I don't believe I ever said "Israel is good" or they "should not negotiate for peace with muslims". To say "Israel is God's chosen people" and "Israel should not give up their covenant land" are very different statements.
Israel and its people are an enigma to the world. Their very existence defies logic.
"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend; Thou, whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away". Isaiah 41:8–9
God's whole plan for the planet Earth was, and is, centered around Israel. Why did God choose Israel? I have no idea, but He did. God used Israel to bring His word into the world. He used Israel to demonstrate that their was only ONE true God. "This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise." Isaiah 43:21 And then, God used Israel to bring the Messiah into the world.
How many other peoples and empires have disappeared -- Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans -- yet the Jewish people go on. How can this be? Isaiah says, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee. Be not dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. . . . For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm, Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
Jeremiah 31:35–37 says that one would have to destroy the entire universe before one could do away with the Jewish people.
And it is not for lack of trying. How many rulers and nations have tried to rid the planet of God's chosen people -- from pharaohs to Hitler to the coming antichrist -- all want to get rid of this constant reminder of the one true God. That is why Muslims hate Israel. It is not because of land or politics. It is because as long as they remain, the god of the muslim is shown to be false. If they could simply wipe them out, then they could prove that the God of Israel is not real. Remember the story of the plagues in Egypt when they would not let God's people go? And this idiocy persist today. False religions and evil leaders can deny God's existence, but it changes nothing. These men, too, will one day bow before this "false" God.
Even Russian, Leo Tolstoy said, "This question is not at all so odd as it seems. Let us see what peculiar kind of creature the Jew is, which all the rulers and all the nations have together and separately abused and molested, oppressed and persecuted, trampled and butchered, burned and hanged, and, in spite of all this, is yet alive. He whom neither slaughter nor torture of himself for years could destroy; he whom neither fire nor sword, nor inquisition was able to wipe from off the face of the earth . . . such a nation cannot be destroyed. The Jew is everlasting as eternity itself."
After the antichrist comes, the end of the Tribulation will climax with the battle of Armageddon where ALL other nations of the earth will COME TOGETHER (Muslims will be getting along with everyone then) to finally stamp out this disgusting people. (Joel 1:15; 3:9–17; Zeph. 3:8–9; Zech. 12—14).
But guess what? Once again, God will use the nation of Israel. This time to destroy the nations of the world. Zechariah 12:8 -- Zech. 14:3-9 -- Matthew 25:41–46, etc.
Backing up a bit -- God not only chose Israel, but He held them to a high standard. Deuteronomy 28 says if they followed his commandments then God would set them "high above all nations of the earth". However, if they failed to meet the standard required of them, they would be cursed all the days of their life. History shows their failure in keeping the commandments that God had laid down -- and it ended with them rejecting Jesus as being their long awaited Messiah and their eventual dispersal into the nations of the world under the Romans.
So this story of Israel is really one of, "I've got good news and bad news". At the end of time, during what we call the Tribulation -- God had another name for it -- "Jacob's trouble". The Jewish people missed the boat when Jesus came the first time. God then extended grace to the Gentiles. During the Tribulation, one of the things that will be accomplished will be that God will finally "deal" with Israel. I think that He will make it so abundantly clear how they screwed up, that almost every Jew will accept Christ as their personal savior amongst the horrors which will befall the earth and mankind at that time.
I hope I have shown you that Israel is not "good", but they are "chosen", and I, for one, do not want to be standing against God's chosen people, no matter how politically or "new age" or logical it may seem.
I remain,
SOROS |
