The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Israel is Fulfilling Bible Prophecy

When I read “Wake up, Israel: Time has come for dramatic reassertion of Israeli sovereignty” by Robert D. Onley of YNetNews.com (Nov. 18, 2008), I thought, “Wow, this article’s summation of Israel’s current predicament is dead-on Bible prophecy!” Check it out:

“No other nation on earth except Israel remains under the persistent attacks of an enemy whose reason for existence is the absolute destruction of the Jewish state. Few other nations would permit this barbarity.

Globally, only Israel is ludicrously lambasted by the collective world body as the ‘greatest threat to world peace.’ Even Iran fails to achieve such an honor from much of the world.

This, at a time when global jihad has been openly declared by Islamic terrorists, horrendous attacks occur almost bi-weekly somewhere in the world and Iran flagrantly ignores international demands to halt uranium enrichment while its president publicly denies the Holocaust.”

Why is the world against Israel? What has Israel done to be hated by so many? What makes them more despised by generally the world at large more so than the butchers in Myanmar, the slavers in Sudan, the Communists of China, the terrorists in the Middle East, and the Hindu mobs of India? The answer is simple — Israel is God’s prophetic time clock. Eliminate the nation and people, and the promises of God to believers in Christ, to Israel, and for Jesus’ return to reign are nullified. It’s a satanically-backed rage that marks Satan’s time in this age as swiftly coming to an end (Acts 4:25-26; Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12:12).

“In an era where instantaneous electronic communication is the norm, Israel deals with an enemy in Gaza whose only true form of persuasion remains daily Qassam rocket and mortar barrages. And what of the supposed ceasefire?”

Instantaneous electronic communication and world-wide travel increasing knowledge and awareness of global events is in of itself a sign that Jesus will be returning soon. “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge” (Dan. 12:4).

“Indeed, where in the UN Charter does it say that if a nation is subject to terror attacks, then that nation can be blamed for causing them? And who among Israel’s political elite is actually convinced that some form of negotiated agreement, imposed or otherwise, will permanently end hostilities with Hamas and appease its leadership? Surely the failure of the current ceasefire should serve as a stark warning for any future permanent ‘ceasefire.’

This censure is not meant to cast the ‘peace process’ as ultimately hopeless or impossible, nor to placate the UN as a meaningless collection of duplicitous extremists. Not yet anyway.

Rather, Israel must insist that the only acceptable precondition for any sort of negotiated peace ‘agreement’ should be the absolute cessation of terror — and that’s what Hamas’ rocket and mortar attacks are — and until this terror has ceased, the unrelenting persecution of those committing the attacks must go on. This execution of anti-terror policy must once again extend to Hamas’ leadership.”

Endless talk of peace for Israel with its hostile Arab neighbors vaguely masks the world’s true desire to force Israel into an indefensible position so as to eradicate the Jewish people. “‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14).

“Perhaps some reminders are in order: Israel is the legal, independent state established in 1948 and recognized by the UN. Israel possesses a legal army that defends the Israeli people. And as a result of these two facts: Israel has the right to act to defend herself in removing existential threats to its existence. The recent lull in violence cannot be used to enhance Hamas’ position by legitimating their despicable actions.”

In Matthew 21:18-19 Jesus had put a curse on a barren fig tree causing it to wither. The fig tree as a symbol of the nation of Israel can be found in Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 24:1-10; Joel 1:7; Luke 13:6-9. The curse was a prophetic sign that God would set the Jewish nation aside because of their spiritual barrenness — that is, their refusal to accept Jesus as their Messiah. Then, the next day, Jesus in the great end-time explanation of Matthew 24 in verses 32-34 calls the fig tree to mind and says, “Watch it. When it reblossoms, all these things will happen.” The setting aside of Israel occurred in 70 A.D. The reblossoming took place in 1948 when the nation of Israel was re-established.

Israel as a nation has indeed returned after almost 1900 years. As Isaiah 66:8 states, “Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.”

Jesus also said that all the things He had spoken of concerning the Tribulation will be fulfilled during the generation that sees the “fig tree” reblossom. Israel’s return marks our generation as the one that will see the Lord’s return.

