As the players in the Middle East events become more and more visible, it becomes more and more clear that the issue is not land in Israel. The true issue is much more serious and much more dangerous. In view of the tremendous number of prophecies in the Bible concerning "the last days," and the things we are seeing in the Middle East right before our eyes, it should come as no surprise that the real issue is "religion."
The real issue is ..."who IS God?"
Years ago, at a meeting with Yasser Arafat, the Prime Minister of Israel decided to just give him what he wanted, because the Israelis were just so tired of the violence. So Ehud Barak offered the "Palestinians" everything they were demanding - 95 percent of the "West Bank," and he was even willing to divide Jerusalem and let the "Palestinians" take East Jerusalem as their capital for their Palestinian State. It should have been a slam-dunk end to the story. But what happened? Yasser Arafat got up, walked out, and canceled any further "negotiations," leaving everyone stunned. And at that point, the whole world should have understood that this was not about land. He could have had all the land he wanted if he’d only just stop the terrorism.
Fast-forward to today. The Islamic terrorist groups afflicting Israel are actually proxies for the government of Iran. One good thing that has come out of all this is that the truth is no longer being hidden behind the guise of a struggle for land. Iran has made it clear and made it public - this is about whose God is God. They believe it is their CALLING from Allah to prepare the way for the coming of the Islamic "Mahdi," who they believe will subject the entire world under Islam. And they believe it is their CALLING to rid the world of the two great obstacles to that -Israel and the United States of America. The God of the Jews, and the God of the Christians. To even the most casual observer this should be clear because they say it loudly, clearly, publicly, and often.
Which leads to a comment, an observation that I believe is quite telling on this subject:
The Arab nations have been in the Middle East continuously for over 4,000 years. They have never been dispersed throughout the earth as Israel has. They have had 4,000 uninterrupted years to develop.
Israel has been in her land now for 77 years. Why has Israel been able to build a state as modern, as prosperous, and as advanced as it is today, after a 2,000-year world-wide dispersion, persecution throughout that time in every place, a Holocaust determined to destroy every Jew on the continent, and the birth of their new nation at the hands of the survivors of the most devastating torture and death camps known to man?
*** Why has Israel been able to do in 77 years what the Arabs have not been able to do in 4,000 years of uninterrupted presence? The answer is the God of Israel. For it is Israel's God who kept her through all her sufferings and wanderings, and it is Israel's God who is glorified in her restoration IN SPITE OF the determination of the Arabs to destroy her. The God of Israel is made obvious in the blessings on Israel, making her a chief among the nations in only 77 years though she has only a tiny sliver of the land of the Middle East. A country with a sliver of land the size of New Jersey. The god of Islam apparently is unable to bless his people or his lands, though they have 99 percent of the land in the Middle East, and almost unlimited supplies of the world's most precious commodity – oil. While on this subject, let's make another enlightening comparison between nations: The richest, most powerful, and most advanced nation on the face of the earth today is the United States of America. The US was founded on the Judeo-Christian Bible, the Word of God, and is blessed beyond all the nations of the earth. Now take a look at Haiti. Haiti is one of the most poverty-stricken nations on the face of the earth. The government of Haiti dedicated their nation to Satan, not once, but later confirmed it, and then confirmed a third time by official government proclamation! Satan's dedicated land is a land of abject poverty, death, and voodoo curses. So here's a comparison: America: under the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible. Prosperous beyond any nation that has ever been on the earth. Haiti: dedicated to Satan and one of the poorest and most oppressed nations on the face of the earth. Israel: her God is the God of the Bible and she is among the most prosperous and advanced nations on earth in spite of endless hatred against her; her sons have been among the great men of the earth in science, medicine, and in every field they have been involved in. The lands of Islam under the moon god, "Allah:" backward, oppressed, and hate-filled. God has showed himself in his peoples. And Satan has done the same. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 "...his delight is in the law of the Lord…" He's not speaking here of the Levitical law. The word "law" here is the Hebrew word "torah," which is "teaching," or "instruction." This is the Lord's call to be separate from the world. It's a call specifically to NOT walk in the counsel of the world of the ungodly, because the Scriptures tell us that the philosophies of the world are "foolishness" (1st Corinthians 3:19) - therefore, if you are going for counsel to an "expert" in the world, then you are asking for foolishness. I'm not saying that, the Word of God says that. Those in the world have a totally different mindset. It surely will sound good, but in the end you'll see that it was foolishness. Instead, submit your problem to the Lord FIRST, and then he will show you where to go for help, and you may be surprised. The experts and counselors in the world have no use for the Word of God, in fact many scoff at it. They walk in the counsel of the ungodly, and the counsel of the scornful. None of them will give you truth because they don't KNOW the truth, they're rooted, they're steeped, in the philosophies of the world. So then, how can one be guided by truth? God is the SOURCE of truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life..." (John 14:6). If you truly want to be guided by truth, then turn to the Word of God. Bring your trouble to the Lord and ask him to guide you by his Word, and he will. But you have to first know his Word. "The entirety of your Word is TRUTH, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever." Psalm 119:160 When you have made the Word of God the foundation of your life, you will be like a tree planted by the water. You will not wither because your roots will go deep and you will find success in what you do because your foundation is solid. Your help comes then, from the Lord himself. vs 3: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." Not so with those rooted in the world. They're on their own, not guided by truth. Their way will come to an end. In the end, where will all the "experts" be? vs 6: "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous. But the way of the ungodly SHALL PERISH." He's not talking about evil people here. He's talking about even "nice" people - who choose the ways of the world. Turn therefore, turn away from the world and the philosophies thereof. Put your trust in the Lord. He knows the end from the beginning, he knows your past and your future, he alone knows your mind and he alone knows the depths of your heart. It is he who fashioned you, and it must be he who walks with you. But that's a choice you alone can make.
