Prophecy Proves God is God

I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, 'My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.' (Isaiah 46:10 BSB)

In this YouTube video, Richard Dawkins admitted in an interview with Peter Boghossian that no evidence could ever convince him that God exists, even if God spoke to him audibly and wrote a message to him in the stars.

So how did God prove Himself to be God? God proved that He is God by establishing the nation of Israel and foretelling their history in His revelation to His prophets. Anyone can do a miracle or write a book. Only God can create a nation and tell its history in advance.

Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived? Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation - by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors - as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes? You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:32-35 BSB)

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. (Isaiah 44:7 ESV)

Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens." (Isaiah 42:9 NLT)

Tell us the coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe when we see it. (Isaiah 41:23 CSB)

All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. (Isaiah 43:9 ESV)

Son of Man Return Before Missionaries Reach All Israel

You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. For truly I tell you, you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:22-23 CSB)

And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel. (Matthew 10:22-23 NLT)

The listeners thought that this will happened during their lifetime. It turned out that before Jesus can return, He was crucified, resurrected and ascended to heaven. Israel was dispersed and returned after nearly 2000 years. And after 2000 years, Christian missionaries still have not reached all the towns of Israel and not all the Jews believe (but Jews have heard of Jesus during their diaspora). But when Jesus returns, they will all believe in a single day (Isaiah 66:8).

The gospel goes west from Israel to Macedonia (Acts 16:9) and Europe, go one round the earth and comes back to Israel from the east. So the Arabs and Iranians will believe in Christ first before the Jews.

For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 24:27 NLT)

Seventy Weeks

Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince (מָשִׁ֣יחַ נָגִ֔יד mā-šî-aḥ nā-ḡîḏ), there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeksh the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed. And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him." (Daniel 9:24-27 BSB)

Bible prophecy is very focused. It is about Yeshua Hamashiach and Israel. The theme of the Bible is about God and what He do for Israel. The seventy weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27) gave a broad outline of what will happen to Israel and its King, Yeshua Hamashiach. It is foundational to our understanding of the sequence of events that will happen to Israel.

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9 CSB)

Israel 1948 And Biblical Prophecy - 3

"Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is - the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. (Ezekiel 36:22-24 NLT)

He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled." (Luke 4:21 CSB)

Is Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan a fulfilment of God's prophesy? The Zionist Christians said yes, the Anti-Zionist Christians said no.

So how do we know who is right? Let us look into the past to see the future.

Is Jesus the fulfilment of God's prophesy on the Messiah? The Christians said yes, the Jews said no.

Why did the Jews object to Jesus as a fulfilment of God's prophesy on the Messiah? The Jews believe that the Messiah will come to rule Israel as the King. But Jesus came and partially fulfilled God's prophesy on the Messiah and then declare that He will fulfil the rest (becoming King) in a second coming. The Jews objected to the fulfilment God's prophesy on the Messiah by instalments. The Messiah must fulfil all prophecies in one go.

Why did the Anti-Zionist Christians object to Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan as a fulfilment of God's prophesy on the restoration of Israel? Anti-Zionist Christians believe that the Jews must fulfil the conditions given in Deuteronomy 30:2, that is, to obey God completely in one go before they can come back to the land of Israel. The Anti-Zionist Christians objected to the fulfilment God's prophesy on the restoration of Israel by a gradual process. It is obvious that today's Jews in the land of Canaan reject Jesus as the Messiah. They are not Christians and may even be anti-Christians since they were persecuted by European Christians for about 1000 years.

Dating Palm Sunday And Good Friday

I just got this book from church, "A Resolved Chronology of Acts and Paul's Epistle" by Lim Seng Hoo. In it the date of Palm Sunday was given as 6 April 32 AD and 11 April 32 AD as Good Friday.

Let me also summarize my previous posts on this subject and the dates.

In Precise Date and Time of Jesus's Death, Jesus died precisely on 3 April AD 33 at 3:00 pm (Good Friday).

In Calculating Gabriel's Formula of 483 Years - Time of Messiah's Arrival, Palm Sunday was on 30 March AD 33, the very day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. An alternate date, 6 April 32 AD, was given in Calculating Gabriel's Formula of 483 Years - Time of Messiah's Arrival - 2. This alternate date is the same as the date given by Lim Seng Hoo's book.

