My Facebook newsfeed is filled with memes and posts from many of my Christian friends who pray for, and support, Israel. I see the familiar white flag, with the blue Star of David, everywhere. I see countless posts about Netanyahu, and the upcoming election today. I still see many posts concerning his visit to America a few weeks ago.
I've kept my opinions to myself ... about Israel ... until now.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave perhaps the most sobering, patriotic address we've heard in years in front of a joint session of Congress. His message was clear: we cannot trust Iran to abide by any agreement, or even any assertion, it makes. Netanyahu is perhaps the only world leader willing to tell the unvarnished truth about the dangers Israel, Europe and the United States face from a nuclear Iran ... and he may well lose the Israeli election today if the published polls are accurate. If he loses, it will mean that the last prominent world leader who believes in confronting evil ... rather than appeasing evil ... and the last prominent world leader (who loves the America who has supported Israel through thick and thin over the past sixty seven years) will be out of office.
I agree with my Facebook newsfeed ... this is something that deserves our attention and our prayers ... but probably not for the same reasons as my friends.
My thoughts about Israel go way deeper than what I see from all the Facebook fanfare, and I have been hesitant to voice my thoughts ... out of a sincere concern that my thoughts might challenge and possibly offend ... until now.
Many of my followers and friends are Christian ... they believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and they also believe in the messages and prophecies found within its Holy pages, and they take to heart that Israel is God's chosen people, and they feel Israel needs our prayers and support because of these facts.
And, so, they request prayers and support for Israel ... there's the Star of David flag again ... the tiny nation where God's chosen, and the Holy City Jerusalem, resides.
The purpose of this blog is not to say Israel doesn't need our prayers and support ... I most definitely think Israel does ... what I am wanting to say through this blog is that I'm not quite sure my followers and friends really know, and understand, WHO/WHAT Israel is.
Surely most of us know the promise God gave to Abraham ... you know, the promise that Abraham's seed (children aka descendants) would "spread ABROAD" from the ancient land of Palestine; that they would ultimately be found in all directions (north, east, south, west) from Palestine! They would be numbered in the countless MILLIONS "as the dust of the earth" in number! Abraham was promised to be a father of NATIONS. Plural. This promise was GLOBAL, y'all ... this promise was NOT describing a small nation of people in the Middle East surrounded by hostile Arab nations, struggling for acceptance and survival like modern "Israel" today.
Re-read the story of Abraham again if you need a refresher ... please.
And, hopefully, most of you know the reinforced Promise that Jacob received from God after a long night of literally fighting ... wrestling ... each other. If not, please read it again. After they tossed each other around, and got banged up real good, God changed Jacob's name to what? Do you know? Can you remember?
God changed Jacob's name to Israel.
But, wait, who was Jacob? He was the son of Isaac, and the grandson of Abraham. It is important you know that Jacob/Israel received the same reinforced Promise that Abraham had from God ... and Jacob/Israel was the father of twelve sons ... the TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL ... not two (Judah/Levi) but twelve!
As a sidenote, in case you don't know, the tribes of Judah and Levi are the only "Jewish" tribes ... the people/tribes found in the modern-day nation of "Israel" today ... kinda makes you wonder where the other ten tribes are, huh?
As another sidenote, many wrongly assume that the words "Israel" and "Jew" are synonymous ... that would be like saying "American" and "Texan" were the same. (LOL) Nothing is farther from the truth. All Jews are Israelites, yes, of course, but not all Israelites are Jews ... just like all Texans are Americans, but not all Americans are Texans.
But I digress.
God's chosen people are not just the Jews over there in modern-day Israel ... wrap your mind around that ... also, wrap your mind around the fact that the end-time prophecies about the demise and tribulation and ultimate obliteration of Israel is not just limited to that modern-day tiny nation where Jerusalem resides either.
Jacob/Israel had a favorite son with the Love of his Life, Rachel ... his name was Joseph.
Joseph also received special Blessings and Promises, and he had two sons that he took to his dying father, Jacob/Israel, to have the same Blessings/Promises passed to them.
Jacob/Israel placed his hands upon Joseph's two sons ... Ephraim and Manasseh ... and reinforced the same Promises of Abraham unto them ... with a very specific addendum: One son was to become ONE GREAT NATION, and the other son was to become a GREAT GROUP OF NATIONS.
