Just as God predicted, Israel rebelled against Him, thereby revealing once again the power Satan wields over unregenerate mankind. Israel, though super religious, was no match for the devil because she believed that, being biological children of Abraham, she was guaranteed spiritual success with God and therefore did not need to obey Him. The Old Testament God (Jesus of Nazareth–see The God of the Old Testament) warned His chosen people through His prophets of the consequences of disobeying His Words. He got their attention in 720 B.C. and 585 B.C. when He sent Assyria and Babylon to conquer and enslave the House of Israel and the House of Judah respectively. For hundreds of years prior to their defeat God had sent His prophets to warn both houses of Israel that He would scatter them throughout the world.

We hear the Lord warning about Israel’s future dispersion in Genesis 28:13-15 where we find Him telling Jacob (Israel) what would happen to his descendants in the future, that He would send them north, south, east and west (from Jerusalem). Note: all directional statements found in Scripture use Jerusalem as their starting points unless specifically stated otherwise. In this passage God promised Jacob that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and that He would give them the lands to which He would send them. He also stated that one of Israel’s seed (Himself–Jesus of Nazareth) would be a blessing to the entire world. In verse 15 He promises Israel that He would one day bring his (Israel’s) descendants back to the Holy Land. We know from other Scriptures that they will return to rule and reign with Him from the Kingdom of God which will be established in what is now called Jerusalem. At that time there will be a New Jerusalem, the first one, along with the earth and the heavens, having been rolled up and burned by the Lord. At that time there will also be a new heaven and a new earth.

In Leviticus 26:33,34 the Almighty warns the Israelites that if they did not obey Him they would be captured and removed from their homeland. Their enemies would take over the land He had promised their forefathers–Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In Deuteronomy 28:64 God again warns Israel that, because of their sins, He would “scatter you among all people, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods which neither you nor your fathers have known, gods made of wood and stone.”

Now let us view a passage in which God graphically explains Israel’s future. Note that the passage contains two prophesies–one positive and one negative–concerning Israel in last days of this era. In Micah 5:7-9 the Lord tells the Old Testament church (Acts 7:38) that Israel–the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh) will be among the Gentiles of the world like a young lion whom no one can defeat. This refers to the early years of Great Britain and the United States when they were at their zenith relative to military and economic power (1800 to the present). But God knew that these greatly blessed nations would fall away from Him. In verses 10-15 He foretold what would happen to them because of their rebellion against Him in the time just before His return to earth. They would be defeated, destroyed and enslaved. Only a remnant of Israel–the tiny, despised and rejected Church of God–will be protected during the Great Tribulation that will take place during the final three years of this age. These will be spiritual Israelites/spiritual Jews who remained true to the Lord while the world, including the church world, had gone aside after Satan. But before this happens Israel would be “lost” from the world’s view. They become both spiritual and social Gentiles by embracing their religions, gods, customs, etc. Eventually they would lose site of their Israelite ancestry and would come to believe that they were indeed Gentiles. This is exactly what has happened. Modern day Israel–Britain and the U.S.–believe themselves to be Gentile nations. L.J.

Israel part 6