The importance of Israel in the end times far surpasses all other categories. God is making Israel the focus of world attention. Jerusalem is the epicenter of God’s plan for the end times. As God is focusing the world back on Israel, the world is rejecting Israel. The Abraham Accord signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) highlights the importance of Israel. Division in the Islamic world over Israel foments tension predicted in the Bible.
The tension regarding the importance of Israel is summarized in the encounter Jesus had in John 4 with a Samaritan woman.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” John 4:20-22
The Samaritan woman chose a different place to worship God; she was misinformed, not understanding the scriptures. Jesus said that Jews worship what they know. What do they know? Why is salvation from the Jews?
God taught the way of salvation to us in three key words we learn from the Temple. The three key words are sacrifice, substitute, and satisfaction. God taught that the sacrifice had to be pure. The sacrifice had to be the substitute for man. God would be satisfied with the shed blood, nothing but the blood could atone for sin.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”
Lev.17:11
God gave us this description of the sacrifices to teach us how salvation is purchased.
- God is only satisfied with shed blood.
- God gives it to us as a sacrifice of atonement.
- The substitute sheds their blood and applies it to the one making the sacrifice.
- Salvation comes by making atonement for the soul of a person.
God uses economic terms to describe salvation. Redemption is one of those words. Redemption is a purchase, a price paid.
“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22
This is the principle taught to us by God, without the shedding of blood, no one can be saved.
Here is how it works:
“being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;” Romans 3:24
Jesus paid the price for our salvation by being the substitute, the perfect sacrifice, and the only One that can satisfy God. He shed His blood so that forgiveness of sins can go to the whole world. This is explained in the following verse:
“whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;” Romans 3:25
Notice the important word – faith. Prior to Jesus’s death, God forgave sins when someone came to Temple to do sacrifices by faith. Jesus’s sacrifice was an eternal act meant to fulfill all of the promises inherent in the Temple.
God gave us a prophetic look at Jesus in the sacrificial system. The sacrifices are a picture of Jesus and His work offered in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. What Jews know, that unfortunately many Christians have failed to realize, is that God’s plan for the salvation of nations comes through Israel! The prophets foretold this work in many places. Isaiah 2-4 teaches us that Jesus will sit on a throne in Jerusalem and will judge the nations. Isaiah 24 teaches us that God will judge the whole world before Jesus comes back to set up His kingdom. Jeremiah 30-33 teaches us that God is so committed to the kingdom coming through Israel, that the sun and moon shining daily is proof of his promise!
For the last 2000 years, Christianity has been the channel of blessing to the world for personal salvation. The Church should teach the morals and ethics that can lead nations, but the job of the Church is to preach the good news of the Gospel. God’s intention is to use Israel to set up a kingdom to lead nations, not the Church. The Church has at times tried to take the place of Israel as the ruler and leader of nations. God did not give that job to the Church.
Understanding Jerusalem is the key to understanding God’s plan to bring in His kingdom through the nation of Israel. God is using Jerusalem to cause the nations to make a decision regarding Israel. He prophesied about it in Zechariah.
“The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” Zechariah 12:1-3
As the channel of blessing, the Church has been fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant to bless all of the nations with salvation. Salvation came from the Jews, because Jesus, as the son of Abraham and the son of David, accomplished this salvation. Being the son of Abraham, Jesus fulfilled what He promised to all of the nations regarding salvation. Being the son of David means Jesus will lead all of the nations as their king.
The Jews are still looking for the Messiah, the One who is a political leader. They missed Jesus as the Messiah who would bring salvation. Unfortunately, many Christians do not know that Jesus plans on coming back as King of Kings, a political leader who will lead all of the nations, Jerusalem being His capital city! Therefore, Israel prepares the world for Jesus to come and set up His kingdom! This is why we see so much tension and hatred of Israel. This hatred is growing in the Democratic Party.
“Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is the vice presidential nominee. While the progressive media refers to Harris as “a moderate,” since her election to the Senate in 2016, Harris has racked up one of the most radical voting records in the upper house. She supports revoking all limitations on abortions. She supports harsh limitations on the right to bear arms. She supports banning oil fracking and ending energy exploration on federal lands. Harris refused to speak at the AIPAC conference on any terms. Not only has Harris refused to condemn Reps. Omar and Tlaib for their repeated anti-Semitic statements. Harris warned the Jewish community against protesting Omar’s anti-Semitism saying “the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk.” The fact that Omar’s unbridled anti-Semitism was putting American Jews at risk apparently made no impression on Harris. Like Biden and the rest of her party, Harris supports renewing Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran which will put nuclear weapons and billions of dollars in the hands of Iran’s genocidal ayatollahs.” breakingisraelnews.com
It is not only the Democrats who support Iran over and against Israel, it is most of the world. When the Abraham Accords was signed on August 13th, most of the world was aghast because they do not want Islamic nations making peace with Israel.
