11. The Jewish People And Palestine
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND PALESTINE
“In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Genesis 15:18).
There was neither Jew nor Gentile before the call of Abram. The chosen people of God whom Abram was directed to lead as a new nation were first called Hebrews. They were known as Jews after the time of Judah. The people of all other nations were known as Gentiles. Thus we had on earth at that time, and have had on earth since the origin of nations, two distinct classifications of people, the Jews and the Gentiles.
The Old Testament has to do almost entirely with the development of the Jewish people and with their relationship to the Gentile nations and to God.
Another great classification of people known as the church composed of both Jews and Gentiles was promised by Christ (Matthew 16:18). They are called Christians. The Christians are those people who have become members of the church of Jesus Christ by having faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. They have been born again from death unto life. Both Jews and Gentiles have been baptized by one spirit as Christians into one body in Christ (See 1 Corinthians 12:13 compare Acts 2:1-3; Acts 2:41-47, Ephesians 1:22-23). In the Christian church the distinction between Jew and Gentile disappears. We have now on earth, therefore, three classifications of people, Jew, Gentile, and Christian (Ephesians 2:14-18).
You will see by the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png) that the Jewish people have outlived all other nations. The Jewish race has existed for about 4000 years. During that time they have had many manifestations of the presence of God. No other nation has ever produced such great men as Moses, Joseph, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Paul and many others. The Jewish race was raised up by God to teach the fact that there is only one God; to write and to preserve the Holy Scriptures (Romans 3:1-2); to bring to the world a Saviour, who is Jesus Christ; and to save the world from moral decay.
On the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png), God’s covenant with Abraham is outlined. The descendants of Abraham are shown by the central line on the Chart. The Jewish people wandered into Egypt. They returned from Egypt. Then God made a covenant with Moses called the Mosaic Covenant. He gave the law to the people, through Moses. The tabernacle was built. The Jews wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Later they entered the Promised Land and the temple was built. They were ruled by judges, then by kings. The kingdom became divided. The Jews observed the law until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D. The Jewish people disobeyed God, and were never allowed to claim all of their promised land.
God made a covenant with David. He said, “The throne of David shall never be destroyed" (Luke 1:30-33). “Thy house and thy kingdom shall be established forever; thy throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:4-17).
The ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel were carried captive into Assyria in 721 B. C, as shown on the Chart. They have become a wandering people. The two tribes of Judah were taken captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jewish temple.
Daniel, one of the Babylonian captives, became very prominent in Babylon as a prophet of God. He interpreted the image-dream of Nebuchadnezzar, as revealed by God. He interpreted the hand writing on the wall for Belshazzar. He interpreted also his own vision. The tribes of Judah, after being in captivity in Babylon for 70 years, returned to Palestine, and rebuilt the temple and Jerusalem. In this rebuilding program they had trouble continually. In 63 B. C. they became subject to the Roman Empire. It was this empire which controlled Palestine at the time of Christ.
The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, their Messiah. They crucified Him. Because the Jews rejected their Messiah, they became a scattered people, without a country. Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A. D. and the two tribes of Judah were dispersed. Israel is known as a “Hidden Treasure,” and it will remain hidden until the “Fullness of the Gentiles” is completed.
Many prophecies concerning the return of the Jews to Palestine and the rebuilding of Palestine are recorded by different prophets. The tribes of Israel and of Judah will go back to Palestine, their former land, as one group, as represented on the Chart. This is prophesied in the vision of “Dry Bones” of Ezekiel 37:11, and in the vision of the two sticks which become one, meaning the whole house of Israel. The Jews will go back to their land unconverted. However, they will become converted in Palestine later.
“A new heart also will I give you; and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh; and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes; and ye shall keep my judgments and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people and I will be your God" (Ezekiel 36:26-28).
God gave Israel, through Moses, the “Palestinian Covenant,” as recorded in Deuteronomy 30:1-10. It will go into effect after their return to Palestine, and after their conversion. The “New Covenant” with Israel is to be made after they go back to Palestine (Hebrews 8:7-13; Jeremiah 31:31-37). It has to do with the finished work of Christ and with Israel’s future completeness.
Before the Jews are converted in Palestine, they will be judged during the period of the great tribulation. God will purge the rebels out from among them. The Jews who transgress God’s law shall not enter into the land of Israel (Ezekiel 20:34-38). The testing of the Jews is called the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble" A refuge for the Jews, when the antichrist sets up his image, will be the wilderness countries beyond the Jordan: Edom, Moab, and Amnion (Revelation 13:14-15).
Finally, the Jews will look upon Christ whom they have pierced. They will accept Christ as their Messiah, and the Jewish nation will be born again. Paul said that he, a Jew, was “born out of due time"
In the Kingdom Age, the Jews will possess their land. They will build the temple, and sacrifices will be offered again. The government will be set up. The “Sheep Nations” of the earth will be blessed through Israel. Many will say to the Jews, “We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you" (Zechariah 8:20-23). Jesus will say to the “Goat Nations,” “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). Jesus will be king, and His Church will reign with Him. He will rule on the throne of His Father David.
