The Truth is –“in the beginning” , “is now”, and “will be.” The Truth is being revealed today in your news head-lines. ” ‘ The Truth’ is the great “I Am who(that) I Am”,(Ex.3:14). This is when God revealed him-self to Moses in the desert. He is the eternal, un-created, omnipotent One – “The Ancient Of Days”. Dan.7:9,7:22
The Truth says – “I am God; there is no other, declaring the end from the beginning. And from “ancient times” things which have not yet been done, saying ‘my purpose will be established , and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.”Isaiah 46;10(Psalm 33:11,Isaiah 14:24)
What is his eternal pleasure ? His purpose and plan? It is to bring back humanity– all humanity of the whole world, including you and me – back in friend-ship with Him again as in our first relationship with God, as pictured in the Garden of Eden.
But it is “sin” that stops this free relation-ship with the Truth.
What is sin?- It is the need to rebel against this righteousness and “Truth” of God, including the “love” of God. This angry selfish rebellion is found in all human nature of all people everywhere. This is wonderfully described by the apostle Paul in Rom. 7: 16-8.“As it is, it is no longer I my-self that do it, But – it is sin living inside me that does wrong.”
” When Christ, who is your ‘Life’ appears ( when we have been “clothed” with ” the Truth” of Christ, Amen?), then you also will appear with Him in Glory (“The Rapture”- previous Post)Put to death, there-fore what-ever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these The Wrath of God is coming.” Col. 3:3-6
The major signs and miracles in this divine plan of redemption and mercy are 1) Israel and 2) Jesus
But Jesus came ” to destroy the works of the devil”. 1 John 3:8, ( John 8:44) -“The evil one” is acknowledged by Jesus in “The Lord’s Prayer.” (Mth.6:9-13)
Israel has been miraculously restored to her “Promised Land” , as prophesied in both Jeremiah 30:3,10,11; 31:8-10, and Ezekiel 11:17, 28:25,etc. It is understood that Jeremiah was one of the thousands of captives sent to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Ezekiel is considered a compatriot of his.
The following picture comes from source 1 below.
“God had promised ( in the Old Testament) that His Messiah, the Savior of Israel and of the world, would come through the Jews. God’s battle with s— can only be won by the Messiah. He Alone could wrestle mankind from lucifer’s evil grasp. Consequently if the enemy could destroy Israel, God’s promised land, there would be no Messiah and he would win the battle for the universe.
” There has been a historic demonic element to the relentless persecution of the scattered Jews for centuries. The Roman Catholic Church, claiming to have taken Israel’s place as God’s chosen instrument on earth, consigned the Jews to ghettos and forced them to wear identifying insignia. Even protestant Christians, after Luther’s break with Rome, continued this persecution,giving them the option of converting to Christianity or having their tongues torn out.Hitler is said to have based his “final solution- the holecast- on these models.The Catholic Church forced conversions of Jews in their brutal inquisition from 1230 to 1820 (Wikipedia). To this day the Vatican has never acknowledged Israel the “Right To Exist”.
Surely God has kept the Jews from genocide and from losing their identity as a national people exactly as He promised.
Nearly 1900 years after the destruction of the nation of Israel and the scattering of her people all over the earth, Israel is in the land promised to her in Genesis by God to Abraham nearly 4000 years ago.
It is a restoration unique in human history, in fulfillment of numerous and specific prophecies and it bears the un-mistakable imprint of the hand of God.
Now to our time. The prophecy of Zechariah 12:2,3; 14:2,3. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem “a cup of trembling” unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and Jerusalem. In that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people ..For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken…then shall the Lord go forth to fight against those nations.”
To fully under-stand this prophecy, one must remember that when these words were spoken by God through His prophet, Jerusalem was destroyed and in ruins and the area around was either desert, fly- infested swamp, or largely uninhabited wilderness- and it remained that way for centuries. But the Word was sent forth in three unbelievable declarations 1) Jerusalem will one day be the focus of attention for all the world 2) that the entire world will “tremble” in its fear and concern about Jerusalem 3) That one day the armies of the world will gather to attack and destroy Jerusalem.
Smaller than Holland, Israel occupies one- sixth of one percent of the land area of the Arab nations surrounding her. The latter have oil and that influence it gives them while Israel has nothing. It doesn’t have even precious metals, great rivers or high mountains. (Yet it is the most prosperous of the lot – through clever irrigation from Lake Galilee, they export their produce world-wide !)
A quick historical lesson will help. Israel’ – after the horrors of the “Holecast”- was given permission to settle their (“Promised”) land” by the UN, in 1948. The ruling Arab King gave his territory, which was apparently sparsely populated with less than a million people. Five surrounding Arab nations, in fulfilling their oath to destroy Israel, attacked with-out warning in the 1968 war. Israel was almost beaten , but then gained the upper hand and defeated all the attacking armies. That oath still stands among most nations.
God played His Part through-out this crisis. On the Golan Heights where the Syrian army tanks vastly out-numbered the Israelis, their tanks suddenly turned after their crews thought they saw manifestations of God protecting the defending Jews. The Jews pushed on, taking Jerusalem , their OT Holy City and the West Bank as their reclaimed Promised Land in pushing the attackers out. To their credit, Egypt, after re-gaining some land area, went to Jerusalem to sign a historic “peace deal” arranged by American president Jimmy Carter. Also Jordan signed a peace deal as well.
The major nations of the world have their diplomats working continually to produce a lasting peace treaty between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Why is this? Because now,the whole world knows that peace with Jerusalem and her enemies will be peace in the entire world. The Jews captured Jerusalem, “their Holy City”, according to our OT.
