PAUL M. WILLIAMS

BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE LAST DAYS – PART 7 [20/11/15]

MODERN AND FULFILLED

Introduction

In this this teaching we are continuing to look at fulfilled Bible prophecy as it relates to Israel. When we use the name modern Israel, we simply do so to distinguish it from ancient Israel. AD 70 marked a decisive and pinnacle year in the history of the Jewish nation, just as 586 BC had done, half a millennia before; the Jewish temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was conquered and the Jewish people were slaughtered, being exiled en- mass, scattered across the vast mass of the Roman Empire. This event is known as the (Greek for scattering), the final wave taking place in AD 136 following the last of the Jewish-Roman wars known as the Bar Kokhba revolt, . Whereas in the first diaspora, the Jewish exile lasted only seventy years, the diaspora of the first/second century would last some 1900 years!! To comprehend this astonishing statistic and to put it into context, the Jewish presence in the land promised to , Isaac and Jacob from the time of Israel’s entering in under the leadership of Joshua up until AD 70 was approximately 1500 years. Thus the en-mass post-AD 70 has been one outside the Promise Land and has eclipsed the length of its history in the land by nearly half a millennia!! From the time of Abraham to the time of Christ was only 2000 years!! So it was, exactly as the prophets foretold:

64And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. 65And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. (Deu 28:64-67)

Following the conquest of Jerusalem under the command of Titus, the Romans ruled Israel for 600 years, the last 300 years of which were ruled by the Eastern leg of the Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) after the Roman Empire was split in the 4th Century. It was during the rule the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century that the geographical land mass of Israel was changed to the name Palaestina in an attempt to wipe out the identity of Israel and is where the modern name Palestine has been derived. Following Roman rule, Muslim invaders seized control of Israel in the 7th century AD ruling Israel for the next 400 years. Following this, the Roman Crusaders captured the Holy Land controlling it for the next 200 years who were then succeeded by the Islamic Mamluks of who took control ruling for a further 200 years. Finally, the last ruling empire to have control of Israel was the Islamic Turkish Ottoman Empire who occupied the land for 400 years from the fourteenth century up until the turn of the last century in 1917. Throughout these many centuries there remained a continuous minority Jewish presence in the Holy Land who lived and suffered at the hands of foreign invaders. From 1917 to 1948, Britain occupied and governed Israel as World War 1 drew to a close. It is in the last century that we focus our study this teaching.

Aliyah, and the Beginning of

At the end of the 19th century due to growing widespread anti-Semitism in Europe began leaving Eastern Europe and a small minority headed for Israel. This saw the start of Zionism, a movement whose primary goal was to establish a home for the Jewish people in their ancient Biblical homeland of Israel. A British census of 1918 estimated around 700,000 Arabs and 56,000 Jews living in Israel at that time. The Jewish migration and settlement in Israel was and still is known as “ (ascent)”. Between 1882 and 1939 in a wave of five stages, 450 000 Jews moved and settled in the .

10…He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock (Jer. 31:10b)

In 1917 in a historic letter known as the , Britain expressed its desire and approval to see a Jewish national homeland in Israel. However, after the Fifth wave of Aliyah in the 1930’s, due to mounting Arab tensions and rioting in the land of Israel, the British increasingly restricted Jewish immigration into the Holy Land sending many escaping Nazi Germany back to perish at the hands of Hitler.

One cannot mention the modern history of Israel without mentioning the single greatest loss of Jewish life in Jewish history, namely the holocaust. On January 30th 1933, Adolf Hitler was named the chancellor of Germany. By the end of 1934, Hitler was in full control of Germany and his propaganda campaign against the Jews was in full sway, claiming that the Jews corrupted the pure German culture with their foreign and mongrel influence. Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 which saw the start of World War 2. Poland had the largest concentration of Jews in Europe, some roughly 3 million. Jews were forcibly removed from their homes and were forced to live in ghettos isolated from the rest of society. By 1941, Hitler had begun his “Final Solution” to the Jewish problem and his hit squad commando units had murdered more than 1.3 million Jews. By 1942, he had established six killing centres in Poland, the most notorious being Auschwitz. Jews were imported by train to these death camps from all over Europe to die in Hitler’s gas ovens. Between 1939 and 1945, some 6 million Jews had been slaughtered in Hitler’s holocaust almost a quarter of which were children. Two thirds of the Jewish community in Europe had been wiped out which amounted to more than a third of Jews worldwide!! To put that into context, the amount of Jews living in Israel today is the same as those who perished at the hands of Hitler!! Even seventy years after World War 2, it is only now that the Jewish population is returning to the levels pre-World War 2, which as of the year 2015, numbers some 16.5 million.

