What makes us believe some things, and not believe other things? I hope you read this whole article even though it may seem long, because you will never know if you believe it or not. People have said from time to time that the world would be ending by such and such a day. But we are still here and yet, people will still believe the next person who comes along with a day and a time in which the world will end. Why is that? Matthew 24:36 says this, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” I guess we just don’t want to believe God’s Word because we are always trying to dispute it. In fact it also tells us this in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
People also believe that the Bible is only man’s word because man wrote it. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
We must remember there are 66 books in the Bible, and they cover a time span of around 4,ooo years and it was written by about 35 different writers. It is impossible to get a consistent theme throughout the Bible with such a time span and by so many different writers, unless it was as the Bible tells us, under the inspiration of God. And at that, much of it was passed on by word of mouth, because there were no books or newspapers, or internet back then. There was no other way in prehistory other than to pass it on to your children other than by teaching them word by word. The Bible is the most read book of all time. So here we are today with so many facts that proves the Bible is truth. Here are a few facts and stick around for the last fact: Noah’s Ark is still sitting on top of Mount Ararat in Turkey. Archaeologists know that there was some sort of a flood thousand of years ago. Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, well, they know that there is a mountain in Arabia where the top of it is burned, just as the Bible tells us that the mountain was on fire. So if we have these facts then why do we not believe what it says? Genesis 17:1-8 tells us this, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
So God gave Abraham the land which we call Israel today. Abraham’s son Isaac through the same covenant which God made with his father Abraham, was made with him, which included the same land we call Israel today. Isaac’s son Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) through that same covenant with God, the land was then passed on to him. When God led the Israelite people out of the bondage of Egypt, He brought them to the promised land (Israel) which He gave to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One promise God gave to Abraham that was passed down to the generations was this in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This promise still holds true today, because God chose the Jewish people to be His people as Exodus 19:3-6 tells us, “As Moses went up to meet God, GOD called down to him from the mountain: “Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me. If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep My covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be My special treasure. The whole Earth is Mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.’ “This is what I want you to tell the people of Israel.”
Now let’s fast forward to more modern times. According to Wikipedia, the land of Israel was conquered by the Roman Empire. By the 2 century CE. Many of the Jews were sold into slavery. By the 4th century much of the land was ruled by the Greco-Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine. However, shortly after Islam was consolidated across the Arabian Peninsula under Muhammad, Byzantine Christian rule over the Land of Israel was superseded by the Arab conquest of the Levant in the 7th century. From the 11th century to the 13th century, the Land of Israel became the center for intermittent religious wars between Christian and Muslim armies as part of the Crusades. In the 13th century, the Land of Israel became subject to the Mongol invasions and conquests, though these were locally routed by the Mamluk Sultanate, under whose rule it remained until the 16th century. The Mamluks were eventually defeated by the Ottoman Empire, and the region became an Ottoman province until the 20th century. The late 19th century saw the widespread consolidation of a Jewish nationalist movement known as Zionism and the Jewish people began returning to the Land of Israel. During World War I, the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the Allies led to the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. Britain was granted control of the region by League of Nations mandate, in what became known as Mandatory Palestine. The British government publicly committed itself to the creation of a Jewish homeland. Arab nationalism opposed this design, asserting Arab rights over the former Ottoman territories and seeking to prevent Jewish migration. As a result, Arab–Jewish tensions grew in the succeeding decades of British administration.
In 1948, the Israeli Declaration of Independence sparked the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which resulted in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight and subsequently led to waves of Jewish emigration from other parts of the Middle East. Today, approximately 43 percent of the global Jewish population resides in Israel. In 1979, the Egypt–Israel peace treaty was signed, based on the Camp David Accords. In 1993, Israel signed the Oslo I Accord with the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was followed by the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority. In 1994, the Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed. Despite efforts to finalize the peace agreement, the conflict continues to play a major role in Israeli and international political, social, and economic life. We could add all of the Abrahamic Accords which were signed during the Trump administration. Let’s go back to 1948 when the UN voted to make Israel a sovereign nation according to the History Channel the United Nations approved a plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state in 1947, but the Arabs rejected it. In May 1948, Israel was officially declared an independent state with David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, as the prime minister. While this historic event seemed to be a victory for Jews, it also marked the beginning of more violence with the Arabs. The Dept. of State, Office of the Historian tells us what happened on May 14 1948. Here is a short recap: Although the United States backed Resolution 181, the U.S. The State Department recommended the creation of a United Nations trusteeship with limits on Jewish immigration and a division of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab provinces but not states. After much discussion Harry Truman at the end of the day ultimately decided to recognize the state Israel. In one day Israel was born, in one day the Jewish people became a nation. This is just unheard of and yet this is what happened at the mountain when God took the people of Israel and made them a nation. Here is our last fact that the Bible is truly God’s Word. The Bible tells us this in
Isaiah 66:7-9 which was foretold back in 700CB, way after Moses, but way before the UN council meeting in 1948. “Before she was in labor, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. “Will I bring the moment of birth, and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Will I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.”
