1/31/06

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The Fuse of Armageddon, part 2

by Hal Lindsey (2003 article)

Reasons for Israel’s Love for Jerusalem

No other city has been able to arouse the passions that Jerusalem has. These passions are shared by the Jews, Muslims and Christians. In this segment, I will discuss Israel’s reasons for claiming Jerusalem.

Why Jerusalem Is Sacred To The Jews

Jerusalem is the very soul of the Israelites. It became this from the time that Israel’s King David conquered it from the Jebusites over 3,000 years ago.

Even non-religious Jews are mystically attached to the city because of the long history of their ancestor’s association with it.

The most important reason for Jerusalem’s sacredness to Israel came when God designated its Mount Moriah as the site of His Temple and the place of His manifest presence on earth.

The sacred Ark of the Covenant was placed by God’s order on the flat rock where Abraham offered Isaac to God. This holiest place was in the back third of the Temple and could only be visited once a year by the High Priest alone.

He had to enter in a very special way with a sacrifice to provide atonement for Israel’s sins.

Jerusalem and its Temple are so important to Judaism that it cannot function as a way to God, according to the Bible, without possession of them. Without animal sacrifices offered in the Temple, Judaism has no provision for Israel’s sin, according to the Law of Moses.

A Vital Warning Ignored

Parenthetically, The New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews was expressly written to explain this point. Within a few years after this pivotal letter was sent by God to the Hebrews, revealing that the animal sacrifices that only temporarily covered sin had been replaced by one final sacrifice of the Messiah that forever removed sin as a barrier between man and God, the Temple was destroyed by the Romans.

Since Judaism does not accept this, its whole orientation in exile among the nations was focused on regaining possession of Jerusalem.

This is why the dispersed Israelites in every part of the world solemnly proclaimed every year at the celebration of their holy feast of Passover, “Next year in Jerusalem.” This they prayed in hope for nearly two thousand years.

This is what God meant when He said, “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.

Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.

"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)

God then revealed why the Law was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:10-14)

God warned the Hebrews of the consequences of rejecting Jesus as the Messiah and final sacrifice for sins, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins …” (Hebrews 10:26)

This means that once the Hebrews were given the truth about the Messiah’s sacrifice fulfilling the animal sacrifice system, they could no longer come to God through the animal sacrifices.

They were fulfilled and invalidated as a way to God by the once and for all sacrifice of the Son of God. Apart from faith in Jesus, there is no sacrifice for sin and no other way to a relationship with God.

The Holocaust Predicted

God then warned the Hebrews that rejection of Jesus as His final solution for sin would bring terrible judgment upon them, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

The sanctified person is the one who believes that Jesus died for his sins and receives the pardon that Jesus purchased for him with His own blood.

Within four years after this Epistle was proclaimed to Israel, they fell into the hands of the Living God, just as He warned them. This predicted judgment began with the Roman holocaust of AD70.

It has continued for nearly two thousand years. The Messiah Jesus predicted this judgment would fall upon those who rejected Him just before they crucified Him, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:20-24)

Israel’s Undying Love For Jerusalem

Because Judaism does not believe that the Messiah has come, the devout Jews believe they must possess Jerusalem, and ultimately rebuild the Temple and reinstitute the animal sacrifice system. Otherwise, Judaism cannot function as it was set up by God through Moses.

While in exile, Rabbis invented a way to God through good works, but this man-made-system contradicts the Law of Moses.

The Bible predicts that Israel’s unbelief would continue, but in spite of that, in order to keep His Word, God would sovereignly bring them back to their land, re-establish them as a nation and give them possession of old Jerusalem.

Ezekiel clearly predicts this will happen shortly before the Messiah’s second coming:

Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. “And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:22-28)

It this miraculous return to the land and rebirth as a nation that sets up Israel’s conflict with the surrounding Muslim nations over Jerusalem that leads to Armageddon.

Next, we will examine Islam’s claim to Jerusalem and why they believe they must liberate Jerusalem from Israel and destroy her.