Persia, or modern Iran.
How this all turns out will be developed in later chapters. But suffice it to say, the scenario spelled out here is all in place in our current events.
The main point of these chapters is that they show that once Israel is restored, it will never be destroyed and dispersed again, even though Ezekiel does predict that Israel will go through a war so intense that all hope of survival will be lost. It is at this point that great numbers of Israelites will turn to their true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, and believe in Him. He will then miraculously deliver them and set up the promised kingdom of God on earth.
HOW THESE COVENANTS AFFECT TODAY
The creation of a special people with unconditional promises of an everlasting title deed to specific land in the Middle East has brought unique problems to the world.
The problem was greatly intensified, first, by their destruction and two thousand year dispersion throughout the whole world.And second, by the fact they survived as a distinct people and returned to claim their ancient homeland again in the midst of the Muslims who have possessed it off and on for centuries.
There is one more unique problem created by these covenants that will bring the present world order to a catastrophic end. This will be the subject of a future chapter. But first, it must be established just exactly who are the inheritors of the covenants made to Abraham.
[ THREE ]
WHO IS ABRAHAMâS TRUE SON?
âGod also said to Moses, âSay to the Israelites, âThe LORD, 25 the God of your fathersâthe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacobâhas sent me to you.â This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.ââ 26
FOR SOME READERS , this chapterâs title may sound like an irrelevant question. However, Bible prophets predict that this issue will eventually become a major factor in causing the worldâs final conflict. So significant is this matter to Muslims that they have sought for centuries to rewrite Biblical history. They say the covenants made with Abraham were not given to his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob and then to his descendants, but rather to Ishmael and his descendants.
This ancient controversy has become more important than ever before in recent timesâjust as Bible prophecy predicted for the end times. Muslims have vehemently argued that neither Isaac nor Jacob were in the chosen line of descendants to whom Godâs covenants were confirmed. In a future chapter, I will lay out the teachings of Muslims from the Koran and Hadith about this issueâand why they dispute what the Bible clearly says. But inthis chapter, I will lay out what the Bible teachesâand how it has been confirmed in history.
It is imperative to be familiar with this aspect of Biblical history, even if you donât believe in the Bible. For as we will see, it is impossible to understand the real dynamics behind the present Arab-Israeli conflict apart from understanding these facts. The reason for this is simple. Both Islam and Israel
do believe
that the Bible is the basis of what they believe about this issue. Unfortunately, the secular media and academics donât grasp this and are therefore always wrong in their analysis of this globally important issue. And I must add, both the so-called liberal and conservative politicians fail to understand the basic causes of this world-troubling issue as well. Therefore their solutions are wrong and will not work.
THE MIRACLE SON
The drama begins in the ancient civilization of Ur of the Chaldeans. A wealthy seventy-five-year-old-man named Abram and his barren sixty-five-year-old-wife, Sarai, were living in this advanced civilization when God called them to move to a far less advanced but more dangerous culture to receive the great promises outlined in the last chapter. I mention that Ur was an advanced civilization to emphasize that it took