Israel, God's Anvil
By: John McTernan
(Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry is pleased
to make this excellent article by John McTernan available to the readers of FOJ.)
It speaks to the heart of the Middle East Conflict, and to the fact that God is
using Israel to judge the nations of this world.
The words of the Lord are pure words: pure as
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalms 12:6)
The rebirth of the nation of Israel has been a real
slow process. The process started in the late 1800's and has continued right up
to the present time. At times, this process seems to stop, and then all of
sudden a huge event takes place that accelerates it. The start of the Jews
coming back did not seem significant at first. But, there was a small but steady
stream of them. Then came WW1 and in 1917 the Balfour Declaration. Then like an
explosion, the land was being readied for the return. The period between world
wars was one of tension and terrorism. There was no apparent move of God toward
fulfilling the covenant.
Then came WWII and the nazi holocaust. The events of
WWII set the stage for hundreds of thousands of Jews to go back to Israel.
Almost like an explosion, there were huge numbers of Jews ready to go back to
Israel. Then came the rebirth of the nation in 1948 and the immediate war. The
war ended and Israel was once again faced with tension and terrorism. For 20
years, there seemed no end to the shelling and terrorists attacks.
Then came the Six-Day War in 1967, and like a bolt of
lightening, Israel had all of a united Jerusalem as its capital. Since 1967,
there has been a major war, plus fighting in Lebanon and continual terrorist
attacks against Israel.
Starting in September 2000, a low grade war was
started over Jerusalem. This war is a continuation of the fighting that started
in 1920. Although the fighting and terrorism seems endless, there will be an
end. There seems to be tension, terrorism and fighting between all the major
moves to restore Israel. There has been almost 40 years since Jerusalem was
united.
Now, the fighting is directly over Jerusalem and the
Temple Mount area. The Bible states that the last great world war will be over
Jerusalem. All the nations of the world will be drawn to Jerusalem. God is
going to use Jerusalem as an anvil against the nations of the world.
The fuse to start the last world war may have been lit
in September 2000, when the Temple Mount became the scene of bloody combat. God
is moving to fulfill the promises of His everlasting covenant, but one has to be
patient. God seems to have moved very slowly with Israel to completely fulfill
the promise.
Looking back, since 1917, tremendous progress has been
made. Israel is a nation with Jerusalem as the capital. Israel is a mighty
military power. Israel has a powerful economy. The rest of the promises of the
covenant will be fulfilled in God's time. No matter what was tried by the
British, Moslems, United Nations, European Union or any other group, their
attempts have not been able to stop the rebirth of the nation.
Israel is truly like an anvil, and nations are going
to be broken trying to destroy God's covenant nation. In watching God working,
great patience is required. The restoration has taken almost a century to get
this far. God has His own agenda and timetable. Watching Jerusalem and the war
that started in September 2000 over the Temple Mount, shows that God's timetable
may be accelerating.
Remember, Jesus Christ said that Jerusalem was the key
to the timetable. With the rebirth of Israel and Jerusalem the capital, this
nation becomes an anvil for false views of God and Bible doctrine. Most
religions of the world do not recognize God's covenant over the land of Israel.
Some believe the Jews had a covenant, but this covenant is no longer in effect.
God is using Israel to now show the literalness of His word. The rebirth of
Israel confronts false teaching, doctrine and prophets. Israel has become an
anvil to break the false doctrines and misunderstandings of the Bible.
Islam does not recognize the covenant with Isaac and
Jacob, but instead believes God made a covenant with Abraham and Ishmael. Islam
believes the Koran and not the Bible is the word of God. The Koran fails to
mention Jerusalem even once, and it does not mention the rebirth of the nation
of Israel. Jerusalem is mentioned 811 times in the Bible. The rebirth of Israel
is on page after page in the Bible while the Koran is silent.
The rebirth of Israel shows the authority of the
Bible as the word of God. God's everlasting covenant and the rebirth of Israel
is like an anvil against the Koran. Israel is proof the Koran and Mohammed are
wrong. This tension between Israel and the Koran can never be peacefully
resolved. For Islam to recognize the nation of Israel would be an admission that
the Koran and Islam are wrong. Moslem fundamentalists refer to Israel as the
"Zionist entity." They will not even recognize the nation of Israel.
