Prophecy: Connecting The Dots

We are further told by the parable of the fig tree that when this happens (the rebirth of Israel) that the kingdom of God is "nigh at hand", and that the generation that sees this, "shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" as follows:

Matthew 24:32-35... 32.Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; 33.So Likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34.Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35.Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Luke 21:29-33... 29.And He spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30.When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31.So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32.Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. 33.Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away.

Now in regards to the "last generation", allow me to provide the following basic facts and explanation:

Let me stress here that this is not date setting; as we do not know the day or the hour of Jesus' return. The Bible has given us this information that we may know the season of Jesus' return. The bottom line being that we are living in the season of His return.

Zechariah 12:6... 6.In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

The recapture of Jerusalem happened as a result of the "6-Day War" occuring in 1967. Keep in mind that this battle was against five (5) nations. Israel was outnumbered in manpower, number of planes, number of tanks, and overall firepower; yet they still won in only six (6) days! The scripture also implies that this would be accomplished with great power and force. Remember it was one small nation against five nations - need I say more!?

Once Israel was reborn, we move to the regathering of the Jews to the new land of Israel. This was foretold in a number of verses in the Bible. Here are some of the verses:

Isaiah 11:10-12	Amos 9:13-15	Ezekiel 11:17	Ezekiel 20:34 &41	Ezekiel 28:25-26	Ezekiel 34:13-16	Ezekiel 38:8	Isaiah 43:5-6	Jeremiah 16:14-15
10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. 11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God. 17. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 34. And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 41. I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 25. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. 26. And they shall dwell safely therin, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God. 13. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 16. I will seed that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. 8. After many days thou shalt be visited; in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste; but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 5. Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6. I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 14. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15. But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

This regathering is still going on, in what is known to the Jews as Aliyah. Allow me to put this in perspective by providing some numbers dealing with the population of Israel:

Over the course of years, from 1948 to present, there have been many other - less talked about - prophecies about Israel also being fulfilled. The following is a partial list of these prophecies and what has happened to fulfill them. It was prophecied that:

Today Israel is more powerful than ever with an arsenal that includes nuclear and hydrogen weaponry. It has also been estimated that Israel's air force is the third most technologically advanced in the world.

After over 1,900 years and against incredible odds, Israel is back in the land with a powerful military - Just as Bible prophecy foretold.

The last topic I want to discuss concerning fulfilled prophecies about Israel is the language of Israel - Hebrew.

Zephaniah 3:9... 9. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.

As we can see, the Bible tells us that the Lord will return to Israel their language. This language was - in Jewish history - and is again today Hebrew.

After being dispersed throughout the world, and over time the Hebrew language became all but unused - through assimilation of Jews into other lands, and in some cases, for them to fit in and avoid persecution. The Hebrew language was all but lost and in at least one instance was changed by combining it with other languages; which is how the Yiddish language was born. Yiddish is a combination of the Hebrew, Germanic, Slavic, Semitic, and other languages. Yiddish was the language of the Ashkenazim Jews of central and eastern Europe.

Even after almost 1,900 years though, the Hebrew language was not lost. Instead, just as foretold, it has been returned as the official language of Israel.

I have put the items in this category in the order that I believe they will happen. I know most believe that the next thing that will happen - concerning Israel - is the invasion of Gog, Magog from the north. I also thought that - until recently. So the first item on the list may surprise you.

The Missing Piece of the Prophecy Puzzle: Psalm 83
I hope that you find this part of this prophecy study as interesting - even exciting - as I have! While you won't see a lot written about this, it is my personal belief that this could easily be called the "missing link" in the prophecy puzzle. As you will find out in the study of prophecy (if you haven't already) there is a specific order of things. That is to say: In order for one item in prophecy to be fulfilled, others need to be fulfilled or certain conditions must exist first. Everything is very ordered in the fulfillment of prophecy. That is why I find the study of Psalm 83 so exciting. Why, you ask? To put it in the simplest terms, it is the fact that with the fulfillment of Psalm 83, all of the conditions in Israel and the middle east will be in place for the Gog, Magog invasion from the north. It sets the stage for the final act - the ushering in of the tribulation - the start of the last week of Daniel's 70 weeks!

