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Understanding Israel in the Middle East
Dr. Jeremy Helmuth
Lead Pastor
Central Ministries
Table of Contents
The Beginning of Israel: Abraham (2166 B.C.) ………………………………………………………………………..
Map: Journey of Abraham
1
Egyptian Slavery (1805 B.C. – 1446 B.C.) ………………………………………………………………………………..
Map: Route of Joseph as a slave into Egypt
1
Time of Judges (1375 B.C. – 1050 B.C.) …………………………………………………………………………………..
Map: The 12 tribes of Israel
2
Kingdom of Israel (1050 B.C. – 586 B.C.) …………………………………………………………………………………
Map: The Northern and Southern Kingdoms
2
Exiled in Babylon (586 B.C. – 516 B.C.) ……………………………………………………………………………………
2
Greek Period (332 B.C. – 63 B.C.) …………………………………………………………………………………………...
Map: Greek (Persian) Empire
3
Parthian Empire (63 B.C. – A.D. 225) ………………………………………………………………………………………
Map: Parthian Empire
3
Roman Period (63 B.C. – A.D. 313) ………………………………………………………………………………………….
Map: Roman Empire
4
Byzantine Period (A.D. 313 – A.D. 638) …………………………………………………………………………………..
Map: Byzantine Empire
4
Arab Period (A.D. 638 – A.D. 1099) …………………………………………………………………………………………
Map: Spread of Islam (A.D. 622- A.D. 900)
5
Crusaders Period (A.D. 1099 – A.D. 1260) ………………………………………………………………………………
Map: The 1st Crusade
5
Mamluk Period (A.D. 1260 – A.D. 1517) …………………………………………………………………………………
Map: Mamluk Empire
6
Ottoman Period (A.D. 1517 – A.D. 1917) ……………………………………………………………………………….
7
Nazi Germany (A.D. 1933 – A.D. 1945) …………………………………………………………………………………..
Map: Extermination and Concentration Camps
Illustration: Gas chamber and Crematoria
7
Establishing a Nation (A.D. 1880 – A.D. 1947) …………………………………………………………………………
Map: 1937 Peel Commission Partition Plan
Map: 1947 United Nations Partition Plan
9
The Nation of Israel (A.D. 1948) ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Map: European Jewish Migration (1946-1951)
10
The “6 Day War” (A.D. 1967) …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Map: Israel Before and After the War
11
Israel Today (A.D. 1967 – A.D. 2017) ……………………………………………………………………………………….
12
Palestinians and Israelis ………………………………………………………………………………………………
Illustration: Flags shaking hands
Map: British Mandate (1917)
Map: Palestinian Loss of Land (1946-2010)
12
Israel’s Main Enemies ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Map: Nations Surrounding Israel
15
Standing with Israel ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Illustration: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
16
The Future of Israel …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
Map: Location of Gog and Magog
Map: Israel Travel Advisory
Map: Surrounded by 22 Islamic Nations
Map: Israel under the Magnifying Glass
1
The Beginning of Israel: Abraham
2166 B.C.
Abraham was born approximately 2166 B.C.
When Abraham was 75 years old (2091 B.C.),
God made a promise to him:
The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from
your country, your people and your
father’s household to the land I will show
you. I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you; I will make your name
great, and you will be a blessing. I will
bless those who bless you, and whoever
curses you I will curse; and all peoples on
earth will be blessed through you”
(Genesis 12:1-3).
About 25 years later, Abraham and Sarah had a son and named him Isaac. Isaac grew up and married
Rebecca and they had two sons: Jacob and Esau. Jacob grew up and married Rachel and Leah and
through them had 12 sons; from which the 12 tribes of Israel originated.
The first four generations of the Israelites are Abraham…Isaac…Jacob…Joseph.
Egyptian Slavery
1805 B.C. – 1446 B.C.
After Joseph died (1805 B.C.), the
Egyptians forgot about his great leadership
and eventually the Israelites were
enslaved. The Israelites were slaves for
approximately 400 years. In 1446 B.C.,
Moses led the Israelites out of Egyptian
across the Red Sea and into the
wilderness. For 40 years the Israelites
wandered in the desert. Eventually,
Joshua led them into the promised land.