There is a huge confrontation on the horizon between
the God of the Bible and Islam. The heart of the confrontation will be the
Jewish control of Jerusalem. God is using Israel as an anvil against Islam. When
the Islamic nations come against Israel and Jerusalem, they will be destroyed.
God is also using Israel as an anvil against false
teachings within the Christian Church. There are doctrines called replacement
theology and covenant theology. Both these doctrines are fluid and there are
many branches to them; however, believers hold the Church has now replaced
Israel in the everlasting covenant. These doctrines hold that God has no future
plan with the nation of Israel, and when Israel was destroyed in 70AD, it ended
the everlasting covenant. Israel then fell under the curse of the Law, but all
the blessings in the Bible now belong to the Church. These doctrines are in
stark contrast to what the prophet Jeremiah states:
Jeremiah claims that the nation of Israel will remain
forever: Jeremiah 31:35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light
by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night,
which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his
name: (36) If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the
seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. (37)
Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the
earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all
that they have done, saith the Lord.
God has used the rebirth of Israel to prove both
these doctrines to be incorrect. Just as Moses and the prophets have said, the
physical descendants have returned and the nation was reborn. The Bible is to be
taken literally about Jerusalem meaning Jerusalem, Israel meaning Israel, and
not spiritualizing it to say Jerusalem and Israel now mean the Church. To try
and get around the error of the replacement and covenant theology, some
believers in these doctrines have gone so far to say the Jews in Israel are not
real Jews. When these "Jews" were being killed in pogroms in Russia, no one said
stop they are not real Jews. When these "Jews" were being killed by the Nazis,
no one said to stop they are not real Jews. Now, when these same "Jews" go back
to Israel, all of a sudden they are no longer Jews. God is using the rebirth of
Israel to cut right through false and incorrect views of His word. The promise
of God in the Bible is crystal clear on page after page. Manmade doctrines and
false prophets have tried to alter this covenant, but in the latter day, God has
made the truth clear for all to see. God is very serious about His word. Then
said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform
it. Jeremiah 1:12.
Believing in false doctrines about the literalness of
the rebirth of Israel, blinds people to the working of God that is occurring
right before their eyes. God is moving to fulfill His word and millions cannot
see it because they are following false prophets or wrong doctrine about Israel
and Jerusalem.
The very sad part is believers in Jesus Christ,
because of false doctrine, can actually be against the work of God. Many fail to
support God's covenant nation and can be against it, because of a false
understanding of Israel and the everlasting covenant. It is very serious, to be
on the wrong side of God when He is defending His everlasting covenant. The
wrong doctrine can cause a person to be apathetic toward Israel and the Jews.
This can lead to the failure to pray for and support Israel in a time of crisis.
This incorrect doctrine blinds a person's ability to see God's judgment falling
on America for forcing Israel.
God is real serious about the land and covenant.
Israel will literally be used as an anvil to destroy the nations that come
against Jerusalem. The nations will be drawn to Jerusalem like a moth to a
light. Multitudes of people have rejected God and the Bible or just do not
believe His word. This rebellion will cause the nations to come against God's
anvil. God has warned beforehand what will happen when armies try to destroy
Israel and take Jerusalem. The entire world will see the mighty power of God, as
He uses Israel as His anvil. This is all laid out in the Bible, and will be
covered in depth in the chapter titled, Jerusalem a Burdensome Stone. God is
using the rebirth of Israel like an anvil to expose false prophets, doctrines
and to have a literal witness on the earth to the authority of His word. It is
important that one's faith be in accord with the truth of the Bible. God's word
has been tested in the furnace of the earth. The word has proven itself to be
like pure gold and silver.
The everlasting covenant has been tested now for
4,000 years of history. It is in effect for all to see. God's is faithful to His
word and promises. His word is pure for all to see. "The words of the LORD are
pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."