In Dating the End of Daniel's 69 Weeks, Palm Sunday is on 6 Nisan AD 33.

Finally, in Dating Palm Sunday, there is no date. Just an affirmation according to Barnes' Notes on the Bible that the triumphant entry and crucifixion will happen after the completion of 62 weeks.

Sir Robert Anderson (6 April / 10 Nisan and 11 April AD 32)
Dr Harold Hoehner (30 March and April 3 / 14 Nisan AD 33)
This book, Oxford Bible Church - Appendix 2: Anderson-Hoehner Interpretation (a Critique), said both Anderson and Hoehner were wrong.

How God Prove Himself To Be God - 2

Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported? Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived? Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation - by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors - as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes? You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him. (Deuteronomy 4:32-35 BSB)

How does God prove Himself to be God? God proved that He is God by establishing the nation of Israel and foretelling their history in His revelation to His prophets. Anyone can write a book, but only God can create a nation and tell its history in advance.

It is impossible or difficult for men to prove God's existence. The finite cannot prove the infinite. The temporal cannot prove the eternal. The creature cannot prove the creator. Thus only God can provide His own proof that He is God.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. (Isaiah 44:7 ESV)

Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens." (Isaiah 42:9 NLT)

Tell us the coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe when we see it. (Isaiah 41:23 CSB)

All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true. (Isaiah 43:9 ESV)

Zechariah Third Night Vision

Hear now, Jesus the high priest, thou, and thy neighbours that are sitting before thee: for they are diviners, for, behold, I bring forth my servant The Branch. (Zechariah 3:8 Brenton Septuagint Translation)

One Bible Two Readers

Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9 NIV)

The Jews knew from the scriptures that the Anointed One would come 69 weeks or 483 years (Daniel 9:25-26) after the command to rebuild Jerusalem was given. Some Jews identified Jesus as the Anointed One that fulfils the prophecy. Others failed to do so. Not only did the Anointed One not come, but their temple was destroyed, and the daily sacrifice ceased. But they dared not to call God a liar. Instead, they created a new religion that replace the temple sacrifice.

Today all Christians know that the Anointed One will come again (Acts 1:11) after His ascension at the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12). Since He ascended from the Mount of Olives, will He come back to the Mount of Olives as predicted by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 14:4)? What will the circumstances be around the Mount of Olives? Will there be a city of Jerusalem? Will there be a temple at Jerusalem? Is the state of Israel in existence when the Anointed One return?

As the Jews at the first coming of the Anointed One were, so are the Christians at the second coming of the Anointed One today. We read the same scriptures, and we know that He will come. But when, where and how will He come? Are the prophecies clear on this? Do we even know if we have been enlightened or stumbled by the prophecies of the second coming of the Anointed One?

For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all will be condemned - those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 CSB)

Zionist Versus Anti-Zionist

In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people - those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. (Isaiah 11:11 NLT)

Who are these who fly like a cloud, like doves to their shelters? Yes, the coasts and islands will wait for me with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from far away, their silver and gold with them, for the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. (Isaiah 60:8-9 CSB)

Is Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan a fulfilment of God's prophesy? There are those like Albert Barnes (died 1870) and Robert Anderson (died1918) who predicted the Jewish nation's restoration well before 1948.

Then there are Christians who think that it is not because they believe that the promises to Israel are to be fulfilled by the Elect, that is, the Church and true Israel. There should be no segregation of prophecy fulfilment by Church and Israel separately. They believed that Zionism, the belief that Jews will go back to the land of Canaan, is a misinterpretation of the Bible. They think that Zionists are selectively literal in their interpretation of Bible prophecies to achieve the belief that Jews have to go back to the land of Canaan. They think that many prophecies, like those in Revelation, should be interpreted allegorically.

Can we actually know whose interpretation is right, the Zionist or Anti-Zionist?

We can do the following to find out:

1. See how Jesus fulfil the prophecies by His first coming (literal, allegorical or mystery);
2. Note the manner in which God announce His prophecies.

Then we can check whether the Zionist or Anti-Zionist is correct in their interpretation.

