Modern Israel's Right
To The Land
Dr. Thomas Ice
Then
the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, your brothers, your
relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are
those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far from the Lord;
this land has been given us as a possession.' Therefore say, 'Thus says the
Lord God, though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I
had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little
while in the countries where they had gone.'" Therefore say, "Thus
says the Lord God, 'I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of
the countries among which you have been scattered, and I shall give you the
land of Israel. When they come there, they will remove all its detestable
things and all its abominations from it.'" --- Ezekiel 11:14-18
The
modern state of Israel is under attack like never before since her 1948
founding from all sides throughout the world. Recently a secular Israeli said
shortly after this summer's war (2006) with Hezbollah, "Every year they
hate us more." No matter what Israel does, whether good or bad, it is
viewed by most of the world as a provocation that justifies the world's hatred
toward God's covenant nation.
If
that's not bad enough, you would think that people of the Book (Christians),
would be unified in their support of contemporary Israel since God is bringing
His people back to their land. Yet, an increasing number of many within
Christendom are speaking out, and like the unbelieving world, they too are
blaming Israel for the problems in the Middle East.
Land
Verses Jesus?
Typical
of those within the Evangelical orbit of those who deny Israel's clear
prophetic future in the Bible is replacement theologian Gary DeMar, who said of
a Christian and Jewish pro-Israel rally: "Those in attendance are more
concerned about the land of Israel than the life-transforming gospel of Jesus
Christ." So DeMar is able to judge the thoughts and intents of people's hearts?
He continues by saying, "The only concern of these end-time advocates is
Israel and their land." [1]
Rather
than attempting to guess one's motives, as DeMar does, it is better to look at
one's deeds in relation to this issue. It is patently clear that preterists
such as DeMar are hardly known for their evangelistic efforts, let alone Jewish
evangelism. However, as historian Timothy Weber notes concerning the rise of
the dispensational viewpoint, "premillennialists were able to stress the
evangelization of the Jews while at the same time they supported Jewish
nationalistic aspirations." [2] In fact, the heightened interest in
dispensational evangelization of the Jews has been documented in a study of the
history of Jewish evangelism. Yaakov Ariel says,
The
rise of the movement to evangelize the Jews in America also coincided with the
rise of Zionism, the Jewish national movement that aimed at rebuilding
Palestine as a Jewish center. The missionary community, like American
dispensationalists in general, took a great deal of interest in the
developments among the Jewish people. . . .
Perhaps
not surprisingly, missionaries to the Jews were among the major propagators of
the dispensationalist premillennialist belief. . . .
They
condemned anti-Semitism and discrimination against Jews worldwide. [3]
The
Bible and The Land
All
throughout the Old Testament God says that the land we know as Israel is for
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or the Jews. Every Old Testament
prophet, except Jonah, speaks of a permanent return to the Land of Israel by
the Jews. [4] Nowhere in the New Testament are these Old Testament promises
ever changed or negated. [5] In fact, they are reinforced by some New Testament
passages. Walter Kaiser notes that "the writer of Hebrews (6:13, 17-18), .
. . swore by Himself when He made the promise: to show how immutable His
purpose was." [6] Paul says of the promises to Israel: "for the gifts
and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29).
The
only legitimate basis for the Jews to claim a right to the land of Israel comes
from the Bible. In fact, if it were not for the biblical history of Israel who
would even know to associate the Jewish people with the land of Israel? It is
precisely because God associates the Jewish people with the land that He gave
them-located in today's Middle East-that we could even have a movement today
known as Zionism. (Zionism is the name most frequently used of anyone, Jew or
Gentile, who desires the Jews to own the Land of Israel.) Detractors of Zionism
must attempt to say that God's promise of the land of Israel to the Jews has
somehow been invalidated. My how many have tried down though the years to prove
just that! But God's Word speaks louder than their shrill voices combined.
The
case for Zionism rises or falls upon what the Bible teaches about Israel and
the land of Israel. It is true that a just case for Israel can be presented
upon many grounds, but ultimately it boils down to what does God think about
this matter as communicated through His inerrant and authoritative Word-the
Bible.
God's
Promise of the Land
The
Lord called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans and made an unconditional
covenant, or contract, with him. This contract, known as the Abrahamic
covenant, contained three major provisions: 1) a land to Abram and his
descendants Israel, 2) a seed or physical descendants of Abraham, and 3) a
worldwide blessing (Gen. 12:1-3).
