Bob, Per your email, you asked that I give you some basic information on the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. As I have said in my articles on end time prophecy, Israel is going to be the main country for everyone to keep their eyes on. When Jesus comes back for the second time, He will be ruling this entire earth from the city of Jerusalem, which is in Israel.
The last battle on this earth, the battle of Armageddon, will be centered in Israel. God is purposely drawing the eyes of the world onto Israel and from here on in, Israel will continue to find herself in the middle of all the fighting and chaos we will start to see increase in the coming years in the Middle East.
Right now, Israel is in constant battle and turmoil with the Palestinians. To really understand who the Palestinians are and how all this came about, you have to go back to the very beginning in the Old Testament.
Before I go into the history on all of this, remember one thing. God told the Israelites, His chosen people, when He pronounced judgment on them at the end of the Old Testament, that He would still continue to be their God and that He would bring them back into their homeland Israel at the end of times – just shortly before Jesus would come back to set up His 1000 year Millennium Kingdom.
What you will really find amazing when reading all of the history below is that after the Jewish people were driven out of Israel in 70 AD, that God managed to keep their homeland from ever being declared another state, country, or nation by the several groups of people who had occupied it after the Jewish people were driven out of it.
It was not until the Jewish people declared Israel an official state in 1948 was Israel ever declared an official state or country by anyone. This meant that God the Father had kept His original covenant promise to the Jewish people that He made to them back in the Old Testament – that He would bring them back to their homeland of Israel and that they would once more re-possess it as their own in the latter days.
Here is a brief history of what has transpired with the Jewish people from 70 AD until the present time.
History
1. Right now, Israel has Lebanon to its north, Syria to its northeast, and Egypt to its southwest. The state of Israel was created out of the region formerly know as Palestine. Palestine was the Holy Land of the Bible.
It all starts back with the story of Moses. Moses rescues his people from their slavery in Egypt. They go into the wilderness for 40 years. Moses and everyone over 20 years of age does not make it into the Promised Land. It’s Joshua and Caleb that lead the younger generation into the Promised Land (which is the Palestine area).
This Promised Land is initially the land of Canaan. It was inhabited by the Canaanites. Joshua leads his people into this land. They defeat and drive out the peoples who are on the lands that God wants to give them.
The Jewish people then form a tribal confederation and form out the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Later on, the kingdom of Judea is then formed. From this time forth, the biblical kingdoms of Israel-Judah-Judea have been the only independent sovereign nations or states that have ever existed in Palestine (Israel). No other groups of people have ever managed to do this after the Jewish people were driven from this land in 70 AD.
2. After the Romans conquer Judea, Palestine then becomes a province of Rome. After the Roman Empire falls away, the land of Palestine then falls under the Christian Byzantine Empire.
Then in 638 AD, an Arab Muslim caliph takes Palestine away from the Byzantine empire and makes it part of an Arab Muslim empire. During this period, many of the people living in Palestine become Arab Muslims and convert to the religion of Islam. However, Palestine still never becomes an official state, nation, or country even under the rule of these Muslims.
Then in 1099 AD, Christian crusaders from Europe conquer the Palestine area and take it away from the Muslims. But again, the Christian crusaders fail to make Palestine an official state or country. They just basically used it as a military outpost.
Later on, Palestine ends up in the hands of Syria. Then from Syria, Palestine falls into the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Then after World War 1, the British take Palestine over from the Ottoman Turks.
The British then temporarily govern Palestine under the League of Nations. Again, during all of these transitions and takeovers, not one of these other peoples or countries ever make Palestine an official state or country!
3. Now here is the real interesting part. Right around the 1850’s, the Jewish people started to migrate back to Palestine in small droves. The land was basically dry, barren, desolate and unlovely.
The Jewish people that came back in started to farm and cultivate the land and started to make it flourish and prosper again. The reason it was so desolate was because no other countries or peoples had ever claimed Palestine for its own and thus no one ever took proper care of this land or ever attempted to cultivate its true potential.
When the land started to flourish and prosper once again due to the farming and agricultural efforts of these Jewish settlers, other peoples saw this and started to migrate back into this land.