Anti-Zionist Theology

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say "and to seeds," as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed, who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 CSB)

Below is taken from the website, "Why I'm Not a Christian Zionist | The Banner", which kind of summarized the anti-Zionist position:

QUOTE
God's Promises to Abraham
Christian Zionism takes the land promises of God in Genesis 12, 15, and 17 and applies them to the modern state of Israel. To Christian Zionists, this promise of land inheritance is permanent and unconditional. Therefore, despite Israel's own declared intention of being a secular state (and despite Israelis' low religious participation), modern Israel still benefits from a 4,000-year-old promise. For Zionists, the Abrahamic covenant is still active regardless of whether Israelis believe in God or not. In the Christian Zionist view - and this is key - the covenant of Christ does not replace or supplant the Jewish covenants.

Reformed theologians believe something decisive happened in Christ. His covenant affected not simply the covenant of Moses, making a new and timeless form of salvation, but also every other Jewish covenant, including Abraham's covenant. Christ fulfills the expectations of Jewish covenant life and renews the people of God rooted in the Old Testament and Judaism. Thus, Jesus is the new temple, the new Israel.

In Galatians 3:16, the apostle Paul writes, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say 'And to offsprings,' as of many; but it says, 'And to your offspring,' that is, to one person, who is Christ" (NRSV). Paul argues from the singular noun in Genesis to show that the promises to Abraham point to Christ. Christ is the locus of the promise of land! The promises to Abraham have been realized in Christ. He holds everything Judaism desired, and knowing him gains access to such promises.

Jesus' homily in John 15 says the same. The Old Testament image of Israel is that of a vineyard filled with vines rooted in the soil of the Holy Land. You can see this outlined beautifully in Isaiah 5. But Jesus upends this. We see a vineyard again, but now we learn that there is one vine - Christ - and the only concern is not on gaining access to the land but being attached to him.

To think Christianly about land and promise is to think differently than Judaism. The New Testament changes the spiritual geography of God's people. The kingdom of God is tied to neither an ethnicity nor a place. Because the early Christians understood this, they carried their missionary efforts to the entire world. God loves Ephesus just as much as he loves Jerusalem. Indeed, God loves the entire world and all its people equally.

Reformed theologians are not convinced the promises to Abraham can be used politically today. The work of Christ is definitive. There is one covenant, and it is with Christ. In the zeal to promote and protect modern Israel, has Jesus been demoted?

Still, some might ask if emphasizing the centrality of Christ's covenant leads to the dismissal of Judaism and its covenants. Would this lead to anti-Judaism in the church?

No. Christ and his church are deeply rooted in Judaism. As Gentiles, we are grafted into the Jewish tree of Abraham (Rom. 11:13-24). Jesus was Jewish, and it is through the Hebrew covenants that we understand our own covenant.

Christ does not replace these covenants; rather, he fulfills them and enables the birth of God's kingdom, which includes both Jews and Gentiles. Reformed theology does not split Israel and the church; it finds rich continuity between them. Paul did not "become" a Christian; he realized the deepest meaning of his Jewishness when he chose to follow Jesus. This new, category-changing event at the heart of Christ's work cannot be diminished. It is central to New Testament faith. Some have misused this teaching and promoted a dreadful anti-Semitism. But this misuse does not mean we dismiss what the Scriptures teach. Judaism deserves our respect, and anti-Semitism should be rejected outright as an utter corruption of the gospel.

Israel, Prophecy, and Nationhood
In Christian Zionism, 1948 is not simply a political marker in history. It is a theological marker. Israel has been restored to the land in fulfillment of prophecy, Zionists say. Therefore, the establishment of modern Israel is a theologically ordained event deserving of profound Christian respect and awe.

Reformed theologians also affirm Israel's right to exist, but they are skeptical about Israel's theological claim to own the Holy Land. They point to countless times when Christians used ancient prophetic texts to interpret contemporary times with bad results. They also note that any biblical claim to nationhood must also incorporate biblical expectations of nation-building - expectations that aren't now being met.

The promise of land always comes with covenant expectations for religious life and for justice, themes echoed regularly by the prophets. Modern Israel began as a secular state. It does not reflect ancient Israel's religious or moral national aspirations as described in Scripture, and it has made choices regarding the Palestinians living within its borders that would inspire harsh criticism from Old Testament prophets such as Amos or Isaiah.

For all these reasons, Reformed theologians do not see commitment to Israel as a spiritual imperative. They are moved more by ethics than eschatology when considering any country, because no one country now enjoys a preferential place in God's economy.

