Dear Mr. Steven Collins,
What are your thoughts about the nation of Israel and the conflicts between the Jews and the Palestinians ?
Do the Jews own this country and is this a fulfillment of prophesy ?
Yours,
Ralph
MYREPLY
Dear Mr. Ralph Wilms,
The problems between the Israelis/Jews and the Palestinians seem insoluble in the current set of political realities. There are so many geopolitical issues and agendas among the great powers that also complicate the specific Jewish-Palestinian disputes.
In response to your question about the Israelis/Jews owning their nation, biblical prophecy is clear. Zephaniah 2:1-8 prophesies that “Judah” (the Jews) will establish a nation in the old Promised Land in the latter-day period prior to the “Day of the Lord’s Anger.” This prophecy was fulfilled in 1948. Zeph. 2:7 specifically prophesied the new Jewish nation would be along “the coast” of the Holy Land and would include the city of Ashkelon. The original UN Mandate borders created a Jewish nation which was largely a coastal strip of land connecting the regions of the Negev and Galilee, so the 1948 borders fulfilled this prophecy. However, there are other prophecies which tell us more information about the nation of “Judah” in the latter days.
Zechariah 12 and 14 both are latter-day prophecies which indicate the destiny of the tribe of Judah is closely linked to the city of Jerusalem. Zech. 12:2, 12:6 and 14:14 all address “Judah and Jerusalem” as a common entity in the latter days. This supports the belief that Jerusalem belongs to Judah in the latter days by Divine will. Also, Zech. 12:6 prophesies that Judah will “devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left” and this happened as the Israelis won wars and conquered territory in 1956, 1967, 1973, and in the South Lebanon War. Lately, Israeli governments have been “exchanging land for peace,” but it seems that they have given away much “land” and obtained precious little in the way of “peace.”
Steve
