The Restoration of Israel (Part Three/Final)

Perspectives from the Poetic and Prophetical Books of the Old Testament (Part Three/Final)

Khen Lim

Those that still await fulfilment

With the pre-Tribulation dispensationalist view, modern Israel is prophetically central to the grand scheme of things. It plays a significant role in fulfilling biblical prophecy but we still must be vigilant over the use of prophetic verses that recent events may vindicate and those that must await fulfilment at some point in the future. To that end, we must identify that there are actually two occurrences of eschatological regatherings. Both straddle the Tribulation; one before and the other after the wrathful event as shown in the illustration below (Fruchtenbaum 1982).

The Restoration of Israel (Part Two)

Perspectives from the Poetic and Prophetical Books of the Old Testament (Part Two)

Khen Lim

Fulfilling Israel’s Restoration

Much has been said and written about the prophetic fulfilment of Israel’s Restoration including those that we are still waiting to unfold. Making the predictions is fine but in regathering Israel back as a single ethnic Elect in a single land, we must consider that they cannot always be viewed from only one time frame. This is very much so when we extrapolate the prophecies and apply them to the modern-day interpretation of Israel as we know it.

The Restoration of Israel (Part One)

Perspectives from the Poetic and Prophetic Books of the Old Testament (Part One)

Khen Lim




Jerusalem in Early 20th Century (Image source: en.wikipedia.org)

Introduction

The New York Daily News on July 17 2015 reported a case of a Tennessean father being charged for assault but there is a twist. Unhappy that a relative of his had “solicited his two young children” and escape jail time with just three years of supervised probation, he waited for his opportunity to “kick his butt” but only after more humiliation by the alleged sex offender who winked and smiled at him on the street the day after he discovered he could walk away a free man.

The father told the local newspaper, “I did it for my daughters. Would I go to jail for my daughters? You’re…right I would. It’s not right. This guy abused my daughters, and he gets probation?” (Golgowski 2015)

The Three Wars to End All Wars

Explaining the battles of the End Times prior to the Millennium

By  Khen Lim



Image source: thesierraleonetelegraph.com

This morning as I began presenting my sermon, I took a look at the online CNN headliners. Here they are:

“19 dead as patients burned on beds during bombing”

“Coroner: Oregon gunman shot himself.”

“Bush on shooting: ‘Stuff happens’”

“Russia bombs Syria for fourth day”

“Migrants break into Eurotunnel”

“Eastern U.S. soaked by huge storm”

“Coca-Cola calls on FIFA boss to quit”

“Attacker kills 2 in Jerusalem”

“Gay priest loses Vatican duties”

“ISIS’ car bombs kill 24 in Baghdad”

What’s the world getting to, you ask? Maybe we should ask what GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina asked: “How did we get to this?”

The world is tearing itself apart. CNN headliners are all bad news because that is a fact – we’re having so much bad news because we did this to ourselves. We had numerous chances to right ourselves but we’re too smart to think of doing anything else but to play God. And this is the result. But it will get worse because God says so. The wars that define the End Times tell us that what we’re seen so far is nothing compared to what we are about to face. We will in due time feel the full wrath of God… because we deserve every bit of it.

Anti-Semitism Fact Sheet

By Khen Lim

Anti-Semitism remains prevalent and in fact may be showing signs of an increase since the end of the Second World War. According to a survey conducted by Anti-Defamation League (ADL) just last year, the news is disturbing. Here’re just the brief ones to get started:

It Was Never About the Land

By Khen Lim

Image source: pinterest.com

The photo above was captured in 1981. It shows President Anwar Sadat shot to death during an annual victory parade in Cairo. He was killed by an assassination squad mistaken for part of the parade. This was revenge for a person who “dishonoured Islam.” He wanted peace with Israel and he paid with his life.

Can There Ever Be Peace? (Part 4, Final)

Trying to Understand the Israel Question 

By Khen Lim

PART FOUR/FINAL



Image source: pennlive.com

What more for peace?