2
Time of Judges
1375 B.C. – 1050 B.C.
For almost 300 years (1375 B.C. – 1050 B.C.), warrior type
leaders ruled over Israel. This time period could be described
by the final words in the book of Judges (21:25).
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did
what was right in his own eyes.
Kingdom of Israel
1050 B.C. – 586 B.C.
The first three kings of Israel (Saul, David,
Solomon) ruled a united kingdom from 1050 B.C.
until 930 B.C. (each ruled 40 years). The fourth
king witnessed a divided kingdom. The northern
kingdom (called Israel) would last from 930 B.C.
until 722 B.C. when the Assyrians conquered
them. The southern kingdom (called Judah)
would last from 930 B.C. until 586 B.C. when the
Babylonians conquered them.
Exiled in Babylon
586 B.C. – 516 B.C.
The Israelites were held captive in Babylon from 586 B.C. until a group returned under the governor
Zerubbabel in 538 B.C. During the next few decades, the Israelites would try to rebuild their homes
and the temple. They experienced harsh opposition. In 432 B.C. Nehemiah lead a group to rebuild
the wall so that they could be secure.
3
Greek Period
332 B.C. – 63 B.C.
In 332 B.C., the Greeks conquered
Israel. The Israelites were given
some freedom by the Greek
government, but there were times
when they stood up for their
beliefs. In 167 BC., the Maccabees
revolted because the Greek
Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes (“god
manifest”) treated the Jews with
brutal persecution. Documents
state that Antiochus IV brought in a pig and sacrificed it at the Temple, an abomination to Jews.
Many believe that Daniel prophesied about him:
“At the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation” (Daniel 9:27).
He tried to totally eradicate the Jewish religion, so he erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple and
outlawed Jewish observances. This led to a revolt by a group known as the Maccabees, and in 164
B.C. the Jews regained control of Jerusalem and purified the Temple.
Parthian Empire
63 B.C. – A.D. 225
Parthia was a vast ancient empire, which ruled in Asia at the same time that the Roman Empire ruled
over the Mediterranean region from 64 B.C. until A.D. 225.
There is no record of their presence in Asia at
all until the Persians refer to them in the
sixth century B.C. The Persians called them
the “Parthva,” and named them as a subject
people involved in a revolt in 521 B.C. It was
believed that their name meant Exiles. They
had migrated into their country from some
portion of Scuthia. The lost ten tribes of
Israel were exiled in this region and after
settling there for centuries they rose to
power and actually had an Israelite king who
ruled over this empire.
The Magi were powerful members of the Parthian two-house body that elected Parthian monarchs
and had great influence within the empire. This is why the Magi’s visit to Herod and Jerusalem
“troubled” all the people in that area because they were looking for a king. Herod probably thought
that the Parthians were declaring war upon this region and that is why he reacted by slaughtering
new born boys in Bethlehem.
4
Roman Period
63 B.C. – A.D. 313
In 63 B.C., the Romans invaded Israel and conquered the land. This led to many Jewish insurrections
because Israel would now become a client state of Rome, limiting their freedoms. A notorious leader
during this time was King Herod who murdered his own family and many rabbis. Herod was also the
greatest builder in Jewish history and built the
Temple Jesus visited.
In A.D. 70, when Titus besieged Jerusalem,
the Israelites started scattering throughout
the Mediterranean. Since this time, the
Israelites have not had a home. Eventually,
the Israelites would venture to the far ends of
the earth.
Jewish Zealots fled Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and
settled at Masada, which is about 12 miles
from the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built
palaces for himself on this mountain and
fortified Masada between 37-31 B.C.
According to Josephus, the siege of Masada
by troops (4,800) of the Roman Empire at the end of the first Jewish-Roman War (A.D.73) ended in
the mass suicide of 960 people (7 Jews were captured: 5 women and 2 children).
