by Doug R.

Before approaching what is often seen as another contentious, but oh so relevant, issue, it is important to underline the principles of interpretation of Scripture which need to be adopted through this study.




Interpretation of Scripture.

The method of interpretation needs to be consistent and without contradiction and not governed by a theological predisposition or school of thought wherein the Bible can perhaps be twisted to whatever an individual's theology would have it say.

The first principle that should be adopted in the view of the writer is that all Scripture is to be understood in it's most normal, natural sense allowing for ‘obvious figures of speech' etc.. Taking Scripture at face value, the Bible suddenly becomes alive in a fresh and vivid way. No longer does the reader need to look for an obscure ‘spiritualised' meaning but rather for the literal understanding of events that have actually occurred or will happen sometime in the future.

No more subject is appropriate for such an approach than Scriptures relating to the Holy Land where real time events and locations are readily accessible. Scripture is certainly it's own best interpreter and by comparing Scripture with Scripture any ‘seeming contradictions' can be harmonised. No interpretation being valid if it does not genuinely harmonise with all other passages of Scripture relating directly to the same issue. If the Holy Bible is the Word of God then it cannot be contradictory.




God's Redemptive Plan & Purpose.

Many ask why would Almighty God choose to identify Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob & their descendants. Similarly many ask what is so special about these people that God should choose them and not us. The answer is founded in the Sovereignty of God and His own personal choice. The people concerned possessed no natural claim of their own on God. God freely initiating the relationship with them of His own accord and for His own Sovereign purposes.

At a time when all the nations appeared to be prepared to push the knowledge of the one true God out of their cultures, lives and memories, the Hebrew-Christian Bible shows that God chose a man for the purpose of creating a special nation - a nation through whom God of His own choice committed Himself to subsequently bring the Messiah (Jesus Christ) into the World (through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through the tribe of Judah and specifically from the line of David.....a people who we now refer to as the Jews).

The man chosen was called Abram, who later became Abraham, from Ur of the Chaldeans. God made a unique, special covenant with him and his descendants to facilitate this purpose.

If one studies the Scriptures it is clear that a vast proportion of the entire Bible is actually a type of commentary on the promises that this covenant contains, with much emphasis on the Land and the recipients of the promises - Abraham and his descendants, through the line of Isaac and Jacob (Israel).

(God indeed made a promise to Abraham on which Christians still rely. God began creation with one man and He began redemption with one man. We are told that God made a covenant with Abraham, a theme that continues through the Bible to Jesus Himself, who institutes a new covenant commemorated at the Lord's Supper.)

The initial requisite of the covenant with Abram was for a requirement on Abram's part to leave his country/home/relatives and to travel to a Land that God would show him. The following Scriptures emphasise the promise and Abraham's subsequent obedience.

"Now the Lord said to Abram; ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you; And in you shall all the families of the earth be bless" (Genesis 12;1-3).

"And the Lord said to Abram...'Lift up your eyes now and look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward and westward; for all the land which you now see I will give to you and your descendants FOREVER'" (Genesis 13; 14-15).

Abram asked for assurance from the Lord that he would gain possession of the Land promised to him.
"Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it ? " (Genesis 15; 8).




The Irrevocable Covenant Unbreakable By God Who Swore It By Himself.

The Lord then demonstrated His patience and, perhaps understanding Abram's need for reassurance, entered into a covenant-making ‘ritual' that was the culture of that time, and made the most solemn and binding oath known to man which reconfirmed the title deed of the Land & it's boundaries. The covenant made having an irrevocable nature which reaches to the very heart of the Hebrew word for covenant (barath, which means to ‘cut' a covenant).

As the custom dictated, Abram laid the sacrifice halves opposite each other, making a path in the middle for those making the covenant to walk. The parties would then hold hands and walk together between the sacrifices, taking an oath on the terms of the covenant. The parties would then swear an oath that the one who breaks the covenant is to be hewn in pieces as the sacrifice itself had been. However, in this case, something unusual occurred. Abram was put into a deep sleep and would appear to have been shown a vision of God walking alone between the sacrifices and swearing an oath by Himself that He would give the Land with it's declared borders to Abram and his descendants as an everlasting possession.

