Why America Must Support Israel’s Right to Their Land

TEXT: Nehemiah 2:20 = Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

INTRODUCTION:  Today, as never before in history, the attention of the world is focused upon the Middle East. Our nation is embroiled in a War on Terror – against a people and a religion (Islam) – whose goal is to conquer the world. The controversy stems from the Arab’s hatred for the Jews.  They don’t even pretend to hide it!! It is difficult for a reasonable-thinking person to imagine a religion that calls for the extermination of another people, yet the President of Iran is only the latest fanatical Muslim that has done just that!! 

We Americans have only in the last few years come face-to-face with the realization that the Muslims hate Christians and Americans (any non-Muslim) just as much as they hate the Jews!! Make no mistake about it --- if our military does not find and destroy these killers (OR our missionaries do not find and convert them) they will continue to seek more and effective ways to destroy us…

            Seemingly… Supposedly… at the very heart of this conflict is the question regarding who owns the land of Israel? 

Since Israel became a nation in May of 1948, and the Arabs attacked Israel; (consequently) about 400,000 Arabs were displaced into refugee camps (BY THEIR OWN FELLOW-ARABS).

The Muslims have used the plight of these so-called displaced “Palestinian” peoples as an excuse to wage “jihad” against Israel and all who support her.

            Most people have no clue about the truth of this “Palestinian” situation. 

How many of you know that in 1922 the League of Nations gave Great Britain the oversight over an area called Palestine – which was designated by the League of Nations to become a new Jewish homeland?   Did you know that this new Jewish homeland included ALL of modern Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, & Gaza?

How many of you know that in 1923, (just one year later) in response to Arab demands for their own separate nation, the British divided this area called "Palestine" into two administrative districts? Jews would be permitted only west of the Jordan River. In effect, the British "chopped off" 75% of the originally proposed Jewish Palestinian homeland to form an Arab Palestinian nation called Trans-Jordan (meaning "across the Jordan River"). This territory east of the Jordan River was given to Emir Abdullah (from Hejaz, now Saudi Arabia) who was not even an Arab-"Palestinian!" This portion of Palestine called “Trans-Jordan” was renamed "Jordan" in 1946. Today’s country of Jordan IS the separate Arab state that the Palestinian Arabs asked for!  Did you know this?

            How many of you know that after Israel’s War for Independence in 1948 those Arab “Palestinian” refugees were actually put into refugee camps in territory owned by Arab countries? The West Bank and Gaza strip were owned by Jordan for the 1^st 19 years (1948-1967) – yet the Arabs (NOT the Israelis) would not allow these refugees to have their freedom (again, NOT the Israelis)!! 

The Palestinian refugees are the only refugees since WWII who have not been allowed to assimilate back into their own society.

The truth is:

• The real issue is not just the land. The Muslims want world power and they are possessed with a burning hatred for Jewish people.
• The “Palestinian refugees” have been used pawns by Arab leaders bent on destroying Israel.
• The Arabs do NOT want a separate state “living side-by-side in peace”. They want to annihilate the Jewish people!! They will not be satisfied as long as there is any nation called “Israel”.

A FEW EXAMPLES:

*  Hamas Leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a surgeon, expressed Islam's sentiment, "From our ideological point of view, it is not allowed to recognize that Israel controls one square meter of historic Palestine." In view of Islam's passions to destroy Israel, "peace" plans are a joke!

*  Muhammad's command that all Jews must be killed is not an obscure teaching which one must search to find. This declaration is continually repeated in Mosques and on Muslim radio and TV. This theme is prominent in publications officially distributed by Ministries of Education in Muslim lands.

*  For example, in Jordan, a book used in the first year of high school declares, "Israel was born to die. Prove it."

*  A book for the second year of Junior High in Damascus declares: "The Jews are vile, greedy, enemies of mankind."

*  In Syria, a 5th grade book boasts: "We shall expel all Jews from all Arab countries."

*  In Egypt, a textbook for the first year of junior high urges students: "The Arabs do not cease to act for the extermination of Israel."  A 9th- grade textbook declares: "Israel shall not live if the Arabs stand fast in their hatred.... Even if all the human race and the devil in hell conspire to aid her, she shall not exist."

