Who Cares About Israel? | Midweek Update with Tom Hughes – Hope For Our Times

My NOTES:

On May 14th 1948:
… Israel declared its independence + President Harry Truman, against the advice of the State Department, immediately/officially recognized Israel’s independence—followed by most of the world.
… Isaiah 66:8 prophesied that a nation was born in a day = a miracle for the ages. God said He would do it and He did.
… God’s prophetic fulfillment for Israel will be when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation to establish His literal/physical kingdom from Jerusalem.
… No other nation has been exiled from its homeland + forcibly dispersed around the world + yet remained a distinct people + disappeared for 2,000 years + then suddenly reborn (all the while hated).
… 1940s anti-Semitism permeated the world.
… UN General Assembly in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust = the only moment in world history when a majority of nations miraculously voted for the formation of an independent Jewish state.

The OT records God’s special relationship with Israel:
… His miracle-working power on their behalf = His miraculous deliverance from the land of Egypt + the burning bush + the plagues + the Passover + the pillar of cloud by day / pillar of fire by night + the Red Sea parting
… God also said (Jeremiah 16 beginning in verse 14) that His regathering of Israel from the nations + back into its promised homeland will be the greatest reminder of God’s miracles on Israel’s behalf—superseding His previous miracles surrounding the Exodus from Egypt.
… Christians should’ve been on their feet applauding God at work before their very eyes = national rebirth of Israel + living witness to His unlimited power + His fulfilled promises for what none thought possible. Yet sadly/unreasonably, most of Christendom (despite it all being laid out in the Bible) still refuse to see the Hand of God in these massive events.

Christian rejection of Israel boils down to 3 things
(2 doctrinal issues + ancient prejudice).

1st doctrinal issue:
… false belief that biblical Israel no longer exists aka God broke His Word to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by utterly destroying the nation of Israel + transferring its promises to the Church—even teaching that Palestine is a legitimate state.
… DESPITE the fact that archaeological evidence is all over the place in Israel. You can find all kinds of historic evidence for the different empires (Byzantine, Roman, Ottoman), but ZERO evidence of any Palestinian state.
… WHY do churches think/teach God is done with Israel???
… God never cancelled His promise to Israel + God doesn’t lie. God’s very nature is Truth = an expression (not restriction) of God’s omnipotence. Truth cannot make+break His own covenant with Israel (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Titus 1:2).
… Jesus says “I am the Way + the Truth + the Life” (John 14:6).
… Jesus says “heaven + earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
… Don’t call God a liar.… God cannot lie… God won’t lie.
… Jesus = God = He’s not a man who can lie.

2nd doctrinal issue:
… rejecting God’s miracle of Israel because they don’t think present-day Israel qualifies to receive the miracle—pointing to scriptures about the Millennium when a regathered Israel will be living for God and redeemed in Christ.
… Bible prophecy speaks of the Messiah as a conquering King (2nd coming) + a dying Saviour (1st coming).
… Ezekiel 36:22 says God does this for His holy name’s sake.
… Ezekiel 36:24-25 says God first regathers Israel into the Promised Land, then cleans/purifies them.
… Ezekiel 37 (valley of dry bones) is God’s illustration of the bones representing an unrepentant + spiritually dead + scattered Israel.
… Ezekiel 37:8 says the bones are the House of Israel (having human form, but needing life = the breath of God).
… Israel returns (spiritually dead in unbelief) to the Promised Land, then (after reassembled) God renews them spiritually.
… That’s the day we are waiting for.
… Romans 11:1 asks if God has cast away His people = the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
… Romans 11:25-26 answers the question = certainly not! God has not cast away His people + all Israel will be saved, after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

God doesn’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, lest you be puffed up in your own mind (thinking God is done with Israel + thinking you’re smarter than those people who believe Jesus is coming again—returning to Jerusalem + that Israel will always exist—yet actually, you don’t understand what the Bible says.

Paul in Romans 11 says:
… Israel will be dispersed around the world + God will draw them back together + will then give them a spiritual rebirth.
… This is the work of God, not man. Israel doesn’t suddenly become righteous and therefore return to the Land. But while they were yet sinners God begins the regathering process. The regathering of the nation of Israel from all over the world = God’s word being fulfilled—exactly as the Bible says.
… We see happening, right now.

Praise the LORD when you look at Israel
… don’t be discouraged, enraged, nor anti-Semitic
… don’t believe the false doctrine of Replacement Theology
… God is on the throne. Wicked men want to take this world down, but Jesus is calling us up!
… Jesus is coming again + will literally return/rule/reign from Jerusalem + the Jew/Israel will always exist.
… Exactly as the Bible says—the world is turning against Israel + we are in the process of watching God setting the stage to fulfill His prophecies + Israel is going through the spiritual awakening process + the Jews will turn to Yeshua Hamashiach Lord Jesus the Messiah (calling upon Him for salvation) as Jesus said, they will say “blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord God” 🙌👑✝️🕊️🇮🇱💙