Between the years A.D. 200 and A.D. 500, Israelites living in the area of Babylon increased from about
1,000,000 to an estimated 2,000,000. This was by natural growth and by immigration from the land
of Israel, making up about 1/6 of the world Jewish population at that time.
From A.D. 500 to A.D. 1038, the area of Babylonia became the center for Jewish scholarship and the
development of Jewish law.
Byzantine Period
A.D. 313 – A.D. 638
In the year A.D. 313, the emperor
Constantine passed an edict which
allowed the toleration of
Christianity in the Roman empire. It
was called the Edict of Milan.
Christianity would eventually
become the official religion of the
empire. Constantine also moved
the capital to Byzantium, which
became known as Constantinople.
Byzantine reign of the Holy Land lasted until the middle of the 7th century.
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The Holy Land became a predominately Christian country. Under the leadership of Emperor
Constantine, many churches, such as the Church of Annunciation, were erected over Christian holy
sites. Monasteries sprung up all over the country. At the beginning of the Byzantine reign, Jews were
allowed to practice their religion. Circumcisions were permitted, the Jewish Sabbath and festivals
were recognized, synagogues could not be violated, and Jewish courts had jurisdiction in legal cases.
When Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, many officials tried to convert Jews to
Christianity. This led to more persecution of the Jewish people.
In A.D. 629, Muslims conquered Jerusalem, but eventually the Byzantine emperor defeated them,
and in the process killed Jews and burned synagogues.
Arab Period
A.D. 638 – A.D. 1099
In A.D. 638, Arab Caliph Omar invaded
Jerusalem, built Al-Aqsa mosque on the ruins
of the Jewish temple. Muslims allowed the
Jews to reestablish their presence in
Jerusalem, although made it clear that Islam
would be the exalted religion.
Crusaders Period
A.D. 1099 – A.D. 1260
In A.D. 1099, the Jews helped the Arabs to defend Jerusalem against the Crusaders. When the city
fell, the Crusaders gathered many Jews in a synagogue and set it on fire. In Haifa, the Jews almost
single-handedly defended the town against the Crusaders, holding out for about a month (June-July).
The Second Crusade ended in a failure for the Catholics and a win for the Muslims (1147-1149). St.
Bernard of Clairvaux, who in his preaching had encouraged the Second Crusade, was upset with the
amount of misdirected violence and slaughter of the Jewish population of the Rhineland (Germany).
The Third Crusade was called by Pope Gregory 8 as
a way of making up for the Second Crusade's failure
lasting for four years (1188-1192). King Richard the
Lion-Hearted led this Crusade ordered the murder
of many Muslims, Jews, women and children.
The Fourth Crusade (1204-1204) was
dominated by men who fought and slaughtered
entirely for power and material gain. These
men approached Constantinople seeking what
they could devour. In April of 1204, the greedy
and lust-driven soldiers took the city.
6
The events of the fourth Crusade:
“They rushed in a howling mob down the streets and through the houses, snatching up everything
that glittered and destroying whatever they could not carry, pausing only to murder or to rape, or
to break open the wine-cellars for their refreshment. … Palaces and hovels alike were entered and
wrecked. Wounded women and children lay dying in the streets. For three days the ghastly scenes
of pillage and bloodshed continued, till the huge and beautiful city was in shambles” (Steven
Runciman, A History of the Crusades, 123).
Before the end of 1204, Pope Innocent III condemned the murderous conquest of the city.
“There was never a greater crime against humanity than the 4th Crusade” (Runciman, 130).
During the Middle Ages, Jews were generally better treated by Islamic rulers than Christian ones.
