by Erwin Ortiz

What and where is the Promised Land?
Where is the Promised Land?
Who was it promised too?
To whom should the land belong?
Is the Promised Land a physical earthly place or a spiritual state of being?
Is the modern state of Israel the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?
Are the Jews "God's chosen people" and does God have a special plan for the Jews in Israel today?
Do the Jews have an exclusive right to the land called Israel?

The Promised Land (Hebrew: הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat) is a term used to describe the land promised by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites. The promise is made to Abraham and the descendants of his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, Abraham's grandson as they are all given promise that their descendants will be given a territory from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates River.

The Present

The 80 plus years Israeli/Palestinian conflict is without doubt the longest source of pain and tragedy and human suffering of recent times. Hundreds of thousands have been affected with death, violence, terrorism of all forms, both state and militant sponsored and there is no solution in sight. The main reason being the deep rooted religious beliefs that permeate the point of view of both the participants as well as the supporting agents on all sides. Both sides claim that God is on their side.

For the most part the western world, particularly the United States and to a slightly lesser degree the United Kingdom consistently and without reservation have offered and continue to offer unconditional support to the state of Israel in all its political and military decisions. This supports derives its power, inspiration and driving force from the Christian Zionism ideology based in a theological interpretation of the scriptures.

A political idea based on a particular view of the scriptures in this case has mutated into an intransigent, militaristic, belligerent and pro-ethnic cleansing movement with horrendous consequences for the Palestinians and making lasting peace an unreachable mirage for the Israelis themselves.

A very important component in the volatile mixture of this conflict is the Christian Zionist Movement, particularly in the United States. Their position is summarized as follow, in the Fourth International Christian Zionist Congress held in Jerusalem from February 19th to 22nd, 2001.

Biblical Zionism is the firm belief that God chose the Jewish people and bequeathed to them as an everlasting possession the Land of Canaan. . . . Christians must take courageous action to support the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel in all its parts. .

Christian Zionist using a literal form of interpretation in their reading of the scriptures use the promises of the Old Testament as irrefutable and uncontestable evidence that God gave the land of Palestine to the Jewish nation as an eternal possession. This obviously leads to the uncomfortable question of what to do with the current Arab population who has been there since the 7^th Century.

The Christian Zionist Paradox

Something that is almost always absent among the Christian Zionist adherents is the discussion on how to reconcile the slaughter, the ethnic cleansing and horrendous suffering that goes on while trying to create a “pure” state for only one group of people under Old Testament standards and the all encompassing loving message found in the Gospels. This is the dilemma that sits at the core of Christian Zionist Ideology. It cannot be put away or swept under the rug of excuses such as the land belongs to the Jewish nation.

A Paradigm Shift

I feel led to believe that the simplistic and literal interpretation of the Scriptures that has brought so much suffering to hundreds of thousands for almost 100 years now has to be abandoned and a new view that address all participant's needs and is based on a just solution is the only alternative to the madness. For those who want to see the conflict through the Holy Scripture and most important want to see a solution, this paradigm shift consists of abandoning all preconceived notions and most of all any righteous believe in our own personal thinking. This is of the utmost importance if we are to use God's Word as basis for actions that may have tremendous repercussion on the lives of millions. 1CO.2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

A New Testament Approach

I believe that Christian Zionism errs most profoundly because it fails to appreciate the relationship between the Old and New Covenants and the ways in which the latter completes, fulfills and annuls the former. It is fundamental that we read the Scriptures with Christian eyes, and that we interpret the Old Covenant in the light of the New Covenant, not the other way round. Here are just a few verses that should guide us in our hermeneutical approach to the Old Covenant. Stephen Sizer

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians. 2:16-17

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Hebrews 10:1

Interpreting God's Promises

In order to spiritually discern the scriptures we must remember that God's promises are conditional that is, depend on our obedience to His precepts. Obedience comes before the blessing. Obedience comes before the reward. Obedience comes before the anointing. You don't get the anointing to obey; you get the anointing because you obey. You get the faith to obey if you'll believe His Word. He will give you the faith to make that step of obedience & the moment you, because of faith, obey, and then you get the blessing & the anointing to carry on.

