Last Updated on May 14, 2024 5:32 PM by herald
On April 19, the Barbados government announced via its official news channel, the GIS, that it was recognizing “Palestine as a state”. Since then, there have been social media noises from across the Caribbean calling on other governments to do the same.
In this article we explain why Christians in the Caribbean and indeed everywhere, must reject both the letter and the spirit of that government announcement.
Point of Departure
Since the justified retaliation of the Israeli Government to the brutal massacre of over 1200 Israeli citizens by the Hamas terrorist government of the Gaza strip on October 07, 2023, an already woke world has gone ballistic calling for the liberation of Palestine “from the river to the sea”.
Incidentally, research reported in the Wall Street Journal has shown that when asked, only 47% of the people chanting this slogan could accurately name the river and the sea being referred to. Many of those surveyed appear to have been university students. So much for higher education!
What Israelis, Jews and the rest of the world call “Israel”, the self-styled “Palestinian people” call “Palestine”. If you know your Bible at all (and many professing Christians unfortunately do not!) you will know that the same God you claim to worship – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- gave this land as an eternal inheritance to Abraham’s descendants.
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing–all the land of Canaan–as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8
We all know now where that land is and the location of its boundaries (See Joshua chapters 13- 16). We also know who the descendants of Abraham are. They are the twelve tribes which were birthed by Jacob, a descendant of Isaac who was the “legitimate” son of Abraham.
It is not our purpose here to give any lengthy history of the ancient nation of Israel; that you can read in your Bible and any unbiased history text, if you care to know the truth.
Suffice it to say, however, that the people of Israel were often exiled from the land or taken as captives by other nations by God’s own doing because of their sinful rebellion. Being exiled from the land was one of the curses God had issued to Israel through Moses (see Deuteronomy chapter 28, especially verse 64).
However, God also promised, that if they repented, he would bring them back into the land of Canaan again (see Deuteronomy chapter 30,especially verse 1 – 5).
That promise, by the way, was the basis of King Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the first temple (See 1 Kings 8:33 -34).
The book of Daniel is in fact the account of how the Jews – at least one of them, Daniel- recognized that their 70 years of captivity in Babylon for their sins was coming to an end and it was time to return to Israel:
In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. (See Daniel 9:2-3)
The Arabs
What many Christians do not realize is that Abraham had a son by his wife’s servant, Hagar. His name was Ishmael. To make a long story short, Hagar had mocked Sarah. She was thrown out and became very depressed (click here to see Editor’s notes), especially after all the food and water Abraham had given them ran out in the desert.
However, at her request, God promised to bless her descendants too and make them into a great nation (See Genesis 21:18). You can read the whole chain of events from Genesis 16 -21.
From history we know that Ishmael’s descendants are the Arabs. Today they appear as nations such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain etc. They are some of the richest people on the earth because God kept his promise to Hagar by giving them oil!
So in summary then, this is what the Sovereign God did: he gave Canaan, a tiny piece of land “from the river to the sea” to one descendant of Abraham – Jacob (whose name God changed to Israel) and all the vast lands of Saudia Arabia, Qatar etcetera to Abrahan’s other son, Ishmael.
So in effect the wars and conflict between the Arabs and Israel are between one man’s two sons! The Abrahamic Accords signed on September 15, 2020 under the sponsorship of President Donald Trump is a recognition of this truth.
Enter the Palestinians
So who then are the Palestinians that are claiming the same land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea?
As far as we can discern from Scripture and history, the Palestinians are a mix of Arabs and the descendants of other peoples, namely the Philistines who resided mainly in Gaza (The same Gaza and Philistines you read about in Judges chapter 16 and 1 Samuel chapter 17). Some people dispute the Philistinian origin.
What we do know for sure is that the word “Palestine’ is derived from the word “Philistine”. It was the Romans who had conquered the promised land, that gave the area the title “Palestine” to humiliate the Jews living there.
There were always Israelites living in the promised land even when the main body of Israelites had been exiled to other countries (See the books of Nehemiah and Ezra).
However, the title “Palestine” given by the Romans included parts of Syria and Turkey because the Romans ruled all of that territory at the time Jesus was on earth. It follows logically then, that all the people living in that region could logically be called Palestinians, even the Jews!
Modern day Gaza, ruled by the terrorist group Hamas, is a part of the land of Israel or part of the land “from the river to the sea”, in other words, part of the State of Israel. Most the Palestinians live in Gaza and the West Bank which is also known as Judea and Samaria. They are basically the same Judea and Samaria in the Bible.
Jews and Arabs have lived in Israel alongside each in the state of Israel for more years than anyone call recall. Despite the fact that the media is not saying this, there are Arab-Israeli citizens who live at peace in the democratic state of Israel.