3And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. (Jer 23:3)

After World War 2, holocaust survivors for obvious reasons did not want to return to their European homes where anti-Semitic hatred of the Jews still persisted and where they had suffered such brutal persecution. After the war in 1945, many borders in Western Europe were closed to these homeless survivors and instead they were housed in DP (displaced persons) centres in Allied controlled zones in Germany, Austria and . Many in these camps dreamed of returning to their homeland of Israel. During the period of 1945-48 thousands of Jewish holocaust survivors tried to gain entrance illegally into the aboard ships, known as “”. Many of the ships were intercepted by British Navy fleets and turned back to Germany, and many more Jews were captured and housed in detention camps on the island of Cyprus. In 1947 in an historic turn of events the United Nations passed an international resolution partitioning the land of Israel into two states giving 56% to the Jews and 43% to the Arabs with Jerusalem being an international zone; Britain abstained in the vote, whilst 33 other countries voted in favour with 13 countries voting against and 9 other countries besides Britain abstaining. In 1948, British forces officially left Israel as their mandate came to an end and in May 14, 1948 Israel declared its national independence and immediately immigration restrictions were lifted. If you would have suggest to a Jew immediately following the holocaust that in three years’ time Israel would become an independent nation back in the land of Israel after nearly 1900 years, fighting and winning a war against six surrounding Arab nations and thus securing its existence in the land, he would probably have died laughing. Since 1948, millions of Jews from more than 100 different countries have poured into their Biblical homeland of Israel which now comprises nearly 6 million Jews (over 40% of the worldwide Jewish population). In the words of American-Jewish columnist Charles Krauthammer:

"Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You dig the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream at the corner candy store." - Charles Krauthammer, At Last , The Weekly Standard, May 11, 1998 http://www.weeklystandard.com/print/Content/Protected/Articles/000/000/009/581gsydf.asp?page=3

Defying all possible odds, surviving a nationwide campaign of genocide with European Jewry tinkering on the edge of annihilation, fighting and winning seven wars in just 65 years, the first of which took place no sooner than Israel declared its independence in 1948 which saw no less than six Arab nations - Egypt, , Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon simultaneous descend into Israel’s borders; Israel is still standing, a miracle of God’s doing!! The wonder of the modern state of Israel which has seen the return of literally millions upon millions over the last century is truly God’s doing and is in exact fulfilment of the prophecies contained in His word!! God said clearly in his word that in the last days, He would gather His people Israel from every corner of the world and bring them back into the Promise Land.

5Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6I 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; (Isa 43:5-6)

Exactly as the prophet foretold, from the east, west, north and south, Jews have returned to their homeland from every continent on planet earth, from U.S.A, Britain, Europe, Russia, China, India, Australia, Africa, and South America just to name but a few!!

14Therefore, 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; 15But, 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. 16Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. (Jer 16:14-16)

One of the largest Jewish communities in the world in the early 1950’s numbering some three million people, lived in the former Soviet Union. There was no way naturally speaking that communist Russia was going to let any of its Jewish citizens immigrate to Israel. However, in pure defiance of natural reasoning after the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1990’s, the world has witnessed well over one million Russian Jews immigrate to Israel in fulfilment of God’s word that He would bring His people from the north and indeed from all the coasts of the earth! These have included the blind, the lame and the pregnant women and many more that have come weeping back into their homeland after leaving it some 1900 years before!!

8Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. (Jer 31:8)

When the first settlers arrived on Israeli soil in the first wave of Aliyah, the land was barren and uncultivated; a dessert like much of the Middle East is today. When American author Mark Twain, arrived in Israel in the late 1860’s, as he traveled towards Jerusalem, he wrote:

“The further we went the hotter the sun got and the more rocky and bare, repulsive and dreary the landscape became… There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country. No landscape exists that is more tiresome to the eye than that which bounds the approaches to Jerusalem… Jerusalem is mournful, dreary and lifeless. I would not desire to live here. It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land… Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes.” - Mark Twain, Delphi Complete Works of Mark Twain (Illustrated)

Yet God said in His word:

8But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: (Eze 36:8-9)

In exact fulfilment of God’s word Israel today is one of the world’s leading exporters of fruit, exporting over 40 different varieties of fruit to all over the world and is a major exporter of flowers to Europe. Israel sits as a mass of green amidst a barren surrounding wilderness!!

