Gò0dNews for Everyone
Splendor for Israel by Eddie Turner
I
n your studies, you may have noticed how Israel tends
through the trade barriers of the Mediterranean Sea, Israeli
to be the center of attention in prophetic Scripture. If you
soldiers boarded the vessel. And when they did, a deadly
did, you likely detected this in nonprophetic Scripture as
gunfight broke out between the two forces.
well. From Genesis to Revelation, Israel never ceases to be
When it was all said and done, Israel was blamed for
God’s chosen people. They will always be His beloved sheep
the deaths of nine Palestinian sympathizers, who the media
despite their history of wandering off. In the Old Testament,
chose to call “activists” rather than terrorists. Israel’s claims
we read how God answered the Israelites’ call for help by
to have been fired upon first were met with opposing
delivering them out of bondage and into a new land that He set aside for them. They had to fight for this land, of course, but God handed their enemies over to them with the assurance that they would conquer for as long as they obeyed Him. Unfortunately, with each new generation, the Israelites became increasingly disobedient, causing God’s patience to wear thin. When the last straw was pulled, God uprooted them from their promised land and scattered them among the nations with a promise to one day bring them back. While a portion of Israel was re-established in 1948, the remainder of the Promised Land was finally taken back by their rightful owners in 1967. You can read the stories of how God once again handed Israel’s enemies over to them during this Six-Day War. Now that the Israelites are back in business, the many
stories of a premeditated bloodbath. While Israel never backed away from its motive of self-defense, pressure
prophecies associated with their return are being fulfilled.
from the United Nations forced the Jewish state to accept
As we watch God at work, we are commanded to ready
responsibility for its actions publicly. This coerced apology
ourselves for the end of our days on earth and for the new
required the management of the Temple Mount to be
lives that await us in His presence. “When these things
handed over to Islam as a good-faith gesture. In a return of
begin to happen, look up and lift your heads, for the day of
thanks, Jewish men and women were barred from all acts of
redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
worship while visiting the Temple Mount Plaza.
So, what’s next for Israel? Continued trials and tribulation are what’s next. This, of course, is by God’s design. Why else would a people suffer such scorn for doing what other
“You will be hated by everyone because of my name” (Matthew 10:22). As God’s chosen people continue to experience
countries are praised for? Israel gets attacked, they retaliate,
turmoil in a hostile Middle Eastern territory, we are to take
and somehow, the Jewish state becomes the big bad wolf of
advantage of every opportunity to pray for Israel. How can
the Middle East. Similar circumstances are what is keeping
we pray for them? We can ask God to lead as many who
Israel from rebuilding their temple of worship. In 2010, after
occupy the Promised Land to Him as possible. And we can
being tipped off about a ship full of terrorists that crashed
ask that God’s will be done in the lives of those that He
34 // February 2022
loves without limits.
