Who does Palestine Belong to Today?

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Who does Palestine Belong to Today?
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Introduction

• Since WWII, the land of Israel has been the area
  of greatest conflict in the world.
• Hardly a day passes that the conflict between the
  Jews/Arabs there doesnt make the news.
• Why? The land and issues about who owns it--the
  Jews or the Palestinian Arabs.
• And why are we so interested? Because this small
  country (about the size of NJ) is where most of
  the great events of the Bible occurred, including
  those involving Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus.

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Introduction

• Also of international interest are all the claims
  that current events in the Middle East somehow
  fulfill Bible prophecy.
• The whole system of Premillennialism is built on
  the idea that the Jews must possess the land of
  Israel in order for Jesus to return, set up an
  earthly kingdom, and rule the world from
  Jerusalem.
• To whom does Palestine belong?

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The Land of Palestine

• Some facts about the occupants
• The name Palestine derives from the Philistines,
  a migrating people who lived there during the
  time of Abraham. (Genesis 1013,14
  2132)
• The name Canaan derives from one of Noahs
  grandsonsa son of Ham.
• Current Palestinians are not related to either.
  Rather, they are Abrahams descendants through
  Ishmaelhis son born of Hagar, the handmaid.
  (Genesis 2512-16)

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The Land of Palestine

• Modern conflict over the land can be traced back
  to May 15, 1948.
• After WWII, led by the British, an effort was
  made to once again provide the Jews with a
  homeland in Palestine.
• The United Nations had authorized partitioning
  the land and giving the Jews more than half of
  that west of the Jordan River.
• In a war that broke out in 1948, the Jews managed
  to take control of 75 of it.

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The Land of Palestine

• Modern conflict over the land can be traced back
  to May 15, 1948.
• Another war in 1967 resulted in Israel taking
  even more of the land.
• Since 1948 the Palestinians have believed the
  Jews want to drive them into the desert, and the
  Jews believe the Palestinians want to drive them
  into the sea.

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The Land of Palestine

• The conflict is actually much older.
• In the days of Joshua, God gave Canaan to Israel
  and ordered the Canaanites destroyed.
• Every place that the sole of your foot will
  tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
  From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as
  the great river, the River Euphrates, all the
  land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward
  the going down of the sun, shall be your
  territory. No man shall be able to stand before
  you all the days of your life as I was with
  Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave
  you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good
  courage, for to this people you shall divide as
  an inheritance the land which I swore to their
  fathers to give them. Joshua 63-6

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The Land of Palestine

• The conflict is actually much older.
• Gods land promise was fulfilled completelySo
  the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He
  had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took
  possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave
  them rest all around, according to all that He
  had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all
  their enemies stood against them the LORD
  delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not
  a word failed of any good thing which the LORD
  had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to
  pass. Joshua 2143-45

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The Land of Palestine

• The conflict is actually much older.
• The KEY is there is no yet-unfulfilled land
  promise all was fulfilled.
• So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which
  He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they
  took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD
  gave them rest all around, according to all that
  He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of
  all their enemies stood against them the LORD
  delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not
  a word failed of any good thing which the LORD
  had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to
  pass. Joshua 2143-45

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The Land of Palestine

• The conflict is actually much older.
• Gods promise to give Israel the land was
  conditional.
• Joshua 2314-16
• Deuteronomy 424-27
• Deuteronomy 2863-65
• 1 Kings 93-7 (Solomon)

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Conditional Promise

• Behold, this day I am going the way of all the
  earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all
  your souls that not one thing has failed of all
  the good things which the LORD your God spoke
  concerning you. All have come to pass for you
  not one word of them has failed. Therefore it
  shall come to pass, that as all the good things
  have come upon you which the LORD your God
  promised you, so the LORD will bring upon you all
  harmful things, until He has destroyed you from
  this good land which the LORD your God has given
  you. When you have transgressed the covenant of
  the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and
  have gone and served other gods, and bowed down
  to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn
  against you, and you shall perish quickly from
  the good land which He has given you. Joshua
  2314-16

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Conditional Promise

• For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a
  jealous God. When you beget children and
  grandchildren and have grown old in the land, and
  act corruptly and make a carved image in the form
  of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD
  your God to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven
  and earth to witness against you this day, that
  you will soon utterly perish from the land which
  you cross over the Jordan to possess you will
  not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly
  destroyed. And the LORD will scatter you among
  the peoples, and you will be left few in number
  among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
  Deuteronomy 424-27

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Conditional Promise

• And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced
  over you to do you good and multiply you, so the
  LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and
  bring you to nothing and you shall be plucked
  from off the land which you go to possess. Then
  the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from
  one end of the earth to the other, and there you
  shall serve other gods, which neither you nor
  your fathers have known-wood and stone. And among
  those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall
  the sole of your foot have a resting place but
  there the LORD will give you a trembling heart,
  failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Deuteronomy
  2863-65

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Conditional Promise

• But if you or your sons at all turn from
  following Me, and do not keep My commandments and
  My statutes which I have set before you, but go
  and serve other gods and worship them, then I
  will cut off Israel from the land which I have
  given them and this house which I have
  consecrated for My name I will cast out of My
  sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword
  among all peoples. 1 Kings 96,7

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The Land of Palestine

• Because of Israels unfaithfulness, the land was
  seized by Assyria and Babylon.
• Those taken to Assyria dispersed among the
  nations and largely disappeared.
• Most taken to Babylon dispersed a REMNANT
  returned to Israel, but it was governed by
  othersPersians, Greeks, then Romans.