The Prophetic Significance of the Re-gathering of Israel in 1948

In Matthew 24 we have a last day’s scenario being depicted just prior to Jesus’ return to earth that is directly and inseparably related to Israel existing geographically in the land of Israel. Those that are in Judaea are told to flee to the mountains in order to escape the wrath of the Antichrist who will usher in the great tribulation, a period of 3½ years which will see the extermination of two-thirds of the Jewish race as prophesied by the prophet Zechariah. Jesus warned “…except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved…” (Mat. 24:22). We will be speaking more on this in future teachings. Jesus said:

32Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (Mat 24:32-33)

It is clear, both from the New Testament and the Old Testament; the last day’s fulfilment of Bible Prophecy is inextricably linked to the nation of Israel being back in their homeland. There is no escaping this fact!! It is one of the most visible signs that we are in the last day’s and are soon to witness the return of the Lord Jesus Christ!! When Jesus came the first time, many were caught off guard. The Hebrew Scriptures described a that would rule the nations and usher in worldwide peace. However, at the same time they spoke of Messiah who would suffer, bearing the sins of the nation. This was a seeming paradox, causing the Rabbis to conclude that there must be two Messiah’s. In hindsight however, the mystery is revealed in that we now know there not to be two , but one Messiah and two comings!! As it was in Messiah’s first coming, so it is in His second. We do not have the privilege of hindsight and so do our best to reconcile scriptures concerning the last days. All things will take place in Gods timing according to His Word; it is for us as believers to be Bereans in searching the scriptures to discern the times in which we are living. Jesus reproved the Pharisees in His day because they failed to discern the day of their visitation, and so it is today, the Church of God once more are failing to discern the signs.

1The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Mat 16:1-3)

Many in the Church deny that 1948 and the subsequent mass migration of the Jewish race back into Israel is of any significance at all prophetically, instead teaching that the Church has replaced Israel as the chosen people of God and that God has no more purpose for that nation. Some even hold to and propound unfounded and anti-Semitic theories such as the Khazar Theory which puts forward the notion that the majority of Jews today are not true Jews descending from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but rather are false Jews descending from a semi-nomadic Turkic people who lived in Eastern Europe in the 7th century AD. Such theories have been utterly refuted, not least in the light of modern DNA technology which has demonstrated that the Ashkenazi Jews which make up the majority of Jewry worldwide trace their ancestry back to the Middle East (for more info, see teaching on Khazar Theory).

When one begins to study Bible prophecy, one quickly realizes that one is dealing with a mystery, a puzzle in which are many pieces; we have the pieces but fitting them all together is not always so straight forward as we would like. One such issue concerning Bible prophecy is that sometimes, within one or two verses, there is a gap of time that in the literal reading of the passage would not be obvious at first sight. One such example is found in Is. 9:6-7.

6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isa 9:6-7)

Part of this verse concerning Messiah’s Deity and humanity were fulfilled in His first coming, yet other parts such as the government resting on his shoulders and His sitting ruling upon the throne of David in a time of worldwide peace is still future! Another such example is found in Zech. 9:9-10

9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. (Zec 9:9-10)

Again, in Messiah’s first coming, he appeared to Israel, riding into Jerusalem upon an ass. Yet the worldwide peace which Messiah shall usher in is to take place when He comes the second time, when the battle bow shall be cut off etc. is still future!! Jesus’ followers too were awaiting a ruling Messiah even though Jesus had clearly taught them otherwise and He had needs to rebuke them after His crucifixion and resurrection.

25Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? (Luk 24: 25-26)

Studying fulfilled Bible prophecy is an important key to understanding prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled. Let us then look further at prophecy concerning the miracle regathering of Israel and the formation of that nation in 1948.

7Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. (Isa 66:7-9)

The footnotes concerning verse 8 in the Amplified Bible read as follows

Never in the history of the world had such a thing happened before—but God keeps His word. As definitely foretold here and in 37:21, 22, Israel became a recognized nation, actually “born in one day.” After being away from their homeland for almost 2,000 years, the Jews were given a national homeland in Palestine by the Balfour Declaration in November, 1917. In 1922, the League of Nations gave Great Britain the mandate over Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Great Britain withdrew her mandate, and immediately Israel was declared a sovereign state, and her growth and importance among nations became astonishing. - Amplified Bible, Footnotes, Isaiah 66:8 Isaiah also prophesied…

11And 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. 12And 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. (Isa 11:11-12)

Note, whose hand shall accomplish this, the LORD’s!! I believe that the first time God scattered and regathered His people was in the Babylonian exile. The ‘second time’ refers to what we are now seeing taking place in the land of Israel, God gathering His people back into the land from every corner of the earth, 1900 years after going into exile at the hand of the Romans. This is undeniably God’s doing!! There are those that would assert that all the prophecies that speak of Israel’s re-gathering were all fulfilled in their return from their first exile at the hand of Cyrus. However, the Scriptures do not allow for this sweeping generalisation. Take for instance the words of the prophet Amos in prophesying the return of Israel to their land and the building up of the nation:

14And 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. 15And 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. (Amo 9:14-15)

It is impossible for this to have been fulfilled in full in the return of Israel from Babylon as God expressly says to His people that upon return into the land they shall no more be pulled up from out of their land, a fact that history does not allow to be fulfilled in Cyrus since they were plucked up again by the Romans. Another example of the case in hand is found in Jeremiah 32.

36And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; 37Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. (Jer 32:36-40)

The first part of the above prophecy without a doubt fits Israel’s first exile. Babylon is mentioned by name. However the latter part of this prophecy pertains to a future time not fulfilled in the time of Cyrus, a time in which Israel would be restored forever, never to depart again from the ways of God, a time in which they shall dwell in safety. So we see, many prophetic passages referring to Israel’s re-gathering and restoration in the last days have been partially fulfilled in past exiles, but many are being fulfilled as we speak and are yet still to be fulfilled in the future in the final restoration of Israel upon the coming of their Messiah when all Israel shall be saved!! The prophet Ezekiel was Jeremiah’s contemporary and in a similar fashion to Jeremiah, foretold of a regathering of Israel which was not complete in the regathering under Cyrus.

14Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 15Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession. 16Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17Therefore 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. 18And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. (Eze 11:14-18)

Ezekiel was taken into captivity by the Babylonians in the second wave of deportation before the total destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. He is addressing his fellow kinsmen in Jerusalem from exile in Babylon and is rebuking them for their arrogance in thinking that God has given possession of the land to them whilst sending the captives away from the land. Ezekiel assures them that God indeed will assemble them out of the countries where he has scattered them and bring them back into the land of Israel. That certainly was fulfilled in 538 B.C when Cyrus conquered the Babylonians and returned the captives back into the land. However, there are parts of this prophecy that are unfulfilled intermingled parts that have been fulfilled, meaning its fulfilment is only complete in part. Verses 19 and 20 continue as follows:

19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Eze 11:19-20)

This clearly pertains to the future restoration of Israel which shall in due time take place. We see therefore that the prophecy to re-gather Israel pertained to more than just the re-gathering that took place historically in the time of Ezra and indeed is related to an end time gathering which even now is upon us!! Finally, in Ezekiel chapter 37, Ezekiel foretold of a most extraordinary event. His language is graphic and its symbolism powerful. A valley full of dry bones begin again to come together before being clothed upon with flesh and tissue before receiving life to live again. God makes it clear to Ezekiel what this all represents. He tells him that these bones represent the whole house of Israel.

1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. (Eze 37:1-14)

A nation that is dead is brought back to life!! If this is not undeniable proof of the power of God’s Word in foretelling the events surrounding 1948 then I do not know what is!! Again, we see a nation that was dead brought back together again in their national homeland. However, the fulfilment of this prophecy is not complete; God said that He would by the breath of His mouth cause this nation to live spiritually by putting His Spirit within them. This exciting event and the things concerning Israel’s spiritual restoration are soon to take place. The scene is being set and the countdown to eternity has begun!!!