ISRAEL IN LAST DAYS PROPHECY
ROMANS 11:1-36
INTRODUCTION:
TODAY WE ARE BEGINNING A SERIES ON WHAT I FEEL IS A FASCINATING ASPECT OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT, THAT BEING LAST DAYS THEOLOGY OR WHAT WE CALL ESCHATOLOGY. DO YOU REALIZE THAT 1/5 OF THE BIBLE IS PROPHETIC IN IT’S WRITING. OF THAT 1/5, 1/3 IS DEVOTED TO THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. THIS MEANS THAT ONE OUT OF EVERY TWENTY-FIVE VERSES IN THE BIBLE SPEAK ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
PROPHECY IS NOT AN EXACT STUDY IN THAT NO ONE CAN PREDICT EXACTLY WHEN THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. WE ARE NOT FORTUNE-TELLERS NOR DO WE USE A CRYSTAL BALL LIKE THEY DO IN EXHIBITIONS OR COUNTY FAIRS, ALTHOUGH I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT PEOPLE WOULD RATHER LISTEN AND GIVE VALUE TO THAT TYPE OF NONSENSE, THAN TO THE WORD OF GOD WHICH HAS SHOWN ITSELF TO BE ABSOLUTELY TRUE IN ALL INSTANCES OF PROPHECY. IN FACT THE ONLY INSTANCES OF PROPHECY THAT HAVEN’T BEEN FULFILLED AS YET DEAL WITH THE DAYS BEFORE WHAT WE CALL THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH, THE TRIBULATION, AND THE MILLENNIUM. WE REFER TO THIS TIME PERIOD AS THE “LAST DAYS”.
WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT SEVERAL ISSUES THAT WILL REVEAL THEMSELVES DURING THESE “LAST DAYS”, BUT NOT AS A MEANS JUST TO INFORM YOU OF WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THIS FOR TWO REASONS. FIRST AS A WARNING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT PART OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WILL FACE IF YOU HAVEN’T MADE A DECISION FOR CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR. SECOND TO REINFORCE THE SERIOUSNESS TO THOSE WHO ARE IN THE KINGDOM OF THE NECESSITY FOR EVANGELISM. THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN, GOD HAS ORDAINED IT, AND FOR US AS CHRISTIANS WE NEED TO DO OUR BEST TO BRING PEOPLE INTO THE KINGDOM SO THAT THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO FACE THE TERROR OF WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS “THE TRIBULATION”. WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT “THE TRIBULATION” LATER IN THE SERIES.
AS I SAID NOONE CAN SPECIFY EXACTLY WHEN THE EVENTS OF THE “LAST DAYS” WILL OCCUR. WHAT WE DO HAVE ARE INDICATIONS FROM SCRIPTURE THAT TELL US THE TIME IS NEAR.
Matthew 24:36-44
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
AND THEN JESUS GIVES THIS INSTRUCTION ALSO IN MATTHEW 24:4-8
MATTHEW 24:4-8:
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
WE’VE BEEN LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS SINCE THE TIME OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, BUT THE FACT THAT WE ARE SEEING MANY OF THE THINGS WHICH I HAVE JUST READ TO YOU HAPPENING NOW, HELPS US TO REALIZE THAT WE ARE CLOSER TO THE COMING OF THE LORD, THAN WE HAVE BEEN IN TIMES PAST.
IN ADDITION TO THIS IS PAUL’S TEACHING IN 2 TIMOTHY CHAPTER 4.
2 TIMOTHY 4:3-5:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
OF ALL THE EVIDENCE TO SHOW US THAT WE ARE LIVING IN THE “LAST DAYS” THOUGH, ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT HAS TO BE THE RESTORATION OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
ISRAEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE. OVER THIRTY-EIGHT CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS RELATE TO THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM, ISSAC, AND JACOB, AND IT IS FROM THESE THREE THAT THE NATION OF ISRAEL IS FIRST FORMED.
THE LORD MADE A COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM, WHO WAS TO BE THEF ATHER OF THE JEWISH NATION. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS COVENANT ARE RECORDED IN Genesis 12:1-3:
Genesis 12:1-3:
The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
IN THIS COVENANT ARE MANY PROMISES TO MAKE ISRAEL GREAT. IT ALSO CONTAINS THE WARNING THAT THOSE COUNTRIES WHO BLESS ISRAEL WILL BE BLESSED, AND THOSE COUNTRIES THAT CURSE ISRAEL WILL BE CURSED. THIS IS THE REASON WE NEED TO STAND WITH ISRAEL AGAINST HER ENEMIES.
