ziggy88 Loc: quincy illinois 62301

By Joel Joseph
Edited by Pastor Gary Boyd

Introduction:


What makes Israel, Jerusalem and the Jews unique and special is that they are the only ones that God has made an eternal covenant with, besides true, born-again believers. These promises to Israel identify and separate Israel from the world – forever!

The covenant promises also reveal God’s prophetic plans, purposes and will. They find their dramatic conclusion in these days, and the time period just ahead.

Biblical covenants are between two people, or in this case, between God Himself and the Jews as an entity. But is a covenant still valid if one side breaks his side of the deal?

The central theme of this edition is God’s eternal covenant of peace with Israel and Satan’s counterfeit covenant of peace with Israel for seven years.

God’s covenant:

Genesis 17:7-8 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Deuteronomy 4:40 “You shall keep His statutes and commandments that it may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
Psalm 105:8-9 “He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations, and the covenant which He made with Abraham and His oath to Isaac and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant.”

These verses above are so rich with many legal terms. They are substantial, clear and perfectly spelt out with no ambiguity!

Who are God’s covenant promises for?

Numbers 33:50-55 Instructions for the conquest of Canaan: “Moses, speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their graven images and demolish all their high places...but if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those who you let remain, shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.”

Note in the verse above that the children of Israel were to drive out the inhabitants of the Promised Land as they went in, by commandment of God. So much for the UN’s claim that Israel is the occupying force!

Israel did not fully comply with this and the Palestinian issue is the resulting “irritant.”

Exodus 34:11-14 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst...”

Note in the verse above, the list of people who were to be removed. These are the origins of the Arab /Palestinian people today. Note that Israel was to make no covenant of any sort with them!
Let me say that again: Israel is forbidden from making any covenant with them, but are to drive them out of the promised land.

Genesis 17:18-21 “Abraham said to God, ‘O that Ishmael (Arabs) might live before You!’ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him.”

So, in these verses above we see that God has made covenant promises with the children of Israel, and not the Arabs / Palestinians. The covenant promises from God are exclusively for the Jews and the land of Israel. There are other promises given to the Arabs.

Israel’s covenant with God is of peace:

Numbers 25:12-13 “The Lord spoke to Moses and said to him, “Behold I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him, a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for His God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.”
Ezekiel 37:26 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.”
Isaiah 54:10 “The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has mercy upon you.”

The end result and fruit of God’s covenant promises with Israel is of peace. This is peace in the land of Israel, peace in the city of Jerusalem and ultimately peace in the hearts of the people.

Israel’s coming fateful mistake:
Leviticus 26:15-16 “If you despise My judgements, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will appoint (sudden) terror over you...”

Israel will break their side of God’s covenant promises with devastating consequences, for them and the whole world. But God will not break His side of the deal. The covenant promises will endure. But they will have a temporary seven-year hold as the great tribulation partially destroys the world.

Israel will make a fateful, forbidden covenant with the person who is to be revealed as the antichrist, which will bring the world’s most severe curses and catastrophes upon the world and Israel for a short season.

Jeremiah 11:2-5 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant, which I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice...that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers...”
●Hosea 8:1-3 “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have broken My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel will cry to Me, “My God, we know You!” Israel has cast off good; the enemy will pursue him.”
●Isaiah 24:1-6 “Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and distorts its surface. It shall be; as with the people, so with the priest...The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty (proud) people of the earth languish. The earth is defiled under its inhabitants...they have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth...therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few are left.”
Again these verses above are clear and full of tragic meaning and soon-coming reality!

The forbidden, cursed covenant:

As we have seen in these amazing verses above, Israel will break their side of God’s covenant. They will make a new covenant, a peace deal with the Antichrist, in place of God’s covenant, against God’s will and command. Israel will make a cursed covenant of peace with Satan himself – in disguise!

This cursed act will not nullify God’s eternal covenant, but will simply put it on hold for seven years, the length of the great tribulation.
Isaiah 28:15-18 “Because you (Israel) have said, ‘we have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol (hell) we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves...’Therefore, your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol (hell) will not stand...”

