UNDENIABLE HISTORICAL FACTS OF ISRAEL & THE JEWS

CURRENT MAP OF ISRAEL

We need to understand the land that is Israel today is far less than what God had originally given to the Jews.

Israel is 1/6 of one percent of the size of the surrounding Arab

nations. Let me repeat that 1/6 of one percent.

Arab nations are 594 times larger than teeny tiny Israel.

ANCIENT MAP OF THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL

This is the land God gave the Jews. As you look at the current map of Isael, you can see how small Israel is today. The land was much broader back then.

jerusalem a cup of trembling

Zechariah said this city would be a cup of trembling

In the year 132 AD the Bar Kokhva revolt took place. A Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in Judaea. The revolt was preceded by years of clashes between Jews and Romans in the area. The Jews thought they could take control. Hadrian was so infuriated that the Jews thought they could take back control. Hadrian the Roman emperor declared the Jews were to be annihilated. 1,900,000 were put to death. The remaining were sent into exile. Those that could not make the journey, the weak, the elderly, the infirm that could not make it were allowed to stay.

Hadrian decreed that those Jews who stayed behind could not talk to one another. They were placed in complete isolation. If a Jew was caught talking to another Jew, they were both put to death immediately. Hadrian hated the Jews to such a great extent that he salted the ground throughout the agricultural regions of the land. Salt is a great herbicide. Nothing will grow.

Previously this land provided sufficiently for the people. So destroyed was the vegetation that when the rains came the topsoil was eroded. The land became arid. This extreme lack of vegetation caused the climate to change. Much hotter, much drier becoming a desert region that we see today.

No Longer Jerusalem

Then he changed the name of the city. No longer Jerusalem, Jehovah is peace, to Alicapitolena, capitol of Hadrian. The name was removed, wiped off the map. If you spoke the name of Jerusalem in Hadrian’s presence or in the presence of any Roman citizen, you were to be put to death. Not only was the name of Jerusalem changed but the entire name of the land was changed, no longer Israel no longer Judah. The name was changed to Palestine, Philistine land.

In 132 AD Hadrien named it after the arch enemies of the Jewish people. The Philistines remember Goliath; they were a thorn in the flesh. What we need to understand is there are no Philistines today. They were an ancient race from the area of Greece, Crete. A maritime people that sailed down and landed in the area of the Gaza strip. 5 Philistine cities were built and inhabited by European people. They were not of Arab descent.

The Philistines are an ancient people that have been gone for millennia. No person who has studied history could rightfully say that those who currently reside in ancient Israel would be known as Palestinians. The persistence in keeping the area named Palestine is so that those Arab people would be able to say they are descendants of ancient Philistines. They would say we have right to this land historically.

The Romans were there for 666 years from the time of Pompei going through the Byzantine Era. Byzantines were from the eastern part of the Roman empire. Based in Constantinople. After Rome came a series of invaders controlling the land Alexander the Great, Persians, Islamists, Crusaders, Mamelukes from Egypt and others.

jerusalem a cup of trembling

The british step in

Eventually the Ottoman Turks. The Turks led by Selim I marched into Jerusalem after defeating the Mamelukes. Suleiman I, the magnificent, rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. The Turks were in control of the region from 1517 to 1917. Exactly four centuries. During this time trees were taxed. The more trees a person had, the higher the taxes, so down came the trees.

Napoleon Bonaparte made his way through. Then along came Mohammed Ali the famous boxer. World War 1 broke out and the British grabbed control of the region. Everything began to change. The land was divided into nations this was accomplished by the British. Many declared it made no sense. The Middle East nations we see today, are because the British chose to put the boundaries where they are to this day.

A chunk of land was given to the Jew. Why? Along comes the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Lord Balfour declared in appreciation for what a Jew Hiem Wiseman accomplished. You see the Germans were gaining momentum because of superior arms. Heim Wiseman a chemist invented explosives that gave the British and Allies an edge in armament and the Germans were defeated.

How can we repay the Jews for what Hiem Wiseman did for Britain and the Allies in defeating the Germans. The British Parliament asked Heim what they could do to honor him for what he had done for the war effort. Heim asked for and was granted a piece of land the Jews could call home a place where they could have an identity.

