The Restoration Of Israel
The Restoration Of Israel
The Middle East is a basic resource material for the news
media. The threat of violence is ever present, as witnessed by
tragic assassinations, the threat of war, and general unrest. No
matter what the news from the Middle East happens to be, there is
always a revival in interest in the question, “What will happen
to Israel?” Many preachers are getting very nervous over the
possibility of things coming to a drastic conclusion here on
planet earth. Those with overly active imaginations not only
believe and preach that the great battle of Armageddon is about
to take place, but also God is going to do something special for
Israel. What do you believe about all this, friend? Please stay
tuned to this broadcast and we will study what the Bible says
about it.
The West End Church of Christ presents these fifteen minute
lessons every Sunday. We have only one reason for doing it -- we
want to preach the truth of God's word without being restricted
by human doctrines, creeds, and wisdom. That is why we
repeatedly ask anyone who listens to communicate with us if you
do not agree with what we teach on this program. This is not
done out of a spirit of dare, or challenge, but in sincerity and
in the interest of being absolutely right about the most
important issue of this life and of eternity.
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study begins at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. We have classes for all
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restaurant. We urge you to visit our assemblies today.
If there is one "key" doctrine in the premillennial system it
is their speculative approach to the alleged restoration of
Israel to the land of Palestine. If you've been keeping up on
current events you know that the Palestinians have a different
view and plan. They are not willing for the Israelis to occupy
the land of Palestine. By way of reminder, Premillennialism is a
system of doctrines centered on the second coming of Christ and
the events they think will take place. The term comes from the
idea of a thousand year reign of Christ on earth with His
headquarters in Jerusalem as He sits on the literal throne of
King David. The premillennialists all point to May 14, 1948 as
of great importance to the prophetic pictures in the Old
Testament. However, if this notion is false, down comes the
entire premillennial system. In a book called The Late Great
Planet Earth, Mr. Hal Lindsey wrote:
"Sometime in the future there will be a seven-year period
climaxed by the visible return of Jesus Christ. Most prophecies
which have not yet been fulfilled concern events which will
develop shortly before the beginning of and during the seven-year
countdown. (Notice that the countdown is the last seven years of
the time, according to Mr. Lindsey). The general time of this
seven year period couldn't begin until the Jewish people re-
establish their nation in their ancient homeland of Palestine."
That is found on page 32 of his book.
I believe it is rather plain. Nothing can occur that is on
the premillennial agenda or program until the Jewish nation is
reestablished as a nation in their original homeland. Their
territorial and tribal boundaries must be reestablished. The
alleged millennium, the so-called Rapture, the figmentary battle
or Armageddon join all the rest of these avowed eschatological
events in waiting until the Jewish nation is reestablished just
like it was in the Bible. One must never forget that Mr. Lindsey
and others of his persuasion is speaking of a nation known as
Israel being established as the twelve tribes of Israel. In
fact, this restoration view claims that all Jews, from all over
the world, will migrate miraculously back to Palestine and
reclaim their old tribal allotments according the division of the
promised land. Ezekiel chapters 37 and 38 are used to prove this
point.
Who are these descendants of Abraham? Is the nation of
Israel the legitimate heir of the land which God gave Abraham?
How did the ancestry of Abraham obtain title to the land known
today as Palestine to begin with? These are questions germane
to the issue created by the speculations and prophetic
perversions of premillennialism. We will deal with them on this
program today.
A long, long time ago, God promised an ancient patriarch
three wonderful things. He promised that He would bless all the
nations on earth through this man's family. He promised also to
give this man an amount of land to own which in turn would be
given to his progeny. Last, He promised to make a great nation
of his family and their families after them. This man was called
Abram at first and later known as Abraham. Let me read these
promises to you from the Bible. In Genesis 12:1-3 the Lord said
to Abraham, "Get out of your country, from your kindred and from
your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make
you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great;
and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,
and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed." The promise is even more
explicit in the next chapter. "And the Lord said to Abram, after
Lot had separated from him: 'Lift your eyes now and look from the
place where you are -- northward, southward, eastward, and
westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your
descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the
dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the
earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk
in the land through its length and its width for I give it to
you" (Genesis 13:14-17). Here is the embryo of the promise of a
land as an inheritance for the grand old patriarch and his
descendants. The promise is given as God tells him, "Arise and
walk through its length and its width for I give it to you."
Next, the Lord added, "...in thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed."
When the twelve tribes of Israel occupied the land under the
leadership of Joshua, the land and national promise was
completely fulfilled. After the conquest of the entire area,
Joshua said, "Not one of the good promises which the Lord had
made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass." He did
not say, "part of the promise was fulled," or "nearly all of it
was fulfilled," but "all of it was fulfilled." That means
nothing was left unfulfilled. Every aspect of the promise
relative to the homeland of Israel was fulfilled. God promised
Abraham that the land He would give him would be possessed by the
descendants of Abraham and Joshua confirms that it came to pass.
