The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Part 2

We would like to continue in this series of studies concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict. If you have not read part one yet, I would really encourage you to do so. I won't take but a few minutes. If you remember last time, we closed with an important question about the family blessing spoken over Rebekah before she left home to become Isaac's wife. Let's look at the verse again.

"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 24:60

To the natural mind, there would seem to be nothing of great interest to be found in this verse, with the exception of the vast number of seed that are mentioned. It seems however that there is more to this verse than meets the eye. Frankly, I'm really hung up on the fact that the verse says gate (singular) and not gates (plural). If the seed of Rebekah was to be numbered in the thousands of millions, then the enemies of her seed would, by logic, be a significant number as well, composed of  many different, groups, clans, camps and even nations. And, history does show that true. The enemies of the Jewish people throughout history and even in this present time have been many. If that is true,  then you would naturally think that the number of the enemy would be vast as well wouldn't you?  Of course, you would; and you would be right. Then why does the verse say the gate (singular) of the enemy. That just doesn't make any sense at all. Why doesn't it say gates (plural)? It just doesn't follow natural reason does it? Why?

Because the blessing was more than a natural blessing. To be sure, natural blessing is there, but it is much more than natural blessing. The blessing of Rebekah by her family was authored by God Himself, and a great spiritual truth was spoken. It was a great truth of God about spiritual warfare and victory in that warfare.

The Jews Are Special

You need to know and understand that in the heart and purpose of God that the Jewish people are special. They always have been and always will be. I hope you are not offended by that, because it is a great truth that is often overlooked by many. God chose the seed of Abraham to bring blessing and salvation and redemption into the earth.

The devil hates the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. He always has and he always will. Every period of history is filled with attempt after attempt toward the destruction of the Jew. Satan has used nations, vile dictators and rulers, and even the professing church to try and bring shame, hurt and destruction to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. It is still happening today. In this very hour, the Middle East is about to erupt into all-out war. More about that in another article.

More About That Gate

The blessing spoken over Rebekah was in fact prophetic in nature. The gate spoken of in the blessing was a spiritual gate. It was a place of entrance from the spirit realm into the natural realm. It was, and is a passageway from the spirit realm that is dominated by devils and foul demonic forces. They are now, and always have been set to the destruction of the Jewish people and the full and complete purpose of God in this earth. Look at another verse in Genesis.

"by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; That in blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." Gen. 22:16, 17

Notice that because Abraham, in obedience, was willing to sacrifice Isaac at the bidding of the Lord that God pronounces blessing; and that blessing promises that the seed of Abraham will possess the gate (singular) of his enemies. I believe this gate is a subtle, yet prophetic reference to an evil, spiritual gate. It is really amazing that from the very beginning, with Abraham and his seed that is to come, God informs us of the spiritual forces that will come against them and of the victory that will be theirs through Him. God has a plan and no weapon formed against those He chooses will prosper. The plan and purpose of God is sure. So is the defeat of the enemy. In that, both Jew and redeemed Gentile can rejoice and be glad.

What Jesus Had To Say About Gates

One time Jesus asked his disciples who that men said he was Some had thought that he was Elijah, John the  Baptist, Jeremiah or perhaps another of the prophets. Then Jesus asked, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon responded by saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus then pronounced Peter blessed for saying that and told him that flesh and blood had not revealed the answer to him but that it was revelation from the Father in heaven.  (Matt. 16: 13-17) Jesus continues; "And I say also unto thee; that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the GATES of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  (Matt. 16: 18,19)

Now listen carefully and don't miss it. It was revealed by the Holy Spirit to Simon that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Based on the eternal, unchanging fact that Jesus is the Christ, the church is to be built and finished. The fact that He is the Christ qualifies Him as the Foundation Stone and the Chief Corner Stone of the church. The revelation of who Jesus is builds the Church. Nothing else but that is fit for building material. Anything else is of inferior quality and will not be used. Why is this so?  Because Jesus said He would be the one, the only one to do the building of the church. For us as believers to think that we are building the church is to expose our foolishness and ignorance of spiritual things. Revelation and revelation alone from the Holy Spirit builds the Church. Nothing else will or can build it. To be sure, we keep trying to build it with other things but it won't work. Do you want to know why?  Let me make it as simple as I possibly can. Notice the progression in the following.

• 1. Jesus is the sole builder of the Church ( "I will build My church...")

• 2. The Church is being built in the earth.

• 3. Jesus, by the Spirit, will not, indeed cannot move in the earth unless it is in response to faith that has been released back to Him from someone in the earth.

• 4. Faith is not produced by human effort. Faith is a spiritual reality that comes from God. Faith is revelation from the Holy Spirit and revelation from the Holy Spirit is faith. You cannot substitute anything else for faith. Faith and revelation by the Holy Spirit to your spirit man are one and the same. Nothing else is faith. I cannot emphasize this too much, because it is here that the church stumbles greatly.

• 5. The Holy Spirit is hindered from moving in the earth as He would desire because few in the Church will position themselves to receive revelation; and revelation is faith; and without faith it is impossible to please God.

