INDIA, ISRAEL, AND THE BIBLE
Most of the world, and indeed much in India is focused on the current war in Gaza between Israel and the radical Moslem terrorist organisation sponsored by Iran called ‘Hamas’. There has always been a historical strife in India with conflict between and among various religious communities. Not only have Hindus, Seiks, Buddhists, and Christians alike faced Islamic violence in India, but the persecution of more moderate Moslems in what is today called Bangla Desh by Pakistan that resulted in the use of famine as a military weapon in 1971 is a conflict that has never been forgotten. Indeed, conflict with Islam led to the partition when the British Raj ended, and often violent conflict involving Pakistan survives in Punjab until this day. Even the shocking plight of Christians in Manipur would just only be a rather normal occurrence for persecuted Christians in rural Pakistan.
More educated Indians understand that the same Islamist terror that saw the terror attacks on a train of Hindu pilgrims and the armed assault on hospitals and hotels in India, including the famous Raj opposite the Gate of India in Mumbai, is the same kind of Islamic terror that Israel has had to face continually. This has led to the low key and almost secretive military and intelligence cooperation that exists today between Israel and India. Because Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of Western Asia, and Herzilya, Israel is the Silicon Valley of The Middle East, together with Israeli tourism to India, mutually beneficial economic cooperation between India and Israel has been another area of growing interest in India’s relationship with Israel. It is of note that Prime Minister Modi did not attend a recent BRICS conference focused on a biased reaction to Israel’s response to the October 7th war launched against it by Iranian backed Hamas. These realities however are in the realm of secular geo-politics. The real question for Indian Christians and for their pastors is how should saved Born Again believers and their pastors n India view these developments?
The simple and straightforward answer to this question of course is that we need to understand and react to this contemporary state of affairs in The Middle East concerning Israel from the point of view of God’s Word. Any other perspective can only be a misguided, if not blind one.
God’s Word tells us that there are three key points Christians need to understand. These have always been true, but take on an added importance as we draw closer to the return of Jesus who is a Jew and the Messiah and King of The Jews, and God who identifies Himself as The God of Israel. Islam however denies and attempts to change and replace this with the claims of Mohammed and the koran.
The three primary points are God’s unbreakable promises which we as followers of Jesus need to grasp and hold on to are:
PROMISE OF THE LAND
The Patriarchal Promise to Israel’s true fathers - Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Genesis 12:1-3 informs us that God gave Israel as the homeland of the Jews via Abraham’s descendants Issac and Jacob according to Genesis.
Islam seeks to erase and replace this asserting that the national promises to the Jews via Issac whose mother was Sarah, and via Jacob are instead for the Arab Moslem nations who stem from Abraham via Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar the Egyptian and Esau whose offspring married the descendants of Ishmael becoming the ancestors of the modern Arab mainly Moslem world.
The modern conflict today stems back to the ancient conflict between Issac the son of Sarah and Ishmael the son of Hagar the Egyptian, and the national conflict that began in the womb of Rebecca between Esau and Jacob (Genesis 26: 23).
Just as India is the native land of India, it has been occupied at various times by
The British, and to a lesser degree by the ancient Persians, the Portuguese, Dutch, and Japanese with China wanting to occupy Himalaya areas of India today, and Moslem Pakistan wanting to take areas of the Punjab. Yet the Indians are the historical people of India.
So too, The ancient Cannanites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Selucid Greeks, Romans, Byzantians, Roman Catholic European Crusaders , Ottoman Turkish Moslems, The British, and now Arab Moslems have all occupied Israel at various times. Yet history, archaeology, the Old Testament, and the New Testament all affirm that the
Jews are likewise he indigenous people of Israel. The Hamas and other radical Islamic organisations using violence to usurp Israel’s land as their own land at the expense of the indigenous people the Jews are little different than the British shooting the Indians in Amritsar.
PROMISE OF THE MESSIAH & THE GOSPEL
Salvation was to come through the Jews through whom God gave both testaments, the Messiah, and The gospel of Salvation (John 4: 22, Romans 3:1-3, Romans 9:4-5). God warned that when the promised Messiah came, those not adhering to Him would come under God’s judgment (Deuteronomy 18: 18-19).
The terrible history of The Jews and their unspeakable suffering is the result of the Curse of the Law, where God cannot protect them because they broke their Covenant with them (Leviticus 28, Deuteronomy 28) , and rejected His Son Jesus the Messiah.
In the Book of Acts however we see that just as the first Christians were Jews, the last Christians will be Jews (Romans 11:@6, Revelation 7:5-8). God has a destiny for them to come to faith in their own promised Messiah (Zechariah 12: 10).
Christians in India can in a way understand the rejection of Jesus by His own people (which is both partial and temporary), by comparing it to Buddhism.
Although Buddhism is a false religion, it began in India but most Buddhists are in Eastern Asia, not in India where Gautama (the Buddha) came from.Other nations accept him, but there are very few Buddhists in India itself despite the fa ct that India is where it originated. This is one reason that in the partition after the British countries like Bhutan, Nepal, and Sikkim were created.