God's Promises

There are many promises in the Bible, both in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. With every promise God makes to us there are some conditions that we must fulfill. God makes promises, but His promises are contracts with conditions.

Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, yee shall eat the good of the land:

Isa 1:20 but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it.

Deu 8:19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other Gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

Deu 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deu 11:14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.

Deu 11:15 And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.

Deu 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:

Deu 11:27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;

Deu 11:28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other Gods, which ye have not known.

Mal 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Mat 10:13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

Preponderance of the Scriptures

Another very important point to remember is that the basics of the Christian faith are repeated throughout the Bible numerous times. In essence the preponderance of the Scriptures on any given subject gives us the assurances that we need,

2Ti 2:15) Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.

The Promised Land view from the preponderance of the Scriptures

So let us look again at the subject of the Promised Land through the above mentioned parameters. As a way of introduction we will study the 13^th Chapter of the book of Acts. You will notice that starting with verse 16, Paul recounts in brief the history of Israel to explain what has happened, and this new transformation of his religion and doctrine, "be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

(Act 13:26) Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth.

(Act 13:27) For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

(Act 13:28) And though they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain.

(Act 13:29) And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.

(Act 13:30) But God raised him from the dead:

Act 13:31) and he was seen for many days of them that came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses unto the people.

(Act 13:32) And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers,

(Act 13:33) that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Act 13:39 and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Act 13:41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish; For I work a work in your days, A work which ye shall in no wise believe, if one declare it unto you.

Act 13:42 And as they went out, they besought that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

Act 13:43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

A radical and new approach to the subject of the Promised Land.

In his writings the late David Berg used the above mentioned verses as follow:

And do not forget the words “those among you” in verse 26 Note also his condemnation of the unbelieving Jews in verse 41, and how soon they must have left the synagogue, verse 42, and only the Gentiles remained to beg for more!

so the apostles "waxed bold, and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the gentiles. for so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth!"

This made the poor gentiles very happy, and "they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region," which shows they made very good witnesses! But also notice the chronological sequence of the gospel in verse 46--that it was to be preached first to the Jews, or the Jewish church of that day, the supposed worshippers of the true God, to give them first chance to hear it, but also to reject it, which, evidently, a good many of them promptly did, stirring up a lot of trouble for the apostles, verse 50, so that they had to leave town. Result: they split, and took off for other parts, when the heat got a little too heavy! but they weren't sad about it; in fact, they were actually glad: "filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost"! End of story--or, perhaps we should say beginning of a new era of history, and a new phase in a revelation of the truth of God--the so-called "Time of the Gentiles," or, as some call it, the church age—today!

This did not mean that God was entirely through with the Jews. it simply meant what he'd been trying to show them all along, and what they themselves proved continually, was, that they were absolutely no better than anyone else, without God, and they could only be saved by his grace through faith--they had to come to God the same way as everybody else, just like the gentile dogs," the despised of their day.

Salvation had always been open to these Greeks and other gentiles throughout all the Old Testament era, as you will find indications of in both the law and history of the old testament, and as you can see by verse 43, many of them were present in the synagogue on that day that Paul and Barnabas split the church! these gentile believers amongst the Jews were called "proselytes," which is proof that the kingdom was always open to them that believed, regardless of nationality or racial background, that these things had absolutely nothing to do with their salvation, and that there had been no change at all in God's plan to save "whosoever among you feareth God"--verse 26!

Nothing had changed in the eyes or the mind of God! he had only further opened the eyes of believers to the truth that "God is no respecter of persons", "and the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." so far the predominantly Jewish church hadn't done a very good job of witnessing to the world! they had pretty well confined the goodness of the gospel of God to their own little clique and nation, and he was now fed up with their failures!

The Jews have not changed! their leaders are harder than ever, and have made it even more difficult, if not impossible, to preach the gospel amongst them, so that Israel has become almost a closed nation to the gospel, as we are showing you in other lessons! any nation who forbids the preaching of the gospel to its younger generation and closes its doors to new missionaries, freezing the status quo to the formalised, organized churches who are little or no different from themselves,--this nation is shutting out the true gospel of Jesus Christ as best it can. and since its government is officially Jewish, it is therefore, officially anti-Christ, and a Christian is more or less an enemy of the state in effect, and this is really what it has boiled down to in Israel! only Jews can be first-class citizens. the rest--Christians, Arabs, and others--are a discriminated minority, and on the bottom of the totem pole of Israeli society, living in fear and segregation.