Barbados Announcement
What the declaration by the Barbados Government means then, is that the land of Israel, the land “from the river to the sea”, that is, the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea belongs wholly or partly to the self-styled Palestinian peoples and not to Israel. In other words, it is an attempt to dispossess the Jewish state of land given to them by the Sovereign God!
That, ladies and gentlemen, is a repudiation of God’s sovereign will. Of course, we do not expect people who are atheists or Muslims or those who have rejected the Bible to agree with this. But we do expect Christians not only to understand but accept this truth.
Moreover, the so-called “two state solution” referred to by the Barbados Minister of Foreign Affairs, is a problem because it calls for the division of Jerusalem, the ancient capital of Israel.
As far as God is concerned, that will never happen! All those nations and leaders who try to divide Israel and Jerusalem are assured of resistance from the Sovereign God and a serious prophetic destiny with him. Here is what the Sovereign God says:
I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. Joel 3:2 NIV
“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2.
Just keep track of the news to see how this last prophecy is happening in real time!
Even if the Palestinians were all Arabs, the Barbados declaration would still be an affront to God’s sovereignty and will. We explained earlier how the Sovereign God, who owns all the real estate everywhere, allocated lands to both sons of Abraham.
The Barbados Government is totally out of line, scripturally speaking, and we are wondering why nobody in the hierarchy of the Christian church in the country or the Caribbean, has spoken out on this matter. But we are not completely surprised at this. If some of the hierarchy of the church can condone homosexuality it should not be surprising that they can oppose God’s sovereign decisions over other matters.
Repercussions
Most importantly, the decision and proclamation of the Barbados government have repercussions for the well-being of Barbadians and all Caribbean societies that will follow its lead. Why?
Because the covenant God made with Abraham came with this caveat:
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3.
As Christians, our spiritual and other blessings came through the descendant of Abraham, Jesus Christ, who was also born on earth as a Jew, as prophesied.
We are already blessed in Barbados through that covenant because we protected and sheltered the Jews in World War II. We must not let a daughter of perdition shift the hand of blessing away from us.
Church Complicity
Part of the problem is that there are many pastors, church leaders and theologians across the world and in the Caribbean who believe that God has “done away” with the Jews and the church is the new Israel. This is referred to in theological circles as “Replacement Theology”. But it is really a lie a straight from the pit of hell. Read Romans chapter 11 with an open mind and see if the scripture agrees with that position.
As Christians, we must not let the curses of God’s covenant with Abraham fall on us and our Caribbean societies because of the aspirations, superficiality and greed of one leader who has her eyes set on being the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, an organization God has pronounced judgement upon (See Caribbean Prophetic Briefings Episode 5).
None of what we are saying here means that we condone any unnecessary acts of violence perpetrated by the State of Israel on the Palestinian terrorists or anyone else. By no means! But as every diplomat has said – at least through the right side of his or her mouth- Israel has a right to defend itself.
The Palestinians are NOT a state and have NOT been recognized as such, not even by the United Nations!
As all mature Christians ought to understand, peace is not necessarily the absence of war! Those who believe that there is something intrinsically evil about war will need to read the Old Testament again and then make an appointment to reprimand the Sovereign God!
Conclusion
Christians do NOT have a responsibility to agree with any government when it goes against God’s wishes. That is clearly unscriptural. As the Apostle Peter and the early church said when they were threatened about preaching the gospel:
But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29 New King James Version
The current administration in Barbados has shown repeatedly that it has no real respect for God and what he cares about such as truth, justice and godliness. The problem is that its leader still wields tremendous influence on some Barbadians, on some Caribbean leaders and unfortunately, on some segments of the church.
Some people seem to think that because they do not fall down dead immediately when they willfully oppose God that all is OK. That is a self-deception because God has appointed a special “day” or period when he will unleash his anger on those who willfully and repeatedly oppose him (See Acts 17:31, 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-3 and Revelation 14: 10 -12).
Call to Action
Therefore, every believer should:
- Study carefully and prayerfully what we have written here. We do not ask you to accept our submission here uncritically.
- Bring this article to the attention of your pastor and ask him or her to speak about this issue. Find out where he or she stands especially about whether “Israel is no longer God’s people”.
- Take a stand. Remember the church is not a building; it is all individuals who serve God’s son, Jesus. In the final analysis, your pastor cannot decide what is right or wrong for you. Neither can he or she stand in the judgment for you!
Editor’s Notes
On our own recognizance, we changed a statement about Hagar from “became suicidal” to “became very depressed” for greater accuracy and consistency with the Biblical record in Genesis 21, all in the interest of truthfulness.
Click the Back button ← to return to reading.
One thought on “Why Christians Cannot Recognize “Palestine as a State””