EZEKIEL 28:25-26: “This is what the Lord God says: “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will live on their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will live on it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I execute judgments upon all around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
OBSERVATION: Just a few days ago savage terrorists attacked the nation of Israel and performed horrific acts of violence against innocent civilians, women, and children. Israel responded immediately and declared war against the terrorist group Hamas which is responsible for these horrific acts.
In the world, there are two responses to these current events. Some are taking a strong stand for Israel and against terrorism. Others are siding with the terrorists and the ugly head of antisemitism is rising once again. Those who oppose Israel claim that they have stolen this land and do not belong there.
The Bible, history, and the prophets like Ezekiel do not agree. It was God who gave the land of Israel to the Jewish nation. And, it was God who judged Israel for their sin and hardness of heart and caused them to be dispersed in both the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.
The Jews were restored briefly in Israel under the reign of the Medes and the Persians. The Jews would live again in Israel for just over 600 years only to be expelled once again in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the second Temple and the Jews were dispersed from their homeland once again.
For over 2000 years they wandered without a home. At the end of World War II, after the great atrocities of the Holocaust orchestrated under Germany and Adolph Hitler, the Jews were gathered once again and allowed to return to their homeland as the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.
God has gathered His chosen people back to their homeland once again. He has made covenant promises to the Jewish people which are recorded throughout Scripture and in these verses from Ezekiel.
- ‘‘This is what the Lord God says: “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will live on their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will live on it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I execute judgments upon all around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.” Ezekiel 28:25-26
The first exile was the judgment of God for the idolatry of Israel. The second exile was the judgment of God for their hardness of heart and rejection and crucifixion of The Messiah. Yet, once again God has gathered the Jewish nation to Israel. It is not the work of man but the sovereign hand of God. He has prospered and protected them and will continue to do so in these end times.
All of history will turn its focus on this tiny nation. The nations of the world will try to destroy Israel but ultimately they will fail. When Jesus Christ returns with the armies of heaven to establish His Millennial Kingdom – it is from Jerusalem that He will reign.
- “Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south…On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.” Zechariah 14:3-4,8-9
We are living in the days of fulfillment. The rapture of the church is imminent. The final days and the fulfillment of the Book of Revelation are at hand. Jesus taught us that when these things begin to take place we are to look up for our redemption is drawing nigh. May all God’s people begin to look up, make their hearts ready for the return of the Lord, and may we all in unity pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
In Jesus’ Name!
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Any nation that takes a stand against terrorism, I stand with them.
At one time it was necessary for Christ to come from the lineage of Abraham to ensure the promises made by God to the Fathers were fulfilled; however, even then it was only the believing Jews who were considered the children of promise (Rom. 9:7â8, 11:20; Gal. 3:22; Heb. 3:9â19). Every Jew who does not confess Jesus as the Christ is not a true worshipper of the Father and is cut off from the olive tree. Jeremiah the prophet said, âit is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in theeâ (Jer. 2:19). Today there are no promises that need to be fulfilled concerning the nation of Israel or the descendants of Abraham.Â
How does God redeem lost Jews today? Through repentance and faith in Jesus. God will readily deliver any Jew who rejects the apostate religion of Judaism. And when He does, Jews will be saved the same way all Christâs people have been for the last 1,950 years.
From the day of Pentecost when Peter gave his sermon and the Jews asked, âMen and brethren what shall we do?â (Acts 2:37), repentance and faith in Jesus has been the required response. Those who repent, Jew, and Gentile alike, will enter into the one faith, the faith of Abraham, and become Abrahamâs seed (Gal. 3:7, 26). God does not have a special plan of salvation for any group of apostates, including the Jews. Those who reject Christ, be it Jew or Gentile, are simply cut off from the true religion, Christianity, and have the same fateâeternal punishment.
It follows that not one person who follows Judaism today can rightly be claimed a Jew! As the Scripture teaches: âFor he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardlyâ (Rom. 2:28â29). For in Christ, âThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christâs then are ye Abrahamâs seed, and heirs according to the promiseâ (Gal. 3:28â29). Those who follow Judaism are of the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9), for they have rejected God and His word.
As Jesus said: âFor had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of meâ (John 5:46). âIf ye were Abrahamâs children, ye would do the works of Abrahamâ (John 8:39). Only those who have the faith of Abraham are the children of Abraham. Today, if the Jews wish to be in a covenantal relationship with the Lord, they need to believe in the Messiah, Jesus.
What is the difference between someone who converts to Judaism and someone who has descended from the loins of Abraham? None, for there is no difference. Unless the natural Jew and the convert have the faith of Abraham, each is, as Jesus said, a son of Satan and a member of the synagogue of Satan (John 8:39â44; Rev. 2:9). Â Â Â
Unless those who follow the practices of Judaism repent and turn from their misguided path, God is under no obligation to bless or protect them.
For those who believe Israel becoming a nation in 1948 was the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, I have a few questions. What kind of nation would God have re-established? A nation filled with those who hate Christ and thus reject Him? A nation that does not share the same faith as Abraham? Are we to believe God established a covenant with those who are not even the blood descendants of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob? Would God maintain a covenant relationship with unbelievers and those who trample underfoot the blood of Christ?
Despite what many affirm, ever since Israelâs destruction in AD 70 it has been completely impossible to âre-establish Israelâ as a covenant nation under Godâs blessings and protection, for the only true Jews that now exist are Christians. It is only they who believe what Moses wrote and who follow Godâs commandments: âThis is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sentâ (John 6:29). The only true Jews that exist are those who hold to the faith of their father, Abraham. As Jesus told the Jewish sons of the devil, âIf ye were Abrahamâs children, ye would do the works of Abrahamâ (John 8:39).   Â
The only covenant people God recognizes today are those whose sins have been washed away by the blood of the Lamb. The only true Jews to whom any promises of God apply are Christians. They alone have a holy priesthood, are the true and holy nationâthe chosen generation. Godâs only true possession is constituted by those who once were not a people or nation of God, but the ones whom Jesus has called into His marvelous light: Christians (I Peter 2:5â10).
The Lord Jesus took away from the unbelieving nation of Israel their place in the kingdom of God. Jesus told them, âTherefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereofâ (Matt. 21:43). Who comprises that nation? The Church of God.
God will not consider any relationship with those who hate Him; He never has and He never will! Moreover, a foundation that God has destroyed and done away with can never be re-established. The Old Testament has been replaced and fulfilled by the New Testament. âDrink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sinsâ (Matt. 26:27â28).
The Israel of old consisted of those who shared a covenantal relationship with God, not just the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Today, the only certain way for a people to share fellowship with God, to be redeemed, is through belief in the shed, precious blood of the Lamb.
Judaism is now, at best, a moribund belief system that can never flourish as it once did. It is an obsolete, archaic, and false religion. Judaism, with its adherence to the Torah/Talmud, has been replaced, for the old covenant has been superseded by the New Covenant: âHe taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for allâ (Heb. 10:9â10). Only those who continue in Godâs New Covenant are true Jews.