I never imagined that I would see in my lifetime Biblical prophecy unfold on such a large scale as we have seen in recent years. Even people who reject the Bible can sense that something really big is about to happen in our world. It’s sort of like watching the wick burn down on a stick of dynamite. I am certainly no prophet, but if I were to guess, I’d say the wick is almost gone.
Nearly 2,800 years ago, God gave supernatural knowledge of events that are occurring in our lifetime to a prophet named Joel. God had warned Israel through Joel that because of the Jewish Nation’s disobedience in rejecting God’s truth, that God would scatter them from the land of Israel.
God did exactly that about 100 or so years after Joel. Then God regathered the people of Israel only to disperse them again shortly after the time of Jesus for their ultimate disobedience of rejecting Jesus, the Messiah spoken about in every book of the Old Testament. The prophetic details that Jesus fulfilled are so amazing that it is simply impossible for Jesus not to have been the Messiah spoken of by Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah and all the other prophets. Not to mention that Jesus is the only Man to have ever raised Himself from the dead!
Joel spoke about a time when God would not only bring the people of Israel (Judah refers to the lower half of Israel) back to the land, but that God would also draw all the nations of the world to Israel to judge them for their rebellion against God and His Chosen People:
For behold, in those days and at that time,When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,I will also gather all nations,And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;And I will enter into judgment with them thereOn account of My people, My heritage Israel,Whom they have scattered among the nations;They have also divided up My land.
Joel 3:1, 2 (NKJV).
A few hundred years after Joel, God spoke through the Prophet Zechariah that the nations of the world would come against Israel in the way that a drunk irrationally goes after whatever has caught his eye:
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:2, 3 (NKJV).
The first thing that is so amazing about these passages is that for almost 2,000 years, since the Romans destroyed Israel, the Jewish Nation was gone. During these 2,000 years, the passages of Scripture quoted above, along with countless others, could simply not be fulfilled because they require the nation of Israel’s existence. However, all that changed on May 15, 1948 when against all odds Israel was reborn after 2,000 years of being scattered around the world!
The second thing that really stands out to me is that the nations of the world are compared to drunks over their infatuation with Israel’s destruction. Is that not what we are seeing today? The irrationality of the world in the way they view Israel and its relation to the Palestinians is insane.
There had always been a Jewish presence in the land, just not enough to build a nation upon it. When Jews started buying property en masse in their old homeland in the late 1800s, the Arabs were happy to sell them what the Arabs saw as wasteland. It wasn’t until the threat of a Jewish nation started becoming a reality after World War I that not only Muslim opposition, but world opposition came against the idea. This caused the land set aside for the creation of a Jewish State to be dwindled down to a mere fraction of what was originally intended for Israel. Note that Joel prophesied, “They have also divided up My land.” Joel 3:2b (NKJV).
Today Israel has made concession after concession with the Palestinians and surrounding nations, but to the world it isn’t enough. They have repeatedly been attacked by their neighbors and condemned by the world, but there they still stand, by the grace of God. Despite the Palestinian calls for peace, it is the Palestinians who have never stopped launching missiles and rocks at Jews. Nevertheless, on May 19, 2011, the President of the United States declared that America is turning its back on Israel.
Should we be surprised? No. Should we be outraged? Yes! From even a secular humanitarian perspective, it is unconscionable how the Jews are being treated. From a Biblical perspective, God said, “I will bless those who bless you, [a]nd I will curse him who curses you; [a]nd in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 (NKJV). In fact, I believe that Jesus was referring to the graciousness of Gentile believers towards Jewish believers during the Great Tribulation, when Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40b (NKJV).
Please watch the following videos and learn more about Israel's struggle. This is not only about Israel, it’s about all of us. God has amazing promises in store for Israel. He also has amazing devastation for all those who will stand against God’s plan by standing against Israel.
The Maps of Israel from maozisrael on Vimeo.
The U.N., Human Rights and Israel from maozisrael on Vimeo.
Jesus said that just before His return, the world would be marked by (1) false messiahs and declarations that the Messiah has returned (note the recent Harold Camping travesty), (2) wars and rumors of war, (3) natural disasters such as famines, disease and earthquakes, (4) persecution of believers (watch this video of a street preacher’s First Amendment Right being violated for “offending people” in the USA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqk4fMBdC5I), (5) great numbers of so called Christians falling away from the true faith, (6) false preachers, and (7) a lack of love for one another. See Matthew 24:3—14.
I don’t have the time here to break each of these down and show you how they are increasing in occurrences, but please trust me when I say that the increase in each of these signs is extremely alarming. In fact, Jesus compared these signs to birth pains, which increase with intensity and frequency as the time of birth approaches, “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:8 (ESV). Israel will play a central role in all of these events. According to Scripture, Israel will in fact come to salvation during the worst of these events when God opens their eyes to the truth about Jesus Christ, their Messiah and ours. See Ezekiel 36:25—29, Joel 2:12—32, Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:26, 27.
If you have never turned from your sin in repentance (having a broken and contrite heart over your sins against God), and trusted in Christ alone for your salvation (specifically that His death on the cross was your punishment), please do it today. The Apostle Paul implores us, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2b (NKJV). If you hear His voice, do as Jesus commanded, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15b (NKJV).
Posts
