The careful reader of the Bible will be in no doubt that the nation of Israel has occupied a special place in the purpose of God. But many people today find this difficult to reconcile with the nature of the modern State of Israel. How did the "special relationship" arise?

The Bible account shows us that the human race, in the early centuries of its existence, massively abandoned the true worship of God, so that "the earth was corrupt....and filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11), thus bringing the divine judgment of the Flood. It was not long, however, before mankind began to show again the same tendencies to evil. God therefore determined to build up a special community, by whom His Word would be preserved. So he chose Abraham, a man of faith, and made outstanding promises to him and his descendants, involving the future possession of the land of Canaan (later Palestine or Israel) and blessings for all the nations (Genesis 12:1-3; 13:14,15).

Abraham's descendants were brought out of Egypt by God's power and were eventually settled in 12 tribes in the Promised Land, Israel. There they lived under the Law, a system of regulations given them by God through Moses, with the intention of training them to be a people devoted to His service. In the following centuries the Jews repeatedly neglected the worship of God and turned to worship the idols of their pagan neighbours, and as a result were driven out of their land by the invasion of foreign powers. They lived for centuries scattered and persecuted, as God has warned them would happen (read Deuteronomy 28). Nevertheless, despite their waywardness, the Jews preserved the Word of God both in the land of Israel and during their exile in other countries.

But the promises God made to Abraham did not only concern the nation of Israel. He was to be "a father of many nations" (Genesis 17:5), though significantly it would be one special Jewish descendant who was to ensure the fulfilment of the promise of blessing for all peoples. This descendant, spoken about so long before, was the Lord Jesus Christ. Later promises made to David, one of Israel's kings, filled out further details of what Jesus would accomplish, and of how "God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever" (Luke 1:32,33).

God's purpose with Israel, then, was to make them a training centre for the faithful in the pagan centuries before Christ. Of them Jesus was born, to proclaim the good news that his faithful servants become children of Abraham by faith and so inherit the promises. So the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians: "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:27-29).

Once the truth about human nature has been grasped, it will readily be understood why human governments throughout the centuries have failed to establish lasting peace on earth. The minds of men are powerless to cope with the severe problems which have arisen, but from the beginning the Bible has foreseen their solution. The intervention of God in human affairs at a critical moment in history is the firm prophecy of the Bible.

The return of Jesus Christ to the earth, just as literally as he left it, was the unanimous hope of the early believers. The Church abandoned it in the early centuries, because Christ did not come as soon as they had hoped, but even more because it did not square with the popular idea of the righteous enjoying their reward in heaven at death. The New Testament repeatedly asserts the Second Coming; the apostles take it for granted in their writings.

The purpose of the return of Christ will be to re-establish the authority of God in the earth. First, there will be the judgment, another clear Biblical teaching which is now widely rejected. Jesus, writes Paul to Timothy, "shall judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom" (2 Timothy 4:1). After the resurrection those individuals who have understood the Gospel of God's grace will "appear before the judgment seat of Christ" to receive the reward of their deeds, "whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Then will come the turn of the nations, who will be summoned to "fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come" (Revelation 14:7). The Bible leaves us in no doubt that the governments of many nations will refuse the summons and will have to learn submission. Thus will begin the re-education of the peoples of the earth under the new kingdom of God with Christ as King. When God's will is understood and obeyed, then peace and justice among men will come to the earth at last.

In Genesis 12:7 Abraham, the father of both Jews and Arabs, was told, "Unto thy seed will I give this land". In Galatians 3:16 the Apostle Paul tells us that the seed was Christ. So then, Christ, before he was born, was promised the land of Israel. The Bible says Christ will return from heaven to set up his Kingdom on earth: the center of his government will be Jerusalem and the land of Israel. A repentant and believing section of the Jewish people will form the nucleus of the population. The Kingdom will bring countless blessings to the world, and not just to Israel. The Bible tells us in Psalm 72, "All nations shall call him blessed" (verse 17).

The murder of God's Son was the ultimate act of rebellion by the Chosen People. Yet even that wicked deed had been anticipated in God's plan. The Apostle Peter, speaking to the Jews in Jerusalem six weeks after the event, insisted that Jesus had been "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Indeed, the prophet Isaiah, in his heart-rending chapter 53, had predicted long beforehand Jesus' suffering: "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (v.3).

Why, you may ask, did God allow His only Son to die in shame and agony? The answer is complex, and yet it is central to God's plan to save men from their sins. On that hill outside Jerusalem, God brought the self-denial and grace and love of Jesus face to face with the human lusts of pride, envy and cruelty which are in all our hearts, and which the Bible calls sins. For three days, sin appeared to have triumphed. But Jesus, the sinless, rose from the grave after that short time, so breaking the power of death for those who believe in him. "He was bruised," Isaiah continues, "for our iniquities . . . and with his stripes we are healed" (v. 5). So, when those conscience-stricken Jews, realising they had killed God's Son, asked Peter on the day of Pentecost what they should do, he explained that the risen Christ had become the sacrifice that could take their guilt away: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." The immediate response was impressive. 3,000 Jews were baptized. But with the passage of time, it became clear that the majority of God's chosen people remained unconvinced. Their pride in being descended from Abraham had blinded them to the need for faith, that quality which entitled Abraham to be called "the friend of God".

"And if you are Christ's," he continued, "then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:29). Imagine that: to be able to enjoy, today, the same mercy and forgiveness God will show to Israel in His Kingdom! And when it comes, to be heirs to Abraham's land, restored in all its beauty, and fellow-heirs to David's throne, and to a world where nations live at peace.

But first, a warning. The coming of Jesus will bring a Day of judgement, when the hearts of Jews and Gentiles are to be inspected by Jesus, the King. We need to make ready for that day. "God's righteous judgment will be revealed," warned Paul. "To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour," he continues, "he will give eternal life; but for those who . . . obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury" (Romans 2:5-8). Glory, honour, immortality - all these can be ours in the Kingdom of God. In his last letter, Paul describes this great reward as "the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me," he concludes, "but also to all who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8).

That day of Jesus' appearing could be very close. There is nothing in the world to stop us from laying hold of the wonderful promises God made to Abraham. The way has been prepared, through His great plan. He has shown us, through the history of His people the Jews, that we can trust His Word - the message of the Gospel contained in the Bible. But we must believe, and be baptized; and then live the life that Jesus requires of his disciples. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16).