Column: All Roads Lead To Jerusalem/ Israel: Conclusion

According to Dr. David Jeremiah in his new book, Is This The End?, many of his friends in the literary world as well as personal acquaintances, are asking this question also: are we indeed reaching the end times here on this earth? How many stressful and horrific events have to take place before some one, some where, and at some time erupts into a non-reversible action which is going to bring about another non-reversible action? Is this where the world is headed? Where to find confidence and calm in the midst of world events? Whom do we trust? Where do we place our trust? Will the world and its leadership make the difference? Who or what has the final say? These are some of the thoughts addressed in Dr. Jeremiah's book.

As this final part of the series turns itself to thinking about the above questions, one is encouraged to go back and reread the first two sections where the answers are given to us embedded in ancient Biblical history by God and His prophets Answers given by a Creator, certainly not by mankind.. It is for the eyes, ears, and minds of both believers and non-believers to think upon. The Abrahamic covenant given by God to Abraham as recorded in Genesis of the Old Testament covers clearly 7 promises, the first 5 having been presented in Parts 1-2. But what does God have to say in the 6th and 7th parts of the covenant?

Besides the unconditional, personal, national, territorial, and reciprocal nature of this "conversation" between God and Abraham, there is also the universal nature of the promise. When God states in Genesis 12:3 : "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed", the overarching purpose or the root of God's purpose is revealed. God will start in humanity with the Jews, but His ultimate purpose is to provide a route for all of humanity--not just His favor for the Jews alone. As Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson remark in their book, Target Israel: Caught in the Crosshairs of the End Times, "The Bible's human authors were almost exclusively Jewish people. From Moses, the author of Genesis, to the apostle, John, the author of Revelation, the books of the Bible are the result of Jewish writers guided by the Holy Spirit to produce the Christian faith that there is today." Perhaps it is needless to say, but all of the other promises made to Abraham by God rest on this universal one, and it affects every person who has ever lived upon the earth. Jerusalem, the city, has also come to us through Abraham. It is possible for those of us who have traveled to Israel to stand in Jerusalem on certain steps and look off to the place where Jesus ascended into heaven after completing His work here on earth, and it is to this very same place that Jesus promised that He would return to set up His earthly kingdom in Zechariah 14 and Matthew 24. Jerusalem matters deeply to God.

Finally there is the everlasting and eternal promise that God gives to Abraham very late in Abraham's life. In Genesis 17 Abraham is both very old and very frail. He is approaching his 100th year and it has been quite some time since Abraham heard personally from God--nearly 25 years. Probably like many of us if we reach that milestone in life, our minds could be getting cloudy and doubts could creep into our sense of assurances. But, again, God visits Abraham after all this time and reminds the old man that His promise was still in force. The promise was "between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession: and I will be their God--Genesis 17: 7-8. There may be delays, postponements, some chastisements, or other factions to deal with, but God's Person and nature has never gone against Itself. One by one His words come to prevail when looking back on volumes of history--both ancient and modern.

So, Israel is back finally to its original land--be it minus some parts. Israel has been "gathered" back since 1948, but in a twist of irony, the one nation founded and chosen by God Himself is today among the most alienated from God. According to a 2015 WIN/Gallup poll, 65% of the Israeli population "said that they are either not religious or convinced atheists, compared to just 30% who say that they are religious." Of this religious 30%, only 2.1% practice Christianity in any form, and about 80% of these are Arab Christians. So the actual number of ethnic Israelis who are Christians is one-half of 1% of Israel's entire population. Yes, Israel has been restored to its land, but is this the end? No, according to the prophet Ezekiel in his prophecy. In Ezekiel 37:8 "the bones have been reassembled, but there is no breath in the bones." Israel does not yet have the Truth or know the Truth. The nation is like an empty vessel waiting to be filled. But with what? Apparently Israel's great wealth, economic productivity, and military might as discussed in Parts 2 and 3 have not deterred her enemies from attempting to destroy the Jewish nation completely. Is something else in store for Israel to deal with or to bring her to her knees? According to God there is. According to prophecy the Jewish nation is not in its permanent condition--yet. the Old Testament in Zechariah 12:10 states: "I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced."

Israel will bide her time like the rest of the world. Israel will continue to be challenged by the radical extremists of Islam with their barbaric and evil agenda. The rest of the world as well will wait with Israel while the Islamic fanatics attempt to fly their flag over every world capital. This extreme faction of Islam has world domination as the ultimate goal. And those who study and know Bible prophecy cannot but see a foreshadowing of the future in the barbaric actions of radical Islam. John the apostle saw in his revelation, "the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus (Revelation 17:6) In a 2014 opinion column for the Washington Post, the Indian-born American journalist Fareed Zakaria wrote:

Let's be honest. Islam has a problem today. The places that have trouble accommodating themselves to the modern world are disproportionately Muslim.

In 2013, of the top ten groups that perpetrated terrorist attacks, seven were Muslim. Of the top ten countries where terrorists attacks took place, seven were Muslim-majority. The Pew Research Center rates countries on the level of Of the 24 most restrictive countries, 19 were Muslim-majority. Of the 21 countries that have laws against apostasy, all have Muslim majorities.

There is a cancer of extremism within Islam today. A small minority of Muslims celebrates violence and intolerance and harbors deeply reactionary attitudes towards women and minorities. While some confront these extremists, more do not. The protests are not loud enough. How many mass rallies have been held against the Islamic State (ISIS) in the Arab world today?

So Israel is awaiting, as is the rest of the world, including Tevye, for those hands of time which are moving toward a final showdown so to speak. However, it is not a "sitting ducks" scenario. It does not have to be passive in nature, but rather it can be active, and reassuring. Confidence comes in knowing the enemy. Knowing the enemy requires reading about real events in human history, and then looking for and finding where the threads of good and evil come face to face . Is it not important to be able to clarify and recognize the traits of good from those of evil? Webster's New Word Dictionary defines evil as "wicked, depraved, immoral, harmful, injurious, causing pain, misery, and harm". Have not one of us come up against evil and not recognized it? Even children know when something is just not right. According to the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament, and according to Christ in the Old and New Testament, Israel and Jerusalem will be the target for the enemy. And God says that in "those days" the enemy will be annihilated. Where? In Israel. Where will the new authority come from? Jerusalem. Who will govern? Christ. Isaiah 45:23 and Roman 14:11 clarify with these words: "As surely as I live", says the Lord, "every knee will bow before me, every tongue will confess to God." We need to know with confidence who has the last word. According to the world's best selling book, the Bible, it will not be mankind, governments, leaders, wealth, military powers, or false prophets.

Just how well read or informed are we?

Carol Paz: npazcar@aol.com