It is alarming that there are so few people today, especially in the church, that recognize how important the modern state of Israel is in God's plan! God has predicted in His book in various places that the sons and daughters of Israel would return to their land, the land of Israel, just before He would send them their Messiah. For almost twenty centuries the children of Israel have not lived in their homeland simply because one did not exist. Until this century there has not been a nation of Israel for them to return to. Since 70 A.D. they have lived in various parts of the world, mostly in Europe, but on other continents as well. But in the last fifty years, we have seen the re-establishment of the state of Israel and the return to that land of the people known to the world as "the Jews". To date, there are close to five million Jews who call Israel their home who have returned there just in our century and their presence there is an incredible testimony to how close we are to the return of Jesus Christ!

The story of the Jew is an incredible story of pain and disappointment. That pain and disappointment has come collectively to these people due to their rebellion against Jehovah God. The Bible predicts that they will continue to be the target of God's discipline until they turn to Him in full repentance. We are told in Scripture that this repentance will occur in the end days after God has assembled them back in the land of Israel. The complete story, past, present, and future of the Jew is told in the Bible.

Dispersion

The Jewish people were warned by Moses in Deuteronomy 28:58-68 around 1400 B.C. that if they did not serve the Lord and keep all that He had commanded, the Lord would scatter them from one end of the earth to the other. Not only would they be scattered, but they would endure harsh persecution while in the countries where they reside. History confirms that this is exactly what happened when, in 70 A.D., Titus, the Roman general, invaded Israel and finally Jerusalem. Thousands of the Jewish people were slaughtered by the Roman army and those remaining ran for their lives. They fled into every country on the earth in perfect fulfillment of Moses' prophecy.

Preserved in Dispersion

The Lord not only promised that Israel would be dispersed, but that they would be preserved in that dispersion as a nation. In Jeremiah 31:35-37, God says that the Jewish nation would remain intact as long as there was a sun and moon. As long as the sun and moon exist, God would recognize that there is a nation of Israel. I have heard the term "the lost tribes of Israel" all my life. This term is very misleading, because there never has been a "lost" tribe of Israel. God has known where they have been all along and He has promised to preserve them.

Regathered

After a time of living in all the countries of the world, the Jewish people would begin to return to their own land. One of the prophecies that call for this, for example, is Isaiah 11:10-12 where it says, "Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations, and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth". (NAS)

There is some very interesting history concerning the fulfillment of this prophecy. Time and space will not allow us to go into much detail in this article, but it will be sufficient to say that there were only about 40,000 Jews in Palestine at the turn of this century. By 1948, when Israel declared their independence and statehood, there were about 500,000. Today there are close to five million and the number is still growing. Why? Because the Jewish people from all over the world are becoming more and more interested in returning to Israel! Going home, if you will, in fulfillment of this prophecy.

Regathered in Unbelief

Many of the prophecies calling for the Jews' regathering to the land of Israel call also for them to be gathered there in unbelief toward their God. It is very unfortunate, but today in Israel, the average Jew doesn't believe in Jehovah God. This is the scenario that is called for in Ezekiel 37 known as the valley of dry bones chapter. Verses 11 through 14 leave no question that the Jews will be gathered from all over the world to the land of Israel before the Spirit is placed within them.

Restoration of the Land

At the turn of this century, the whole land of Israel was desolate. The part that was not desert was mostly malaria infested swamps. Since the turn of this century, the swamps have been drained and some of the best agriculture technology has been applied. I was just in Israel last October. One can drive through the valleys of Israel and see acre after acre of beautiful crops growing. The variety of crops is astounding! Isaiah 27:6 reads that the day would come when Israel would blossom and sprout and fill the whole world with fruit. This prophecy is definitely being fulfilled as we speak. In fact, I am told that Israel is one of five food exporting countries in the world.

Israel's Rise in Prominence in World Politics

It is predicted in Zechariah 12:2-3 that political attention would be focused on Jerusalem. Political attention would eventually turn to military involvement as every nation of the earth will be eventually gathered against Jerusalem. Zechariah 14:2 again says that a day is coming when all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem to battle. In this writer's opinion, the present "peace talks" are fulfilling the political attention called for and the military involvement is soon to come. When the world is convinced that the "peace talks" have completely collapsed, they will start sending their armies to force "peace".

There is not a day that goes by that Israel is not in the news. The world is wondering what to do, how to solve the Middle East problem. Isn't it ironic as large as the world is and how diverse the world's problems are that we choose to focus so much on this tiny country that is 70 miles wide and 300 miles long! It is because God said it would be so!