This is exactly what happened on that day, May 14, 1948. God delivered and a nation was born, a sovereign nation. So why do we hate Israel? Here is an excerpt from our brochure on The Origins of Anti-Semitism at judeochristianclarion.com “Even though we have seen anti-Semitism throughout history, we have seen a recent increase over the last several years. Anti-Semitic violence and attitudes have once again begun to surge. After the Holocaust, most Christians in the United States had been pro-Israel, but today, we have seen that many church-goers have turned their backs on Israel and now support Israel’s enemies. You see more and more hateful remarks on social media. Western Europe has exploded with hate for the Jewish people. The state of Israel has seen many attacks over the years. So you have to ask yourself, why? And why now? Is it the nationality or is it their religion that is causing the hatred? We want to take a closer look at this, so to do that we have to look back into the Scriptures to see when this all started. We could go back to Adam and Eve, when they sinned in the garden. We could look at when Cain, filled with hatred, killed his brother Abel. But we will start with Abraham. God blessed Abraham with these words: “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you” (Genesis 12:3). We will see this hold true till eternity. Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, was from Hagar rather than Sarah, who God said the promises would come through. When Abraham sent Hagar away with her son she cried out to God and He heard her: “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” (Genesis 17:20). The descendants of Ishmael are the Arab nations. The Arab nations will reconcile with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Today there are many Muslims who have found the One True Living God, and when Messiah returns He will gather the nations unto Himself. So we see that we need to look further into this subject, but not too much further, for we see this also with Esau and Jacob the sons of Isaac. The Scriptures tell us that God loved Jacob but hated Esau: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Romans 9:13). So why did God hate Esau? Let’s take a closer look at the backstory to all of this. We see that Esau, who was the eldest of Isaac’s sons, had no regard for his birthright. The birthright was a special blessing given to the firstborn son. It also meant a double portion of land and money. Genesis 25:29-34 tells us how one day Jacob was cooking some stew, and Esau came asking for food. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” So Esau swore an oath and sold his birthright to Jacob for some bread and stew. So Esau despised his birthright. Esau had no regard for the things of God. He would be, let’s say, a man of the world, but Jacob, he was a man of God. Hebrews 12:16-17 tells us, “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” We see from Scripture that Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, and when it came time for Isaac to bless Esau before he died, Rebecca (Isaac’s wife) had a plan to replace Esau with Jacob for this blessing, for she knew that God’s will was for Jacob to have this blessing (Genesis 25:23). Well, Jacob deceived his father who was blind by putting on Esau’s clothes and covering himself with animal skins so he would smell and feel like Esau. So Isaac believed and he blessed Jacob. When Esau found out, he swore that he would kill his brother and so Jacob fled. Now let us move forward in time. The descendants of Esau were the Edomites. The Scriptures tell us a lot about the Edomites: they are mentioned about 120 times in the Old Testament. Genesis 36 gives us the family tree of Esau, and again in 1 Chronicles 1:43-54.
Numbers 20:14-21 tells us about a conflict that took place between Edom and Israel. Moses, after leading Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, sent messengers to the king of Edom asking permission to simply pass through his country on the way to their destination, stressing that their intentions were not to stay in the land but to move through it and that they would pay for any water used in his country. Edom responded harshly and came out to meet Israel with a mighty army, so Israel is forced to take a different route. This hatred was evidently also passed on to Esau’s grandson Amalek. The Amalekites come and attack the Israelites at a place called Rephidim. While Joshua leads the army, Moses prays and lifts his hands toward God. As long as Moses’ hands are raised, the battle is in Israel’s favor, and in the end Israel is victorious. God tells Moses, “‘Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.’ Moses built an altar and called it ‘The LORD is my Banner.’ He said, ‘Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation’” (Exodus 17:8-16). Let’s look at some other Scriptures regarding Edom. Isaiah 34:1-17 speaks about God’s wrath toward Edom. “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood… For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom… For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause. Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.” Jeremiah writes in Jeremiah 49:7-22 how once again God will destroy Esau. “’Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time when I punish him… I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His armed men are destroyed, also his allies and neighbors, so there is no one to say, “Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive. Your widows too can depend on me.” I swear by myself,’ declares the LORD, ‘that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse, an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins.’” Dedan and Bozrah were towns in which the Edomites lived. We see again in Obadiah 1:18, “Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau. The LORD has spoken.” So why does God hate Esau? Frankly because Esau hates the God of Israel. We have seen the various prophecies concerning the destruction of Edom. Not like the descendants of Ishmael, Edom was and never will turn to God. Esau, who kept cursing Israel, eventually was cursed of God. But we must understand that just as in the days of the Apostles the spirit of antichrist was already present (1 John 4:3), so too is the spirit of Edom present, and in many ways they are the same spirit. We want to look at several people in history that had this spirit of Edom. Doeg is seen in 1 Samuel 22:16-19. Saul unjustly orders his army to slaughter the priests of God who had given David support as he fled from Saul. The soldiers refuse, so Saul orders Doeg the Edomite to carry out his order. Doeg not only kills eighty-five priests, but continues to destroy the entire town the priests inhabited. Doeg did not just kill the priests, but the whole town including the women, children, and animals. Next we see Haman in the book of Esther, who wanted to kill all the Jews. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, refused to bow to Haman, who was a descendant of Amalek and a powerful man in the kingdom of Babylon. Haman is furious, so he devises plans to not only kill Mordecai, but all of the Jews along with him. We also see the example of Herod, whose father was an Edomite, in Matthew 2:13-18. After hearing from the Magi that the King of the Jews, Yeshua (Jesus), had been born in Bethlehem, he commands them to tell him where the child is located once they find him. Warned in a dream, the Magi return home. “When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.’” There have been so many other times throughout history, too many to mention, but we do want to mention one other and that was Adolph Hitler who also wanted to annihilate the whole Jewish race. Today we still see the spirit of Esau who has not stopped persecuting the Jewish people and also the Judeo-Christians who believe in the God of Abraham. Revelation 12:17 says, “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman (Israel) and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Yeshua.”
We see that anti-Semitism is all about who the people of Israel are, the children of Jacob, and who they worship, the One True Living God. How about you? What kind of spirit do you have? Are you true to the God of Abraham, or have you been duped to believe that God no longer cares for His chosen Israel and has chosen another? He who blesses Israel will be blessed for all eternity.”