In my studies and research I found an excellent article on this subject. It is written by Bill Salus. I have contacted him (by email) and he has graciously given his permission for me to include the article on this site. He has written a book on the subject and it will be coming out on July 1, 2008. For now, I would ask that you please read his article first, and then continue here. This will give you the most complete picture. The rest of what I will be saying here is directly related to his article as well as my own added thoughts and conclusions on the topic. Click Here to read his article first!

As we can see, from the article, there is an upcoming Arab-Israeli war. The verses below indicate the Arab nations that will join forces and seek to destroy the modern day Jewish state of Israel.

Psalm 83:6-8... 6. The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8. Assur also is joined with them; they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

The names in the above verse are the ancestral names. In order to determine what countries are to be involved we must look at and match the location of these peoples in Biblical times with a map of the middle east today. If you look at the map in the article referenced above, you will see that it will include: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. These combined nations surround Israel on all sides.

As I began studying this further, I noticed a similarity between the alliance shown in Psalm 83 with the countries involved in the 6-Day War of 1967. At first I thought that perhaps this prophecy had already been fulfilled. So, as usual, when in doubt, return to the scriptures and search it out; and that is what I did. The following is the conclusion I came up with and the reasons. Remember - this is only my opinion.

I believe the events of Psalm 83 are yet to come. While the nations involved in the 6-Day War are almost identical to those in Psalm 83, they aren't quite the same; and since I don't serve a God that does "almost", that eliminates the chance that it has already happened.

After coming to this conclusion, I felt sure that If I were right then there should be more scriptural evidence to back it up.This began another search and here are the results, scriptures first:

Deuteronomy 30:5... 5. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

Ezekiel 28:25... 25. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

Ezekiel 36:11... 11. And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Jeremiah 16:15... 15. But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

As we can see, God has made it very plain that Israel will: be in the land of Jacob, in the land God gave to their fathers, and after their "old estates" (the land they used to posses).

Once we see this then we can be certain it hasn't happened yet. Why? Because it is a fact that some of the land that Israel was given possesion of by God, is not yet back under their control. These areas include parts of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, and the West Bank. There is also the matter of what we are told in the following verse:

Ezekiel 38:11... 11. And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having niether bars nor gates.

From this verse we know that Israel - at the time of the Gog, Magog invasion from the north - will be a land of unwalled villages and will be dwelling safely. We all know that Israel is being bombarded daily with rocket and mortar fire. This is not a nation dwelling safely. As for the unwalled villages - Israel is currently constructing a 25 foot high wall which will soon be approximately 403 miles long. These two items alone, show us that conditions are not yet in place for the invasion from the north.

If we pay close attention to the conditions that must be in place prior to the invasion and then think again about the war described in Psalm 83 it becomes apparent that as a result of the war of Psalm 83 all of the conditions outlined above will be met.

The people of Israel will be living safely, having defeated their closest and most threatening enemies and they will acquire a great deal of wealth. You will find more details about how the stage will be set for the "invasion from the north" in the next section (below) - "The Invasion of Gog, Magog". I found it amazing how that one war - as described in Psalm 83 - could bring about all the conditions that must be in place before the Gog, Magog invasion.

For those who may be skeptical about this, I would recommend doing some reading in Psalms beginning at Chapter 83. Do not limit yourself to just Psalm 83 though. As with any serious study of scripture, we must read beyond just a few verses, and in some cases, such as this, more than one chapter in order to be able to put things in their correct context.

I guess the best way to emphasize this is to share some of my findings on this particular topic. Here is what I found from reading Psalm 83 through Psalm 86.

As we now know Psalm 83 tells of an upcoming battle between Israel and her surrounding neighbors. In Psalm 84 we find mostly praise, joy, and happiness. In Psalm 85, they begin to cry out for God's mercy, and for Him to cause His anger towards them to cease. Then, by the latter part of Psalm 86, we find Israel in trouble again; and seemingly worse than in Psalm 83. Bad enough in fact to cause the people to cry out, in unison, for God's mercy and help against the men who hate them.

First, Israel goes to war and they are victorious (Psalm 83). Second, they enjoy a short time of joy, elation, and celebration of their victory and the prospect of finally achieving peace (Psalm 84). Third, they begin to turn back to God; seeking his mercy and asking for His anger against His people to cease (Psalm 85). Fourth, by the end of Psalm 86, they become distraught and afraid when they see the many nations and armies led by Gog, Magog, about to descend upon them. Afraid enough to turn to God for their preservation and as their only hope for survival.