Not the slightest segment of it failed. I read that from Joshua
21:43-44.
When our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, lived among
men, offered Himself as a sacrifice for man's sin, the promise
made to old Abram was absolutely and completely fulfilled. It is
through Christ, who is the seed of promise, the seed of Abraham,
that all nations of the world are to be blessed. Paul wrote,
"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not
say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your
Seed,' who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16. The "Christ" is the long
awaited "Messiah," the "Holy One" of God. The existence of the
Jewish nation served its grand and primary purpose in preserving
a seed line from generation to generation of Abraham's family.
That Seed Paul spoke of is Christ. After Christ came the Jewish
reason for existing ceased to exist.
If, according to the premillennialists and
dispensationalists, God has something special in store for the
nation of Israel there are consequences that need to be dealt
with. For example, there is a special problem relative to
favoritism. If God has something special in the future for the
Jews as a nation, there is a distinction still between Jew and
Gentile that He is responsible for. Yet Paul wrote, "For there
is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over
all is rich to all who call upon Him" (Romans 10:12). The
premillennial concept makes God a respecter of persons, for
during the Old Testament time God had respect for Israel as "the
apple of His eye" that He did not have for other nations.
However, dear friend, in Christ's death on the cross, that
distinction was forever removed. Listen: "For He Himself is our
peace who had made both one and has broken down the middle wall
of division between us" (Ephesians 2:14). The middle wall was
the law of Moses and the us refers to Jews and Gentiles. Please
think for a moment. There is no promise God has made the Jewish
people today that is not equally made to every other person on
earth. If there is one, let the premillennialist give us
scripture -- not speculation -- for it.
In order to get this restoration idea, the premillennialists
ignore obvious fulfillment of prophecy made to the Jews both
before and during their captivity in Assyria and Babylon. The
Bible teaches that after Solomon died, the kingdom of was divided
into the northern ten tribes and the southern two tribes. In 721
B.C. the Assyrians captured the northern tribes and took them
away (II Kings 24-25). Notice especially in this passage that
Assyria took them to Halah, Habor, and the river Gozan, and "the
cities of the Medes." In 586 B.C. Judah, the southern two
tribes, were taken by the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar back to
Babylon. Now some of those captives escaped to Egypt (II Kings
14:25-26). Before and during the captivity, prophets foretold
the exile and promised a return. During the captivity,
particularly prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel foretold a return
to their homeland. The premillennialists read these prophecies
and jump centuries in one giant leap and think they are yet to be
fulfilled. Here is a good example of what I am talking about.
"The same prophets who predicted the world-wide exile and
persecution of the Jews also predicted their restoration as a
nation. It is surprising that many could not see the obvious:
since the first part of these prophecies came true also. This
restoration was to come about in the general time of the seven-
year countdown and its finale -- the personal appearance of the
Messiah to deliverer the new state from destruction." (Again
from Hal Lindsey's book, pages 37 and 38).
Mr. Lindsey and others cannot see the obvious. When one is
so wedded to a false doctrine, the obvious is not obvious. Every
single prophetic utterance relative to the restoration of Israel
has been fulfilled. Mr. Lindsey and his ilk assert that the
restoration prophecies are yet to be fulfilled while admitting
that they were fulfilled when the Jews returned from captivity to
Palestine.
Suppose for a moment that the restoration of Israel is yet to
take place. There are insurmountable obstacles. First, it
will be impossible to rebuild the old Jewish temple for the
simple fact that the Moslems have the "Dome of the Rock"
precisely on the location where the temple was to be built. The
description of the rebuilt temple in Ezekiel chapters 40 - 43
gives details about the construction. At the end of these
detailed plans God said, "And when they have accomplished the
days it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the
priest shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your
peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah"
(Ezekiel 43:27). One thing the Jews have never done and never
plan to do is reinstitute animal sacrifices. But the
premillennial program demands that they do.
The promise of a restoration to their land was realized by
the Jews long before Christ came. Since the coming of Christ,
there is no promise to the Jews that is not equally give to
everyone. We are all on the same footing with God. This future
restoration is a fallacy of premillennial devotees. Don't
believe it. Believe in Christ Jesus as the king of your life
right now and submit to Him fully and without reservation.
Believe Him, turn to Him in repentance and put Him on in baptism.
If you have a question about any of these things that have
been said -- please contact us. Our mailing address is West End
Church of Christ, 1609 Parkside Drive, Bowling Green, Ky. 42101.
Well, thank you again -- we appreciate the opportunity to come
to you each Sunday on this radio station and hope you'll be
back here again next Sunday -- 8 a.m. Goodbye and God bless you.
Radio Sermon No. 26
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Children's NT Studies