History Is Coming to Its Close
Christian Zionists think Israel's national birth is the key prophetic fulfillment in counting down the end of history. They believe Israel's return fits with what else is happening in the world: moral values are in decline, an ecological crisis is looming with our oil-based economy in peril, and most importantly, there is war in the Middle East, all leading to widespread agreement among Zionists that history is reaching its end. All of this, they claim, was prophesied in Scripture.

Reformed theologians are not so catastrophic, not so sure these pronouncements are true, and they have always called for sober judgment. They worry Christian Zionists have let their zeal for prophecy and history's end drown out other, more primary Christian values.

Our chief complaint is how a desire for the end times has shaped the ethics of Christian Zionists. Building the kingdom of God has become secondary to building the kingdom of Israel. Passion for seeing Christ's second coming now comes before a passion for justice and fairness. When presented with the remarkable suffering of 4 million Palestinians living under harsh military occupation, Zionists typically stand unmoved. Negotiations that might return land to Palestinian owners are deemed to be against God's will. Some Zionist pastors have even written that natural disasters hitting the United States and killing thousands are God's punishment for political pressure put on Israel. It is this sort of theological confusion that stuns Reformed theologians.

Fidelity to Israel
For Christian Zionists, the first obligation of Christians is to study end-times prophecies and to monitor each nation's political decisions. One conviction is always held aloft: God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel. Nations will stand or fall based on this one creed.

Reformed theologians hear this and wonder if the message of the gospel has been lost. My first call is fidelity to Christ and his kingdom. And yet this commitment should inspire in me a deep love for Israel and a desire for its people to become what their Scriptures call them to become: a nation of priests, a light to the nations, a people in whom there is such goodness that the nations will see the glory of God and rejoice.

Jesus' Second Coming
This is the crown jewel of Christian Zionism. The birth of Israel has set the stage for the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Zionists claim, any national agenda that would impede God's plan, any peace plan that weakens Israel's hold on the land, or any decision that stands in the way of this dramatic stage-setting is not a plan blessed by God.

Reformed theologians believe in the second coming too. But the chief difference is that Reformed theologians make profound investments in the world. We are not sectarian. We devote ourselves to promoting Christ's commitments here and now. We do not despair about the course of the world, and we refuse to abandon it. We still build schools and hospitals and speak to injustice and poverty.

Dwight Moody, the founder of the dispensational Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, once asked why you'd want to polish the brass on a sinking ship. Reformed theologians are not convinced the ship is sinking, and we continue to polish the brass, navigate a course, and make passengers comfortable until we are surprised by Christ's return - just as the Bible tells us we should be.

This is my ultimate concern: Christian Zionists believe in Jesus, but I wonder if they have lost the gospel. They have uncritically wed our faith to the politics of one nation, and this, as the church has learned so many times, is a prescription for disaster.
UNQUOTE

Different Prophecies

Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. (Jeremiah 14:11-13 KJV)

Who would you believe when two persons claimed to speak in the name of God and both accusing each other of being a liar?

Different King Different Response

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, "Inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us." (Jeremiah 21:1-2 CSB)

King Zedekiah was hoping that God would perform a miracle and forced Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw, just as He had done in the days of King Hezekiah when God struck the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, and the Lord sent an angel who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword. (2 Chronicles 32:20-21 CSB)

But King Zedekiah got a very different response from God.

Jeremiah answered them: This is what you should tell Zedekiah: The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to turn your own weapons against you, yes, the weapons you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who have surrounded you! I will round them up in the center of the city. Then I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and strong arm in fierce anger and rage. I will strike down those within this city - both people and animals - and they will die of a terrible plague. Afterward, declares the Lord, I will deliver Judah's King Zedekiah, his servants, and those in this city who have survived plague, war, and famine to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and to their enemies who seek to do them harm. He will put them to the sword without pity, mercy, or compassion. (Jeremiah 21:3-7 CEB)

And the people were given a very clear choice.

This is what you should tell this people: The Lord says: I'm setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in the city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever leaves the city and surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared. (Jeremiah 21:8-9 CEB)

Jeremiah Prophesied That God Would Destroy Jerusalem

Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth.'" (Jeremiah 26:1-6 NIV)

Jeremiah prophesied that the temple of Solomon and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. If you were a Jew living in those days, would you believe that God would destroy His own temple and His own city? Did not God promised that the dynasty of David would never end? How can Jeremiah's prophecy be true?

