Israel in Bible Prophecy: Past, Present & Future

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And then...in 1948, against all odds, a return to the Promised Land. The new State of Israel. The Jewish community re-established Israel as a sovereign nation with a declaration of independence. I certainly don’t think Christians should take a position that Israel is right, come what may. However, I am more concerned at the antisemitism that lies behind much hostility to Israel. Other countries do much worse and no eyebrow is raised. That Israel alone is treated with opprobrium suggests an anti-Semitic impulse.” It was hyperbole, which I thought was obvious. There are a great many theological disagreements of which this one is rather minor in the grand scheme of things, and I don’t, sincerely, consider any of them worthy of litigation.

Persia. Scripture mentions Persia in Ezekiel 38:5 and about 35 more places. In 1935, Persia changed its name to Iran. Then in 1979, it became the Islamic Republic of Iran. Today, Russia is Iran’s strongest ally and Israel’s strongest enemy. This alliance will continue in the latter days. It seems you have not read Gen 17 carefully enough. Ishmael and Esau were circumcised but were not heirs to the promise. The promise was to Abraham and his seed, which excluded Ishmael (Gen 17:20-21). Reply If Ezekiel’s Temple is Jesus. We are in it, coming in from the north or south gate, his left and right, as he walks upon the sea of history towards the west. The historical allusions in the scattered chapters of Isaiah’s work agree with the title verse, according to which he was a contemporary of the Judaean kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. His prophetic call is precisely dated by him “in the year that King Uzziah died.” At least a part of chapter 7 refers to the event of the year 734 when Ephraim and Syria jointly threatened King Ahaz of Judah. In 732 Tiglath-pileser conquered Damascus, the fall of which Isaiah had anticipated. In 722 Samaria, the capital of Ephraim, fell to King Sargon of Assyria, which event Isaiah had also foreseen. By the end of the century (701) Sennacherib had laid siege to Jerusalem—and had subsequently withdrawn. Chapters 1:4–8; 10:27–34; 28:14–22; 30:1–7; and 31:1–4 point to those difficult days when Jerusalem was beleaguered and King Hezekiah feverishly sought help from Egypt. Isaiah brought sparse comfort to his kings—even when the siege was lifted, as noted in the passage cited from chapter 22.

The novelty of a literalistic interpretation

Biblical prophecy about what happens to Israel in the end times is a topic of significant interest and debate among most Christian denominations and theological traditions. These prophecies are primarily found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Here are some key themes and passages related to Israel in end-time prophecy: Old Testament Prophecies: Living in peace. seems to me to be symbolic of innocence as Jesus was. Not unsuspecting or naive. A parallel to the image of a lamb. Land of peace.

Reformed theologians believe something decisive happened in Christ. His covenant affected not simply the covenant of Moses, making a new and timeless form of salvation, but also every other Jewish covenant, including Abraham’s covenant. Christ fulfills the expectations of Jewish covenant life and renews the people of God rooted in the Old Testament and Judaism. Thus, Jesus is the new temple, the new Israel. Where does the nation of Israel fit into God’s plan for the End Times? What does God have in store for Israel and the gift of eternal life at the end of the world? Is the existence of the current State of Israel a fulfillment of God’s promises to them? Old and New Testament Prophecies of Israel The period 33-70 conceivably, then, provides in its principles (though not necessarily in all particularities), a template against which we are to interpret the period 70 – parousia…. This raises questions of how to understand Rev 4-20. At the moment I tend to see John (or Jesus) as pulling together biblical prophecy into one final revelation. In his first advent the End had begun and since it has begun it cannot be long until it is completed. Ch 4-20 are the elements that have yet to play out as the Lamb brings history to a conclusion. Two founding members of what is now called Church’s Ministry among Jewish People (CM J) were William Wilberforce and Charles Simeon. The year was 1809 – a long time before dispensationalism took off. Two of the greatest supporters of Jewish issues were Bishop JC Ryle and Charles Spurgeon; both Reformed in theology and certainly not Dispensationalists. One of the theologians of the 20th century, also Reformed and a strong supporter of Israel’ place in the biblical narrative was Thomas Torrance.Gomer. According to Genesis 10:2-3, Gomer was one of Noah’s grandsons. Some scholars place the territory in modern Germany because of the similarity of their names. Nobody needs to remind the world of Germany’s history with the Jewish people in World War II. If Germany were to become Russia’s ally against Israel, it would not be the first time anti-Semitism has played a part in her history. When we grasp that the church is eschatological ‘Israel and the Gentiles’ then the absolute distinction between Israel and the church disappears. Further the church is then not Israel forsaken but Israel fulfilled. All of this is ‘in Christ.’ Christ is the Son of Abraham, of promise, in whom ultimately the salvation of all is found. Christian Zionism takes the land promises of God in Genesis 12, 15, and 17 and applies them to the modern state of Israel. To Christian Zionists, this promise of land inheritance is permanent and unconditional. Therefore, despite Israel’s own declared intention of being a secular state (and despite Israelis’ low religious participation), modern Israel still benefits from a 4,000-year-old promise. For Zionists, the Abrahamic covenant is still active regardless of whether Israelis believe in God or not. In the Christian Zionist view—and this is key—the covenant of Christ does not replace or supplant the Jewish covenants. There is a sense in which Christ is the land. At least we are seated with him presently in heavenly places. There we receive the spiritual blessings of the land. However there is a physical land to come- a new heavens and new earth.

