Adriel Gama-Reynoso

Someone asked if modern Israel is biblical Israel. My answer is below. Let's start here. There are dozens of prophecies in the Hebrew Bible that speak of the restoration of Israel as a nation (Exek 36:24ff). It says it would happen in the end-times (Amos 9:14–15, Ezek 37:21–22). It tells of a mass exodus of Jewish people from a land north of Israel (Jer 16:14-15); Over 1,00,000 Jews return to Israel from the former Soviet Union between 1991-2000. So, what you have to ask yourself is, have these prophecies been fulfilled in the modern nation of Israel? Ethnic Jews, proven by DNA, have gone back to their homeland after 2000 years. There is no example in world history of a nation being separated from its geographical homeland for more than two or three generations and maintaining its ethnic identity--except for Jews/ Israelites/Israelis. (Have you run into any Jebusites or Hitites recently?) If the prophets were not speaking about present-day Israel, then this is one of the most remarkable coincidences in history. Secondly, who are they talking about? Did the church come out of the land of the north? No. Was the church regathered from all over the world back into the land of Israel? No. But the Jewish people were. Even if one spiritualizes those verses to the church, one cannot deny that the physical descendants of Abraham returned to the land promised to him and his descendants forever, and built a nation. One would have to be intellectually dishonest not to see the connection between the prophecies and the fact that there is a nation of Israel today filled with Jewish people. It's a miracle. In Romans 11, Paul clearly states that ethnic Israel has a future. He says they have been temporarily blinded so that the gospel can prosper amongst the nations. But in the end times, the hardness of heart will be removed and "all Israel will be saved." (Rom 11:26). He explains three verses later that the gifts and callings are irrevocable. He is emphatically stating that God's calling on Israel will never be revoked, no matter what Israel does. This is because of God's faithfulness, not Israel's righteousness. Keep reading, please. You don't honor the politicians, you honor the God of Israel. Despite Israel, God has been faithful. See Jer. 31:35-37, where God says specifically that he will not reject Israel for all she has done, and as long as the stars, moon, and sun continue to operate, he will be faithful to Israel. There is faulty reasoning that goes into disqualifying Israel, based on bad behavior. If God were going to disqualify people based on bad behavior, then much of the church would be in very big trouble. But God is gracious. Jesus is still Jewish. After his resurrection, he is referred to as the seed of David (Rom 1:3), and in Revelation 5:5 as the line of the tribe of Judah and Root of David. According to Zechariah 14:3-4, he will return to the Mount of Olives. That's where he left from, and the angel said he would return in the same way. Rev. 1:7 says that when he comes, every eye will see him, even those who pierced him… Which is very similar to Zechariah 12:10, which speaks of the Jewish people realizing that the one they pierced is the Messiah. The problem many people have is that they look at someone like Netanyahu and see him as an unsavory character, and think, "How can that be biblical Israel?" biblical Israel had people far worse than Netanyahu as leaders, such as a Ahab and Jezebel and Manasseh, who "did evil in the eyes of the LORD." But according to Paul, that did not disqualify the entire nation (Rom 11:29). There are unsavory politicians all over the world. In America. In Israel. Certainly in Russia. Honoring Israel is about loving God and believing in his faithfulness and that Jesus is literally returning to Jerusalem. He was faithful to his promises to Israel. Loving Israel is about believing for her salvation, and contending for it, recognizing that Israel was blinded so that the gospel could come to Gentiles. They suffered so the nations could be saved. In Matthew 23:39 he tells the Jews of Jerusalem that he will not return until they welcome him as Messiah. How can they do that if there are no Jews in Jerusalem or if there's no Jerusalem? I am an Israeli, and I criticize my own government. I don't give them a free pass because we are a modern fulfillment of prophecy. I believe that October 7 happened because we allowed a racist element into our government. I prophesied that a month before it happened (not in detail). When Israel was chosen in the Old Testament, God would bring judgments upon her. Israel is still chosen today, but when we are bad, there are consequences. Still, if you're going to be intellectually honest, there's no other explanation for the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 other than biblical prophecy. The existence of Jewish people today is a miracle based on science. As stated above, there's no other example of people being separated from their geographical homeland and remaining a people. The fact that we are on a tiny sliver of land outnumbered more than 99 to 1 by those who would be our enemies, and we have been able to win every war, is a miracle. The Six-Day War was a miracle, where we were vastly outnumbered, but defeated three nations in six days. In conclusion, yes, modern-day Israel is what God was referring to when he spoke about the restoration of Israel in the Hebrew Bible. But this does not mean that Israel gets a free pass on anything we do. If anything, we are more accountable to God because we have the Scriptures.

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