I would like to reveal
12 key prophecies in the Bible that speak concerning Israel and its people, its future and purpose, and to share that with you today.
Key #1: God’s covenant promise to the Jewish people is forever and unbreakable.
Jeremiah 31: 34-36 says this:
CJB Jeremiah 31:34-36 34 This is what ADONAI says, who gives the sun as light for the day, who ordained the laws for the moon and stars to provide light for the night, who stirs up the sea until its waves roar- ADONAI-Tzva'ot is his name: 35 "If these laws leave my presence," says ADONAI, "then the offspring of Isra'el will stop being a nation in my presence forever." 36 This is what ADONAI says: "If the sky above can be measured and the foundations of the earth be fathomed, then I will reject all the offspring of Isra'el for all that they have done," says ADONAI.
The sun still rises in the morning and the stars still twinkle at night; and in Jeremiah the Lord says these are the sign that Israel remains God’s covenant people and that God’s promise to never permanently reject Israel still stands. St. Paul in the New Testament confirms this Old Testament prophecy in
Romans 11:28-32.
CJB Romans 11:28-32 28 With respect to the Good News they are hated for your sake. But with respect to being chosen they are loved for the Patriarchs' sake, 29 for God's free gifts and his calling are irrevocable. 30 Just as you yourselves were disobedient to God before but have received mercy now because of Isra'el's disobedience; 31 so also Isra'el has been disobedient now, so that by your showing them the same mercy that God has shown you, they too may now receive God's mercy. 32 For God has shut up all mankind together in disobedience, in order that he might show mercy to all.
God’s calling for Israel as His covenant people is, says, Paul irrevocable. And it is our job as Messiah’s disciples, he continues, to show Israel mercy so that by doing so, God will show us mercy! So, if for no other reason, it is in our own enlightened self-interest to befriend Israel!
Key #2: God said He would re-establish the nation of Israel in a day.
Israel has been exiled on more than one occasion for gross disobedience and unfaithfulness. However, God also said that at the right time He would bring them back and make them a nation once again. And it would happen in a seemingly impossible way.
CJB
Isaiah 66:8-10 8 Who ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Is a country born in one day? Is a nation brought forth all at once? For as soon as Tziyon went into labor, she brought forth her children. 9 "Would I let the baby break through and not be born?" asks ADONAI. "Would I, who cause the birth, shut the womb?" asks your God. 10 Rejoice with Yerushalayim! Be glad with her, all you who love her! Rejoice, rejoice with her, all of you who mourned for her;
Indeed, Israel was re-born in but 1 day. Such a thing had never happened before in history. Literally overnight, by a vote of the UN, on May 14, 1948 Israel was welcomed into the family of nations as an independent Jewish state on the same land that they had been exiled from 1900 years earlier. The cold hard facts of history have proven that these prophecies of God are fulfilled literally, not symbolically and certainly not allegorically. Israel has not been replaced; it has been re-born!
Key #3: The Jews would return to Israel from all over the earth.
Isaiah 11: 10 – 12 promises that the Jews would come from everywhere they have been scattered by God due to their disobedience to one day repopulate the same land that had been theirs since the time of Abraham.
CJB
Isaiah 11:10-12 10 On that day the root of Yishai, which stands as a banner for the peoples- the Goyim will seek him out, and the place where he rests will be glorious. 11 On that day Adonai will raise his hand again, a second time, to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain from Ashur, Egypt, Patros, Ethiopia, 'Eilam, Shin'ar, Hamat and the islands in the sea. 12 He will hoist a banner for the Goyim, assemble the dispersed of Isra'el, and gather the scattered of Y'hudah from the four corners of the earth.
The root of Jessie, King David’s father, is the tribe of Judah (the Jews). But let’s be clear on something: the Jewish people only represent 2 of the 12 tribes of Israel. What about the other 10? They were the ones scattered (and supposedly lost) into the Assyrian Empire, Egypt, Cush, and Elam. And this prophecy makes it clear that these 10 tribes will arise and be included in the return.