Likewise, it is countries in North & Latin America, Britain & Europe, Africa, Austral-Asia and certain areas of the Far East such as The Philippines where most people at least professing to be Christians. The highest concentration of people professing to be Born Again Christians are found in what is known as “Bible Belts’
Such as the American South, Northern Ireland & The Hebrides Islands in Scotland,
South Korea in Asia, and tribal areas of East & Southern Africa and the Caribbean.
Despite it being where Jesus was from and where Christianity originally came from, there are still very few saved believers In Jesus (whom Israeli believers called ‘Messianic Jews’, call by His Hebrew Name ‘Yeshua’).
Christians, and especially pastors need to avoid the false doctrine of ‘Replacement Theology’. That says that the God is finished with Israel and that they are no longer the people of God and that the church has replaced Israel. None of this scriptural and none of this was believed in the early church. Such error was introduced by men who taught error and were often influenced by the devil.
St. Paul tells us that God has not rejected His ancient people Israel and that they still remain His people (Romans 11:1). Although most of them will be eternally lost , just as most people in India or any other nation will be eternally lost if they do not turn to Jesus in faith and repentance.the Jews remain beloved for the sake of their fathers (Abraham, Issac, and Jacob). Yet some believe, and the numbers of those do believe are growing in Israel and all over the world including Russia, the Ukraine, Canada, France, Argentina, Canada, Australia, but especially in the USA.
It is true that non Jews who are Born Again replace Jews who are not, but no place does the church replace Israel. The New Covenant indeed fulfils the Old, however the New Covenant was made with Israel & The Jews, not with the church (Jeremiah 31:31), and that both covenants belong to them (Romans 9:4). Non Jews who believe are grafted in as branches, but saved Jews are the natural branches of the church (Roman 11:24). Because the church has no covenant off its own, if God is finished with Israel & The Jews, He would need to automatically also finished with the church. God’s promises to the Jews are called the ‘root’ of the church , (which Paul compares to an Olive Tree). Replacement Theology (also called ‘supercessionism’) is a false doctrine and those who preach it teach error.
The task the church has is to bring the Good News of Jesus back to the people through whom God gave it. We must evangelise Israel & The Jews (Romans 10: 14). Another very false doctrine is called ‘dual covenant theology’ which wrongly teaches that Jews can be save by the Old Covenant Law of Moses that is now fulfilled by and in Christ. This is a lie of Satan. By works of The Law, no one can be saved (Galatians 2:16). It is only the sacrifice and blood of Jesus that can save.
Indian pastors and evangelists should learn how to share the Gospel from the Old Testament from the prophecies about Jesus in Isaiah chapters 52 & 53 with Israeli
And other Jewish tourists who visit Israel.
PROPHETIC PROMISE OF NATIONAL RESTORATION OF ISRAEL
Jesus Himself stated three times that the Jews would return to Israel from the diaspora. Just as there is a huge Indian diaspora of Indians in Singapore & Malaysia, in Guyana , South America, in England, and in Durban and Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa, there is likewise a huge Jewish diaspora in New York, in London & Manchester, in Miami, Chicago, France and California. Because most rejected Jesus, God allowed them to be driven out off their land for nearly 2,000 years but said they would be regathered for the Return of Christ.
Jesus directly stated three times that the Jews would not only return to Israel, but to their ancient capital Jerusalem for His Second Coming (Luke 21:24, Zechariah 12:1-10, Matthew 23: 37-39). Taking Jesus’ predictions literally is the only way that many such prophecies regarding the rebirth of Israel in the Old Testament and in The Book of Revelation can make sense. Jerusalem is where Satan got his biggest defeat with the resurrection of Jesus, and it is where he will get his final defeat when Jesus’ feet will again stand on the Mount of Olives from where He ascended (Zechariah 14: 4, Acts 1: 11-12).
This is why Satan is desperate to use Islam, the UN, anti Semites, the political left, and anyone or anything else he can to try and destroy Israel and The Jews. He is desperate to prevent the Return of Jesus. The coming antichrist will attempt to destroy two kinds of people - the saved Christians and the Jews. This is because God’s final plan for salvation depends on God’s prophetic agenda for the true church and for Israel. Satan and the antichrist will try, but will fail. Christ will return,
And He shall return in triumph to Jerusalem, Israel as The King of The Jews.
God promised that He would bless those who bless Abraham’s descendants through Issac and Jacob, and curse those who curse Israel & The Jews
(Genesis 12:3).
I want God to Bless India and I want God to Bless the true church and the saved Christians in India. We must therefore pray for Israel and for the salvation of Israel & The Jews. We must recognise the God given historical and legal right of the Jews to their own land. Not least of all., we need to also pray for the Arabs who are also descended from Abraham, that they will turn from Islam to Christ and be saved.
As God’s Word tells us :
“PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM, FOR THEY SHALL PROSPER WHO LOVE THEE”. PSALM 122:6
(James Jacob Prasch / Moriel M inistries)