*  Textbooks in Syria today lead pupils to the "inevitable conclusion...that all Jews must be annihilated."

*  Calls for annihilation of Jews still resound throughout the Muslim world, such as the Friday sermon in Gaza's Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan mosque on Oct 14, 2000: "Have no mercy on the Jews...kill them...and those Americans who...established Israel here, in the beating heart of the Arab world...."  That very day, two Israeli reservists took a wrong turn into Ramallah and were literally torn apart by a frenzied mob--an event that was cheered when the grizzly details were shown on Palestinian T.V.

NOTE: The hatred and fanaticism of the Muslim world is absolutely demonic!!  (In my research in the past two weeks, I witnessed videos of Muslim terrorists torturing and beheading “infidels” – it was unbelievably sickening!!)

By the way… the Palestinians cheered when the twin towers fell on 9/11 -- and so our government rewarded them with $100 million of our tax dollars to start their new “state”!!!!!

(The truth is…) The Arabs want to steal the land that God gave to the Jewish people!!!

(INTRODUCTION)  In our text in Nehemiah 2:20, Nehemiah makes a strong, bold, conclusive statement: “…ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.”

To whom is Nehemiah referring?  His 3 arch-enemies = Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem

Who were these people?

Sanballat         = a Moabite

Tobiah             = an Ammonite

Geshem           = an Arab

By what authority did Nehemiah say this?  Was he correct?  How do we know?

You see, the Arabs will argue that they DO INDEED have a right to claim the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem…. They claim….

            …that they are also the descendants of Abraham (through Ishmael)

…that; therefore, they also are part of the covenant God made with Abraham (They will tell you that Ishmael was circumcised on the day God made His covenant with Abraham – and Isaac wasn’t even born yet.)

…that since Israel sinned against God, their promises are nullified and given to Abraham’s other children

            …that since Mohammed was a descendant of Ishmael, that this strengthens their legitimate claim to the Promised Land.

BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!   (How do we know?)   Well… let’s examine what the Bible says…

Here are 10 key points to remember when discussing the issue of Israel & the Palestinians:

I.                   The land of Israel belongs to God, and He has the authority to give it to whomever He pleases.

Leviticus 25:23 = The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

A.    God alone determines what rights any of us have!

B.     Whatever is right is right – because God ordains it so; not because of what man says or thinks.

C.     God is the only One Who can give any land to anyone!

II.                The land of Canaan was renamed “Israel” by the Lord and was given by God to Abraham and his “seed” as an everlasting possession.

Genesis 12:7a = And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land:

Genesis 13:15 = For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever

Genesis 15:18 = Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

NOTE: Thereafter Canaan was known as the land of Israel, which it is called 31 times in Scripture. 

In history, this land was never called “Palestine” until the Romans invaded in 135 AD. Even afterwards, there has NEVER been a nation, kingdom, or government known as “Palestine”.

III.             This gift of land to Abraham was based on an unconditional covenant with God.  It cannot be nullified.

Genesis 17:8a = And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;

Psalm 89:30-37 --- verse 34 plainly states that God’s covenant would not fail EVEN if He had to chastise His children because of their sin.

Jeremiah 31:35-36

I Chronicles 16:15-19 – God’s covenant to Israel was an “everlasting” covenant!!

                        NOTE: God chose Israel to be His chosen people for three basic reasons:

1.)    to show the world the blessing of worshipping the one true God

2.)    to receive, record, and transmit the Word of God

3.)    to be the family through which the Messiah would be born

IV.             The Bible specifically teaches that the covenant (and promises – including the land) would pass through Isaac’s seed; and not any other son of Abraham (specifically Ishmael).

Genesis 17:18 = Abraham pleads for God to allow Ishmael to be the promised seed = “….O that Ishmael might live before thee!”

Genesis 17:19 = God answers, “No”, the covenant would go through Isaac!!