One group to come in were Arabs from some of the surrounding Arab countries in the Middle East.
The Palestinians have always complained that it was the Jewish people that had dislocated them from this land. However, it was really just the opposite. It was the Jewish people who first came back and started to make the land flourish again due to their own farming efforts – not the Palestinians or Arabs.
The Arabs did not start coming back until after the Jewish people had already started to migrate back and make the land flourish.
So after the Jewish people started all of this development in the 1850’s, other peoples started to come into the land, including the Arabs. Palestine then started to get a real mix of peoples in its land. However, it was predominately Jewish people and Arabs that were starting to inhabit it.
Then when World War 2 started to break out in the early 30’s, more Jewish people started coming back to Palestine. Finally, at the end of World War 2, after going through the horrors of the holocaust, many more Jewish people from all around the world decided to migrate back to Palestine.
They thought they would have a better chance for security and independence by going back to their ancestral roots, the land of Palestine.
However, just as Jewish people were migrating back to Palestine, so were other Arabs. Finally on 5/14/48, the Jewish people were able to declare Israel (Palestine) an official state. Palestine is now Israel, and the Arabs, who are now living in Israel, are called Palestinians because they are now claiming that this land belongs to them, not to the Jewish people.
Shortly after Israel becomes an official state under Jewish rule, the Palestinians start to get support from some of the other Arab countries. Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan all now start to side with the displaced Palestinians and start war against Israel.
The United Nations then gets involved trying to establish peace and truces among all of these countries. During this time, many of the Arabs in Israel are driven out of Israel and are forced to live in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, etc. These Arabs that are driven out are the so-called Palestinians. For a while there is peace. People start to forget about the displaced Palestinians, who are now in refugee camps and have no real home to call their own.
4. Now here is where the real trouble starts. Seeing the plight of these dislocated Palestinians in refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries, a group is formed called the infamous PLO, which stands for Palestine Liberation Organization.
Organized resistance against Israel actually started to grow in the 1950’s. Other Arabs finally formed the PLO in 1964 and their goal was to literally wipe Israel off the face of the map. They blamed the Jewish people for running the Palestinians out of Israel and they would now wage war against them by terrorists’ acts.
Yasser Arafat became official leader of the PLO in 1969 and has been waging war against Israel ever since! This war with Israel has now been going on for the last 42 years.
Conclusions
1. Palestinians are Arab Muslims who started to come back into the Palestine area after the first wave of Jewish people starting coming back and causing the land to flourish back in the 1850’s.
2. Between 1850 and 1948, apparently more Jewish people came back to Palestine than actual Arabs. As a result, the Jewish people were able to regain this land for their own, declare it an official state in 1948, and basically drive out many of these Arabs from this land.
Palestine is now Israel. But the Arabs, who were driven out, eventually started to try and come back in the 1950’s and 60’s. They now refer to themselves as Palestinians, since that was the name of this land before the Jewish people took it over and declared it an official state in 1948.
3. If you step back and look at the real big picture, you can see what was really going on. God the Father told His chosen Jewish people back in the Old Testament that He would bring them back to this land in the latter days, and that it would be their land as an everlasting possession and that no one would ever take it away from them again.
This is why no other peoples or countries ever declared this land an official state, country, or nation during all of these takeovers – because God Himself kept this from ever happening! He kept this land for His people until it was time for Him to bring them back into this land.
God obviously started to release His people to start coming back into this land in the 1850’s. And it was His people that started to farm and make this land flourish again. The Arabs that had been living there had done nothing with this land, and none of the other surrounding Arab nations ever saw fit to try and grab this land for themselves and declare it an official state, country, or nation.
By all reports from the early Jewish settlers back in the 1850’s, this land was basically barren and desolate. So no sooner does God start to flourish this land again under His people’s farming and agricultural efforts, that some of the Arabs, who had pulled out of this land in earlier years, started coming back to it because of the success the Jewish people were having in causing it to once more flourish and prosper.
However, God made sure between 1850 and 1948 that His people would gain complete control of this land so they could name it as their own state on 5/14/48.
With many of the radical Muslims being under severe demonic influence, you can see why all of a sudden in the 1960’s the PLO is formed in order to wage war and terrorist activity against Israel. There was no way Satan was going to let this one slide by if he could help it.