In
order to make His point clear, the Lord put Abram to sleep and made Himself the
only signatory of the contract (Gen. 15:1-21). God told Abram, "To your
descendants I have given this land" (verse 18). Even though the Lord was
the only active signatory to the cutting of the covenant, as demonstrated in
Genesis 15, nevertheless it is clear that Abraham obeyed the Lord during his
lifetime: "Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My
statutes and My laws" (Gen. 26:5). "It is significant that the
promise is related to Abraham's obedience, not to Isaac's, as the promise now
becomes immutable and certain of fulfillment,"[7] observes John F.
Walvoord. This covenant is repeated to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their
descendants a little over twenty times in the book of Genesis.[8] God's promise
to the patriarchs is said to be an everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:7, 13, 19).
The
promise of the land covenant is passed from Abraham to Isaac, instead of
Ishmael. The Lord told Isaac: "Sojourn in this land and I will be with you
and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands,
and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. And I will
multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your
descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 26:3-4). Here we see a duplication of God's
promise to Isaac's father (cf. Gen. 12:3; 15:18).
Number
three in the patriarchal descent is Jacob, rather than Esau. Jacob's name is
later changed to Israel, which becomes the primary name of the new nation. In
Jacob's famous dream of a stairway from heaven to earth, the Lord said,
"'I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the
land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your
descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out
to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and
in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed'" (Gen.
28:13-14). This statement also includes a repetition of the land promise made
to Abraham and Isaac and would be passed on to Jacob's posterity, fulfilled in
his twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel and their descendants. Walvoord
notes:
A
careful study of these passages makes clear that the promise of the land was
intrinsic to the whole covenant given to Abraham. Inasmuch as Abraham became a
great man, had a great posterity, and brought blessing to the whole world
through Christ, it is reasonable to assume that the rest of the Abrahamic
covenant will be fulfilled just as literally as these provisions. The
nonliteral or conditional interpretation of these promises is not supported in
Scripture.[9]
Genesis
closes with Jacob, his twelve sons and their descendants sojourning in the land
of Egypt. Exodus is the story of their deliverance from Egypt and preparation
for entrance into the land of Canaan. Even though Israel wondered in the
wilderness for forty years because of unbelief, it was there that Moses
received the Law that would become the new nation's constitution by which she
would be governed in the land.
The
book of Deuteronomy says at least twenty-five times that the land is a gift to
the people of Israel from the Lord (Deut. 1:20, 25; 2:29; 3:20; 4:40; 5:16,
etc.). Old Testament scholar, Walter Kaiser notes that, "sixty-nine times
the writer of Deuteronomy repeated the pledge that Israel would one day
'possess' and 'inherit' the land promised to her."[10]
Deuteronomy
28-30 lays out the conditions for Israel to experience blessing within the
land. We must remember that while the land was given unconditionally to the
people of Israel, the Mosaic Law provides sub-conditions for the nation to
enjoy God's blessings in the land. The tribulation period will be a time of
divine discipline on the nation, bringing about Israel's repentance obedience.
And then, during those grand and golden days of the millennial kingdom, she
will experience full occupation of her land, reaping the many blessings
promised in the Old Testament.
The
Psalms, Israel's handbook of praise to the Lord, often lead the worshipper in
thanksgiving to the Lord for His covenant promises and faithfulness. For
example, Psalm 105 says, "He has remembered His covenant forever, the word
which He commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham,
and His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel
as an everlasting covenant, saying, 'To you I will give the land of Canaan as
the portion of your inheritance'" (Psalm 105:8-11). Elsewhere in the
Psalms, the Lord declares: "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired
it for His habitation. 'This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell,
for I have desired it'" (Psalm 123:13-14). God's choice of providing the
land of Israel for the Jewish people has remained steadfast down through
history.
Throughout
the Old Testament the prophets convict Israel of her disobedience, but always
with a view toward a future restoration, when ultimately Israel will dwell in
peace and prosperity. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets provide promise
after promise of this time of future restoration to the land (Isa. 11:1-9;
12:1-3; 27:12-13; 35:1-10; 43:1-8; 60:18-21; 66:20-22; Jer. 16:14-16; 30:10-18;
31:31-37; 32:37-40; Ezek. 11:17-21; 28:25-26; 34:11-16; 37:21-25; 39:25-29;
Hosea 1:10-11; 3:4-5; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:4-7; Zeph. 3: 14-20;
Zech. 8:4-8; 10:11-15). A specific example of a restoration passage can be
found at the end of Amos: "'Also I will restore the captivity of My people
Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, they will
also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their
fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted
out from their land which I have given them,' Says the Lord your God"
(Amos 9:14-15).