Genesis 17:20 = God’s promises for Ishmael = 12 sons and a great nation

NOTE: The Bible is very clear that Isaac would be the recipient of the Abrahamic covenant and the land; NOT Ishmael:

Genesis 26:1-4

Genesis 28:1-4

Psalm 105:9-11

Hebrews 11:18 = Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Romans 9:6-7

Galatians 4:22-31

HISTORY OF THE MODERN ARABS AND PALESTINIANS:

Who are these people we refer to today as “Arabs”?  From where did they come?  Did they all come from Abraham – through Ishmael?  (NOTE: That’s the lie the Arab world would have us to believe…)

It is an error to believe that ALL Arabs are descendants of Ishmael.  (Even fundamental preachers, like me, have liked to blame Abraham’s impatience in his relationship with Hagar for all the problems in the Middle East today.)  HOWEVER, there are numerous lines of origin of the people known today as Arabs.

In today’s world, it is a mistake to identify all peoples who speak “Arabic” as Arabs. It is also a mistake to equate all Muslims as Arabs.  Many, many tribes and even whole nations had the Arabic language and the Muslim religion forced upon them. There are even Chinese Muslims!

There are at least 8 different original lineages of the people known as “Arabs” today.

1.)    Some Arabs are descendants of Shem who originally settled in Arabia.

A.    They are known as pure Arabs

B.     They were the sons of Joktan!  (Genesis 10:25-26)

1.              Joktan was one of the sons of the patriarch Eber (Abir in Arabic), mentioned earlier as father of the Hebrews (Gen 10:25)

2.              Arab scholars consider this Joktan the ultimate forefather of the southern Arabs, those living on or near the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula.

3.              One of Joktan's 13 sons was Jerah (in Arabic, Yarab), mentioned in Genesis 10:26. Jerah is believed to have founded the kingdom of Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

2.)    Some Arabs are descendants of the original Canaanites.

A.    There were people in the land of Canaan long before Abraham came there!!  Its early inhabitants were Kenites, Kenizites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizites, Rephaims, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites (Gen 15:19-21).

B.     The original inhabitants of Canaan were from Noah’s son, Ham; NOT from Noah’s son, Shem.  (Remember: Abraham’s family came from Noah’s son, Shem.)

1.              Traditionally, it is held that Ham was one of the sons of Noah who moved southwest into Africa and parts of the near Middle East, and was the forefather of the nations there.

2.              The Bible refers to Egypt as "the land of Ham" in (Psalms 78:51; 105:23, 27; 106:22; 1Ch 4:40). The Hebrew word for Egypt was Mizraim (probably literally meaning the two lands), and was the name of one of Ham's sons.

C.     The Canaanites were cursed because of what Ham did to his father, Noah

WHAT DID HAM DO TO HIS FATHER?

According to Genesis 9:20–25, Ham somehow defiled his father and Noah cursed his grandson, Canaan – saying that he would serve the descendants of his uncles, Shem & Japheth.  (Possibly, according to the same wording in Leviticus 20:11, Ham had sexual relations with Noah’s wife – and this is why the future child, Canaan, was cursed.)

There is much controversy over what is “the curse of Canaan”. Some erroneously claim it was black skin; others say it was a propensity toward shameless immodesty, others claim that is was future servitude (slavery). We do know however… This curse was connected to the conquest of Canaan by Israel. From a Biblical standpoint, the conquest of Canaan is an instance of fulfilled prophecy.

The people of Canaan were displaced by the Jews.  God gave the Jews the land of Canaan because of the curse placed upon Ham’s son, Canaan.

Palestinians today insist that they inhabited the land of Canaan before God gave it to Israel. But they are either seriously misinformed or willfully ignorant.

3.)    Some “Arabs” are descendants of the Philistines

A.    Some of the modern Palestinians claim to be descendants from the Philistines.

B.     The Philistines were Phoenicians, who were also the descendants of Ham.

C.     They were ship-building people who lived near the sea.

D.    The Philistines were more closely related to the Greeks. They did not speak Arabic.  They had no connection (ethnic, linguistic, cultural, or historical) with Arabia or Arabs.