This meant that the fulfilment of the covenant was based purely upon God's grace, in spite of how often Abraham or his descendants failed.

For God to give His Word in a promise is enough to make it unbreakable but here God swore an oath by Himself that He would fulfill this promise concerning the Land. Such is the immense importance and relevance of this matter. (Genesis 15; 7 - 21). In relation to this covenant the initiative was clearly God's and He is the superior party in the covenant.

Although there are certain obligations upon the children of Israell to worship the Lord God alone and that they are to be loyal to God in every sphere of life, the covenant itself is not based on Israel's response to God. The covenant is based fully and squarely on God's gracious and sovereign choice of Israel. (The same is true of the relationship between every Christian and God. There are demands upon Christians and upon the Church as a whole, which involve the worship of God and one's total life and behaviour, but they are not the basis for the relationship.)

God makes it clear that He will remove His blessings from the children of Israel if they are disobedient to Him but His word is clear that He will never reject or withdraw His own loving commitment to them. (It is important to recognise that the sending of the children of Israel into exile is presented in the Bible as the "withdrawing of God's blessing from Israel for the purpose of punishment and discipline", not as the removal of His love, commitment OR the pledge of His covenant promises.) I have quoted many Scriptures here pertaining to these matters. If read in their correct and entire context, this will become only too plain to the reader.

David Pawson describes the importance and context of this covenant very well indeed. He emphasises that it is important to grasp the meaning of ‘covenant' clearly and not to confuse it with the word ‘contract'.

The covenant not being any ‘bargain' struck between two parties of equal power and authority. A covenant being made entirely by one party to bless the other. The other party has only two choices; to accept the terms or to reject them. They cannot change them. When God makes covenants, He keeps them and swears by them. Whereas a human being might say ‘by God I promise to do that', God says ‘by Myself I have sworn' because there is nothing above God to swear by. So God swears by Himself and He tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In His promise to Abraham, God repeats the words of intention ‘I WILL' six times alone in Genesis 12, rather like a husband marrying a bride. The truth is that the God of the Universe married Himself to this particular family and his first promise was to give them a place to live in (a little patch of land in the Middle East) and effectively saying ‘This is the place I am going to give you for ever'. Despite whatever the World says, the title deeds of the Land have been given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob & their descendants for ever.





The Boundaries Of The "Promised Land".

"On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates - the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites'" (Genesis 15; 18-21).

With the promise of his descendants becoming a great nation, there remained one distinct problem. Abram {Abraham} (aged 75 years) and his wife Sarai {Sarah} (aged 65 years) were childless. It became clear that some form of Divine intervention was required for Abram to have a son. A ‘complication' which gave rise to a ‘lapse' in Abram's faith where together with his wife they conspired to take matters in their own hands and pre-empt the Lord.

(The consequences of this act extending for generations until this very hour and which is critical to an understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. - The writer believes that due to the special mission of redemption planned through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, it is only logical & historically proven, that they have been singled out as prime targets for a peculiar and particular hatred/persecution which is demonic in nature and that which tries to thwart the Scriptural promises of the Lord God of Israel. Something revealed in any objective study of the irrational outbreaks of hatred towards the Israelites/Jews throughout history).

Sarai assumed that the Lord needed some ‘help' in providing them with a heir so it was decided that her maid Hagar would be used as a ‘surrogate' mother. Abram agreed and the result was the birth of Ishmael.

When Abram was 99 years old his name was changed to Abraham and the Lord said to him -

"...And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN, as an EVERLASTING POSSESSION, and I will be their God." (Genesis 17;5-8).

The Bible makes it clear that, despite the birth of Isaac, there was no lack of love for Ishmael on the part of God or Abraham. God promising -

"..Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH HIM for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, and with HIS descendants after him."

"As as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes and I will make him a great nation. BUT MY COVENANT I WILL ESTABLISH WITH ISAAC, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." (Genesis 17; 19 - 21).

This covenant is reiterated in many sections of Scripture including a confirmation to Isaac -

"Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give ALL these lands, and I will perform the OATH I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to YOUR descendants ALL THESE LANDS; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. " (Genesis 26; 3-4)

and a confirmation to Isaac's son Jacob -

"....I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to YOU and YOUR descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will BRING YOU BACK TO THIS LAND; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." (Genesis 28;13-15).