After being spread throughout the world for nearly 2000 years. No other ethnic group in world history had retained their identity for more than 3 generations without a homeland. The Jews had, they retained their language, their heritage, their identity, it’s a miracle. The land given to them was Israel and what we call today Jordan was declared to be the homeland of the Jews in 1917.

teeny tiny israel

In 1922 something happened. 21 Arab nations had been established because of how the British decided to carve up the land. What we need to remember is that today we hear how the battle is between 2 equals, the Arab nations and Israel in size and population. Not so. Israel is 1/6 of one percent of the size of the surrounding Arab nations. Let me repeat that 1/6 of one percent.

Arab nations are 594 times larger than teeny tiny Israel. You know that. Here is the problem, the folks you encounter on a daily basis don’t know that. Your Grandkids don’t. Unless your kids were brought up in a church where these things were important and they paid attention, they don’t.

The 22 Arab nations declared that it wasn’t right that the nation of Israel had so much land. The Brits folded like a cheap table when confronted with this seeming imbalance. They reneged on their promise set forth in the Balfour Declaration. With the agreement of the League of Nations, 80% of the land previously given was taken away.

The land taken away was then named Trans Jordan. The Israelis, the Jews, the Zionists agreed to take 20%. A new agreement was drawn up, the Israelis and the Arabs agreed, and both parties signed on the dotted line.

jerusalem a cup of trembling

israel recognized as a nation

What is important to remember is that the last document signed was by both parties, the 22 Arab Muslim nations and the Jews, in 1922 a binding treaty drawn up by the League of Nations. That chunk of land given to the Jewish nation included the Gaza Strip and the West Bank/ Golan Heights. In 1947 before the War of independence in 1948 when Israel became a nation. Something interesting happened and oil was a factor.

The Arabs determined that the Israelis had too much property.

So, the land was further divided into a bunch of unharmonized pieces, it made no sense. The map that was drawn in 1947 took away vast chunks of the 1/6 of one percent that had been agreed to in the 1922 Treaty. The last treaty was signed by both groups. Amazingly the Jewish leaders agreed. The Arab nations did not agree. They determined that Israel should be driven into the sea and have no place in this region. War breaks out.

Isaiah chapter 66:8- “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

prophecy fulfilled in a day

In Isaiah an amazing prophesy declares to us a nation shall be born in a single day. May 14, 1948, the United Nations declared that Israel would become a nation. When the United Nations convened and the question of Israel becoming a nation was asked, a vote was taken and the question passed by a single vote. In a single day just as the prophet had declared centuries before.

The following day the five surrounding Arab nations declared war on the newly established nation. What followed was one of the greatest upsets in the history of warfare. Many stories have been written about the seemingly miraculous events that occurred during this war. Israel won, she retained the cut-up territory. The Jordanians still had control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

jerusalem a cup of trembling indeed

SIX DAY WAR

In the 1967 Six Day War where the surrounding Arab neighbors were attempting to destroy Israel, Israel won back East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza and the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. A key point to remember in your discussions is, there are those who say that Israelis are occupiers of the West Bank.

Not so.

The last signed treaty was the 1922 League of Nations Treaty that said the area of the West Bank, Judea and Samaria is to be given to the Jew and the Arabs signed off to that. In the war of 1948, the Arabs specifically took control of the west Bank and East Jerusalem they were occupiers. So, from 1948 to 1967 the Jordanians were the occupiers. In 1967 the Israelis kicked the occupiers out taking back what was agreed upon in 1922.

Whew! I bet your head is spinning like mine was when I was putting this together. This is a lot to take in I know. We’re about to put a bow on this one. Did I hear a sigh of relief?

SATAN ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY

Israeli occupation is a complete misnomer, a fabrication. Israel has a deed to that land that is disputed a signed declaration dating back to 1922. And of course, the land given to them by the Lord back in Genesis.

What I wanted us to see in this study is that what the world is declaring concerning Israel is totally false. The land given to the Jews goes back to the days of Abram. Along the way Satan has attempted to destroy the land of the Birth of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. He attempted to destroy the land where the city of the Great King will rule and reign for a thousand years.

For many years we have heard that this land belonged to the Palestinians of whom we learned were Europeans that disappeared a long time ago. This is an attempt of our arch enemy, the one who is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour to destroy Israel.

