HOME Israel - Eye of the Storm
By Brian C Thomas
Introduction
In this article, we will look in depth at two books of the Bible as they speak of Israel and the last days: Matthew 24 and Ezekiel 38. We are looking at what the Bible says about the last days as many are looking around at the events in the world and sense that something is on the verge of happening. We are seeing economies struggle to stay alive as unemployment rates soar world-wide. We are seeing devastating earthquakes throughout the earth. And then we see rioting circling the globe and the overthrow of dictators is becoming a common theme in the Arab nations. Believe it or not, all of these things are pointing to a future event. And the Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future and has a 100% accuracy record. As we look back, we see that the Bible has been accurate in foretelling what was future then but is history now as it described the first coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can be totally confident that when the Bible speaks of our future where scripture promises that He will return again, that God will indeed keep His promises. Now I have recently looked at many of the signs of the times but today I will speak on what I believe is the most important. And I’m referring to the nation Israel and her re-gathering together in the land again. This event is not just a sign of the times, prophecy commentators often refer to it as a super sign of the times and I am certainly included in that group.
Key Events
The Bible speaks of a number of key events that are related to the holy land in the end times:
1 – The Bible predicted that Israel would be scattered throughout the world and then re-gathered together as a nation.
2 - The Bible says that a coming world leader, known as the antichrist, will make a covenant with the nation of Israel only to later desecrate their Temple in what is described by Jesus as the abomination of desolation.
3 - The Bible also predicts that a major force from the north of Israel will attack in the last days after she has been re-gathered together in the land.
4 - The Bible tells us of a great war known as the battle of Armageddon will be fought in the valley of Megiddo in the land of Israel in the end times.
5 - The Bible tells us that our great Messiah Jesus Christ will come back to Israel placing His foot on the Mount of Olives to claim His earthly kingdom and begin the New Millennium.
Fig Tree
The message that I want to draw your attention to is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse. The words by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 were delivered on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in response to the question, “what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” So I am going to focus on Matthew 24:32-34.
Jesus says, “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place”. So Jesus tells us here look at the fig tree. Why does He say that? What is the significance of this? What does the fig tree represent? Well turn to Hosea 9:10. There we find a passage among many in the Bible which make it is clear that in scripture a fig tree is a symbol of the nation Israel. In Hosea 9:10, God says, “I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.” And then further evidence is found in Joel 1:7 which reads, “He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree;” This was in reference to the land of Israel. So Jesus is telling us that the rebirth of Israel or the budding of the fig tree will be a super sign of the last days. And the prophet Ezekiel stated the same as well.
Valley of Dry Bones
The Lord set Ezekiel in the midst of a valley of dry bones and then asked Ezekiel the question – “Son of man, can these bones live?” And as Ezekiel obeyed the command of God to prophesy to the bones, the bones came back together, flesh returned to them, they received breath and stood as a great living army. Then God interpreted the vision for him and said in Ezekiel 37 beginning at verse 11, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.” So Ezekiel was told to preach to a multitude of people in graves. They come alive and God says these are His people coming back to their own land again. How many times have you heard a sermon on the valley of dry bones in which they are compared to a dead church that needs revival and Israel is never mentioned in the message? Well there are indeed dead churches that need revival but without a doubt, the true context of the valley of dry bones refers to the rebirth of the nation of Israel.
Interesting the text says they will say, “our hope is lost.” One of the greatest tragedies in human history is the Holocaust which took place during WWII. It’s kind of puzzling to think that the United States and the rest of the world apparently were unaware of the full impact of what was happening to the Jewish people throughout Europe. Adolf Hitler had formulated a satanically inspired idea that was implemented by many who assisted him, men like Adolf Eichmann, Heinrich Himmler and others to bring about what they called the Final Solution. The goal was the complete eradication of the Jewish race from Europe. They wanted to kill all of the Jewish people, completely wiping out their race. They thought of them as sub-human. At first they just had German soldiers shoot them but then realized that many didn’t have the stomach for it. They needed a more, as bad as it sounds, efficient way of doing it. So they created these horrific death camps, concentration camps with names like Treblinka, Ravensbruck and of course the famed Auschwitz. At these camps, 6 million Jewish men, women, and children were gassed, shot, tortured, experimented upon, and then barbarically put to death. This event was devastating for the Jewish people all around the world.
