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The Bible and the
Middle East
With the out-break of war in the Middle East, our nation
is once again faced with the challenge of maintaining
faith in God in a "world gone mad." Truly, there is
nothing more frightening than the ravages of war! So
many families are directly affected, having relatives in
National Guard Units and other branches of military
service. Certainly, our thoughts and prayers are with
all of the men and women involved in this effort, and
with their families.
Along with the news coverage of the war itself, many
religious lead-ers have been heard from recently,
teaching that this war is a fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecies concerning Israel, Babylon, Armageddon, the
second coming of Christ, and the establishment of
Christ's kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. According to
John Walvoord, chancellor of Dallas Theo-logical
Seminary, this war is the prelude to Armageddon, the
last great battle between Israel and her enemies. As
quoted in an article published in the January 19, 1991
issue of USA Today, Dr. Walvoord said, "The proph-etic
clock is ticking."
Tied in with these views stated above, and actually
underlying all of them, is the concept that Israel,
i.e., the Jews of today, are still God's chosen people,
and that the prophecies and promises concerning their
poss-ession of the land of Canaan are still in force,
and that many Old Testa-ment prophecies have not as yet
been fulfilled.
Let us turn to the Bible and examine these views.
First, the promise God made to Abraham regarding the
land which his seed would be given (see Gen. 15:1-21),
was fulfilled. Joshua 21:43 says: "And the LORD gave
unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto
their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt
therein." As late as 1 Kings 4:21 we read:"And Solomon
reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land
of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they
brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his
life."
However, both Moses and Joshua had made it clear to
Israel that their possession of the land and dwelling
within it in prosperity was a matter of condition (see
Deut. 29,30; Josh. 23). Disobedience and wickedness
would result in their being carried away from the land.
2 Kings 24, 2 Chronicles 36, and Jeremiah 52 record the
destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple
by the armies of Babylon. 2 Chronicles 36:21 says that
this fulfilled the "word of the LORD by the mouth of
Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for
as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil
threescore and ten years" (see also Lev. 25:3,4; Jer.
25:11,12; 29:10). Daniel later read the prophecy of
Jeremiah, and knew that the time of the Exile was
nearing an end (Dan. 9:2). Within a short time of
Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9, Cyrus, King of Persia
issued a decree for Israel to return to Jerusalem to
rebuild the temple (read Ezra 1-6; and the prophets
Haggai and Zechariah). Later, both Ezra and Nehemiah
would lead groups back to Jerusalem to restore the
observance of the law (Ezra 7-10) and to rebuild the
wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 1-13). This return to Jerusalem
and the restoration which was accomplished fulfilled the
prophecies of Isa. 44:24-28; Jer. 25:11,12; 29:10; and
Ezek. 37:1-28. Nothing of those prophecies awaits a
fulfillment in today's events, or in events yet future!
As for the prophecies describing the destruction of
Babylon (such as Isa. 13:1-14:23; Jer. 50:1-51:64),
these were fulfilled when the empire of Babylon was
assimilated as part of the Persian Empire (see Dan.
6:1-28); and then when the city was destroyed by Xerxes
in 478 B.C.
The New Testament teaches that God does not have any
chosen people today in the sense of one nation or race
being favored above others. Peter sets forth this truth
in Acts 10:34,35: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons: But in every nation he that
feareth him and work- eth righteousness, is accepted
with him." Paul, in Romans 2:28,29 states: "For he is
not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a
Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of
the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God."
New Testament writers consistently apply Old Testament
expressions which were used of Israel, to describe the
New Testament church. For ex-ample, in Gal. 6:16, the
expression "the Israel of God" describes those who walk
according to the rule of being new creatures. In Heb.
12:23, the phrase "church of the firstborn" (the word
"firstborn" being in the plural) shows that the church
now enjoys the relationship with God which Israel in the
flesh once had (see Ex. 4:22,23). Peter, in 1 Pet.
2:9,10 refers to no less than seven Old Testament
descriptions of Israel, and applies them to Christians
(see Deut. 10:15; Isa. 61:6; 66:21; 42:1; and Hos. 1:10;
2:23).
An understanding of the relationship of Christ and his
church, and the relationship of the church to the
prophecies of the Old Testament helps us to see the
fulfillment of the "kingdom prophecies" of the Old
Testament in the establishment of the New Testament
church. Christ's kingdom is not a kingdom of this world
(John 6:15; 18:36). The Jews' misunderstanding of the
nature of the kingdom led them to reject their Messiah.
Today, the same misunderstanding of the nature of the
kingdom cause men to await the future 1,000 year kingdom
on earth. Peter declared that Christ has already
inherited the throne of his father David, but it is in
heaven, not on the earth (Acts 2:32-36). Christ is king
now, and his kingdom exists on earth as the church (see
Col. 1:13-18).
The war in the Persian Gulf is not a sign that the end
of the world is near. Jesus, in Matthew 24:6, referred
to "wars and rumors of wars," but they would be signs of
the end of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish nation, which
was fulfilled in A.D. 70. In the section of Matthew 24
where he speaks of His second coming and the end of the
world (verses 36-51), Jesus does not instruct us to be
looking for signs, but instead he says: "But of that day
and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only" (Matt. 24:36); and "Watch therefore:
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matt.
24:42).
Jesus may be coming soon, but we do not know that He is.
Certainly, we should all give diligence to be ready for
His appearing, but current events are no guarantee that
the end is near.
Kenneth W. Burton
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