"...your name shall not be called Jacob any more, but ISRAEL shall be your name. So He called his name Israel. And God said to him "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply...THE LAND I GAVE TO ABRAHAM AND ISAAC I GIVE TO YOU and to YOUR descendants after you I give this land."
(Genesis 35;10-12).




The Continual Emphasis of the Land Covenant To The Descendants Of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.

Throughout the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, the Land covenant is further emphasised. Indeed, it was the mention by Moses of the covenant that turned back the wrath of God from His people Israel.
"I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty...I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers...And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am the Lord" (Exodus 6;3-4, 8)

"For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.......Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you will inherit the land. And I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you." (Exodus 23; 23, 24, 30-33)

"Moses pleaded with the Lord his God....‘Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and ALL this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever"..So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people' "
(Exodus 32;11-14).




God Himself "Owns" The Land.

The Lord God of Israel almost emphasised that the Land, although given as an inheritance to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, still belonged to Him;-

"The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is MINE; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me." (Leviticus 25; 23)

God also specifying in Leviticus ch26 that the behaviour of His people in the land would bring either blessing or curse. Following disobedience one such curse detailed being that of ‘dispersion' from the Land. However, the Lord emphasises that He will remember the Land, will not cast them away totally and will NOT break His covenant with them.

"I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.....You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up....then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land....YET FOR ALL THAT, WHEN THEY ARE IN THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES, I will NOT cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break MY Covenant with them; for I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD." (Leviticus 26; 44)

This shows that despite knowing that the children of Israel will reject Almighty God and break their side of the covenant, God STILL refuses to break HIS Word.




Unbelief & Rejection Of Promises Pertaining To Land Covenant Results In 40 Years In The Wilderness.

The immense significance of the Divine promises relating to the Land and the lack of faith and unbelief of the children of Israel before crossing into the Land enraged the Lord to such a degree that they subsequently spent some 40 years wandering in the wilderness until all those aged 20 years and above perished, leaving only their descendants to possess the Land.

"because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it......the carcasses of you who have complained Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.....But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised..."
(Numbers 13; 22, 23, 29, 31).




Consequences Of Tolerating/Participating In Beliefs Of Nations Already In The Land. The Boundaries of the Promised Land reiterated.

The Hebrew-Christian Scriptures make it clear that Almighty God is prepared to make no concessions to the people already in the Land, or to tolerate their idol worship, warning the children of Israel that those who are allowed to remain in the Land will literally be ‘thorns in their sides'.

"Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them "When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out ALL the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all the molded images and demolish all their high places. You shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, FOR I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE LAND TO POSSESS.....But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and THEY SHALL HARASS YOU IN THE LAND WHERE YOU DWELL."
(Numbers 34; 50-56) and again...

"Turn and take your journey and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighbouring places in the plain, in the mountains and the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates. See I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers - to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - to give to them and their descendants after them." (Deuteronomy 1; 7,8).

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you....you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages with them........For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods, so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you....For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth......The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; BUT BECAUSE THE LORD LOVES YOU AND BECAUSE HE WOULD KEEP THE OATH WHICH HE SWORE TO YOUR FATHERS..." (Deuteronomy 7; 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8).




Nations Driven Out Because Of Their Wickedness.

The Lord God of Israel even clarifying why the nations need to be driven out before the children of Israel, declaring that it is not of any righteousness on behalf of His people (God freely initiated the relationship with them and they could not claim that the relationship was due to them) but because of the wickedness of the nations already there;

"It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob..." (Deuteronomoy 9; 5).

The Lord God of Israel, having already declared the Land to be His, further elaborates His feelings towards it;

"..a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are ALWAYS on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. " (Deuteronomy 11; 12).

The wickedness of the nations in the land is clarified even further;

"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For ALL who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you....For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has NOT appointed such for you."




Consequences Of Disobedience For The Children Of Israel.