WE CANNOT IGNORE THE FACT THAT MANY TIMES ISRAEL CHOSE TO IGNORE THE COVENANT CONDITIONS, AND HAVE PAID AND ARE PAYING A GREAT COST FOR THAT.
DR. DAVID JEREMIAH STATES:
“YES GOD CHOSE THE JEWS. HE SINGLED THEM OUT TO BE THE RECEPIENTS OF HIS GREAT AND UNIQUE COVENANT BLESSINGS. BUT THE GREATER THE BLESSING, THE GREATER THE BURDEN THEY BORE FOR FAILING GOD.
THREE TIMES IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT’S GOD ALLOWED ISRAEL TO FALL INTO EXILE, TO THE ASSYRIANS, THE BABYLONIANS, AND THE ROMANS. IN TODAY’S SOCIETY, THE EXISTENCE OF THE SMALL NATION OF ISRAEL, SURROUNDED BY COUNTRIES WHO WOULD LOVE TO ANNHILATE HER, IS A PHYSICAL TESTIMONY TO THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND HIS PROTECTION FOR HIS PEOPLE.
WHILE OTHER CULTURES HAVE COME AND GONE BUT THE JEWISH CULTURE HAS REMAINED EVEN UNDER THE MOST ADVERSE OF CONDITIONS. IN 1933 FOR EXAMPLE NINE MILLION JEWS LIVED IN TWENTY-0NE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. BY 1945, TWO OUT OF THREE EUROPEAN JEWS HAD BEEN MURDERED. IN FACT SOME THEOLOGIANS HAVE TRACED THE TURMOIL THAT ISRAEL IS SUFFERING NOW AND HAS FOR MOST OF HER EXISTANCE BACK TO THE TIME OF THE CRUCIFIXION WHERE THEY TOLD PILATE TO LET JESUS’ BLOOD BE ON THEM:
MATTHEW 27:24-25:
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” 25 All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
I ALSO FEEL THAT THE UNREST FELT IN ISRAEL TODAY IS PART OF THE VIOLENCE NEEDED, TO USHER IN THE REIGN OF THE ANTI-CHRIST AFTER THE RAPTURE.
THE ROLE OF ISRAEL IN THE LAST DAYS
WHAT THEN IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ROLE OF ISRAEL IN LAST DAYS PROPHECY? IT CERTAINLY ISN’T A GEOGPRAPHIC CONCERN. WHILE THERE MIGHT BE SOME VERY NICE PLACES THERE, MOST OF IT IS DESSERT. MODERN DAY ISRAEL IS NOWHERE THE SIZE OF ISRAEL IN BIBLICAL TIMES. GENESIS 15:18 TELLS US THAT IT STRETCHES ALL THE WAY FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA ON THE WEST TO THE EUPHRATES RIVER ON THE EAST. EZEKIEL FIXES THE NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF PALESTINE AT HAMATH, ONE HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF DAMASCUS, AND THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY AT KADESH, ABOUT 100 MILES SOUTH OF JERUSALEM.
GENESIS 15:18: On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EZEKIEL 48:1: These are the tribes, listed by name: At the northern frontier, Dan will have one portion; it will follow the Hethlon road to Lebo Hamath; Hazar Enan and the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath will be part of its border from the east side to the west side.
EZEKIEL 48:28: “The southern boundary of Gad will run south from Tamar to the waters of Meribah Kadesh, then along the Wadi of Egypt to the Great Sea.
BY TODAY’S STANDARDS THE SIZE OF ISRAEL WOULD INCLUDE; ALL THE HOLDINGS OF PRESENT DAY ISRAEL, LEBANON, THE WEST BANK OF JORDAN, SUBSTANTIAL PORTIONS OF SYRIA, IRAQ, AND SAUDI ARABIA. SHE WILL NOT OCCUPY THIS LAND UNTIL THE MILLENNIUM.