It
is important to note that Zechariah, following the return from the Babylonian
captivity, speaks of a future restoration to the land, thus suggesting that
Israel's past restorations did not ultimately fulfill the land promise given to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Zechariah 9-14 lays out an end time plan of
restoration of the nation to Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Kaiser notes:
"Repeatedly, the prophets of the Old Testament had depicted an Israelite
remnant returning to the land (e.g., Isa. 10:20-30) and becoming prominent
among the nations (Mic. 4:1) in the end day. In fact, Zechariah 10:8-12 is
still repeating this same promise in 518 b.c., well after the days when many in
Israel had returned from their last and final exile, the Babylonian
Exile." [11] Further, Israel has a future in their land since nowhere in
the Bible has the Lord revoked any of His promises to His people Israel:
"for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29).
Multiple
End-Time Regatherings
To
properly understand the end-time homecoming or regathering of the Jews to their
promised land, we need to keep in mind that the Bible predicts that Israel will
experience two worldwide, end-time regatherings to the Promised Land. The first
regathering will be partial, gradual and in unbelief, while the second
regathering will be full, instantaneous and when Israel enters into belief in
Jesus as their personal and national Messiah.
Dozens
of biblical passages predict this global event. It is a common mistake,
however, to lump all of these passages into one fulfillment time frame,
especially in relation to the current state of Israel. Modern Israel is
prophetically significant and is fulfilling Bible prophecy. But when we read
God's Word, we need to be careful to distinguish which verses are being
fulfilled in our day and which await future fulfillment.
In
short, there will be two end-time regatherings: one before the tribulation and
one after the tribulation. The first worldwide regathering will be a return in
unbelief, in preparation for the judgment of the tribulation. The second
worldwide regathering will be a return in faith at the end of the tribulation,
in preparation for the blessing of the millennium, or thousand-year reign of
Christ. [12]
One
important passage that deals with Israel's two regatherings is Isaiah 11:11-12:
Then
it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time
with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt,
Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He
will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of
Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
earth. (Italics added.)
The
return in Isaiah 11 clearly refers to the final worldwide regathering of Israel
in faith, at the climax of the tribulation, and in preparation for the
millennial kingdom. Isaiah specifically says that this final regathering is the
second one. That, of course, raises the obvious question: When did the first
regathering occur?
Some
maintain that the first return is the Babylonian return from the exile that
began in about 536 b.c. But how could this return be described as worldwide, as
set forth in Isaiah 11?[13]
Arnold
Fruchtenbaum writes:
The
entire context is Isaiah 11:11-12:6. In this context, he is speaking of the
final worldwide regathering in faith in preparation for blessing. Isaiah number
the final worldwide regathering in faith in preparation of the Messianic
Kingdom as the second one. In other words, the last one is only the second one.
If the last one is the second one, how many can there be before that? Only one.
The first one could not have been the return from Babylon since that was not an
international regathering from the four corners of the world, only a migration
from one country (Babylonia) to another (Judea). The Bible does not allow for
several worldwide regatherings in unbelief; it allows for one worldwide
regatherings in unbelief; followed by the last one, the one in faith, which is
the second one. This text only permits two worldwide regatherings from the four
corners of the earth. Therefore, the present Jewish State is very relevant to
Bible prophecy.[14]
This
data below provides a quick visual comparison and contrast between Israel's two
great regatherings.[15]
THE
PRESENT (FIRST) REGATHERING
Worldwide
Return
to part of the land
Return
in unbelief
Restored
to the land only
Man's
work (secular)
Sets
the stage for the tribulation (discipline)
THE
PERMANENT (SECOND) REGATHERING
Worldwide
Return
to all the land
Return
in faith
Restored
to the land and the Lord
God's
work (spiritual
Sets
the stage for the millennium (blessing)
Modern
Israel Fulfills Prophecy
When
the modern state of Israel was born in 1948, it not only became an important
stage-setting development, but also began an actual fulfillment of specific
Bible prophecies about an international regathering of the Jews in unbelief
before the judgment of the tribulation. The following Old Testament passages
predict this development: Ezekiel 20:33-38; 22:17-22; 36:22-24; 37:1-14; Isaiah
11:11-12; Zephaniah 2:1-2 and Ezekiel 38-39 presupposes such a setting.
Before
these things can happen, Jews from all over the world must return to the land,
just like we see happening with the modern state of Israel. This, of course,
does not mean that every Jew in the world has to be back in the land. But it
does clearly mean that many of the Jewish people must have returned to their
ancient homeland. End-time prophecy in Scripture is built upon the assumption
that Israel is both regathered to her land and is functioning as a nation.
