"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling." (Zechariah 12:2) How often do we see well-known college professors and political organizations in western nations holding signs that say, Free Palestine, and all of its variations. Hating Israel seems to be a popular trend, which is understandable in Middle Eastern countries because of their in-bred hatred for Zionism, but most Westerners don't know why they hate the Jews or who's land we're even talking about. I want to clarify this issue historically and see what the Bible has to say. So, are the Jews viciously occupying stolen land or are the Palestinians using Israel for their own gain?
Originally, Palestine derives from the word, Philistines. The Philistines were a chief enemy of Israel throughout the Old Testament. Their territory was a sliver of land right next to Judah and part of Israel. Some of their notable cities include Gath, Gaza, Ashdod, Aschkelon, and Ekron. The Philistines were a pagan people who worshiped Dagon as their chief deity. Two notable showdowns between Israel and the Philistines include David and Goliath and Samson's final showdown with the Philistines when he killed more Philistines in death than when he lived. Additionally, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Samuel. God permitted that to happen because of Israel's wickedness, particularly the corruption of Eli's sons who were priests. Because of their contempt for God's law as priests, many Jews died at the hands of the Philistines. Throughout scripture, God used pagan nations to judge His people. After that, God would judge the surrounding nations. The Philistines were severely judged by God and the head of their god, Dagon, was cut off while many people struck with tumors. The Philistines returned the Ark, but they still refused to turn to God despite the fact that they acknowledged that Israel's God was superior to their man-made gods. Before we get to the modern Israel-Palestine debate, let's go back to the very origins of the so-called Palestinian people.
If we look at the table of nations in Genesis 10, we find that the Philistines are descendants of the Casluhites, who were descendants of Noah's youngest son, Ham. Interestingly, some of Ham's descendants include Nimrod, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, and Hivites. All of these people and groups warred against God and His people, Israel. Interestingly enough, Noah pronounced a curse on Ham's son, Canaan, saying, "May Canaan be the slave of Shem." (Gen. 9:26) Shem's descendants include Jews, Assyrians, and Elamites. This conflict between Ham's descendants and Shem's descendants come into play with the story of Jacob and Esau. To summarize, Isaac's wife, Rebeccah became pregnant and gave birth to two sons: Jacob and Esau. God told her that they would be two nations and that the older would serve the younger. This came true when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for stew. Because of this unwise decision, Esau, father of the Edomites, hated his brother, which is having major implications today. In fact, Esau's son, Amalek, father of the Amalekites, became one of Israel's main enemies in the Old Testament. In Exodus 17:16, Moses states, "The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation." So, what do the ancient Philistines and Edomites have to do with Palestine? The answer is, nothing.
There has never been a Palestinian state, culture, or language. Many Palestinians are actual displaced Arabs from surrounding nations. In fact, Yasser Arafat, founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was actually Egyptian. The Bible seems to indicate that literal descendants of Esau would continue to plague Israel until the end, though. For example, Isaac said that Esau and his descends would live by the sword and would serve Israel. Then, he gives an interesting prophecy in Genesis 27:40. It states, "But when you grow restless you will throw his yoke from off your neck." This could be interpreted a number of ways, but it could very well indicate a Palestinian state, although I am not dogmatic about this. Obadiah also gives a unique, overlooked prophecy about the descendants of Esau. It states, "The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and the will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau." (Obadiah 18) The context of these verses involves God's end time wrath being poured out on all nations. Obviously, Esau's descendants are still around until the end when God judges Israel's enemies. Most likely, the modern day descendants of Esau (Edom) are located in modern day Jordan, but many of them have likely dispersed to other nations including Gaza and the West Bank in the Palestinian territories. It is nearly impossible to physically trace the lineage of the Philistines and Edomites, though.
With this background in mind, why is Palestine such a hot button issue in world affairs? It all started during the Roman Empire when Emperor Hadrian renamed Judea, Syria Palestina. That is where we get the modern name, Palestine, although many Arabs refer to this area as Southern Syria. After squashing the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Hadrian wanted to erase Jewish memory from that region. He added insult to injury by renaming this area after Israel's ancient enemies, the Philistines. In reality, Jordan should be the true Palestinian state, especially since half of the Jordanian population are Palestinians. In reality, though, the Palestinian liberation movement is not concerned about land, borders, or resources. The Arab world controls most of the land and oil in the region. Their primary motive is the eradication of the Jewish state. Israel, in reality, only possesses a small portion of their original promised land, which encompassed their current territory, as well as the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, and parts of Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Satan knows that Jesus Christ will reign from Jerusalem, the city which God has his name on. Terrorist groups such as Hamas, radical professors, Arab interest groups, and biased media outlets are pawns in Satan's end game, which is to eradicate the Jews and take control of God's territory. Thankfully, Satan's goals with be brought to ruin. In Joel 3:2, it proclaims, "I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgement against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." Whenever suave politicians try to convince the masses to sympathize with Palestinian causes and persuade Israel to go back to its 1967 borders, don't believe the hype. Israel is already vulnerable despite their state of the art defense systems. They don't need to give up more land, which is theirs in the first place.
According to scripture, Israel will be divided in the future. It is widely believed that the antichrist's "covenant with many" in Daniel 9:27 will be a Palestinian statehood treaty, although I believe it will be more comprehensive than just a Palestinian state. As I mentioned in Joel, one of the catalysts to God's fury is the dividing of not Israel's land, but His land since He gave Israel that land. Also, in Ezekiel 38, Israel is described as living peacefully in a land of "unwalled villages" in the latter days. With all of this mind, we need to be aware of what's happening in September, 2015. France is prepared to submit a resolution, which would recognize a state of Palestine. While the United States has always vetoed bills such as this, president Barack Obama is prepared to support the bill this time around. Considering that over 130 countries including the Vatican already recognize a Palestinian state, it is only a matter of time before Israel is forced into an agreement. There are even reports, which Israel denies, that there are talks of a truce between Israel and Hamas, which could lead to a peace deal. I am not completely buying it, but it is worth keeping track of, especially in light of the month of September. No matter what happens, though, Israel will eventually get all of her land back and Jerusalem, instead of a burdensome stone, will be a blessing for all nations.
Sources
1. http://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-land.html
2. http://think-israel.org/ronen.hadriancurse.html
3. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/palname.html
4. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Fatah-Hamas-Israel-agreement-would-lead-separate-Palestinian-state-in-Gaza-412377
5. http://science.co.il/History-Palestine.php
6.http://worldwatchtoday.org/archives/2414
7. http://www.bible-history.com/maps/philistines.html
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