Israel: Whose land is it?

    Is there a biblical right to the land? What about a two-state solution? Uncover the answers in this compelling exploration, where history, religion, and geopolitics collide.

    In this eye-opening video, we delve deep into the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tracing back thousands of years to biblical times. Discover the untold history of the land, the divine promises to Abraham and his offspring.

    Explore the historical and biblical roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this riveting video. Uncover the events surrounding the recent violent attack of Hamas on Israel. Discover the unique role Israel plays in biblical prophecy and its inseparable link to the Bible.

    Gain insights into the land’s ownership, debunking historical claims, and challenging false narratives. Whether you’re familiar with the region’s history or new to the topic, this video provides a thought-provoking perspective on a complex issue with lasting implications.

    ⏱️⏱️VIDEO CHAPTERS⏱️⏱️
    00:00 Never forget Israel’s 9/11!
    4:40 Why do you need to keep your eyes on Israel?
    10:46 How is Israel identified in the Bible?
    11:17 Based on the Book of Genesis, to whom did God give the Holy Land?
    25:53 Are the Jews occupiers?
    26:47 Are you familiar with the relevant archeological evidence that provides support?
    28:37 Didn’t the Jews forfeit the land after they were dispersed from 586 BC to 1948 AD?
    31:44 How does Palestine and the Palestinians fit in to this issue?

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    Well, I’m sure that I don’t have to reviewΒ  what has happened recently in the past,Β Β  and also what is going on in the presentΒ  in the Middle East. But let me take aΒ Β  few moments to frame my message. AsΒ  you know, on Saturday, October 7th,Β Β 

    Israel was violently attacked. 1,500 HamasΒ  terrorists penetrated the security fenceΒ Β  around Gaza and entered into Israel. TheyΒ  entered Israel on motorcycles, on jeeps,Β Β  and paragliders through the skies. They brutally,Β  barbarically killed all sorts of individuals,Β Β  who were just enjoying the day at a musicΒ  festival. They abducted and attacked theseΒ Β 

    Jewish individuals in the worst mass murder ofΒ  Jewish people since the Holocaust. And then theseΒ Β  same people went through the local kibbutzim.Β  They raided the area along the Gaza border. Now, the thing to keep in mind is that theseΒ  terrorists, these Hamas terrorists, really didΒ Β 

    Not care who it was that they were killing. TheyΒ  indiscriminately came into the area and pickedΒ Β  off whoever they could. They indiscriminatelyΒ  killed all sorts of victims. It didn’t matterΒ Β  to them if they were killing off-duty soldiersΒ  or if they were killing mothers or grandmothersΒ Β 

    Or even babies. The latest count is over 1,400Β  Israelis were slaughtered in cold blood. They wereΒ Β  shot. They were knifed. They were burnt alive.Β  They were beheaded. You have heard the stories;Β Β  I don’t need to repeat them and all theΒ  gruesome details that are part of that,Β Β 

    But they were brutal. They were barbaric;Β  and, the only words really that can describeΒ Β  what they carried out is pure evil.Β  Evil. That’s exactly what it was. Now, people these days are going around andΒ  they are saying that this was Israel’s 9/11.Β Β 

    But this is often what is not being said: theΒ  population of Israel is approximately 7 millionΒ Β  Jews, and the population of the United StatesΒ  has around 330 million Americans. Based on that,Β Β  when we take into account the number of JewishΒ  people who were slaughtered on their 9/11 inΒ Β 

    Comparison to the people who were killed onΒ  our soil here in the United States on 9/11,Β Β  the damage was 30 times greater inΒ  proportion in terms of the numberΒ Β  of people who died. 30 times! LetΒ  that sink in for just a few moments.