Luke 17:20,21: "and when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not by observation: neither shall they say, lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. "those of you looking for the kingdom of God on earth will only find it within your own hearts and fellowship of the saints, the children of God--heaven on earth! any looking for any more literal promised land, or kingdom of heaven on earth, will have to await the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ! I didn't find it in Israel, I'll assure you! if anything, it was a poor substitute, a counterfeit, and a delusion! it's no refuge for Christians, that's for sure, and we had better thank God for what he has given us, a more wonderful and glorious kingdom of the children of God than would be at all possible under the present Israeli regime.

if we've destroyed your "candy-land" conception of the proverbial "holy land" we're not sorry, because delusion must be destroyed to build a firm foundation of truth! we have left behind us now the shattered materialistic dream of a literal promised land and are moving on into the heavenly reality of the kingdom of God in the hearts of men!

So we have been liberated from the narrow confines of carnal human limitations, into the glorious freedoms of the realm of the reality of his spirit! our vision has expanded beyond national boundaries of human origin, to that of his worldwide universal church; from tiny isolated revolts to widespread worldwide warfare in the spirit; from insignificant earthly goals to the interplanetary heavenly kingdom!--from an earthly Sinai which cannot be touched to the new and heavenly Jerusalem built of living stones one by one; from the superstitious darkness of traditionalism into the glorious light of his love! we are the children of God! we have a heaven on earth in our hearts, the promised land of his kingdom within! let's spread its glories all abroad in the hearts of all children of men! thank God we have been freed from the bondage of Hagar, and are finally appreciating our true importance as the bride of Christ, the one and only Israel of God!

This truth is so tremendous, it's almost beyond comprehension! we are stunned with the stupendous magnitude of the spirit, so far beyond finite minds of men! we are shooting for the stars, and beyond! why piddle around with puddles, when there are oceans to swim in, and all space to revel in! at last we're free, thank God! it's a terrific transition, like being born, or born again, a terrible shock, a climactic change, to be suddenly catapulted from the comfortable cradle of a dogmatic doctrine into the full stature of the spiritual man, but it's worth it all! for we enter a new world of freedom from the shackles of the flesh, into the vast and boundless universe of the spirit! we are free, free, and free! thank God! hallelujah--free to do his will, free to follow him wither soever he leadeth, to abandon the boundaries of man for the boundless abundance of God! hallelujah, we're free! suddenly I feel liberated, as from an old burden, an ancient bondage, a binding tradition, a childish, earthly fancy of a worldly dreamland, into the fullness of the stature of God, with my head above the clouds! I have come out into the sunlight! earth recedes, heaven opens! it feels like my coronation day, a sudden recognition of what it means to be a son of God in all its fullness, instead of a mere child of fleshly Abraham, with only an earthly home!

I just can't get over it! it's so widened my horizons; I can't even see what's beyond! there's no stopping us now with some earthly destination! heaven is my home! earth is my footstool, a mere stepping stone to all the glories of God! "if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, but my kingdom is not of this world." this world is not my home, I'm just passing' through!

"Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. and truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. but now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city ... a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God!"

For "by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God!" even though he got to the earthly promised land, he never found the place he was looking for, because it wasn't there! Israel's not where it's at! Israel couldn't even begin to hold it! if you want to read a description of the real thing, you'll have to turn to the grand finale of the bible, revelation, chapters 21 and 22, the thunderous climax of the symphony of God, a place of such resplendent beauty that it lifts you into the heavenlies, beyond the imagination of man!

"But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. but God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit." hallelujah! praise his name! Amen!

How could we have been so carnal as to have longed for an earthly home? how could we have been so fleshly as to have desired an earthly rest from our labors? how could we have been so limited in our spiritual horizons as to have hoped for some earthly fulfillment! how could we have been so blind as not to have known that there was no exception to his admonition: "set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth?" "for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. for in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven!”... "for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal!" amen!

