Israel Is at the Heart of Prophecy

I was talking with a friend recently, and we were discussing questions we get while speaking.

One of the most popular is, “How do we know we are in the last days?” A perhaps more popular version of this question is, “How do we know Jesus is coming back soon?”

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I hear this question answered with a New Testament verse or verses. That of course is legitimate. However, there is a fascinating reference in the Old Testament, and it has become my favorite answer.

Preterists and others hostile to Israel and predictive prophecy answer that this must refer to Christ’s first coming. Yet…was the Lord building Zion on that electric night in Bethlehem? An emphatic “no.”

The Romans were pressing the inhabitants of the Holy Land under a dictatorial heel at that precise moment, and for a few centuries after that. In fact, after several decades of Jewish sovereignty under the leadership and aftermath of the Maccabees, who had taken control of Judea from the Seleucid Empire, that sovereignty came to an end.

In the first century, B.C., this Jewish rebel army gave way to the powerful Romans.

He has, however, been building Zion since the late 19th century, and now millions of Jews live in their ancestral land.

Logic — the great hallmark of Bible-believing Christians, and the Achilles’ Heel of the liberals — tells us that since Zion is being built-up right now, we can confidently expect the Lord to return at any time.

One of my favorite books is an obscure title from Prof. Benzion Netanyahu, entitled: Don Isaac Abravanel — Statesman and Philosopher. The 15th century financier-turned-biblical scholar was a fascinating character, a Jew who saw much of the turmoil of Jewish life in Europe at a seminal moment in history.

At one point, upon seeing the brutal and callous treatment of Jews in Spain and elsewhere, Abravanel — in order to make sense out of circumstances — turned to Scripture in order to understand what was happening. It was there he developed a thrilling and significant worldview that had as its bedrock the truth that the Bible is supernaturally inspired.

This reality of course is hateful to liberals, among them certain Christian leaders who have crept in unawares, as they say. For them, predictive prophecy is a formidable weapon that can be used against their diabolical attacks on the faith. That’s why they hate it, and why they hate the Jews.

Netanyahu, the historian, went to the heart of the matter in discussing Abravanel’s epiphany:

“The spearhead of the drive against the Jews in Spain, as against those of any other medieval country in the west, was the clergy."

The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 was one of those highlighted historical markers, in which human history is traced by how men have treated the Jews. And Abravanel observed up-close just who in fact led the efforts to persecute Jews: the Church.

Of course, in those days it was the Catholic Church. Although it’s a topic for another time, the Catholic involvement in this area is somewhat of a mixed bag since World War II (on the one hand, a virulent stream of anti-semitism still infects Catholicism; on the other hand, significant inroads have been made to bring Catholics and Jews together).

Today, the problem area for Jew hatred is center-left Christian leadership, and what are still legitimately evangelical leaders. I promise you, they completely loathe Psalm 102:16. This represents one side in a massive war going on today between biblical truth and paganism. Let’s look at a critical aspect of Abravanel’s emerging worldview, as told by Netanyahu:

“The position of Abravanel was thus simple and direct. It was based on his triple axiom: the Bible is the word of God; the Bible represents truth; the Bible must be taken literally before it can be interpreted symbolically.”

“If the Bible is to be believed, miracles must be believed as well, and they can be explained only by God’s omnipotence, by His complete independence of nature and of matter. How can we establish the veracity of the Bible, which is threatened by the doubts placed in the miracle stories, and make it unchallengeable by the skeptics? Only by accepting creation ex nihilo, the greatest of all miracles.”

Wow, and wow. Leave it to a Middle Ages Jewish philosopher and a modern Jewish historian to hit the nail on the head. Ironically, they are giving us the principle reason young people (and people of all ages) are leaving our churches in droves.

The relationship-and-self-driven, narcissistic, lights-and-laser-show programs of the modern American church are the antithesis of a New Testament church, and therefore, of reality itself. Modern Christian leadership in America has, by and large, either capitulated to liberal scholarship, or has turned to smarmy and ultimately pointless programs that have nothing to do with teaching the Bible as the guide for life. They have let the attacks on the miracle stories of Scripture cut the guts out of faith for millions.

You might think I’ve digressed in this column, but I argue that I have not. For what is the return of the Lord if not the ultimate modern miracle? That cosmic return will tear open the fabric of time and space and provide a way of rescue for a planet that is coming apart at the seams.