The first group of Hebrews that came back to their land, and fought to reclaim it, are the European Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. But in the last several years, remnants of those 10 lost tribes have resurfaced, exactly where the Bible says that they would be found. Thousands have been granted the right to come back to Israel and join their Jewish brethren; many of the 10 tribes have immigrated back to their ancestral home after a 2700 year wait. Go to Israel and you will see Israelis of every color and race, and some come from countries many of us have never heard of. But come they have, just as predicted.
Key #4: The returning people will come from the north and the south, and their return from the north will be even greater than the 3 million Israelites that Moses led out of Egypt.
In the book of
Jeremiah 16:13 – 16 this matter is addressed in no uncertain terms.
CJB Jeremiah 16:13-16 13 Therefore I am thrusting you out of this land into a land you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.' 14 "'Therefore,' says ADONAI, 'the day will come when people will no longer swear, "As ADONAI lives, who brought the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt," 15 but, "As ADONAI lives, who brought the people of Isra'el out of the land to the north and out of all the countries where he drove them"; for I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their ancestors. 16 "'Look,' says ADONAI, 'I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks.
Verse 16 is especially interesting as many Jewish organizations have been joined by several Believing groups who have been fishing all over the world, but especially in the north in the former Soviet Union, for Hebrews with the sole purpose of bringing them back to their heritage, the land of Israel. Hebrews who became as captives behind the former Iron Curtain have kept their identities quiet for generations for fear of persecution. Millions of Hebrews have been brought home to Israel, a significant number bring nothing but the clothes on their back. And over the last several years the vast bulk have come from…..you guessed it….the north.
Key #5: God will restore the land; it will be fruitful and more prosperous than any time in history… ever!
CJB Ezekiel 36:1-12 "Now you, human being, prophesy to the mountains of Isra'el. Say: 'Mountains of Isra'el, hear the message from ADONAI. 2 Adonai ELOHIM says: "The enemy is boasting over you, 'Ha! Even the ancient high places are ours now!' "' 3 Therefore prophesy, and say that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'Because they desolated you and swallowed you up from every side, so that the other nations could take possession of you; and now people are gossiping about you and slandering you; 4 therefore, mountains of Isra'el, hear the message of Adonai ELOHIM- this is what Adonai ELOHIM says to the mountains and hills, the streams and valleys, the desolate wastes and the abandoned cities, now preyed on and derided by the other surrounding nations- 5 therefore this is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "In the heat of my jealousy I speak against the other nations and all of Edom, since, rejoicing with all their heart, they have arrogated my land to themselves as a possession and, with utter contempt, seized it as prey."' 6 "Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Isra'el, and say to the mountains, the hills, the streams and the valleys that Adonai ELOHIM says this: 'I speak in my jealousy and fury, because you have endured being shamed by the nations. 7 Therefore thus says Adonai ELOHIM: "I have raised my hand and sworn that the nations surrounding you will bear their shame. 8 But you, mountains of Isra'el, you will sprout your branches and bear your fruit for my people Isra'el, who will soon return. 9 I am here for you, and I will turn toward you; then you will be tilled and sown; 10 and I will multiply your population, all the house of Isra'el, all of it. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will multiply both the human and animal populations, they will increase and be productive; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were before- indeed, I will do you more good than before; and you will know that I am ADONAI. 12 I will cause people to walk on you, my people Isra'el; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; never again will you make them childless."
In the 1860’s Mark Twain visited the former land of Israel, and said this about it: “there was nowhere a foot of shade… it is blistering, naked, treeless… there is no dew, nor flowers, nor trees, nor birds… it is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land.”
Once Israel was exiled the land began to turn fallow and lifeless. When the Arab populations took control, they cut down all the trees because the absentee Arab landlords instituted a taxing method that calculated the amount owed to them according to the number of trees on the leased land. So, the Arabs living in the land cut down all the trees to avoid paying the tax.
But today the land has been reforested; the swamps drained; the rocky fields made fertile. The ancient terraces have been rebuilt and vineyards and orchards now produce some of the finest fruit and wine in the world. Israel is now a net exporter of food, and also exports some 2 billion flowers each year. Are they more prosperous than ever before in history? No doubt.
Key #6: God’s people will have an insatiable love for their land of Israel, and this signals a time of favor for Zion.