Like Abraham, we were disappointed in Israel! it's not what we're looking for! "for i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. for the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God."

Although Christian Zionism is the most popular and vociferous view regarding the Middle East conflict there are many who disagree with it. Following is a short compilation of these dissenting voices.

• it's true that God in fulfilling Bible prophecy has permitted the Jews to be gathered out of all the World & every nation on the face of the Earth to which they have been scattered & gathered back into the land of Israel, & they have proclaimed it again their own land, Israel, a Jewish homeland. So who is this talking about, this Israel & their own land & so on?

God OF COURSE IS TALKING ABOUT SPIRITUAL ISRAEL, the children of Abraham by faith which He has told you through His Own Word & through the mouth of His Apostles of the Early Church, means you! Whether you are Jew or Gentile or Greek or Black or White or male or female, it no longer makes any difference. There's now no longer any Jew nor Gentile in Christ Jesus. No male or female, no Black or White, for all are one in Christ Jesus. We are all of just one nation now, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. (<\\Ga.3:28&&PUB=Gal:3:28^>) David Berg

• The Old Testament promises concerning "the land" are nowhere repeated in the New Testament. There are promises that Jews will turn to Christ, but the land and Israel as a political entity are not mentioned.

·         Teachings about the Promised Land are absent in Jesus’ personal words found in the Gospels

• Bible teaches that God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants was a conditional covenant, not unconditional. In Genesis 17:9-14 the Jews were warned that they must keep the covenant or be cut off from God's people. Leviticus 26:40-45 teaches that the Jews must confess and forsake their sins in order to maintain the covenant. Deuteronomy 7:12, 1 Kings 9:6-9 and Exodus 19:5-6 all teach that the covenant was conditional. Joshua 23:15-16 and 2 Chronicles 7:19-22 not only teach that the covenant was conditional, but they also specify that the Jews would lose their land grant if they broke the covenant. Thomas Williamson
• Christian Zionism and dispensationalism represent a giant step backward in our theological progress. Instead of resting in the once-for-ever sacrifice by Christ on the Cross for our sins, dispensational Zionists look forward to the building of another temple in Jerusalem with animal sacrifices. Instead of rejoicing in the New Covenant which was promised to all God's people, Jeremiah 31:31-34, they want to go back to the Old Covenant which has been forever abrogated. Instead of inviting our precious, beloved Jewish friends to partake in the eternal blessings of the heavenly Jerusalem, they try to send them back to the Old Jerusalem, even though they believe that 2/3 of them will be slaughtered in a 7-year period of Tribulation to come very soon. Thomas Williamson
• Romans 11:25-32

• Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; 27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." 28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

• Today I would like to address the issue of Israel's relation to the “Promised Land” in the Middle East. This is not primarily an expository message from Romans 11, but an effort to draw out implications of Romans 11 and the rest of Scripture for a very vexing problem in the world today. The existence of Israel in the Middle East and the extent of her borders and her sovereignty are perhaps the most explosive factors in world terrorism and the most volatile factors in Arab-Western relations.

• The Arab roots and the Jewish roots in this land go back for thousands of years. Both lay claim to the land not merely because of historical presence, but also because of divine right. I won't try to lay out a detailed peace plan. But I will try to lay out some biblical truths that could guide all of us in thinking about peace and justice in that part of the world. What we think about this, and what we say, does matter, since politicians are influenced by their constituents in these religiously super-charged situations. And we need to know how to pray. And we need to know how to talk to others in a way that honors the truth. So for all those reasons, and for the reason that God is very much involved in this situation, we should talk about it in the context of Romans 11.

• What we've seen in Romans 11 is that Israel as a whole—that is, as an ethnic, corporate people enduring from generation to generation—has a root in the covenant promises made to Abraham and his descendants. Verse 16b: “If the root is holy so are the branches.” We interpreted that picture in the light of verse 28: “As regards the gospel, they [Israel] are enemies of God for your [Gentile] sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.” The “forefathers” here correspond to the root in verse 16. So the promises to the forefathers imply that someday the whole tree, with all its branches, will be saved.