He said a long time ago that when he builds up His people in their ancient land, He will come. That’s it. He will come. Again, Netanyahu, writing about Abravanel:

“His position is that the universe has been endowed by its Creator with the power to endure a limited time, at the end of which it must cease to exist.”

I’m not saying that the long-dead Abravanel, or the now 100-year-old Benzion Netanyahu believe exactly as modern, Bible-believing Christians do regarding present-day and future history. But I am saying that these ideas are shedding light on what is really going on in our world right now.

Here is a good link with lots of quotes from Ancient Jewish Rabbis. It's rather long but goes into great deal of explaining who Gog and Magog might be and how the United States is related. I'm not 100% on board with this particular presentation, but the historic facts are interesting.

The Identification from the Jewish Sages of “Gog from the Land of Mogog”.

I found this presentation of Tshuva (repentance) to be quite profound. It was written toward the end of the manuscript and I didn't want it to be missed.
_____________________

From all appearances, Tshuva (repentance and the act of repairing the damage) is a collective act that should be done by the Jewish people and by the Christians who are followers of that Jewish rabbi, Yahshua haMaschiach (Jesus the Messiah). The life of Yahshua was a life of complete interaction between His world and His Father in heaven. His life was to bring the “kingdom of God” into a living reality. His mission was, in the act of loving-kindness, to breech and repair the gap between the Hebrews and the gentile world and to restore the fragmented relationship between the inhabitants on this planet earth with the God of Israel, His Father in heaven.

Tshuva in Christian language is called the “the conviction of sin.” A person who has true Tshuva (repentance and reconciliation by repairing the damage) is at the threshold of an understanding of the Holiness of the God of Israel. When the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) stirs your consciousness and brings you into the presence of the Almighty One of Israel, you are not bothered about what others are thinking about you. You are profoundly concerned about your relationship with God. As spoken by the Psalmist:

Psalms 51:4 – “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight.”

The foundation of Christianity as given to us by Yahshua is repentance followed by unconscious holiness. The wonder of the whole pathway of the tshuva (repentance) and the conviction of sin, forgiveness and holiness are completely interwoven together. Out of this tapestry the repentant and forgiven one becomes truly holy. The proof of his forgiveness by the grace of God is that his life has been profoundly transformed. He lives a life totally opposite of what he did before. His focus of life is how to be a friend and have a relationship with God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is surrounded by the merciful act of the Almighty One. The love that radiates from God through his life cascades to others like a fountain of living water. Is he holy in himself? No! He has given up the right to himself and has become transparent so that the love of the heavenly Father can radiate through him.

{snip}

So how do we as gentile Christians or maybe lost Israelites relate to the prophetic understanding of Gog from the Land of Magog as seen through the eyes of the mystics and sages of Judaism? It is their prophetic future that the prophets have written about. They are the actors on the stage of the final act of the Drama of the Ages. We may be the supporting staff. We might only be spectators of that final conflict surrounding the destiny of the Land of Israel and Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). Yet you and I will truly be global participants in the final call to honor the God of Creation, giving our firm affirmation that He is the God of Israel and that He will honor his holy Name by redeeming His people and this earth from evil.

My belief is that we are in the end times. In fact, I was discussing some of this stuff with someone a few months ago and it suddenly hit me that based on various factors I mentioned a few posts ago, it would appear that it will be pretty obvious to anyone paying attention by 2018 at the absolute latest, and it could happen at any time before that.
No, I’m not setting dates. That is why I use the phrase “it would appear”. I may be all wet, but it is a theory at this point.

One thing is for sure, nobody will know the day or the hour, but we are instructed to recognize when the harvest is near. I think it is, and based on a LOT of disparate information and indicators from political, to economic, cultural and even geological.

This could duplicate the testimony I once trumpeted to the world, if I changed one little word:

My belief is that we are in the end times. In fact, I was discussing some of this stuff with someone a few months ago and it suddenly hit me that based on various factors I mentioned a few posts ago, it would appear that it will be pretty obvious to anyone paying attention by 1975 at the absolute latest, and it could happen at any time before that.

No, I’m not setting dates. That is why I use the phrase “it would appear”. I may be all wet, but it is a theory at this point.

Bottom line:

Nearly 40 years later, I am still scrambling to recover the credibility I lost by my bizarre, extravagant pronouncements and behavior. My "testimony" so alienated my immediate family to the gospel that most are thorough secularists today.

