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Armageddon, the Middle East, and the BibleThe Watchtower—1985 | January 15
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Possessing the Promised Land—“For Ever”?
What, though, about the land on which the State of Israel is situated? Does God have some sort of special interest in it? Many, such as Protestant theologian William Hurst, think so. Said Hurst: “No parcel of land on the face of the earth has been more sought after or more constantly in the attention of the society of nations than has the land of the Jew.” Quoting Genesis 13:14, 15, he reminds us that God promised that he would give this land to Abraham’s seed “for ever.”—King James Version.
Is Jehovah God thus obliged to protect the land of Israel from invasion? If so, a Middle Eastern “Armageddon” could be imminent. Nevertheless, God merely told Abraham that his offspring would occupy this land, not forever, but for an “indefinite” period of time.b (Genesis 13:14, 15) By rejecting Jesus Christ, they lost all claim to this land—and God’s protection.
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Armageddon, the Middle East, and the BibleThe Watchtower—1985 | January 15
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b Although the Hebrew word ‘oh·lam is rendered by some as “forever,” according to Hebrew authority William Gesenius, it means “hidden time, i. e. obscure and long, of which the beginning or end is uncertain or indefinite.” Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament adds: “With the preposition ‘ad, the word can mean ‘into the indefinite future.’”—Compare Deuteronomy 23:3; 1 Samuel 1:22.
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