BATTLE FOR THE HOLY LAND

Much of the horrific conflict seen in the land of Israel today centers on the Israelis’ belief that the Bible is their deed to the land. This is based on the covenant God made with his chosen people that goes back to Abraham, and centuries later, Moses receiving the law at Mount Sinai.

But how could the reality of such a covenant be established? Many believe the amazing history of the people of Israel is the strongest evidence for the validity of the Bible and God’s covenant. At the end of Moses’ life he recorded a set of specific prophecies in the Bible about the Israels’ future as a nation. He predicted that:

– They would eventually establish a Kingdom 

– But they would break the covenant, resulting in the kingdom being Destroyed

– The Israelite people would be Scattered to the four corners of the Earth

– In these foreign lands, they would be severely and uniquely Persecuted

– But despite these hardships they would be preserved and one day God would gather them from where he scattered them and they would be Returned to the Promised Land.

Filmmaker Timothy Mahoney sets out to investigate this sequence of predictions as he traces Israel’s ancient historical roots in the land, parts of which are doubted by some scholars. Using the trusted Patterns-of-Evidence approach, he uncovers overwhelming evidence that is hard to ignore. Inscriptions by foreign enemies naming Israelite kings, archaeological destruction layers at Israelite cities, wall reliefs depicting their deportation, records of their presence as exiles in Babylon, and evidence of their unlikely return in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Yet this powerful evidence brings up hard questions. What does it mean to be chosen, why would God allow such suffering among his people, and what does this history have to do with events today?

Inspiring Biblical scenes, along with insights and challenges from leading scholars in the debate, as well as Israeli leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres, combine to display God’s sovereign control of history and his care in sustaining his chosen people. The Israel Dilemma: Ancient Prophecies is the 1st part of a 2-part film series investigating the prophecies of Moses, and later Biblical prophets, to see if they reveal supernatural evidence of the reality of the covenant of God with Israel.