But an amazing and interesting thing began to happen despite this horrible event. The Jewish people began to realize, perhaps for the first time collectively, “we cannot look to others to protect us…no one will stand up for us…we need to get back to our land.” And Ezekiel’s prophecy started to unfold right before our eyes as the Jews began to return to Israel and on May 14, 1948 history was made when Israel became a nation. This is the same nation of Israel that existed thousands of years ago so it was not the first time she was a nation. But she was born again as a nation, re-unified as a people and the prophetic time-clock started to tick and tick loudly; an extremely significant moment.
Dr. Tim Lahaye authored a book “Are We Living in the End Times”, and said quote “the smell of the Holocaust is still fresh in their memories” end quote. In the 1950s, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said quote “Ezekiel 37 has been fulfilled and the nation Israel is hearing the footsteps of the Messiah” end quote. And then on Holocaust Remembrance Day January 27, 2010 in Auschwitz, Poland, the current Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, made this amazing statement, “We have returned to our homeland from every corner of the earth. The Jewish people rose from ashes, dry bones became covered with flesh as spirit filled them and they lived and stood on their own feet as Ezekiel prophesied”. Mr. Netanyahu then went on to quote Ezekiel 37:11-12. Amazing, I mean there are many Christian pastors that even today see no significance in Israel. But here a political figure, the Prime Minister of Israel acknowledges that the Jewish people re-gathered together as a nation is a clear fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And I am sure that Mr. Netanyahu has read the rest of Ezekiel chapters 37 and 38 that describe what follows and we’ll look at that in a few moments of what is still yet to come for Israel. But Bible prophecy was fulfilled.
Israel – The Epicenter
This tiny little nation that hugs the Mediterranean Sea known as Israel is practically in the news headlines every single day; this tiny real estate of land that is at one point only 9 miles wide. The entire nation is only about the size of New Jersey with a population of 7.5 million. But yet the focus and attention of the world is constantly on Israel and specifically on Jerusalem. Go to any world news outlet on the internet and you are pretty much guaranteed to see something going on with Israel. Why is that? Well, the answer is quite simple: Israel is at the center of events that point to the return of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Yes, Israel is the eye of the hurricane of the great events of the end of the age. She is front center stage on God’s great drama of the ages. As Joel Rosenberg says, “Jerusalem is the epicenter of world events”. And we see that playing out before our very eyes. But sadly, only a small minority of Christians recognizes that God’s holy word is being fulfilled in this small nation. But God predicted this long ago! He made a special promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 9 in which He stated, “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you.” This means Abraham and all of his descendants which are the Jewish people. Take out the history book and look at all the nations that have raised its hand against Israel or against the Jewish people and see how things worked out for them. Nations like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, and in more modern times Spain and Germany. And perhaps very soon Russia, have gone against Israel and have paid a heavy price at the hand of God. I believe that one of the reasons that God has blessed the United States of America has been because of our support of the nation Israel. And that’s why it’s a big, big mistake for us to twist the arm of Israel. Our nation played a key role in Israel’s rebirth in 1948 and was the first country to officially declare Israel a new nation. We had been a great ally to Israel for decades but in recent years, we have seen our leaders turning more and more against Israel. God said, “I will bless those who bless you (speaking of the Jewish people) and I will curse him who curses you.” As Christians, we need to be in fervent prayer that our politicians will bless the nation of Israel. God refers to Israel as the apple of His eye in Zechariah 2:8. When you touch Israel is like poking a finger in the eye of God. Would you stand by and let someone repeatedly poke you in the eye? Don’t think that God will either.
Jerusalem – Past, Present, Future
And God also said that Jerusalem would be the focal interest point of the entire world. Jerusalem! Ironically the very name means city of peace. But Jerusalem has witnessed more wars fought at her gates than any other city on the face of the earth.
When it comes to the return of Christ, it’s as if flashing neon lights hover high above Israel and Jerusalem telling the whole world “look at me, Christ is coming soon!” But much of the world is asleep. Certainly current international politicians do not get it as they constantly defy the word of God by attempting to divide the land. Look at Jerusalem. Why is it the epicenter? Because it is the city of the past, the present, and the future.
First of all Jerusalem is a city of the past. If you remember from the Bible, it became the capital of Israel under King David and was actually known as the City of David. It was there in Jerusalem that the first and the second temples were built. It was there in Jerusalem at Mount Moriah which is the area that we know now as the Temple Mount that Abraham was willing to offer his son Isaac to the Lord. As much as it is a city of the past, Jerusalem is also the city of the present. After the modern state of Israel was announced in 1948, their war of Independence left the city of Jerusalem divided with Jordan maintaining control over the Old City which included the Temple Mount and most of the historic sites. But during the Six-Day war in 1967, and I might add when Israel was attacked, they were able to regain control of all of Jerusalem and for the first time in many centuries, Jerusalem was under control of the Jewish people again and the prophetic clock began ticking even louder! The city of the past, the city of the present, Jerusalem is the city of the future!
