Faith and Media

Flipping channels tonight and happened passed a “news” network I won’t stoop to give credence to.  I sat stunned as the anchor ridiculed Sarah Palin for her…wait for it…religious views.  Not her politics.  Not her career past, present, or future.  Not her book or her future ambitions.  Her religious beliefs.  She was ridiculed for having the audacity to believe in the literal restoration of Israel and a future apocalypse.  And for good measure, she shares this view with the most radical of today’s religious figures…wait for it…Billy Graham!  Wow.  Sarah Palin is a nut job for holding a religious opinion that millions of believers hold, including Billy Graham.  Man, contemporary media is certainly a thing to be proud of.

God’s Keeps His Promises

We live in a world where people make promises all the time.  The sad thing is that most of the promises we make, we break.  Sometimes our promises are made in good faith, and we just can’t follow through.  Sometimes, promises are made with insincere motives and intentions, and they go unfulfilled.  Whatever the reason, we all know what it is to break a promise, and to have a promise broken.   

Fortunately, God is different than we are.  He character and power are greater than ours.  When He makes a promise, He keeps it.  I was reminded of that again this week while reading the book of 1 Kings.  In it, Solomon replaces David as the king of Israel.  As he does, we are reminded of the promises of God.  The Bible says, “Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy” (1 Kings 4:20, ESV). 

Roughly a thousand years before, God had made a promise to Abraham.  He told him that He would make him the father of a great nation and He would “surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17, ESV).  God keeps His Word.  He honors His promises.  We can trust Him in everything He says.  He always comes through.

A Step Towards Disaster

As Israel pursues with determination her plans to build settlements in the West Bank, there are growing concerns here in the U.S. that our government is going to pull back from supporting Israel.  Rick Moran, at AmericanThinker.com writes,

“The Obama administration is making noises about withdrawing our unconditional support for Israel at the UN as a means to put pressure on the Israelis to ‘freeze’ settlement growth” (you can read the whole article here).

Once again, we see our government leaning towards a potentially disastrous foreign policy decision.  Without the support of the United States, Israel’s adversaries (for instance Iran) will be even more emboldened to strike Israel.  The decision also has implications on us as a nation.  The Bible clearly affirms that God honors those that stand by Israel, and He deals with those that do not (Genesis 12:3).  I have written about this before, but my heart breaks when I read of the directions we are taking in our foreign policy, especially in regard to Israel.  We are rapidly seeing the foundation being laid for the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39.  May God grant our leaders wisdom, and may they show the good sense to heed it.

Headlines and Hope

Iran has fired a test missile with the range to hit Israel.  The missile, tested today, has a reported range of 1,200 miles.  That range allows it to reach both Europe and Israel, as well as many U.S. bases in the area.  While many western analysts do not feel that Iran has the technology to reach the United States or Western Europe, the fact remains that Iran seemingly is developing the technology to hit who they want – Israel.  One way or another, Israel will prevail in this.  Either she will take matters into her own hands and strike Iran first, or Iran will attempt to strike her with a devastating blow and will fail. 

The Bible says that there is a coming day when Iran will indeed attack Israel, and will be repelled by God Himself.  Iran is ancient Persia (Ezekiel 38:5), and she will join an alliance to attack Israel (Ezekiel 38:1-6, 14-16).  As Iran and her allies make their way towards Israel, God will directly intervene (Ezekiel 39:6).  The result will be utter destruction for the invaders.  Subsequently God says, ”And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:7, ESV).

Every day we see the headlines that remind us that God is in control.  None of today’s news catches Him off guard.  May we trust Him while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6) in order to have the confidence that comes in knowing Him (2 Timothy 1:12) and resting securely in His hands (John 10:28-29).

Israel, Her Friends, and God’s Promises

When God called Abram to follow Him, He called him to leave his family and his homeland (Genesis 12:1).  He promises Abram that He will make him the father of a great nation (12:2).  Then, God makes a promise to Abram. He tells him that “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3, HCSB).

Let me take the second part of that promise first.  God tells Abram that all the people of the earth will be blessed through him.  What does he mean?  Simply that the Messiah will come from the lineage of Abram.  That’s why the book of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus that identifies Him as “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1, HCSB).  Jesus was a descendant of Abram, and obviously all the world was blessed through Him. His death, burial, and resurrection pave the way for us to have a relationship with God (Romans 5:6-8; 1 Peter 1:3).

With that said, let’s return to the opening statement of promise.  God tells Abram that He will bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him.  It is a promise that is made to more than just the person of Abram.  It is a promise made to Abram and to his descendants.  In other words, God will bless those that honor Israel and deal with those that hold them in contempt.  In the book of Numbers, Balaam was a prophet for hire.  He was hired to pronounce a curse upon Israel.  After an encounter with God, he was unable to do so.  As a matter of fact, God ended up speaking through Balaam and caused him to say the following of Israel, “Those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed” (Numbers 24:9, HCSB).

