We continue our interview with Pastor Christopher, the author of Flee to the Mountains: The Church’s Responsibility to Israel in the Final 7 years of the Age. Last week, we briefly talked about Israel’s Significance in the End Times.
Today’s post will be discussing important questions about Israel: How is this nation important in the End Times? Why is it significant to God—and why should it be significant to the Church? Read on as we also discover with Pastor Christopher how Israel has been the subject of satanic oppression and persecution across the centuries.
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How Is Israel Important in the Last Days?
To me, it’s very simple. Israel means everything. There is no alternate people that God has chosen (Deut. 7:6, Psalm 33:12, Jeremiah 33:20, Romans 11:29). As Christians of gentile nations, we are grafted into that Kingdom (Romans 9, 10, 11).
This Kingdom is an “Israeli” kingdom based on the covenant God made with Abraham. It was a real estate deal. The covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was geographical. God promised to Abraham that his offspring would inherit a land and become a nation that would bless the world.
During Abraham’s encounter that night with God, God put him to sleep. God swore by Himself that He would honor the covenant. He put Abraham to sleep so that there would be zero chance of man breaking it (Genesis 15).
If Israel Is That Precious to God, Why Is It Always in Conflict?
Nowadays, Jerusalem has become the center of political issues. The conflicts happen because Satan hates Israel.
What God loves, the devil hates (John 10:10, Genesis 3:1, 1 Chron. 21:1, Job 2:4, Zechariah 3:1, Luke 22:31). Simple as that.
GOD’S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL
People might get hung up on their beliefs about the Jewish people and Israel today. However, that doesn’t change God’s covenant with them (Exodus 32:13, Deut. 9:27, Psalm 89:4, Luke 1:55).
God’s covenant is unchangeable, and ultimately, this is why the epistles are important. In Romans 11, Paul says that all Israel will be saved. Now we’re not there yet, but when the fullness of the Gentiles have come in—when Gentiles are grafted in to this tree, this natural root called Israel—Israel will be aroused into envy and be saved (Romans 11:14). We—as Gentiles—are going to serve in an Israeli kingdom, a Jewish kingdom with a Jewish king, since Jesus was indeed a Jewish man.
God opening up His Kingdom to the world was always prophetic of the Old Testament (Genesis 22:18, Deut. 32:43, Isaiah 60:3, Malachi 1:11). It was never just about Israel, but about God’s election and sovereignty.
THE SATANIC OPPRESSION AGAINST ISRAEL
If we look at the controversies regarding Jerusalem, we’d see that there is no legitimate reason why nations ought to care about the location of the true capital of the Jewish people. Statistically, the Jews are almost nonexistent! There’s a couple of million Jews scattered all over the world, while the rest are in a very small country.
It’s supernatural. There’s a satanic component that is fighting against God’s plan through Israel.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1- 6)
“Why do the nations rage? Why do the heathen gather?” Because it’s about the Son of God whom they hate. Nations in darkness refuse to be subject to His rule.
So what does Israel have to do with it? Israel has everything to do with it. God has always chosen Israel. He has put His name there.
But I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there… (2 Kings 21:4, 1 Chronicles 6:6:)
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JERUSALEM
God has declared His name over the City of Jerusalem on Mt. Moriah. Isn’t that specific? It’s just one little place in the world where He says He’ll put His name. His name will stay there, and He will rule from there.
And Satan is opposing it all. If you go to Jerusalem today, you won’t see a temple. You’ll see a rock with a golden dome on it. There are Arabic inscriptions on that building that declare, “God has no son ; God is not a father” (20+ instances in the Quran state this, like Sura 112:3: “He has not begotten and has not been begotten.” Sura 9:30 also states: “The Christians say, ‘The Christ is God’s son. May God destroy them! How perverted are their minds!’ ”).
That’s anti-Christ 101. That’s the bait into Islam when people believe it and oppose the Jewish sovereignty of Jesus.
That’s why Israel has always been important in the history of mankind. That is the place that God has chosen. He is going to rule from there. Jesus is coming back there. (Isaiah 2:3, 31:4, 59:20, Micah 4:2, Zechariah 14, Luke 1:32, Acts 1:11). There is no other place. He is not coming to Washington. Or to Baghdad. Or Rome. Or to any of these other places. He’s coming to Jerusalem.
That’s why Israel is going to be the center of His attention, as it will be in the world’s attention during these last days.
It will also have Satan’s attention.
ISRAEL IS A TIME CLOCK FOR THE END TIMES
Israel is God’s time clock. You literally don’t have to look anywhere else. Because by now, this is what God is working with. We might get mixed up on the End Time prophecies (for example, in Daniel) about the weeks and years mentioned regarding the Last Days. But when you look at other passages like in Daniel 9, you’ll find details constantly referring back to Israel.
There will be a sequence of events to anticipate. For example, you have the prophesied reconstruction of the Jewish Temple and its desolation (Daniel 8:11, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14, Luke 21:20, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Revelation 11:1). These future events are key to that nation and city. All the other significant events of the Last Days are centered on Israel.
It’s because of these facts that we—as a Church—have an important responsibility in relating to Israel during the End Times.
-Interview with Christopher Mantei by Nicole Gusto
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Continue with us next week when we discuss with Pastor Christopher How The Church Must Relate to Israel in The End Times.
To purchase his book, Flee to The Mountains: The Church’s Responsibility to Israel in the Final 7 Years of The Age, check out Christopher Mantei’s website at Wings of The Eagle.
Nicole is part-nerd and part-artist. She’s a passionate speech pathologist, writer, dreamer, occasional ventriloquist, and a total geek for stories. She dances through words and writes to speak life to readers. She also regularly blogs at https://nicolegusto.com
Pastor Christopher Mantei
Christopher Mantei is the Associate Pastor of Iron Faith Fellowship church, co-Pastor of the revolutionary Endtime Church, and President of Wings Of The Eagle. Christopher has been immersed in God's Word –particularly the prophetic scriptures– for the past 30 years. Experienced in the Catholic, Protestant, and non-denominational traditions, he has been teaching (and learning) Bible prophecy in online forums since 1995. He built his first website in 1999 and has preached to thousands in person and online. Christopher also loves hosting his own radio program. He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons.
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