Bad theology is a harsh taskmaster. Apocalyptic hysteria thrives during times of national and cultural uncertainty -- I saw apocalyptic hysteria abort the Jesus Movement, and wreak incredible damage to the testimony of individual believers then, and to the credibility of the gospel in general. We experienced a powerful and genuine move of God -- then saw it peter out into triviality. The only surviving cultural artifact is -- church services modeled on rock concerts: lead singer, backup vocals, guitar, drums, and synthesizer, followed by stand-up act. The collapse of the Jesus Movement was followed by Roe v. Wade and a flood tide of other baneful trends.

A pastor in my church has said, "O LORD, do it again -- and this time we'll know what to do." One thing we CAN do for the cause of Christ today is -- to resist apocalyptic hysteria.

I was 30 when the scales from my eyes, and I came to see that Jesus is Lord, not just my pet guru. And that He intends to impose His gracious reign upon the world around me, as well as upon the "universe" within me. You see, when Jesus failed to come down to earth in 1975, I had to -- but I'd missed a window of opportunity, and am still playing catch-up 35 years later.

AND God just dropped an insight into my soul, as I sat here trying to admonish and encourage you: Caleb and Joshua lost four decades of their lives to the timidity and disobedience of their peers -- then got back to their tasks as though nothing had happened. At 86, Caleb was just as potent as he'd been at the age of 46, and even had a young daughter to offer as a trophy wife.

RobRoy, I bow before the God we both love, and implore Him to open your eyes before you hit the age of 30, so that you can get with the program sooner, and go further, than you would dream possible.

The Khazars and The Jews

One of the tactics used by some anti-Christian Zionists is to say that most modern Jews are not true descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This errant theory is based upon wrong conclusions that they have drawn from the history of a medieval nation in which some converted to Judaism. Khazaria was a nation composed largely of Turkish stock that lived between the Black and Caspian Seas during the seventh to tenth centuries.[1] Some holding to replacement theology and many neo-Nazis are attracted to this theory in which they conclude that the Jews are not really Jews.

The Khazar Theory Stated

Replacement theology advocate James B. Jordan speaks of "the heresy of Christian Zionism."[2] He then declares, "that most modern Jews are not Jews at all: They are Khazars."[3] Jordan explains further:

"The Khazari race seems to lie behind the Ashkenazik Jews of Eastern Europe. This kind of assertion can, of course, be debated. The real problem in the discussion is the notion that Jewishness is a blood or racial phenomenon. It is not. Biblically speaking, a Jew is someone who is covenanted into the people of Jews by circumcision. . . .

All these people were Jew, but only a small fraction actually had any of Abraham's blood in them. . . . What this demonstrates is that covenant, not race, has always been the defining mark of a Jew."[4]

Another replacement theologian, John L. Bray, asserts that, "the pure fact is that many of the Jews of the world are not only not pure Jews, but not even Jews at all."[5]

"In addition to findings about the Khazar Jewish beginnings, we need to consider also that because of intermarriage, cross-breeding, etc.," declares Bray, "there is very little that can be called 'Jewish race' today."[6]

This particular instance of historical revisionism is used to conclude the Jewish people in Israel are not really the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and thus do not have a legitimate right to be there today. Not surprising this theory is very attractive to Arabs, Muslims, Holocaust deniers, skinheads, Nazis and too many within Christian circles who hold to replacement theology. It is a convenient way of dismissing the modern state of Israel. This belief teaches that the Jews are largely a people who are now extinct as an ethic people, therefore, it renders mute, in their minds, the issue of the Land of Israel as a future promise that will be fulfilled by God to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

This belief can have significant implications on a Christian's understanding of God's Word. Jordon wonders:

"Are Bible-believing Christians supposed to support a Jewish State, for theological reasons? Such is the assertion of Jerry Falwell, and of the heresy of Christian Zionism."[7]

Let us now examine the veracity of such claims.

The Kazhar Theory Examined

No informed person on these issues question the existence of a country in the Middle Ages named Khazar that converted to Judaism in the eighth century. However, it is still an unproved theory, as attractive as it may appear to some, lacking any scientific evidence that Ashkenazi Jews (about 85% of world Jewry) are primarily descended from the Khazars.

In 1976, Arthur Koestler (a communist, Jewish novelist) suggested this theory in his book The Thirteenth Tribe,[8] which was never taken seriously by linguists and most other scientists. This is why the most vigorous propagation of his views are usually found within the circles of propagandists who have an ideological axe to grind and not by the scientific community. Like the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, the forged document supporting a supposed Jewish world conspiracy, they so much want their theories to be true when they are not.