Would you believe that God would do something that seemed to be against His word?

Since you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house, your servant has found courage to pray in your presence. Lord, you indeed are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. So now, you have been pleased to bless your servant's house that it may continue before you forever. For you, Lord, have blessed it, and it is blessed forever. (1 Chronicles 17:25-27 CSB)

Jeremiah and Hananiah

In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord's house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon." Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet." (Jeremiah 28:1-9 ESV)

Today, when we look at Jeremiah and Hananiah, it is so easy to identify who is the real prophet and who is the false prophet. However, if you were living in the days when Jeremiah and Hananiah are alive, who would you believe? As a Jew, would you believe in the patriotic prophet Hananiah who prophesied the fall of Babylon, or the traitorous prophet Jeremiah, who asked you to surrender to the enemy? Tell me frankly. Who would you believe?

Swap Israel with your own country and Babylon with your country's enemy. Then a Jeremiah appear and ask you to surrender to the enemy country. Will you listen to him?

And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' (Matthew 23:30 NIV)

But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" (Luke 23:21 NIV)

God Promised There Will Be No Hamas

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence (חָמָס). (Genesis 6:11 NIV)

The word Hamas in Hebrew means 'violence'. Thus, in Genesis 6:11, God saw that the world was full of Hamas and God sent a flood to destroy the world. But God promised in Isaiah 60:18 that there will be no Hamas.

No longer will violence (חָמָס) be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. (Isaiah 60:18 NIV)

Jesus The Judge of The World

For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31 NLT)

Unlike the false gods and false prophets of this world who made claims without proof, God authenticated the future judge of the world by resurrecting Him from the dead. Resurrection proved that Jesus is the Judge.

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. (John 5:22-23 ESV)

Solomon Expected Israel to Be Exiled

"If they sin against you - and who has never sinned? - you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, 'We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.' If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors - toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name -  then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, for they are your people - your special possession - whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt. (1 Kings 8:46-51 NLT)

Even Solomon thought that Israel might be exiled because he knew about the prophecy of Moses.

Israel's History Pre-Written By God

When all these things happen to you - the blessings and curses I have set before you - and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul by doing everything I am commanding you today, then he will restore your fortunes, have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if your exiles are at the farthest horizon, he will gather you and bring you back from there. The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than he did your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. Then you will again obey him and follow all his commands I am commanding you today. The Lord your God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your hands, your offspring, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the Lord will again delight in your prosperity, as he delighted in that of your ancestors, when you obey the Lord your God by keeping his commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to him with all your heart and all your soul. (Deuteronomy 30:1-10 CSB)

God said that Israel will experience all the curses and blessings in Deuteronomy 28. Then they will come to their senses and return to God. Today, we are so fortunate to live in the era when this prophecy is fulfilled and Israel is restored back to the promised land.

Anybody can write a book and claim to be a prophet. Only God and create a nation and pre-write their history. Israel is the proof of God's existence.

Moreover, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Have you not noticed what these people are saying: 'The LORD has rejected the two families He had chosen'? So they despise My people and no longer regard them as a nation. This is what the LORD says: If I have not established My covenant with the day and the night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I would also reject the descendants of Jacob and of My servant David, so as not to take from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore them from captivity and will have compassion on them." (Jeremiah 33:23-26 BSB)

Provoked to Jealousy by Foolish Gentiles

They have provoked my jealousy with what is not a god; they have enraged me with their worthless idols. So I will provoke their jealousy with what is not a people; I will enrage them with a foolish nation. (Deuteronomy 32:21 CSB)

But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry." (Romans 10:19 ESV)

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in the hope that I may provoke my own people to jealousy and save some of them. (Romans 11:11-14 BSB)

The Bible is not written by mere human because anyone can write a book but no one can foretell the future of a nation. See how Moses prophesied that Israel would be provoked to jealousy by a foolish nation was fulfilled later by the Gentiles.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27 BSB)

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:22-24 NIV)

Israel And The Promised Land

It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5 BSB)

God gave the promised land to Israel to keep the promise He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is why it is called the promised land.

Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went. I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations - the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land. (Ezekiel 36:22-24 BSB)

God restored Israel to the promised land in 1948 to show the holiness of His great name and to keep the promise He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6 KJV)