My memory takes me back to the "Camp David Peace Accord" when Jimmy Carter was worried about the "Middle East problem". The United Nations over the past few decades has tried to answer the "Middle East problem". Recently, President Clinton went over to address the "Middle East problem" by assisting Israel and Jordan with their attempt at peace. I could not help but think how hypocritical we must have looked to the rest of the world with our involvement in their peace treaty when we, ourselves, can't even keep peace in Los Angeles!

The world, in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, is focusing on Jerusalem today. Diplomatic efforts will not solve the problems and, probably sooner than later, the armies will start to march toward Israel. When they do, the scenario will be set up for the fulfillment of the greatest event of all of human history! Zechariah 14:4 says that in the day that all nations are gathered together against Jerusalem, Jesus Christ will come and stand on the Mount of Olives! The Hebrew word for stand in this verse is a word that means "take a stand". This is exactly what Jesus will do. He will take a stand against all the armies gathered there and defeat them. He will at that point, begin to rule this earth for 1000 years. The "Middle East problem" will be over! Praise the Lord! What an exciting time to live and see these things beginning to take place!

Israel Military Restored

In the same book, Zechariah 12:6-8 says that in the days when the armies of the world will come against Israel, that the clans of Judah would be "like a flaming torch among sheaves". This is more than a suggestion that there will be an Israeli military in place in those days. In keeping with this prophecy, the Israeli military today is one of the best trained in the world. It has proven itself several times in the last fifty years to be a very effective fighting force. They have emerged victorious against incredible odds from every major military campaign launched against them since the country was re-established in 1948.

Five Arab armies attacked the new Jewish state on May 15, 1948 and were defeated by January 1949. An Egyptian-Syrian alliance was defeated over the Sinai area in 1956. The combined efforts to overrun Israel by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, and Lebanon were defeated by the Israelis in 1967 in six days, known as the Six Day War. Another combined effort was put down by the Israelis in 1973 in what is known as the Yom Kippur War. In this war, the Egyptians and Syrians, with just under 1000 warplanes, over 4,000 tanks, and 800,000 troops, challenged Israel. Before the bitter fighting was over, Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait had joined the Egyptian/Syrian force. The outnumbered Israeli army again were able to be victorious, this time with less than 500 warplanes, 1700 tanks, and 300,000 men.

Today, Israel, more than ever, has a very powerful fighting force with an arsenal that includes nuclear and hydrogen weaponry. I have been told their Air Force is rated the third most technologically advanced in the world. Against the incredible odds they have faced over the last 1900 years, Israel is back in the land with a powerful restored military, just as Bible prophecy has predicted.

Reoccupation of Jerusalem

The scriptures call for the Jewish people to be, not only back in Israel, but in control of Jerusalem as well. A very interesting development in Bible prophecy took place in June of 1967 regarding this scriptural reality. The Jewish people had not been in control of Jerusalem since 70 A.D. But, during the Six Day War in June of 1967, the Jewish commandos advanced up the southern end of the old walled city of Jerusalem . Under heavy fire they broke into the city through the Lion's Gate and returned Jerusalem into Jewish control for the first time in 1897 years.

This was considered a very important event among those who study the prophetic scriptures, because in Luke 21:24, Jesus gave an interesting prophecy that said that "Jerusalem would be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". "The Times of the Gentiles" is a scriptural term that refers to the periods of history in which Gentiles would dominate world politics and more specifically, Jerusalem. Gentile power has controlled Jerusalem for many centuries but now, in this century, while so many other "signs of the times" are being fulfilled, Jerusalem has come back under Jewish control.

This author believes that this fact has marked the beginning of the end of Gentile power in the world and is yet another indicator of how soon the return of Jesus must be. The final three and one half years of this "times of the Gentiles" will be a time that God will deal with the unrepentant heart of the Jew as well as the rest of the world, a time known as "The Great Tribulation" that Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:21. Immediately following these times of Gentile reign would come Messianic reign, the time predicted in scripture when Jesus, Himself would come to this earth and rule and reign for 1000 years of peace, righteousness, and justice! Zechariah 14:4 describes the event when it says, "in that day His feet will touch the Mount of Olives". This will be the most glorious event in all of human history! Zechariah 14:11 states at that time, "there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. How many of us long for this time of peace!

A Closing Summary

Today, we are a generation that has observed the modern state of Israel become a reality with the Jew back in control of Jerusalem. The stage is set for the appearance of the man the Bible calls "the antichrist" which will be followed by the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. The "Times of the Gentiles" are almost over! We know that we have been told in scripture to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem". In so doing, we should know that we are actually praying for the time when Jesus Christ will come and establish Jerusalem as the capitol of the whole world and He will rule from there over the whole earth. The earth at that time will be flooded with peace, righteousness, and justice. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas as the Bible has promised (Isa. 11:9). We are looking forward to this time! And even so, come Lord Jesus!

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