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 The Dispute over Jerusalem: The Jews and Palestinians

Why is this deal so important to Bible prophecy?

Blog Note: For when they shall say, Peace and Safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3). This verse is believed by eschatologists to be a key verse that describes a period of time when Israel signs a worldwide peace or security agreement that is enforced by the antichrist. Other Biblical verses describe this Jewish agreement as a covenant with death. This Israel security agreement event for ‘peace and safety’ is also believed to be one of the catalysts initiating the Tribulation period on earth. The world today is clamoring for a ‘two-state’ solution between the Jews and the Palestinians regarding the status and geography of Jerusalem. The ‘two state’ solution is a metaphor for the ‘peace and safety covenant’ spoken of in the Bible. The Bible is clear that a large portion of land in the Middle East was given and promised to the Jews by God, including the current land under contention internationally. The Jews currently do not occupy any significant amount of land that was originally promised and given to them by God.

Zechariah 12:2 … Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:3 … And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Concerning the ‘false covenant with death’ or ‘peace and safety agreement’ for Israel/Jerusalem:

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.

Isaiah 28:15 … Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Isaiah 28:18 … And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. End of note.

The simple fact is that God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, endowing him and his descendants with the Holy Land as an everlasting possession.  This means that God’s own Name, honor, and truthfulness are at stake in regards to upholding this covenant promise:

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.  The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. – Genesis 17:7–8

In times past the Jews temporarily lost their land for breaking God’s commandments, but as prophecy frequently stated would happen near the end of the age, God would bring His people back to their ancient homeland.

While the world has talked a big game for the past 70 years about creating a “Palestinian State”, the truth of the matter is that only one nation actually came into existence via the 1947 UN Mandate and the subsequent 1948–49 War of Independence and that is the nation of Israel.  The Jews, replanted in their reconstituted country after nearly two millennia of exile, not only assumed control of the UN-mandated land, but also expanded north, south, and east after a series of disastrous wars for the surrounding Arab populations.  Israel took control of the Golan Heights, much of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), parts of Gaza, and for a time, all of the Sinai Peninsula.

Since those conquests in justified wars of defense, the world has heavily pressured Israel to cede back land.  They gave back Sinai and years later—all of Gaza.  And now the world wants to finally complete their desire to divide God’s land by establishing a second country, called Palestine, within the biblically-defined borders of Israel.  Doing so would formally sever the Jews from the land God promised to them.

The world is attempting to divide God’s covenant land Israel in half (via the “Two-State Solution”), which is the event that the Bible describes as the catalyst for God’s coming judgment on all the nations (Joel 3:2).  This division of land is supported by all major nations and the United Nations itself – literally all the nations are attempting to sever Israel from Judah, Samaria, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.  Amazingly, the Bible takes this prophecy a step further and indicates that the “boundary stone” the nations try to move will include Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:3), which is exactly what we see happening right now with the nations trying to steal East Jerusalem from the Jews.

God calls foul on this division in the last days.  And this “foul” is what precipitates the onset of the Day of the LORD, which is a judgment on all nations:

I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.  And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land. – Joel 3:2

And

The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.  Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. – Isaiah 24:5–6

Biblical Borders: The Future Borders of Israel According to the Bible

The current borders of Israel are disputed by the international community, from the UN to the Arab leadership. But these parties insist on ignoring the true legal position. Even the US, Israel’s greatest ally makes misleading statements:

We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines [Barack Obama, 2011]

Obama gave US support for a future Palestinian state based on borders that existed before the 1967 Middle East war. Thankfully, Israel’s border disputes will be short-lived. When this age ends and the 1,000 year ‘Millennial Age’ of earth begins, Israel’s borders will be firmly established by the God of Israel. In fact, Israel’s future borders are already clearly written in Bible prophecy (if only the world would read it).

The Promised Land: Israel’s Biblical Title Deeds

God promised that He would give all the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. He made a covenant with Abraham:

To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt (traditionally taken as the Nile) as far as the great river, the River Euphrates (Gen 15.18)

I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines (Gaza coast), and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates (Exod 23.31)

Despite Israel’s future disobedience, this promise was unconditional in that the land was to be theirs forever; no strings attached:

I will give to you and to your descendants … all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession (Gen 17.8)

Where was Canaan, this “Promised Land”? Where did the twelve tribes of Israel settle? They settled mainly in the area currently referred to as Israel, including the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights, although the tribes of Benjamin, Gad, Reuben and part of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan (Fig.1). So there we have it: Abraham’s descendants, Isaac, Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel are promised their own land, their own piece of real estate in the region we now call Israel.