And WHO, down through history, was to bear the name of ISRAEL? Jacob/Israel said, "LET MY NAME BE NAMED ON THEM" .... the name of ISRAEL was placed upon Joseph's sons!!!
"Let my name (Israel) be placed upon Ephraim and Manasseh."
These two sons of Joseph are brothers ... close-knit, bound together ... what two modern-day nations can you think of that come from the same cloth, so to speak, and also 1) is a great group of nations, and 2) the other is one great nation? These two brother nations were to eventually become a great, single nation, and a "company of nations."
Where, in the world today, does one look to find nations matching these descriptions ... two brothers enjoying a long, enduring relationship (even though brothers sometimes fight, and do not always agree) ... two great peoples possessing between them much of the power AND wealth of the world?
If you truly believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and if you truly believe the messages and prophecies to be true, and if you truly believe the Bible to be REAL and RELEVANT to today ... then how in the world could you not think the two greatest nations in the world's history is not included anywhere in there??? I mean, come on, Assyria/Germany is in there ... Egypt is in there ... and Ethiopia ... and Libya, and Syria, etc ... but not America and Great Britain??? Really?
Re-Read the histories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, and Joseph again .... and, by the way, as yet another sidenote, what EXACTLY is placed under the Royal Throne in England? Otherwise known as the Coronation Stone? And how/why do you think it is there?
I'll give you a hint: Jacob's Pillow. Google it.
Millions of Britons are blissfully unaware of their ancient roots ... they have not the faintest idea that the "great group of nations" called the British Commonwealth (Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,etc) are the literal seed of Abraham, of Jacob/Israel, of Joseph ... the Chosen/Promised peoples of Ephraim. Nor do countless millions in the United States understand that they are the Manasseh of Bible history—and Bible prophecy!
WE ARE ISRAEL.
Maybe the next time you blow the dust off your Bible and refresh your memory of the demise of Israel, and the end-time prophecies, and the upcoming tribulation ... and maybe the next time you see prayer requests for the support of Israel ... and maybe the next time your see memes and posts concerning the repentance (true change) of Israel .... OR ANYTHING REGARDING ISRAEL, FOR THAT MATTER ... maybe, just maybe, you'll remember what I've challenged you to read about, research, and think about.
And, hopefully, not be offended.
I've kept my opinions to myself ... about Israel ... until now.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gave perhaps the most sobering, patriotic address we've heard in years in front of a joint session of Congress. His message was clear: we cannot trust Iran to abide by any agreement, or even any assertion, it makes. Netanyahu is perhaps the only world leader willing to tell the unvarnished truth about the dangers Israel, Europe and the United States face from a nuclear Iran ... and he may well lose the Israeli election today if the published polls are accurate. If he loses, it will mean that the last prominent world leader who believes in confronting evil ... rather than appeasing evil ... and the last prominent world leader (who loves the America who has supported Israel through thick and thin over the past sixty seven years) will be out of office.
I agree with my Facebook newsfeed ... this is something that deserves our attention and our prayers ... but probably not for the same reasons as my friends.
My thoughts about Israel go way deeper than what I see from all the Facebook fanfare, and I have been hesitant to voice my thoughts ... out of a sincere concern that my thoughts might challenge and possibly offend ... until now.
Many of my followers and friends are Christian ... they believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and they also believe in the messages and prophecies found within its Holy pages, and they take to heart that Israel is God's chosen people, and they feel Israel needs our prayers and support because of these facts.
And, so, they request prayers and support for Israel ... there's the Star of David flag again ... the tiny nation where God's chosen, and the Holy City Jerusalem, resides.
The purpose of this blog is not to say Israel doesn't need our prayers and support ... I most definitely think Israel does ... what I am wanting to say through this blog is that I'm not quite sure my followers and friends really know, and understand, WHO/WHAT Israel is.
Surely most of us know the promise God gave to Abraham ... you know, the promise that Abraham's seed (children aka descendants) would "spread ABROAD" from the ancient land of Palestine; that they would ultimately be found in all directions (north, east, south, west) from Palestine! They would be numbered in the countless MILLIONS "as the dust of the earth" in number! Abraham was promised to be a father of NATIONS. Plural. This promise was GLOBAL, y'all ... this promise was NOT describing a small nation of people in the Middle East surrounded by hostile Arab nations, struggling for acceptance and survival like modern "Israel" today.
