Monday, March 09, 2020

History and Truth of the Land

God promised Abram a land (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-15; 15:18-21; 17:8).

God promises Isaac the land (Genesis 26:2-5).

God promises Jacob the land (Genesis 28:13-15).

Joseph encourages his brothers with God's promise to give them the land (Genesis 50:24).

God promises to bring the Israelites to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 6:8).

Joshua says they took the land (11:23).

Joshua also says that God gave them the land as He had promised and they possessed it (21:41-45). Promise FULFILLED!

Both Solomon and Nehemiah claim that God gave them the land as promised and they possessed it (1 Kings 4:20-21; Nehemiah 9:12-25).

God promises blessings upon Israel for their obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and curses upon Israel for their disobedience (vv.15-68). If they obeyed, God promised to prosper them in the land (v.8). If they disobeyed, God promised to remove them from the land (vv.21, 36, 63).

They disobeyed.

God promises that if Israel returns to Him with their whole heart and soul, then God will restore them (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).

There is one return to the land promised in Scripture—not two!

"So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you." Deuteronomy 30:1-3

What captivity could this passage possibly be speaking of? The Babylonian captivity.

What could it possibly mean by reference to "nations" where they were banished? The northern kingdom was taken captive by Assyria. The southern kingdom was taken captive by Babylon. Assyria and Babylon account for "nations." There is nothing that says the use of "nations" refers to, or must refer to, all nations.

Zionists/Dispensationalists claim that there are two returns to the land, quoting passages like Isaiah 43:5-6; Jeremiah 16:14–15; 23:3, 7–8; 29:14; and 31:7–8. They read into the Isaiah passage something that is not there. "Ends of the earth" does not need to mean "from everywhere on the planet," but "from the ends of the known world," to where they were dispersed.

In the Jeremiah passages of 16:14-15 and 23:7-8, does "Israel" mean all of Israel, or is it speaking strictly of the northern kingdom? In these passages, it mentions "Israel" and bringing them back from "the north," which is where the northern kingdom was taken captive by Assyria. Paying attention to the context of 29:14, you know that this return is from the Babylonian captivity (v.10).

The creation of Israel as a nation and the return of Jews in 1948 was not a fulfillment of any prophecy! This act was not from God. Deuteronomy 30:1-3 states matter of factly that in order for them to return to their land, they would have to repent and return to God with their whole hearts. What would that returning look like today? They would have to accept and embrace Christ Jesus as the Messiah. This has never happened!

This making Israel a nation again and encouraging Jews to return to their land was an act of Zionists in attempt of a self-fulfilled prophecy based on the erroneous and bankrupt theology of Dispensationalism. All the prophecies about being brought back to the land were speaking with regard to AFTER the Babylonian captivity, which has already been FULFILLED. No other such prophecy of a return exists!

There is one and only one return prophesied in Scripture, and it already happened.

Syria was north of Israel. Assyria was north-east of Israel. Babylon was east of Israel. Egypt was west and south of Israel.

The promises were spoken to Abraham and his Seed—Jesus the Messiah (Galatians 3:16).

The land Abraham was looking forward to was not a patch of land in the Middle East (Hebrews 11:8-10,13-16).

[If there is a prophecy to be had in Deuteronomy 28:49-57, this prophecy speaks of the Roman empire—not the American empire. Both have the eagle as their symbol. Does not verse 53 echo what we learn happened in A.D. 70 from reading Josephus? Jews ate their own children during the Roman siege.]