Mamluk Period
A.D. 1260 – A.D. 1517
The land of Israel was part of the Empire of the
Mamluks, who ruled from Turkey, and eventually
from Egypt. Jews suffered persecution and
humiliation under this empire. Yet, historical
records note that at least thirty Jewish urban and
rural communities existed in Israel during the
early 1500s. During this time period, the Jews
were scattered throughout much of Europe. The
Jews were persecuted severely by many European
countries. One of the most severe persecutions
was called the Edict of Expulsion and occurred in
Spain. Ferdinand II ruled the Spanish kingdom
with his wife Queen Isabella from 1479-1516. In
1481, fear of Jewish influence led the king and
queen to pressure the pope to allow a monarchy
controlled Inquisition in Spain. The Inquisition’s court employed physical torture to extract
confessions. In less than 12 years, the Inquisition condemned over 13,000 Jews.
Spain’s king and queen signed a decree called the Edict of Expulsion which ordered Jews to leave by
August 1. Christopher Columbus recorded this edict in his diary:
In the same month in which their Majesties issued the edict that all Jews should be driven out of
the kingdom and its territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with
sufficient men my expedition of discovery to the Indies.
On July 30, 1492, over 200,000 Jews were expelled from Spain and her territories.
7
Ottoman Period
A.D. 1517 – A.D. 1917
The Ottoman Turks conquered Cairo, Egypt in A.D. 1517 and ruled the entire Middle East from
Constantinople (Istanbul). The Ottoman Empire would last for 400 years.
Many of the Jews, expelled from their own country, would settle in the Ottoman Empire, where they
would find a tolerance not found elsewhere.
In the 16th century, the leading financers in Istanbul were Greeks and Jews. The most notable of the
Jewish banking families was the Marrano banking house of Mendes, which settled in Istanbul in 1552
under the protection of sultan Suleiman I the Magnificent.
Nazi Germany
A.D. 1933 – A.D. 1945
In 1933, with the rise of Adolf Hitler leading the Nazi party in Germany, the Jewish people were
severely persecuted. The anti-Semitic laws and the fear of war led many Jews to flee from Europe to
three main areas: Holy
Land, United States and
the Soviet Union.
In 1941, the Final
Solution began. This
was an extensive
organized operation
aimed at the
annihilation of the
Jewish people. This
genocide resulted in the
senseless murder of six
million Jews. This was
known as the Holocaust
(Shoah in Hebrew).
There were two types of camps:
1. Extermination camps. There were 6 extermination camps established for the sole purpose of
killing the Jews and other “problem people” (Polish, gypsies, Soviet POWs). A total of 3
million Jews were killed at these camps. They were established under the code-name
Operation Reinhard. All of the extermination camps were thoroughly organized and
resembled industrial plants to an alarming degree. However, only Auschwitz-Birkenau, with its
advanced gassing facilities and crematoria, was marked by high technology. In crematoria I
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and II there were elevators from the gas chambers underground, where the Jews were
murdered, to the crematoria, where the bodies were burned. The 6 extermination camps
were established within a very short time (from December 1941 to December 1942). They
were all situation by railways and in extreme rural areas. A few of these camps were actually
started within the concentration camps. Auschwitz is one of the most famous. In Poland,
over one million Jews were murdered in the gas chambers at Auschwitz concentration.
2. Concentration camps. There were 22 main concentration camps established, together with
approximately 1,200 affiliate camps. Estimates suggest that 500,000-750,000 died as a result
of the inhuman slave labor, hunger and disease in concentration camps.
There were three main killing methods:
1. Gas chambers. This was the most common method of mass murdering the Jews in the
extermination camps. The Jews were herded into the gas chambers, then the camp personnel
closed the doors, and either exhaust gas or poison gas in the form of Zyclon B or A was led
into the gas chamber.
2. Gassing trucks. Jews, after forced into the trucks, were suffocated by the exhaust fumes by
the truck.
3. Mass shootings. One example: In Majdanek (November 1943), between 17,000-18,000 Jews
were killed in one day as part of a mass shooting. The event was called Erntefest (harvest
feast) and included similar actions all around the Lublin District.
By 1945, two out of every three European Jews had been killed by the Nazis.
After World War 2, efforts were increased to establish a Jewish state in the land of Israel.
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Establishing a Nation
A.D. 1880 – A.D. 1947
The following is a timeline of major events leading up to the moment of Israel becoming a nation.
