Is Modern Israel a Fulfillment of Prophecy?
by Samuele Bacchiocchi
From the January 2010 Signs
Many evangelical Christians believe the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies about the restoration of Israel to its homeland and that this in turn reveals the nearness of the rapture, the Tribulation, and the return of Christ. Hal Lindsey asserts that the political restoration of Israel in 1948 is “the most important prophetic sign to herald the era of Christ’s return.”
Israel’s establishment as a nation is indeed a most remarkable event, and it is not surprising that many Christians and Jews see in it a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Let’s examine some of these prophecies to see what they say. Two in particular stand out.
First is God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherit Palestine forever. “ ‘All the land that you see,’ ” God said, “ ‘I will give to you and your offspring forever,’ ” and “ ‘the whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God’ ” (Genesis 13:15, emphasis added; 17:8, emphasis added).
Second is God’s promise to David: “ ‘ “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” ’ ” (2 Samuel 7:16). God repeated this promise to David’s son Solomon, who succeeded him as king, adding, “ ‘ “You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel” ’ ” (2 Chronicles 7:18; see also Jeremiah 33:17, 20–26).
Promises are conditional
There is no question that God wanted Israel to live in Palestine forever and that His plan was for David’s dynasty to continue unbroken forever. However, His promise was conditional on Israel’s obedience to His covenant requirements. The promise to Abraham and his descendants was not only that they would inherit the land forever but also that He would be their God. And later God said to Abraham, “ ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come’ ” (Genesis 17:9).
The conditional nature of God’s promises is perhaps best stated in Jeremiah 18:9, 10, where the Lord declares, “ ‘If . . . I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.’ ”
God’s promise to David and Solomon that their dynasty would be established forever and that they would never lack one of their descendants to sit on the throne of Israel was clearly conditional on obedience. Israel was not a kingdom for most of the past two millennia, nor has it had a descendent of David as its king since the captivity by the Babylonians 600 years before Christ!
The claim that modern Israel’s restoration as a nation is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy completely ignores the principle that God’s promises are conditioned upon obedience. From a Christian perspective, Israel’s primary disobedience has been its refusal to believe in Jesus as the Messiah for nearly two thousand years.
Restoration in unbelief?
Those who view modern Israel as a fulfillment of God’s restoration promises appeal to certain Old Testament passages, which they say teach that the Jews are to be gathered back to their land in a state of unbelief, and only after their restoration will they accept Christ as the Messiah. One of these texts is Ezekiel 22:17–22, in which God says that “ ‘ “I [will] gather you in my anger and my wrath.” ’ ”
However, God’s “gathering” of the Jews in His anger and wrath refers not to a return to Palestine but to God’s judgment upon their disobedience, which took place at the time of the Babylonian invasion. The purpose of this gathering was for judgment, not restoration. Ezekiel 22:21 makes that clear. In that verse, God says, “ ‘ “I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst” ’ ” (NKJV).* There is nothing here about restoration to Palestine.
Another text that is often cited to support the return-in-unbelief view is Ezekiel 36:24, 25, “ ‘ “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.” ’ ” The fact that the promise of territorial restoration precedes the spiritual cleansing of the people in this passage is taken to mean that the Jews will return to Palestine in unbelief first and then they will be cleansed and redeemed.
A major problem with this interpretation is that it flies in the face of numerous other biblical statements in which God told the Israelites that He would restore them from their captivity by foreign nations when and if they repented (see, for example, Deuteronomy 30:1–5; Isaiah 1:27, 28; Ezekiel 20:39–42). Ezekiel’s words cannot contradict this basic premise.
Ezekiel did not say that God would re-gather the Israelites first and then cleanse them. He simply said that God would do two things for His people: He would both re-gather and cleanse them. Ezekiel did not specify the sequence of these events, nor did he hint that an undetermined length of time would separate them.
Historically, it was unbelief that prevented the Israelites from entering the land of Canaan shortly after their deliverance from Egypt (Numbers 14:23). If unbelief prevented the initial entrance into the land of Canaan, it can hardly be the condition for a return!
A future fulfillment
This is not to say that there can never be a future fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises to Abraham and His descendants. For one thing, it can hardly be disputed that the restoration prophecies were not completely fulfilled following the restoration of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Consequently, it is appropriate to look for a more complete fulfillment at a later time. However, in looking for a greater fulfillment, it is important to recognize that prophecies regarding Israel’s restoration can be fulfilled in two ways: literally and figuratively.
God’s territorial promise to Abraham’s descendants was fulfilled literally when the Israelites took over the land of Canaan following their exodus from Egypt. Joshua declared, “The Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. . . . Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:43, 45).