As revealed in the verse above, Israel will think that they will be safe and have peace by making this new covenant! Talk about a grand tragedy! But also note that the peace covenant with the antichrist will not last and will be annulled.

What powerful deception Israel will come under!

The world will also reap the curse. Because it is of its god – Satan, it will encourage and welcome this “peace” deal with the antichrist.

Many Bible teachers get this satanic, antichrist peace covenant wrong because they look exclusively at Daniel 9:27, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” This is the abomination of desolation that makes the earth a wrecked world no good for proper habitation of mankind.




But this verse only reveals some aspects of the seven year covenant. There are many verses relating to this soon-coming covenant with hell. We must examine them all together to get the full picture.

The more traditional view is absolutely right. That this is a seven-year peace covenant signed between the person who will be revealed by that signing as the antichrist, and Israel as well as “the many.”

No previous peace deal with Israel was a seven-year covenant, as it must be. All previous covenants are null and void and would have to be re-negotiated. The word “peace” is found in other verses.

Here are some of the verses dealing with this fateful, coming covenant:
Daniel 8:24-25 “His power (antichrist) shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people...He shall destroy many in their prosperity (and peace). He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human hand.”
Daniel 11:21-22 “In his place shall arise a vile person (antichrist) to whom they will not give the honour of royalty, but he shall come in peaceably (Lit=making peace) and seize the kingdom by intrigue...He shall be the prince of the covenant.”
Daniel 11:30-32 “...He (antichrist) shall rage against the holy covenant and do damage. He shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant...he shall defile the holy sanctuary and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery, but the people who know their God shall be strong...”

Note in these verses above we have the prince of the covenant of hell and the Prince of princes! Israel will make the wrong choice initially!

Israel cannot sign any sort of peace covenant with the world, Palestinians, antichrist or anyone, without breaking God’s pre-existing eternal peace covenant with them made thousands of years ago.

The covenant of the “prince of the covenant” (antichrist) is exactly what brings destruction and not peace.
Daniel 9:27 “He shall confirm (make oneself mighty) a covenant with many for one week (seven years); but in the middle he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate...”

The coming peace covenant of Daniel 9:27 may well include the rebuilding of the Third Temple, which is required in a number of verses.

The Daniel 9:27 treaty may be a non-aggression pact or a pure peace treaty. It may include a land for peace deal. It may even include a multi-faith dimension.

The tribulation period will begin suddenly at the same time as this signing of the peace covenant.
The cursed covenant of peace is the same event revealed in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 speaking of the revealing of the man of sin (antichrist.)

Israel will repent:
Deuteronomy 4:30-31 “When you are in distress (tribulation)and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice, He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”

Israel will make the tragic mistake of breaking God’s covenant and accepting Satan’s false peace covenant. But they will soon realise it, and turn to the Lord in repentance.
Leviticus 26:40-42 “If they confess the iniquity of their fathers and their unfaithfulness...and are humbled and accept their guilt – then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham; I will remember their land.”
Exodus 23:27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.”

Not only will Israel repent and turn to the Lord, but our God will come in and back them in a whole new way. The above verse relates to invincible Israel during the Exodus. It is also prophetic relating to Israel being ultimately invincible in war during the tribulation.

Jerusalem:
The city of Jerusalem is part of God’s eternal covenant of peace. We are called upon to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6)

Amazingly the name of the city has much more to it.

The word “Jerusalem” itself is made up of two words, “Yrw”, meaning “foundation” and “Salem” meaning “peace.” The city is also known as the “habitation or dwelling place of peace.”

It is the only city or place in the world where God says, “I have put My name forever.” (2 Chronicles 33:7)

Counterfeit “peace” will come to Jerusalem through Satan. He will set up his “office” right there. He has chosen Jerusalem. Satan’s “peace” will be the seven year tribulation! Satan is a liar, thief and murderer. His peace efforts will be annihilated by the Prince of Peace as He returns to His Jerusalem, the “habitation of peace.” (Zechariah 3:2)

The final new covenant:
Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

This new covenant does not cancel out the existing eternal covenant between God and Israel. The new covenant is like a new layer on top of and over the previous covenant. It relates to people as individuals and their personal salvation.