The Bible assures us that God is not finished with Israel (Romans 11:25-27; Revelation 7:1-8).  They are indeed His chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2; Psalms 33:12).  All through her history, God has honored His word.  While there have been times when God used others to be an instrument of judgment upon Israel, He has never forsaken her.  As the people of God emerged from Babylonian captivity and fell under Persian rule, Ezra prayed, “Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem” (Ezra 9:9, HCSB).  He has been faithful to bless those who have blessed and curse those who have cursed.  A strong case can be made that the blessings of our nation have been tied to our willingness to honor Israel and her God.  May we continue to do so.   On Monday, Israel’s contemporary secular leadership met with ours.  As these leaders interact, may we join the pleas of the Psalmist who said, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper; may there be peace within your walls, prosperity within your fortresses.” Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, “Peace be with you.” Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good” (Psalms 122:6-9, HCSB).

Lasting Peace

Just this week, former President Jimmy Carter called for Israel to create an independent Palestinian state.  Without it, Carter said, “it would be a catastrophe for Israel.”  Carter said this while promoting his new book, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land. 

I, unlike some politicians, do not claim to have the answers for the tensions in the Middle East.  I do believe that the Bible says some very plain things about Arab-Israeli relations.  I believe it reminds us that they have had conflict for thousands of years, and no man or plan crafted by the hand of man will bring lasting peace to that region. 

Furthermore, I believe that the Bible points to a coming time when one will emerge with a plan to secure peace in the Middle East, only to break his agreement with Israel.  The Bible says, “The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings” (Daniel 9:27, NLT).  In other words, a coming ruler will forge a treaty bringing peace to Israel, and then he will break it after three and one-half years.  That coming ruler is the Antichrist.

I also believe that Bible says clearly that God honors those that honor Israel.  The Bible says, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, ESV).  At the end of that simple statement, God points towards the only one who brings real peace.  Only Jesus can bring us peace with God and peace with man.  Only Jesus has a peace plan that really lasts.

The Russian Bear Coming Out of Hibernation

It’s clear to see, with just a cursory glance at today’s headlines, that Russia is once again trying to flex her muscles.  When the Soviet Union fell some twenty years ago, many people wrote off Russia as a player on the world stage.  Yet, rather quietly over the last several years, Russia has begun to re-emerge. 

In just the last year, we have seen Vladimir Putin consolidate his power and strengthen his position as the leader of Russia.  He was elected president of Russia in the year 2000.  After serving in that role for eight years (the most allowed by term-limits), he stepped down and hand-picked his successor.  The new president in turn appointed Putin the Prime Minister of Russia. In the last few months, Russia has changed her constitution to allow the president to serve six-year terms instead of four.  Many observers believe this opens the door for another twelve years of a Putin regime. 

Putin has sought to re-establish Russia’s dominance of the area and her presence on the world stage.  Despite recent economic downturns, Russia enjoys an economy buoyed by her gas and energy industries.  As a matter of fact, it was these things that played a major role in Russia’s recent excursions into the nation of Georgia.  Today, we see Russia in a standoff with the Ukraine, once again over energy.

Couple all of this with Russia’s ever increasing closeness to the rogue nation of Iran, and it doesn’t begin to be too difficult to see the foundations being laid for a dangerous alliance.  It is an alliance that the Bible tells us will ultimately invade the nation of Israel.  The Bible says:

^“1This is another message that came to me from the Lord: ²“Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog, the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. ³Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog, I am your enemy! ⁴I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army—your horses and charioteers in full armor and a great horde armed with shields and swords. ⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons. ⁶Gomer and all its armies will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north, and many others.  ⁷“Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them. ⁸A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. ⁹You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud.” (Ezekiel 38:1-9, NLT)

Many scholars believe that “Magog” is indeed Russia.  The Russian Bear will emerge from hibernation, ally herself with several Islamic nations that surround Israel, and then invade.  God will stop her and many will turn to Him in the aftermath.  We will talk more about this in the future, but today’s headlines only confirm for us that there are growls coming from the cave and the Bear is awakening from her slumber.

Aware, but not Alarmed

We all have seen the headlines over the last several days.  As it tends to from time to time, tensions in the Middle East have ratcheted up and violence has broken out.  Obviously, we are saddened by the loss of life and wish that the killing would stop.  We are aware of what is happening and feel compassion for all of those living in the line of fire on both sides.  We are not, however, alarmed to the point of being crippled with fear.

Why?  Because we know that despite the best efforts of man to drive his own destiny, God is still in control of the affairs of the world.  The book of Proverbs says, “But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.” (Proverbs 1:33, NLT)  The Bible clearly teaches us that tensions between Israel and her neighbors will always be tumultuous.  As a matter of fact, at a time in the future, many of Israel’s neighbors, along with Russia, will attempt to invade her (Ezekiel 38-39).  God will miraculously protect her.

How can we have peace amidst the storms and all the uncertainty?  Only through Jesus.  Only Jesus can give us peace with God and only Jesus living in us can help us have peace with each other.  As a matter of fact, the Middle Eastern tensions will continue as they always have until Jesus comes again.  So, wouldn’t we be wise to connect with the One who holds history in His hand?  Let Jesus calm your fears be a part of your life.  See the Connecting with Jesus page to learn how.