I believe it was Satan who made sure the PLO was formed, and he has been influencing radical Muslims ever since to wage this war on the Jewish people and their state of Israel. With all of the Palestinian Arabs still in the land of Israel, you have nothing but continued fighting between these two groups of people.
Now here is the most incredible part of this saga. The Arabs in the Middle East control 99.9% of the landmass. The landmass of the state of Israel is only one tenth of one percent of the entire landmass in all of the Middle East.
You would think that the rest of the Arab nations would just take in the Palestinians into their own countries and let the Jewish people have their state of Israel since it is such a small part of the entire Middle Eastern landmass to begin with.
But the Arab Muslims can’t seem to be able to accept this easy solution. They apparently want it all. Bottom line – the Jewish people came back first to this land in the 1850’s. The Jewish people were the ones to get this land flourishing again, not the Muslims.
The land of Israel is Holy Land from the Bible, and it was directly given to them as an everlasting possession by God the Father Himself. The Muslims know the history of our Old Testament and that the Jewish people should be allowed to have this land once again due to the religious history of this land for the Jewish people.
The Muslims have the rest of the entire Middle East under their control. They have more than enough land space to take in and accommodate these Palestinians, and they could easily bring peace to this entire region if they would just take the Palestinians into their own countries and let the Jewish people have their land of Israel for all of the above biblical reasons.
But for whatever reason, many of these other Arab countries seem to want to have nothing to do with these Palestinians. Israel has also made concessions with the Palestinians over the years trying to get them to agree on suitable distribution of land space.
However, with the influence of Satan, his demons, and the rest of the radical Muslims who are operating behind the scenes, there is no way we are ever going to get permanent peace in this region. Satan and these radical Muslims will not let this go, and they will continue to wage war on the Jewish people until they completely destroy Israel and all of the Jewish people in it.
However, we know this will not happen. The Bible says that the Jewish people and their land of Israel will be protected by God the Father until the Antichrist comes forth to start the last and final round of persecution of the Jewish people.
Until this last and final holocaust starts with the Antichrist, God will continue to protect Israel from all of the Arab countries and radical Muslims that would want to completely wipe her off the face of the map. Israel will not be defeated until the Antichrist takes over in the middle of the 7-year tribulation and the real persecution of the Jewish people then starts.
Bob, let me know if all of the above explains who the Palestinians are and their relationship with Israel. If you have any additional questions on this topic, email them over.
As a postscript to all of the above, Yasser Arafat passed away since all of the above was written up. However there has been no change. Israel has now given up the Gaza strip to try and make peace with the Palestinians. It remains to be seen if this will bring peace to this region.
If this is on a biblical site, why is there no mention of the biblical people Phalistines? This writing is not researched. Before one judges a group of people you should talk to them, and perhaps go to Palestine, speak to Palestinians, and not just the Israelis.
The person who composed and wrote this Article is 100% CORRECT. He nailed it. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter how much one argues about who owns Jerusalem, JEHOVAH GOD made that decision BEFORE time ever existed as we know it. HIS Word is FINAL.
HIS Word has already proven to be the TRUTH by the hundreds of Prophecies that have already been FULFILLED EXACTLY like HIS word says.
And for those who are saying that ISRAEL is not treating the Palestinians right and will not allow them to be treated in their hospital. That is not true. ISRAEL has been taking in people crossing over from Syria into ISRAEL who have been severely injured in the war there. ISRAEL Doctors are treating them. I know this to be a FACT that ISRAEL Doctors have also treated Palestinian Children, lots of them and women.
@Elaine, let us use logic as an experiment and exclude all mention of religious nature and mention of a “ God “ whom promised anything to anyone for a moment .
Now with that out of the equation what are we now left with ?
We are left with a land mass where various groups of people wished to settle down and raise their families right ?