Although Jerusalem is a ‘Holy’ city to three religions, it must be noted that neither Christianity or islam were in existence when these many prophecies were given by God.
The bible’s prophecies concerning the Jews, Jerusalem, and Israel are specific, and impossible- yet they are being fulfilled to the letter! How can anyone doubt that God is the author of the bible, the Jews are His chosen people, and Israel is the land given to them by God! Woe to those who seek to frustrate the promises which God has given to Israel , His chosen!”
Zechariah 10:9-12.Written about 580 BC- “Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return ..v12; I will strengthen them in the Lord , and in His name they will walk , declares the Lord.”
Zechariah was born in Babylon during the captivity after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. He was among those who returned to rebuild Jerusalem in 538 BC. He was both a prophet and a priest.The NIV Living Study Bible states that he could have ministered even to Artaxerxes reign in 465-424 BC.
Source 1 below continues:” There is only one True God...Hinduism embraces millions of Gods and worships idols which supposedly represent them, since everything is God.Islam, on the other hand, denounces idol worship and pantheism/poly-ism and claims that its allah is the only true God. Buddhism, in contrast, needs no god.(see post “Superiority Of Christ I & II)
“..allah was in fact the name of the chief god in the Kaabah, the pagan temple that Muhammad purged by destroying the more than three hundred idols contained in it.He likely kept the name of this ancient pagan moon god and its symbol of the crescent moon now seen above mosques, to make it easier to convert idolaters to his new religion. They kept the chief object of attention of the ancient Kaabah , the black stone that muslims revere today, even as their idolaters fore-fathers did before Muhammad arrived in about 640 AD. (see posts “spiritual superiority I & II)
Then there is the black stone -the devil- that they throw stones at in their mecca pilgrimage- still idolatry where more than a thousand were crushed to death. But a TV spokesman defended “there is a silver lining to this- they are in paradise now!” – presumably with their 72 ‘virgins’! Even their idea of heaven is darkened by the reasoning of man.
As like all mature Christians, we do not dislike these people – it is their attitude or world-view that is in them – that we dislike. They have been lied to all their lives, and their fathers and family before them. It is not their fault.
But in submitting to their god , they have to pray five time a day! This is a ‘prayer’ of superiority. One that does not let them mix socially with others as we are “pigs”.Mohammad was originally respectful of the “Jews” calling them “people of the Book”. But he changed quickly and became anti- Christian and anti-Semitic. They have become brain-washed with their rote-like “prayers” from child-hood.
They are no longer normal people, but programmed people. This fact must be taken into consideration when judging them. Just ” Love” is the key. 1Cor:13:13
Further un-truths from this “religion of man”, “not of heaven”.- “Source one” continues – “The city of Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in their main book!”
And the “Dome of The Rock, along with “The Al-Aqsa Shrine” – islam’s third holiest place- is said by them to be the place where muhammed journeyed from Mecca, then ascended up to heaven on his magical horse. (again a slight “heavenly” variation of the Christian Truth} – But this claim was an invention made up by Yassar Arafat’s uncle , Haj Amin el Husseini, who at that time in the nineteen twenty’s was the grand mufti of Jerusalem. He also worked with Hitler in the extermination of the Jews. He invented this tale to arouse Palestinian opposition to any Jewish presence there in the future. This protest is in your head-lines now!
It must be said that Israelis have allowed the Arabs free entrance up to now to worship there , but because of protests and rock-throwing etc. by muslim youth, the military crack-down has occurred. But there is a deeper international cause to the recent troubles ! But prophetically – ” The Battle is the Lord’s”. 1 Samuel 17:47
Tradition has it that this spot is where the Jewish Temple stood- and “the rock” it-self is the spot where “the Holy Of Holies” was located. The real Jewish dream is to “rebuild the Temple” to complete OT Prophecy and worship privileges, and to restore their national identity. This is of prime importance to them!
Further Evidence that the Golden Dome was built before the story of muhammed on his heavenly bound horse was invented – is that of all their verses which are stenciled on the walls around the rock it-self in the room, that one verse which included the “heavenly journey on the horse” in it- is missing! Nothing that relates the story to the rock ! The Dome was built originally because both Jews and later muslims value this bare rock as the peak where Abraham was sent to attempt the sacrifice of his son.( see post “Our Inheritance”)
The Jordanian ruler plated the “worldly gold roof ” early last century.
But for us there is a sign which God has given the entire world for all generations.That sign is the land and people of Israel. God speaks of ” Israel my Glory”,Isa.46:13.and refers to her as “the one in whom I will be glorified.”; and “my inheritance.” Isa.49:3. How can this glorification come about? It can only be by God’s special dealings with Israel before a watching world.
Because God said in 2 Chron.7:19..“but if you turn away and worship other Gods and break my statutes and commandments -v20; then I will uproot you from your land which I have given you and this house (the Temple)which I have consecrated for my Name I will cast out of my sight and make it a by-word among other people.” Truth is as Truth speaks!
The Truth Remains the Truth! Biblical Prophecy is coming True . So what can we do as Christians? The last two posts attempted to explain the mid-East situation. As Gods’ Word is True, we can be sure -” For the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are Children Of God. Now if we are children of God then we are heirs; heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus; if indeed we share in His sufferings then we will indeed share in His glory. Rom.8:16-7 “ Jesus says” I am coming soon that where I am you may be also!” John 14:3 (Rev. 22:12) Yes ,The Battle is the Lord’s! Praise the Lord!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“How Close Are We ?” Dave Hunt, Harvest House Publishers , Eugene, Ore. 97402 ; 1993; ISBN 1-89081-904-1. The back cover states Dave is an internationally known author and lecturer. He has authored over twenty books with many best-selling titles.