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Signs
of the Times 1: The Desolation and Hope of Israel
Jackson
Snyder, 1998, 2001
(Hosea 3:4-5 KJV) For the children of Israel shall
abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a
sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without
teraphim...
Hosea was a prophet of Israel (i.e. Galilee) who
prophesied about 750 - 725 BC, about 250 years after the reign of King
David. (Who said that no
prophet was to arise from Galilee?)
Hosea prophesies here about a time which would begin about 125
years later (606 BC), when Yahweh permitted the Babylonians to tear into
the land of Judea, kill the king, imprison the prince, destroy the temple,
and take the people into captivity.
But unlike other prophets of doom, Hosea sees the eventual
restoration of Israel to the status of nationhood.
{5} Afterward -- shall the children of Israel return -- and
seek Yahweh their God -- and David their king -- and shall fear Yahweh --
and his goodness in the latter days.
2600 years after Hosea’s prophecy of the
restoration of Israel, these unlikely predictions began to be
fulfilled. But in the interim
years, the people of Israel were dispersed; the nation of Israel was
disbanded and the Holy City of Jerusalem has been "trodden down" by the
Gentiles every since.
The
Sign of Christ's Presence and The End Of The Age
Yahshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, also a Galilean, who
lived in this interim period, spoke of the restoration of Israel / Judah
and of his return as Messiah as a response to a two-fold question posed by
his followers and recorded in Matthew 24:3:
(Mat 24:3) And as
he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately,
saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of
thy presence, and of the end of the age?
Three questions: (1) When shall these things
be? that is, when will the temple be left with not one stone upon the
other. That came to pass
exactly 40 years later, for "this generation shall live to see it all," he
prophesied. We are now
concerning ourselves with the two other questions which
were
no so quick to be fulfilled: (2)
What will be the sign of your presence? (3) What will be the sign of the
end of the age?
In Matthew 24 and Luke 21, Jesus gives 15 signs
that would indicate his presence on earth and the end-time of the gospel
age. One of these signs is
particularly evident, for almost every single day we along with the entire
world are reminded of it in the news media. Jesus describes this sign in Luke
21:24b: “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
We all know that this word has been fulfilled in
our time -- that since 1967, when Jerusalem was unified, the time of
Gentile rule over Jerusalem ended and the city is once more under the
control of the remnant of Israel.
And just in the last year or two Jerusalem has again become the
capital of the new state of Israel.
How did the unlikely re-formation of Israel and
the restoration of Jerusalem
come about; is this truly a sign of Jesus' presence; and what does it say
about the advent of the new messianic age? Our investigation takes us back
120 years, when the Lord again began to favor Israel.
· 1878 - Berlin Congress: a Congress of the three European
empires was held in Berlin.
In attendance were representatives of the German Empire, the
Russian Empire and the British Empire. The task of this Berlin Congress
was to carve up the world in such a way as to counter the growing Russian
threat to Europe and the Middle East. As unlikely as it may seem, the
chancellor of the British Empire in attendance at the Congress was a
Jew. More unlikely still, he
was a Messianic Jew, which means that he believed Yahshua / Jesus to be
the Messiah. His name was
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881); his dream was that Jews might again have a
homeland in Israel. Under
Disraeli's leadership of the Berlin Congress, the great European empires
declared their support for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. The day of Israel's favor had
finally arrived. And the
first Jewish settlement, Hatikvah, or "Door of Hope," was founded on the
blood, sweat and tears of the first pioneers of what would become, exactly
70 years later, the nation of Israel.
· Exactly 40 years later, in 1917,
the Balfour Declaration was made:
Through the efforts of Lord Balfour, in the waning months of World
War I, Britain pledged its support and promised its help in establishing a
Jewish national homeland in Palestine. On the heels of this declaration,
the British General Allenby invaded Palestine and won it from the Muslim
Turks. (It is said that
Allenby had a biplane drop flyers over the city calling for the Turks to
surrender the city. Many had
never seen an airplane, and when they heard that Allenby was coming, they
mistook the plane for an angel and "Allenby" for "Allah." They surrendered almost
immediately fearing the wrath of Allah had come!) Palestine thus became a
protectorate of Great Britain, and Jews from all over the world were
allowed to return. But
nothing else came of the Balfour Declaration's promise of a national
homeland until after WWII and its Holocaust.
The Amazing Account of General Allenby's Capture of Jerusalem in 1917
· 1936 -1946 - The Holocaust (Burnt
Offering): As we are reminded
every day by historical pieces on television, some six million Jews and
many others were murdered during this ten years of unprecedented
persecution. Also, many of
the real Christians of Europe gave their lives in protest. The Holocaust may have been the
fulfillment of another prophecy of scripture:
(Rev 2:9-10) I
know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I
know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not, but are
the synagogue of Satan. {10} Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may
be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Did
you know that the allies, including the US, knew the business of the death
camps as early as 1942, but did nothing to hinder their murderous
success? Yet it was out of
this great Holocaust sacrifice that Hosea's prophecy was manifested,
Disraeli's vision and Balfour's legislation came to fruit. The fertilizer for the seed of
Israel was the sacrifice of millions of souls.
· 1947:
The nations of the UN set aside a little land for a Jewish
state. The rest is
history. On May
14, 1948: again fully 70 years after the Berlin Congress, the Knesset of
Israel under the leadership of David ben Gurion declared Israel a
state. Immediately, the
armies of the surrounding
Arab
nations converged on the new state of Israel with the intention of
"marching the Jews into the sea."
Jordan seized Jerusalem, but Israel fought and won the battle for
its survival against 100 to 1 odds.