“The Abraham Accord, unveiled by US President Donald Trump on August 13, outlines bilateral agreements to exchange embassies and ambassadors between Israel and the UAE. The historic “Abraham Accord” unveiled on Thursday has been hailed a huge Bible prophecy moment. Normalization of diplomatic relations in the Holy Land marks a significant step towards the Rapture.” express.co.uk
A British news outlet, mentioning the rapture of the church is stunning. The article mocked the belief of the rapture, but it is a legitimate stand by Christians to link the two events. The reason why is that any peace deal with Israel from Muslim nations increases the likelihood of war which will bring in the antichrist. Islamic nations are divided over Israel as never before. When Egypt signed a peace deal with Israel in 1979, they assassinated the president, Anwar Sadat. When Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994 it was met with disapproval from the Islamic world.
“Jordan’s signing of a peace treaty with Israel, and other issues, were met with disdain by Syria’s president Hafez Al-Assad. The CIA handed the King a detailed report in December 1995 warning him of a Syrian plot to assassinate him and his brother Hassan.”wikipedia.org
“Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to a historic peace agreement, marking a stark shift in the Middle East and a critical foreign-policy victory for United States President Donald Trump. Nicknamed the Abraham Accords, the deal will see the full formalization of ties between the nations, including direct flights between the states, exchange of diplomats and embassies, security cooperation and an economic partnership. This historic diplomatic breakthrough will advance peace in the Middle East region and is a testament to the bold diplomacy and vision of the three leaders, President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the U.A.E. Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. All three countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from today’s historic achievement.” thetrumpet.com
This signing of the Abraham Accords is crying ‘peace, peace, when there is no peace’. This is especially true in the case of Iran and Turkey. Both of these countries are beside themselves over this peace deal. Both nations want war with Israel and are offended about any move to make peace with Israel. Saudi Arabia knows that they need Israel in any war with Iran. The Iranians are causing Islamic nations to make overtures to Israel because the Israeli military is so strong. Israel can fight and defeat Iran, so nations want to have a good relationship with Israel for their own welfare.
“Abraham Accord Widens Rift between Iran, UAE. The United Arab Emirates on Sunday summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to file a formal complaint in response to a vitriolic speech delivered the day before by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. In his televised address to the nation, the Iranian leader harshly condemned the Abraham Accord, signed the previous Thursday by the UAE and Israel in which the two countries agreed to normalize their diplomatic relations. According to Rouhani, the UAE committed a “huge mistake” and a “treacherous act” toward the Arab world by signing the pact with the Jewish state.” themedialine.org
Turkey’s ruling AKP slams Israel-UAE deal as “political suicide” for Palestinians. The Abraham Accord aims to destroy a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict, AKP spokesman Ömer Çelik said on Twitter. ahvalnews.com
Turkey is very upset at Israel and the UAE. Turkey wishes to reestablish the Ottoman Empire. This is the problem in the Islamic world. Islam teaches that there are only two territories in the world. They teach that there is the territory of Allah/Islam and the territory of war. Turkey wants to take over Israel and northern Africa because they have to reconquer territory they once controlled. The territory of Islam is not permitted to leave Islam, all true Muslims must fight to reconquer the territory.
Multiple nations believe they are the leaders of Islam. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and Turkey all believe that they are the leaders of Islam. This conflict has caused war among Muslims for centuries. Saudi Arabia will be the next one to make a move towards signing some kind of deal with Israel. Could it be that antichrist will use this false peace to bring in his peace deal?
The Abraham Accords teach that Jews, Christians, and Muslims all have Abraham as their father—this should bring peace. An Emirati woman wrote about this very thing:
“I see myself praying at the synagogue now being built in Abu Dhabi in the Abrahamic Family House along with a church and a mosque. These beautiful modern pieces of architecture will be near one another in the same compound, so that a Muslim like me can perform rituals in all three. And I would openly offer my heart and my soul to the roots of this Abrahamic friendship. There was for so long the mantra of “Israel is the enemy.” It was a mantra that people could not break out of and that they believed without proof. These people are now quiet. We need this change in the Arab world. It has taken so long to come. (Sara Al Nuaimi is an Emirati lady, a Muslim and a cultural activist based in Abu Dhabi) jewishpress.com
As Christians, we believe that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the son of Abraham and the son of David. Our God is the God of the Old and New Testaments, not the Koran! Satan is setting up a lie to deceive the world. Are you ready for all of his lies and tricks? Stay close to the Lord our God and pray like never before.
