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Signs of the Times Related to: Israel
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3/27/2010 4:47:23 PM
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What can we learn from the nation of Israel? When we look at the current news, Israel has a prime position in the list! Israel is in the process of expanding their land much more than they have since The Six Day War back in 1967. They are now developing east Jerusalem and building new settlements on the West Bank. They are doing this: while fighting Palestinian attacks from Gaza, while facing opposition from the United Nations, and even while being dissed by our president & political leaders. Our rude president, Obama, literally walked out on Israel's prime minister to go eat dinner, leaving him to fend for himself during his recent visit to the white house. Hilary Clinton and other world leaders are steaming mad at Israel yet they will not be moved in their goal to rebuild their land. I say, "their land", because it is their land. It was given to them by God and then reclaimed in 1948 as their homeland with support from the UN. So we see that both from a religious and political stance, the land is theirs and they will do what they want with it. Rightly so!
But does Israel's actions have anything to do with defining the conditions that make up the last days? Does the Bible mention Israel in end of the age prophecies? Does Israel have anything to teach us about the 2nd coming of Christ? The answer to these questions and many others is a resounding Yes! We will look at how Israel's actions and policies play out in the scheme of things but first we need to have a little history of the nation to put it all in proper perspective.
Israel's OriginsFor the sake of time, I will point you to a good reference on the history of Israel from a website which states, "The people of Israel (also called the "Jewish People") trace their origin to Abraham, who established the belief that there is only one God, the creator of the universe (see Old Testament). Abraham, his son Yitshak (Isaac), and grandson Jacob (Israel), are referred to as the patriarchs of the Israelites. All three patriarchs lived in the Land of Canaan, that later came to be known as the Land of Israel. They and their wives are buried in the Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in Hebron." (Read More). However, I will use my time to give some prophetic verses from the Bible that deal with the beginning, development and final condition of the nation in the timeline of world events.
In the Old Testament book of Genesis, we have our first look at the beginning of the nation of Israel in the form of a prophesy from God to Abraham, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me (God), behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." (Genesis 17:4-6). Here God begins to reveal His plan from this world which was to key on the man Abram and his descendants. While God does not overwhelm Abram with all the details here, He does establish the general picture. He was gonna use this man to be "the father of many nations", one of which would be Israel. As we continue, you will see that the plan is singular to be carried out via Israel alone. As a sign of His unchangeable purpose in carrying out His promise to Abram, He changed his name to Abraham. Ironically the other nations that would come from father Abraham would be primarily the Arab nations. God had commanded Abraham to be holy (pure and undefiled) but Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands in an unholy way (See Genesis 16). He had a son, Ishmael, outside of marriage with his wife's (Sarah) slave. This was because his wife did not believe it was possible at her age (90) to have a son. It was Sarah's idea and Abram went along with it. God told Abraham that He would bless that son but it would be Sarah & Abraham's own son that He would use for His purposes: "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac" (Genesis 17:18-21).
Notice the condition of this covenant as it is defined by God: "This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant." (Genesis 17:10-14). God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision as proof of their allegiance to God's promise. This became the foundational distinctive act of the fledgling Jewish people.
As time went on, God kept His side of the bargain by giving Abraham a son at 100 yrs of age (miraculous at the very least): Isaac. Isaac later had a son named Jacob. God reaffirmed His covenant to Jacob personally, and changed his name to Israel! Israel went on to have 12 sons which began the nation of Israel. Ironically, Israel is not really 1 nation, but 12 nations, which fulfilled God's original promise that Abraham would be the farther of "many nation". As time went on, these princes and their children became know as the 12 tribes of Israel. But God was mainly concerned with one of the tribes. The tribe that would become the royal line of Israel: Judah. It was from this tribe that Israel would get their first of many kings; king David. His son became king after him and influenced the world in a way that none other had done for centuries. His name was King Solomon; the wisest man who ever lived according to the bible and other nations of the world in that area. It was from this line that Jesus appeared on the scene. Jesus mother Mary was from the royal line of Judah as was Jesus' step-dad Joesph. OK, enough history, now to bible prophecies about Israel in relation to our day and time: the last days!