The antichrist will make an attempt to be worshipped which will fail in a final war. This is a spiritual battle. We know how this is going to turn out. We are looking forward to the return of King Jesus. We are to stand by the people that God declares are the apple of His eye. We are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

jerusalem a cup of trembling indeed

Yireh – God Will Be Seen

There is a city on a hill whose name is Yerushalayim, we call that city Jerusalem. I have been there, amazing indeed.

Yireh – “God will be seen,” named by Abraham after the near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22).

Shalem – “Wholeness/Peace,” named by Malki-Tzedek, priest-king of Shalem, who greets Abraham (Genesis 14:18). This isn’t poetry—it’s ownership. This is our spiritual deed, signed by God, witnessed by Scripture. Yerushalayim means awe and wholeness, reverence and peace—a reflection of the Jewish people’s eternal bond with the city. Jerusalem the capitol city of the tiny nation of Israel. Israel has very limited natural resources. You may have heard that Israel has oil.

Yes, they do in fact have .00085% of the world’s oil reserves. Not much to brag about. No gold, no silver, no platinum, a desert area. The eyes of the world are on it. Like Zechariah said it would be. Every politician that has tried to sort through has been crushed by the weight of trying to figure it out.

We know Jerusalem is a stone of trembling; Zechariah 12:2-3 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”

Land For Peace Not a Good Trade

Here is an interesting side note. Generally speaking, those in authority that have traded land for peace didn’t fare so well. Menachem Began was assented. Ariel Sharon a few months after he orchestrated Israels unilateral withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005, suffered a stroke and was in a coma until he died in 2014. I think that could be part of the reason Netanyahu is not interested in anything less that total withdrawal of Hamas from the Gaza.

Gihon Spring

Starting around 1800 BC the city was held by the Jebusites. The Jebusites were descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. What about before the Jebusites? This area was of importance because of the Gihon spring. There were several Canaanite tribes in the area, and the Canaanites were an ancient Semitic-speaking civilization that inhabited modern day Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and parts of Syria. Rather than a single unified nation they were a collection of diverse ethnic and tribal groups living in independent city-states like Jericho, Hazor and Megiddo.

The first real activity other than developing and keeping the spring open for all to use, was that Jebusites had started development by building guard towers and an elaborate water system.

General Joab

Things have reached a fever pitch. Jerusalem, what should be a place of peace is starting to tremble The year is 1000 BC, David saw the city on a hill, Jebus, and said that is where I want my capitol to be. David told his men if anybody could find a way in and open the gates so our army can come in, he will be my general.

Joab was that man. Joab found a shaft that was in the cliffs of the city. The shaft called Warrens shaft went down to the Gihon springs where the residents of the city would lower buckets down to get water. Of note it was around the Gihon springs that the first settlement in Jerusalem sprang up.

Joab was David’s general until David died. Why Joab? Because he was willing to figure a way. Joab was just an ordinary guy willing to accept the challenge. He had no extraordinary skills that we know of, just a willingness of heart. God is looking for a willing heart.

He isn’t looking for one who is most qualified. He will qualify those who are willing to take a chance. God will use those who identify a need and go and talk, share the love that the Lord Himself has shared with us. You can become a Joab. Just like us, Joab had problems, he wasn’t perfect by any means. He was flawed. But he was willing.

jerusalem a cup of trembling indeed

Babylonians Seize Jerusalem

Back to our story. David has set up his capitol in Jerusalem. For the next several hundred years the city was controlled by the Jews. Around 722 BC the Assyrians invaded and destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Then in 586 BC the Babylonians came down from the north seized and destroyed the city. The Temple was torn down, and the people were carried back to Babylon. They were held captive for 70 years just as Jeremiah had prophesied. For further study read Jeremiah chapter 21.

Cyrus King of the Medes and Persians conquered the Babylonians and looked at the people and said you can return to Jerusalem. The Book of Nehemiah is the story of the return and rebuilding of the city. This was accomplished under Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, Ezra and Joshua the High priest.

Jesus Arrives

This reign lasted until 66 BC with the Roman general Pompei. During his reign the Jews had a certain amount of power. They still had their kings and did business somewhat as they had before, but the real power was in the hands of the Romans. About this time Jesus as you know appears on the scene and is rejected as King. He is tried falsely and sentenced to death. He indeed died but, glory to God in the Highest He rose from the dead.