The Bible tells us that the final conflict of this age is not going to be fought over Los Angeles or Rome or Tokyo or New York City or London or any other city. It’s going to be Jerusalem. That’s why the Bible constantly says pay attention to Jerusalem. Luke 21:20, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.” Zechariah 12, God says, “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."
Right now there is turmoil throughout the Middle East. Earlier this year, Egypt erupted in chaos and overthrew its leader, and then you have Libya which has just assassinated its dictator by way of a revolution and we see the chaos spreading throughout the region. And then we wonder what will be the result of all of this? The concern is that radical Islamic factions might move in and do in Egypt and Libya what has already happened in Iran. Now there’s one group that is touted as being moderate that calls itself the Muslim Brotherhood. Inexplicably our government is negotiating with them right now. However the Muslim Brotherhood has made their wish for the eradication of Israel very clear. A leader of this group said that what Egypt needs now is what already exists in Iran: a true Islamic state. He said Egypt and the world of Islam as a whole needs leaders like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is the president of Iran and states that a new world order is needed with nations like Iran, Venezuela, along with the groups Hezbullah and Hamas to chase away the Americans. That statement is regularly declared in that region. He also went on to say that every night when he goes to bed, he prays that he wakes up the next day and sees Israel wiped off the map, the Brotherhood leader said. And then the president of Iran (Biblical Persia) made the following statement on October 26, 2005: "As the imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map." This is fulfillment of the predictions made in Psalm 83:4 concerning the world's hatred toward God's chosen nation. Ahmadinejad says, "it is possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism, you had best know this slogan and goal are attainable, it can be achieved…the regime that is occupying Jerusalem must be wiped off the map" the Iranian leaders says. Now you can dismiss this and say this is ridiculous but wait a second, they are developing nuclear weapons in Iran right now. They may even have them already. And so Israel is in a very difficult situation and needs to take these threats very seriously.
God / Magog
On that note, the scripture speaks in Ezekiel 38 of a large force from the extreme north of Israel attacking her. The Bible is very clear in pointing out this will happen in the last days in the latter years. Starting at Ezekiel 38:1 – “Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.” And then God says in verse 8 this will happen in the latter days. So who is Magog, this large force that will attack Israel? Well Magog, Biblically, was the second son of Japheth and based on the writings of Jewish historian Josephus, settled north of the Black Sea. Tubal and Meshech were the fifth and sixth sons Japheth whose descendants settled south of the Black Sea. These people came together and were known as Magog. And in Ezekiel 39:2, God says they’re at the north of Israel. Take a look at any map and what lies to the extreme north of Israel today? There sits Russia. So is Russia Magog? Well no one can say with certainty but there are some interesting things happening that causes us to wonder if they are. First note that several allies will march with Magog against Israel: Ethiopia (which is modern day Sudan), Libya (same as present day Libya), Persia (is modern Iran). Iran changed its name from Persia in 1935. These nations all have two major things in common: they are all Islamic cultures and they are all anti-Israel. Now until very recently, there was no real alliance concerning Russia and Iran. But recent developments have happened and Russia recently signed a billion dollar deal to sell missiles along with weapons to Iran. Currently, there are a thousand Iranian nuclear scientists. And guess where they were trained? You got it; they were trained in Russia by Russian scientists. So we see these nations developing more and more ties. And this alliance, whatever it is, whoever it is, will come against Israel. No one can say dogmatically that Magog is Russia. But this much we know: a force known as Magog from the north of Israel will attack her and when they attack, God is going to step in and He’s going to save Israel. He’s going to save the armies of Israel. He’s going to save the Jewish people. In His fury God will destroy the invading force and beasts of the field and birds of the air will devour their flesh.
At some point shortly thereafter, the Holy Spirit is going to be poured out upon Israel and a great revival will sweep the nation and they will turn to God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob and they will turn to Jesus as Messiah, YESHUA HaMASHIACH, as the battle of Armageddon comes to a close at the end of the Tribulation. It’s going to be a magnificent scene!