Israel in ProphecyThe first reference we will look at comes from the book of Daniel. Daniel was an Old Testament prophet of God who received more information from God about the last days then did any other OT prophet. In fact, God used Daniel to provide us with a "key" that unlocks the ultimate book of prophecy in the New Testament: The Revelation of Jesus Christ! But let's start with the first reference from God about the timeline and purpose of Israel in God's plan for the world:
The Old Testament Account "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:24-27).
God gave Daniel an overview of His plan for the nation of Israel up till the end times. In fact, we find here the first detailed reference in the Bible of the antichrist! Before we look at the text, let me explain that the prophecies are from God and come from His perspective. His is an eternal perspective and time means little in His overall plan. Later we will look at a similar prophesy from the book of Revelation that parallels this style of prophecy almost exactly. You will get the idea as we continue I am sure.
Here God tells Daniel that from his day to the fulfillment of God's plan with Israel would be 70 weeks. The number is not meant to be literal in a sense but implies 70 equal time-frames: weeks. Looking forward from Daniel's day and behind from our day via history, we see that these "weeks" are "weeks" of "years", not "days". We know this historically, because the events have already happened and the dates fit the program. So God told Israel that He would work on this planet via Israel for just another 490 years. The He would be done with His plan for the world up to His main milestone. The establishment of His kingdom on earth under the leadership of the "Messiah". The term "Messiah the Prince" is a reference to the next and last king of Israel who will rule the entire world! The Jews today are still waiting for the fulfillment of this prophesy! They stand at the wailing wall in Jerusalem 24/7 praying to God for the revelation of their Messiah. Unfortunately, He already came exactly 69 "weeks" after this prophecy in the Person of Jesus Christ. But the Jews had the Romans nail him to the cross. This caused God's clock to stop! The power went out at exactly 69 weeks as God told Daniel it would in the above passage! Their remains 1 last "week" for that clock to go! And God told Daniel what would happen in that last "week"; last 7 years. But first notice that the reference says that after 69 "weeks" or 483 years, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks (7) ... after threescore (3 * 20 = 60 + 7 = 67 weeks) and two (67+2 = 69) weeks shall Messiah be cut off (69*7=483years), but not for himself"! Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself?
Jesus (the Messiah) said, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.". Jesus laid down His life so that we might be saved. He died willingly in our place that we may live through Him. Jesus told Peter that He would establish His church which would be His bride. Once a bride is ready, the marriage takes place! This will happen at the Rapture! So in our time, before that Rapture and after the death of Jesus, the clock has stopped at 483 years. This time of "preparing" the bide, we call the church age. During this time God stops dealing with the Jews and deals with the world via the church in order to fulfill the first part of God's prophecy to Daniel: "to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness" (Daniel 9:24)! Sound familiar?: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)!
OK, so let's look at what happens AFTER the Rapture when the "Bride of Christ" (the church) is removed from the world. Notice first that the clock starts ticking again... ticking away the last 7 years! "and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:26-27)! The people of the "prince" (antichrist) shall destroy Jerusalem (the true capital of Israel) and the antichrist himself will sit on the throne of David proclaiming that he is God the messiah. This is what Daniel refers to as "the overspreading of abominations" or the ultimate obamanation (sry abomination)! Here we see that the clock has started again and God is now dealing with the world via the nation of Israel again. This will happen for 7 years, the last 7 years of Daniels 70 "weeks"! NOTE: God's prophecy to Daniel, clearly supports the 7 year pretribulation rapture of the church! But after the rapture of the Church, God's wrath falls on all mankind: "and that determined (7 bowls and 7 seals of the book of Revelation) shall be poured upon the desolate (lost souls on earth)".
The New Testament Account "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them." (Revelation 12:1-12)
Here we have a New Testament prophecy from God of His dealings with the world via the nation of Israel. And, like Daniels account, it too follows the same timeline representation. First notice that God chose Israel to be His instrument for dealing with the world and the world's condition of sin. Here we have Israel depicted as a women on earth "with the sun above and the moon below" prepaid for God's redemptive purposes for all of mankind. She wears a crown of 12 stars (12 tribes of Israel) and is about to give birth to a Son (the Messiah). John goes on to say that perched in front of their pregnant woman in labor is another entity: "and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born". But though the dragon was able to see the male child killed, he was not victorious as the child was not totally destroyed. Rather "she brought forth a man child, who was (and is) to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne". At this time, the Messiah Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended back to His throne in heaven where He rules the universe as God Almighty.
