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Israel and the Jewish People
Q. Why are you so outspoken in your support of Israel and the Jewish people? What relevance does the Bible have to the Middle East today?
A. The support of Israel is a biblically based mandate for every Christian. All other nations were created by an act of men, but God Himself established the boundaries of the nation of Israel. God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a covenant of land that was eternally binding, and it's recorded in the book of Genesis. God also told Abraham that He would make Abraham's descendants into a great nation and through them He would bless all the families of the earth. In the same passage, God said He would "bless those who bless you" (Abraham), and "curse him who curses you" (Gen. 12:3). That gets my attention. I want to be blessed, not cursed, by God.
The Bible shows God as the protector and defender of Israel. Psalm 121:4 says that He never slumbers or sleeps in His watching over the nation of Israel. The prophet Zechariah said that the Jewish people are "the apple of God's eye" (2:8). Any nation that comes against Israel is, in effect, poking God in the eye-not a very wise thing to do! If God created Israel, if God defends Israel, if God considers Israel the apple of His eye, then it is logical to say that those who stand with Israel are standing with God.
Every Christian should remember the debt of gratitude the Christian community owes to the Jewish community. The Jewish people do not need Christianity to explain their existence or their origin. But Christians cannot explain their existence without Judaism. It was the Jewish people who gave us the written Scripture. They gave us the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They gave us the disciples and the apostle Paul. The Jewish people gave to Christianity the first Christian family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus-our Savior! If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there is nothing left.
Geopolitically speaking, we should support Israel because it is the only true democracy in the Middle East. The tiny democracy of Israel is surrounded by feudal states and brutal dictatorships that control vast regions of land and oil resources. The presence of the Israeli Defense Forces brings stability to that part of the world.
The current conflict in the Middle East is not just about land; it's about Israel's right to exist as a nation. The land has never belonged to the people who now call themselves Palestinians. The area was named Palestine by the Romans, but there has never been a nation called Palestine, and there is no Palestinian language. Before 1948 these people were Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis, and citizens of other Arab nations who had moved to the region. They were displaced by the war of 1948, but Israel is not occupying their territory.
Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority clearly do not want peace. During the Clinton Administration they were offered a Palestinian State with part of Jerusalem as its capital, along with control of 97 percent of the West Bank-everything their own negotiators had said was requisite for peace. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak agreed to the deal, but Yasser Arafat turned it down flat. He walked away from peace, sending a tacit message to the terrorists, who continue their slaughter of innocent lives in their pursuit of destruction of the Jewish State.
Beliefs
The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God. We believe in His substitutionary death for all men , His resurrection, and His eventual return to judge the world.
Salvation
We believe all men are born with a sinful nature and that the work of the Cross was to redeem man from the power of sin. We believe that this salvation is available to all who will receive it.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity and in His interaction with man. We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as manifested by the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit.
The Sacred Scripture
We believe in the scripture as the inspired Word of God and that it is the complete revelation of God's will for mankind. We believe in the absolute authority of the scripture to govern the affairs of men.
Stewardship
We believe that every man is the steward of his life and resources which ultimately belong to God. We believe that tithing is a measure of obedience to the scriptural principles of stewardship.
The Church
We believe in the Church as the eternal and universal Body of Christ consisting of all those who have accepted the work of the atonement. We believe in the need for a local assembly of believers for the purpose of evangelism and edification.
Prayer and Praise
We believe in the worship of the Lord through singing, clapping, and the lifting of hands. We believe in the authority of the believer to ask freely of the Lord for his needs.
Body Ministry
We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Church body through the anointing of oil by the elders of the church.
Evangelism
We believe that evangelism is the obligation of every follower of Jesus Christ. The Lord commands us to go out and make disciples of all the earth. We believe that each person is first responsible to evangelism in their own family as the Holy Spirit leads them and gives them the ability.
Water Baptism
We believe in the ordinance of water baptism by immersion in obedience to the Word of God. All those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior should be baptized in water as a public profession of their faith in Christ and to experience what the Bible calls the "circumcision of the Spirit."
Our Commitment to Israel
We believe in the promise of Genesis 12:3 regarding the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We believe that this is an eternal covenant between God and the seed of Abraham to which God is faithful.
The Priesthood of the Believer
We believe that every believer has a unique relationship to the Lord. As His children, every Christian has immediate access to the throne of Grace and the ability to manifest the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in ministry.
I'm missing the "dual convenant" part?