The Jews will participate in this in large numbers in the tribulation period.

The way of truth:

Passover led to the Exodus and the deaths of the enemies of the children of Israel in the plagues of Egypt. The Exodus led to the Promised Land and the deaths of the enemies of Israel in the Red Sea. The Promised Land now leads to the promise of salvation to the Jews and the deaths of the enemies of Israel in the tribulation period!

The way of peace is the way of truth. Making deals with devil will never produce peace! Drawing near to God in the fear of God is total and complete safety, with its result – peace!

saltwind 78 Loc: Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

Joel, Just to let you know that Jews do not believe in the devil.They do believe that Satan is a servant of God. By tempting men to do evil, he is following God's command. This is how God determine his true followers. God would never allow a devil. This would be a form of paganism. Jews do not believe in a hell. Souls that are evil are repaired after death before they can enter heaven. Jews do not believe that a merciful God would condemn a soul to eternal torture.

Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...

What the Jewish people do or do not believe does not always coincide with what God has revealed of His plans and purposes for them and for the rest of mankind.

As a beautiful, bright young Jewish college student told me in the early ninties, "Judaism is whatever the Jewish people say it is."

That's news to the Almighty God who called Abraham out to a land which He would show him, and to Isaac and Jacob and their posterity.

In God's written Word, revealed to and written down by His prophets through the ages, there is much which some past Jewish priests, followed by the Rabbis, both past and present have refused to accept or teach.

His Word will stand irregardless.

Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...

Israel cannot break God's covenant with Abraham for the land of Israel.

It was NOT the normal two-party contract, dependent upon each party giving and receiving "consideration."

"Genesis 15:12-21, 17:7: ' Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.

God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.
"But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
"As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
"Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete."

And it came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, [there appeared] a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.'"

"'And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.'"

17. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces means "blazing torch or flaming touch" Which suggest that God appeared in his glory to make covenant with Abram. When a covenant was made between two parties during this period, both of them would walk between the cut pieces of the sacrificed animals. This was an acted oath, as if the people were saying, "may I be cut to pieces like these animals if I do not fulfill my part of the covenant."

But here, God is unilaterally the one entering into covenant with Abram, when it comes to God there is no one who is an equal partner who can walk between the pieces with him. Instead a smoking brazier with a blazing touch appeared and passed between the pieces. This represented God entering into a covenant with the helpless Abram.

On the day of the covenant God made promises with Abram, the details given in vs. 18-19 summarized as follows:
1. A restatement of God's commitment to give the land of the Canaanites to Abraham's descendants
2. A statement about boundary expansion
3. A statement about the current occupants of the land

This verse shows the generosity of God to Abram by condescending to his level and entered into covenant with him. "This covenant was to prove a reassurance and an inspiration to Israelites and Jews. The how and when of the fulfillment of
the promise, however, are entirely within God's control as it is at once demonstrated in vs. 13-16".

In this case Abram is obligated to do nothing to fulfill the covenant. God, alone has covenanted
to give Israel, as a permanent possession to Abram(ham), i.e, "in an everlasting covenant."

Those who insist that the covenant no longer exists because of Israel's past sins, do not respect
God's Word, or His Honor, for it is He who has vowed, unconditionally, Israel will always own the land.

"'And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.'"

This is the Biblical and historical basis for the right to the land which the Jewish people claim. This covenant was given by God to guarantee the continuous existence of Abraham's descendants (through Isaac and Jacob) to the present day. This covenant was confirmed to Isaac (Gen. 17:19, 21) and to Jacob (Gen 25:23; 35:9-15).

God's faithfulness to his promises of rewards for obedience or punishment for disobedience and to protect and guarantee the existence of the Jews as a people is the only explanation for their miraculous continued existence today.