@Brie Reid,
A Philistine/Canaanite in biblical terms is now known as a Palestinian. His commentary is very well researched both historically & biblically. And I, a Christian agree that the plight of the Palatinians should be taken into consideration. Jesus himself showed them compassion & friendship in an effort to prove to the Jews that they could live among each other. But again, as is historically accurate, factions of the Palestinians with support from other Arab/Muslim groups formed what we refer to as terrorist groups (Hamas, Hezbollah… Which was led by Osama Bin Laden). The fight in Israel will only get worse… Biblically speaking. Now that God’s ppl have been returned to their promised land, there will be years of fighting until the appearance of the antichrist & Gods return.
@Brenda Gunn, Good point! So by your own conclusion of using logic without a mention of “God” there was an unclaimed (by any nation) plot of land, basically non-inhabited land that the Jews all populated in to and worked the land to prosperity. Then we have Arab Muslims, seeing the prosperous land, and decide to come back to try to claim what was previously unclaimed and not any sort of official country – when it was a baron wasteland and non-desirable.
So we have settlers of one people group who invested greatly in the land and made it flourish, and we have another people trying to come back to claim a previously unclaimed land that they almost all left. I do not think we are left with a land mass where various groups of people “wished to settle down and raise their families”, we have a land mass that one people group migrated to, toiled in, and made the land prosper while settling down and raising families. And then we have another people group coming in after the land was settled in and trying to steal the land from an enemy people group and claiming they were forced out. The only reason that particular “thieving” people group settled down and raised families was to annihilate their enemy and take the prosperous land from the Jews and annihilating their enemy.
Israel eventually agreed to create a Palestinian state with the condition that the attacks against them cease. Radical Palestinian groups, however, refuse the proposition because their religion calls for not just possession of the land but the elimination of all Jews worldwide.
It’s impossible to negotiate with demands like that and the resolution after numerous attempts at peace have failed (all from one side) left it to 1 potential outcome – one or the other has to go.
@Brie Reid, I have visited Israel many times and spoken to Israeli Arabs. The overriding feeling of these Israeli Arabs is that they prefer to live in Israel under Jewish rule than a Palestinian state run by Arabs. They fear the corruption, violence, absence of human rights, dictatorship and leadership greed that is dominating neighbouring Arab states.
Complimenting an Arab restauranteur on his fine wine, he said this why we cannot give the Golan Heights back to Syria. When I questioned him about “we” and him being an Arab siding with Israel, he said I am an Arab citizen of Israel and enjoy the benefits of living in this democratic country. He would not want it to be any thing but Israel.
@Brenda Gunn,
Yes Brenda, lets use logic as an experiment… you say the Arab people just want to settle down and raise families, correct?
Although, this may be true for some or even most, it will be under Islamic rule. Like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq. There will be no freedoms. Women will be required to wear clothing that fully covers their skin, pulled out of higher education and for the most part, labelled as slaves.
As Michael pointed out, most of the middle east is already under Islamic rule. The Jewish people have been forced from their land and persecuted against since the death of Jesus. They, like the Islamic people, deserve their own place to call home, following and aligning with their own belief system.
Hello there
I have one question disturbing my mind. Are the humanitarian crimes committed by Israel biblical? I thought we aught to love one another as we love ourselves. It is difficult for me to believe that God supports Palestinian women in labor not being allowed to go to hospital (many of them dying in the process). Or the thousands other Palestinians going without food or medical care. There only sin was being born. They had nothing to do with what happened in 70 AD.
I consider myself a devout Christian. But things like this are extremely confusing. Please shed some light.
God Bless
When you own something, you have a right to do whatever you like with it. If you are a landlord you have a right to do whatever you like with your land don’t you? You can decide to evict some tenants and allocate where they occupied to some other. Now God is the Landlord, the earth is His and the fullness thereof the Bible says, so he decided to sack the original occupants of the land (who were idol worshippers) and give the land to His Chosen people (Israel), that is the situation. Besides we have learnt that after series of wars and exoduses the land was abandoned and left desolate and it was the Jews – the rightful owners (who have the Certificate of Occupancy)who went to recultivate it and make the land flourish. So its not about loving one’s neighbours as one’s self but about trespassers trying to take over your own land! You won’t allow that would you whether the trespasser falls ill or not!