WHAT THEN IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ISRAEL? THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROMANS PASSAGE THAT WE READ TODAY. IT IS THE REBIRTH OF THE NATION AFTER SO MANY CENTURIES OF RULE BY OTHERS. THIS GIVES US A FORM OF TIMELINE THAT WE CAN APPLY TO THE LAST DAYS, NOT TO PIN-POINT WHEN CHRIST IS COMING BACK, BUT FOR US TO REALIZE THAT WE ARE CLOSER THAN WE HAVE EVER BEEN UNTIL THE TIME OF HIS COMING BACK, POSSIBLY WITHIN OUR LIFETIMES. IT IS INDEED POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF US WILL NOT SEE DEATH BEFORE THE COMING OF THE LORD.
SEVERAL PASSAGES PROPHECY THE REBIRTH OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
ISAIAH 11:11-12: In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. 12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
EZEKIEL 36:24: ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land
JEREMIAH 32:37-38: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 39:28-29: Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
MILTON B. LINDBERG STATES:
WITHOUT THE EXISTENCE OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SAY WITH CERTAINTY THAT WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS. THAT SINGLE EVENT, MORE THAN ANY OTHER, IS THE PROMINENT SIGN THAT WE ARE LIVING IN THE FINAL MOMENTS BEFORE THE COMING OF JESUS! THE HEBREW PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CALLED GOD’S TIMEPIECE OF THE AGES.
IT IS INCREDIBLE THAT IN 2006, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1900 YEARS, ISRAEL HAS BECOME HOME TO THE LARGEST JEWISH COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD. FROM THE 650,00 WHO RETURNED WHEN THE JEWISH STATE WAS FOUNDED IN 1948, THE POPULATION OF ISRAEL HAS SWELLED TO 5.4 MILLION, AND IS EXPECTED TO EXCEED 6 MILLION BY 2020.
CONCLUSION:
THE SEEDS OF THE REBIRTH OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL GO BACK TO WWI AND THE BALFOUR DECLARATION OF 1917. ENGLAND DECLARED:
“ HIS MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT VIEWS WITH FAVOR THE ESTABLISHMENT IN PALESTINE OF A NATIONAL HOME FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE, AND WILL USE THEIR BEST ENDEAVORS TO FACILITATE THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THIS OBJECT.”
ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND A SEED FOR THE NATION WAS THE LIBERATION OF JEWISH PRISONERS FROM NAZI DEATH CAMPS. THIS GENERATED SYMPATHY AND DREW WEALTH FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ALLOWING MORE THAN 1,000,000 DISPLACED JEWS TO PALESTINE.
ON MAY 14, 1948 DAVID BEN GURION STEPPED TO A PODIUM, AND UTTERED THESE WORDS.
“THIS RIGHT IS THE NATURAL RIGHT OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BE MASTERS OF THEIR OWN FATE, LIKE ALL OTHER NATIONS, IN THEIR OWN SOVEREIGN STATE. ACCORDINGLY WE…ARE HERE ASSEMBLED…AND BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT, AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JEWISH STATE OF ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL.
LITTLE DID HE KNOW THAT WITH THOSE WORDS A TIMELINE FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD BECAME A REALITY. NOW WE KNOW THAT THE COMING OF THE LORD IS NEAR. THE REAL QUESTION IS WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
I WOULD SUGGEST THESE THINGS:
1. BE GLAD YOU ARE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN. THERE IS NO OTHER KIND OF CHRISTIAN EXCEPT THOSE WHO ARE BORN-AGAIN. AS SUCH YOU WILL MISS THE TERROR OF THE TRIBULATION, AND BE TAKEN INTO GOD’S PRESENCE AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE.
2. PRAY THAT GOD WILL USE US TO BUILD THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THERE IS STILL TIME TO WITNESS, BUT THAT TIME WILL BE OVER WITH THE RAPTURE. MOST PEOPLE WHO GO THROUGH THE TRIBULATION WILL LIKELY NOT BE SAVED. THOSE THAT DO WILL MOST CERTAINLY FACE MARTYRDOM FOR THEIR FAITH.
3. AS A CHURCH, LET US PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL. LET US NOT BE SIDE-TRACKED BY THE ISSUES OF THE DAY, BUT RECOGNIZE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE. POINTERS TO THE SOON COMING OF THE LORD. LET US MAKE OUR STAND ON THE WORD OF GOD, AND NOT BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR THE SALVATION OF EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES.
MAY GOD HELP US LIVE FOR HIM DURING THESE TROUBLED TIMES.