“Now therefore, fear the Lord,
serve him in sincerity and in truth,
and put away the gods which your fathers served
on the other side of the river and in Egypt.
Serve the Lord!”
Joshua 24:14
The Lord spoke to an author named Merlin Carothers and said, “I have no grandchildren.” Merlin thought on that long and hard but could not come up with what God might mean by that, so he asked the Lord. And the Lord said to him that every person must be saved in his own right, not on the rights of his parents, because if it were on the rights of his parents, that would make him a grandchild, not a son or daughter of the Lord, and God has no grandchildren. Salvation is a very personal, individual thing. No one is saved on the merits of his parents. Having grown up in a Christian home does not make one a Christian.
Each person must be born again for himself. As Jesus said:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again,
he CANNOT see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
It’s not a suggestion, it’s the statement of an absolute fact. The born-again experience cannot be overlooked, it’s the very beginning of a person’s story.
vs 6-7:
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you,
‘You MUST be born again.'”
When one is born again, it may be costly for him, for he must “put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river.” For many this means parting from the ways of their parents, or maybe the religion of their parents. One must take a close look and determine if the religion they were brought up with is a religion of TRUTH. It may not be - it may be simply a tradition.
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
vanity, and unprofitable things.”
Jeremiah 16:19
Every believer is brought to decision. He must examine the ways of his family and culture and traditions and see whether they are established in the truth. Many a time that will mean having to decide between the truth and tradition. If the truth is not in the traditions of his family, leaving those traditions might cost him his family. This may be the greatest decision he will make in his lifetime.
“I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.”
Jeremiah 3:14
The Lord calls one here and one there because that’s the only way to bring someone to the importance of the decision he is called upon to make. It would be so much easier to just keep the peace and go along with the traditions of the family, but many a time that would mean living in “lies, vanity, and unprofitable things.”
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26
Obviously the Lord does not mean we are to bear hatred toward our family members, for the Lord has said:
“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
1st John 3:15
So what DOES it mean, then? It means that each person must place God before all and above every family member, friend, culture, and tradition - being willing to part with them if necessary.
“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve him in sincerity and in truth,
and put away the gods which your fathers served…”
Joshua 24:14
When a person is born again, that day is the first day of the rest of his life. The Lord begins the work of deliverance, healing, and restoration and the great battle for the soul of this person begins - through which the Lord delivers him from evil - one enemy at at time.
vs 11:
“Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho.
And the men of Jericho fought against you
—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites,
the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
But I delivered them into your hand.”
There will always be enemies and there will always be warfare against you, but when you stand in faith and in truth, the Lord will deliver you from them, one at a time, until you are free. This can take a lifetime because it is a work so deep that it totally transforms the person. As you walk with the Lord, you will see his deliverance time and time again, for the work is not yours, your job is to surrender and follow him, his part is to restore you and bring you to victory. And he surely will.
As you abide in devotion to the God who saved you, remain in the truth and place your trust wholly in him; he will deliver you from your enemies, set you free from the bondage you are in, and preserve you throughout the entirety of your journey until you reach eternity.
vs 17:
“…for the Lord our God is he who brought us and our fathers up
out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage,
who did those great signs in our sight,
and preserved us in all the way that we went
and among all the people through whom we passed.”
Make the right decisions, for your decisions will determine your eternity.
vs 15:
“…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the river,
or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
But as for me and my house, we will serve THE LORD!”
More:
Born Again -What Does That Mean?