Do you realize how problematic your reply was? You’re basically saying Israeli war crimes are justified because God allegedly said they could live there. God also said you should love your neighbor and God also said you shouldn’t kill innocent people. Also I don’t think any of you realize that Palestinian Christians Exist and they are being terrorized every single day by Israeli soldiers. I’ve experienced it. So sad with your one sided ignorance
The Palestinian Christians are living amidst evil, but they are already SAVED with the promise of eternal life with Him. Jesus endured far more violence and brutality and injustice than ANYONE, since He, Himself took on the SINS OF THE WORLD, yet was COMPLETELY blameless. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed”. -1 Peter 12-13
All of these things happening are part of a bigger picture (prophesy) which isn’t finished yet. Pray for the Palestinian Christians that they keep their faith and if you are able, help them with provisions. Ultimately, God wins. Trust in Him.
Palestinians living in Israel do have access to Israeli hospitals. Palestinians living in the West Bank must pass through checkpoints before being admitted to Israel. This is because of the number of terror attacks that have been launched on Israel, often by putting suicide bombers inside ambulances making their way into Israel.
Do you have actual figures to support your statement “often by putting suicide bombers inside ambulances making their way into Israel.”
I understand the reasons for setting up checkpoints but it’s the unhumanitarian ways the Israels army operate those checkpoints are unacceptable.
As another comment said Palestinians living in Israel have full access to hospitals. Gaza may be a different story but that’s because the terrorist group Hamas controls it and thinks nothing of the miserable conditions the people there live under.
Israeli Doctors treat Palestinian children, women and men quite frequently. They also
provide food and shelter– Israel is not the Aggressor- They only try to protect their land and people from attacks and terrorism !
@Nelu, I can understand your concern from a human standpoint, but we must understand that God is not a man, nor are His thoughts, reasonings or ways like ours. He is God, His righteousness and judgment are without council. So when we begin to think for God or question the things that occur like what is happening with the Palestinians, we have to be careful. Please know, if you have ever read Old Testament prophecy, that God pronounced judgment upon these nations several millennia ago. Due to the acts and dealings of these outside nations, many of them are reaping the consequences of their ancestors (Ezekiel 33-39). While it is very sad and heartbreaking, God is just in His judgment, as He is also in His mercy. Think about it… Christ is the atonement for my sin and for yours. Would it be fair if God decided that He did want to show mercy and declare us to eternal judgment? YES. As painful and crushing as it sounds, we ALL deserve it. But… God triumphed over sin by showing mercy through Christ’s death. Therefore, we praise Him for it, yet when He allows judgment to fall, we look at it with a “glass half full” perspective and we don’t see the balance in His mercy/judgment. The nations that are within this scope have in some way, shape or form violated God’s holy law and His people. These nations were not wiped out instantly or all within the time that the prophecies were announced, yet some fell upon their descendants. Enemies of God are enemies of God, no matter how we try to look at it. God is just in how he deals with sin, and if he chooses to lay it out upon the 4th or 60th generation, that is His sovereign will. We must, as true believers, understand that God’s character is always balanced and without variance. He can judge us, but still love us (Genesis Chap 3). I pray this helps you.
@Kunle Aboaba, correction the land wasn’t barren in 1948. Its very well documented. The christian crusaders is spot on – in 1948 when Israel came into being there were a little under a million Palestinians 80% were Christian Palestinians. You’re comment “if someone owns something they have the right to do what they want” God over and over promised His people that he would bring His people back to the Holy Land 41x in the old testament He told them how they were to treat the foreigner in their midst. They were to love the foreigner as they loved themselves for they were once foreigners in Egypt” They were to treat the foreigner as a native for they were a foreigners in Egypt. In Exodus 22 he warns His people – if they abuse the foreigner and they cry out to Him, He will hear them and He will answer them…” so the land is theirs unconditionally – peace however and security were conditional. There were only 1200 christian Palestinians left in Gaza which all died in two separate church bombings and 117,000 on the west bank. So we have to take this in full context. I love in the new testament when Jesus says I have need to go through Samaria …that place the pharisees would walk around because they considered them on the same status as dogs. …Samaria today is the west bank where the Palestinians live and have lived under military occupation for decades. Someone said about the Israeli Government not being corrupt. LOL. Ok. do you know what Israeli’s did the full year leading up to the Gazan attack? Protested. Every weekend for an entire year. 100’s of thousands. Why because of the governments corruption. There is also a world of difference between Zionism and Judaism. and its important for christians to study and understand this.