“The land Israelis inhabit is Israel’s land — historically, Biblically, internationally and legally. Moreover, there exists no room for historical fidgeting. Enemy powers have come and gone in attempting to annihilate Israel and its people. They destroyed the Temple and built over top of its ruins, but by divine grace, within the lifetimes’ of many still alive today, Israel was brought back together. Moreover Israel possesses incomparable wealth and power and indeed is the envy of many nearby; this wealth will only grow larger with time. So too will the envy.

As Israel’s enemies fast encircle the land in preparation for a war to once and for all wipe the Jewish state ‘off the map,’ Israelis must not be deceived by the ‘peace’ talks with Syria, the ‘lull’ in violence with Hamas, or the calm vis-à-vis Hizbullah after the 2006 war. These moments are but fleeting mirages; Israel’s enemies are not.

Leaders in Jerusalem must realize that one day soon, Israel will ultimately be alone in the world. Which world power legitimately can and will defend Israel once the United States packs up from Iraq and goes home to lick its wounds? Will Barack Obama supernaturally appear in the sky to save ‘God’s Chosen People?’ Perhaps the Europeans will reluctantly pick up their guns to protect the same people they practically annihilated a mere 63 years ago? What of the ‘new,’ worldlier Russians? That would be the same Russians assembling Iran’s nuclear program and supplying Syria’s offensive missiles.

And so it seems even Israel’s so-called ‘friends’ would not care much if the Jewish state would cease to exist tomorrow. That would actually solve a lot of the world’s problems.”

God gave the land of Israel to Abraham (Genesis 17:8) and to his descendants through Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5) and Jacob (Genesis 28:1-4,13-14). The Abrahamic Covenant (about 2,000 B.C.) gave the title of the land to the Jews for eternity. The Canaan Covenant (about 1250 B.C.) defined the terms for possession and use of the land. Title and possession are not the same thing. The Jews have lost possession of the land from time to time, but they have never lost their God-given title. And so, the article’s author is 100% correct, the land is not the Palestinian’s land, but the Jew’s land.

As for Russia, Israel’s wealth is what draws Russia like a “hook in their mouth” down to attack Israel in the Ezekiel 38-30 Gog-Magog Invasion. The result to Russia and Iran will be as Ezekiel 38:22-23 states, “I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

As for the EU, the Europeans will not help the Jews after centuries of anti-semitism. Instead, they are destined to be ruled first by the Antichrist. In Daniel 9:26-27 the Antichrist is referred to as “the prince who is to come,” and he is identified as being from the people who “will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” We know from history that both Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Therefore, according to Daniel, the Antichrist must be of Roman heritage. He will establish a covenant of peace with Israel at the beginning of the 7-year Tribulation, but only to break it midway.

As for the United States, all the nations of the world will come together against Israel over the issue of the control of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:1-3), and the United States is leading in the goal of splitting Jerusalem. And, at the end of the Tribulation, ALL the nations will be under the control of the Antichrist and against Israel, including the United States (Zech. 12:3).

“History demands that Israel wake up, stop its internal bickering and incessant dithering, recognize its extraordinary past and patently defend the land it rightly possesses. If Israel does not do so, one day soon there will be more than just a few Arab nations calling for a ‘final solution’ to the Middle East conflict.

Decisions must be made today to defend against that future. Indeed, a nation that lacks the will to safeguard its sovereignty will one day simply fail to exist. Israel cannot fail at this crucial juncture; may history guide and protect her footsteps in these perilous times. Alas, no one else is willing.”

Israel is currently like sheep without a shepherd, lacking cohesive leadership and direction. As the article’s author laments, a nation in this condition cannot survive. But, God will use their feeble condition to bring them back to Him. The lack of leadership and the rage of the nations against them will by the end of the Tribulation bring the Jews to the end of trusting in themselves, making them finally accept Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 9:27-28, Romans 11:25-27). To that end, lies Israel’s — and the believer in Christ’s — hope.

Bible prophecy is alive right before our eyes — Maranatha!

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

3 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Will the United States actually be a player on the world scene at this time? I doubt it. If the rapture occurs before the revealing of the anti-christ then most Americans will be gone from the world. The United States will be in such a state of chaos I doubt it could respond in any way to the world situation. Perhaps those left behind would be destroyed in a nuclear attack on the United States by Russia prior to it’s invasion of Israel. This is just speculation on my part but it could happen.

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