Is physical Israel still important to God? #challeningtopics

Welcome to the next post for challenging topics – is physical Israel still important to God? First, what does the reference physical mean? It basically means the land of Israel itself.

Brief History of Israel

Israel has biblical roots and can be traced back to the days of Abraham, who is considered both the father of Judaism (through his son Isaac) and Islam (through Ishmael). The name Israel came through Abrahams grandson, Jacob, who was renamed by God.

King David ruled around 1000BC and through his son, King Solomon, the first holy temple was built in ancient Jerusalem. In around 931BC, Israel was divided into two Kingdoms: Israel in the North and Judah in the South.

For many centuries Israel was conquered by various groups such as the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and so on.

The Balfour Declaration and the British mandate over Palestine were approved by the League of Nations in 1922. Arabs vehemently opposed the Balfour Declaration, concerned that a Jewish homeland would mean the subjugation of Arab Palestinians.

1948 – Arab – Israel war – that same year Israel was declared a nation on 14th May 1948. This fulfilled the prophecy spoken in Isaiah 66:8 about a nation being born in a day!

Today Israel is still the focal point of many clashes between Israelis and Palestinians due to the land being divided. This has caused a push for a two-state solution that has caused more clashes.

Source for information Israel – Facts, History & Conflicts

We can see that according to biblical history Israel was the apple of Gods eye (Psalm 17:8, Zechariah 2:8, Deuteronomy 32:10), God sees Israel as precious to him.

Does God still see Israel the same way?

Well, the simple and basic answer is yes! The transition from the Old Testament to the new began when Jesus Christ was crucified and the resurrected. The son of God was crucified in Golgotha – just outside the city of Jerusalem. Salvation was accomplished in Israel!

Of course, the significance of Jesus death and resurrection extends far beyond the borders of Israel. According to the scriptures salvation first went to the Jews and then to the gentiles (Romans 1:16). The preaching of the gospel also began in Jerusalem (Luke 24:47), then it spread to other nations. Israel was the foundation of the preaching of the gospel.

During Israels existence there has been two recorded temples, one built during the time of King Solomon and the other one during the time of Ezra and Zerubbabel around 516BC – both temples were eventually destroyed.

Another two temples are expected to be built. One will be during the reign of the antichrist where the abomination of desolation will take place (Daniel 9, 11, and 12, Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

The second is expected to be during the time of the millennial reign of Christ – Ezekiel 40-48. This has been speculated by bible scholars, but no doubt the bible makes it clear that when Jesus returns he will set up his earthly Kingdom and reign from Jerusalem. This we know because Jesus will split the mount of olives when he returns (Zechariah 14).

All though salvation is for all people, the land of Israel is still significant to God. For he will execute judgement from Israel and will rule the world under his Kingship.

So much more could be said! But to prevent this post from becoming a book, I hope this was enough to answer this simple but profound question.

Physical Israel is still important to God! Just as you, precious child of God, are still important to God!

Love and God bless

Deano