Location of Israel’s Future Borders

Let’s try and identify the biblical geographic boundaries. As the Israelites conquered more territory the term ‘Canaan’ was gradually applied to all the lands west of the Jordan valley, and there are references to Canaanites living in the valleys and plains of this region (Num 13.29) (Josh 11.3) (Judg 1.27). In time the LORD gave more detail of the geographical boundaries. For example, in Num 34.1-12 we find the boundaries given to Moses as he was about to divide up Canaan for the twelve tribes. These are:

Western: the Mediterranean Sea

Eastern: from Kadesh-barnea, via Zin and the salt sea to Zedad and Hamath in the north

Southern: from Kadesh Barnea to the Brook of Egypt (probably not the Nile)

Northern: from the Mediterranean Sea (Mount Hor) to Hamath to Zedad

The boundaries defined in Numbers 34 are shown in Fig.2 and in Ezek 47.13-20 we find more boundary detail which confirm these boundaries. It is clearly stated that the Jordan is the eastern boundary (v18) and the western boundary (the Mediterranean Sea) goes north as far as ‘opposite Hamath’ (v20). The southern boundary is defined by a ‘brook’ in Num 34.5 and Ezek 47.19 and by a ‘river’ in Gen 15.18. Note that this is most likely not the Nile.

The significant point here is that many understand Ezek 47 (in fact, Ezek 40-48) to describe Millennial Israel. And it is interesting to see how the Old Testament boundaries in Num 34 align closely with Israel’s future borders in Ezek 47.

Future (equal) land Division

Historically, the tribes occupied only some of this land and, as already mentioned, in addition occupied some land east of the Jordan (see also Israel’s History). Under Moses, the land was divided according to the size of each tribe (Josh 13) and so resulted in very unequal division e.g. the tribe of Manasseh took a large share. In contrast, Ezek 47 and 48 state that the land in Millennial Israel will be divided equally between the tribes, and in an east-west way (parallel sections):

The Sovereign Lord said, “These are the boundaries of the land that is to be divided among the twelve tribes … I solemnly promised your ancestors that I would give them possession of this land; now divide it equally among you. (Ezek 47.13-14)

So each tribe will have one portion, starting with Dan in the north and ending with Gad in the south, and all sections run east-west, Fig.3. There are several important points to note here.

The LORD’s Temple

Firstly, there will be a portion of land between the section for the tribe of Judah and the section for the tribe of Benjamin that is “set apart for the LORD” (Ezek 45.1-5, 48.8-22). Why? Recall that one day soon, in the Millennial age, the law will emanate from Zion (Mic 4.2). In the Old Testament, Zion came to mean Jerusalem, and the temple area in particular. This indicates that Christ will rule from some future temple and it’s surrounding area. In fact, Messianic Jews expect such a temple to be built in the near future, and we find a graphic description of such a temple in Ezek 40-48.

So the land “set apart” must include a holy place for the LORD’s temple or sanctuary. It’s precise dimensions are given in Ezek 45.1-5 and it is in the center of this special section of land (see Fig.4). It is the place of Christ’s throne on earth – a glorious place in the midst of the children of Israel. This is the place described as “THE LORD IS THERE” (Ezek 48.35).

Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever (Ezek 43.7)
The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious (Isa 60.13)

Israeli-Palestinian Problem Solved

We should also ask, “What of the non-Jewish population – those who currently war against the Jews?” In the coming age this conflict is resolved by the LORD. Israel is instructed by God to treat “the stranger” (non-Jews) as one of themselves and let them live in the land:

“… and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God (Ezek 47.22-23)

This of course is nothing new. Thousands of years ago God instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel how they should treat foreigners (non-Jews). They were commanded to love “strangers” and to let them live normal lives amongst them (Deut 10.19):

When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall do him no wrong … (he) … shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself (Lev 19.33,34)

So under the new (Millennial) borders of Israel, God repeats this instruction via the prophet Ezekiel. During an interview in 1989, Arial Sharon was asked: “Do you think of Arabs as your friends, neighbours, your enemies?” He replied:

From my childhood, I have believed Jews and Arabs can live together, and I believe now they should live together. All the rights to this country, to the land of Israel – especially Judea and Samaria – are Jewish … but everyone who lives in the country should have all the rights of the country”. [Ariel Sharon, TIME, April 1989]

Unfortunately, as long as Arab countries refuse to recognize Israel and continue to attack her, such peaceful cohabitation is impossible. But it will happen in the Millennial age under Christ’s rule.

A Border Discrepancy?

At first sight it appears that there is some discrepancy in the northern boundary, since initially God told Abraham this boundary would be the River Euphrates, much further to the north (Gen 15.18). The kingdoms of David and Solomon did indeed stretch from the river of Egypt on the Sinai peninsula (not the Nile), across the Syrian Desert to Tiphsah on the Euphrates, but the Euphrates boundary is absent from Num 34 and Ezek 47.

A possible explanation is that God is giving boundaries for two time periods. At the Second Coming of Christ, there will be significant geological changes in the Middle East (Zech 14.4,10) (Isa 11.15,16) and one of these is the drying up of the Euphrates (Rev 16.12). So whilst the Euphrates served as a boundary for David and Solomon, it virtually ceases to be a landmark in the Millennium.

Comparison with Today’s Borders

It is interesting to compare the future biblical borders and land division with the current situation in Israel. Clearly, the future borders include both the Gaza strip and the West Bank! They also include significant parts of present-day Syria i.e. up to Hamath, and probably all of Lebanon. Are the politicians listening?