Re-read the story of Abraham again if you need a refresher ... please.
And, hopefully, most of you know the reinforced Promise that Jacob received from God after a long night of literally fighting ... wrestling ... each other. If not, please read it again. After they tossed each other around, and got banged up real good, God changed Jacob's name to what? Do you know? Can you remember?
God changed Jacob's name to Israel.
But, wait, who was Jacob? He was the son of Isaac, and the grandson of Abraham. It is important you know that Jacob/Israel received the same reinforced Promise that Abraham had from God ... and Jacob/Israel was the father of twelve sons ... the TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL ... not two (Judah/Levi) but twelve!
As a sidenote, in case you don't know, the tribes of Judah and Levi are the only "Jewish" tribes ... the people/tribes found in the modern-day nation of "Israel" today ... kinda makes you wonder where the other ten tribes are, huh?
As another sidenote, many wrongly assume that the words "Israel" and "Jew" are synonymous ... that would be like saying "American" and "Texan" were the same. (LOL) Nothing is farther from the truth. All Jews are Israelites, yes, of course, but not all Israelites are Jews ... just like all Texans are Americans, but not all Americans are Texans.
But I digress.
God's chosen people are not just the Jews over there in modern-day Israel ... wrap your mind around that ... also, wrap your mind around the fact that the end-time prophecies about the demise and tribulation and ultimate obliteration of Israel is not just limited to that modern-day tiny nation where Jerusalem resides either.
Jacob/Israel had a favorite son with the Love of his Life, Rachel ... his name was Joseph.
Joseph also received special Blessings and Promises, and he had two sons that he took to his dying father, Jacob/Israel, to have the same Blessings/Promises passed to them.
Jacob/Israel placed his hands upon Joseph's two sons ... Ephraim and Manasseh ... and reinforced the same Promises of Abraham unto them ... with a very specific addendum: One son was to become ONE GREAT NATION, and the other son was to become a GREAT GROUP OF NATIONS.
And WHO, down through history, was to bear the name of ISRAEL? Jacob/Israel said, "LET MY NAME BE NAMED ON THEM" .... the name of ISRAEL was placed upon Joseph's sons!!!
"Let my name (Israel) be placed upon Ephraim and Manasseh."
These two sons of Joseph are brothers ... close-knit, bound together ... what two modern-day nations can you think of that come from the same cloth, so to speak, and also 1) is a great group of nations, and 2) the other is one great nation? These two brother nations were to eventually become a great, single nation, and a "company of nations."
Where, in the world today, does one look to find nations matching these descriptions ... two brothers enjoying a long, enduring relationship (even though brothers sometimes fight, and do not always agree) ... two great peoples possessing between them much of the power AND wealth of the world?
If you truly believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and if you truly believe the messages and prophecies to be true, and if you truly believe the Bible to be REAL and RELEVANT to today ... then how in the world could you not think the two greatest nations in the world's history is not included anywhere in there??? I mean, come on, Assyria/Germany is in there ... Egypt is in there ... and Ethiopia ... and Libya, and Syria, etc ... but not America and Great Britain??? Really?
Re-Read the histories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Israel, and Joseph again .... and, by the way, as yet another sidenote, what EXACTLY is placed under the Royal Throne in England? Otherwise known as the Coronation Stone? And how/why do you think it is there?
I'll give you a hint: Jacob's Pillow. Google it.
Millions of Britons are blissfully unaware of their ancient roots ... they have not the faintest idea that the "great group of nations" called the British Commonwealth (Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,etc) are the literal seed of Abraham, of Jacob/Israel, of Joseph ... the Chosen/Promised peoples of Ephraim. Nor do countless millions in the United States understand that they are the Manasseh of Bible history—and Bible prophecy!
WE ARE ISRAEL.
Maybe the next time you blow the dust off your Bible and refresh your memory of the demise of Israel, and the end-time prophecies, and the upcoming tribulation ... and maybe the next time you see prayer requests for the support of Israel ... and maybe the next time your see memes and posts concerning the repentance (true change) of Israel .... OR ANYTHING REGARDING ISRAEL, FOR THAT MATTER ... maybe, just maybe, you'll remember what I've challenged you to read about, research, and think about.
And, hopefully, not be offended.
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