@Emanuel R Watkins, If God decides to punish one man for another man’s sin, I do not believe that He is a God of Justice. In fact, I refuse to believe in such a God. Justice is what brings Peace. Injustice brings disorder. Here on earth, in a court of law, a Judge will never commit a man to serve time for another’s crime. To believe that the all Powerful, all Knowing, Omnipotent God, in His infinite Wisdom and Mercy, will choose to punish one people for another people’s sin, is highly inconsistent to His Majesty and Glory. If we are created in His likeness, then we too should have this option to punish someone for another’s crime. But no!!, this is not fair, none will accept this unjust concept. None will be willing to serve the time for another. Yet!!!!, this unjust act is ascribed to the Gracious God Almighty. May He forgive us.
I read your article and yes, Satan will never rest, even to destroy just one soul who is in Christ. Because Heavenly Father had willed this small portion of land to His people, the evil devil will still try to have trouble here no matter what, in whatever way and form just to go against our Living God praise be ti Him only amen. As the song goes… “Hold fast till I come, Sweet promise of heaven, The kingdom restored, to you shall be given.
So what is wrong about the city of Jerusalem being recognized as capital city of Israeli by USA
What of the fact that the so called Jews are khazars by ancestry and not really Jewish? And why are the Jews taking all of the land that belonged to the other tribes of Israel instead of sticking to Judea?
I am under the impression that if a non Jewish male married a Jewish female the offspring would inherit the Jewish religion.Remember Jewish is a religion not a race .The thirteenth tribe reasoning of the 1970’s was fiction and has been debunked.
Phil, your fact about jews is incorrect. A Jew is anyone who was born of a Jewish mother, or has undergone conversion according to halachah (Jewish law). This has been the case since Biblical times and is firmly established in the Code of Jewish Law. The Jews live their lives in accordance with Judaism, the oldest monotheistic religion.
Aaron, I am a christian and I am reading Genesis. I was wondering if you could answer a question for me? I know that God changed Jacob’s name to Isreal. In Genesis 46:1 the chapter starts out So Israel set out. Then in chapter 5, says Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob.
Is there significance to the interchanging of Jacob’s names back and forth?
Jacob wrestled with a man all night long. At daybreak he realized he had been wrestling with an angel from God. the angel changed Jacob’s name to Israel which means “one who struggles with God”. Israel is not only the name of the land of Israel but also the name of Jacob
Just what i wanted to know. So the israelies have been there 170yrs! According to the Bible what happens next…does America stay supporting Israel or does America fade off the scene because its in the West. As i believe the Armies that come against Israel come from N and the East. Is that right or are we talking of N. E. S. and West all attacking Isreal onfrom the area of Syria and around. As thats only overthe hills. Thankyou in anticipation of a reply. Susan
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land(Israel/Palestine) i promised on oath to Abraham, Issac(Israel) and Jacob, saying, “I will give it to your descedents(Israelites)’.
I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(arabs)
My question is who are the indigenous people of the promised land and why others celebrate on the 14th of May yet others morn on the 15th of the same month
Thank you but I am confused because in bible we do not see 10 tribes migrates back with Judah does not this show that actual Israel are only 2 tribes?? thank you
We live in a cursed world. Nothing is as it should be. Mankind is driven by sin. Sin involves pride and greed. In a perfect world the whole world would be United as Christians. Thank you, Lord that believers have the hope that is eternal life with you and one day we really will be in a perfect world. Right now we need to pray for one another, always, and let God lead us on the Path that is His perfect will. Trust in Jesus.
When the Messiah comes there will be no more Israel or Palestine. The Kingdom of Heaven will be the domain. So, why kill each other claiming ownership of a geographical piece on Earth?
In your conclusion point 2… I thought it was the Arab leaders who told their own people, especially women and children, to leave Israel so they could attack it and take possession of it…
Israel is generally good towards migrants. The IDF means Israel’s Defence Force. Every nation is allowed to defend itself when they are being attacked.