    Well, after this vicious attack by HamasΒ  terrorists, how did Israel respond? For theΒ Β  very first time in 50 years, since the 1973Β  Yom Kippur War, Israel officially declaredΒ Β  war. Of course, many people really don’tΒ  want to check in on the news these days;Β Β 

    It’s depressing, it’s heartbreaking, it’sΒ  difficult, it wears on us allβ€”the painΒ Β  and the suffering and violence that areΒ  going on. But let me tell you something:Β Β  it’s imperative that we keep our eyes onΒ  Israel. You say, β€œWhy is that so essential?Β Β 

    Why is that important?” Well, it’s importantΒ  for many reasons. Think about this with me. We need to keep our eyes on Israel becauseΒ  Israel is God’s prophetic time clock. If youΒ Β  want an idea, if you want to have a sense, ifΒ  you want to learn what is going on in terms ofΒ Β 

    Where we are on God’s timeline during these endΒ  times, then you have no need to look any furtherΒ Β  than God’s prophetic timepieceβ€”the epicenter ofΒ  prophecy. Israel is God’s prophetic time clock. Why else is it important for us to keep ourΒ  eyes on Israel? Well, very simply stated,Β Β 

    Because Israel is inseparably linked to theΒ  Bible. That’s right. The holy place points usΒ Β  to the holy bookβ€”the Bible. When you stop toΒ  think about it, it is really a book all aboutΒ Β  Israel. The scripture records historical eventsΒ  in Israel, and the scripture records propheticΒ Β 

    Events that will take place in Israel. So, it’sΒ  all going to be going down in the Holy Land. There’s another reason why it’s so importantΒ  for us to keep our eyes on Israel, and thatΒ Β  is because Israel is the homeland of the Messiah.Β  It’s the homeland of the Messiah himself. You see,Β Β 

    God sent the Messiah to Israel. His name isΒ  Jesus, Yeshua. Jesus was born in Israel. HeΒ Β  lived in Israel. He taught in Israel. He carriedΒ  out miracles in Israel. Jesus died in Israel. HeΒ Β  was raised from the dead in Israel. It was fromΒ  Israel that He ascended to the Father, and it isΒ Β 

    Back to Israel that Jesus is coming; and, He willΒ  set up His earthly Kingdom in Israel. And so, weΒ Β  cannot separate the fact that this precious realΒ  estate is the homeland of the Messiah Himself. And I want you to think about this: God sent aΒ  Jewish savior to the world. That’s right. NotΒ Β 

    Only is our savior Jewish, but the prophetsΒ  were Jewish. The Apostles were Jewish. TheΒ Β  Bible was recorded by Jewish people. They wereΒ  entrusted with the oracles of God. Romans 3:2Β Β  tells us that. No wonder Jesus Himself saysΒ  that β€œsalvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

    Now, for these reasons and other reasons, as aΒ  church, we wholeheartedly and unequivocally areΒ Β  standing with Israel and the Jewish people.Β  We don’t apologize for that. We are takingΒ Β  a stand for Israel, for the chosen people ofΒ  God, the apple of God’s eye. Having said that,Β Β 

    It’s important for me also to say that thisΒ  does not mean that we agree with everythingΒ Β  that is conducted in Israel or by its leaders.Β  We don’t necessarily agree with everything thatΒ Β  is carried out by their government. Just likeΒ  all governments, there are flawed individuals,Β Β 

    Who are at the helm; and they, at times,Β  make mistakesβ€”sometimes significant mistakes. I also want to say that just as thereΒ  were some sensible Germans during theΒ Β  1930s and 1940s who opposed Adolf HitlerΒ  and the Nazis, so it is that there areΒ Β 

    Some sensible Palestinians who oppose HamasΒ  and terrorism. And to these Palestinians,Β Β  we say to you, β€œWe stand with you also; and,Β  we pray for you. You’re not the enemy.” AndΒ Β  so our prayers are for these individualsΒ  who are trapped by Hamas in that area.

    Now, in case you’re not standing withΒ  Israel, my prayer, my strong earnestΒ Β  desire for you would be that would beΒ  your conviction before the end of today,Β Β  that you would adopt the conviction that Israel,Β  in fact, has a right to defend herself againstΒ Β 

    These unspeakable atrocities that haveΒ  been perpetrated against her. We shouldΒ Β  support Israel. We ought to support the Jews notΒ  because of politics, but because of prophecy.Β Β  It’s not that we’re trying to be political;Β  it’s that we need to be biblical. And so,Β Β 

    We want to take a stand where God takes a stand,Β  and He takes a stand for Israel in His word. By the way, did you know that Israel isΒ  mentioned over 2,000 times in the Hebrew Bible,Β Β  and over 70 times in the New Testament? TheΒ  Old Testament tells us that Israel was chosenΒ Β 

    By God. Israel is the apple of God’s eye; theyΒ  are to be God’s representatives to the world.Β Β  They are God’s chosen people; they are God’sΒ  instrument to represent God to all the nations. Now, with this background in mind, IΒ  invite you to open your Bible to theΒ Β 

    Very first book of the Torah, also knownΒ  as the Pentateuch, the Law of Moses,Β Β  the Book of Booksβ€”the Bible. So if you wouldΒ  turn to Genesis 1, I don’t want you to takeΒ Β  my word for the fact that we ought to beΒ  taking a stand for Israel and the JewishΒ Β 

    People. I want you to see for yourself withΒ  your own eyes what God says about His people. The current crisis that we’re consideringΒ  today goes back a long, long time. Yeah,Β Β  we’re in the Book of Genesis, the first bookΒ  of the Bible. It goes all the way back 4,000Β Β 

    Years. We know that God handpicked one particularΒ  individual from the entire world at the time. HisΒ Β  name was Abram; later, he was renamed Abraham.Β  God chose him out of all the nations in GenesisΒ Β  Chapter 12. I’d like for us to do a little surveyΒ  of several passages in the Book of Genesis alone.

    In Genesis 12, the first two verses, we’reΒ  told the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth fromΒ Β  your country and from your relatives and fromΒ  your father’s house to the land which I willΒ Β  show you. And I’ll make you a great nation,Β  and I will bless you and make your name great,Β Β 

    And so you will be a blessing.’ There we discoverΒ  that there’s this unique blessing of God’s handΒ Β  upon this particular individual. He is going toΒ  bless Abraham; he is going to cause, through hisΒ Β  seed, the world to be populated with a specialΒ  blessing that’s going to take place through him.

    Then if you were to skip over to threeΒ  chapters later in Genesis Chapter 15,Β Β  we discover not the Abrahamic blessing, but theΒ  Abrahamic Covenant. God establishes an eternalΒ Β  unconditional covenant with Abraham in GenesisΒ  Chapter 15. He gives Abraham and his descendantsΒ Β 

    The title deed to the land. This is what weΒ  can call a land grant. The land of Israel,Β Β  as you can see based on our map here, isΒ  significantly showing a geography that isΒ Β  much larger than present-day Israel. ItΒ  actually extends from the Great River inΒ Β 

    Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River. This isΒ  a massive area that God has promised His people,Β Β  yet to be entered into in termsΒ  of their enjoyment of the land. From Genesis Chapter 15 and theΒ  covenant that is established there,Β Β 

    I’d like you to turn over to theΒ  next two chapters, to Chapter 17.Β Β  That’s significant because God chooses toΒ  extend this covenant not through Ishmael,Β Β  his firstborn, but through Isaac. You canΒ  read it for yourself in Genesis 17:19-21. So,Β Β 

    This covenant that God gave to Abraham was nowΒ  passed along to Isaac. From there, if you wouldΒ Β  turn to Genesis Chapter 22, as we are surveyingΒ  how God has handpicked a man, this man’s son,Β Β  and then we see this further development takeΒ  place in Genesis Chapter 22, where it teachesΒ Β 

    Us that Abraham went up to Mount Moriah to offerΒ  up his son Isaac. And God gives promises to IsaacΒ Β  and then to Jacob. God can see Abraham’s faith,Β  the father of faith, and he says, ‘Hold off;Β Β 

    I see your faith and know that you are willingΒ  to even not withhold your son from Me.’ And so,Β Β  God blesses Abraham and his faith because he didΒ  not even hold back that which was precious to him.

    In this passage, God gives promises not just toΒ  Isaac, but then to Jacob. But we’ll get there inΒ Β  just a few moments. Now, in a case of historicalΒ  revisionism, Islam comes along and says,Β Β  ‘No. It was not Isaac who Abraham sought toΒ  offer up on Mount Moriah; it was Ishmael, andΒ Β 

    The Jewish people have it all wrong. Ishmael wasΒ  the one who was offered up there.’ Now think aboutΒ Β  this for a few moments. Moses penned the Torah,Β  including Genesis, in approximately 1400 BC. Okay,Β Β  now Muhammad comes along 2,000 years later inΒ  600 AD and he says, ‘No, no, no. It wasn’t Isaac,Β Β 

    Who was offered up there on Mount Moriah. ItΒ  was Ishmael.’ But that was 2,000 years afterΒ Β  the fact. Wouldn’t you think that is not the mostΒ  reliable way of understanding what took place? Listen, the origin of the conflict goes wayΒ  back in time between the descendants of Isaac,Β Β 

    The Jewish people, and the descendants ofΒ  Ishmael, the Arab people. And since then,Β Β  there’s been ongoing conflict. Would you turn toΒ  Genesis Chapter 26? We see this reestablishmentΒ Β  once again of this covenant with Isaac. Just soΒ  there’s no confusion, God says to Isaac in GenesisΒ Β 

    26, starting in verse 3, He says, ‘So turn in thisΒ  land, and I will be with you and bless you. ForΒ Β  to you and to your descendants, I will give allΒ  these lands. Who does the land belong to? It tellsΒ Β 

    Us right hereβ€”from Abraham to Isaac. This isΒ  where the covenant is established. He says,Β Β  ‘And I will establish the oath which I sworeΒ  to your father Abraham. Verse 4 says β€˜I willΒ Β  multiply your descendants as the stars of heavenΒ  and will give your descendants all these lands.’

    In the previous chapter, Genesis Chapter 25,Β  Jacob receives Esau’s birthright. He receivedΒ Β  it through trickery, but nevertheless, he was aΒ  recipient of the birthright, and the birthrightΒ Β  was an honor that gave the heir the right toΒ  the inheritance of the land and the privilegesΒ Β 

    Associated with the father’s estate. Now lookΒ  at Genesis Chapter 28. We’re just surveyingΒ Β  this one book where we find the answers to theΒ  question: who does the land belong to biblically? In Genesis 28:3,4, Isaac is blessing Jacob,Β  and we’re told, ‘May God Almighty bless youΒ Β 

    And make you fruitful and multiply you, thatΒ  you may become a company of peoples. MayΒ Β  He also give you the blessing of AbrahamΒ  to you and to your descendants with you,Β Β  that you may possess the land of yourΒ  sojournings which God gave to Abraham.’ See,Β Β 

    There’s really no confusion thatΒ  needs to be there in terms of whoΒ Β  God has given this land to; it’s clear . .Β  . through Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. While you’re still in Genesis Chapter 28,Β  notice with me verse 13. God says to Jacob,Β Β 

    ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father AbrahamΒ  and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie,Β Β  I will give it to you.’ Who’s God talking to?Β  To Jacob. ‘I’m not just going to give it toΒ Β 

    You,’ He says in Genesis 28:13. ‘I willΒ  give it to you and to your descendants.’ Do you remember in Genesis Chapter 32, thereΒ  is a wrestling match? What an interestingΒ Β  wrestling match that had to have been, whereΒ  the angel of the Lord is wrestling with Jacob,Β Β 

    And Jacob is relentless. And God touches hisΒ  hip socket, and he develops a limp from thatΒ Β  day forward. And we’re told that God gives JacobΒ  a name change. The name change is not a smallΒ Β  thing that we just give a passing look at; it’sΒ  something that we need to consider. Could thatΒ Β 

    Weigh in on the importance of Israel belongingΒ  to the Jewish peoples? Look at Genesis 32:28.Β Β  God says, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob.’  And then, if you will turn to Genesis Chapter 35,Β Β  and starting in verse 10, we’re told God saidΒ  to him, that is to Jacob, ‘Your name is Jacob;Β Β 

    You shall no longer be called Jacob, but IsraelΒ  shall be your name.’ So, He called him Israel.Β Β  Verse 12: ‘And the land,’ don’t miss that,Β  ‘the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,Β Β  I will give to you, and I will give theΒ  land to your descendants after you.’ AndΒ Β 

    A great cross-reference to this would be 48:4.Β  Now, when you put all these verses together,Β Β  it should be abundantly obvious to allΒ  of us that God gave the land to Abraham,Β Β  then to Isaac, then to Jacob, and to theΒ  Jewish descendants that would come after Jacob.

    But there’s more. Before we even leave theΒ  Book of Genesis, we need to understand thatΒ Β  Jacob had a whole lot of children. He had manyΒ  sons, and before he passed out of this life,Β Β  he blessed his sons. I’d like you to check out oneΒ  of the particular sons whom Jacob blessed greatly.Β Β 

    This was not like any other blessing which God,Β  through Jacob, blessed this individual. It’sΒ Β  the greatest blessing of royalty that was givenΒ  to this one particular son. Genesis chapter 49,Β Β  look there if you would, In Genesis 49:8, JacobΒ  is blessing his son Judah. It says, “As for you,Β Β 

    Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your handΒ  shall be on the neck of your enemies. Don’t missΒ Β  this. Your father’s sons, in other words, yourΒ  brothers, shall bow down to you.” What thisΒ Β  tells us is that Judah was given the place ofΒ  greatest prominence, superiority, even over hisΒ Β 

    Other brothers, the most important inheritance andΒ  place in the family. Then in verse 10, it says,Β Β  “The scepter will not depart from Judah nor fromΒ  the ruler’s staff from between his feet untilΒ Β  Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedienceΒ  of the peoples.” Now, notice if you will, the wordΒ Β 

    β€œscepter” and β€œruler’s staff”. Those items areΒ  symbolic; they symbolize royal command. And it wasΒ Β  through Judah that King David eventually would beΒ  born. It was through Judah that King Solomon wouldΒ Β  eventually be born. And it was through JudahΒ  that the King of Kings would be born. And so,Β Β 

    It is by no mistake that this blessing is goingΒ  through Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob,Β Β  and then through Judah. By the way, the shortenedΒ  form for the word β€œJudah,” take a wild guess, isΒ Β  what? It’s β€œJew”. And throughout time, people haveΒ  wondered, “Well, who was the first Jew?” Well,Β Β 

    If by Jew, you mean the tribe of Judah,Β  then Judah was the first Jew. If by Jew,Β Β  you are referring to someone who is a Hebrew, thenΒ  Abraham was the first Jew. If you say, “By Jew,Β Β 

    We have to refer to people who are first referredΒ  to as Jews in the Bible,” then you would have toΒ Β  look at Second Kings to discover that there areΒ  all of these unnamed individuals who are calledΒ Β 

    Jews. But the point that I want to make here isΒ  this: because God has given the land to the JewishΒ Β  people, because they are to be the owners of theΒ  land, they are not the occupiers. That’s a phraseΒ Β 

    We keep hearing in connection with the JewishΒ  people. β€œThey are the occupiers. They don’t belongΒ Β  there”. But they’re not the occupiers. They’re theΒ  owners of the land. And if you know your history,Β Β  you’re aware of the fact that the Jewish peopleΒ  are the indigenous people of this particular land,Β Β 

    The Holy Land. They were living in this land 2,000Β  years before anyone was ever called or referred toΒ Β  as a Palestinian. They were in the land thousandsΒ  of years before Islam was ever a religion. Now, for those who don’t embrace the Bible,Β  for those who don’t perceive the Bible as theΒ Β 

    Word of God, as a historical record of the factΒ  that the Jews were living in the land thousandsΒ Β  of years before the Palestinians were recognized,Β  before there was a person called a Palestinian,Β Β  or thousands of years before Islam, then atΒ  least look at the archaeological evidence. WeΒ Β 

    Know historically and archaeologically thatΒ  there is what is known as an Egyptian stele.Β Β  An Egyptian stele is an ancient stone slab whichΒ  has markings on it. You could hop online and do aΒ Β  check on Google, and you would discover that thereΒ  are many different images of Egyptian stelae,Β Β 

    Ancient stones with markings on them. TheΒ  ancient Egyptian stele goes all the way back toΒ Β  approximately the 13th century BC; and, it speaksΒ  of the name β€œIsrael” by name as the land. Also,Β Β  there is an ancient Canaanite stele from the 9thΒ  century BC, which refers by name to King David asΒ Β 

    The king of the land of Israel. So, if you don’tΒ  want to believe the Bible, at least believe theΒ Β  historical evidence, the archaeological evidenceΒ  that has been made available to us. RegardlessΒ Β  of what your faith happens to be, for thousands ofΒ  years, it has been a well-documented fact that theΒ Β 

    Jews lived in this land that God gave to them.Β  They’re not the occupiers; they’re the owners. Now, there are some people whoΒ  would come along and say, “Yeah,Β Β  but we need to understand this goes back prettyΒ  far. We need to understand that β€œThis is ourΒ Β 

    Land because dating all the way back to 586Β  BC, during the time of the Babylonian exile,Β Β  when the Jewish people were exiled from theΒ  Holy Land, they were besieged until 1948, whichΒ Β  is when the Jews asserted the right to the land.Β  Between those two time frames, 586 BC to 1948 AD,Β Β 

    In that large span of time, those 2500 years, theΒ  Jewish people were in the land. And that’s true;Β Β  they were scattered, especially after the RomansΒ  came along and they destroyed the temple inΒ Β  Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Jewish population wasΒ  scattered from the land; they were dispersedΒ Β 

    Throughout the world and persecuted. And so,Β  that argument is true that between 586 to 1948,Β Β  the Jewish people, by and large, were not the mainΒ  people who lived in the land. The Jews who managedΒ Β  to stay alive in their homeland were dominated byΒ  other world empires, and here’s the list of them:Β Β 

    β€œthe Babylonians, then came the Persians, thenΒ  the Greeks, then the Romans, then the Byzantines,Β Β  then the Arab Islamic Empire, then the CatholicΒ  Crusaders, then the Mamluks, then the Ottomans,Β Β  and then the British Empire.” And so, as a resultΒ  of all these various world empires coming on theΒ Β 

    Scene and dispersing the Jewish people throughoutΒ  the world, these people groups would say,Β Β  “It’s not their land; it is our land”, and theyΒ  would claim the land for themselves. But again,Β Β  we have to look back at history and realizeΒ  that the Jews were there before any of them.

    It’s true that the Jews have not always occupiedΒ  the land. Why is that? Because there were timesΒ Β  when the people of Israel, the Jewish people,Β  were in rebellion; they were disobedient,Β Β  and God disciplined them. He is theΒ  one that allowed them to scatter;Β Β 

    He put them out of their own land. But evenΒ  though they haven’t continually occupied theΒ Β  land, they’ve always had ownership of thatΒ  location. They have ownership of the land ofΒ Β  Israel because of an inalienable, eternal promiseΒ  that God gave to Abraham and to his descendants.

    So maybe you’re wondering to yourself, whereΒ  did the Palestinians come from? Because thatΒ Β  seems to be really where the battle is. DoesΒ  the land belong to the Jewish people or toΒ Β  the Palestinians? Should it be Israel? Should itΒ  be Palestine? So let me give you some additionalΒ Β 

    History. In 135 AD, the Jewish people were inΒ  rebellion against the Roman Empire. They wereΒ Β  having it up to here with the oppression that wasΒ  being meted out to them. And so during that time,Β Β 

    The Roman Emperor of the land was a man by theΒ  name of Hadrian. Hadrian hated the Jews; he gotΒ Β  sick and tired of their rebellion, and he wantedΒ  to put down the rebellion once and for all. AndΒ Β 

    So he had the Jewish people dispersed in 135 AD.Β  You can look back through the historical recordsΒ Β  and discover that is the case. Not only did heΒ  have the Jewish people scattered away from theΒ Β  promised land, but he also renamed Israel with aΒ  Latin name, β€œPalestina”. And that word, Palestina,Β Β 

    Is linked to the Philistines. And the reason whyΒ  Hadrian renamed this land Palestina or PalestineΒ Β  is because he knew that the Philistines were theΒ  archenemies of the Jews. Just to stick it to theΒ Β  Jewish population, just to agitate them, and toΒ  try to cause them to be a memory of the past,Β Β 

    He renamed Israel β€œPalestine.” Now, evenΒ  though in the Bible, it’s called β€œIsrael,”   the land was known as β€œPalestine,” which isΒ  a false name that Hadrian gave to the region,Β Β  again, to agitate the Jews and to try to blotΒ  out their memory. That’s where the name comesΒ Β 

    From. Arabs living in the land were known asΒ  Palestinians. And so the land of Palestine,Β Β  from 135 AD all the way up until 1948 AD, thatΒ  land was called β€œPalestine.” And then in 1948,Β Β  the Jews come along; they take back the landΒ  and they give it its rightful name, Israel.

