs to have the whole of. So it is obvious that when it comes to highly sensitve matters of the faith, no one will give up an inch of real estate. As we can see, it is quite complicated with many stakeholders involved.

What does God have to say about it?

• "I have chosen Jerusalem, that My Name might be there;" 2 Chro 6:6

A CHOSEN PEOPLE THAT TILL TODAY, REJECTS THE MESSIAH THAT CAME TO REDEEM IT

When the Jews rejected Jesus, they came under God’s judgment. There have been some Jews who have come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah but this is only a tiny percentage. It is estimated that there are only 20,000 Messianic Jews out of Israel’s Jewish population of 6.9 million. This is equivalent to only 0.003% and taking into consideration all the Jews in the world, the percentage is reduced to a mere 0.001%.

• "26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." Romans 11:26-27
• "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them:" Eze 37:26

A REMNANT OF THE CHOSEN PEOPLE WILL COME TO SEE THE MESSIAH FOR WHO HE TRULY IS

• "12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil." Joel 2:12-13
  • "15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: ... 17 Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18 Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His people. 19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, ... I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:" Joel 2:15,17-19

At the end of the Tribulation, there is amazingly good news for a remnant of Israel. The Great Tribulation will be the worst time for everyone alive that time but it will ultimately be a blessing for the elect of Israel. The Lord will use the desperation of the Jews to open their eyes to His divinity, bring them through the fire of the Great Tribulation and redeem them. The peace that they so greatly long for will eventually come to Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus will be their God and they will be His people and never again will there be separation of the Jews from the Lord.

Version 23.1.0