• Some day. Because verse 28 says, for now “they are enemies.” Verse 28a: “As regards the gospel, they [Israel] are enemies of God for your sake.” In other words, they are rejecting their Messiah and thus putting themselves against God. This is what Jesus said to Israel in John 8:42: “If God were your father you would love me.” Jesus is the litmus test whether anybody's religion is worship of the true God. But Israel does not love Jesus as God's son and her Messiah. So they are, for now, “enemies of God.”

• So when verse 16 says, “If the root is holy so are the branches,” we take it to mean: “If God chose the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for himself, and set them apart and made to them covenant promises, then someday (after this present time of enmity and hardening are over) their descendants are going to return to God through Jesus Christ, and become God's set-apart, holy people. Unbelief and ungodliness will be banished from Jacob forever (v. 26).

• So now we ask, is the so-called “Promised Land” part of the inheritance and salvation that “all Israel” (v. 26) will receive? And if so, what does that say about the rights of Israel today to the Land?

• In developing the answer to this question I would like to maintain seven truths which are based on Scripture.
• 1. God chose Israel from all the peoples of the world to be his own possession.

• Deuteronomy 7:6, “ The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
• 2. The Land was part of the inheritance he promised to Abraham and his descendants forever.

• Genesis 15:18, “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.'”

• Then in Genesis 17:7-8 God says to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

• Then God confirmed the promise to Jacob, Abraham's grandson, in Genesis 28:13, “And behold, the Lord . . . said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.” And when Jacob was dying he called Joseph to him and said (in Genesis 48:3), “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and . . . will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.'”

• This, of course, creates a huge cleavage between the Islamic view of God's covenant and the Jewish and Christian view of God's covenant. But we believe that this is God's word, confirmed by the Lord Jesus, and so we say, The land is destined to be Israel's land.

• But it's not that simple. This is not an issue that can be dealt with in soundbites.
• 3. The promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel.

• This was the point of Romans 9. When Paul grieved over the lostness of so many Jews who were rejecting Jesus and were perishing, he said in verses 6-7, “It is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.” In other words, the promises cannot be demanded by anyone just because he is Jewish. Jewish ethnicity has a place in God's plan, but it is not enough to secure anything. It does not in itself qualify a person to be an heir of the promise to Abraham and his offspring. Romans 9:8 says it clearly: “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” Being born Jewish does not make one an heir of the promise—neither the promise of the Land nor any other promise.

• This was plain in the Old Testament, and it was plain the teachings of Jesus (which we will see under truth #4). For example, in the terrible list of curses that God promised to bring on the people if they broke his covenant and forsook him was this: “And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 28:63). Throughout the history of Israel, covenant breaking and disobedience and idolatry disqualified Israel from the present divine right to the Land. (See also Daniel 9:4-7; Psalm 78:54-61.)

• Be careful not to infer from this that Gentile nations (like Arabs) have the right to molest Israel. God's judgments on Israel do not sanction human sin against Israel. Israel still has human rights among nations even when she forfeits her present divine right to the Land. Remember that nations which gloated over her divine discipline were punished by God (Isaiah 10:5-13; Joel 3:2).

• So the promise to Abraham that his descendants will inherit the Land does not mean that all Jews inherit that promise. It will come finally to the true Israel, the Israel that keeps covenant and obeys her God.
• 4. Jesus Christ has come into the world as the Jewish Messiah and his own people rejected him and broke covenant with their God.

• When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ [that is, the Jewish Messiah], the Son of the living God.” And Jesus responded to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:16-17). And when the high priest asked Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus answered, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62).

• But even though Jesus was the Messiah and did many mighty works and taught with great authority and fulfilled Old Testament promises, nevertheless the people of Israel as a whole rejected him. This was the most serious covenant-breaking disobedience that Israel had ever committed in all her history.

• This is why Jesus told the parable of the tenants who killed the Landlord's son when he came for his harvest, and ended that parable with these words to Israel in Matthew 21:43, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” And it's why he said in Matthew 8:11-12, after seeing the faith of a Gentile centurion and the unbelief of Israel, “Many [Gentiles] will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

• Israel has broken covenant with her God and is living today in disobedience and unbelief in his Son and her Messiah. That is why Paul says in Romans 11:28, “As regards the gospel [the good news of the Messiah] they are enemies of God.”
• 5. Therefore, the secular state of Israel today may not claim a present divine right to the Land, but they and we should seek a peaceful settlement not based on present divine rights, but on international principles of justice, mercy, and practical feasibility.

