...Biblical significance of today's political wars...a clarification...................
Theological basis for Christian support for Israel and a pertpetual war in the end-times is questionable if one considers that New Testment supercedes the OT.... as far as Christians should be concerned:
Conservative Judaeo-Christian support for Israel is based largely on various prophecies about the Jewish people during the "end-times" which they believe are found throughout the Bible. They are viewed as playing a major role in TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it). Some are:
Zechariah's war prophecy:
Zechariah 12:3: "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (KJV) The implication is that the Jewish people would return to Israel; this happened in 1948 with the creation of the State of Israel. Later, all the nations of the earth will gather against her. Some believe that we are near that point today. But God will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. This came to pass when the Camp David peace talks found that the future status of Jerusalem became a major stumbling block.
Zechariah 12:4-5: "In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God." God is seen as protecting the Jews. He will wipe out the military capacity of the nations that are against Israel.
Zechariah 12:9-10: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Many conservative Christians interpret this as saying that Jews will be humbled, will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and become Christians. They believe that "Whom they have pierced" refers to the piercing of Jesus' side by a Roman soldier. They will "morn for him as the firstborn Son of God — grieve deeply in recognizing their ancient complicity in his death and the fact that they could have entered the promised land long ago, had they entered by faith, not force."
Moving forward... Enter the The 24 elders:
Revelation 4:4: "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold." Conservative Christians view the 24 as being composed of the patriarchs of each of the twelve ancient tribes of Israel, along with the twelve apostles. To emphasize their unity, they are gathered in a circle around the throne of God. All are believed to be Christians at that time. The number presents a problem. One of the original disciples, Judas, died and was replaced with Matthias. But Paul also considered himself an apostle. That would make a total of thirteen apostles.
The 144,000 sealed virgins:
Revelation 7:3-4 "Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."
Revelation 14:1-4: "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads....These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb."
These passages seem to imply that 144,000 Jewish virgins -- their gender is not mentioned (not just 72 virgins!) -- will convert to Christianity and be "sealed." They will have God's name written on their forehead, and will be followers of the Lamb -- i.e. of Christ. Some Christians interpret these phrases as implying that 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity and then attempt to convert the remaining Jews in Israel.
The selection of these 144,000 Jews also presents a problem. The passage says that they will come from "all the tribes of the children of Israel" -- that is, from all 12 tribes. The implication is that there would be 12,000 representatives sealed from each of the ancient Hebrew tribes.
However, the Hebrew Scriptures discuss:
The invasion of the Assyrians into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) in 722 BCE. Some Jews escaped to the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Most appear to have scattered, or have stayed in the former Israel and assimilated into the new Pagan culture forgoing their religion and converting..many to islam later.
The invasion by the Babylonians into the Southern Kingdom, (Judah) in 605 BCE. Most of the Jews escaped to Egypt; others were taken in to exile in Babylon, thus modern jews are the actual immigres to the region , not Palestinians.
But during history, ten of the twelve tribes became "lost" and apparently were assimilated into nearby Pagan cultures. 11 Only a remnant of the combined tribes of Judah and Benjamin survived. A sizeable percentage of the lost tribes probably remained in and near modern-day Israel, and are now Palestinians. Their genetic heritage is indistinguishable from that of real semitic Jews. So, if 12,000 representatives are selected from each of the original twelve tribes, then the group might consist mostly of Palestinians.
Now about the fate of the Jews:
Uri Avnery, is a leader of Gush Shalom, an Israeli peace group. He was discussing the theology of many Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians in a 2002-JUN essay, and wrote: "According to its theological beliefs, the Jews must congregate in Palestine and establish a Jewish state on all its territory so as to make the Second Coming of Jesus Christ possible...the evangelists don't like to dwell openly on what comes next: before the coming [of the Messiah], the Jews must convert to Christianity. Those who don't will perish in a gigantic holocaust in the battle of Armageddon. SO, THIS IS BASICALLY AN ANTI-SEMITIC TEACHING. This teaching implies that Jews who remain true to God's covenants in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) will be all exterminated in a massive genocide that may be more numerous than the Holocaust (an you can imagine what jews think of that Christian idea), and then establishes the 12 tribes, Palestinians and others, as the rightful trustees of the Holy Land...that is if you are a Christian...if you're a Judaeo-Christian you would defer to the OT jewish version. John 8:44, etc. clearly states what the Son thought of the old Law, btw.
Think about it...reconciliation Christianity; i.e. Chritianity reconciling with Judaism is not as clear cut as the current Christian sects might have you believe. The Son was assassinated for a reason.
....TM7
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