About Jesus    Steve Sweetman

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The Politics of God And The Bible

Part 14

Israel Restored

 

In Deuteronomy 4 Israel was about to enter the promised land.  In verses 25 and following God told them, "after … you have lived in the land a long time – and if you become corrupt … I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you … you will quickly perish from the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess … the Lord will scatter you among the peoples.  When you are in distress … in the later days you will return to the Lord your God … He will not forget the covenant He made with your forefathers". 

 

Israel did become corrupt, and in 70 A. D. Israelis were scattered among the peoples of the world as God warned.  Deuteronomy 29:64 and following says "the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other.  There among the nations you will find no repose, no resting place…"  An important date in Israel's history is 70 A. D..  This is the only time in Israel's history when Jews were scattered throughout the nations of the world as stated in this passage.          

 

Israel was never meant to live apart from their land and their God forever.  Ezekiel 34:13 says, "I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land".  In 70 A. D. God scattered Israelis into all the nations of the world.  Not understanding the real reason for their return to Israel, God has been bringing Israeli's back to their own land for the last number of decades.

 

Isaiah 66:8 asks, "can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment"?  The answer is an emphatic "yes".   On May 14, 1948, the nation of Israel was born again in a natural sense.  Most Jews don't understand the Biblical significance of Israel's new birth and their return to the land.  Obviously most world leaders don't understand this either.  God Himself is the motivator behind Jews returning to their land.

 

Getting the Jews back to their homeland is only the beginning of God's plan.  His ultimate goal is to bring Israel back to Himself once they are in their land.  As the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:46, "first comes the natural and then the spiritual".  This spiritual revival will be accomplished after much distress imposed on Israel by all the nations of the world.  This too is God's doing.  Zechariah 14:2 and following says, "I will gather all the nations of the world against Jerusalem and fight against it, the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, the women raped …  Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations …  On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.  The Mount of Olives will split in two from east to west …  Then the Lord will come and all His holy ones with Him … The Lord will be king over the whole earth".  This horrific battle between Israel and the nations of the world will bring Israel to her knees. 

 

When Israel finally surrenders to Yahweh, the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1 will be fulfilled.  God said,  "I will pour out on the House of David and the inhabitance of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.  They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one who mourns for an only child and grieve bitterly for Him as one who grieves for a firstborn son.  On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great.  On that day a fountain will be open to the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from their sin…"  This Scripture, and others like it, could not have been fulfilled if Israel had not become a nation in 1948.  Now that Israel is a nation, the next step is for God to  gather the nations together to mount a massive attack against Israel. The last step is to bring Israel to her knees, resulting in her repentance and subsequent salvation.  As Romans 11:26 states, "all Israel will be saved".

 

Once Israelis return to their land, Amos 9:15 becomes important.  It reads, "I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them".  It's simple.  God has already planted Israel in her own land.  That means they will never be kicked out again.  The only thing left is the final great war, Israel's salvation, and the end of this age.          

 

Concerning the attacking nations and the last battle, Zechariah 14:13 states that once the battle is over, those who actually survive from the attacking nations, will fall under the authority and rule of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This tells us that there will be people from this age living in the thousand year rule of Christ on earth. 

 

I believe we're near the end.  I picture Jesus as having just risen from His throne.  He is standing with hands stretched out, ready to receive the all important scroll of Revelation 6.  Once the scroll is in His hands, He will open its seals.  Then watch out.  When CNN announces "breaking news", that will be the biggest understatement in human history.       

 

Many Christians have a poor mental image of Jesus.  They tend to picture Him as a quiet peaceful man walking the dusty roads of Galilee .  He's not exactly that man.  Revelation 1: 7 paints a much different picture of Jesus as He presently exists.  It reads, "He (Jesus) is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him …  all the people of the earth will mourn because of Him."  Verse 13 continues by saying, "among the lampstands was someone 'like the son of man', dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.  His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance".

 

It's something few of us like, but war is a fact of life when it comes to the human condition.  This passage in Revelation doesn't portray the mild mannered Jesus who kicked the stones under his feet as He walked the shores of the Jordan River .  This Jesus is a powerful and authoritative man of war.  He is ready to physically enter humanity for the second time.  He will launch the mother of all wars that will bring all nations and all individuals to their knees.  This may not be the picture you have of Jesus in your mind, but it is the Jesus of the Bible.  Again, this is the politics of God and the Bible.   

 

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