Let me share two headlines with you. The first one is from Thursday, September 5, 2024, and it is from The New York Post. It has a picture of a Hamas supporter holding a sign that reads, “from the river to the sea” written on the Palestinian flag, and the headline from The New York Post says, “Facebook says this isn’t hate.” That’s from The New York Post!
The second headline is from The Times of Israel. It features a photo of several Jewish men lying prostrate on the Temple Mount in prayer and reads, “Open Jewish prayer, prostration on Temple Mount now ‘routine.'” Talk about conflicting headlines!
God’s Judgement on Israel
Throughout the Old Testament, God sent prophets to warn Israel in the north and Judah in the south that they would receive God’s discipline if they did not stop their idolatry. Israel did not listen to the prophets. And so, God allowed the Assyrians to conquer the ten tribes in the north. One hundred and seventeen years later, God allowed the Babylonians to seize and conquer Jerusalem.
Throughout the Scriptures, God brings His judgment against Israel because of their disobedience and rebellion. Still, then, He is also very clear that His wrath will fall on those Gentile nations that opposed, fought against, and abused Israel.
Are those Old Testament prophetic warnings a foreshadow of what we see in our world today?
Once God dealt with Israel, He turned His focus to the wicked Gentile nations. Is God once against about to turn His focus on protecting Israel? As The Times of Israel headline proclaims, allowing Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is huge.
Jewish Worshipers Lying Face Down on the Temple Mount
Open Jewish prayer and worshipers lying face down on the Temple Mount are now permitted by the police daily. To prostrate oneself in prayer on the Temple Mount is considered a special act of worship. As Israelites make their way up to the Temple Mount, they now cite verses such as Zechariah 14:6, “They will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem,” and Isaiah 45:14, “They will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you.” I can see the prophets of old smiling at this engagement.
During a visit to the eastern side of the Temple Mount, the staff of The Times of Israel witnessed the prayers taking place in full view of police who routinely accompany Jews during their visits. The police also permit prayer with singing and dancing on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. Again, the Bible verse of 2 Samuel 6:14-16 comes to mind as David danced before the Lord.
God Will Regather His Children
When it comes to the nation of Israel, it seems that God has been doing some amazing things of late. Scripture reveals that in the end times, God will regather His children back to the Holy Land. Isaiah 66:7-8 and Ezekiel 37:21-22 prophesied that the state of Israel would be re-established. That prophecy was fulfilled on May 14, 1948. Zechariah 8:4-8 prophesized the Jews would once again re-occupy the city of Jerusalem, and that fulfillment began on June 7, 1967. And Isaiah 11:11-12 prophesied the Jewish people will be regathered in unbelief from the four corners of the earth. We are watching this Isaiah 11 prophecy be fulfilled right in front of our eyes!
Isaiah 11
The regathering of the Jewish people back to the land of Israel is prophesized several times in Scripture. Ezekiel 11:17 says the exiles of Judah would be regathered to their homeland. Ezekiel 34:13 says the people of Israel would return to “their own land.” And Jeremiah 32:36-37 says the Jews would survive Babylonian rule and return home.
Those three verses speak to the first regathering of the Jewish people back to the land of Israel. The first return was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah to take place after Israel had been in captivity for 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10). In Scripture, there are only two regatherings—one regathering has the Jews returning home from Babylon after the Babylonian exile and the second one is in the end times and has the Jews returning home from the four corners of the world. This is why the Isaiah 11 passage is so crucial for today.
The Jewish Population in Israel
For the last 20 years, I have been watching the Jewish population in Israel grow. Knowing as we get closer to the end times, the Jewish population would have to be greater in Israel than the Jewish population living outside of Israel. Again, Isaiah 11:11-12 prophesied the Jewish people would be regathered in unbelief from the four corners of the earth.
Going back to 2008, and using conservative numbers, 13,701 Jews returned home to Israel. Since then, Jewish regathering has increased every year. In 2010, it was 16,635. In 2014, 24,120 Jews returned to live in Israel. And this regathering has Jews from around the world, or as Isaiah prophesied, they are being regathered in unbelief from the four corners of the earth. The Jews are coming home, but they are not becoming any more Messianic. Current numbers have the Holy Land at just 2% Christian.
By 2020, the worldwide Jewish population was 14.7 million, with 6.7 million, or 45% of all Jews, now living in Israel. By 2022, that number had increased to 6.9 million. God is fulfilling His promise right before our eyes! The Jews are returning home, and now they are being allowed to pray on the Temple Mount.
Bow Down Facing West
It is common for Jewish visitors to be taken by a police escort around the Temple Mount counterclockwise from the southwestern corner of the plaza to the eastern side. Now, it is becoming common for these Jewish worshipers—who are worshipers and not visitors—to bow down facing west where the Holy of Holies from the ancient Jewish temples was located, and they are doing this in full view of the police.
The worshipers also prostrated themselves during the afternoon prayer service. The Times of Israel reported on a recent service in which two rabbis gave short lessons lasting only a few minutes each before the police instructed the group to finish their visit. These short services conducted by rabbis are being performed out loud. Another big deal!
God’s Plan of Redemption
One rabbi told the worshipers, “We must give thanks to God, and we have now merited greater closeness to God. Prostration is already a special form of worship on the Temple Mount and the site of the Temple, and this is another stage in the redemption.” Yes, indeed, this is another stage in God’s plan of redemption and the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Maranatha, Lord Jesus!