While these scriptures do not all name specific events, it is the sequence and the way that it corresponds directly to other end time prophecies that makes it significant. I say this because I personally do not believe in coincidence when it comes to the Bible.

Since there is a wealth of information available on this topic on the internet and other media, I thought I would take a different approach. I may add some basic information about the actual attack of Israel by Gog, Magog later; but for now I am going to look more toward the stage setting that will take place leading up to the "invasion from the north".

From my own studies I know that certain conditions must exist first, as discussed above, before the actual invasion from the north will occur. I believe that once the battle of Psalm 83 has taken place and things settle a bit, one of Israel's first priorities is going to be the rebuilding of the Temple. They have already reconstructed most of the utensils and other items needed for the new Temple. This even includes the gold crown (the Tzitz) which the High Priest is required to wear.

At the time of the attack on Israel, scripture tells us that the people of Israel will turn and cry out to God in unison; knowing that they are ill equipped and ill prepared for the massive force which is about to descend upon them. God will hear His people and will totally destroy the enemy.

Ezekiel 39:11 & 22-29... 11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
22. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. 23. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them. and gave them into the hand of their enemies; so fell they all by the sword. 24. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and Hid my face from them. 25. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26. After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27. When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28. Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

At the defeat of Gog, Magog, the eyes of Israel will be opened and God's attention will once again be focused on His people Israel.

This will occur , in my opinion, after the Gog and Magog invasion from the north. It will be done as a part of the seven (7) year covenant of peace that will be affirmed by the antichrist to begin the tribulation period.

I say this for a couple of reasons. First of all, is the location of one of the scriptures that tells of the division:

Daniel 11:39... 39. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

This appears to occur after the antichrist has been revealed and before the abomination that makes desolate (Antichrist sets himself up and declares himself God in the temple). I would therefore expect that the dividing of the land may be used as a condition for peace - just as they are trying to do now. Again this is only my layman's opinion. As always, only God knows for sure and all that man can do is wait and see.

The 144,000 witnesses will be a chosen 12,000 each from the 12 tribes of Israel, thus we have 12(tribes) X 12,000(from each tribe) = 144,000 (witnesses). They will be Jews and are called the "bond-servants of God". As to exactly when they will be chosen, I cannot say for sure. All that we know from scripture is that they will be chosen and later they will be sealed on their forehead after the sixth seal is broken but before that seal (6th) judgement is actually unleashed on the earth.

Revelation 7:2-4... 2. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3. Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
(verses 5-8 tell how many and from which tribes they are chosen)

I believe - as do many others - that this 144,000 will be responsible for the biggest evangelical outreach ever to happen on earth. This is because the vast amount (which cannot be numbered) of people who will be saved and subsequently martyred during the tribulation are talked about immediately following the description of who the 144,000 will be in:

Revelation 7:9 & 13-14... 9. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people. and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest, And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Matthew 24:15-16... 15. 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:) 16. Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Mark 13:14... 14. But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Luke 21:20-21... 20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. 21. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

At the time that the "abomination that makes desolate" is set up in the Temple; the children of Israel are told to flee to the mountains immediately. The reason is that, there, God will protect them and because from that point on, the persecution of the Jews will be worse than anything that has ever happened in the past - including the holocaust! This persecution will last for the rest of the tribulation; which will be a period of 1290 days and is known as the "Great Tribulation".

Finally, when all is said and done, the tribulation is over, and the millennial reign of Christ has begun; the Jews (children of Israel) will hold a very special place of prominence.

Revelation 7:9 & 13-14... 9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

One would not expect anything less - after all, they (Israel) are God's chosen people. I would recommend to all that we keep that in mind before saying or doing anything against the Jewish people - Israel.

I have spent as much time and effort as I have covering Israel in prophecy because Israel is the key to the timing of the final fulfillment of end times prophecy. The rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948 marked the beginning of the final countdown. I will be providing more information about the timing of the countdown later in this study.

Israel has been at the core of Biblical history and prophecy for centuries and will remain so until after all of the prophecies have been fulfilled. As I hope you can see, much, if not most, of what is yet to come will be centered around Israel.

I would ask all who read this to keep Israel, her people and her leaders in your prayers.

In the next section of this study I will try to cover the timing of the end, how the Feasts of Israel (God's Feasts) relate to prophecy, and a brief study of Daniel's 70 weeks.