E.     Two main groups of Phoenicians migrated to the coast of Israel:

1.              The first group came from Asia Minor (Turkey)

2.              The second group came from Crete and other islands of the Mediterranean

3.              Goliath was most likely from Crete – and he was NOT an Arab!!

4.)    Some Arabs are descendants of Lot’s daughters: Ammonites and Moabites

A.    Ammonites = They lived east of the Jordan River in modern-day Jordan.

1.              Their land was specifically withheld from Israel as an inheritance for them (Deuteronomy 2:19)

2.              This was fulfilled in 1923.

B.     Moabites = They lived on the east side of the Dead Sea below (south) the Ammonites.

1.              The Moabites seemed to have been much more settled than the wandering Ammonites.

2.              The Bible refers to 45 different place names in Moab.

3.              The Edomites lived south of them.

5.)    Some Arabs are descendants of Abraham’s 6 sons by his wife, Keturah (Genesis 25:2)

HISTORY:  Did you know that Abraham had 6 other sons besides Ishmael and Isaac? (Genesis 25:2) What happened to Abraham’s other sons?

Genesis 25:1-6 = None of Abraham’s other children would inherit either!!!

A.    These 6 sons lived east of the Dead Sea in the Arabian Desert.

B.     These sons became the children of the East which would attack Israel in Judges 6:33

C.     They also became the Sabeans who stole Job’s cattle.

6.)    Some Arabs are descendants of Ishmael (Genesis 16:11-12; 17:20; 25:12-16,18)

A.    The Ishmaelites are thought to be the wandering Bedouin tribes who populated the North and West of the Arabian Peninsula

B.     The descendants of Shem populated the southern & middle portion of the Arabian Peninsula

C.     Esau married one of Ishmael’s daughters (cousins) (Genesis 28:8-9)

D.    At least some of Ishmael’s sons became known as Midianites (Gen. 37:25-28; 39:1, Judges 8:22-24

E.     Ishmael’s eldest son, Nabajoth, became a great tribe called the Nabataeans.

F.      Ishmael’s descendants NEVER lived in the land of Canaan

G.    Isaiah 60:6-7 refers to descendants of Ishmael that will exist in the end times:

Isaiah 60:6, The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah (son and grandson of Abraham by his second wife, Keturah); all they from Sheba (grandson of Abraham and Keturah-- probably Ethiopians and Yemenites) shall come: they shall bring gold (for which Ethiopia is well known) and incense (for which the Yemenites are famous); and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. (Psalm 68:31)  7 All the flocks of Kedar (a son of Ishmael) shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth (another son of Ishmael) shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar (which has never happened in all of history since Abraham), and I will glorify the house of my glory (by their worship).

KEY SIDE NOTE: Muslims claim that the Prophet Mohammed is a direct descendant of Ishmael. 

1. This cannot be proven.
2. Mohammed, himself, denied this as a fact.
3. All the evidence says “no” = his ancestors came from Yemen; not northern Arabia where Ishmael’s sons settled.

HISTORY NOTES: The family of Mohammed lived in Saba-Yemen. In the 5th century A.D., Qusayy Bin Kilab, the 8^th ancestor of Mohammed, gathered an alliance of many Yemeni families forming Quraish, the tribe from which Mohammed later came.  … Mohammed confessed that neither he, nor anyone else, knew about his ancestors beyond al-Nather bin Kinaneh. Nather bin Kinaneh is the 17th ancestor in the genealogy which Mohammed recognized as true.  In other words, Mohammed claimed to know about his ancestors for approximately 600 or so years, BUT that still leaves 2000 unaccounted years!

7.)    Some Arabs are descendants of Esau: called Edomites

A.    Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of pottage.

B.     Again, the consequences of this are with us to this day. The descendants of Esau (also called Edom, Genesis 25:30) intermarried with Ishmael's descendants, their bitterness and resentment against Jacob's descendants intensifying through the centuries.

C.     Esau's grandson, Amalek (Genesis 36:12) was the father of the Amalekites, who became bitter foes of the descendants of Jacob, the 12 tribes of Israel. A prophecy about Amalek foretold endless war between them "from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16).

