The raging war between Israel and Hamas has the world abuzz.
It’s not just the secular world, it’s specifically the Christian world. Pastors are full of glee as they energize their flock with messages about the imminent return of Jesus. These famous Christian leaders are telling us, the events in Israel signify prophetic events.
But do they?
Not quite.
Unfortunately, more often than not, Christendom is vocally taught.
What do I mean by that?
Christians typically form their beliefs based on what their pastor told them. Not necessarily because they can open Scripture to prove their point. This has led to a rapid decline in our faith. Christians have faith in God, but the Christian worldview and belief system is severely lacking.
I bring this up as it’s key to the conversation.
The two pastors I will quote from today seem like decent men, and I’m sure they’ve done much good. However, they clearly do not understand even the basics of Scripture from what they’re teaching their flock.
Instead, these famous men rely on long held church tradition, and their time in Christian centers of education as the root of their teaching. It’s truly a travesty, one that continues to the next generation, and degrades our faith with time.
So what exactly was said by these famous pastors who will remain nameless?
To paraphrase one pastor, he said,
“The Jewish people are God’s chosen people, and God said He would scatter them to the four corners of the earth, only for them to later be regathered. On May 1948, prophecy was fulfilled when Israel was re-established.”
Now that right there is the base understanding for millions of Christians.
It’s been repeated for decades now.
However, how many Christians can actually prove any of this?
I mean, they can vocalize it, but can they open the Scriptures and prove their point?
The answer is no.
Why?
It’s simply not Biblically.
For a moment, let’s just leave this right here, but I’ll prove to you, through the Scriptures, that this common teaching is simply not Biblical.
From there, the pastor said that Ezekiel 37 describes the re-gathering of Israel that Christianity commonly believes took place in 1948.
Now look, Ezekiel 37 does describe the re-gathering of Israel, but it did not happen in 1948. In fact, if you hold this belief, you’re going to blush when you find out how easy it is to see that Israel was not re-established by God in 1948.
Look what Ezekiel 37 says,
God speaking…
- “…my servant David shall be their prince for ever.” – Ezekiel 37:25
- “…set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.” – Ezekiel 37:26
- “My tabernacle also shall be with them” – Ezekiel 37:27
- “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
My friends, none of that happened in 1948, 1949, 1967 or any other date.
King David is dead, and he’s with God in Heaven, Jehovah is certainly not in Israel. In fact, this same account is recorded in Revelation 21:3-4, it simply has not transpired yet.
So what’s the problem we often find with Bible prophecy?
A lack of context.
Context is removed from a chapter as individuals use a verse here, and a verse there, to build up some doctrine. A doctrine that is not Biblical.
Yes, there is very real danger in this…
It creates false hope for believers, while making a mockery of our faith before the world.
The more you say the end is about to happen, and it doesn’t, the more people you drive away from Jesus Christ. So discussing prophetical events is very serious, and something we all need to be mindful of.
Hey, it’s one thing to talk about prophecy and have guesses, it’s quite another to state them as fact. Especially when verses are taken out of context. My point, don’t echo someone’s doctrine because you found a Bible verse, go read the chapter, then the book, and see if it still holds true.
Too much work?
Then you have no business echoing the words to begin with.
All right, so it’s very clear, Ezekiel 37 has not yet come to pass.
Which means…
The pastors theology is not Biblical inspired, and his entire premise is false.
Nevertheless, with the aforementioned belief, the pastor goes on to discuss Ezekiel 38, and says that Gog and Magog “could be Russia.”
Let’s have a direct quote.
“So after this force known as Magog, which could be Russia, attacks [Israel] with her ally, Persia, which is Iran, the Bible says that God is going to destroy the majority of this army and He’s going to pour His spirit out on the people of Israel. So a great spiritual awakening is coming for the Jewish people.”
We have yet another problem…
A false doctrine was not only built on Ezekiel 37, but Matthew 24, which is then carried over to Ezekiel 38. This is how church tradition is created, this is how tradition continues from generation to generation, as no one steps into the gap to challenge it.
Matthew 24:32 talks about a “fig tree,” and it coming into bloom. Many scholars say this fig tree is Israel, and it bloomed in 1948. However, they leave out the same account in Luke 21:29-30, which refers to “all the trees.”
So what’s it all mean?
- It means someone cherry picked Bible verses decades ago.
- It means the fig tree prophecy is bogus, along with the Ezekiel 37 prophecy.
That’s not saying God’s Word is bogus. That’s saying the interpretation of men is bogus, which then spawned new religious dogmas.
All right, let’s disect some more of what this pastor said.
Yes, Gog and Magog “could be Russia,” but it’s highly doubtful.
Why?
It simply doesn’t fit.
Moreover, much of Ezekiel is symbolic.
