Friday, July 25, 2014

The Glorious Land                                                                 07-25-14

The Glorious Land. That is the description given Israel in the 11th Chapter of Daniel. The man of perdition will enter that land in his thirst for power during the Great Tribulation. I've had Israel on my heart all week. I don't know why. I sought the Lord this week on what He would have me write on but, all I had on my mind was that tiny, unbelievably outnumbered nation and how they have the protection of God in the face of unbelievable odds. The path and history of the Jewish people and more recently the state of Israel is one of the most compelling reasons for trusting in the veracity of the Holy Bible. The simple fact that the state of Israel even exists is in itself a miracle of biblical proportions. With that in view, here's a brief overview of God's plan for His people, Israel.

God made eight covenants with mankind. Five of those covenants were made with the nation and people of Israel. One of those covenants, the Mosaic, was temporal and conditional. The other four, Abrahamic, Land, Davidic and New were and are unconditional and eternal. The last three are in reality outworking's of the original covenant given to Abraham. They explain in broader detail the promises made to Abraham.

Genesis 15:18 (NASB) 18  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:


  This verse is one of dozens pertaining to the eternal covenant that God made with Abraham concerning the land that would be given to him and his descendants. You might be interested to know that the term Palestine is not of Biblical origin. Palestine was given as the name of the land by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. His plan was to erase Jewish remembrance and Jewish identity to the land itself. Palestine these days has more of an Arab sense to it in describing the land of Israel. That being what it is,the land is never designated as Palestine in the Bible. Although in times past Israel has occupied much of the land promised to it, it has never been in control of all the land that God promised Abraham. There have been modern day disputes to this claim, but none hold up to strenuous scrutiny.

The Davidic Covenant is concerned with a promise made through Abraham to King David to have someone of David's lineage sitting upon the throne of Israel eternally.There are two passages, one concerning Solomon, the other concerning the Messiah, Jesus.


     1 Chronicles 17:10-14 (NASB) 10  even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I tell you that the LORD will build a house for you.
11  "When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.
12  "He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.
13  "I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you.
14  "But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever."'"



The Lord Jesus, a descendant of David and Abraham in the flesh, will set up a literal, eternal throne when He returns and sets up His kingdom on this earth. There are literally whole chapters dealing with just where this throne will physically be set up. It will find it's resting place in the millenial Jerusalem.

The last and most relevant for us as Christians and the church as a whole is the New Covenant. This covenant has as it's foundation Jeremiah 31.

Jeremiah 31:31-33 (NASB) 31  "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
32  not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.
33  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34 (NASB) 34  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."


Because of the Blood of the Lord Jesus, the church is a partaker of this covenant. We have not reoplaced Israel, but we share this aspect with Israel. However, this covenant is going to be literally fulfilled for Israel in the kingdom. All Jews living here on earth at Jesus' return will enter His kingdom and all Jews living and born during that kingdom reign will be saved. This is what Paul is speaking to in Romans 11.

Romans 11:26-27 (NASB) 26  and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
27  "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."


No one need faith anymore to believe God and God's Word. One merely needs to track the history of the Jewish people and stack it up against what the Bible says and one will be hard pressed to find fault with God's Word. We as a nation should be very, very careful and not attempt to thwart God's plan by turning our back on the Jewish state. Many have tried and ALL have failed.

Jeremiah 31:35-36 (NASB) 35  Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name:
36  "If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever."


God Bless


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