To find a stauncher ally for Israel beyond the United States of America is near impossible simply because there are none greater. And America has worked ceaselessly and tirelessly for lasting peace in the region of the Middle East, always by the side of Israel and always looking to be negotiating in their best interests. From Truman to recent times, no American president has slackened off in brokering for territorial stability in a finely tuned balance of power in the Middle East, knowing that being successful in this regard would yield handsome benefits for everyone concerned.

Eric Hoffer Remembered

By Khen Lim

The following was written by the late Eric Hoffer (below) sometime in May 1968, not long after the Six Day War was fought and won victoriously by Israel. This quote is extracted from Tom Bethell's "Eric Hoffer: The Longshoreman Philosopher" published in 2012:

 

Image source: architectguy.me

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it. Turkey drove out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out, heaven knows, how many Chinese—and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab. Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.

Image source: robertgarding.tripod.com

Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace. Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.

Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover, but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.

No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on. There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews, no one remonstrated with him.

The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.

The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.

Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realise how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us.

- Eric Hoffer (1898-1983)

Now that you have finished reading this, maybe you might want to revisit Genesis 12:2-3. 

Can There Ever Be Peace (Part 3)

Trying to Understand the Israel Question 

By Khen Lim

PART THREE



Image source: telegraph.co.uk

Arab Spring reshapes the Middle East

The world since the death of Arafat had become dramatically different. Of the many changes that had affected the way we live our lives, it’s the ability to communicate anywhere, anytime and to anyone no matter what that is the most life-transforming. 

By combining computing power with virtual communication technologies to tap into the Internet and then reducing its packaging to something completely small and handholdable, we could engage a force that makes the world smaller than ever possible. Everyone, regardless of where they lived, suddenly seemed to only be next door. Everything we’d always wanted to ask now had ready answers within an instance. Every little idea we had could easily be harvested through finding the right resources no matter where in the world.

Can There Ever Be Peace? (Part 2)

Trying to Understand the Israel Question 

By Khen Lim

PART TWO



Image source: seraphicpress.com

From neighbours, relentless hatred

No doubt there were jubilance and celebrations but there were muted. With the threat of war looming, there was simply no room to relax. Sure enough, on the night that the Declaration of Independence was heard on radio throughout Israel, its neighbours invaded in the name of a “United States of Palestine.” This was the pretext to replacing the new Jewish State regardless of the U.N. vote. On declaration of war, immediate condemnation was issued by America and many other nations against Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Take note that additional troops were also supplied by Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Can There Ever Be Peace? (Part 1)

Trying to Understand the Israel Question 

By Khen Lim

PART ONE

Image source: huffingtonpost.com

Introduction

The other day, I was talking to a fellow Theology student, about Church History and invariably, from every angle of our discussion, talk returned to Israel, no matter what. There is an agreement that whatever the prophecies – Daniel or even Matthew – the Israel of today needs to be understood. 

Even when we try to understand what place the Second Temple Period has with the shaping of the New Testament, the subjugation of the Jews at that time merely helps to join the dots to today’s Israel. If we go back as far as the destruction of Israel and the separation of its people, we talk about the Diaspora, which then leads us to the formation of modern Israel.

Clearly there is no avoiding the importance of Israel today in the proper understanding of its history and what it means. But it appears as if modern Israel is very difficult or complex to come to grips with. An ever increasing number of pastors in perhaps the more liberal churches are appearing to be partial against Israel. 

Their siding of Gaza and Palestine raises deep concerns about how they see Israel and whether or not, their critical take is justifiable. Politicians around the world are giving greater credence to the Gazans and Palestinians as well. With Palestine on the doorstep of recognition at the United Nations, the future of Israel needs to be revisited.

So how did all these happen? From the history of Israel, can we try to piece together bits of information in our attempt to grasp a Christian view of where we’re at and then ask the question whether or not in our lifetime, we will see peace in Israel.

With this four-part series, we hope to be able to shed some light into how things are the way they are in the history of the development of modern Israel.