--by Don Preston
On Wednesday, 3-27-02, a suicide bomber blew himself, and at least 19 Israelis into eternity. This is the latest in a series of escalating attacks against Israel, and will, of course, lead to serious retaliation by Israel. What many may be missing--in fact, some will not want to hear--is that the attack on Wednesday, taking place on Passover, has tremendous theological implications.
Hal Lindsey insists that Israel remains the chosen people of God. In an article posted earlier, Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma senator, said that Israel has the divine right to the land because of Genesis 13. It is no secret that one of the pillars of modern dispensationalism is the view that Israel remains God's chosen, exclusive people.
In 1967 the Arab league, led by Egypt, attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the
Day of Atonement. This is one of Israel's most holy days of the year. It seemed, in the first day or two, that Israel was doomed. However, that war lasted, due to Israel's amazing military prowess, only 6 Days. Millennialists hailed Israel's victory as a positive sign that Jehovah was protecting her, and that, of course, we must be living in the last days! Let's take a closer look.
Instead of being a proof that Israel remains as God's chosen people, the Yom Kippur attack in 1967, and the attack on Passover, this last Wednesday, proves
beyond a shadow of a doubt that Israel is not in covenant relationship with Jehovah. We know this from scripture.
Read Exodus 34:23: "Three times in the year all your men shall appear before
the Lord, the Lord God of Israel [passover, pentecost, tabernacles]. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year." The promise here is simple and profound. As long as Israel was in covenant relationship with Jehovah, their enemies would not attack them during their holy feast days! On a recent Trinity Broadcast, I heard Grant Jeffrey saying that, "For 1500 years of Israel's history, there is no record of a single attack against her on any of her Holy Feast Days." Of course, Jeffrey made no mention of the 1967 Yom Kippur attack! That would have proven more than a little embarrassing, for his point was to show how God had protected Israel for so long, and his citation of the 1500 years of protection was in that context.
It is tremendously important to realize that Jeffrey was correct. For 1500 years there were no attacks against Israel during her feast days [During the Mosaic Age]. However, the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 took place, the city fell, during Pentecost. What are the implications of that attack in light of Exodus 34? The Seven Day War of 1967 took place on Yom Kippur, Israel's most Holy Day. What are the implications in light of Exodus 34? And now, the attack on Passover on 3-27-02. What are the ramifications of this attack, on Israel's Holy Day?
If Israel is still God's chosen people, that Palestinian bomber should never have been allowed by Jehovah to attack during the Passover. If Israel is still God's chosen people the attack of 1967 should never have happened. Instead of Israel's victory at that time being a sign of her elect status, it was, and is, a sign of the direct opposite. It proved, and proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Covenantal promise of Exodus 34 is no longer applicable! But if the Covenantal promise of Exodus 34 is no longer applicable, then the other promises of that Covenant, i.e., the promises of national restoration (e.g. Deuteronomy 30), are also now invalid, abrogated by Jehovah Himself.
Further, the attacks on Yom Kippur, and now Passover, also prove something else, a direct corollary to everything else. Either the Covenant promise of Exodus 34 is no longer valid, or, the people claiming to be Israel today are not the people of the Covenant of Exodus 34. If the Covenant of Exodus is still valid, but the people in Israel today were attacked in violation of Exodus 34, then what does it say about the identity of the people in Israel today? It says that they cannot be the people of the Covenant of Exodus 34!
Every time, and any time, that the Palestinians attack Israel during any of
her three feast days, Bible students everywhere should be trumpeting the
Biblical fact, that this proves, emphatically, and unequivocally, that Israel is no longer the chosen people of God.
On Wednesday, 3-27-02, a suicide bomber blew himself, and at least 19 Israelis into eternity. This is the latest in a series of escalating attacks against Israel, and will, of course, lead to serious retaliation by Israel. What many may be missing--in fact, some will not want to hear--is that the attack on Wednesday, taking place on Passover, has tremendous theological implications.
Hal Lindsey insists that Israel remains the chosen people of God. In an article posted earlier, Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma senator, said that Israel has the divine right to the land because of Genesis 13. It is no secret that one of the pillars of modern dispensationalism is the view that Israel remains God's chosen, exclusive people.
In 1967 the Arab league, led by Egypt, attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the
Day of Atonement. This is one of Israel's most holy days of the year. It seemed, in the first day or two, that Israel was doomed. However, that war lasted, due to Israel's amazing military prowess, only 6 Days. Millennialists hailed Israel's victory as a positive sign that Jehovah was protecting her, and that, of course, we must be living in the last days! Let's take a closer look.
Instead of being a proof that Israel remains as God's chosen people, the Yom Kippur attack in 1967, and the attack on Passover, this last Wednesday, proves
beyond a shadow of a doubt that Israel is not in covenant relationship with Jehovah. We know this from scripture.
Read Exodus 34:23: "Three times in the year all your men shall appear before
the Lord, the Lord God of Israel [passover, pentecost, tabernacles]. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year." The promise here is simple and profound. As long as Israel was in covenant relationship with Jehovah, their enemies would not attack them during their holy feast days! On a recent Trinity Broadcast, I heard Grant Jeffrey saying that, "For 1500 years of Israel's history, there is no record of a single attack against her on any of her Holy Feast Days." Of course, Jeffrey made no mention of the 1967 Yom Kippur attack! That would have proven more than a little embarrassing, for his point was to show how God had protected Israel for so long, and his citation of the 1500 years of protection was in that context.
It is tremendously important to realize that Jeffrey was correct. For 1500 years there were no attacks against Israel during her feast days [During the Mosaic Age]. However, the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 took place, the city fell, during Pentecost. What are the implications of that attack in light of Exodus 34? The Seven Day War of 1967 took place on Yom Kippur, Israel's most Holy Day. What are the implications in light of Exodus 34? And now, the attack on Passover on 3-27-02. What are the ramifications of this attack, on Israel's Holy Day?
If Israel is still God's chosen people, that Palestinian bomber should never have been allowed by Jehovah to attack during the Passover. If Israel is still God's chosen people the attack of 1967 should never have happened. Instead of Israel's victory at that time being a sign of her elect status, it was, and is, a sign of the direct opposite. It proved, and proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Covenantal promise of Exodus 34 is no longer applicable! But if the Covenantal promise of Exodus 34 is no longer applicable, then the other promises of that Covenant, i.e., the promises of national restoration (e.g. Deuteronomy 30), are also now invalid, abrogated by Jehovah Himself.
Further, the attacks on Yom Kippur, and now Passover, also prove something else, a direct corollary to everything else. Either the Covenant promise of Exodus 34 is no longer valid, or, the people claiming to be Israel today are not the people of the Covenant of Exodus 34. If the Covenant of Exodus is still valid, but the people in Israel today were attacked in violation of Exodus 34, then what does it say about the identity of the people in Israel today? It says that they cannot be the people of the Covenant of Exodus 34!
Every time, and any time, that the Palestinians attack Israel during any of
her three feast days, Bible students everywhere should be trumpeting the
Biblical fact, that this proves, emphatically, and unequivocally, that Israel is no longer the chosen people of God.