In Conclusion point number 2, you say that Israel kicked the Jews out but I was led to believe that it was the Arab leaders who told their people to leave Israel in 1948, so that they could attack and take possession of the land… and I don’t think it was the Israelites who kicked them out…
A well written article with relevant comments. However it lacks describing the role of the church. If the calling of the church is to side with the jews, then how? Most of the church ignores this. The part that doesnt are mostly just onlookers. Lets see if you can figure this out. Mostly the church have been waiting too see what Israel and the jews are going to do. What if now Israel is waiting in a prophetic way for the church?
Hey Richard, I believe that we, the Body of Christ, should be praying for the Lord’s will to be fulfilled and for the gospel of His kingdom to be spread to every corner of the earth and to every living soul, and also that we should be sharing the gospel with the Jews, the Palestinians, and everybody else in whatever way we are currently able to do so.
In God’s new covenant, He uses the prayer of the saints (born-again believers) to move on earth in order to create openings for His word to spread, for His will to be done, for local churches to be built in many different cities, and so on. He, by His Spirit, also moves within the saints by their (our) spreading the gospel, ultimately to every “corner” of the earth. We are the Body of Christ after all, and He needs His Body to move, at least this is the way He has ordained it to be in this current age of grace (aka. age of the church, age of mystery).
If you aren’t really sure what you specifically could do to help regarding this specific situation, you could always pray about it and ask the Lord to form His prayers within you according to His will and His heart’s desire, and you could pray for Him to gain more ground in Israel and even the entire mid-east by causing so many more people in that area to be saved into Christ Jesus our Lord
I’m also a little unsure regarding directly “siding with the Jews”, at least in a way that we would probably think according to our natural human concepts. But I’m am more than certain that we must side with Christ and His will, which is to save as many sinners as possible so that He might live and grow in them (us) make His home in their (our) hearts and thus be expressed, represented, magnified, and even glorified in and through us, His church, on the earth, which is why we and the earth were created in the first place. Whenever we aren’t sure about something, and even if we are sure (or at least think we are), we should also open to the Lord and pray for His grace, wisdom, guidance, for His light to shine in and upon us and any situations, and for His will to be done in us and on earth.
I do know we should also never put our trust in our selves, in our own thoughts, opinions, concepts, feelings etc. because we are fallen sinners by nature and our true intentions and motives may not be so obvious even to ourselves. I always pray for the Lord’s mercy and for Him to infuse me with His will and with His heart’s desire and also to reveal any hidden motives or intentions that may be driving me and to replace them all with His. I pray that I would not express my self in anyway, but that He, through His indwelling Spirit, would live again in and through me, that He would be expressed and magnified, and glorified, and not my self. We (I know I do at least) all to often seek our own things and do things our own ways according to what we think is “right and wrong”, but the source of “right and wrong” is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which leads to death. Our source should be Christ Himself, who is signified by the tree of life, so we should always be opening to Him and praying all throughout the day so that He might fill and occupy our entire being with our spirit, soul (i.e mind, emotion, and will), and even eventually our body, thoroughly making His *home* in us, not just being a mere guest in us with our own selves having with the preeminence in our, thoughts, words, actions, emotions etc. He wants to be able to live and move so free within in every part of our heart to saturate, permeate, and completely renew & transform every part of our entire being.
Anyway, I most of my reply goes a bit beyond what you were asking, but I just wanted to get a little deeper into what I believe is the heart of the matter and the “bigger picture”, plus I’m not very good at being concise 😉
Take care and much grace be with you. 🙂
Thank so much for the truth!!!
Jesus is way and the truth. The Holy land is covenant to whom ever follows Jesus and and his teachings.
I am a Palestinian born as a moslem but converted to follow Jesus and preaching. He is the truth and the way!!!
“I pray that everyone in Israel and Palestine be followers of Christ our Lords and Savior. “ Amen.
You started the history like this: “It all starts back with the story of Moses.
But, you’re not completely right. This story or history doesn’t’ start with Moses. It begins with Abraham(father of Hebrews, Israelite(Jacob) and Jews) being directed by God to go to Canaan. Canaan is Palestine at the time.
