Posted on 05/10/2007 1:33:20 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
Former President Jimmy Carter recently has stepped up his efforts to split the bonds between Evangelical voters and Israel. From The Jewish Week:
Wading into the delicate fray over the alliance between Jews and pro-Israel Evangelicals, former President Jimmy Carter last week reportedly said it was a mistake for Jews to accept such ties, and that he was working to convince Southern Baptists to change the way they look at Judaism and the Middle East.Christian Zionists can be better friends of Israel by challenging its government's policies, while accepting Judaism as a legitimate path to God, Carter told a group organized by Rabbi Michael Lerner in California last week, according to the rabbi.
"He said it was a terrible error for Jews to become allied with Christian Zionists who actually desire our conversion or burning in hell," Rabbi Lerner related in an interview Tuesday.
The alliance between Jewish and Evangelical Christian supporters of Israel has grown over the years. Evangelical support for Israel is often misunderstood and in some cases maligned-it comes often from the most noble of reasons. Regardless of one's views, this support has been very important.
The International Fellowship of Christian and Jews, headed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, has been in the forefront of building these links and raises many millions of dollars from Evangelical Christians to help Jews around the world who are in need. Christians United for Israel has become a politically influential voice for Israel around the nation. In an era during which Israel has lost support in many quarters, this support from Evangelical Christians should be welcomed. Yet, there are forces developing that are not attempting to erode this support. I wrote about this dynamic earlier in this article, "Splitting the Evanngelicals from Israel".
Carter is a demon possessed evil man...a wolf in sheep’s clothing and anyone who listens to him SHOULD go to hell (but that’s only MY opinion).
I hope he doesn’t mind the heat cuz I don’t think God wants to be anywhere near him in heaven...
By Judgement Day, it will be too late. What they do with Jesus while they’re yet alive is what counts toward their salvation. I wish they would be saved and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem every time I think of the Jews. God loved them no matter what. I’m reading Judges now and am amazed at how He continually rescues them after they did evil in God’s sight. That’s how much He loves them, then and now.
We’ll repent together. Now, one—two—three...
Ooh-kay!
His inner child is angry?
Come on, fess up. You're really Dr. Phil, aren't you? Currently lurking through FR in disguise...
Proverbs 16:27 An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
Proverbs 16:28 A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
When it comes to the demonic duty roster, I'm pretty sure that possessing Carter isn't exactly a plum assignment.
I'll pop for the pennies to put on his eyes. I just want to make sure that the S.O.B. doesn't come back!
Someone please throw a swamp rabbit at Jimmuh. This guy is absolutely the worst excuse for an American I have ever had the displeasure to be aware of. He should go build himself a house in the PA with a big sign on top that says, “IAF Strike Here”.
You know, something hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. The Priests and the Levites in Jesus’ time supposedly spent their time studying the Scripture, but when Jesus came they had no clue who was standing in their midst. They committed the ultimate blasphemy by accusing Him of blasphemy! So much for men's opinions!
Bill Bennett “Morning In America” bump!
Sheesh. This guy gets more blatant by the day. What next, Jimmy Carter’s Goose Step your way to fitness Video?
3 of the 6.
This made me laugh. Thank you. Maybe we should abbreviate it, though, it takes a long time to type.
Well, this Evangelical would like to see Carter split. Right. Down. The. Middle.
I think we’re saying similar things, with you being much more eloquent.
You said — “By Judgement Day, it will be too late. What they do with Jesus while they’re yet alive is what counts toward their salvation. I wish they would be saved and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem every time I think of the Jews. God loved them no matter what. I’m reading Judges now and am amazed at how He continually rescues them after they did evil in God’s sight. That’s how much He loves them, then and now.”
—
Certainly by the time someone shows up at the “Great White Throne Judgement” (Revelation 20), then it is definitely too late. That’s for the final judgement. That takes place about 1,000 years after Christ has returned to earth and has been in His Millennial Reign, the Kingdom of God on this earth.
But, there is another event at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ (a 1,000 years earlier than the Great White Throne Judgement), in which “national Israel” — all those Jews who are alive at that particular time) will *all* be saved, because they immediately recognize Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, as He is returning at that moment.
However, even though “all Israel” will be saved at that time — for the last 7 years *prior* to that time — about 2/3 of Israel was killed. What is left, is that “remnant” and that represents just 1/3 of Israel, when Jesus returns, setting up the Kingdom.
Thus, those 2/3 who perished, of those, whoever did not accept Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, before they perished, would be lost forever at that point in time.
So, there are several things going on around this time period.
And since no one knows whether they will personally (individually) survive, or be one of those 2/3 who will perish, one cannot count on being alive to welcome the return of the Messiah at that time. If they “guess wrong” and they perish first, while thinking that they will, instead — “wait and see first” — then that would be a big mistake for them.
That’s why it’s important for all of them to know about the true Messiah of Israel, along with all the Gentiles, too.
—
In terms of what it actually represents, in that God goes to such extreme measures to save Israel and also to have preserved it over the many, many centuries — is not simply love. Of course, He did love the entire human race, enough to reach out to us all, first, in offering the Savior, the Messiah of Israel for a sacrifice and a payment for our sins, even though we did not necessarily want it. That’s true for all, Jews and Gentiles.
However, with Israel, the reason why God preserves it and has protected it so much, as He has — is basically God chose them to *show the world* who He was and to use them for that example. That’s a *negative* and a *positive* example.
And since God had already declared what He would do in showing who He was (to the world) through the people He picked (namely the Jews) — God was simply keeping to His word — primarily, as His *highest goal*. In other words, God’s honor and righteousness and holiness is *paramount* — above all else, including who Israel is — simply because God’s word stated what He was going to do and He would always remain true to His word, regardless of who Israel was.
In fact, God tells Israel that they are actually “nothing special”. He says that He did not pick them because of any special attributes that they had. He simply picked them as a “chosen people” to be the “display” to the world of who *God* was (and is) — and not who Israel was (and is).
Even though He loves Israel, He loves them as much as He does the rest of the world. God’s main concern is to show Himself righteous and holy and that what He says is going to be — *will be* — just as He says.
Israel’s evil deeds (or their good deeds) have nothing to do with God’s holiness or righteousness, or His plan of Salvation. He accomplishes that, in spite of Israel — not *because* of Israel.
Israel does have a special place in God’s plan and we recognize that. However, it’s only because God picked them to be the example, to show that God can *sovereignly pick* anyone — as much as He picked Israel. This shows much more about God, than it does about Israel.
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