The
Ten Most Important Scriptures
To understand the
Sunday PM,
In this
series of two messages, I want to provide a countdown of Bible passages that
speak to the issues in the
There are a
lot of things that can and should be negotiated in the
#10—Arabs
are important to God.
Arabs and Jews are actually cousins. Both point to Abraham as their father. Arabs descend from Abraham by way of Ishmael while Jews descend from Abraham by way of Isaac and Jacob. Both Jews and Arabs are blessed because of Abraham
Jesus is not against the Arabs. Exactly the opposite is true. Jesus loves the Arabs and has them under his divine protection.
20 And as for
Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful
and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve
rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant
I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next
year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from
him.
God has three
particular blessings that he will give to the Arabs.
First, he will greatly increase their numbers. This
is happening in our day. The Arab
birthrate is extremely high, maybe the highest in the world. I know that a few years ago, when researching
what countries are growing fastest, the Muslim nations had all ten of the
fastest growing nations. There is not a
direct correspondence between Arab and Muslim but there is some connection.
Second, he will be the father of twelve rulers. What
this means is that there will be twelve Arab rulers who will rise above the
norm. I have not tracked out who those
twelve would be, but there have been a number of great Arab leaders and empires
over the centuries. They really
developed a great civilization at one time and contributed considerably to
scientific and cultural advancement.
Third, Ishmael will be a great nation. This has happened. The Arabs are a great nation. However, the greatness of the Arab nation is limited by the disunity mentioned in Genesis 16:10-12 “The Angel of God spoke to Ismael's mother, Hagar: "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count." The angel also said to her; You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."
I remember when Egypt’s Nasser dreamed that Egypt would be at the center of three great circles: the circle of Africa, the circle of Muslims, and the circle of Arabs. But that dream never materialized.
Bin Laden has complained bitterly about the lack of unity among Muslims. Both Syria and Iraq are calling for Arab unity against Israel.
I got email from David Dolan today.
He is reporting the following news:
“…state-controlled media in Syria has been clearly encouraging a new
Arab-Israeli showdown in recent days, an official editorial on Radio
Syria issued this ominous threat: "There must be tangible work
on the ground and concrete measures to increase Israel's predicament. The Arabs
do not need much thinking and contemplation about what needs to be done." The
radio went on to urge Jordan and Egypt "to sever diplomatic
ties and close down the enemy's offices and missions so that the criminals of
Tel Aviv realize that the Arabs are one nation and that they cannot
penetrate Arab territory and dismember it."
There will only be one actual moment of Arab unity. That will occur in the final showdown will Israel that takes seven years after the rapture.
#9 The Jews have special promises from God as
well
15 God also said to
Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no
longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so
that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be
born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of
ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live
under your blessing!" 19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will
bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant
with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
There are two promises that God made to the Jews by way of Abraham. First, the Jewish people will supply the leaders of nations, according to verse 16. Second, according to verse 19, God will establish a covenant with Israel that will last forever. That covenant will be with the descendants of Isaac.
#8—God
promised Canaan to Abraham in spite of the fact that there were other residents
there at the time.
5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
This may well be the most visible and publicly recorded land grant in the world. The God who created the universe granted the land to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob.
7A--The
Jews will inhabit Israel by their own initiative
Zephaniah 2:1-2
1 Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, 2 before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's wrath comes upon you.
7B--God
who scattered Israel will re-gather the remaining Jews to Israel in the end
time[1]
Jeremiah 31:7-13
7 This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'O
LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.' 8 See, I will bring them from
the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them
will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great
throng will return. 9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring
them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they
will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn
son. 10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant
coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over
his flock like a shepherd.' 11 For the LORD will ransom Jacob and redeem
them from the hand of those stronger than they. 12 They will come and shout for
joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- the
grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will
be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. 13 Then maidens
will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning
into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. (NIV)
6—Jerusalem
will be dominated by Gentiles until Christ returns
Luke 21:20-28
20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Tertullian believed the ‘times of the Gentiles” referred to that period of time during which Gentiles can be saved and can join the remnant of Israel as God’s people.
Being questioned by His disciples when those things were to come to pass which He had just been uttering about the destruction of the temple, He discourses to them first of the order of Jewish events until the overthrow of Jerusalem, and then of such as concerned all nations up to the very end of the world. For after He had declared that “Jerusalem was to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled,--meaning, of course, those which were to be chosen of God, and gathered in with the remnant of Israel--He then goes on to proclaim, against this world and dispensation (even as Joel and done, and Daniel, and all the prophets with one consent), that “there should be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.”[2]
This passage tells us several things; one directly and the other indirectly. First, prior to the Second Coming of the Lord, Jerusalem will be surrounded by hostile armies. Second, Gentiles will afflict Jerusalem until the day of Salvation has ended. The “times of the Gentiles” is the name for the period of time we are in now when God is reaching out to Gentiles that we can be saved.
These events will unfold slowly because we will be able to see them happening. Jesus said in verse 28 “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
[1] Ezek 28:24-26 "'No
longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful
briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. 25 "'This is what the Sovereign LORD
says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been
scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then
they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They
will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will
live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned
them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.'"
Ezekiel 36:24-36 "'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
[2]Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., “On the Resurrection of the Flesh,” Ante-Nicene Fathers; Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian; vol 3 (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) 560-561.