Psalm 102: 12 – 18 speaks of this day, which has come in our lifetimes: we are witnesses to it if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
CJB Psalm 102:12-18 12 My days decline like an evening shadow; I am drying up like grass. 13 But you, ADONAI, are enthroned forever; your renown will endure through all generations. 14 You will arise and take pity on Tziyon, for the time has come to have mercy on her; the time determined has come. 15 For your servants love her very stones; they take pity even on her dust. 16 The nations will fear the name of ADONAI and all the kings on earth your glory, 17 when ADONAI has rebuilt Tziyon, and shows himself in his glory, 18 when he has heeded the plea of the poor and not despised their prayer.
“For your servants love her very stones and take pity even on her dust”. It is said that in Israel every Israeli is an archaeologist. The Israeli Jews truly take great pleasure in her stones and even favor the dust. Israel is like an immense archaeological garden. All excavations for roadways, tunnels, new housing tracts and businesses, even gardens in yards are gone through very carefully, usually with an archaeologist present (in the larger projects) to watch for telltale signs of ancient artifacts. Entire Highways are diverted if an ancient town or city is found in its proposed path. That is how much their ancient past means to the Israeli Jews.
Key #7: God will change the heart of His people, Israel, from stone to flesh.
Much had to happen to Israel for God’s plan to play out. But in the divine process of redemption history, God promised to cleanse Israel of their sin and uncleanness before Him. This is specifically foretold in Ezekiel 36. We’ll read just a few verses of this chapter, but I urge you to read it all after this service.
CJB Ezekiel 36:16-29 16 The word of ADONAI came to me: 17 "Human being, when the house of Isra'el lived in their own land, they defiled it by their manner of life and their actions; their way before me was like the uncleanness of niddah. 18 Therefore I poured out my fury on them, because of the blood they had shed in the land and because they defiled it with their idols. 19 I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them throughout the countries; I judged them in keeping with their manner of life and actions. 20 When they came to the nations they were going to, they profaned my holy name; so that people said of them, 'These are ADONAI's people, who have been exiled from his land.' 21 But I am concerned about my holy name, which the house of Isra'el is profaning among the nations where they have gone. 22 "Therefore tell the house of Isra'el that Adonai ELOHIM says this: 'I am not going to do this for your sake, house of Isra'el, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have been profaning among the nations where you went. 23 I will set apart my great name to be regarded as holy, since it has been profaned in the nations- you profaned it among them. The nations will know that I am ADONAI,' says Adonai ELOHIM, 'when, before their eyes, I am set apart through you to be regarded as holy. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you from all the countries, and return you to your own soil. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you; I will take the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit inside you and cause you to live by my laws, respect my rulings and obey them. 28 You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanliness. I will summon the grain and increase it, and not send famine against you.
The Lord promised that someday He would gather the scattered Hebrews from all over the planet and return them to their own land, just as they are. And THERE, in the land, He would begin to work on their hearts and change them into a group that He will proudly call “My people”. This has happened to a degree, but it is still an ongoing process as the Lord restores the Hebrews to reflect His glorious purpose for them.
Key #8: God will use gentiles to bless His nation and people, Israel.
Gentiles have always been a useful tool in the Lord’s hand to deal with Israel. In ancient times, God used gentile nations as the instruments to punish God’s people for their rebellion. But, the time arrived when gentiles would be a blessing to God’s people Israel, and Paul speaks about this time in Romans 11.
CJB Romans 11:11-15 11 "In that case, I say, isn't it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?" Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Moreover, if their stumbling is bringing riches to the world- that is, if Isra'el's being placed temporarily in a condition less favored than that of the Gentiles is bringing riches to the latter- how much greater riches will Isra'el in its fullness bring them! 13 However, to those of you who are Gentiles I say this: since I myself am an emissary sent to the Gentiles, I make known the importance of my work 14 in the hope that somehow I may provoke some of my own people to jealousy and save some of them! 15 For if their casting Yeshua aside means reconciliation for the world, what will their accepting him mean? It will be life from the dead!