Israel and the Jewish People
Q. Why are you so outspoken in your support of Israel and the Jewish people? What relevance does the Bible have to the Middle East today?
A. The support of Israel is a biblically based mandate for every Christian. All other nations were created by an act of men, but God Himself established the boundaries of the nation of Israel. God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a covenant of land that was eternally binding, and it's recorded in the book of Genesis. God also told Abraham that He would make Abraham's descendants into a great nation and through them He would bless all the families of the earth. In the same passage, God said He would "bless those who bless you" (Abraham), and "curse him who curses you" (Gen. 12:3). That gets my attention. I want to be blessed, not cursed, by God.
The Bible shows God as the protector and defender of Israel. Psalm 121:4 says that He never slumbers or sleeps in His watching over the nation of Israel. The prophet Zechariah said that the Jewish people are "the apple of God's eye" (2:8). Any nation that comes against Israel is, in effect, poking God in the eye-not a very wise thing to do! If God created Israel, if God defends Israel, if God considers Israel the apple of His eye, then it is logical to say that those who stand with Israel are standing with God.
Every Christian should remember the debt of gratitude the Christian community owes to the Jewish community. The Jewish people do not need Christianity to explain their existence or their origin. But Christians cannot explain their existence without Judaism. It was the Jewish people who gave us the written Scripture. They gave us the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They gave us the disciples and the apostle Paul. The Jewish people gave to Christianity the first Christian family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus-our Savior! If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there is nothing left.
Geopolitically speaking, we should support Israel because it is the only true democracy in the Middle East. The tiny democracy of Israel is surrounded by feudal states and brutal dictatorships that control vast regions of land and oil resources. The presence of the Israeli Defense Forces brings stability to that part of the world.
The current conflict in the Middle East is not just about land; it's about Israel's right to exist as a nation. The land has never belonged to the people who now call themselves Palestinians. The area was named Palestine by the Romans, but there has never been a nation called Palestine, and there is no Palestinian language. Before 1948 these people were Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis, and citizens of other Arab nations who had moved to the region. They were displaced by the war of 1948, but Israel is not occupying their territory.
Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority clearly do not want peace. During the Clinton Administration they were offered a Palestinian State with part of Jerusalem as its capital, along with control of 97 percent of the West Bank-everything their own negotiators had said was requisite for peace. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak agreed to the deal, but Yasser Arafat turned it down flat. He walked away from peace, sending a tacit message to the terrorists, who continue their slaughter of innocent lives in their pursuit of destruction of the Jewish State.
Beliefs
The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God. We believe in His substitutionary death for all men , His resurrection, and His eventual return to judge the world.
Salvation
We believe all men are born with a sinful nature and that the work of the Cross was to redeem man from the power of sin. We believe that this salvation is available to all who will receive it.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity and in His interaction with man. We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit as manifested by the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit.
The Sacred Scripture
We believe in the scripture as the inspired Word of God and that it is the complete revelation of God's will for mankind. We believe in the absolute authority of the scripture to govern the affairs of men.
Stewardship
We believe that every man is the steward of his life and resources which ultimately belong to God. We believe that tithing is a measure of obedience to the scriptural principles of stewardship.
The Church
We believe in the Church as the eternal and universal Body of Christ consisting of all those who have accepted the work of the atonement. We believe in the need for a local assembly of believers for the purpose of evangelism and edification.
Prayer and Praise
We believe in the worship of the Lord through singing, clapping, and the lifting of hands. We believe in the authority of the believer to ask freely of the Lord for his needs.
Body Ministry
We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Church body through the anointing of oil by the elders of the church.
Evangelism
We believe that evangelism is the obligation of every follower of Jesus Christ. The Lord commands us to go out and make disciples of all the earth. We believe that each person is first responsible to evangelism in their own family as the Holy Spirit leads them and gives them the ability.
Water Baptism
We believe in the ordinance of water baptism by immersion in obedience to the Word of God. All those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior should be baptized in water as a public profession of their faith in Christ and to experience what the Bible calls the "circumcision of the Spirit."
Our Commitment to Israel
We believe in the promise of Genesis 12:3 regarding the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We believe that this is an eternal covenant between God and the seed of Abraham to which God is faithful.
The Priesthood of the Believer
We believe that every believer has a unique relationship to the Lord. As His children, every Christian has immediate access to the throne of Grace and the ability to manifest the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in ministry.
I'm missing the "dual convenant" part?