Israel was conquered by the Babylonians who began deporting them in 586 BC. Many years later the Persians conquered the Babylonians and the Jews remained under their control. Centuries later, the Greeks, under Alexander the Great, defeating the Persians and ruled the known world. Then in 63 BC, the area of Israel was conquered by Rome, and the Caesars now ruled the land. During this Roman period of world history, Jesus ministered. In AD 70, almost 40 years after Jesus’ death, the Romans destroyed the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and further dispersed the remaining Jews over the next decades.
It is more than just noteworthy to realize at this point that all of these changes of kingdoms were predicted exactly by God’s prophet Daniel before any of them occurred – in some cases, hundreds of years before. (Daniel 2:31-45)
“..over time and with great resolve, a succession of Roman Caesars would follow through on the endeavor of ridding the land of all Jews. In AD 135, to further dissuade the Jews from returning to or living in the land, the Roman emperor Hadrian placed the name Palestine on the area that was formerly the nation of Israel. Palestine is a Latin word meaning, the land of the Philistines. The Philistines had been one of Israel’s the most hated enemies since the earliest of times. Hadrian surmised that naming it thus would so repulse the Jews that they would not want to live there again.” 1
“…the popular and political practice of today’ media calling the Arabs who live or used to live in the land Palestinians is without a doubt a woeful and incorrect usage of the word. The Arab people who live there are not even remotely related to the ancient Philistines. In a technical sense, anyone who has lived in that land for any length of time could be called a Palestinian under the old Roman designation – including the Jews. Before Israel became a nation, the media routinely referred to the Jews who lived in that area of the world as Palestinian Jews.” 1
The “international recognition of Israel” refers to the diplomatic recognition of the State of Israel, which was established by the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948. On May 15, 1948, one day after the declaration of its establishment, Israel applied for membership of the United Nations. On May 11, 1948, the General Assembly by the requisite two-thirds majority approved the application to admit Israel to the UN by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 273. 2
So the word Palestinians does not describe a specific people group nor is Palestine a specific nation or state.
- From The Magic Man In The Sky, p. 112, by Carl Gallups, 2012, WND Books
- Wikipedia, accessed 11/3/2015 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_recognition_of_Israel