Date
Historical Event
1880
The 1st major wave of European Jews immigrate to the Holy Land.
Jewish settlements are set up throughout the land.
1897
Theodore Herzl, convened the First Zionist Congress and proclaimed the
right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in their own country.
1904-1914
The 2nd wave of Jewish immigration from eastern Europe to the Holy Land.
1917
The British government issued the Balfour Declaration to reaffirm the
promise that the Jews would have the right to rebuild their national homeland.
1920
Arab rioters attack Jewish population in Jerusalem (1st of many attacks).
1921
Arab nationalists attack Jews in Jaffa and violence spreads throughout Holy Land.
1922-1923
The British attempted to establish Jewish-Arab “power sharing” in the Holy Land;
Arab people rejected this offer.
1929
Jews all over the Holy Land were attacked (Hebron Jews were massacred).
1933
Hitler’s rise to power resulted in massive Jewish immigration from Europe.
1937
Arabs rejected the British Peel Commission’s plan to create a
Jewish state in 20% of Palestine (see map).
Attacks from Arabs also reach an all time high during this year.
1939
Arabs influenced the “White Paper Policy” which limited Jewish immigration to
the Holy Land to 10,000 per year (Hitler sent 20,000 Jews per day to camps).
1939-1945
During WW2, Jews allied with Britain while Palestinian Arabs sided with Nazis.
1947
The United Nations partitioned off a Jewish state and Arab state.
The Jews accepted; Arabs rejected.
10
The Nation of Israel
A.D. 1948
In 1948, the Jewish people were gathered together and became a nation. Did Ezekiel predict what
happened in 1948 thousands of years ago?
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you
back into your own land…Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my
people, and I will be your God (Ezekiel 36:24,28).
David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, delivered Israel’s declaration of independence in
Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948. Could this prophecy from Isaiah 66:8 apply to 1948?
Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be
born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than
she gives birth to her children.
11
From 1948-1953,
more than 700,000
Arabs fled from the
new State of Israel.
Almost as many
Jews fled to Israel
from Arab
countries. From
1946-1951,
European Jews
flooded the new
state of Israel.
From 1950-1955, Egypt and Jordan supported guerrilla attacks into Israel from Gaza and the West
bank. Israel retaliated every time to protect her borders.
In 1956, Egypt blockaded the Red Sea and nationalized the Suez Canal. This spurred an international
crisis. Israel then invaded Gaza and the Sinai.
The “6 Day War”
A.D. 1967
In the year 1967, the city of Jerusalem was
reunited with the Jewish people for the first
time in almost 1,900 years.
Leading up to this war, the leaders of the Arab
world spoke out publicly against the nation of
Israel. King David prophesied against the
growling voices:
See how your enemies growl, how your
foes rear their heads. With cunning
they conspire against your people; they
plot against those you cherish. “Come,”
they say, “let us destroy them as a
nation, so that Israel’s name is
remembered no more” (Psalm 83:2-4).
SYRIA: Syrian Defense Minister Hafez Assad threatened this on May 20, 1967:
“I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation.”
12
EGYPT: Nasser of Egypt stated this on May 27, 1967:
“Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel.”
IRAQ: President Abdur Rahman Aref of Iraq said:
“The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified…Our goal is clear—to wipe Israel
off the map.”
The Arab leaders backed up their words with 465,000 troops, 2,800 tanks, and 800 aircraft. It looked
as if little Israel would get wiped off the map. The Six-Day War was a war of miracles. In the Old
Testament, we read about how God gave Israel victory after victory against their ancient enemies.
He did the same during the Six-Day War.
He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is
powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God (Joshua 4:24).
The Six-Day War lasted from June 5 until a cease-fire on June 11. In total, 21,000 Arabs were killed
during the Six-Day War; Israel lost 779 soldiers.
Israel Today
A.D. 1967 – A.D. 2017
If one would like to understand modern day Israel, they must ask themselves these questions:
1. What is the difference between Palestinians and Israelis and which side should we be on?
2. What countries are vowed enemies of the state of Israel?
3. Why is it important for the United States to be an ally of the state of Israel?
Palestinians and Israelis
The word Palestine has an ancient origin.