Rapture of the Church
But I believe this will not happen until something else happens first. You see right now we are in what the Bible describes as the times of the Gentiles which is also the Church Age. As far as I know, I have no Jewish ancestry biologically speaking and most of you probably do not as well but I have been grafted into the promises of Israel that were given to Abraham. That’s what the Bible says in the book of Romans. As a member of the Church, we have not taken the place of Israel in the eyes of God as so many falsely teach, but we have been grafted into Israel. And God has been working in this era called the Church Age among believers like us. And the Lord is waiting to bring those last few believers in before He pours His Spirit out upon Israel again. And it will happen. In fact, in Romans 11:25, Paul says I want you to understand this mystery dear friends so you are not proud and boastful. Some of the Jews had hard hearts but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ. Once that last believer comes to faith, the Lord will descend into the clouds and all Christians will be caught up into heaven in the Rapture of the Church. And then the redemptive process for Israel will begin concluding with all the house of Israel being saved. I do not know for certain when the invasion of Magog against Israel will take place but I think it is likely to occur just after the Rapture. Because the Bible tells us in Ezekiel 38 that Israel will burn the weapons of the defeated Magog coalition for a period of seven years; maybe a hint to the seven year Tribulation. Time will tell.
How to Wait for His Return
So in reading all of this, you may be thinking alright, so what are we suppose to do? How does this relate to me? In light of the fact that Christ could be coming back at any moment, how should we react, how should this impact us in day-to-day living? Turn to 1 Thessalonians 5, here Apostle Paul tells us that there are three things that we should be doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8: “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” The teaching of the imminent return of Jesus Christ is a real litmus test of where you are spiritually. If you are right with God, you look forward to this day, you hope for this day. If you are not right with God, you dread this day. But for the person who is close to the Lord, they welcome His return. So which side are you on? Are you like the man with the plaque next to his alarm clock that reads “today could be the day” as each morning he hopes for the return of Christ upon waking up? Or are you the one that lives fearful of seeing Him? So how are we to live in light of the fact that Christ could come back at any moment? According to Paul, we are to wake up, we are to sober up, and finally we are to suit up.
First we are to wake up. Verse 6: “Let us not sleep as others do”. Who are these words addressed to? Christians or non-Christians? They are addressed to Christians. Did you know it is possible to fall asleep in the light? Did you know it is possible to be asleep even while in the church? Right after a mid-afternoon meal as I curl up on the couch on a cold winter’s day is a time when I am prone to doze off. When the house is nice and warm, it is very easy to do. In the same way, it is easy to become spiritually asleep even in a church where you’re being well fed spiritually. So we want to be alert, we want to be awake. Instead of being a sermon connoisseur, we need to be fishers of men. Let’s constantly seek to bring others into the kingdom. We need to wake up. Wake up to the fact that Christ is coming, wake up to the fact that time is short, wake up to the fact that our Redemption is drawing near.
Number two, we need to sober up. Verse 8: “Let those of us who are of the day be sober”. Have you ever seen drunk people? Fortunately I was raised in a family where drinking alcohol was unheard of. But once I got to college, it was nearly impossible to avoid seeing someone in a drunken state. And different people react in different ways to alcohol. Some people are happy drunks while others become mean. They yell, scream, and may even become violent. Some people just completely lose control and do not even remember anything of what happened the night before. The Bible is saying don’t be drunk. So let’s take this in plain sense. Do I need to actually say that no Christian should ever be under the influence of alcohol? Some debate over whether it is okay for a Christian to drink alcohol or not but if you don’t drink, guest what, you’ll never get drunk. Plain and simple! But if you do drink, you run the possibility of getting drunk. Why take the risk even if you want to argue that drinking alcohol is okay as long as you don’t get drunk? Why chance it? I don’t know about you but the only influence that I want to be under is Jesus Christ. I don’t want to be under the influence of anyone or anything else. I don’t want to be controlled by the evil spirits that you open yourself up to through drugs and alcohol. I want to be filled only with the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says don’t be drunk with wine which will only ruin your life but be filled with the Spirit speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and so forth. So sober up but then another way to look at this is, there are a lot of things that can intoxicate us besides alcohol or drugs. Jesus said in Luke 21: 34 - “Take heed to yourself lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the cares of this life and that day, the day of the Lord come upon you unexpectedly”. Another translation says, “Take heed to yourselves and be on guard lest your hearts be over-burden and weighed down with a giddiness headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness and worldly worries.” See it’s not always bad things that distract us. Sometimes it’s good things. There’s nothing wrong with being married, nothing wrong with having children, nothing wrong with having a home, a career. Those are good things. God can even bless those things. But let’s keep our priorities in order. The number one priority in the life of the Christian is God! God is first, then comes family, and then comes career. Career should not be number one. Even family should not be number one, God should be number one in everything that you say and do. And sometimes good things, out of their proper place, can become bad things because they take the place of the best thing.
