Jerusalem and Temple Mount, from Mount of Olives (Photo by Ronald Ginther)

This fine article appeared in CharisLife Ministries' magazine, Tough Love," published August 1986. It has great bearing on what is happening right now in the Middle East, specifically Israel and southern Lebanon. As we know, there is occurring the absolutely justified Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah terrorist attacks on Israel, beginning with killing and abducting Israeli soldiers from inside Israel. The murders and kidnappings were immediately followed by rocket attacks, the rockets being launched from widespread, hidden rocket platforms cunningly embedded under mosques, schools, on the roofs of hospitals, and in homes and apartments in southern Lebanon. These rockets were made, it appears, in North Korea, then were most probably shipped to Iran and carried over the border of Syria to southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah infiltrators and their Shiite collaborators installed the rockets for firing upon Israel, and they are now firing them by the hundreds. This is the most deadly threat to Israel and has already caused much damage and many deaths in Israel after only a couple weeks. Israel has reacted with bombing raids and sending in some troops, but the battle is very fierce with the deeply embedded (they have elaborate, well-concealed tunnels and underground installations), trained Hezbollah terrorists, and it is not yet certain if Israel will be able to seal off the border inside Lebanon with Syria to prevent more rockets from coming in from Iran into the Bekaa valley through which the rockets are conveyed in, no doubt, innocent-looking truck shipments of farm produce.

A peace plan is being promoted by the U.S., and it is already rejected by the terrorists who demand an immediate Israeli cease fire and withdrawal from southern Lebanon before they will cease hostilities (which they will promise but will never actually do, regardless of Israeli cooperation with the peace plan). Truces, for terrorists, are only agreed to in order to rearm and regroup for the next attack.

Since the world is in a customary, frantic state of confusion and conflicting opinions about the events, we naturally want to know what the Bible, not the ignorant, secular-humanist commentators on the news channels, has to tell us. If we want it, we can get the pure truth of God, not a biased spin of an ignorant, fallen, godless world-view.

This article continues what we gave on David Hathaway's article, "Palestine?"--and our comments appended to it. This article has much to say in addition that is more timely than when it was written and published in 1986.

"Speak Tenderly to Jerusalem"

"Israel is planted in her land, never again to be uprooted. And if it ever there was a need to 'Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem' (Isa. 40:2), it is now! Christians are becoming increasingly aware of the fact the Old Covenant people (Israel) and the New Covenant people (the Church) have a common destiny which God is rapidly moving us toward. We have so much in common with Israel both historically and prophetically.

The prophet Isaiah asks, 'Can a mother forget her nursing child, that she should not lhave compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee (Isa. 49:15). In Romans 11:1,2 Paul states God woul;d never forget nor cast off a people He had brought into being. Israel is the only nation with such a unique origin. It, therefore, follows that God's continuing interest and concern for Israel also has a distinctive quality.

Realizing some Gentile nations may well question the validity and purpose of this special relationship, Paul explains it by referring to God's sovereignty and His implicit right to choose whomsoever He will (Rom. 9:14-29). God's sovereign authority over all the nations allows Him the right and privilege to show mercy, favor and compassion to whom He will (Rom. 9:5).

In accordance with His privilege, God chose Abraham as the father of the new nation He would bring into being (Gen. 12:1-3). God apprehended Abraham in order to fulfill His desire to birth a unique and peculiar people to Himself--a people with whom He would make an everlasting covenant and through whom He would demonstrate His everlasting faithfulness.

God established this bond by a covenant agreement which He confirmed three times to Abraham (Gen. 12f:2,3; Gen. 15:18; Gen. 17:6,7), once to Isaac (Gen. 17:19) and oncer to Jacob (Gen. 28:4). Although Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, God clearly stated His covenant promise would be fulfilled specifically through Isaac (Gen. 17:19). Paul reiterates this point in Romans 9:7, indicating not all the descendants of Abraham are heirs to the promise, but only those who are descendants of Isaac also. Nevertheless God promised to remember Ishmael whom He would cause to be fruitful and multiply exceedingly. This promise has surely been fulfilled in those nations which are direct descendants of Ishmael.

The promises God made were to find fulfillment in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and also the Gentiles whom God would save, that His ultimate redemptive people might be "not of the Jews only, but al;so of the Gentiles' (Rom. 9:24). 'For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a spcial people unto Himself above all people that are on the face of the earth' (Deut. 7:6).

