20 Why Support for Israel is Justified.

 

"God’s plan for restoration and a worldwide kingdom is mediated through Abraham via the Abrahamic Covenant; Abraham and the developing people of Israel will be the vehicles for blessing the nations of the earth". (Gen 12, 13, 15, 17, 22). 

Michael Vlatch: He will Reign Forever

Why do many Christians continue to support Israel? 

On the other hand, Why do so many Christians detest the nation of Israel? Much of this hatred is the result of media propaganda along with a willful ignorance of scripture. 

To be sure, there is not a nation on earth, including Israel, that is not infected by nor innocent of promoting this satanic agenda. War crimes and human rights violations are to be condemned in any nation state. Ultimately each nation's leaders are accountable to God for their actions. 

"And (God) hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;" - Acts 17:26 KJV

There is a satanic, globalist agenda that denies divinely established principles of national sovereignty. The principle of national sovereignty was established in God's covenant with Noah after the flood. It was enforced at the tower of Bab El when God separated people groups by languages. (Genesis 11)

Israel has as much of a right to exist as any other nation state. Moreover, they are more accountable to God than any other nation because Israel is the only people group in all of human history that God Himself has made a covenant with.

This covenant was established with Abram promising land, seed and blessing. This covenant was confirmed by God through an oath. In this oath, God pledged Himself to fulfill it for His own name's sake, independent of man's behavior. It was then designated to be continued through Abraham and Sarah's son Isaac and not through Abraham and Hagar's son, Ishmael.

Furthermore, it was to be passed on through Isaac and Rebekah's son, Jacob and not his brother Esau. The source of all national contention and war in the Middle East is over who owns the right of inheritance of the land.

Christians who detest the nation of Israel, do not seem to understand that their allegiance to Jesus Christ is an allegiance to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who is the rightful heir to the coming Kingdom of Israel.

From the inception of the church, we see that Israel has made itself an enemy of the church, but this does not in anyway nullify God's promise to one day make the nation of Israel the Kingdom of God on earth:

"As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance." - Rom 11:26-29 KJV

Election is not Selection. 

I think that we get confused about this distinction. When we go to the voting booth, we say that we are electing someone when in fact we are selecting someone. In a fair 'election' the candidate who wins is one who has pledged him or herself to be guided by a set of principles that best express the desire of the majority of citizens.

i.e. Election establishes the criterion for selection. For example, if we elect to believe the principle that abortion is evil, we select the candidate or the issue that supports that elect criteria.

So, even though Israel may presently be an enemy of the church, nothing can change God’s promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s election criteria is the response of faith in Himself that Abram made while an idolator in Ur of the Chaldees. 

God’s election criteria is faith that acts on the revelation of God. Before the promises are realized, faith must be personally owned: Abram had to own his faith by turning to God from idols. 

We call this covenant that God made with Abram, unconditional because the fulfillment of it depends entirely upon God Himself. It is God's perfect foreknowledge that allows him to perfectly predestinate events to conform to His perfect purposes.

"For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, ... For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:" 

Heb 6:13, 16-18 KJV

What we find in the Abrahamic covenant is that it is unconditionally guaranteed by two immutable things; a promise (Gen 12) and an oath (Gen 15). This is why we can boldly assert that Israel is the only nation on earth that God has personally sworn to uphold and preserve.

In America, we often cite the Mayflower Compact as a national covenant with God to insure religious freedoms when we follow God's Word. Some have also pointed out that the Magna Carta of 1215 A.D. was England’s national covenant with God to likewise insure religious freedoms.

However, these are man’s covenants with God and not God's covenant with man. Their fulfillment is dependent upon national obedience to God's Word. God will honor those that honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30) and He will bless those that bless Israel (Genesis 12:3). However, God has not obligated Himself to preserve any nation like He has obligated Himself to preserve the descendants of Jacob.

When we come to the Abrahamic covenant we find that it is entirely God’s commitment to perform what is promised. We will look at the reliability of that oath in Gen.15 later on but for now we need to see the literal elements of the covenant.

1. Genesis 12:1-3,7 9: Literal, unconditional guarantees of land, seed and blessing.These will form the basis of the sub-covenants: (Mosaic, Davidic and New covenants)
2. Genesis 11:31 If we follow Abrams journey on a map, we see that these are literal places.
3. Calculating the chronology given in Genesis 11:10-27 we discover that Abraham was the 9th generation from Shem. These are literal people

Why Abram?

Why did God choose Abram and not a character like Melchizedek? 

After all, Melchizedek was recognized as King of Salem and Priest of the Most High God. (Gen. 14:18) This man would seem the most likely one to give such promises to.

We don't know what Abram's character was like before he came to faith in God. All that we know for sure is that he was an idolator. God reminds Israel of their lineage: "...your mother [was] an Hittite, and your father an Amorite." Eze 16:45 KJV 

Yet we see that there was the development of a pattern to Abram’s character that appears to be consistent with the godly character that we are exhorted to follow. In Philippians 2:3, we read of such character:

"[Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." 

• We know that Abram first encountered the living God while he was still in Mesopotamia (Acts 7:2 - 4) It appears that he was from a wealthy family when God revealed Himself to him. Abram believed the promise that God would give him and his descendants a land to dwell in. 
• Abram choose Sarai for a wife even though she was barren; Gen 11:29, 30 (From Rabbi Forman based on the ‘Midrash’ or ancient jewish commentaries. Compare to Gen 18:11 where it states that Sarai ceased having menses.)
• Abram must have convinced Terah to start out for the land of Canaan because we read that it was Terah that took his family toward the land of Canaan after the death of his son Haran. (Gen 11:31) 
• However, their trip stalled out and Terah had them dwell in a city called Haran, not far from the city of Ninevah that Nimrod founded. Abram deferred to Terah to settle in the land of Haran for a time until Terah was 145 yrs old. (Terah was 70 when Abram was born (Gen. 11:26) and Abram was 75 when he left Haran (Gen. 12:4). Terah would live another 60 years after Abram, Sarai and Lot departed for Canaan (Gen 11:32)
• Later on, we see where Abram deferred to Lot when choosing the lands that they would settle in.

It would seem that God wanted to snatch out one from Satan’s dominion and single him out for blessing. God had given Abraham a nature that desired to be a channel for blessing to others. God chose Abram in order to make him the source of blessing to all of the nations. This was a challenge to Satan’s authority over the nations.

The foundation of Christian faith is the faith of Abram. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. We learn that as a result of his faith:

• He sought a continuing city whose builder and maker is God. (Heb 11:8-16) 
• He had been given a glimpse of that Jerusalem which is above. (Gal 4:26)
• He had been given a vision of Messiah’s day and rejoiced in it. (John 8:56)

We support Israel because our Savior has clearly stated that salvation is of the Jews. (John 4:22) As others have rightly asserted: We do not merely believe that Israel has a future, we believe that Israel is the future. That is because God's Kingdom must come through King Jesus who will one day soon reign from Jerusalem.

Are you ready for that day? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God has appointed the heir of all things and you will be saved.

smc