And then moving down just a few verses to verse 25:
CJB Romans 11:25-27 25 For, brothers, I want you to understand this truth which God formerly concealed but has now revealed, so that you won't imagine you know more than you actually do. It is that stoniness, to a degree, has come upon Isra'el, until the Gentile world enters in its fullness; 26 and that it is in this way that all Isra'el will be saved. As the Tanakh says, "Out of Tziyon will come the Redeemer; he will turn away ungodliness from Ya'akov 27 and this will be my covenant with them,… when I take away their sins."
God, in His immutable mystery, created a plan that would include gentiles. But the reality is that gentiles would serve the purpose of leading Israel to salvation. Yes, gentiles would also greatly benefit because in the process they would learn of the Jewish Savior Yeshua, and be saved. But the point of the divine plan was to save Israel; and Paul says gentiles should not ever think otherwise and thus become proud. And what else is Replacement Theology but pride and hubris gone mad?
Key #9: God will show the nations that He keeps His promises.
Does God ALWAYS keep His promises? We better hope so, because if you are a Believer, like me, we have bet our brief stay on earth as well as our eternal futures upon it. The Lord has made several promises to Israel.
CJB Ezekiel 36:33-36 33 "Adonai ELOHIM says, 'When the day comes for me to cleanse you from all your guilt, I will cause the cities to be inhabited and the ruins to be rebuilt. 34 The land that was desolate will be tilled, whereas formerly it lay desolate for all passing by to see. 35 Then they will say, "The land that used to be desolate has become like Gan-'Eden, and the cities formerly ruined, abandoned and wasted have been fortified and are inhabited!" 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, ADONAI, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted what was abandoned. I, ADONAI, have spoken; and I will do it.'
If you have visited Israel, you know that this prophecy has been fulfilled. If you haven’t visited, why not? Would you not like to see with your own eyes if God has kept His promises to Israel? If He has not, then why would you think He will keep His promises to you, as a follower of Christ? Go and see it for yourself; it will give you even greater assurance of God’s faithfulness. The Israel we see today is proof that if God says it, He will do it. And it doesn’t matter if the promise concerns Israel, or gentile Believers, or His enemies.
Key #10: Jerusalem will no longer be in the hands of the gentile nations.
Many followers of Yeshua don’t realize that when Israel was reborn as a nation, Israel didn’t receive Jerusalem as part of the bargain. The UN declared Jerusalem to be an international city, open to everyone; but in reality that was a lie. It was essentially left in the hands of the Arab nations, Jordan in particular. In other words, Jerusalem remained controlled by gentile nations. But then in June of 1967, Israel was suddenly attacked by the Arab League and brief, but fateful, war broke out between Israel and her Arab neighbors. The result of the now famous Six-Day war was that Israel captured Jerusalem, and made it, as in times of old, their capital. Jerusalem was now back in the hands of the Jewish people, and it has remained so since then, no matter how hard the world has pushed for Israel to relinquish it. And the pressure to give it up, or share it or split it into East and West Jerusalem is relentless is coming to a head in the next 3 or 4 months. The return of Jerusalem to the Jewish people was a miraculous moment of prophetic fulfillment that gave us a firm mile marker in Redemption history as our march quickens towards the End of Days.
CJB Luke 21:20-28 20 "However, when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then you are to understand that she is about to be destroyed. 21 Those in Y'hudah must escape to the hills, those inside the city must get out, and those in the country must not enter it. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, when everything that has been written in the Tanakh will come true. 23 What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress in the Land and judgment on the people. 24 Some will fall by the edge of the sword, others will be carried into all the countries of the Goyim, and Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the Goyim until the age of the Goyim has run its course. 25 "There will appear signs in the sun, moon and stars; and on earth, nations will be in anxiety and bewilderment at the sound and surge of the sea, 26 as people faint with fear at the prospect of what is overtaking the world; for the powers in heaven will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with tremendous power and glory. 28 When these things start to happen, stand up and hold your heads high; because you are about to be liberated!"