Many scholars on this subject believe that only the leadership of the Khazars converted to Judaism and some think that one of the reasons they converted is that many ofthe leaders were already Jewish, having immigrated there years earlier. When word got out that the nation of Khazaria had converted to Judaism we learn that many Jews, especially from the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world immigrated to Khazaria since Jews were commonly persecuted in those Empires. Thus,this immigration greatly increased the number of Jews in the nation and it was known to have a very large population of Jews in those days. Since Khazaria was about the only nation on earth at that time that practiced religious freedom, the nation had large populations of Christians, Muslims and pagans who never converted to Judaism. This would mean that the belief that thousands of Gentiles were added to Jewish bloodlines is simply not the case. The Jews of Khazaria appear to have had just as strong Jewish bloodlines as other Jews of their day.

When the nation declined and was conquered, the Jews fled to other countries and most of the population of Khazaria, which was not Jewish, either was killed in these battles, or converted to Islam and Christianity. Even though the Jews surely must have inter married with some Gentiles in Khazaria that does not invalidate their Jewishness any more than intermarriage that was practiced in the Old Testament did not invalidate their Jewishness. Jesus Himself had a number of Gentiles within His genealogical line, yet He was certainly Jewish. In the time of the New Testament these people were still known as Jews-the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It is the Bible that divides mankind into Jew and Gentile, denoting one's descent by birth. One may repudiate the religious aspects of Judaism, but they cannot escape the genealogical fact that they were born within the Jewish race. The Nazis during the Holocaust made little distinction between deeply religious Jews and secular Jews. They killed them all when they had the opportunity. The same is true today. The Arab Muslims kill Jews today whether they are religious or secular. It does not matter to them.

It takes great leaps of logic, which many anti-Semites are willing to make, to conclude that Koestler's theory has merit. This is evident when one considers that no one before Koestler's theory was put forth in 1976 had concluded that the Jews were not really descended from of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, this information about the Khazars had been known all along,especially by historians, but no one before Koestler had supposedly connected the dots. Just because someone like John Bray provides long quotes from many Jewish sources documenting the fact that Jews were indeed in Khazaria in the Middle Ages contributes nothing to prove the thesis that most of them were of Gentile origin. To think that requires too great a leapfrom the actual evidence to such a wrong headed conclusion. Koestler's theory is groundless and can be treated as nothing more than a casual theory with little or no foundation.

DNA and The Khazars

The opinion of historians and genealogists concerning the Khazars is now confirmed with the development of using DNA as a reliable way to analyze one's genealogical heritage. Kevin Alan Brook[9] is a leading researcher on the Khazars and tells us the following:

"We no longer need to relyon speculation. It is now a known FACT that German Jews mingled with other Jews when they came east. It is also clear that the ancient Israelites possessed those Y-DNA patterns that are found in common among Sephardic Jews, Ashkenazic Jews, Kurdish Jews, and Indian Jews, despite the fact that ultimately those patters may have earlier stemmed, in part, from somewhere in Kurdistan or Armenia or Iraq. The Middle Eastern Y-DNA patterns in the J and E haplogroups cannot be explained by Khazars. Some of the mt DNAevidence and Levite Y-DNA can be, however".[10]

Brook'soverall conclusion of Khazar origins is as follows:

"In summary, Eastern European Jews are descended from a mixture of German and Austrian Jews, Czech Jews, and East Slavic Jews. The East Slavic Jews may have roots in both the Khazar and Byzantine empires, hence necessitating our further study of Jewish life in those lands. But the largest, and most influential, proportion of Eastern European Jews came from Central Europe. By this analysis we can show that the dominate ethnic element among Eastern European Jews is Judean-the ancient Jewish people of Judea in the Middle East".[11]

Conclusion

The Khazar theory has been completely refuted by both scholarly research into the history of the Khazars and, more recently, by genetic evidence showing that Jews from all parts of the world are genetically closely related to Middle Eastern Jews and not so closely related to non-Jewish Russians, Eastern Europeans, or others from that region.

"Dr. Michael Hammer showed that based exclusively on the Y-chromosome (parental) shows that Ashkenazi Jewsare more closely related to Yemenite Jews, Iraqi Jews, Sephardic Jews, Kurdish Jews, and Arabs than they are to European Christian populations,"[12] notes Joel Bainerman.

True research on the matter reveals that only a tiny percentage of Jews have any descent through the Khazars. So it appears that the Khazar theory is just that, a theory, and not a very good one. It is safe to conclude that most of the Jews living today in Israel and still in the Diaspora are clear descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Maranatha!

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