Israel and The Land – War in Middle
East – Christian Perspective and Ideas for Stopping Terrorism
July 25th 2006
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Northern Israel |
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The best way for Israel to stop terrorist attacks in its territory is by
first ceasing its occupation of all Arab land it captured in the 1967
War which, admittedly, Israel did out of self-defense. Israel was
correct in defending itself.
However, the issue now is no longer so much self-defense. The problem is
that Israel will not pull back to its pre-1967 borders so long as many
Israelis and most evangelical Christians in America continue to believe
that present day Jews have a biblical right to all of Arab territory in
Palestine. For this reason a biblical examination of the issue is
necessary.
As an evangelical Christian, of Indian origin, I wish to set the
biblical issue in proper perspective.
Although the modern state of Israel now has every right to exist as any
other nation (and all need to respect and honor this fact) this does not
mean that Zionism ( the belief that Jews have a biblical right to all of
Palestine ) is correct. And it is Zionism that is primarily fueling the
building and expansion of Jewish settlements on Arab land.
From a purely biblical perspective Zionism has enormous problems. The
fact is that almost none of the Jews in modern Israel today are
descendants of the original Jews of Palestine thousands of years ago.
Most of the Jews in Israel today are descendants of Europeans who had
converted to Judaism in the Middle Ages (known as Khazar or Ashkenazi
Jews).
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The last time that God had promised in Scripture to bring the Jews back
to their ancestral homeland was already fulfilled centuries ago when He
brought them back from their Babylonian captivity. Thus, the Jews in
present day modern Israel are not a fulfillment of that ancient promise.
Furthermore, God’s promises concerning the land to the Jews in the Old
Testament were conditional - only so long as they obeyed Him were those
promises concerning the land binding.
Most evangelical Christians today are looking forward to the seven year
tribulation period of Israel which would require for the Jews to be in
the land. But this period had already occurred in history during 63 A.D.
to 70 A.D. ( seven years ) when the Roman army besieged and destroyed
Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple. It was this destruction that Jesus said
would mark the end of the age (the Jewish Age, that is).
Evangelical Christians who are dispensationalists are still seeking for
an Israel that the New Testament says is the spiritual body of Christ
made up of both Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ and who
together inherit the same promises.
The problem with most evangelical Christians today is that they
interpret the Book of Revelation literally. Revelation is a book of
symbolism and not to be interpreted literally. The Book itself tells us
not to interpret it literally.
In the very first verse of the very first chapter we read, "The
revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (the Father) gave unto Him, to
show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He
sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John" (Revelation
1:1, KJV). The word "signified" in the passage comes from a Greek word
meaning "signs" or "symbols." Thus, Revelation was meant by Christ to be
interpreted symbolically, not literally! The Book of Revelation, like
the rest of the New Testament, was originally written in Greek so
sometimes we must go to the Greek language to have a more precise
understanding of certain words.
The modern state of Israel, now that it has been established, has every
right to exist and most Palestinians now will agree to Israel’s right to
exist. What they do not agree with is Israel’s continued occupation of
the West Bank and Israel’s continued building of settlements there. Most
Palestinians will stop supporting terrorism if Israel simply gets out of
their way (the West Bank) and that is the best way for Israel to stop
the terrorism and preserve its security and peace - not to mention the
security and peace of others.
It is important, however, to have some basic background knowledge of how
the modern state of Israel was founded.
As one writer points out: "Israel was created (in the beginning) not by
force of arms or military invasion, but terrorist activity advocated by
Jewish immigrants, in an effort to get rid of the British Administration
(the lawful government of the day, as sanctioned by the predecessor to
the U.N). Britain abandoned its mandate and Israel was created by the
U.N."
Any solution to the present crisis must also involve monetary or
financial compensation being made by Israel to Palestinian families who
have had their homes and lands seized and taken away during the
formation of the modern state of Israel in the 1940's.
During that time Palestinian families suffered huge atrocities including
many pregnant Palestinian Arab women having their wombs ripped open
alive and their babies slaughtered before their very eyes. This was one
of the many horrible crimes committed against Palestinians even by such
notable political figures as former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem
Begin, and the Palestinians should be compensated by the modern state of
Israel for these crimes. That is only right.
For those interested in a biblical study of the historic Christian
preterist view and interpretation of the Book of Revelation and Bible
prophecy concerning the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ an excellent site to visit is
www.preteristarchive.com where various links and resources are
available on the subject.
By Babu G. Ranganathan
The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, is
an experienced Christian writer. He has his B.A. with academic
concentrations in Bible and Biology. As a religion and science writer he
has been recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis Who's Who In The
East. The author has a website at:
www.religionscience.com
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