You do not make clear (in your haste) why that passage seems clear on the question. Paul is talking about who counts as Israel spiritually. Indeed he begins by saying ‘the word of God has not failed’, so why suggest that the promise in Gen 17:8 about being given the land is nullified. If only you had started a couple of verses earlier! ‘My brothers are Israelites and to them belong … the covenants … and the promises.’ Paul completes his argument in Rom 11, which includes the key point that the Gentiles are grafted into Israel’s olive tree, not the Israelites grafted into the Gentiles’ tree.

WATCH: A Prayer for Israel

Reformed theologians are not convinced the promises to Abraham can be used politically today. The work of Christ is definitive. There is one covenant, and it is with Christ. In the zeal to promote and protect modern Israel, has Jesus been demoted? The spiritual root of Christian Zionism is dispensationalism, whose themes have fully permeated many American churches. Dispensationalism was born in the 1800s as an attempt to divide human history into a series of seven biblical categories (or dispensations) of time: the eras of Adam, of Noah, and others. We live in the era of the church, followed by the end of time. Dispensationalism embraced a pessimistic view of history, thinking the world was coming to its end and judgment day was near. As a result, it became sectarian, separating itself from mainstream society, calling sinners to repent and be saved from the impending catastrophe… My view that reading Ezekiel (as well as parts of Revelation/Daniel and the gospels) in this way is problematic and at at times illogical remains precisely that; the opinion of an internet commentator with no more authority than anyone else. Thank you. I accept that that was not your intent; but I hope you understand that given that Israel has, baselessly, been accused of genocide and such other slanders, it needlessly muddies the waters to use as your example a state which (almost certainly) is guilty of genocide; especially if, as you claim, there are many other examples you could have used.

Zechariah 14 describes a future day when Jerusalem will be plundered by her enemies. This is foreshadowed in 2 Kings, when the forces of Nebuchadnezzar broke through Jerusalem’s walls, conquering the city. But then… in verse 14, the prophet says this: I’d suggest that this is the place where continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New meet. Or as Steve more memorably puts it, the mid point of an hour glass. Amos, whose oracles against the northern kingdom of Israel have been misunderstood as reflecting a negative attitude toward cultus per se, simply did not consider the royal cult of the northern kingdom at Bethel to be a legitimate Yahweh cult. Rather, like the prophet Hosea after him, Amos considered the Bethel cult to be Canaanite.Regardless of their exact modern identities, these nations were identified as parts of an alliance led by Gog, the leader, to come against Israel. Russia and Turkey will lead from the north. Iran will join from the east. Sudan and Libya will press in from the south and possibly Germany from the west. To darken the picture for Israel, these likely represent the chief allies in the invasion. In Ezekiel 38:9, the prophet added that the nation would have “many peoples” on its side. Why the Russian Alliance Cannot Yet Invade Israel My dear friends Yahusha (aka our Lord Jesus Christ) is NOT a “Jew”, He is a Hebrew Israelite from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin.