Holy Land: Whose Land?

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Rev. Chris Heeb
If you want to make friends and influence people, do not get into a conversation about who owns the Holy Land. Having been a missionary to the Jewish community for the past five years I have had my eyes dramatically opened to what people think in regard to God, the Jews, and the land of Israel.

I meet a couple thousand people each year and most of them have strong opinions about God, the Jews, and Israel. The vast majority are not Jews; most are Christians, and most recently many are Muslims. Having grown up in the Lutheran reformed tradition I had my own biases to deal with. I basically believed a hodgepodge about God and the Bible: that Christianity was about a Western, Anglo, Roman/Greek deity. It wasn't until later in life I came to study and realize that first and foremost, the God of the Bible is the great "I Am" of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). It was He Who sent His only begotten Son to the lost sheep of Israel, and in His providence had them reject the Messiah in part so that He could bring salvation to the world. (Romans 9, 10, 11)

Today the World Council of Churches (mainline liberal denominations) would have us believe that they are the most reasonable and moderate, because they are not restricted by the dogmas of Scripture. They have freedom to interpret Scripture as they please and have reasoned that Jesus was probably a Palestinian. "Palestine" appears in the map section of the Bible, so they must be right!

The Vatican would have you believe that they should be the "custodians" of the Land, since they are convinced they have been given the "keys of the Kingdom," and therefore the prime right.

The Muslims also say that the Holy Land is theirs because the prophet Mohammed was traditionally believed to have ascended to heaven on his horse from Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran, but well over 800 times in the Old and New Testaments.

As a conservative, evangelical Christian myself, I cannot leave out certain high-profile Evangelicals who have also declared that ultimately the Church would possess the land. They are firmly convinced of this position, because they have concluded that the Church has replaced Israel ("Replacement Theology"), and natural Israel no longer has any importance in the scheme of God's plan. (This concept is in complete contradiction to Romans 9, 10, 11.) They anxiously await the day when they are raptured, God "Armageddons" the place, and the Church comes back to an Israel that is like a Christian Disneyland. But let's allow the Bible to speak for itself and see what the Lord has to say on this matter.

The Lord promises in Amos 9:11-15, "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel: They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them: They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be uprooted from the Land I have given them, says the Lord your God."

The Lord also told His people that for His name's sake He is going to fulfill His promises. Ezekiel 36 and 37 paint an awesome picture of God's faithfulness to His people Israel. "Son of man, these bones are the house of Israel.and I will bring you into the land of Israel.and I will place you in your own land, declares the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:11-14)

Finally, a warning from Joel 3: God will gather all the nations of earth together and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There He brings judgment to all those who have mistreated His people, scattered them throughout the world, and have divided His land (3:1,2,12). It is here that the entire world will learn that the Lord God is the God of Israel! The time for judgment may be near; where do you stand concerning Israel?

For a more in-depth understanding of God's plan for Israel and the Church, please visit us on the web at www.gnfi.org/mystery or call (952) 926-7369.

Americans are asking:

WHAT IS THIS "HOLY WAR" WE'RE IN?

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Islamic Jihad . Christian Crusade? What's this all about?

These are legitimate questions that need answers. In fact the true answers to these questions are not readily available. You will not find them in the news media, and religious leaders from the pulpit often avoid them because we Americans live in a secular society and have absorbed a fairly secular worldview of life from it.  Most of us have grown up without any social or cultural orientation to concepts of holiness as lived by Muslims or as Israelites as recorded in the Bible.

Yet the true answers to these questions are critical in order to understand the fundamental issues that today affect all of us. Although the incomprehensible events of September 11th appear to be acts of deranged anarchy against our free and open economic and political society, the struggle against terrorism is not fundamentally one of humanistic civilization against the fanaticism of terror.  They were religiously based political acts of martyrdom. Consequently, the United States now finds itself embroiled in a "holy war" against terrorists in general and fundamental Islamic fanatics in particular. 

Actually, the United States is fighting a religious war made murky by our muddled spirituality. Yes, civilized peoples must act against those who would impose their political and/or religious agenda upon us through acts of terror. And there is some reason to hope for a reasonably satisfactory result that will - at least for a time - reduce the possibility of acts of terror to the point that they become no more shocking or statistically important than certain kinds of accidents. However, no permanent solution will be found through police or military action because the only peaceful solution to religious wars is one based on righteousness by faith, administered in loving grace and not by the sword of judgment. We have entered into a time of an increased number of small to medium wars and rumors of wars on a global scale. (By the way, I do realize that no war seems small to those who are fighting or suffering from them.)

The true religious war now broken into the American consciousness has been going on for ages. The present flare up really got started in the 70's and will probably continue until the end of this age. It is a war between Allah and the God of Israel. They are not the same, although some may be of that opinion. To determine which side you are on, answer one question: whom did Abraham sacrifice to his God during his supreme test of faith in the promises made to him - Ishmael or Isaac? If you answer "Ishmael", you serve Allah. If you answer "Isaac", you are identified with the God of Israel, and by default, with the state of Israel. There is no secular middle ground. If you answer, "I don't care", "What does it matter?", or something along the lines of "It doesn't matter because it's just a myth or legend", then you have just defined yourself as a pagan idolater to the Moslem fundamentalist - someone worthy of immediate death.
Thus, there is a definite logic behind Christian support of Israel even as we desire a political solution to the "Middle East" problem, which deals justly and fairly with both Jew and Arab. But there is no solution other than the ultimate one: the return of the "Promised Seed" of Abraham, Yeshua / Jesus the Messiah / Christ as promised in the Bible. That Jesus was a Jew identifies who the true God really is. His purpose cannot be opposed and all who try to do so will be judged by fire. On the other hand, Christians are not to raise the sword - have no need to raise the sword - in order to make the will of God come to pass. He will do this on His own power and might. We are to put away the sword, as Jesus commanded Peter, and follow in the footsteps of sacrifice, as did our Lord. Indeed, martyrdom is preferable to the slaughter of innocents. The reward for the former is fiery judgment, for the latter is eternal grace and peace in the power of God's omnipotent love.

© Copyright 2002 by Christopher J. Patton