The Arab - Israeli Conflict And It's Spiritual Parallel Part 1
Darryl Robbins - April 29, 2000

The modern day conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbors in the Middle East continues to be a world newsmaker. Constant efforts to resolve differences between the two parties have, for the most part, proven fruitless. Present attempts at a so-called "peace process" in that region of the world is, in my opinion, a political farce and joke. If you happen to be studied in this matter, you would be able to see the shallowness of thinking and often, the sheer blatant stupidity of the political figures involved. I have often laughed at the ignorance. I have been brought to tears by the stupidity.
If you are a believer and a student of the scripture, then you will know the importance and place that Israel and the Jewish people have in the heart and purpose of God.
Students of Bible prophecy also know the place and importance of Israel in the scheme and unfolding of end-time events. I suppose it is in this regard that I personally have such a deep and profound love for Israel, the Jewish people worldwide and their well being. My concerns, thoughts and prayer are continually with them before God. It is really hard for me to put in words what I feel for tiny Israel. I literally believe that it is a grand something that has been placed deep in my spirit man by the Holy Spirit Himself. And I am thankful for it.

The Goal of This Study

The goal of this essay is to present past and present day events in the Middle East in the light of prophetic significance for our time. By doing so we intend to accomplish three things.
1. We hope to instill in you a deep respect and admiration for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. We hope you will see that they were and are chosen of God to to be the vessels by which He revealed Himself to the earth in the past and continues to do so in the ever so real present.
2. To show how the day to day political and religious events in the Middle East fit into the prophetic timetable. (Always remember that in the Middle East you cannot easily separate religious events from political events and vice versa. The two are so intertwined they are all but impossible to separate.)
3. This one is very important. We will present an almost unbelievable parallel between events that have happened in Israel with significant moves of The Holy Spirit in the lives of individual believers and the Church collectively. You may be pleasantly surprised with this one.
In this part of the study we will also readily see the Arab - Israeli conflict as a perfect type or parable of the constant warfare in the life of the believer between his fleshly, carnal nature and the born again, God-pleasing nature of his spirit man. This will help us all to come to a clearer understanding of who the real enemy is in our own lives so that we do not walk in defeat or deception.
This part of the study alone will be worth its weight in gold if you will simply allow it to be what it was intended to be---an easy to understand revelation of the battle that goes in in our lives every day between the flesh and spirit.

Before We Get Started...............

A bit of explanation is in order at this point in our study. Be forewarned that we will be presenting scriptural references and historical facts. We will be naming names, not only from scripture, but from news sources and historical documents of our present time regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Scriptural and historical data and facts will be presented as fairly and as completely as I know how to present them. It is hoped that the facts that are presented do not portray me as one who has a personal love and compassion for one ethnic group while showing a strong dislike or disdain for another group. That is not my intention or goal.
Still, it will be shown beyond any doubt that the Jewish people were chosen by God for a special, holy purpose, even in this present day and that the Arab nations who are the descendants  of Ishmael, have but one goal--------------- the complete and total destruction of Israel as a nation and the complete annihilation of the Jewish people.
If this is true, then we may as well see it for what it is, accept it and learn from it. You will have to make your own judgments in this regard.
When this study is complete, I am convinced it will be easy to see that Israel and her Arab foes are playing out in the natural what is in fact a spiritual reality that affects every person alive today.  It has strong spiritual ramifications that will help bring the church to maturity and bring this present Church Age to its intended close. With the close of the Church Age, the on-going conflict between Jew and Arab, along with other nations, will fulfill end time prophetic events that are to proceed the literal, Bodily return of The King of The Universe to this planet to rule and reign over it.
This study is of no little importance, to say the least, so..........

Let's Get Started !!!

"And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee;
And I will make of thee a great nation.........
So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him;"
Gen. 12: 1,2,4

It is clear that God had a plan for Abram, and that it was a plan of God's design. It was simply God's choosing to speak to Abram and express His will to give Abram a land and to eventually make him a nation.

"and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem (Shechem), unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. Gen. 12: 5,6

Notice that it is God who chooses the land and it is God who gives the land. It is a specific place. It is Shechem. Shechem is the modern day city of Nablus which is about thirty miles north of Jerusalem. From Shechem, Abram journeys to a mountain just east of Bethel, a city seven or eight miles north-northwest of Jerusalem.
During a time of famine, Abram goes to Egypt. From Egypt he again returns to the same place near Bethel. It is quite clear that this is modern day Israel.

Now watch this!!!! This is tremendous!!

"And he said unto him, I am the Lord who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give thee this land to inherit it.
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates":
Gen. 15: 7, 18

Go to the back of your Bible or a Bible Atlas, and find an Old Testament map of the land God has promised to Abram and his seed. In doing so, you will see that the boundaries of the land that is promised is from the east side of the Nile River in Egypt and going northeast all the way to the Euphrates River. The Euphrates flows out of Turkey in a southeast direction, crossing both Syria and Iraq.
Since God made a covenant with Abram regarding the boundaries of the land he and his seed were to inherit, then it would seem that the landaus of Israel is, and never has been, what God promised to give as an inheritance to Abraham through the seed line of Isaac. This is yet to be fulfilled.

You must remember that after God had promised a seed to Abraham and Sarah, they became impatient for the promise to be fulfilled. At the urging of Sarah, Abraham went in to Hagar, Sarah's handmaiden. Hagar conceived and bore a son, Ishmael. God again promises a son to be born by Sarah. Abraham fell on his face and laughed at the promise. He was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety! How could this be? Surely  God really means to fulfill his covenant and promise through Ishmael.

"And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael might live before thee! 
And God said, Sarah, thy wife, shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him.
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes he shall beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac.......  Gen. 17: 18-21

The covenant has to do, both with a people and a land. The people are the descendants of Isaac. The land is the land of Israel. And, as we have already seen, the area of land that is known as Israel today is nothing near the amount of land that the Lord promised in covenant to Abram and his seed, specifically Isaac.

Sarah conceives and Isaac is born. As Isaac grew, Sarah demands that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out. She will not allow the son of the bondwoman to be heir with her son Isaac.
Because of this, Abraham was grieved because of Ishmael. But listen to what God says in the matter.

"And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of the bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, harken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called" Gen. 21: 12

I would like to close this part of the study with a very important and overlooked verse of blessing in the scriptures. It relates to the family blessing that was pronounced over Rebekah as she leaves home to become the wife of Isaac. I realize that we are bypassing important parts of the life of Isaac, including him being offered by Abraham as a sacrifice. But since that particular part of the story is not particularly relevant to this study, we will not cover it for now.

Abraham sent forth his servant to seek a wife for Isaac. When Rebekah is found and her family knows that it is the Lord's working, they consent that the servant take her to Isaac. As she is about to depart, watch what happens.

"And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them."
Gen. 24: 59

You would think that the blessing of the family should have said that the seed of Rebekah would possess the gates (plural) of those who hate them.
Wonder why it simply said gate (singular) ?
In scripture, there is usually more said in the blessings spoken over family members than meets the eye.
Wonder why it just said "gate"?

Oh well. More on that next time. Don't miss it.