It was pronounced:
Peleset
Palashtu
Palaistine
This group of people rose with the Philistines and vanished over time. As the Bible teaches, the
Philistines were the enemy living within the area that was promised to the Jewish people. When the
Jewish people settled into the promised land, they allowed the Philistines to remain and because of
this, the Philistines were a thorn in the side of the Jews for a few centuries. Interestingly, the
Philistines have no connection to today’s Palestinians.
13
The word Palestine was first formally used by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 134. Emperor
Hadrian massacred the Jewish people and sent into exile the remaining Jews. He was determined to
eliminate the history of the Jews in the land. He renamed this
land Syria-Palaestina after the vanished people of the ancient
world called the Philistines.
Judea was the last state which existed in the land. Century after
century the remaining Jews and other people groups lived under
the leadership of other powers. By the time of the Ottoman
Empire, the word Palestine was used as a geographical term to
describe the land just south of Syria.
In 1917, when the land fell under British rule at the end of WW1,
it was only natural that they named it Palestine. The League of
Nations (predecessor to the United Nations) granted the world
powers control over the middle east and allowed them to
prepare them for independence. This area came under the
heading of “British Mandate of Palestine.” Two populations lived
under the “British Mandate of Palestine”
1. Arab
2. Jew
In 1947, the mandate expired, and the UN decided to split the
land into independent Jewish and Arab states. The Jews
accepted the resolution and called their state Israel. The Arab
world rejected the two state plan and right after the last British soldiers departed, attacked their
newly independent neighbor. After the war, Jordan annexed the West Bank and Egypt took over the
Gaza Strip, which were both given to the Arabs as part of the partition plan. Neither country saw a
need to set up a separate state in these countries, and as a result, an Arab state did not materialize in
the former British mandate of Palestine.
Palestinian identity continued to grow, culminating in 1964 when the Arab League initiated the PLO:
The Palestine Liberation Organization. This league called for the destruction of Israel. The Arab world
continued to focus on the destruction of the state of Israel. This came to a head in 1967, when the
Arab world attacked Israel in the 6 day war. Israel took over the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinians believe strongly that they have the right to this land:
“There was no point in history without the presence of the Palestinian people in this land.”
Mahmoud Al-Habbash
(Minister of Religious Affairs Palestinian Authority).
Palestinians believe that Jesus was a Palestinian:
“Our Lord Jesus was the first Palestinian to be tortured in this land.”
Mustafa Barghouti
(Palestian Authority MP).
14
Israel has endorsed Palestinian aspirations for decades:
1937 – Peel Commission
1947 – UN Partition Plan
2000 – Camp David Summit
2008 – Annapolis Process
The Palestinians have rejected all of these offers.
What are the main differences between Israelis and Palestinians?
Israeli
Palestinian
Citizen of a developed country.
Stateless and lack the citizenship of any country.
Mostly Jews. The religious affiliations of the
Israelis include Christians, Jews, Muslims,
Arabs, Druze, etc. The majority of the
population of Israelis is Jews (82% as per
the Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel).
The Palestinians are mostly Sunni Muslims
with a small Christian minority.
The Israeli population is 7 million. All of the
Israelis are either migrants or descendants of
migrants who have moved to the region over
the last 2 centuries.
The Palestinians are estimated to be 9.6 million
with over half of them being stateless refugees
in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Palestinians are descendants of people who
have lived in the West Bank.
Follow mostly western culture.
Follow Arab culture.
15
Israel’s Main Enemies
1. Egypt
Egypt has been a leading nation which has fought against Israel in all of her past wars (1948,
1967, 1973). In recent years, the Muslim Brotherhood (outlawed in 1954) emerged as a
political party under a new name: the Freedom and Justice Party. Mohamed Morsi, a leading
member of the Muslim Brotherhood and chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party, was
voted in as the president of Egypt on June 30, 2012. He was overthrown on July 3, 2013 by his
own Egyptian army and placed under house arrest. The following is a quote from the former
president:
“Either [you accept] the Zionists and everything they want, or else it is war. This is
what these occupiers of the land of Palestine know—these blood-suckers, who attack
the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendents of apes and pigs.”