D.    Some scholars believe that many of today's Palestinians are largely the descendants of the Amalekites.

HISTORY NOTES: After Jewish lands had been emptied by Nebuchadnezzar, the tribes of Arabia began to move northward. From their port city of Aila, (Aqaba) it was only a short move inland for the Nabatu to occupy the quickly emptying land of the Edomites, eventually making it the heart of the Nabataean Empire.

Although the chronology is not yet clear, it appears that some Edomites remained behind. Those that emigrated into Judeah became known as "Idumaeans." These were some of the people that opposed the Jews during the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem under Ezra; and the rebuilding of the city walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah.

8.)    Some Arabs are descendants of the peoples moved there by the Babylonians and Persians.

Who then are the Palestinians?  SHORT ANSWER: They are a mixture of all the above.

How did these mixed group of Arabs end up living in Palestine – so far from Arabia???

1. The vast majority of Israel was abandoned, desert wasteland during the 1800’s. 

2. Zionists pioneers immigrated there in the late 1880’s.

1.      These early Zionist pioneers began draining the malaria-infested swamps and plowing the land! They began to turn the desert into a garden!!

2.      In doing so, these Jews created the economic opportunities and medical availabilities which attracted Arabs from both surrounding territories and far-away lands!

3. Today’s Palestinians are immigrants from the surrounding nations who came seeking work amongst the Zionist pioneers.

1.      Most of the Arabs in "Palestine" were interlopers and squatters originating from Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Christians from Greece, Muslim Sherkas from Russia, Muslims from Bosnia, and the Jordanians next door -- and other lands who simply took possession of pieces of land. (So much for their unfounded claims that they have been there since "time immemorial!")

2.      Many of them were social outcasts and criminals who could not find jobs in their own countries so they searched for their luck elsewhere. 

3.      In fact, over 90% of the Arabs migrated there within the last one hundred years. 

HISTORY NOTES: Joan Peters in her book "From Time Immemorial" tells us that the return of the Jews in 1800's and early 1900's created jobs and Arabs from impoverished areas were drawn into the Holy Land for work. Peters also tells us that in 1948 so many Arabs were new to the area and could not qualify for the UN requirement for refugee status (people forced to leave "permanent" or "habitual" homes) that they added a clause permitting refugee status for Arabs who had been there as little as two years.

4. After 1922, when Great Britain took control of this areas they called “Palestine”, the immigration laws and patterns changed drastically!!

1.      From the late 1880’s to 1922, there came a great number of Jewish immigrants into this land. Thousands of Jews began to return to create a new homeland.

2.      However, during the British Mandate (even well into the 1940s after the Holocaust became public knowledge), Arabs were allowed into "Palestine" in huge numbers without visa or passport, especially from the Hauran District of Syria, while the British continued to do everything possible to prevent Jews from entering, even down to the last minute when all attempts were made to deny entry to thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis!!

NOTE: The British allowed these modern “Palestinians” to set up their tents in colonial Palestine so they could be used as a cheap source of labor for the citrus industry.

3.      Only in 1948 were Jewish refugees allowed free entry to their homeland, and that was because Israel had, once again, become an independent nation.

CONCLUSION FROM HISTORY: There has never been a civilization or a nation referred to as "Palestine" and the very notion of a "Palestinian Arab nation" having ancient attachments to the Holy Land going back to time immemorial is one of the biggest hoaxes ever perpetrated upon the world!

There is not, nor has there ever been, a distinct "Palestinian" culture or language. Further, there has never been a Palestinian state governed BY Arab Palestinians in history, nor was there ever a serious Arab-Palestinian national movement until 1964... three years BEFORE the Arabs of "Palestine" lost the West Bank [Judea and Samaria] and Gaza  as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War (which the Arabs started). 

Even the so-called leader of the "Palestinian" people, Yasser Arafat, was EGYPTIAN!

In short, the so-called Arab "Palestinians" are a manufactured mixed-bred people...a people with no history and no authenticity... whose sole purpose for existence is to destroy the Jewish State!