I love watching basketball, I’m a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan and at one point in life, watching the Lakers was top priority in my life. I made an idol out of basketball. But I thank God for giving me the opportunity to repent and put basketball in its proper place. And this is what Jesus was warning about, He’s saying I want you to be sober and I want you to be alert, and I don’t want anything to distract you so keep your focus clear. So we are to wake up, we are to sober up, and lastly we are to suit up.
Verse 8: "Put on breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation". Listen, we are living in constant spiritual warfare. It started at the day of our conversion and will continue on until we get to heaven. Satan does not want us to follow Christ. He’ll do everything he can to stop us from coming to faith and if we have already believed in Jesus, he will try to neutralize us through compromise. We’re in a spiritual battle and we therefore need spiritual weapons. That’s why Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 to put on all of the armor of God that we may be able to stand in that wicked day. So what is that armor? Well he tells us to put on a breastplate. And we are to put on a helmet. Looking at the Roman soldiers, the helmet would protect the head. The soldier’s helmet was carefully designed, usually fixed in bronze on the outside; sometimes it was leather over an iron skull cap. It was designed to withstand a crushing blow to the head. We need to protect our minds. It’s sort of like when you’re out riding your bicycle, you ought to wear a helmet. Without a doubt, when you ride a motorcycle you should wear a helmet. But not everybody is in favor of helmet laws. I once heard of a biker in upstate New York who was taking part in a ride to protest helmet laws and died after he crashed his motorcycle and hit his head. The report was that if he had been wearing a helmet, he would have likely survived. And so we need to put on our helmets. What does that mean? We need to protect our minds. The Bible says in II Corinthians 10:5: we are to cast down arguments bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ. Because satan recognizes the value of first getting a foothold in the realm of the thoughts and imagination as this will prepare the way for that thought to translate into an action. Any person who has ever committed a sin, that would be all of us, first thought about it. You probably even fantasized about it, imagined it, day dreamed on this idea that turned into an action. It’s been summed up this way: sow a thought, reap and act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a character, sow a character, reap a destiny. Have you ever had a computer disk or flash drive in which you filled all the space, known as memory? And when you attempted to save another file to it, you got the message “your memory is full”. We need to fill our minds with things of the Lord so that when the devil comes along to plant one of his wicked thoughts, he sees the message “this memory is full”, full of the word of God; full of the things that matter. There’s no more room for the idle ideas, thoughts, and wicked things that you would bring my way. Protect yourself. Wake up, sober up, and suit up.
Conclusion
In closing, here’s my question to all of you out there. Are you looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ? Are you ready? Listen, signs of the times are around. You could look at the news tomorrow and read that there’s a major threat against Israel, there’s an attack on Israel. Let me warn you, if you see that, get ready! Because the Bible says Israel is a super sign of the end times. Are you ready to meet the Lord? You say well I’m not sure if I believe all this stuff about the end times, that’s just your interpretation. Okay, just to make a point, let’s say that’s true, it’s just my interpretation. I’m all wrong and you’re right. But what if I’m right? More than if I’m right, what if millions are right who happen to believe these truths? But here’s another way to look at it. Let’s just take the whole prophecy idea off the table for a moment and look at it another way. The end of the world, guess what? It’s coming to every man and every woman. And by that I mean, the end of their world as they know it. Do you think you are going to live forever on this earth in this age? Life as we know it is going to come to an end. When that time comes, however it comes, are you going to be ready to step into eternity? Will you have put your faith in Jesus Christ? Or will you be standing before the Lord and hear Him say “depart from me, I never knew you.” The only way that we can be ready for the return of Jesus Christ, the only way we can be certain that we will have eternal life, the only way we can know that we are right with God is if we’ve asked Him to forgive us our sins and we put our faith in Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Lord. To be born again. Have you done that? If not, I encourage you to do so. Follow this link to find the prayer for salvation. This can be for commitment or re-commitment to Jesus.
We look forward to the day that our Lord Jesus Christ will rule and reign from Jerusalem. Until then, we pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, Blessings to the great nation of Israel, and to the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
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