If God promised a certain land to the seed of Abraham, saying that it would be theirs “forever” (Gen. 13:15), why do so many Christian churches teach that the Jews permanently lost their right to the land? What about all these Old Testament “forever” promises and prophesies made to the Jews? How should we understand the passages that seem to imply that the Israelites have a secure place in God’s plan forever?
Did God mean it or did he set aside these promises when they failed to meet His standards. I do believe that these promises and prophecies in the O.T. are fulfilled in the church, but not by way of spiritualization and not simply by the church superseding or replacing the Jews. When most of Jewish Israel failed to embrace their messiah in Jesus, did God say, "Hey I did mean forever forever", and transfer the covenant to the gentile church, which then became the New Israel?
The whole story of salvation centers around the history of Israel, her creation, redemption and restoration. God’s might and power is evident in His everlasting promise to Israel (first laid out in Genesis 12:1-3). There, the Lord promises He will make Abram into a great nation and will bless him.
One last thought, Whether you're religious or not, whether you think Israel has participated in apartheid, as a national policy, or not--Israel is a sovereign nation and the extra lands they took, after being attacked in 1948 and 1967 belong to the Jewish people now. They chose to give back some, but WAR has consequences.
Israel is not guilty of genocide, a legal term, and in no way do Israeli policies and actions meet this legal threshold--nor do their policies and actions warrant the atrocities that Hamas has committed against Israel. While one may oppose and even condemn particular Israeli people or policies or actions with regard to Palestinians or Israel’s Arab citizens, the fact remains that in no way has Israel as a nation engaged in any action with the intent to exterminate, in whole or in part, the Palestinian people.
However, Hamas has committed acts of terror and of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The elements of these atrocity crimes are well known. Acts including killing, cutting babies from mothers and beheading them, beheading others, partial mutilation: causing serious bodily and mental harm i.e. cutting off fingers and toes, forcibly transferring children and adults, taken with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such. Their crimes against humanity comprise acts of murder, extermination, rape, mutilation, beheading, forcible transfer of population, and acts causing great suffering to mental or physical health – committed as part of a widespread, systematic attack directed against Israel.
Whether you're religious or not, Israel legally belongs to the Jews. It is a nation state given to them a part of defeating the Ottoman Empire and ruling by the United Nations in 1947.
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