For example, in Ezekiel 38 we’re told of the Gog and Magog war,
- “Horses and horsemen” – Ezekiel 38:4
- “All of them handling swords” – Ezekiel 38:4
- “Riding upon horses” – Ezekiel 38:15
- “I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand” – Ezekiel 39:3
- “Cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand” – Ezekiel 39:3
I guarantee you, no military today is going to use any of those weapons to fight any modern war. Certainly not a war against the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. So that tells us, much of the meanings in Ezekiel are obviously spiritualized, including the identity of Gog and Magog.
Now, I want to jump to what another pastor said concerning the war in Israel.
“Right now, this is unprecedented — the moment we’re in. So it feels prophetic. But we’ve got to look carefully and wait before we make any conclusions because otherwise, we’re just going to bring discredit on the Lord if we’re wrong. I mean, he’ll still be sovereign, but we’ll look like idiots.”
I thought this was fantastic.
This man put out “two scenarios” for what’s transpiring in Israel.
That’s all well and good.
It’s talking about Scripture, it gets people reading their Bibles, hopefully. The pastor acknowledged his scenarios may be wrong. That’s why he said, Christians shouldn’t rush to judgement, otherwise, we’ll look foolish.
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I’ve been saying that for years.
Why?
The more we say, “Jesus is returning soon,” the more everyone just rolls their eyes. People have been saying that for 2,000 years now.
What exactly is “soon?”
Look,
- We want to build up our faith, not tear it down.
- We want more Christians in the world, not less.
So bravo to this chap, even though his Biblical doctrine is the same as the first pastor we discussed. With that, let’s go back to the discussion we had concerning the first pastor, so let me share how he closed his message.
“We as Christians need to understand that the Bible tells us that the Jews are God’s chosen people.
That’s simply not true.
More in a moment…
The pastor continues.
We as Christians need to understand that God gave the so-called land of Palestine, to the Jewish people, to Israel, which they have occupied in perpetuity for 3,000 years — not always ruling it, but they’ve been there in that land that God gave them. And we need to understand that we should be praying for them because God gave us the Bible through the Jews. God gave us our Messiah, as a Jewish man.”
There’s so many untruths here, it makes my head spin.
No, I’m not going into all of it here.
Let me just say this, the Jews haven’t been in Israel for 3,000 years.
In fact, in 1917, only 6% of the population in Palestine were Jewish.
Even more interesting, roughly 90% of all Jews are Ashkenazi Jews.
Get this, science, history, and Scripture state, these people are not from Abraham. Check the link… Interestingly enough, “Ashkenaz” is a tribe mentioned in the Bible, but the members of this tribe are not the ancestors of Abraham.
The Tribe of Ashkenaz was of Noah’s son Japheth, not Shem, (Genesis 10:2-3).
So in yet another example, the “Jews” are not “semitic” people.
In reality, you have people claiming it’s their land, when it’s not. In turn, Christians openly support them, thinking God chose a people due to their race. Christians completely forget what the New Testament says!…
Now, how many pastors are willing to open that can of worms?
I don’t know of any.
Do you know why?
It would rock boats.
It would alter the basic Christian worldview for millions of people.
I say, “Who cares.”
Wrongs always need to be corrected, no matter what.
That’s how you stay true to yourself.
That’s how you stay true to our Heavenly Father.
The pastor closed saying,
The Bible says, God speaking, I will bless those that bless you, speaking of the Jewish people in Israel. I will curse those that curse you.
That’s not true at all.
In fact, for such a seasoned pastor, it’s hard to fathom how he can say that.
Look, that phrase, “I will bless those that bless you” comes from Genesis 12:3.
Let’s have the verse.
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Now, those were God’s Words, but here’s the critical thing to ask…
Who was God talking too?
It was Abraham.
Friends, there was no such thing as a “Jew” in Genesis 12. In fact, there was no such thing as an “Israelite.” None of that happened yet.
So how on earth can this pastor say God was “speaking of the Jewish people?”
I mean, it’s preposterous!
Even worse, millions of Christians nod their head, they take in the vocalized teaching without ever asking a question.
Why?
They trust their pastor.
He’s a man of God.
So we have pastors confused about basic Biblical principals that are teaching millions of Christians false doctrine. With that doctrine, these same Christians cheer on the death and destruction taking place in Gaza right now.
It’s horrific.
I tell you what, I couldn’t believe some of the comments I was reading in response to the pastors video. Coming from Christians no less. They’re rooting on death, justifying it.
They believe it’s Biblically justified, as they’re convinced, “the Jews are God’s chosen people.”
Why?
Famous pastors vocalized it.
It’s madness.
Look, I have a study coming out on Sunday discussing God’s chosen people.
Don’t miss it.
Now, in this article today, I wanted to talk some more about the supposed prophetic event that is transpiring. I wanted to tip you off to something, I have an interesting thought about all of this that I want to share with you.
However, this piece is getting long, so I’ll discuss that on Friday, making this part 1.
As I close, my friends, always fact check what you’re taught. Take notes, read the whole chapter, read the whole Book. It’s important. We cannot cherry pick Scripture, it’s leading our faith in the wrong direction, and we, you and I can do our part to make a difference.
See you Friday.