The nation of Israel is "a miracle of history -- never has a nation
been destroyed and dispersed, then nearly 2,000 years later
reassembled."
Israelites
Return to the Land
With the establishment of an Israeli state,
another great prophecy came to pass:
(Jer 31:6-9) For
there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry,
Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Yahweh our God. {7} For thus saith
Yahweh; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the
nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Yahweh, save thy people, the
remnant of Israel. {8} Behold, 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. {9} They shall come with
weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to
walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not
stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my
firstborn.
And
Israelites have been returning in the ensuing years from all over earth,
swelling the population of Israel’s land from a hundred thousand in 1948
to nearly 7 million today, thus fulfilling another great end-time
prophecy:
(Amos 9:14-15) I
will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the
ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their
wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. {15} I will plant
them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the
land that I have given them, says Yahweh your God.
Yes,
Israel will never again be plucked out from among the nations. Israel will now stand
forever. And Israel will
continue to sprout fruit from what has always been a wasteland.
(Isa 35:1) The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert
shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
In 1989 we visited Golgotha outside the old city
gates of Jerusalem. The tour
guide took me aside, saying, "Come look at this." We walked into Golgotha through an
obscure cave-like entrance.
From that opening came the most wonderful smell of fruit and
flowers. And deep inside
Golgotha there was found a gigantic fruit market, a fitting illustration
of the desert blossoming!
The
Sign of His Presence Fulfilled
Although Israel came to be in 1948 and has
mightily prospered since then, the prophecy of Jesus concerning the end of
the days of the Gentiles treading down Jerusalem (Luke 21:24) was not yet
fulfilled – the Arab kingdom of Jordan still controlled Jerusalem for
another 20 years until the Six Day War of 1967, when UN peace-keeping
troops withdrew.
The combined might of Egypt, Syria and Jordan
stormed in from every direction to annihilate Israel, attacking on the
Sabbath to get the advantage.
But within a week, Israel miraculously regained the land, and even
expanded outward to capture the entire territory of the biblical
Israel.
(Zec 12:2,3,6)
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the
people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and
against Jerusalem. {3} And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in
pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against
it. {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.
Israel
also recaptured old Jerusalem in these days, and the days of the Gentiles
in Jerusalem ended, and Jesus' prophecy of the sign of his presence and
the end of the age thus came to pass.
That was 34+ years ago -- how many of us were
alive then? Though I was a
member of the fledgling charismatic movement in 1967, we Charismatics in
the Midwest did not see the sign. We wouldn’t have known it to be a
sign of the Messiah’s presence had we seen it. We were ignorant of prophecy and
lacking in adequate Bible teaching.
But now we see it clearly in hindsight, for now nearly a
Biblical generation has passed, and we woefully consider how much time we
have lost to show ourselves worthy of Yahweh's election. We also wonder how much time is
left before Messiah makes his presence public. Listen to what the Lord says about
the days of the Messiah:
(Zec 8:3-8 KJV)
Thus saith Yahweh; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the
mountain of Yahweh Sabbaoth the holy mountain. {4} There shall yet old
people dwell in the streets of Jerusalem... {5} And the streets of the
city shall be full of boys and girls playing. {6} If it be marvelous in
the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be
marvelous in mine eyes? {7} Behold, I will save my people from the east
country, and from the west country; {8} And I will bring them, and they
shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I
will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
Though the powers that be say the peace process
is "ongoing," eternal peace has not yet come to Israel. There is violence all about
because the enemy within and without has not yet been vanquished. Though Messiah has made plain
his presence by the sign, he has not yet revealed his
majesty. But in that day,
guns and negotiations will no longer be necessary to maintain peace, for
all shall know the Lord. War
and resistance will be absolutely futile when he appears in
Jerusalem.
Invitation
(Third), we desire to know how we should live in
the meantime.
Consider the sacrifice of the Jews during the Holocaust that
eventually won them a homeland.
Most of these Jews were not especially religious, many might well
have renounced their religion when faced with such persecution, had they
the chance; but they were Jews by race and they had no choice but
sacrifice all for the future nation of which they knew nothing.
Consider now the sacrifice that you are willing
to make for a kingdom you have not seen. Millions of messianic people are
being executed for their faith in this unseen kingdom all over the world
in the last 10 years. There
has been no "rapture" from suffering for them, yet the cup of suffering
predicted in the Revelation is far from full. Are you willing to suffer? Yes, you are; and some are
suffering in body and some are in mourning over this sinful, degenerate
world. But are you willing to
suffer for a kingdom you have only read about in the Bible? Or a King you have never really
seen?
I heard the prevailing
attitude of spirit-filled people reiterated by a famous TV preacher one
Sunday not long ago (Rod Parsley): "I know what's promised in the future,
but I want what's mine now!!"
He repeated the last phrase over and over again, to the cheers of
his followers. But an
attitude like this will gain nothing. That you should “get yours now” is
a powerful deception that will keep even a believer from getting anything
anytime. For Yahshua Messiah
is even now sifting the wheat and casting away the chaff; revealing each
true sacrificer of the now for his or her fitness to rule in the
future Kingdom of the Beloved then. Now is not a time for quick
gratification, but a time of trial so that the elect of Yahweh might be
revealed. How have you stood
in the face of the fiery ordeal?
Finally, consider the struggle for the old Jerusalem to be a type and example of the struggle for the New Jerusalem. Where have your struggles taken you: closer to the Millennium or farther away? Into the Kingdom of the Beloved or deeper into the territory of the enemy? It is my hope that you are approaching closer and closer, especially now that you have heard the marvelous tale of the resurrection of Israel and the fulfillment of impossible ancient prophecies to the very letter and to the very year.
optical illusion
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