During this time, Satan will be bound in the “bottomless pit,” he will revolt with many of his people. This host of “wicked ones” will be devoured by fire which will come down from heaven.
“The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
The will of God will be done fully on earth after the present order is cleansed by fire, and when there is a new heaven and a new earth. The Jews love Palestine, their promised land. Since 70 A. D., the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, this country has been destitute and barren. Now it is beginning to bud, and will “blossom like a rose"
Palestine is in the heart and center of the world. It is a vital connecting link between three mighty continents. It holds a strategic geographical position on the earth. It will be coveted by all nations.
Before the first world-war, the Turks had control of Palestine for many years.
In 1917, General Allenby captured Jerusalem from the Turks for Great Britain. As a Bible student, he realized the significance of this capture. Before going into Jerusalem, he dismounted from his horse, removed his hat from his head, and went into the city with bowed head. He went in without firing a single shot, for the Turks did not fire because of General Allenby’s name since “Allah” meant God to them.
The land around Jerusalem is very rich. It is so rich that as many as five crops have been harvested from the same soil in one year. Agriculture is rapidly developing in Palestine.
After the capture of Jerusalem, investigations were made of the composition of the waters of the Dead Sea. It was found that the waters of this sea were rich in valuable and needed salts, and that these salts could be removed from these waters through the process of evaporation.
It was also found that God had provided clay banks along the Dead Sea that are so arranged that a series of large clay reservoirs could be made at different levels.
These clay beds were connected so that when the water from the sea was pumped into the first vat, and the hot powerful sun, through the process of evaporation, had caused the heaviest substance in the water to settle, the remaining water could be run into the next clay vat ready for the same kind of process for the next lighter mineral. The water is continually being evaporated in these clay beds by the hot sun.
For hundreds of years, these valuable substances have been washed from the land round about by the rains and deposited by the streams in the Dead Sea. It is estimated that there are in the Dead Sea from 1200 billion to 1300 billions of dollars worth of salts, such as chlorides, bromides, potash, potassium, and the like. It is estimated that there are 260 millions of dollars worth of bromides which can be used for medical purposes, and 70 billions of dollars worth of potash, which is being put back on the land. Shiploads of potash from the Dead Sea have arrived in America. It is estimated that there are 825 billions of dollars worth of magnesium chlorides in this sea.
God has provided these minerals for use in the time of need, and to help carry out His plan for the future.
Haifa, the great harbor of Palestine on the Mediterranean Sea, has been rebuilt. Ships for carrying oil to other countries are loaded at Haifa. 800 tons of oil refined in Palestine have been shipped. A pipeline 600 miles long has been constructed to run from Bagdad in the land of Iraq to Haifa. 60,000 tons of potash have been produced in one year in Palestine and shipped from Haifa.
Britain’s only source for potash and bromides is the Dead Sea. Plans are being made for the building of 125 new factories in Palestine for the production of chemicals, medicines and textiles. The olive-growing industry has increased about one third within two years. Sheep raising and farming are being developed now on a larger scale. A great dam for furnishing electric power for industry and for lighting purposes has been built in the Jordan river.
This power construction compares favorably with that at the Niagara Falls. Modern cities have been built, like Tel-aviv, with modern banks and hotels. Tel-aviv has a population of 100,000 people. The lands on which these cities are built were a barren waste only a few years ago. On Mt. Scopus a Jewish University has been erected.
Do we wonder that this Promised Land, laden with wealth and with needed minerals, is being coveted by all the nations of the world?
Many battles have been fought on the plains of Asdrelon for the possession of this country; and there remains still another great battle to be fought there, the battle of Armageddon. At that time, Jesus Himself will put a stop to war. Then He will come to judge the nations. After that, He will set up His kingdom on earth. Then the Jews who have been converted will govern the nations. Peace and plenty will reign, and the Gentile “Sheep Nations” will prosper and be blessed.
Already 425,000 Jews are in Palestine. The Jewish exhibit at the World’s Fair in New York City was most significant. It showed production and plans for development in Palestine. Many Jewish people in America are making investments in land and industry in Palestine. Surely the “fig tree” is budding.
Many Jewish people have already been converted. They have accepted Christ as their Messiah. A great work is being done in America among the Jews. Their eyes are being opened to the Light. They are remembering what Jesus said while on earth, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" Surely “the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions"
Let us now look a little closer into the conditions under which the Jews will enter the land of promise, as outlined in the Palestinian covenant. The Jews have never as yet taken the land of Palestine under the Abrahamic, everlasting covenant, and they have never possessed the whole land (Deuteronomy 29:1-29; Deuteronomy 30:1-20). This covenant will be fulfilled.
The seven parts of the Palestinian covenant are:
Dispersion for disobedience (Deuteronomy 30:1).
The future repentance of Israel, while in the dispersion (Deuteronomy 30:2).
The return of the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:3).
Restoration to the land (Deuteronomy 30:5).
National conversion (Deuteronomy 30:6).
The judgment of Israel’s oppressors (Deuteronomy 30:7).
National prosperity (Deuteronomy 30:9).