V.                The land and the Covenant were passed down through Isaac’s son, Jacob, and NOT to Isaac’s son, Esau  (Genesis 28:4, 13-15 and Genesis 36:6-9)

(See Notes Above)

A.    Jacob received the birthright from his father

B.     Esau sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup

VI.             God gave Israel permission (and commandment) to conquer the previous inhabitants of Canaan (i.e. the Canaanites)

Joshua 3:10 = And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

God described the boundaries of the Promised Land to Joshua

Joshua 1:4 = From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

                  Genesis 15:18, Exodus 23:31, and Numbers 34:3-12 ALL describe the exact boundaries of Israel.

VII.          Israel’s sin and subsequent exile from the land did not nullify God’s unconditional covenant

Leviticus 26:40-45, Deuteronomy 30:3-5, and Amos 9:14-15

A.    Israel has a Divine right to Canaan land

B.     The proper name is “Israel”; NOT “Palestine”  (Ezekiel 37:11-12)

HOW DID THE NAME “PALESTINE” GET STARTED??  In AD 135, the Jews revolted the 2^nd time against the Romans. The Emperor Hadrian wanted to humiliate the Jews and make a statement to the world that the Jews had lost their rights to the land forever – so he re-named the land, “Palestinia” (in reference to the Philistines, Israel’s arch enemy).  Hadrian renamed Jerusalem “Aelia Capitolina” and passed a law that no Jews could live there – and they could only enter the city once per year to mourn their loss (on the 9^th of the Hebrew month, Av).

                        IN FACT:  The British named this modern area, “Palestine” in 1922.

BY THE WAY: The word “Palestinian” always referred to Jewish things before 1967. 

FOR EXAMPLE: The “Palestinian Brigade” of World War II was a group of Jewish fighters – NOT Arabs. 

BY THE WAY… Arabs fought against the U.S. in WWI, and they at first collaborated with the Nazis at the beginning of WWII, BUT promises of their own land and threats to form a Jewish nation prompted them to join the Allies during WWII.

DID YOU KNOW?? The Arabs refused to be called “Palestinians” because of its reference to Jews.  In 1937, an Arab leader testified to the British Peel Commission, “There is no such country as Palestine.  “Palestine” is a term the Zionists invented.”

HISTORY:  The media always highlights the plight of the “Palestinian refugees” --- BUT… How many of you are aware that a far greater number of Jews were expelled from the new area of TransJordan when it was formed in 1923 AND from Arab nations during the War in 1948?  In both instances…All Jews were expelled from these Arab countries and all Jewish property was destroyed or confiscated!!

VIII.       Israel’s restoration is a modern-day miracle and fulfillment of Bible prophecy! 

Isaiah 11:11-12 = And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.  And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Study about Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37.

HISTORY LESSON:

1. Israel first became a nation in 1,312 B.C. (2000 years before Islam), and since then Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital.
2. In 586 B.C., the first Jewish temple (on today's Temple Mount) was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer, king of Babylon.
3. In 70 A.D., it was the Roman Empire's turn to conquer Israel and destroy the second Jewish Temple, slaughtering or driving out much of the Jewish population.
4. Over the next 1,878 years - the Diaspora - various peoples, religions and empires, including Christian crusaders, the Ottomans and, briefly, the British marched through Jerusalem. None was interested in building a nation there.
5. Included in these "invaders" were the Arabs. In 636 A.D., Arab marauders came to the land and uprooted many Jews, but they did not form an Arab nation, certainly not a "Palestinian" nation.
6. No nation, other than ancient Israel and the reborn nation of Israel in 1948 has ever reigned as a sovereign national entity in the land of Canaan.
7. Modern Israel is a miracle. This tiny nation is the fourth-greatest military power in the world.
8. In November 1947, the U.N. General Assembly voted to partition the British mandate of Palestine into two territories that were envisioned as future states - one predominantly Jewish, the other Arab. Six months later, on May 14, 1948, hours before the British withdrew, the state of Israel was proclaimed and immediately recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union.
9. At that moment, the Palestinians (again) had a territory designated for a creation of their state. If reason had governed, two small nations might have thrived as neighbors at peace. But it was not to be.
10. On May 15, one day after Israel's declaration of statehood, the Arab regimes of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria set their armies in motion with the stridently declared objective of driving the Jews into the sea. History shows they failed.
11. The Arabs had 250 million people; Israel, 3 million. The Arabs had 1.5 million square miles of territory; Israel, 7,500 square miles.
12. The Arabs failed again in 1956 at Suez.
13. The Arabs failed yet again, even more decisively, in the Six Day War of 1967, which ended in humiliation, especially for Egypt, whose soldiers threw down their weapons and fled on foot back across the Sinai, with some 10,000 perishing in the retreat.
14. The final failure was in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began with an Egyptian and Syrian attack on Oct. 6, the Hebrew Day of Atonement and the 10th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
15. After four wars and tens of thousands of Arab and Israeli deaths, the Arab states had enough. In a series of historic blunders, they ensured the Palestinians' continued statelessness. Having spent lives and treasures to no point, Egypt and Jordan agreed to peace.
16. The Israelis did not take any land from the Palestinians, but won land in battle from the Arab nations who had attacked them. Consequently there are absolutely no “occupied territories”!