2. Syria.
The Head of Hezbollah Political Council His Eminence Ibrahim Amin Sayed laid out dangers
facing the region, the first being the existence of Israel.
3. Jordan.
Jordan shares the longest border with Israel with a significantly large Sunni Muslim
population. Although Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, the country is
constantly under fire from Syria, which backs anti-Israel militants.
4. Iran.
Iran finances and trains Hamas and
Hezbollah terrorists, equipping them
with arms to use against Israel.
Iran’s leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
has been quoted:
“Wipe Israel off the map.”
“We will eliminate this
disgraceful stain from the
Islamic world.”
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Standing with Israel
Why is it important for the United States to be an ally of the state of Israel? Who should we stand
by? This is a difficult question and therefore must be answered with complexity.
1. We should stand by Christ! We must realize that within both of these people groups, there are
Christians. There are Palestinian Christians and Israeli Christians. We are to support Christ’s work
through the church. The American Christian has been deceived into thinking that a certain group
is God’s chosen when He is trying to help us understand that His Son Jesus Christ is the fulfillment
of the chosen One.
2. Politically we must stand with the group which carries the same values of peace. The Israelis have
strived for peace since the beginning. They have shown a desire to compromise at every level.
But the Arab Palestinians have never responded well to an offer of a partition agreement. The
one group seems to promote peace, while the other group is misguided into thinking all the land
belongs to them and they are bent upon destroying the Israelis.
3. We are to bless the people God has asked us to bless, and that is specifically the Jews. This does
not mean that they are better than other people groups, but we must understand that the
Messiah came from this people group and they
have a future place in prophecy. We must
acknowledge that the Jews should be protected
by evil and we should do what we can to protect
them from evil. That is why it was important for
Christians to hide Jews in Nazi occupied Europe
and why Christians must stand up for Jews as
they are attacked by terrorist groups from other
nations. God even tells us to pray for the peace
of Jerusalem.
The Future of Israel
The following is a list of 10 biblical truths about the future of Israel and the Jewish people.
1. God has NOT COMPLETELY REJECTED the Jews.
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of
Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew
(Romans 11:1-2).
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2. Someday, ALL of Israel will be SAVED.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be
conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has
come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25-26).
3. GOG and MAGOG will invade Israel, but God will protect them with FIRE.
I will send fire on Magog (Ezekiel 39:6).
I will give Gog a burial place in Israel
(Ezekiel 39:11).
4. The TEMPLE will be REBUILT.
He will confirm a covenant with many for
one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’
he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.
And at the temple he will set up an
abomination that causes desolation,
until the end that is decreed is poured out
on him” (Daniel 9:27).
5. Jews will make a 7 YEAR covenant with the Antichrist.
He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In
the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice
and offering. And at the temple he will set up an
abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is
decreed is poured out on him” (Daniel 9:27).
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the
abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through
the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand”
(Matthew 24:15).
6. The Antichrist will attempt a final GENOCIDE of the Jews
and 2/3 of them will be killed.
“In the whole land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will
be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it”
(Zechariah 13:8).
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7. Many Jews will be SAVED during the GREAT TRIBULATION.
I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the
tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad
12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of
Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the
tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000 (Revelation 7:4-8).
8. ALL the NATIONS of the world will
come against Israel in the last days.
I will gather all the nations to
Jerusalem to fight against it; the city
will be captured, the houses
ransacked, and the women raped.
Half of the city will go into exile, but
the rest of the people will not be
taken from the city (Zechariah 14:2).
9. Jesus will stand on the MOUNT OF
OLIVES to gather up His people.
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
(Zechariah 14:3-4).
10. Jesus will REIGN on the throne in Jerusalem during the MILLENNIAL reign.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s
descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33).
Reigned with Christ for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4).