These are indeed only some of the many references which Almighty God has provided to emphasise the importance, significance and eternal nature of the Land covenant to the children of Israel. If God says something once we need to take notice, if He says something twice we should be alert, if He constantly repeats Himself then who are we to think that we know better than Him in relation to His Land and His People by questioning His intent. The children of Israel rebelled and doubted and paid the consequences. Should we not learn their lesson. The blessings and curses placed before Israel are again outlined in Deuteronomy ch.28 with a warning that the disobedience of the children of Israel will cause them to

"...become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.........Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods which neither you nor your fathers have known....and among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night; and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say ‘Oh that it were evening!' and at evening you shall say ‘Oh that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see...." (Deuteronomy 28; 37, 64 -68).

In some of the final words of Moses before his death, he himself tells of their coming disobedience;

"For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death ?...For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands." (Deuteronomy 31; 27, 29).

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had one thing in common. Although they were all aware of the covenant and everlasting promises surrounding themselves, their descendants and the Land, all three were still ‘living by faith' when they died. Neither having even entered the Land. Even Moses did not enter the Land due to his disobedience at Meribah. It was left to Joshua to enter the Land.

The message to the children of Israel was very firm. God has promised not only to bless them when they obeyed but also to curse them when they disobeyed. God had sworn His solemn covenant to Israel which He could never break. He had sworn by Himself that He would stay with them and the Land was His promised gift. In taking action and entering the Land by faith, the Israelite were told not to be afraid and not to doubt, with their every action to be one of obedience and confidence in the Lord. (Would that we, too, would believe God's words and promises pertaining to the Land...)

Under the direction of Moses and the leadership of Joshua, the inhabitants of the Land were indeed driven out from before them "little by little" (as declared by the Lord), yet at the time of Joshua's death there was still much Land to possess.

"Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said ‘Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died..." (Judges 2; 29, 30).

Whilst Moses appointed Joshua as his successor, Joshua did not appoint a successor for himself. From that time on the job of leadership would not be left to one man, with the children of Israel being scattered across the Land to possess it, making it extremely difficult for one man to lead properly with so much ground to cover.

After the time of Joshua, despite the repeated warnings outlined in Deuteronomy ch.28, the children of Israel increased in disobedience. Instead of following God's commands, Israel were selective in their actions, capturing only certain locations and allowing many of the peoples to remain, causing division amongst themselves and eventually becoming ‘entangled' with the other peoples and their ‘gods' as well as inter-marrying. Practices clearly forbidden by the Lord God of Israel.

"...you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.....And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel..." Judges 10; 13, 14, 16).



Dispersal and Exile among the Nations.

The inevitable corruption followed which brought about the curses described by Almighty God and the prophesied dispersion among the nations. It is not the intention of the writer to deal with the actual dispersion and exile of the children of Israel at this time (although as a student of the Holocaust it is difficult not to draw a comparison between the suffering of the Jewish people during that period to the previously quoted Scripture -

"...you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.........Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods which neither you nor your fathers have known....and among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night; and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say ‘Oh that it were evening!' and at evening you shall say ‘Oh that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see...." (Deuteronomy 28; 37, 64 -68).

Preference in this particular article being given to presenting the Biblical prophecies surrounding the return of the Jewish people to their Land during the latter days.

A return shown by Scripture to be when the Jewish people are still in an unrepentant state. A return to their promised land undertaken by the Lord God of Israel, not for the sake of His people, but AGAIN for His own Name's sake.




Regathering of the Children Of Israel to their Own Land.

The Scriptures not only signify the rebirth of the State of Israel (May 14 1948) but are also replete with a plethora of divine promises/prophecies surrounding and the regathering of the Jewish people from exile. The following are only just a sample of such;'

"You shall no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed desolate.." (Isaiah 62; 4)

"Before she was in labour, she gave birth; Before her pain came, She delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labour, she gave birth to her children. Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery?' says the Lord; Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb? says your God."
(Isaiah 66; 7-9).

"..I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out....Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to your fathers...Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you FOR MY NAME'S SAKE, NOT ACCORDING TO YOUR WICKED WAYS, NOR ACCORDING TO YOUR CORRUPT DOINGS, O house of Israel', says the Lord God..." (Ezekiel 20; 34, 42, 44)

"So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds.....when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land' but I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Isrel had profaned among the nations wherever they went, "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God; I DO NOT DO THIS FOR YOUR SAKE, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL, BUT FOR MY HOLY NAME'S SAKE, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.......For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.." (Ezekiel 36; 19-24).

