An Open Letter to Christians, Jews and Others Who Believe We Have to Support the State of Israel by Bombing Iran!

Dear fellow Jewish friends as well as believers of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who has fulfilled all the Promises God made to His Children.

This historical debate that Christians must support the state of Israel, based on a misunderstanding of Genesis 12:3 (I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you), must needs to be resolved, once and for all; if for no other reasons than to prevent the destruction of mankind that looms in the immediate horizon.

As most of you know, Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of the state of Israel is applying pressure on the President of the United States to militarily support and join him in his quest to bomb the nation of Iran for ostensibly developing nuclear weapons to annihilate the Jewish country of Israel. The Prime Minister, in his heart of hearts genuinely believes He has the right to launch a nuclear attack on Iran because He believes God is on the side of Israel and his alleged proof is based on Genesis 12:3. A great percentage of Christians agree with him, such as John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Mike Evans, and a myriad of other evangelicals as well as politicial leaders throughout America.

But yet, you, fellow Christians and many of our Jewish friends, rather than question this war plan, you believe this myth rather than to read, study and realize that God does not, nor ever has urged any of His children to fight their enemies (perceived or otherwise) through military action. Let me help you out here.

There is one group of scripture in the New Testament that clearly dismisses and trumps the misunderstood caveat stated in Genesis 12:3 (which is really intended for Abraham and his children of faith, and not for the Jewish race, a group that did not even exist when this statement was made by God. This clarification is found in the entire book of Hebrews (most precisely in Chapter 11), which makes it clear that the current geographical area in the Middle East (today known as the Land of Israel), was a mere stopover for all of the patriarchs (from Abel up through King David and the prophets, including all of the Apostles) in their journey to the true Promised Land that God has ever so clearly stated to His people throughout His word.

Please read the entire chapter:

Hebrews 11

By Faith                       

¹ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.

³ by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ by faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ by faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

¹¹ by faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he^[a] considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ by faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring^[b] will be reckoned.”^{[c] 19} Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² by faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.

²³ by faith Moses ’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ by faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ by faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea^[d] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

³⁰ by faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ by faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[e]

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned^[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect, (Hebrews 11:1-40)

Dear Christian and Jewish friends, if you will note carefully above, to verses 15 and 16, all the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (and ALL of Israel) had the opportunity then (and even today) to return to that country; but they didn’t because they were looking for a better country, a heavenly country, not a parcel of land in the Middle East as their eternal resting place.

More importantly (as we read in verse 40 above) God had planned something better for us (who were not part of the commonwealth), which were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and were foreigners to the covenants and of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. However, that entire problem was solved when Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) sacrificed His life on the cross and accomplished something as basic as the salvation plan that each of us Christians should know by heart. In essence, Dear Christian and Jewish friends, the better plan than residing in a parcel of land in the Middle East was that only together with us (who call ourselves ‘Christian’ and Jewish Israelites today) could be made perfect. God’s sacrifice on Calvary accomplished that task! There are no longer any Jewish people nor any other nation that needs be considered in God’s future plans, whatsoever, because people of faith (the only way to qualify to be called truly chosen children of God), are ‘one in Christ’                      

One in Christ

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) — ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ for he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Many who choose to believe the myths of men rather than the word of God keep insisting that God has a future plan for the current nation of Israel, and that Christians and Jews must support what they perceive is rightful ownership of that region in the Middle East; but God’s word does not agree with that line of thinking. God’s initial land promises were fulfilled (read Joshua 21:43-45); but for the most part ownership of that land was conditional, which since then the Israelites abrogated by virtue of their consistent disobedience to the will of God. Moreover, those patriarchs of “faith” (which is what a true Child of God should be) recognized then and should acknowledge today is that the true promise land is not located in the Middle East, but it is a ‘heavenly’ city that will descend when Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign on earth forever, with the prophets and apostles (and all believers in Messiah Jesus) as His administrative assistants. We are warned not to entertain fables and Pharisaical myths throughout God’s word; most especially we are warned of this in Hebrews 13:9-14:

⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.
¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ for here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Dear Fellow Child of God? Who are you going to believe? Men who have a hidden agenda that want to control the world with its financial and military power, or the word of God?

 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4).

Dear Children of God! You have the choice, and the power, to inundate both President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with emails, phone calls, letters to your elected officials, local and international media, to abandon their war plans, and better to seek peace between the Jewish and Palestinian people, and the entire Middle East region, before they light the match stick that will (and can) destroy the world through the senseless act of bombing the nation of Iran.For information about the author and his books, web sites and blogs, please click on Joe Ortiz.