The hardest thing on earth for a man to do is to submit to the lordship of Christ. This is true even of believers. That is not a criticism. It is simply an honest fact. There is need today for a mighty deliverance from self and flesh in the church world. Our spirit man, our new man, our born again nature cries out for God and His fullness, yet our carnal nature resist even the thought of it. Every move of God in recorded history has the ability to give new life and direction to men in the earth, advancing them on in the direction and fulfillment of God's ultimate intention for them, and that is a good thing. It is also a fact that every move of God has the possibility of ministering death and spiritual defeat of great magnitude. How can that be?  It's simple really. What was today's manna from heaven can be the breeding ground of worms and maggots tomorrow, spiritually speaking. Today's life giving move of the Spirit can easily become tomorrow's dead religious relic.

I personally have watched this happen in two particular moves of God in my adult life. One was the Charismatic movement which started in the mid-60's and carried on into the early 70's. The other was, for lack of better terminology, the Word of Faith movement which had its emphasis on the written Word of God. The Charismatic movement brought renewed and anointed interest in the gifts of the Spirit. During this time, the Holy Spirit simply ignored the fences of denominational division in the Church and many people from a wide range of church backgrounds and traditions experienced the mighty baptism and infilling of the Holy Ghost. The gifts of the Spirit were in manifestation. Home prayer meeting and Bible studies popped up all over this nation and in other countries. The Church had lost the truth and experience of one of the foundational doctrines of the Church, and God saw fit to bring it back. Untold thousands of believers were touched and blessed by this move of the Spirit.

I was pastoring in a mainline denominational church during this time. I was also hungry for God at the time. I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I was given a choice by the denomination I was in. Renounce the experience and toe the mark of the churches doctrine (which did not include the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit) or leave the church and loose my ordination. I left. I would not and could not deny what I had received from the hand of God.

Although the Charismatic move of the Spirit brought a lot of blessing into the lives of a lot of people, there were some problems. The flesh and carnality in people had to raise its ugly head. There were some things that started happening that were not of God. People got off into excess. Some things that happened were just downright crazy and bizarre. I witnessed some pretty wild things. The biggest problem was ignorance. Ignorance in regard to what the Scriptures taught on certain matters. Craziness and carnality crept in because many could not balance experience and correct doctrine.

The next move of the Spirit was given and planned in advance by God to give that balance. It is what is often referred to as the Word of Faith movement. This move emphasized in depth teaching of the written Word of God. It was during this time that the ministry gift of teacher came somewhat out of the closet and to the forefront in the Church, and it was and is much needed. We were being taught in the Scriptures from Adam to  Zerubbabel and everything in between. The quest for increased Bible knowledge was on. Christian book writers and tape makers had a hay-day. Listen carefully.

Nearly every move of the Spirit drifts off into error when any one isolated part of that particular move starts to be over-emphasized. Sadly, the more it is emphasized, something other than what God wanted or intended is produced. To give emphasis to a truth is one thing. To keep emphasizing a truth beyond what was intended will produce a perverted truth which is no longer truth at all. In order to add emphasis to a particular truth, the carnal mind of man will add just enough human and mental understanding to that truth so that it becomes pleasing to the hearer. With continued teaching, truth is lost and the hearers are snared in error and deception.

Let me close this article with what I see as an unchanging truth. Here it is: Most people who are blessed in any particular move of God will resist the next move of God. The reason this happens is because they take a small part of what God is doing and try to make that part the completeness of what God is doing. If what you are doing and what you are a part of is perceived as being complete then you will resist anything or anyone (even God) who begins to expose your incompleteness. Our carnal nature will do it every time. Only revelation of the Spirit that is willingly received and acted upon will break down that wall of resistance so that we can move on with God. Let me illustrate. Most mainline, denominational churches were birthed out of true revival-----a move of the Spirit, if you will. As the fire of revival starts to die down, rather than seek the Lord and go on with Him as He moves, most found it much easier to enshrine and organize what God had done. Perhaps they did not realize that the glory had departed and that the Spirit had moved on in His progressive purpose. They become defensive and protective of their doctrine and the past experiences they have had. When others, either within or outside their group move on with God, they do not understand. They will often reject those who are moving on in God and label them as a cult or something other than normal Christians. It is a fact that the mainline churches rejected the Charismatic movement and tagged it as a work of the devil. It is also a fact that many of the people who rode the waves of the Charismatic movement rejected the Word movement when it came along. I was a witness to both of these periods in recent church history. Here's another sobering thought. The Word movement, for the most part is down-playing and resisting the present move of God. Why?  Because the over-emphasized doctrine of confessing with the mouth became perverted. Many are under the assumption and presumption that if you continually confess the written word that you are walking in faith. Many think that by confessing what they understand mentally about a particular scripture will give them what that particular scripture promises. For many, this deception has turned into disillusionment, and with good reason. By going beyond what God intended in the Word movement, many people have unwittingly made an idol out of the written Word. Imagine that! Idolizing the Bible. And because it is deception, you would really be hard pressed to find anyone who would admit that they are caught up in idol worship. In no way do I want to make light of or belittle the written word. It is the most tangible and important gift that God has ever deposited on this planet. That in no way lessens the startling truth that when the written word of God takes precedent and first place in our affections above the God of the written word, then we are in fact guilty of idol worship of the most deceptive sort.

This article showcases to some degree the battles we all fight. It is the battle between our flesh and our spirit man. It is the difference between truth and error, light and darkness, God and man.

In the articles that follow, you will see that the two sons of Abraham, Isaac and his half brother Ishmael along with their descendants have been and are to this day, a living play and parable of the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. Incidentally, as we watch the play-parable of the Arab-Israeli conflict being acted out on the stage of world events, it is possible to gauge and get a real sense of what direction the Spirit of God is moving in.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Darryl Robbins