Will the God of Israel Save You? (Newsletter, Mar 2010)

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

            This incomparable promise is given to Christians in the New Testament. God will save all who call upon His Name in Jesus Christ. And He will be with them forevermore. The Greek original carries an emphatic negative which essentially says “I will never, never, never leave…”

            Every Christian has divine-clad guarantee from the Lord that He will be present with them in every place, in all circumstances, for all time. That is, if these are not mere words.

But these words were first given to Israel, and they are backed by a miraculously powerful track record of action! Will God keep His promise to never leave me? Check out His follow through with this very same promise which was first given to Israel (Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5).

            Every Christian should rejoice that God has not “replaced” Israel. Could He not “replace” us also? But God has preserved Israel for 4000 years, and He will likewise preserve you and I.

Yes, check out the words and acts of God toward Israel, for they are directly linked to our assurance that His words and acts toward us will be just as faithful.

            What follows is a brief look at the remarkable prophetic path that the Jewish people have traveled in light of God’s promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

            The Word of Prophecy:

“For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee…

And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee;

and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another…” Luke 19:43-44

            The Record of History:  Jerusalem was leveled flush with the ground by the Romans in 70 AD, leaving not “one stone upon another. 

             The Record of History: This promise was fulfilled in the years surrounding 1948, and continues still.

            The Word of Prophecy: "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." Isa 11:11-12

            The Record of History: The first return of the Jews to the land of Israel was from Babylonian captivity 2500 years ago. The entering of the Hebrews under Joshua after the Exodus from Egypt was not a return, but the first possession of the land (Joshua 1:2). Therefore, the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948 was the second return, and the fulfillment of Isaiah 11, where the Jews have returned literally from “the four corners of the earth.”

            The Word of Prophecy: “…and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above…Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” Eze.37:7-8;11

            The Record of History: The return of the Jews to their land was a process of events called “aliyahs” (to go up), which began in 1882 with six of them culminating in the State of Israel in 1948, the coming together of the “bones” into the “whole house of Israel.”

            The Word of Prophecy: “Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.'" Jer 16:14-15

            The Record of History: These are the Arab nations which surround Israel, i.e., Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc., and are today militantly against Israel.

            The Word of Prophecy: "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey…[and] you have endured the insults of the nations.’" Eze 36:5

            The Record of History: The nations continue to force Israel to divide up and give away its land as the price for peace, all the while cursing the Jewish people in the hope of driving them into the sea.

            The Word of Prophecy: “…Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24

            The Record of History: Jerusalem has been “trampled under foot” for over 1900 years since this prophecy was first given by the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in 1967 came the miracle deliverance of Jerusalem into the hands of the Jews (where it will remain until the 2nd Coming of Jesus according to Zechariah 14:1-3). This was a partial fulfillment of the prophecy, but complete fulfillment will come only when the Dome of the Rock is removed and the rebuilt Temple is delivered from the profane presence of the Antichrist at the return of Jesus. As long as the Dome of the Rock idolatrous shrine, the “third most holy site of the Muslims,” remains on the Temple Mount, then Jerusalem will still essentially be “trampled under foot by the Gentiles.” (see Revelation 11:1-2)

            The Word of Prophecy: “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. And it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. Zec  12:3

            The Record of History: Today neither the UN or the world’s most powerful nations can handle the impregnable problem outlined daily in the headlines of the world concerning Israel and Mid East peace, and the whole problem is centered on Jerusalem as the holy site of three of the world’s great religions—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

            The Word of Prophecy: “… but there was no breath in them [the “dry bones” ].” Eze 37:8

            The Record of History: The Jews today have no spiritual “breath.” They have returned to the land in unbelief (see Zephaniah 2:1), without faith in their Messiah Jesus.

Yet “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.” (Rom. 11:2) For “they are beloved for the sake of the fathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob],” and “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Rom 11:28-29.

Will the Lord fulfill His promise to “never leave you nor forsake you." (Heb 13:5) Look at Israel!

The Lord is near! Mat 24:33