God made a solemn covenant with Abraham which He committed Himself to fulfill through the line of Isaac and Jacob. It is an everlasting covenant which shall never fail: 'Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night...If these ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever (Jer. 31:35,36).

One aspect of the covenant promise relates to the promise of the physical land of Israel. God clearly defined the borders of the land which He deeded to them: '...Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates' (Gen. 15:8). God renewed this promise to Isaac, 'Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father' (Gen. 26:3).

Marvelous promises were made to Israel. If her people would only listen to God's voice and obey Him, they would be exalted above all nations (Deut. 28:1-14). God's blessing would be shown in every part of of her national life.

Conversely, curses would come for disobedience; and, unfortunately, this is much of the inheritance Israel has reaped. Amongst the curses pronounced was the 'scattering of her people to the ends of the earth, with accompanying distresses' (Deuyt. 28:64-68). Nevertheless, God also promised to regather Israel; and we are witnessing His faithfulness to that in our day. 'The Lord thy God will return and gather thee from all the nations where the Lord thy God hath scattered thee'

The fulfillment of such prophecies constitute some of the greatest miracles of the 20th century. The rebirth of Israel is not merely a miracle, it isd a continjuing series of miracles. The restoration of this people to their land and the re-establishment of modern Israel is a phenomenon of the magnitude that only Almighty God is able to perform."--Gerald Rowlands

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End Note: When my 96 year old mother turned over her library of CharisLife publications to me a short time ago, I came to read this particular article at a time when many of us are needing to know the truths of God regarding Israel and its territory at the very time that blood-dripping Islamic quartet, the genocidal enemies of Israel (Iran and Syria, Hezbollah and the PLO/Hamas terrorists) are striving to destroy Israel and steal her God-given land.

The CharisLife newsletter-magazine is brief, but it is called ENDTIME as an issue. Beneath the CharisLife banner is this verse: "Let us exhort one another all the more as we see the Day of the Lord approaching!" We ask the editors of this magazine and the author to give us permission for this republished article on this nonprofit, educational site, as we have made a fruitless search on the Internet search engines. We will go ahead, despite this, to publish the article without any change to it, for we want you to read exactly and fully what the article has to say to us in this closing hour of the Church Age. In no way does CharisLife Ministries support us or endorse us, nor are we trying to get any such endorsement. Our only motive is to share the truth imparted to a man of God, so that we can all benefit long after the article first appeared in a small, limited, but prophetically inspired publication in Portland, Oregon. With the scripture-based knowledge gained from this article, we should be prepared to pray wisely concerning Israel and the whole Middle East, a region in bondage to false religion which is cast by God Himself into the valley of decision. What is the decision to be made? It is "WHO IS GOD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, OR ALLAH?" The dear Moslem people (and the Jews too, must choose Jesus Christ as their Messiah or miss out completely) must decide between God and Jesus Christ His Only Begotten Son and Allah and Mohammed.

The Bible recognizes no such God as Allah, and God had and has a Son, who is Jesus (Y'shua) Christ--whom Mohammed and the Koran deny! How do we know? The only God-inspired book on earth, the Bible, tells us and shows us that this is the absolute truth, no matter what the Islamic Koran claims or any other "holy" book claims is the truth.

I thank God for Jesus Christ! He loved us all so much He came down to this sinful earth from heaven to suffer and die for us on the terrible cross of the Romans--thus becoming a perfect sacrifice for our individual sins that condemned us to death in hell forever. Thanks to Jesus alone, I no longer have to suffer forever, condemned to hell for all eternity, for my sins. Christ took them on Himself, washed them away completely, with his holy, sinless, blood shed on the cross. I am innocent, before God's holy eyes! When God calls me, I will go to heaven and live with God forever, enjoying heavenly peace and joys (not the earthly, carnal pleasures concocted by Mohammed for his followers and used by wicked-hearted, Moslem jihadist clerics to motivate suicide bombers, all of which is the ugliest thing you can imagine awarding a holy saint of a holy God who loves all people and sent His only Son to die for their salvation!).

Who is like Jesus (Y'shua)? There is no one! As the Prophet Isaiah describes Him, He is Wonderful Counsellor, Beautiful Savior, Prince of Peace, and Mighty God. Only He could say and make good on these words of His: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you."--John 14:2. Evenso, come soon, Lord Jesus, and rule the earth from your glorious city, Jerusalem, establishing Your perfect, bliss-filled peace for a thousand years!--Ed.

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