CHAPTER 6
Currently there is a spirited debate among theologians over the nation of Israel. Despite scores of Bible passages which prophesy the return of Israel in the last days, some teachers deny the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of those prophecies. Among that group are those who consider modern Israel no more than a political movement. Others concede that Israel's existence may be a kind of "movement on the stage" in preparation for true fulfillment of prophecy.
Why is the Biblical status of modern Israel important? For one thing, it affects our national policy toward that nation. If modern Israel is not of God, then it doesn't matter how we deal with them. For instance, if we pressure them to give up land (in pursuit our own national interests) we can do so without fear of striving against God.
Another reason this issue is important has to do with determining where we are on the so called prophetic clock. The Bible contains many prophecies about a period known as "the last days," and those prophecies usually involve Israel. That means those days cannot begin before Israel is reestablished as a nation.
For simplicity, we will call that period the End Times. Whenever the Bible uses phrases such as, "in that day," or "in the latter days," it is referring to the End Times. Over and over the prophet Jeremiah referred to that coming period, and to it he always attached wonderful promises for Israel.
"For, behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah. I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it" (Jeremiah 30:3).
There is no shortage of God's plans for Israel's future. The question is, when will those plans be implemented? If modern Israel is a fulfillment (even partially) of prophecy, then the End Times have begun. If not, everything is still future.
More often than not, when God speaks of bringing Israel back to the Land, He links that promise to prophecies concerning the New Covenant. For example, in Ezekiel we read,
Thus says the Lord God, "I shall gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I shall give you the land of Israel" (Ezekiel 11:17)
Then on the heels of that promise we hear:
WHEN THEY COME THERE, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God (Ezekiel 11:18-20).
In the 37th Chapter of Ezekiel, we find the same pattern:
Behold I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land (Ezekiel 37:21).
Then in the verses immediately following are a whole host of New Covenant promises from God.
This pattern of linking Israel's return with the New Covenant has caused some to conclude modern Israel cannot be a fulfillment of prophecy. That is because the people of modern Israel have not received new hearts or new spirits, and they exhibit little desire to walk in God's statutes. In other words, there is no evidence that the Nation has come under the New Covenant.
Those who hold this view are convinced that the prophesied gathering of Israel is a one-time, supernatural event which takes place at Messiah's second coming. For that reason, they believe all that has occurred in Israel since 1948 has little or no bearing on the gathering which is prophesied in the last days. One teacher went so far as to say that the modern state of Israel could conceivably be driven from the land and then brought back at the end of the age. By the way, those who believe modern Israel is not of God have carved out an interesting position for themselves. They can steadfastly claim to support Israel—but not necessarily the current version of Israel!
Those who adhere to this view are like the Jewish leaders of 2,000 years ago. In trying to decide whether Jesus was the Messiah, they somehow managed to overlook the prophecies He was fulfilling before their eyes. This happened because they were concentrating solely on the promises He was not (yet) fulfilling! In a similar vein, while it is true that Israel's final return is tied to the New Covenant, that does not mean we are free to ignore other prophecies which are being fulfilled.
Fortunately, there are prophecies which shed light on Israel's rebirth. One of those was covered in Chapter Two. As you recall, from Ezekiel 4:4-8 and Leviticus 26, we were able to determine the length of time Israel would be ruled by her enemies and its people banished from the land. That period was calculated to terminate on May 14, 1948, which happened to be the exact day modern-day Israel became a nation! If that is not a fulfillment of prophecy, I am at a loss to know what to call it.
In addition to revealing the time Israel would be reborn, God also showed us precisely how it would happen. In a vision, He showed Ezekiel a valley full of bones (see Ezekiel 37). They must have been there a long time because they were very dry. Ezekiel was commanded to speak a message from the Lord to those dry bones.
Thus says the Lord God to these bones, "Behold I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. And I will put sinews on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you that you may come alive" (Ezekiel 37:5-6).
As soon as the prophet spoke, there was a noise and a rattling, and the bones began to come together. In his book, The Beginning of the End, Tim LaHaye gives a provocative explanation for the noise and rattling. When World War I was going badly for England, a Jewish chemist named Chaim Weizeman discovered a new method for manufacturing TNT and smokeless gunpowder. Believing that discovery changed the course of the war, the English sought to reward Weizman. All he desired, however, was for Palestine to be declared a national homeland for the Jews. So, on November 2, 1917, Weizman's request was granted, and the Balfour Declaration was signed. It was the starting point for the rebirth of modern Israel. Could the "noise and rattling" be a veiled reference to the TNT discovery, which played such an important part in the Israel's rebirth?