Also, the Old Testament prophecies predicting the restoration of the Jews to Palestine following their Babylonian captivity were literally fulfilled by the remnant of Jews who returned to Palestine under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
However, both God’s promise to give Canaan to Abraham’s descendants and His promise to restore Israel following the captivity in Babylon have also been fulfilled figuratively. Paul explained that the promises God “made to Abraham and to his seed” have been fulfilled through Christ, because He is the epitome of the true Seed of Abraham (see Galatians 3:16, 29).
This figurative fulfillment can be understood in two ways. First, it has been fulfilled for the past 2,000 years by the ingathering of Gentiles into the Christian church. This point is especially clear from a statement the apostle James made. James presided at a church council that met for the explicit purpose of deciding how to relate to the many Gentiles that Paul was bringing into the church on his missionary tours through Asia Minor (now Turkey) and Europe.
When the council seemed to have reached an impasse, James said, “ ‘Brothers, listen to me. Simon [Peter] has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return / and rebuild David’s fallen tent. / Its ruins I will rebuild, / and I will restore it, / that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, / and all the Gentiles who bear my name, / says the Lord, who does these things’ / that have been known for ages” ’ ” (Acts 15:13–18).
James here quoted a prophecy by the Old Testament prophet Amos regarding the restoration of David’s kingdom (see Amos 9:11, 12), which would bring about the ingathering of the Gentiles. He declared that this prophecy was being fulfilled through the ingathering of the Gentiles—not into literal Israel but into the Christian church. This is a clear example of a figurative New Testament fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy regarding the restoration of Israel.
The new earth
We see another figurative fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Israel to the Promised Land in the New Testament’s promise of the ultimate possession of the new earth by all of God’s people. Hebrews, for instance, explains that Abraham and his believing descendants saw the final fulfillment of the promise of the land of Canaan, not in a return to that land, but rather in reaching “a better country—a heavenly one” (11:15, 16). Consequently, Abraham, who had been promised the land of Canaan, “was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (verse 10).
This future city will be the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham that he would possess the land of Canaan forever. For embedded within Revelation’s description of the New Jerusalem and the new earth are words that are reminiscent of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants: “ ‘I will be their God’ ” (Genesis 17:8). Revelation says, “ ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’ ” (21:3, emphasis added). This promise will be fulfilled on the new earth for all the spiritual descendants of Abraham, both Jews and Gentiles.
Every believer in Jesus is an heir to the promise God made to Abraham regarding the land of Canaan. Even those who are not blood descendants of Abraham, if they are in Christ, are “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
The Rapture Cult – Its Power and Worldwide Influence -TD Jakes RSVP – Video
Posted by joeland7
The rapture theory is not Biblical and was founded as an Anti-Reformation tool of the Catholic Church. The purpose of the rapture theory was to destroy the reformation or control protestantism, recapture the Holy Land and establish the New Word Order and the One world government. The rapture theory has more to do with the racist, arrogant and diabolical concept of British Israel than anything pertaining to the Kingdom of God. The rapture theory is from the pits of hell, created by Luciferians, and promoted by agents of the prince of darkness.
Barbara Rossing said in her book The Rapture Racket,
” the Rapture is a fraud of monumental proportions, as well as a disturbing way to instill fear in people.
“Whether prescribing a violent script for Israel or survivalism in the United States, this theology distorts God’s vision for the world,” Rossing writes. “In place of healing, the Rapture proclaims escape. In place of Jesus’s blessing of peacemaking, the Rapture voyeuristically glorifies violence and war …. This theology is not biblical. We are not Raptured off the earth, nor is God.
Where did the rapture theory originate and why?
Reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Huss, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Bullinger and others had identified the Catholic Church as Mystery Babylon in Revelation and the Popes as the Anti-Christ. Millions of sincere Catholics were leaving the mother church and joining the reformation movement.. The church set out to neutralize and destroy the protestant movement.. What they could not do through brute force and the military inquisitions they did through political espionage, spiritual intrigue, and using mind control techniques by secret societies. Most of the books published on the rapture are brainwashing the readers mind. All of the books written by Tim Lahaye’s, John Hagee’s, Jack van Impe, Jerry Jenkins , John Walvoord and movies such as the Omega Code and Megiddo are design for mind control. This anti-protestant doctrine is taught in many universities and seminaries such as Dallas Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Assemblies of God, Zion Bible College, Moody Bible Institute, Global University, Liberty and Regent University and well as a host of other leading colleges and universities The rapture cult has the largest following than any cult in the US or Europe.
Why were sincere Catholics, priests and monks leaving the Catholic Church.?