• This follows from all we have said so far, and the implication it has for those of us who believe the Bible and trust Christ as our Savior and as the Lord of history, is that we should not give blanket approval to Jewish or to Palestinian actions. We should approve or denounce according to Biblical standards of justice and mercy among peoples. We should encourage our representatives to seek a just settlement that takes the historical and social claims of both peoples into account. Neither should be allowed to sway the judgments of justice by a present divine claim to the land. If you believe this, it would be helpful for your representatives to know it.

• We are not whitewashing terrorism and we are not whitewashing Jewish force. Nor is there any attempt on my part to assess measures of blame or moral equivalence. That's not my aim. My aim is to put the debate on a balanced footing in this sense: neither side should preempt the claims of international justice by the claim of present divine rights. Working out what that justice will look like is still a huge and daunting task. I have not solved that problem. But I think we will make better progress if we do not yield to the claim of either side to be ethnically or nationally sanctioned by God in their present conflict.
• 6. By faith in Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, Gentiles become heirs of the promise of Abraham, including the promise of the Land.

• In the words of Romans 11:17, “You [Gentile], although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree”—that is, they become part of the redeemed covenant people who share the faith of Abraham. The reason, as Paul put in Romans 4:13, is that “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” So all who are united to Christ, Abraham's Offspring, by faith are part of the covenant made with him and his offspring.

• Here's the most sweeping statement of this truth— Ephesians 2:12, “Remember that you [Gentiles] were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. . . . So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

• Therefore Jewish believers in Jesus and Gentile believers will inherit the Land. And the easiest way to see this is to see that we will inherit the world which includes the Land. Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians will not quibble over the real estate of the Promised Land because the entire new heavens and the new earth will be ours. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, “All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.” All followers of Christ, and only followers of Christ, will inherit the earth, including the Land.
• 7. Finally, this inheritance of Christ's people will happen at the second coming of Christ to establish his kingdom, not before; and till then, we Christians must not take up arms to claim our inheritance; but rather lay down our lives to share our inheritance with as many as we can.

• You recall that all-important word that Jesus spoke to Pilate in John 18:36: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Christians do not take up the sword to advance the kingdom of Christ. We wait for a king from heaven who will deliver us by his mighty power. And in that great day Jew and Gentile who have treasured Christ will receive what was promised. There will be a great reversal: the last will be first, and the meek—in fellowship with the Lamb of God—will inherit the Land.

• Therefore, come to the meek and lowly Christ while there is time, and receive forgiveness of sins, and the hope of glory. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2004/165_Israel_Palestine_and_the_Middle_East/

Conclusion

The Promised made to Abraham is yet to be fulfilled as he himself when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Heb 11:9 By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Heb 11:10 for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised:

Heb 11:12 wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb 11:14 For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own.

Heb 11:15 And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

Only those that accept Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior are the true House of Israel, the one and only Jews!

Anyone can become a part of true Israel, the Israel of God, and a prince with God & with man, just by receiving God's Son Jesus Christ, just by believing on the Messiah, the King of the Jews! Those who know Jesus personally and have accepted Him into their hearts are His new nation, his dwelling place of today. They are His true Israel, the spiritual Israel; they are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly one. Those of His children who identify more with an earthly kingdom or nation rather than His heavenly one do err and are led astray by many misconceptions--patriotism, nationalism, loyalty to earthly "kings" and countries.

We as Christians must not abdicate what is rightly ours to usurpers. The Promised Land of the spirit is ours and it is not to be conquered by apache helicopters, F16, Quasan rockets or Merkada tanks. God has liberated us from mere carnal and earthly boundaries. Only this spiritual view can diffuse the conflict and bring lasting peace between Palestinian and Jews alike.

There is no scriptural foundation for Christian Zionism and Christians are in no way required to give unconditional support to a political idea disguised and imbued with religious connotations. Zionism is a clever and astute plan promulgated by a small and powerful minority who is trying to enslave both Christians and Jews to support a Global kabala bent on World domination.