The
implications of Daniel 9:24-27 are unmistakable. "And he [Antichrist] will
make a firm covenant with the many for one week [one week of years or seven
years]." In other words, the seven-year tribulation period will begin with
the signing of a covenant between Antichrist and the leaders of Israel.
Obviously, the signing of this treaty presupposes the presence of a Jewish
leadership in a Jewish nation. This Jewish state must exist before a treaty can
be signed.[16]
To
summarize, then, the logic goes like this: The tribulation cannot begin until
the seven-year covenant is made. The covenant cannot be put in place until a
Jewish state exists. Therefore, a Jewish state must exist before the
tribulation.
Conclusion
In
view of all this, I believe that the main purpose for the regathering of Israel
relates directly to the peace pact with Antichrist, as described in Daniel
9:24-27. For such a treaty to be viable, the Jews have to be present in the
land and organized into a political state. And since 1948 they have been. It is
this modern miracle-something unheard of in history-that we, our parents, and
grandparents have witnessed unfolding before our eyes. An ancient and scattered
people have returned to their ancestral homeland after almost two millennia,
making the peace covenant of Daniel 9:24-27 possible for the first time since
a.d. 70. [17]
As
a result, the stage is set for the very event that will trigger the tribulation
and usher in the final days of the world, as we know it. Much to the
disappointment of those who are opposed to Zionist theology, the modern state
of Israel is in just such a position. This truly indicates that we are near the
end of days. Maranatha!
Endnotes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]
Gary DeMar, "Land Over Jesus and The Gospel" Internet article from
July 25. 2006, http://www.americanvision.org/articlearchive/07-25-06.asp.
[2]
Timothy Webber, Living In The Shadow Of The Second Coming, (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1983), p. 141.
[3]
Yaakov Ariel, Evangelizing the Chosen People: Missions to the Jews in America,
1880-2000 (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000, pp.
12, 13, 14.
[4]
Passages include: Gen. 12:7, 13:14-15; 15:18; 17:8; Lev. 26:33, 43; Deut. 26:9;
30:1-11; Josh. 24:20-28; 2 Sam. 7:11-16; Ezra 4:1-3; Psalm 102:13-20; Isa.
11:11-12; 18:7; 27:12-13; 29:1, 8; 44; 60:8-21; 66:18-22; Jer. 3:17-18; 7:7;
11:10-11; 23:3-6; 25:5; 29:14; 30:7, 10; 31:2, 10, 23, 31-34; 33:4-16; 50:19;
Ezek. 11:17; 20:33-37; 22:19-22; 28:25; 36:23-24, 38; 37:21-22; 39:28; Dan.
12:1; Hosea 3:4-5; Joel 3:20-21; Amos 9:9, 14-15; Micah 2:12; 3:9-10; 4:7,
11-12; Zeph. 2:1-3; Zech. 7:7-8; 8:1-8; 10:6–-12; 12:2-10; 13:8-9; 14:1, 5, 9; Mal.
3:6.
[5]
Passages include: Matt. 19:28; 23:37; Luke 21:24, 29-33, Acts 15:14-17; Rom.
11; Rev. 11:1-2; 12;
[6]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. "The Land of Israel and The Future Return (Zechariah
10:6-12)," in H. Wayne House, editor, Israel: The Land and the People: An
Evangelical Affirmation of God's Promises (Grand Rapids, Kregel, 1998), p. 211.
[7]
John F. Walvoord, Major Bible Prophecies: 37 Crucial Prophecies That Affect You
Today (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), p. 77.
[8]
Note the following references in Genesis: 12:1-3, 7-9; 13:14-18; 15:1-18;
17:1-27; 22:15-19; 26:2-6, 24-25; 27:28-29, 38-40; 28:1-4, 10-22; 31:3, 11-13;
32:22-32; 35:9-15; 48:3-4, 10-20; 49:1-28; 50:23-25
[9]
Walvoord, Major Bible Prophecies, pp. 77-78.
[10]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward an Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1978), pp. 124-25.
[11]
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., "An Assessment of 'Replacement Theology,'"
Mishkan (No. 21; 1994), p. 17.
[12]
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of
Prophetic Events (Tustin, CA: Ariel Press, [1982] 2003), p. 99.
[13]
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, pp. 102-03.
[14]
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, pp. 102-03.
[15]
Randall Price, Jerusalem in Prophecy: God's Final Stage for the Final Drama
(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1998), p. 219.
[16]
Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, p. 105.
[17]
John F. Walvoord, Prophecy in the New Millennium: A Fresh Look at Future Events
(Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2001), pp. 61-62.