People were leaving because of corruptions in the church. If one look at the Babylonian sun worship, and the present Roman Catholic Mass there are many similarities. Baal worship seem to have taken over the Catholic Church. The icon of the virgin mother and child with halos (representing the sun), Mary as the queen of heaven, (Isis – queen of heaven) confessionals, wafer worship, transubstantiation, and priests as exclusive mediators of God were all derived from the Satanic Babylonian religion. Roman Catholicism became a mixture of witchcraft, Judaism, paganism, and perverted Christianity. When this corruptions was exposed by the reformers, Rome was outraged, and staged Holy Inquisitions, design to rid the world of heretics. The Inquisition included torturing and murdering people who didn’t not agree with the Catholic views. Ten of thousands of people were killed and some historians even put the numbers in the millions. Later, in response to the Vatican’s oppressive dogma, Martin Luther, a former Augustinian monk, nailed his 95 theses to the wall of a church in Germany, heralding Protestantism. . The Vatican was shaken as Protestantism spreads rapidly through Europe. In order to stamp out the spiritual rebellion, Pope Paul III ordered Ignatius de Loyola to found the Order of Jesuits, which would act as the intelligentsia and secret militia of the Vatican. Loyola had already founded the occult Illuminati, which he then placed under the umbrella of the Vatican ” Ignatius a Merovingian Jew from Loyola Spain was a member of the Alumbrados before he founded the Illuminati and the Jesuits. The Merovingian Jews claim to be decedents of Jesus and Mary of Magdalene. Thus you have books and movies like DaVinci Code, Prieure de Sion, Passover Plot, Holy Blood Holy Grail, Bloodline of the Holy Grail, being produced and circulated by Hollywood Kabbalist movie studios and publishing houses controlled by the Illuminati. These books are blasphemous teachings design to nullify the true Gospel of Jesus. Many of the Popes, Cardinals, Bishops and Priest were Merovingian Jews whose agenda was to destroy true Christianity and pervert the true gospel.
The Jesuits Oath:
“I furthermore promise and declare that I will, when opportunity present, make and wage relentless war, secretly or openly, against all heretics, Protestants and Liberals, as I am directed to do, to extirpate and exterminate them from the face of the whole earth; and that I will spare neither age, sex or condition; and that I will hang, waste, boil, flay, strangle and bury alive these infamous heretics, rip up the stomachs and wombs of their women and crush their infants’ heads against the walls, in order to annihilate forever their execrable race. That when the same cannot be done openly, I will secretly use the poisoned cup, the strangulating cord, the steel of the poniard or the leaden bullet, regardless of the honor, rank, dignity, or authority of the person or persons, whatever may be their condition in life, either public or private, as I at any time may be directed so to do by any agent of the Pope or Superior of the Brotherhood of the Holy Faith, of the Society of Jesus.”It was when Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent that the church formally addressed the protestant reformation with edicts, dogmas and doctrines. A disciple of Ignatius, Francisco Ribera came up with a theory that would take the attention off the Pope as being the Anti-Christ and put it on some future individual. This was the beginning of the Rapture doctrine. The Jesuits infiltrated the protestant movement, developed protestant theology, and purposely mis interpreted scriptures relating to Bible prophecy. They also controlled the educational system and bribe and blackmailed governments of Europe and America to promote their agenda. Two other groups that were instrumental the origin and development of the rapture theory were the Knights Templars (Masons) and the Knights of Malta (Knights of Columbus).
Barbara Aho said in her article (The Merovingian Dynasty) “it was also the The avowed objective of the Templars was to protect the Christians who came to visit the Holy Places: their secret objective was the re-building of the Temple of Solomon on the model prophesied by Ezekiel.
“This re-building, formally predicted by the Judaizing Mystics of the earlier ages, had become the secret dream of the Patriarchs of the Orient. The Temple of Solomon, re-built and consecrated to the Catholic worship would become, in effect, the Metropolis of the Universe.”
In my up coming blog I will go into more detail about how the Jesuits and the Illuminati set about to implement the Rapture theory to achieve their goal.. Protestant churches, Evangelical seminaries, and bible talking and Bibleprobe preachers like Hagee, Impe, TD Jakes, Hagin,Copeland,Pat Robinson, C.Dollar, C.Blake, Billy Graham, and masons who promote the rapture have been seduced by Jesuits theology and manipulated by the kabbalist practitioners, thus they are part of the world-wide Anti-Christ conspiracy.
If you are reading this document, I strongly suggest you print it out because it would be taken off this web site by workers of the prince of darkness. May the Spirit of God lead you into all truth. God Bless.
'Christian warrior' terrorist militia accused in plot to kill police
Feds: Militia sought uprising
Feds: Militia not motivated by health care debate
Nightly News
(CNN) -- Nine people federal prosecutors say belong to a "Christian warrior" militia were accused Monday of plotting to kill a Michigan law enforcement officer and then attack other police at the funeral.