Here the clock stops! This is a parallel prophecy to the one in Daniel. Israel is formed, Israel gets a royal bloodline, Israel's rightful King of Kings is revealed, Israel fails to recognize her King, Her king is slain by the dragon (Satan) as he uses Israel to reject Him, Israel's clock stops till the time of the antichrist! Notice what happens next... "And the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (1,260 days/360 days in an Israeli year = 3 1/2 years)" During the last half of the last 7 years (or Daniels 70th "week"), Israel is protected buy God in the mountains surrounding the land of Israel! Why the last half or last 3 1/2 year of the tribulation? Remember I said Daniel was the "KEY" to the book of Revelation? In Daniel, we already seen that for the first half (3 1/2 years) of the 70th "week", the nation of Israel is at war with the antichrist armies. It is not till the "ultimate obamanation (sry abomination)" in the middle of the "week", when the antichrist prevails over Jerusalem and sits on the throne of David saying he is God! Once that happens, the righteous Jews will remember Daniel's words and will flee him into the mountains where they are protected by God Himself for the last 3 1/2 years of time ticking on the clock of time!
Lastly, Jesus, the True Messiah God, returns with His army of angels, takes over control of the world, ushers in His Kingdom of Heaven on earth... and the antichrist, false-prophet and Satan are evicted from the planet into Hell! Now let's look at 1 more reference to Israel in the last days from the mouth of Jesus Himself!
Jesus the Messiah's Account "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (Matthew 24:32-34)".
Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives just outside the city of Jerusalem and His disciple came to Him asking: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3) Jesus told them about many of the signs that would come in the verse that followed such as war, famine, false prophets and false Christ. But He concluded His answer with a reference they all understood very well! He used the illustration of a fig tree which they knew from their teaching was God's view of Israel. But what they did not know was that Isarel would soon be destroyed (70 AD about 40 years later) and that the Jews would no have thier homeland back till the last generation! We, on the other hand, know that they did indeed get their land back in 1948! And they got Jerusalem (their true capital) back in 1967! But notice what Jesus said about the newly revived Israel after it's winter in dispersion: "When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves". This is a direct refrence to our day! Jesus was saying in effect: when Israel starts expanding and taking contorl of their land... growing! We see that in the news today! That prophecy is litterally being fullfilled right before our eyes in 2010!
Jesus goes on to say that, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled"! WE ARE THE LAST GENERATION! And the HOURGLASS is Running Empty! 2010 The Year of Destiny - R U Ready?
Jesus also reminded them of our previous text from the book of Daniel when He stated, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains" (Mathew 24:15-16). Jesus knew that they understood that reference, but He was really addressing the Jewish nation of our day! He knew that the people of Israel would know, and be watching for, the obamnation (sry abomination) of desolation when the antichrist would sit on David's throne and proclaim that he was their Messiah - God! He told them to "flee into the mountains" where they would be protected by God Himself as we discussed earlier from the Revelation passage above! All that remains to get the clock started again is the Rapture of the church!
Now the Rapture is about to occur, God's Clock is about to tick away the Last Seven Years! Israel is ready, the antichrist is on stage, the wrath of God is hanging over our heads ready to be poured out on us.... R U Ready? If you don't know Jesus as you Lord and Savior, Accept Him TODAY, or face His wrath!
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Summary
We are being
warned! God is showing us what His purpose for this
world entails. As we get closer and closer to the end,
the world has become more and more sinful! And
unfortunately, this condition will worsen till He
returns and redeems us from ourselves. Don't let sin,
self or Satan who has invaded our planet separate you
from the free gift of salvation that Jesus extends to
you in His invitation to be born-again:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send
His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that
the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes
in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe
is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)
Are You Ready? If not get ready, "Repent
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand"!
Click to Read:
Luke 13:3;
Ephesians 2:8-9;
Romans 10:8-13;
Acts2:38
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