Because of the rebelliousness of the people in the year AD 70 General Titus entered the city and burned it to the ground. He destroyed and set the rebuilt temple on fire. There was so much gold in the temple that every stone was upended searching for the melted gold that had flowed down between the stones.

Matthew 24:1-2 “And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, “See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall be not left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

We are told that during this siege that Titus and his men threw 160,000 Jewish bodies over the wall. 99 thousand were carried away as slaves by the Roman army.

The Temple was burned, the city destroyed, the Romans were in control.

The area once inhabited by descendants of Noah have been rooted out by King David. The city once known as Jebus has now become Yerushalayim which means awe and wholeness, reverence and peace. Today we call that city Jerusalem. AD 70 the city was destroyed by Titus. Not one stone of the Temple was left unturned. Many folks lost their lives in this onslaught, and many were carried into captivity.

the timeline

Who Controlled the Land We Call Israel?

During the History of Jerusalem, it was fought over sixteen times. Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times captured and recaptured 44 times.

BC Timeline

2000-1800 BC- Canaanite tribes. Nomads, Shepherds. Often under the rule of Egyptians.

1800 BC- Jebusites descendants of Ham, son of Noah.

1000 BC- David takes Jerusalem from the Jebusites and declares Jerusalem as his capital.

607-586 BC- Babylonians seized control of Jerusalem. During this time several groups of Jews were taken captive and moved to Babylon. During this time the City and Temple were destroyed.

605 BC- Judah was forced into submission by the Babylonians King Nebuchadnezzar II. Daniel and others were taken captive.

539 BC- Cyrus conquers Babylon. Jerusalem became part of the Achaemenid Empire

538 BC- Exiled Jews are allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

516 BC- Second Temple is built.

332 BC- Alexander the Great takes Jerusalem.

320 BC- Nicanor of the Ptolemaic Kingdom takes control of Syria including Jerusalem.

315 BC- Antigonid dynasty gains control of Jerusalem.

312 BC- Jerusalem recaptured by Ptolemy I after which the Seleucid Empire was formed.

312-175 BC- Jerusalem and surrounding area is under conflict, many different rulers gain and lose control.

175 BC- Antiochus IV Epiphanes accelerates efforts to eradicate the Jewish religion. The second Temple is sacked and desecrated.

167 BC- Maccabean revolt.

164 BC- Maccabees capture Jerusalem.

160 BC- Seleucids retake control of Jerusalem.

152-63 BC- Hasmonean dynasty. John Hyrcanus I high priest of Judea who controlled Jerusalem.

73-66 BC- Armenian control.

63 BC- Roman Republic under Pompey besieges the city.

54 BC- Crassus, allied with Caesar loots the Temple.

40 BC- Hasmoneans recaptured Jerusalem lead by a Roman deserter Quintus Labienus. Herod escapes to Rome.

40-37 BC- Roman senate appoints Herod King of Jews. Army provided by Rome gains control of northern Syria and sieges the city of Jerusalem.

37-35 BC- Herod the Great builds the Antonia Fortress.

19 BC- Herod expands the Temple mount the retaining walls include the western wall and rebuilds the Temple, Herod’s Temple.

the ad timeline

AD timeline

6 AD- Herodian dynasty was replaced by Roman prefects.

7-26 AD- A brief period of peace.

28-30 AD- Ministry of Jesus.

70 AD- Siege of Jerusalem, Temple destroyed.

90-96 AD- Jews and Christians heavily persecuted by Domitian.

130 AD- Hadrian rebuilds Jerusalem and dedicates it to Jupiter and calls the city Aelia Capitolina.

132-135 AD- Bar Kokhba revolts against Roman Empire.

136 AD- Hadrian retakes the city forbids Christians and Jews presence in the city.

259 AD- Jerusalem falls under the Palmyrene Empire. A splinter group broke away from Rome.

272 AD- Jerusalem again part of the Roman Empire.

324-325 AD- Constantine wins civil wars of Tetrarchy reuniting the empire.

The first council of Nicaea. The city was renamed Jerusalem. Founding of the Byzantine Empire.

