Focus Point # 16

Well, is there or is there not? Some say there is and some say there is not. I'm one, among many, who say there is and there are many more who say there is not. What do you think? And about now you're thinking, "I don't even know what the question is."

The question is, "According to the Bible, is there a future land, a place promised by God for the Jewish people?" Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm one of those who believe there is. I believe the Bible teaches that what Isaiah wrote as a prophecy, as a literal coming event, will come true. Among other things promised in Isaiah 9:6 & 7 is that Jesus will return to earth to sit upon the Throne of David, where He shall rule the whole world with justice and righteousness. If my memory serves me correctly, that will be the Throne in the City of Jerusalem.

And look at this in Isaiah 49:13-16. V 13 - the instructions from God "sing O Heavens and be joyful O earth and break forth into singing O mountains for the Lord hath comforted His people and will have mercy upon His afflicted. V 14 - But Zion, (the Land of Israel, the city of David) said the Lord hath forsaken me and my Lord hath forgotten me. But God says through His prophet in V 15 - can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget (but I won't) yet will I not forget thee. V 16 - Behold, I have engraved thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls (the City of Jerusalem, your dwelling places) are continually before me.

Generally speaking, the folks who believe that the Jew is no longer in the picture are called A-Millenialists. The prefix "A" meaning NO Millennium, no one thousand year rule of King Jesus on David's Throne in Jerusalem.

Another name, or moniker, for this thinking, is Replacement theology. They believe that when Israel, the nation, the leadership and general population rejected Jesus as Messiah, God wiped His hands of that whole plan and ended His dealings with the Jewish people. Therefore, to their way of thinking, there are no unfulfilled prophecies for the Jewish people and there will be no future restoration for the City of Jerusalem or any other part of the land! they believe (and I don't) that when the Jews rejected the Messiah, all of God's covenant promises were transferred to the Church! Or to put it another way, all of the great promises and unconditional covenants made to Israel came to an end at their rejection and Israel was replaced by the Church!

Well, well! What about all those promises, those prophecies that speak of a world wide re-gathering of the Jewish people? Their answer: These promises are not to be interpreted literally, but allegorically. These promises are now directed to the elect, being brought into the Church until the Church is complete. (Remember, an allegory is a story in which people, things or happenings really have another meaning). Wow! That sure lets a loving, sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, immutable God off the hook!

If the behavior of the people called Jews is the criteria as to whether or not God keeps His promises, the Church is in big trouble. The way I read Church history, we haven't done any better than the Israelites did. As a matter of fact, considering all of the divine operating assets we've had compared to theirs, our hopes are in the tank! And, on top of that, from what I see in the direction the Church seems to be taking, our hopes of assuming all of those promises are getting dimmer by the hour. Thank the Lord, most of His promises are based upon who He is and what He did and is doing....and not on us!

Let me give you another name or designation that ought to be familiar to you. The term is "dispensationalist" or to be more specific in the area of Bible prophecy, "pre-Millennialist." I am a
pre-Millennial, pre-Tribulation, dispensationalist (whew!) And, oh yes, I am a Baptist. A Southern Baptist. I think there will be a Rapture, a catching away, of the Church (true believers) before a 7 year Tribulation period. And I believe Jesus Himself will rule the world, sitting on the Throne of David for 1,000 years prior to the total destruction of the whole world. This will happen due to global warming. Not a hole in the ozone, according to Al Gore, but a total, complete bon fire. II Peter 3:10. "........the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are in it shall be burned up." Generally speaking, a ton of Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Church of God, Methodists and a whole bunch more do not believe what I just told you...what I believe. I don't want you to think I'm the only one who believes what I have just spelled out. Not by a long shot! I am in a camp of hundreds of thousands. But in sheer numbers, the A-Millennial view out rank the pre-Millennial view. And that means most of all Christendom, people who call themselves "Christian" do not believe there is a place in Bible prophecy dealing with the Nation of Israel.

Many in this "There ain't no unfulfilled promises to the Jews" camp are main line liberal denominations and they not only side with the poor peace loving, displaced Palestinians, but they have also taken the anti Israel, anti Semitic stance where it hurts big time! Out of their billion dollar strong savings and retirement funds, they have put a restriction on those investment companies. They have designated that none of their investments should ever be used to serve the purposes of Israel. That is: If the Caterpillar Corporation sells any of their construction equipment to Israel - pull the funds out of the Caterpillar Corporation.

That's the result of the Jimmy Carter lie, saying that Israel is the blame for the apartheid actions against the Palestinians. And that, my friend, is a big fat lie!

From what I've read and studied, when you look at the 5.5 million Jews in the Promised Land today, only 4, 5 or at the most, 6 thousand of them are believers in Jesus as their Messiah. And on top of that, most of the unbelievers are not orthodox, that is, they classify their religious position as atheist or agnostic. To be sure, there are some strong Christ honoring, Bible teaching ministries in the Land, but Israel is a far cry from what they will be like when the Lord Jesus returns to sit upon that glorious Throne. That means, of course, morally, politically, they're not what they should be. But hey, look at Washington, D.C.

Do yourself a favor. Pull out your bible and take a stroll down into one of our dear Father's luscious vineyards and read Deuteronomy chapter 30; Isaiah 27 and Ezekiel 39:25-29. And may the Lord honor His Word in our hearts as we stroll.

Blessings,
Bro. Bob