I was born in western Kentucky in 1966. Over the last 58 years, so much has transpired—and so much has changed!
When I was just three years old, my parents sat me in front of our black-and-white television so I could witness the first moon landing. Those grainy images from so far away seem quaint today, given our nonstop exposure to high-definition scenes from around the world and distant corners of the universe.
Certainly, our technology has evolved and progressed, while our spiritual and moral condition seems to be devolving—and at an accelerating pace! The breakdown of Western society, let alone the social fabric of our nation, leaves Christians and non-believers alike to wonder, what in the world is going on?!?
Behind the Scenes
There can be little doubt that Satan is raging right now. Realizing that his time is short, he is pulling out all the stops to deceive mankind, sow discord and destruction, and thwart God’s plan. But the will of God cannot be hindered. Jesus Christ is still on the throne of Heaven and none of the chaos on Earth is catching Him off guard.
We may like to think He is working behind the scenes, but for those who have studied Bible prophecy, the Signs of the Times are shouting that history is approaching its final culmination.
Nowhere is God’s orchestration of world events displayed more dramatically than in the Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). In fulfillment of prophecy, He allowed it to lie desolate for over 18 centuries. In fulfillment of prophecy, He has drawn His Chosen People back to claim the Land promised to Abraham and his descendants. In fulfillment of prophecy, He has protected and preserved the Jewish people, right in the face of satanically-inspired hatred and animosity all around—and often within—their own territory.
For those with spiritual eyes to see, the “miracle in the desert” is the greatest sign of all that Jesus is coming soon.
Desolate Land
During the Old Testament period, Israel was the home of foxes, bears, and lions (Judges 15:4, 2 Kings 2:23-24, and 1 Samuel 17:34-37). Vegetation was plentiful and the Land produced tremendous bounty.
Following the exodus, spies who entered Canaan reported a Land flowing with milk and honey—the milk of goats and date honey. They also brought back pomegranates, figs, and a cluster of grapes so massive that two men had to carry it suspended on a pole (Numbers 13:23). During Solomon’s reign, the society produced enough bounty to support fortified cities with expansive stables of horses.
But due to their disobedience and rebellion, God allowed periodic pestilence, famine, and war to impact His wayward people. By late in the First Century AD, Roman oppression had devastated Jerusalem and what was then labeled Palestine as well. In the centuries that followed, the Land of Israel saw more bloodshed and more devastation. The Romans were followed by the Arabs, the Fatimids, the Turks, the Crusaders, the Egyptians, and the Mamelukes—among others. From 1517 to 1917, the Ottoman Empire ruled the Land with callous disregard.
The Ottomans were Islamists who did not care much for the Land. Ottoman taxation policy led to the denuding of the trees and vegetation throughout the Land (because trees were taxed). That is why Mark Twain found the Land desolate and devoid of population outside a few scattered cities and villages.
” …[a] desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse…A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action… We never saw a human being on the whole route… There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” – Mark Twain
Scattered People Regathered
But God had promised to regather Israel to the Land and restore their prosperity. He commanded Ezekiel to prophesy:
Thus says the Lord GOD, “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.” (Ezekiel 28:26)
This prophecy is still being fulfilled. And the fact that God’s promise was slow to be fulfilled does not lessen its significance. If anything, it demonstrates the miraculous nature of the regathering to inhabit the Land once again. Jeremiah said this regathering would be so amazing that it would make the Exodus from Egypt pale in comparison:
‘Therefore, behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when it will no longer be said, “As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,” but, “As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.” For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.’ (Jeremiah 16:14-15)
Even now, most Jews and far too many Christians fail to recognize the miraculous fulfillment of ancient prophecies right before our eyes. Followers of Christ, who are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and given eyes to see and ears to hear, certainly should be praising God for His great faithfulness.
But there’s more…
Never to be Removed
The Lord also declared that when the Jews were regathered to Israel, they would never again be removed. His Word makes clear that the Jewish people will be hated and opposed by the surrounding nations. Those who said “Aha!” every time Israel suffered the discipline of God in the Old Testament will once again gloat at the thought of Israel’s demise.
In due time, all the nations of the world will come against Israel and Jerusalem. We are beginning to see that animosity borne out in failed institutions like the United Nations. We see the exuberant but irrational hatred of nations and terrorists incited by Satan himself. We even see the fickle nature of “frenemy” nations who oppose as often as they bless Israel.
The consistent demand of one American administration after another for Israel to “restrain itself” in the face of existential threats and outrageous, offensive attacks is as maddening as it is outlandish. Every US President for the past 60 years has insisted that Israel—in direct violation of God’s Word—must relinquish the Land in exchange for an elusive and never-realized peace. Do not forget that Hamas came to power in Gaza after the Bush Administration demanded that Israel support its ill-conceived peace efforts.
To this day, the constantly-cited American policy is to support a “Two-State Solution”—imagining a state of Israel and a state of Palestine co-existing in the Promised Land. Such a policy ignores the clear Arab antipathy to such an idea; Palestinian Islamists insist on the eradication of Israel and the annihilation of the Jews to claim all the land “from the river to the sea.” Feckless Secretaries of State like Anthony Blinken do not even bother recognizing that such a demand requires the obliteration of the State of Israel.
But the sovereign Lord has promised a different new world order that that of the blind leaders who disdain His Word. Amos 9:11-15 reveals:
‘In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may repossess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name,’ declares the LORD who does this. ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘When the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved. Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,’ says the LORD your God (NASB).
As Arab nations plot to destroy Israel, the UN resolves to ostracize the single democratic nation in the Middle East, and the West dithers and divests, Israel will endure. Not because of the IDF’s strength or Israeli elected leaders’ prowess, but because the LORD God Almighty has promised.
God’s purpose and plan for the Jewish people is not yet complete. He has grafted in other branches to the Righteous Branch and called other people to become a spiritual priesthood, bearing witness to Him on the Earth. But His ancient prophetic promises are still “Yes and Amen,” even if they are fulfilled in a slow-motion manner.
For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES. Therefore also through Him is our AMEN to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:20)
In Part 2, we will explore the prophetic events that happened in Israel in our modern day and reveal how they point to the soon return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