326 AD- Constantine’s mother Helena visits Jerusalem and orders destruction of Hadrian’s temple to Venus which had been built on Calvary.

614 AD- Persians capture Jerusalem. Which pleased the Jews.

629 AD- Byzantine Christians recapture Jerusalem from Persians. Expelling the Jews. They could only enter the city on the ninth of Av to mourn the destruction of the Temple.

638 AD- Caliph Omar enters Jerusalem after a siege of the city. Allowed return of Jews.

661-750 AD- Jerusalem ruled under the Umayyad Dynasty.

691 AD- The Dome of the Rock was built on the site of the destroyed Jewish Temple.

750-974 AD- Jerusalem ruled under Abbasid Dynasty.

1099 AD- Crusaders capture Jerusalem. Many Jews were killed others were placed in slavery. The Jewish quarter was burned. The Crusaders were sent by Pope Urban II to recover the Holy Land from the infidels. Non-Christians were eliminated. The rest of the country was captured either by treaty or outright conquest.

1187 AD- Jerusalem captured by Saladin. Saladin a Kurdish warrior allowed Jews to reenter the city.

1229-1244 AD- Richard the Lionhearted leads the Third Crusade. Briefly capturing the city two times. Saladin had stripped the countryside and poisoned the wells making siege impossible.

1250-1516 AD- Mameluke controlled all of Egypt and Syria. Mamelukes were slave soldiers some from Russia others from the Caucasus. Muslim Caliph dismantles walls of Jerusalem.

1517 AD- Ottoman Empire captures Jerusalem. Ottoman Turks were from central Asia.

1538-1541 AD- Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem.

1917 AD- British capture Jerusalem from Ottomans WW1.

1948 AD- Independent Israel is attacked by Arab coalition of forces. Israel dominates the war. The city of Jerusalem divided. West Jerusalem Israeli, East Jerusalem Jordanian.

1967 AD- Six Day War; Israel captures East Jerusalem, reuniting the city.

1980 AD- Israel declares unified Jerusalem its capital.

This information was gathered from numerous sites.

Got Questions? (Actual name of the website)

Jewish Virtual Library

Timeline of the History of Jerusalem

World History Encyclopedia

Jerusalem Timeline

Wikipedia, Timeline of Jerusalem

robert Stark of Grafted In Ministry

robert & isha Stark

Jim Nilsen and Don Wallace praying for Robert and Isha Stark. Robert is Pastor/Director of "Grafted In" Ministry.

Pastor Bobby Stark, along with his wife Isha and their children Daniel and Charity, have a passion to help believers in Christ know their Hebrew roots. He and Isha have been married for 22 years and have been in ministry their whole married life. For the last 11 years they have been blessed to minister and serve in Israel.

Now living in Glendale, Arizona

“This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” – Psalm 118:23

Daniel, robert, isha, charity

Helping believers in Jesus to know their Hebrew roots!

Our desire is to teach and share our roots in Judaism and how we are grafted into what the Lord started!

We currently have multiple short teaching videos. Bobby also teaches a weekly bible college class in Southeast Asia via Skype and is available to book at your church or home group!

“How odd of God to choose the Jews!”

Someone answered “But odder still are those who choose the Jewish God, but hate the Jews.” -William Ewer (British journalist 1885-1976) His quote unfortunately represents a church and worldview that is Biblically incorrect. We believe through Grafted In, the Lord is helping us to correct this way of thinking.

What we do in Israel is, paint and clean bomb shelters in the city of Kiryat Shemona. Isha, Daniel, Charity and I have been doing this for the last ten years! We’ve led several hundred believers in doing this amazing ministry!

Also, we have been working with some local ministries in Israel doing various projects, “Beautiful land initiative” in Tiberius just cleaning trash in the community and working with IDF soldiers in a town near the West Bank, delivering combat gloves, medical kits and comfort! We also tour doing bible studies and taking our groups to off the beaten path places!

On a Grafted in trip you’ll get ministry opportunities, you’ll eat and shop with the locals and see and meet people that you wouldn’t on a normal trip! We also help put groups together, that don’t think they are able to make a Israel pilgrimage!

"Pray for the shalom in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem); may those who love you prosper.” Psalm 122:6 CJB