Sheep and Goats

What nation has lived in every corner of the globe? What nation as a nation has been in the hands of other nations to do with as so ever they wished?

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:31-40)

Upon what other nation has God pronounced, “I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you will I curse”? Clearly, Israel is the litmus test to separate the sheep from the goats. In Exodus 4:22-23, the LORD says to Pharaoh “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son”. God has repeatedly used the nations as an instrument to chastise his rebellious people, but has then cast them on the dust bin of history. The heart of God is revealed in the prophecy of Isaiah to Babylon,

Sit in silence and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy.

And again in Zachariah 1:14-15:

Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.

Today the governments of the world are posed with the Arab-Israel conflict. We know that Satan is setting the stage ultimately for all the nations of the world to come against Israel, but will he also succeed in deceiving the church, so long-encumbered by replacement theology, and now with the seeds of politically correct “Christian palestinianism” and BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction). The LORD has addressed the present conflict over Judea and Samaria, the “West Bank”:

O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD…Because the enemy said of you … “The ancient heights have become our possession,”… Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides … I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations… who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.… Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach. But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. (Ezekiel 36:1-10)

On which side of history will the church find itself? God is unconditionally committed to the preservation of his covenant people, and the fulfillment of their calling. Should we do less?

Source: First Fruits of Zion