Abraham – Isaac – Jacob(Israel) – Joseph – then Moses is born in Egypt during the 7 -year farming and would later lead the Israelis out of Egypt. What I have to research is whether at the time of Abraham coming and settling in Canaan, there were Palestinians living there. If that’s the case, then Palestinians own this place regardless of whether or not God gave it to Abraham(Covenant), or Moses(as the Promise Land).
The people in the land of Canaan, were known as Canaanites. The Canaanites are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible. They were a wicked, idolatrous people descended from Noah’s grandson Canaan, who was a son of Ham (Genesis 9:18). Canaan was cursed because of his and his father’s sin against Noah (Genesis 9:20–25). In some passages, Canaanites specifically refers to the people of the lowlands and plains of Canaan (Joshua 11:3); in other passages, Canaanites is used more broadly to refer to all the inhabitants of the land, including the Hivites, Girgashites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites (see Judges 1:9–10). The Canaanites were NEVER Palestinians! God gave made a covenant with Abraham that this land would forever belong to the Jews through him & his heirs & God NEVER breaks His covenant!
Thank you for the article which leaves me a little confused
You infer it was called palestine in the OT
in fact it was named palestine by the Roman Hadrian who wanted to wipe any reference to the jews off the map
Palestine was named after the Philistines the enemy of Israel in the OT
You are correct in saying it has never been a nation so therefore there cannot be any such people as palestinians
How can someone belong to something that does not exist ?
I was very appreciative of the actual dated documentation of Facts but you lost me when you added your opinion and started speaking of the Arab nation in an unloving way. Regardless,we are all Gods children and even though they are at war, and there is a promise, they are all from the same bloodline.
Having read all of this, as a young Christian now in this modern day, is it right to be part of the fight #freepalestine? To create awareness? To stand against the war? Generally to support the movement of #freepalestine? After all God’s commandment still stands to love your neighbor as yourself. I have been creating awareness. My heart is moved and I feel so uncomfortable and desperately want this war to end although this might sound crazy because of what has been written in this article. I don’t know whose side to be on, I don’t even want to be on any side. I just want peace! I cry every night while and after watching the news. I am so confused. I’m tired
You explained the history and the reasons in a clear concise fashion. Thank you very much. I throughly enjoyed reading and learning from your article.
Thank you for the excellent explanation of this, especially what is going on recently… I will be sharing this.
This was amazing. It’s the first time I’ve been able to understand the history and how it relates to the Bible. Thank you for writing this up. Who would’ve known August 13 when you wrote this up that today Israel would be in their “9/11”.
What are your current thoughts?
Nice summary of the history from Biblical times to now. Helped me understand the situation better! Thank you!
You explained it perfectly. Thank you
This is an excellent accurate summary of the Israeli and Palestinian situation!
Thank you for explaining the history of Palestine (Israel). The Palestines (Arab Muslims) did not cultivate the land of Israel. My big question now is: who is this “antichrist” who wipe off Israel and the Jewish people from the face of the Earth? How do we identify this “antichrist”?
Very interesting article. I was born catholic but I don’t practice the religion, but I do read the Bible and yes thats what is written there. Finally Jewish people can live back in their homeland, after they were displaced all over the world. Palestinian people don’t even know their roots or ancestors, where they came from before but they will say that the land is theirs. God is watching and soon we will see the rapture or maybe it started already.
@Michael Bradley, According to Rashid Khalidi, in his book, “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, he disputes your claim under paragraph 3 of the history.
Conversely, he states ”…Western Europe and North America… during the modern industrial era…mistakenly claim that Middle Eastern societies, including Palestine, were stagnant and unchanging or even ‘in decline’. We now know from many indices that this was by no means the case: a growing body of solidly grounded historical work based on Ottoman, Palestinian, Israeli, and Western sources completely refutes these false notions.”
Khalidi further states, “Whatever it may have looked like to uninformed outsiders, it is clear that by the first partition of the twentieth century there existed in Palestine under Ottoman rule a vibrant Arab society undergoing a series of rapid and accelerating transitions, much like several other Middle Eastern societies around it.”