IX.             Israel is still God’s chosen people and there is a blessing promised for those who will support them.

Genesis 12:1-3

Why should we support Israel’s claims to the land?

1. Because of God’s promises to Abraham
2. Because of God’s proclamation to the Jews regarding the end times
3. Because of God’s power exhibited on the Jews’ behalf

HISTORY LESSON: America has not always been a very pro-Jewish country!!  Anti-Semitism was rampant in America in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

EXAMPLES:

1. There is a special Jewish cemetery in Petersburg beside Blandford Cemetery (because Jews could not be buried with everyone else)!!
2. Leading fundamentalists of the 1920’s and 1930’s, such as Arno C. Gabelein, wrote many books that were anti-Semitic. They regarded Hitler’s discriminatory policies against Jews as part of God’s judgment on the Jews.
3. Other fundamentalist leaders of the pre-War era, while not anti-Semitic, attempted to maintain neutrality on the issue of Hitler’s persecution of Jews.  Even after it was known that Jews were being exterminated, America refused to allow increased immigration of Jewish people from Europe.

America had best be very careful about turning against Israel!!!

Almost all of the rest of the world is either indifferent toward Israel or hostile toward Israel.

The United Nations and Israel

1. The U.N. admitted the State of Israel in 1948.
2. Since then, of the 175 U.N. Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel.
3. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.
4. The U.N. was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.
5. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
6. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
7. Israel is the only member of the U.N. that is not permitted membership to the security council.
8. Israel has never been permitted membership of the International Red Cross.

 X.        Israel and the future

Acts 1:6 = When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Is God going to one day restore the kingdom of Israel??  YES   (Isaiah 2:2-4)

A.  God has not forgotten His chosen people, Israel.

B.  God will deal with Israel for 7 more years.

            What will happen to the Jews in Israel??? 

C.  Before the Kingdom, during the last ½ of the Tribulation Israel will experience yet another future holocaust…  Zechariah 13:8-9

            D.  However, God promises that a remnant of Jews would escape and have an opportunity to accept Christ when He comes to set up His kingdom.

Does this mean that since Jews are God’s chosen people that they will all be saved OR are already saved?  NO

Because God promises that there will be a remnant of Jews that escape this persecution, does this mean we have no obligation to win Jews to Christ now?  ABSOLUTELY NOT

Since we know that 2/3 of the Jews will perish under the antichrist, we MUST seek to win them to Christ at any cost!!

CONCLUSION: 

1. The name "Palestine" is mentioned four times in the Bible, not once in the Koran. The name "Jerusalem" is mentioned 767 times in the Bible, not once in the Koran.
2. The land belongs to Israel.
3. Jews are still God’s chosen people
4. America MUST always support the rights of Israel to live peacefully in her land.
5. Christians MUST do everything possible to win Jews to Christ.

Pastor’s Note: Please understand that these notes were derived from hours of research. Many books, articles, and websites were consulted and many of the ideas are borrowed from others. Although I have attempted to give credit for direct quotes, other footnotes may have been unintentionally omitted. I have not knowingly attempted to steal anyone’s material. Please use these notes with the understanding that many of the ideas are not original to me.