The event depicted here happened when Rome besieged Jerusalem in 70 A.D. And from 70 A.D. until 1967, Jerusalem was controlled by gentiles and Jews were considered to be squatters. But, says this NT prophecy, eventually Jerusalem will no longer be under the control of gentiles and when that happens it marks the end of “the times of the gentiles”. This has happened, and in fact, it happened over 45 years ago. Verse 26 says people will faint with fear at what seems to be overtaking this world. And when all this comes about then we will see the Son of Man, Messiah Yeshua, coming in the clouds. Folks, the final events have been scheduled, we are eyewitnesses to almost all of it, the clock is ticking, and the nations have no idea what is happening. Maybe your neighbor doesn’t either; nor perhaps your spouse, your children, or your parents. The world’s governments, including our own, are blind to it. So, what are you going to do about that? You owe it to God and to your neighbor to tell them. After that, it’s up to them to reject the truth and become collateral damage, or to accept the truth and seek the Lord.
Key # 11: God will make Jerusalem the focus of the world.
CJB Zechariah 12:1-3 A prophecy, the word of ADONAI concerning Isra'el- here is the message from ADONAI, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth and formed the spirit inside human beings: 2 "I will make Yerushalayim a cup that will stagger the surrounding peoples. Even Y'hudah will be caught up in the siege against Yerushalayim. 3 When that day comes, I will make Yerushalayim a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who try to lift it will hurt themselves, and all the earth's nations will be massed against her.
Then skipping down to verses 10 and 11.
CJB Zechariah 12:10-11 10 and I will pour out on the house of David and on those living in Yerushalayim a spirit of grace and prayer; and they will look to me, whom they pierced." They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son; they will be in bitterness on his behalf like the bitterness for a firstborn son. 11 When that day comes, there will be great mourning in Yerushalayim, mourning like that for Hadad-Rimmon in the Megiddo Valley.
The Bible makes it clear that Jerusalem is the center of the world; not just spiritually, but tangibly especially as we get nearer to Messiah’s return. Jerusalem, a medium-sized city with a population of fewer than 900,000 souls, causes the entire world to tremble. Our State Department, those of Europe and most Arab countries tell us that the single issue that is behind the rise of fundamentalist violent Islam is Israel, and especially Jerusalem. As it turns out this is not by accident; the Lord has made it so in order to bring things to a climax.
Key #12: God’s people will return, never to be exiled again.
CJB Amos 9:13-15 13 "The days will come," says ADONAI, "when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the one treading grapes the one sowing seed. Sweet wine will drip down the mountains, and all the hills will flow with it. 14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Isra'el; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities; they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, cultivate gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant them on their own soil, no more to be uprooted from their land, which I gave them," says ADONAI your God.
This prophecy has been fulfilled. Israel is back. Any of the scores of millions of pilgrims that have visited Israel know that its hills are producing bountiful harvests, and Israel is world renowned for its wine, just as it was in Christ’s day.
Despite a world that is largely against Israel, with almost every nation on the planet determined to divest Israel of land that the God set apart exclusively for them thousands of years ago, the Scriptures are adamant that although terrible things will happen to Israel and the Jewish people, there will not be another exile. The permanence of their stay is not going to be based on their faithfulness, or on the strength of their army, or on the support of the United States or any other nation; rather it is going to be based on God protecting His name, as a God who always keeps His promises. But we must understand the limitless power that the Lord wields and that He will use it accordingly, especially when it comes to protecting His own holiness and reputation. So, despite how “good” a nation might see itself, or how godly a person might see him or herself, not fully supporting Israel and being against her enemies sets you directly against God, and there will be consequences.
The reality is that Israel is back. The Jews are back, and the so-called 10 Lost Tribes are immigrating back, albeit slowly, as well. The pressure against Israel from the nations of the world is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and it is not going to get any better. Yet, as Believers we have the duty to stand with Israel, without wavering, even if it pits us against our government, our friends, even our family, and let the chips fall where they may. When I say “we” I mean each of us as individuals. There is no leaving it to the other guy. No blaming our government for our personal lack of zealousness for God’s land and His people. My friends: there remains a blessing for those who bless Israel and curse for those who curse Israel. Standing on the fence, or putting yourself on the sidelines, doesn’t earn you blessing. So, what is left?
Yes; Israel must become very personal to each of us just as our relationship with the Lord is personal to each of us. Nevertheless, God’s Laws, Commandments, and Prophecies apply to us all in perpetuity.torahclass.com
hope this helps !!!
