Support for Israel and the gospel

 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Genesis 12:3

First of all, we support the right of Israel to have their own homeland. The Jewish people as a result of their collective sin have been dispersed and persecuted throughout the nations. Having a place, they can call home is a wonderful thing. They have a right to this earth like any other people group and for anyone to call for their destruction is a truly evil thing. Matter of fact no one who tries to destroy them will ever succeed. The fact that the Jewish people are still here after countless attempts to destroy them is a Divine miracle in itself.

Nevertheless, we are opposed to the dangerous theology that result in many Christians blindly supporting the actions of the Jewish states.

The verse typically used by these Christians is Genesis 12:3, where God told Abraham that He will bless them that bless him and curse those who dishonors him. And in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed. The first thing we must understand is that Abraham was a friend of God. Bible says in Romans 4:3-5, " 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."

James 2:23, " and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God."

Abraham was a righteous man and a friend of God. As a result, the Lord blessed him, protected him, promised to bless those who blessed him and curse those who curse him.  When God said through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. He was prophesying the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ though whom, all humanity will have access to God and thus the fulfilment of the promise given to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, "the seed of the woman who would destroy the serpent's head." 

In Deuteronomy 28, God through Moses warned the Israelites of the reality of the covenant, the blessings and curses. If they remain faithful, God will bless them and protect them from their enemies, but if they rebelled and become disobedient the reverse will be true, they will be cursed and overcome by their enemies. 

In the course of time, the Jews came to believe they were special no matter what, by their own merits. So they came to believe God would bless them no matter what.  Through ought the Bible we see them rebelling against God, while waiting on Him to deliver them. A perfect illustration of that belief is found in the Book of Samuel. Israel was in rebellion against the Lord and the philistines came to battle with them. One thing to notice is that when a nation or people are in rebellion with God, they will have no peace with their neighbors. 

So, Israel came to battle against the Philistines and were defeated. So, in 1 Samuel 4 they went and get the Ark of the covenant from its place and brought it to the battle, thinking that having the symbolic representation of God amongst them, despite their sinfulness would be the key to victory. The Ark was carried by the sons of the high priest Eli, wicked men already warned of judgment by God. The end result? The ark was captured, the two sons of Eli perished with a huge number of Israelites in the battle. The lesson? There is no blessing in disobedience.

Ezekiel 33:24 -26

“Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ 

Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat flesh with the blood and lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?

You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife; shall you then possess the land?

Here we find the Jewish people who were facing the judgments of God looked back to Abraham. And they concluded because Abraham was blessed, "Abraham was one man and yet he got the land, surely we who are many will receive it." But God said, this is not the case. Again, Abraham was a righteous man, he obeyed God and He blessed him, gave him victories. But the Jews at that time were wicked, practiced all manner of wickedness and relied on the sword, on violence. 

One look at the nation of Israel now and you easily see it is a wicked nation just like other nations. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1988, the state recognizes foreign same-sex marriages. Israel is considered the most LGBTQ-friendly country in the Middle East, with Tel Aviv recognized as a global gay-friendly, city. Wikipedia.

Modern Israel "rely on the sword," not on God. They do all these wicked things like any other nations. Are they blessed by God? Will Christians be blessed by supporting such wickedness?

But the greatest sin of the Jewish nation is the rejection of the very blessing God promised to Abraham. Let's go back to Genesis 12:3.

 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Genesis 12:3

The Jews rejected the "One through who all the families of the earth would be blessed." They rejected the source of all blessings, "the Desire of all nations," The Messiah, The Prince." As a result the Jews as a people were cut off from the Vine of God's special blessings and the curse pronounced in Deuteronomy has followed them since throughout the centuries. Are Christians blessed for supporting a nation in darkness ?

John chapter 8. They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did

In a conversation with Jesus, the Jews claimed to have Abraham as father, but Jesus refuted the notion and said, " if they were Abraham's children, they would do the works of Abraham, they would do works of righteousness." If they were Abraham's children, they would be obedient to God and would have accepted Jesus as Messiah. If they were Abraham's children, they would receive God's blessings and those who blessed them would be blessed. But Jesus made it plain, by not doing the works of Abraham, they were not his children and were not entilted to his blessings.

While we are to support the Jewish people's right to exist, we must recognize they are a people in darkness, spiritual darkness. And someone in spiritual darkness will do evil things, will rely on the sword and promote wickedness. While as Christians we are to support all people's right to live in peace, we cannot blindly support anyone, less we become partaker with them in wicked acts.

The best way we can support the Jewish people, the nation of Israel is by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. To call them to repentance, to call them out of the darkness of modern Judaism. The Jews are wasting their time waiting for a Messiah, when He has already come, wasting their time to build greater Israel. Because the Jews have ignored the fact that the Messiah has already come, they are in danger of being used by Satan to start religious wars with the Muslims, over Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, land etc. that would lead to countless deaths and sufferings. And woe to us Christians who would support such carnage in the name of waiting for a blessing but instead would receive a curse.

Those who are preaching support for the current nation of Israel no matter what they do are leading Christians to support all manner of evils and are also doing a disservice to the Jewish nation by supporting them in a life of darkness. Christ is the light of the world and all who reject Christ are in darkness, including the current Jewish state.

