Never before has a nation been destroyed, its people dispersed to the ends of the earth, and then, nearly 2000 years later, regathered to their homeland and reestablished as a nation. The rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948 was a miracle of history.
Why is Israel so important? Why is there so much media attention on this very small country, compared to hundreds of others? Why should you and I be so very interested in what"s happening in Israel " and what do Israel"s promises mean to the rest of the world?
Four thousand years ago God expressed as an oath to Abraham, "By myself hath I sworn, saith the Lord"that in blessing I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of thy enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed"." Genesis 22: 16-18
This oath-bound promise to Abraham is "the key" to understanding prophecy, and as the "central theme" of the Bible, it is the key to understanding the importance of Israel. Israel is important because God chose them out of all other nations to be a channel of His blessings to the world. That is, God"s blessings will flow through Israel to the rest of the world. "In thy seed (Israel as the earthly seed and Christians as the heavenly seed) I will bless all the nations . . ." To understand how God will use Israel to accomplish His purpose, we must review history to see the steps God has already taken to his promise to Abraham. Please consider the informational video that we offer to you, "at cost," in the contact section of this website, to review their remarkable history.
Some think that Israel lost its "chosen" status as a nation when they did not accept Jesus as their long promised Messiah. These Christians apply all prophetic scriptures about Israel to themselves, hence, "replacement theology." However, the Apostle warns against such a mistake, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes . . . these also now believed not, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy." Rom. 11:25-32
The first Christian martyr, Stephen, AFTER Jesus had died, and AFTER Pentecost, gives rebuttal to this "replacement theology" of today, in the inspired word of God. Just before he dies, he stated in Acts 7:2 "Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not [so much as] to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when [as yet] he had no child. Does God lie? Does God break his promises? If our first Christian martyr said that Abraham DID NOT yet receive the promises that God gave to him up to that point, then CLEARLY God"s promises to natural Israel were yet to be accomplished! Did we see that accomplishment over the past two millennium? No. It is NOW beginning to be fulfilled!
God foreknew that Israel as a nation would reject Jesus as their Messiah. But God did not allow this to debar them from His oath-bound covenant through Abraham. Israel did not see the depth of meaning in God"s promise to Abraham: "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore." Gen. 22:17
Note the two parts to this covenant referring to two different aspects of Abraham"s offspring: the "channel" of God"s blessings. The heavenly or spiritual part (alluded to metaphorically as the "stars of heaven") will be the faithful Christians whom God has been selecting for the last 2000 years. And the earthly part ("the sand of the seashore") will be the regathered nation of Israel. God plans to bless "everyone" who has ever lived through these two classes working together: the faithful Christians as heavenly agents of blessing and the regathered nation of Israel as earthly agents of blessing. Gal. 3:8, 29
God reiterated His promise to Isaac, Abraham"s son, and then to Jacob, his grandson. He then confirmed the promise to Jacob"s twelve sons, fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. And since that time, Israel"s history has been full of incidents in which God alternately blessed Israel to demonstrate their chosen status, and disciplined them when they forgot His laws. Israel had covenanted with God to remain separate from the world in every way. The disciplines dealt out by God had the effect of developing a class of people who steadfastly hoped for the fulfillment of God"s promise to Abraham.
The Jews recognized by God as children of Abraham are those who hold to the faith of Abraham and trust in His divine promises. Many of such Jews are claiming the promises, have returned to their promised land of Israel, and courageously live amidst the very difficult circumstances of adversity on their every side.
The time to favor Zion has come. Therefore, we dedicate this website of "Zion In Prophecy," to the glory of God, and trust in His promises.
Israel The People God Foreknew and Chose
