Israel in Conflict: Reading Your Bible in Light of the Headlines

As we see the headlines in the news, it’s extra essential than ever that we pray for Israel and perceive what the Bible says about Israel and her significance.

Why Is Israel Necessary?

The capital metropolis of Israel, Jerusalem—sacred to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—is arguably (and positively prophetically) the world’s most important metropolis. Jerusalem was chosen particularly by God for her position within the historical past of Israel, within the lifetime of Jesus, and within the occasions of His return. Jerusalem is “town which [God has] chosen” (1 Kings 8:44).

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Jesus visited Jerusalem many occasions. When our Lord was only a few days old, His mother and father introduced Him to the temple and introduced Him to the Lord (Luke 2:21-40). He tarried in Jerusalem at age twelve, spending three nights alone in its darkened streets and conversing by day with the lecturers within the temple (verses 41-50). After His baptism, Jesus was taken to Jerusalem by Devil to the very best level of the temple (4:9-12). John recorded 4 visits of Jesus to Jerusalem (John 2:13–3:21; 5; 7–10; 12–20), and the opposite Gospels add essential particulars, notably concerning the occasions of the Ardour week. Jesus’ loss of life, resurrection, and ascension all happened in and across the metropolis of Jerusalem.¹

The Bible tells us that Christ will return to Jerusalem at His Second Coming. It will likely be the seat from which He’ll reign on earth in the course of the Millennium—the thousand-year interval of Christ’s rule on earth. Because the prophet Jeremiah wrote: “At the moment Jerusalem shall be referred to as The Throne of the Lord, and all of the nations shall be gathered to it, to the title of the Lord, to Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 3:17).

However that’s solely the start. Earthly Jerusalem is the prelude to a different Jerusalem—“New Jerusalem,” the Celestial Metropolis—the eternal capital metropolis of Jesus all through eternity.

“As the ultimate and everlasting house of redeemed humanity, the New Jerusalem will shine with the glory of God. In distinction to man-made cities, which show solely human achievements, this heavenly metropolis, which is able to come to earth, will likely be ablaze with gentle, the sunshine of the glory of God. Eventually Jerusalem will deservedly be referred to as the Holy Metropolis.”²

As Randall Worth wrote, “Jerusalem is town on the middle. It’s the middle of mankind’s hopes and God’s functions…. Certainly the future of the world is tied to the way forward for Jerusalem.”³

Pray for Israel

The psalmist wrote, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. ‘Could they prosper who love you. Peace be inside your partitions, prosperity inside your palaces.’ For the sake of my brethren and companions, I’ll now say, ‘Peace be inside you.’ Due to the home of the Lord our God I’ll search your good” (Psalm 122:6-9).

For those who go to Jerusalem and stroll by way of the Previous Metropolis from finish to finish, you’ll encounter a labyrinth of languages, cultures, and passions. Solely Jesus Christ can carry unity to such a tangle of tongues and tempers. We have to pray for the Jews, the Palestinians, the Christians, and all of the others who make this land their house.

Keep fervent in your prayers for the worldwide security of Israel and Jerusalem. Fashionable Israel has been compelled to keep up a continuing state of warfare all through its years. Somebody described it as dwelling in a really good home in a really unhealthy neighborhood. Israel is in a battle for its very survival.

Keep Devoted

Christianity and Judaism each encourage us to anticipate the Messiah’s coming by concentrating on being godly folks and doing acts of kindness. In doing so, we are going to hasten the top and begin our new starting. As Peter instructed within the Bible, “Since the whole lot will likely be destroyed on this means, what sort of folks ought you to be? You should reside holy and godly lives as you look ahead to the day of God and pace its coming” (2 Peter 3:11-12, NIV).

I imagine that is what Isaiah was interested by when he wrote: “Is it to not share your bread with the hungry, and that you simply carry to your home the poor who’re forged out; whenever you see the bare, that you simply cowl him, and never conceal your self from your personal flesh?” (Isaiah 58:7)

Jerusalem is much away for many people. In some instances, it’s actually the opposite aspect of the world. Many won’t have the privilege of visiting that metropolis on this aspect of eternity. However all who belief in Christ as their Savior will encounter the New Jerusalem. Even now, you and I are shifting towards that wondrous metropolis. It’s our everlasting future. It’s our house!

So allow us to reside proper now as residents of New Jerusalem. We aren’t bodily housed in that everlasting metropolis, however our trustworthy service will replicate its gentle and reveal its goodness at the same time as we tarry right here.

What Does the Bible Say About Israel?

“A land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are at all times on it, from the start of the yr to the very finish of the yr” (Deuteronomy 11:12).

“Because the day that I introduced My folks out of the land of Egypt, I’ve chosen no metropolis from any tribe of Israel during which to construct a home, that My title may be there, nor did I select any man to be a ruler over My folks Israel. But I’ve chosen Jerusalem, that My title could also be there, and I’ve chosen David to be over My folks Israel” (2 Chronicles 6:5-6).

“The Lord won’t forged off His folks, nor will He forsake His inheritance” (Psalm 94:14).

“At the moment Jerusalem shall be referred to as The Throne of the Lord, and all of the nations shall be gathered to it, to the title of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No extra shall they observe the dictates of their evil hearts” (Jeremiah 3:17).

“Thus says the Lord, which provides the solar for a lightweight by day, the ordinances of the moon and the celebrities for a lightweight by evening…‘If these ordinances depart from earlier than Me,’ says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall additionally stop from being a nation earlier than Me endlessly’” (Jeremiah 31:35-36).

“Behold, I’ll collect them out of all nations the place I’ve pushed them in My anger, in My fury, and in nice wrath; I’ll carry them again to this place, and I’ll trigger them to dwell safely” (Jeremiah 32:37).

“Due to this fact say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I’ll collect you from the peoples, assemble you from the nations the place you may have been scattered, and I offers you the land of Israel”’” (Ezekiel 11:17). 

“Then you definitely shall know that I’m the Lord, once I carry you into the land of Israel, into the nation for which I raised My hand in an oath to offer to your fathers” (Ezekiel 20:42).

“And I’ll carry them out from the peoples and collect them from the nations, and can carry them to their very own land; I’ll feed them on the mountains of Israel, within the valleys and in all of the inhabited locations of the nation” (Ezekiel 34:13).

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Absolutely I’ll take the youngsters of Israel from among the many nations, wherever they’ve gone, and can collect them from each aspect and produce them into their very own land”’” (Ezekiel 37:21).

“Then they shall know that I’m the Lord their God, who despatched them into captivity among the many nations, but additionally introduced them again to their land, and left none of them captive any longer” (Ezekiel 39:28). 

“‘I’ll carry again the captives of My folks Israel; they shall construct the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall additionally make gardens and eat fruit from them. I’ll plant them of their land, and not shall they be pulled up from the land I’ve given them,’ says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:14-15).

Citations:

Tailored from Don Campbell et al., The Theological Wordbook (Nashville, TN: Phrase Publishing, 2000), 196.
Swindoll, ed., The Theological Workbook, 197.
Randall Worth, Jerusalem in Prophecy: God’s Stage for the Remaining Drama (Eugene, OR: Harvest Home, 1991), 74.

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