Six Michigan residents, two residents of Ohio and an Indiana resident were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit, Michigan, on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade and FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena announced.Read the indictment (PDF) The five-count indictment unsealed Monday charges that between August 2008 and the present, the defendants, acting as a Lenawee County, Michigan, militia group called the Hutaree, conspired to use force to oppose the authority of the U.S. government.
The indictment alleges that the Hutaree planned to kill an unidentified law enforcement officer in Michigan and then attack officers and others who would gather for the funeral. According to the plan, the indictment says, the Hutaree wanted to use improvised explosive devices to attack law enforcement vehicles during the funeral procession.
Full story
Benny Hinn Divorce: Wife Suzanne Hinn Files For Divorce From Televangelist
ORANGE, Calif. — The wife of televangelist Benny Hinn has filed for divorce from the high-profile pastor, whose reputation as an advocate of prosperity gospel has attracted millions of followers and criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups over his lavish lifestyle.
Suzanne Hinn filed the papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences, after more than 30 years of marriage. The papers note the two separated on Jan. 26 and that Hinn has been living in Dana Point, a wealthy coastal community in southern Orange County.
"Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice," Benny Hinn Ministries said Thursday in a statement. "Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice."
Hinn is one of the best known advocates of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that Christians who are right with God will be rewarded with wealth and health in this lifetime.
His TV broadcasts on the Trinity Broadcast Network, a Pentecostal broadcasting juggernaut, and other TV networks are seen by millions of people around the world nearly every day. He travels the globe in his ministry's plane, named Dove One, holding events he calls "Miracle Crusades" that include spiritual healings.
Hinn has never fully publicly disclosed how he spends the money he raises, but his vast ministry is believed to be a multimillion-dollar operation. There was no mention of finances in the court filing, which listed three recent Southern California addresses for the family.
Over the years, Hinn has been the target of intense criticism from fellow Christians and watchdog groups who call his teachings false and accuse him of raising money only to enrich himself.
He is one of six televangelists under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, over whether he complied with IRS rules for nonprofits. Hinn has said on his Web site that external auditors ensure his compliance with IRS regulations and that in 2008, 88 percent of the money he collected was spent on ministry.
Benny Hinn Ministries is based in Grapevine, Texas, and operates a church and television studio in Aliso Viejo in California's Orange County, according to its Web site.
Sorrell Trope, the attorney with the law firm representing Suzanne Hinn, did not return a call for comment. A woman at his office said the firm does not comment on divorce filings without the client's approval.
J. Lee Grady, contributing editor of Charisma, a news magazine on the Pentecostal community, said Hinn's divorce is the latest in a string of high-profile ministry divorces and moral failures among the Pentecostal leaders, beginning with Ted Haggard's fall from grace in 2006.
Haggard, who is married and has five children, admitted to receiving a massage from a male prostitute and buying drugs from him, but denied allegations he paid the man for sex.
Grady said in an e-mail Thursday that Hinn's followers will want an explanation for the divorce because of the high profile the couple had.
"It will be devastating to the people who have supported Benny Hinn's evangelistic work around the world," Grady said.
"Obviously because their ministry has been very public, they will need to issue a statement to their supporters to explain how this happened," he said.
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The Inquisition – A Pictorial History..
Historical Overview Of The Inquisition – Part 1
History Of The Roman Catholic Inquisition – Part 2
The Spanish Inquisition – An Overiew
“council of trent” …here is a selection taken from that meeting
Battle-Of-Armageddon
The Truth Of Antichrist
666 Mark of the Beast
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 1)
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 2)
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 3)
The Illuminati and the New World Order
(1) Amazing Prophecy | First Beast of Revelation 13!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_pgwn9og58&hl=en_GB&fs=1&]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYQmttkyO14&hl=en_GB&fs=1&]
Beloved above are false religious preachers, teachers and Theological Schools as well as publishing houses. Beware my friends and study to show yourself approve.
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- The Luciferian Rapture Cult - Its Power and World-wide Influence
- The Dome The Temple and the Rock of Ages - Billy Joe Daugherty dead at 57
- The Illumianti - 666 - Witchcraft and Masonry
The Inquisition – A Pictorial History..
Historical Overview Of The Inquisition – Part 1
History Of The Roman Catholic Inquisition – Part 2
The Spanish Inquisition – An Overiew
“council of trent” …here is a selection taken from that meeting
Battle-Of-Armageddon
The Truth Of Antichrist
666 Mark of the Beast
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 1)
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 2)
GOD SECOND COMING EVENTS (Part 3)
The Illuminati and the New World Order
(1) Amazing Prophecy | First Beast of Revelation 13!
Thomas Ice Head of the Pretrib-Luciferian Rapture Center