Being a physical Jew, born of the flesh means absolutely nothing and there is no special blessing in supporting the current nation of Israel. Israel has rejected the true blessing, Jesus Christ. The best way to support the nation of Israel is to bring them back to the true blessing, the Lord Jesus Christ and to show them the way to become the true Israel of God.

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:29

Is the United States a Christian nation?

 Why calling the United states a Christian country is detrimental to Christianity. 

The United states was clearly influenced by Christian principles; The pilgrims were escaping persecutions from Europe and while many of them practiced Christianity, they were still suffering persecution in Europe from state churches.

The founding fathers, some being Christians, made sure to separate the church from the state. They well knew of the carnage that comes as a result of having a state religion. And so, the US became one of the rare countries without a state religion. Each person was left to follow the dictate of his own conscience. 

When you call a country by a specific religion, people associate all of its behaviors with said religion.

Note this example: Slavery was an institution in the United states; this would also mean that the brutality of slavery was accepted a Christian precept. Even the mistreatment of the Indians would have been considered a Christian precept. In fact, all of the wicked acts that our nation has committed would be considered “the work of Christianity” instead of something that brings dishonor to God. 

Many people have turned away from God because of the behaviors of so called “Christian countries”. The crusades of the Middle Ages, the persecution of so called “heretics” burning at the stake, tortures, all being done by nations who claim to be Christian. Heinous crimes that should never be associated with the loving Jesus who gave His life that men might be saved.

“They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.” (John 16:2-3 NIV)

Jesus said people who commit such crimes know neither Him nor the Father. Did these so called “Christian nations” know Jesus?

This is why Jesus said, "..give back to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s and to God what is God’s.”(Matt. 22:21 NIV)

Christianity is focused on the kingdom of God, while the government is focused on maintaining earthly order and dominion. If it uses religion, it will use it to that end.

True Christianity on the other hand is not concerned with national greatness, but with the advancement of the kingdom of God. 

True christianity would condemn slavery, the mistreatment of the Indians and other injustices commit by the state. True Christianity would recognize that we are all one human family and we are to treat each other the way Christ would treat us.

Furthermore, one is not born a Christian, but must be born again through an encounter with Christ. One is not a Christian simply because he is born into a certain country or family, but he must be born of water and of the Spirit. And so, it is difficult to have a Christian country since the majority citizens in any so called “Christian”

 country” are not born of water and of the Spirit.

How do I know ?

Their fruits reflect it. A Christian country would be a heavenly place, a little heaven on earth. It would be a country where everyone is under the control of the Holy Spirit. Picture it: full of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.

It is possible to have a Muslim country, a Buddhist country, even an Atheistic country (as these belief systems, being earthly, can be enforced by the state). Even Islam, a religion that focuses on external behavior, can easily be enforced by the state; but it is impossible to have a Christian country. True Christianity can never be enforced by the state because it requires an internal transformation.

It is impossible simply because to be a true Christian means to be born from above.

While the United States is founded upon many Christian principles, it is not a Christian country because a country cannot be born again, only repentant individuals can.

We have Christians in the United States, but it is not a Christian nation.

The Christian does have a country, but it is a heavenly one.

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:15,16 NIV)

God judges nations

 

Nations rise and fall! Why ? Because sooner or later they abuse their dominions and become unjust, cruel and warmongering.  Then the Lord judges them,and overthrow their powers.

We have seen it with many different empires throughout history. Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Spain, Ottomans, the mongols etc..

For hundreds of years, the European nations exploited, killed and enslaved millions of people.

African slavery, colonization etc..

Europe was a terror to the world. 

But the Lord did bring judgment upon them .

For hundreds of years, the European nations exploited, killed and enslaved millions of people.

African slavery, colonization etc..

Europe was a terror to the world. 

But the Lord did bring judgment upon them .

In a short amount of time, from 1914, to 1945 two devastating world wars wreck havoc upon Europe, destroying millions and laid many nations to ruin.

The evil they had exported upon others came back upon their own heads.

And so it is friends,God empowers nations for a time, give them dominion. But when they abuse such dominion and bring misery upon others, know for certain the Lord will judge them. He will either allow them to fight amongs themselves (civil war ) or bring other nations against them. Sometimes weaker nations.

Babylon was a great nation, appeared invincible, but the Lord use the Medes and Persians to overthrow them.

Rome was mighty, did wickedly, but over time was attacked by barbarians and splintered. 

France oppressed African slaves in Saint Domingue (Haiti), but the slave eventually rose up and defeated the French army, massacred the french colonists .

America had africans in chains for centuries, a devastating civil came upon them. The civil war has been the deadliest war for the United States.

God judges nations. The Lord doesn't change.

The same God who judges nations in the past for their oppression and tyranny will judge nations today.

America is now the greatest nation on ths planet. If It continue to abuse this power, wage war om whoever, destroy whoever it wishes under false pretexts, then sooner or later the judgments of God will begin to manifest against it and ruin will follow.

The lesson is when God give us power, it is meant to help others, be beneficial to them and not abuse them because they are weak.

God will judge on behalf of the weak.

Jeremiah 18:5-10 MSG 

Then GOD’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” GOD’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, but if they don’t cooperate and won’t listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them.

Ezekiel 12

12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.

15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:

16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:

18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.