Derek Prince - The Israel-Palestine Conflict Is Settled By The Word Of God
We’re going to go on to Matthew 24:15. Now we come to a very dramatic turn in this discourse because the emphasis in verse 14 has been the whole world and all nations. In verse 15 the focus turns to a tiny little strip of territory at the east end of the Mediterranean wrongly called Palestine which means the land of the Philistines in case you don’t know. It is not the land of the Philistines it’s the land of Israel. God has given it to Abraham and his descendants Isaac and Jacob and their descendants by an everlasting covenant forever. They are going to possess it.
But you and I need to discuss and consider what our attitude toward that situation is. I don’t believe actually that there’s any room for neutrality. I have lived amongst the Arab people I have an adopted Arab daughter who is one of the most beautiful Christians I know anywhere. But when it comes to the possession of that little strip of territory it is totally and finally settled by the Word of God. It will end up in the hands of those to whom it’s promised but there’s going to be a lot of agony and trouble before that happens.
Do you ever pray for the Jewish people? I’m not Jewish. My wife is, I’m not. Before I was converted I didn’t care much about the Jews. I was the typical Gentile intellectual. I wouldn’t have ever sided with Adolf Hitler but I thought there’s something strange about the Jews why is it that people don’t really like them? Well, when I got saved God baptized me in the Holy Spirit before I knew that you had to wait six months for that and He gave me gifts of the Holy Spirit before I knew you had to wait six more months for that! I got them all in a package. Every time I spoke in tongues I got the interpretation.
Actually, after a while it began to wear me down. I said to the Lord, "Do I have to do this"? He said "No, you’re in the driver’s seat. You do it when you decide". But for the first month or two every time I spoke in tongues I got the interpretation. And usually it was this "I am the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". I said to myself, "So what"? But after a while it dawned upon me He is the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and He made the most amazing statement in Exodus 3. He said: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is my name and this is my memorial forever".
Isn’t that astonishing that Almighty God chose to be known as the God of three men. Forever? We need to give heed to that. God says things He doesn’t forget. We may forget but He doesn’t. Let me tell you something else. This is outside my outline but it’s inside what God wants me to say. John 4:23, Jesus said salvation is from the Jews. If you’re not Jewish, like me I want you to understand that you and I owe every spiritual blessing we’ve ever enjoyed to one people the Jewish people. Without the Jews there would be no patriarchs, no prophets no apostles, no Bible and no Savior. So, I think it’s time we began to repay the debt. Unfortunately, the church for many centuries has done exactly the opposite. It has compounded the debt by centuries of prejudice maligning and often open persecution.
I don’t know whether you’ve ever tried to talk to Jewish people about Jesus but in many cases you’ll find there’s a kind of wall of reserve that comes up. You need to know why. Because in the eyes of intelligent Jewish people who know history the number one enemy of the Jewish people is the Christian church. That may shock you but it’s true. And they can give you a great series of historical reasons why that’s so.