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Daily WATCH! Volume 2 Issue 75, Tuesday, April 23, 2002
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DID YOU SEND THEM?
By Randy Loudenslager
The National Council of Churches has sent a 14 member delegation led by council Secretary General Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar for a 10 day trip to Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel. The council represents 36 Christian denominations in the U.S..
While in Syria the delegation met with President Bashar Assad for two hours. In the meeting with Assad Dr. Edgar speaking on behalf of the council said "people anywhere in the world are horrified at the siege of the church [Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem]. These are sacred holy sites that we hold dear .... We hope that the Israeli officials would take a different tact and recognize it as a holy place and provide opportunity for the tension and the siege to be removed." In addition Edgar presented to the media his plan to address the Israelis on Tuesday, "we will share our perspective on the most recent escalation of the violence and urge the Israelis to live within the U.N. resolutions. We are supportive of the state of Israel, with secure borders, but we believe that they should leave the occupied territories. We support an independent state for Palestine and we hope that the international community including the US would work to that end." Edgar also added, "We abhor violence against any innocent person whether Israeli or Palestinian and we believe that the offensive was very tragic."
The Pharisees among us, that is those who are more loyal to their religion and self-righteousness than to the LORD's kingdom, are making their voices heard about the Middle East conflict. They sound an awful lot like the rest of the world, because they are of the world! Who asked them to represent the true believers in Jesus Christ living in the United States?
Biblically speaking we should find ourselves in complete disagreement with Edgar with the exception of his statement about 'violence against any innocent person whether Israeli or Palestinian.' It is a dead conscience that can claim to believe God's word and then lay claim to an earthly place as being sacred. And it will be beyond pardon to advocate the violation of the covenant between God and Israel. Yet these two offenses are exactly what these so-called representatives have committed.
As we know, all will have to give an account for their lives before God Almighty. Can we with clear conscience and as messengers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ tell Israel to withdraw from her inheritance? And should we be devoted to places and things rather than Christ alone before the eyes of the world? To tell the world that Christians value earthly places, apart from those designated by God such as the temple, is to make us appear like just another religion. God's people are the temple of His Holy Spirit, the true sacred ground! It is not likely that the antichrist will show as much reverence for Jesus' birthplace as Israel has done and the likelihood of the Church of the Nativity to remain standing when Jesus Christ descends is beyond the remotest possibilities.
Although I haven't done so yet I can imagine the sense of awe
one must feel to stand where Jesus stood or view the places that
witnessed miracles. We should endeavor to protect and preserve
these places, but to hold such as a priority above God's priorities
is akin to worshiping the creation rather than the Creator.
Remember, gentile believers in Jesus Christ have been grafted into the root of God's covenant with Israel. That is, we will be joined to Israel when Jesus comes and share in the inheritance of His kingdom. We are in fact a part of the covenant. We are like wild shoots that are grafted into a cultivated tree. Does it make sense for gentile believers to go against the covenant that Jesus fulfilled and by which He will give us eternal life?
Copyright 2002 Randy Loudenslager Ministries
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Our web resources site: http://lastday.info
E-mail: randy@lastday.info
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