As the vision revealed, Israel's movement toward rebirth would be a process. After the bones came together, tendons and muscles appeared, then flesh, and finally, skin covered the bodies. This is precisely the way Israel progressed toward statehood—one step at a time. For eighteen centuries the nation of Israel was dead. Its people were "buried" in all the nations of the world. But God said He would cause them to come up out of their "graves" and bring them back to the land of Israel. This did not happen all at once. Less than 25,000 Jews resided in Palestine in 1917. By 1945 that figure had grown to 500,000. (Today there are well over three million in the Land.)
Finally, God breathed life into them and they all stood up, a great army of them. Is this prophecy about individuals coming back to life? No. This is not about resurrection. God told Ezekiel that the bones represented the whole house of Israel. Therefore, when God breathed on the bones, it was picturing the nation coming to life! Is there any reason to doubt that God made those "dry bones" come to life in 1948? Probably not. (When you hear the hoof beats, don't start looking for zebras.)
Some, however, may still wish to argue that another state of Israel could be "reborn" in the future. To them, I would suggest studying the many accounts of Israel's 1948 War of Independence. Though unarmed and outnumbered 100 to one, Israel routed six heavily armed enemies. It is obvious that God's hand was present in that conflict. Remembering the terms of Abraham's covenant, you would expect nothing less.
An approach that helps avoid confusion is thinking of End Time prophecies about Israel in two phases. The partial return of the land and the ongoing return of the Jews makes up the initial phase. Everything else, including the New Covenant promises, is part of the final phase.
1. The Land of Israel.
One of the hottest political issues today has to do with the land of Israel. Pressure from every side is being exerted on Israel to give up land in exchange for peace. It is claimed that there will be lasting peace if Israel surrenders the West Bank and the Golan Heights. History and the Bible attest to the utter foolishness of this belief, but it is nevertheless the thinking of most world leaders.
What will be the outcome of this dispute during the initial phase? Prophecy indicates it will persist until the day of Messiah's return, when all the nations will be assembled against Israel outside Jerusalem, which is part of the West Bank (see Zechariah 12:3).
2. Abraham's descendants returning to the Land.
Now fully 30% of the Jews have returned. They are streaming out of Russia as fast as planes can carry them. From every nation (except the United States) they are returning in record numbers. If we are correct in believing this migration is a fulfillment of Ezekiel 37, then the number of Jews returning will increase. Just as God once called Judah to return from Babylon, in the last days He will call the Jews out of the nations where they are scattered.
One way God does this is by making them uncomfortable in the nations where they now live. Commenting on the flood of Jewish immigrants from Russia, the Jewish Agency chairman named economic and political crises as the prime cause. Until the final judgment begins, God will send increasingly severe warnings for Jews to come home. Even so, many won't budge.
Why does God want the Jewish people back in Israel? Quite possibly, it is because Israel is the "wilderness" where God will protect them during Satan's End Time persecutions. The Book of the Revelation says God will prepare a place of safety and nourishment for them. There, they will be protected during the forty-two months Satan makes war against Israel and her offspring, the church (see Revelation 12:14). It could be that no such protection will be given to the Jews who remain outside Israel.
It is no surprise that the place Jews are most content is the United States. Percentage-wise, eight times more Soviet Jews have returned to Israel than American. Despite coming judgments on this country, few Jews will leave. It appears most American Jews will chose to endure judgment on American soil.
When Messiah Returns, every remaining prophecy about Israel will be fulfilled. Then all the New Covenant blessings will be theirs. Incidentally, at that time there will be no more question about the Land. The rebels who rejected God's Covenant with Abraham's descendants will have been sent to a place of eternal punishment (see Matthew 25:46).
That day will mark the final, universal return of Jews to Israel. Isaiah says God will raise a banner to the Gentile nations, and "they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders." All the nations will joyfully escort God's people back to the Land. No one from the house of Jacob will be left behind.
Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer (Ezekiel 39:28).
For these reasons, we can be reasonably certain that modern Israel, whatever its faults, is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. That is why we believe that the End Times have begun in earnest. The first phase of the Jewish return is well under way. In fact, with the great movement of Jews from Russia, there will soon be but one large block of Jews remaining outside the Land—those in America. As we will soon discover, strong medicine is required to remove them.