A Pastoral Concern -- Israel, Hamas, and God's chosen people

As if on cue, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has triggered many Christian teachers and churches to prepare for the final moments of earth.  Are these the final moments?  I pray that they are.  The older I get, the more often I pray, "Come, Lord Jesus."

However, there are many misguided people who equate the modern nation of Israel with God's covenant people of the Old Testament.  This blog post would run WAY too long to sift all this out.  So, I alert you to the following resources (scroll down) to address some of the statements that are being made about Israel and the final days--statements, by the way, which were also made in 1990 and Desert Storm, and in the 2000's with the Persian Gulf War.  I truly believe these books were already written and await a Middle East conflict to hit publication.

The short answer to who are God's chosen people?  Just two verses:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).  God's chosen people the people whom Jesus Christ has redeemed, the Church.  It is not based on bloodline, heritage, borders, languages, or even eras.  

For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (Romans 9:6-8).   Not every Israelite was a believer; therefore, not every Israelite is saved.  On the other hand, everyone who believes in Jesus as his or her Savior receives the benefits of Jesus' saving work.  Therefore, just as St. Paul says, the true Israel is the Church. The true children of Abraham are those who believe the same promise Abraham believed.

For a brief chapel devotion written by me which merely grazes the topic, look here.

For a more extensive review and critique of this issue, click here for an Issues, Etc. podcast.