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The Land of Palestine

• Some site Deuteronomy 301-3 and Isaiah 1020-23
  as evidence that the LAND belongs to the Jews.
• But this promise was fulfilled when the remnant
  returned after 70 years of captivity in Babylon.
• Ezra and Nehemiah discussed this truth when they
  told about rebuilding the walls, gates, and
  temple in Jerusalem.

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The Land of Palestine

• After Israel had largely rejected Christ and the
  gospel, Jerusalem and the entire Jewish worship
  system were destroyed in 70 AD.
• During Jesus earthly ministry, He predicted
  Jerusalems destruction. Matthew 24
• New-Testament books, such as Galatians and
  Hebrews, show the temporal nature of the Old Law
  and Judaism.
• Jerusalems destruction struck the final death
  blow to the Jewish system.

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The Land of Palestine

• Between 688-691, Muslims built a worship center
  called The Dome of the Rock on what was believed
  to be the site of Solomons temple in Jerusalem.
• Thus, Muslims--people of largely Arab
  descent--ruled over Palestine.
• Jews want to rebuild the temple on its original
  site, but they are incapable of re-creating the
  priesthood, etc.
• Why raise an imperfect system?
• Colossians 214 Ephesians 214-16 Hebrews 87,8

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• The Jews were terribly wronged.
• The Nazi Holocaust, which exterminated 6 million
  Jews throughout Europe, was horrific.
• Jews were stripped of their property, and all
  rights, then murdered.
• Even before the Germans began this process,
  Jewsbecause of their religion and culturewere
  often considered second- class citizens in Europe
  and even in America.

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• The Jews were terribly wronged.
• After WWII, many nations wanted to make up for
  the wrong done to the Jews by establishing a
  homeland for them.
• But apparently, they gave little thought to who
  would be dispossessed of the land when it was
  given to the Jews.

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• The Arabs were terribly wronged.
• In 1948, Arabs who had lived in the land for
  centuries were uprooted. Their land, their homes,
  and their businesses were taken away, and they
  were forced to live in refugee camps.
• Promises made to the Arabs by the world powers
  were never kept.
• Thus, many Palestinians are very distrustful of
  Westerners.

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• Christians have been very wrong about Palestine.
• Much of the Middle-East conflict is intensified
  becausefor the past 200 yearsprofessed
  Christians have been teaching that Israels
  return to Palestine is part of the Bibles
  prophecy.

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• Christians have been very wrong about the land of
  Palestine.
• But the restoration of Israel prophesied in
  Scripture during the captivity was fulfilled in
  two ways
• Physically, by the return led by Zerubbabel,
  Ezra, and Nehemiah.
• Spiritually, in the coming of Christ to establish
  His spiritual kingdom--not an earthly kingdom.
  John 1836

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• Christians have been very wrong about the land of
  Palestine.
• Restoration would be accompanied by Gentiles
  turning to God. Isaiah 111,10
• This was fulfilled in the establishment of
  Christs kingdom, the church. Acts 2, 10,11
• Religious teachers greatly err in expecting
  another restoration in the future.

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Four Wrongs Contribute to Palestinian Conflict

• World powers have been terribly wrong with
  respect to Palestine.
• Decisions have been made for political reasons
  that havent been fair to the Palestinians (large
  Jewish voting block in US).
• Politicians have been greatly influenced by
  premillennial thought thus, Palestinians havent
  been treated fairly.

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Concluding Thoughts

• Israel is a land of two nations
  three religions.
• One of the central problems is that the effort to
  correct crimes committed against the Jews has
  resulted in similar crimes being committed
  against the Arab Palestinians.
• Giving Israel a homeland robbed the Palestinians
  of their homeland.

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Concluding Thoughts

• It is important that we teach against the
  falsehoods of premillennialism, because this
  false doctrine is greatly responsible for the
  conflict in Israel today.
• We must understand that while Israel once was a
  holy land, it NO LONGER IS!
• Holy implies special, set apart for Gods
  service.
• That chunk of real estate serves no such purpose
  today.

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Concluding Thoughts

• People who know the truth know that salvation and
  Scriptural worship are possible anywhere in the
  world.
• John 421-24
• Today, Christians--as individuals and the church
  collectively--are Gods TEMPLE.
• Jesus prophesied that the Jerusalem temple would
  be utterly destroyed.
• Today, we dont need Jerusalem, or the land of
  Israel, to worship the Lord acceptably.

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Concluding Thoughts

• To whom does the land of Palestine belong?
• Its hard to say. But todays Jews have no
  special right to it.
• The issue would best be resolved by teaching the
  gospel of Christ to both the Jews and Muslims in
  the land.
• Then they could live side by side as brethren,
  rather than enemies who, at the end of the day,
  both teach false religions.