    Now, there are some Palestinians today who willΒ  tell you, “Oh, this goes back even before allΒ Β  the stuff about the Roman Emperor Hadrian.Β  This goes back, it predates even Abraham.”Β Β  There are some Palestinians who will say thatΒ  they are descendants of the Canaanites. Now,Β Β 

    That’s not true. But even if it wereΒ  true, God put out the Canaanites andΒ Β  had the Jewish people be the new residents ofΒ  the land. So they’re wrong in neither account. Listen, the Palestinians, while we can certainlyΒ  pray for them and love them, and we ought to,Β Β 

    We should have no anger, no animosity, no hatredΒ  in our heart toward Palestinians. That said,Β Β  the Palestinians may make historical or politicalΒ  arguments in terms of why they should be there,Β Β  but they have no biblical right to theΒ  land. The title deed was given to Israel,Β Β 

    To the Jewish people; the land was givenΒ  to them by God. The land is theirs. And so, that’s one reason why we support IsraelΒ  and why we support the Jewish people. God madeΒ Β  promises that He never revoked. These areΒ  irrevocable promises that are not to beΒ Β 

    Broken. You say, “But Jeff, what about a two-stateΒ  solution? That seems like a good way to resolveΒ Β  this. Just allow both parties to come together,Β  sit down, and come out with a two-state solution.Β Β  That will take care of all of this.” Listen, thatΒ  was already tried in 1947. The United Nations cameΒ Β 

    Up with a partition plan by which Israel would beΒ  considered part Israel, part Palestine. That wasΒ Β  the plan, and the land was partitioned betweenΒ  those, who were living in the land at the time,Β Β  as well as the Jews, who came back to theΒ  land out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Well,Β Β 

    The Jews accepted the plan, but the Arab at theΒ  time rejected it. The reason the Arabs rejectedΒ Β  it is because the issue had nothing to do withΒ  the size of the land that would be given to them,Β Β 

    Or the size of the land that would be givenΒ  to Israel. The issue had to do with theΒ Β  existence of Israel at all. They didn’tΒ  believe that there should be an Israel;Β Β  they opposed the very existence of Israel.Β  And so, in their thinking, you can shrink itΒ Β 

    Down as much as you would like, but you can’tΒ  really shrink it down small enough for them. Now, I want you to think about this: the ArabΒ  nations, and there are quite a few of them,Β Β  possess more than 300 times the land comparedΒ  to the size of Israel. They have 40 times theΒ Β 

    Population that Israel possesses. And yet, so manyΒ  within the Arab nations do not want to recognizeΒ Β  Israel’s right to exist, and they believe theyΒ  should be wiped off the face of the earth.Β Β  Not only do they believe that Israel should beΒ  non-existent, but they don’t think Jewish people,Β Β 

    Whether they’re in Israel or anywhere, shouldΒ  exist. They think that whether it be Hamas orΒ Β  someone else, the job of exterminatingΒ  the Jews needs to still take place. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to discoverΒ  that we are living in a day and age in whichΒ Β 

    Anti-Semitism is burgeoning; it’s growing; it’sΒ  mushrooming. It’s perhaps the worst that peopleΒ Β  have seen since the days of the Holocaust itself.Β  People all around the world are maintaining theΒ Β  belief that Jewish people, not only do they notΒ  have a right to Israel, but they don’t even have aΒ Β 

    Right to exist, and that the job of exterminatingΒ  the Jewish people, which Hitler tried to carryΒ Β  out, needs to be finished. Now, where is allΒ  this anti-Semitism coming from? Why is thereΒ Β  so much Jew hatred out there? Well, that’s a bigΒ  question, and for that, you’ll need to come backΒ Β 

    Next time. We’ll just hold off until then. ButΒ  in the meantime, let me just say in closing,Β Β  God has a special plan for Israel. He has aΒ  special love and plan for the Jewish people.Β Β  And I want to make sure I’m not misunderstood.Β  God loves Palestinians. God even loves people whoΒ Β 

    Are part of Hamas. He hates what they’re doing,Β  but the Lord sent His Jewish Messiah to die forΒ Β  Jews and Gentiles. Yes, we need to pray for theΒ  peace of Jerusalem. We also need to pray thatΒ Β 

    The Prince of Peace will enter into the heartsΒ  and lives of those who have not met Him yet.

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