Thus it can be seen quite clearly that Abraham and his descendants (the Jews) were clearly promised a specific, literal, land by Almighty God. The literal fulfilment of the divine promises surrounding the disobedience, dispersal and exile of His people and the divine promises surrounding their return to the Land have been fulfilled to the letter. Those which have yet to be fulfilled are taking shape at the time of writing.

(Some Biblical scholars believe that the ‘final regathering' of the Jews, which will include ‘every Israelite to the last man etc.' will only be fulfilled at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the possession by the Jews of the Land to the uttermost of the boundaries mentioned in Genesis. There is much discussion on these points.)



The "Latter Days"

Careful study of the Hebrew-Christian Scriptures reveals that the regathering of the Jews to their Land is in the context of the end times/latter days surrounding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (I hope to present a detailed article on this subject at a later date).

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23; 37-39).

The Bible describes how, after speaking to His apostles on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem -
"..while they watched He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? THIS SAME JESUS, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.." Acts 1;9-11).

"For I will gather ALL NATIONS TO BATTLE AGAINST JERUSALEM....Then the Lord will go forth and FIGHT AGAINST THOSE NATIONS, as He fights in the day of battle. IN THAT DAY HIS FEET WILL STAND ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley. Half of the mountain shall move towards the north and half of it toward the south...Thus the Lord my God will come and all the saints with You..", (Zechariah 14; 3-5).

With the present political situation encompassing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UN Resolutions have recently been passed by the UN Security Council which are enforceable in like manner to those surrounding the war in Iraq. These UN Resolutions are in relation to the so called "Road Map" to "peace" and incorporate a "dividing up" of the Land promised as an eternal, everlasting inheritance to the Jewish people into a future "Palestinian" state.

It is not ‘rocket science' to envisage the situation should the International community decide to take such action against the Jewish state in order to create another Arab state on Israel's Biblical homeland. The individual is left to consider and study the Scriptures for his/her own interpretation of how the Word of God perceives such an eventuality.

"In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I WILL GATHER ALL NATIONS AND BRING THEM DOWN TO THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. There I will enter into JUDGEMENT AGAINST THEM CONCERNING MY PEOPLE ISRAEL, for they have scattered My people among the nations and DIVIDED UP MY LAND.." (Joel 3; 1-2).

"Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehosaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations....Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (Joel 3;12-16)

"Thus says the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him, "BEHOLD I WILL MAKE JERUSALEM A CUP OF TREMBLING TO ALL THE NATIONS, WHEN THEY LAY SIEGE AGAINST JUDAH AND JERUSALEM...And it shall happen in that day that I WILL MAKE JERUSALEM A BURDENSOME STONE FOR ALL PEOPLES; all who would heave it away will SURELY BE CUT IN PIECES, though ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH AE GATHERED AGAINST IT.." (Zechariah 12; 9-10).

"And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike ALL THE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT AGAINST JERUSALEM; THEIR FLESH SHALL DISSOLVE WHILE THEY STAND ON THEIR FEET. THEIR EYES SHALL DISSOLVE IN THEIR SOCKETS AND THEIR TONGUES SHALL DISSOLVE IN THEIR MOUTHS.." (Zechariah 14;12).

"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. Declaring the end from the beginnning and from ancient times things that are not yet done.." (Isaiah 46; 9-10).

"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect" ......."The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples, But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His Heart through all generations.." (Psalm 33; 10-11; NKJV & NIV)....to be continued.






Recommended reading;

"The Uniqueness Of Israel" by Lance Lambert.
"The Land Of Many Names" by Steve Maltz.
"The Bible Omnibus" by David Pawson.
"The Last Word On The Middle East" by Derek Prince.
"Philistine; The Great Deception" by Ramon Bennett.
"The Destiny Of Israel and the Church" by Derek Prince
"Jerusalem In Prophecy" by Randall Price.
"Israelology; The Missing Link In Systematic Theology" by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum Th.M, Ph.D.