Frederick
the Great of Prussia, who had been listening to
Voltaire's agnostic ideas, asked one of his court
chaplains: "If the Bible is true, it ought to be
capable of very clear and succinct witness. Generally
when I ask if the Bible is true, I am handed some long
scholarly volume which I have neither the time nor the
patience to read. If your Bible is true, give me the
proof of it in one word." The chaplain answered in
this way: "Sire, Israel."
Israel is the one-word demonstration of the veracity
of Scripture because God has chosen the Jewish nation
to be at the center of God's kingdom plan. In
addition, the miracle of Israel demonstrates the
trustworthiness of Scripture. After all, the Bible
predicted Jews would be scattered from the land—which
occurred in 70 A.D.—and then would be brought back to
form a nation.
Never before in the history of human-kind had a nation
been dissolved and then, after many years (in Israel's
case, almost 1,900) resurrected—until it happened with
Israel. Never before had a language been lost to the
world and then resurrected—until it occurred with
Hebrew, the language of the Jews of Israel.
Israel truly is a miracle and is one of the very
greatest proofs that the Bible is true. But because
Israel is at the very center of God's prophetic plan,
recent occurrences in Israel may also be strong
indicators that we are nearing the return of Christ.
Specifically, two occurrences indicate this: 1) the
migration of Jews into the land of Israel; and 2)
Israel's recent possession of Jerusalem. We begin with
the migration of Jews into the land.
For example, 7,500 Jews of the lost tribes of the
northeast will migrate to Israel later this year.
These Jews, which have been located in India, will go
to the "Promised Land" after "their peers from South
America" migrate to Israel.
Jews making aliyah (migrating to Israel) before the
rapture of the Church and the beginning of the
seven-year tribulation period occur are all part of
the fulfillment of Ezekiel 37. In that chapter, God
predicts that, following the scattering of the Jews
(which occurred in 70 A.D. when the Romans besieged
Israel), He would bring Jews back to the land of
Israel in preparation for the salvation of Israel.
Israel's salvation will occur during the seven years
prior to the return of Christ and will be fulfilled at
the initiation of the kingdom of God, following the
return of Christ to the earth.
At the end of the nineteenth century, God began to
fulfill Ezekiel 37, which predicts that God would
bring Jews into the land of Israel in order to prepare
for the salvation of Israel. Israel's spiritual
salvation will take place within the seven-year
tribulation period prior to the return of Christ,
while Israel's physical salvation will occur at the
return of Jesus to the earth. Thus, the fulfillment of
Jews immigrating into the land of Israel would
indicate the nearness of the day of the Lord (the
seven-year era, initiated by the beginning of the
end-times treaty with Israel). So, how close is that
fulfillment?
Prior to Israel becoming a state in 1948, the Jewish
population grew to 600,000 in five great waves of
immigration. More than 3 million more have followed,
and Israel's Jewish population now stands at 5.5
million. Of the world's population of just over 13
million Jews, Israel's is the biggest portion, having
surpassed America's in 2006.
In referring to the immense number of immigrants to
Israel in comparison to the smaller number of
citizens, Sergio DellaPergola, a prominent demographer
at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, a
Jerusalem think tank, announced: "There is no place in
the world where the number of immigrants is five times
the number of the people who were there. It is
unprecedented."
However, since the occurrence of that great influx,
the immigration into Israel has achieved a slowdown.
In fact, according to DellaPergola, "Israel is nearing
zero growth from immigration." This may indicate that
Israel is nearing the number of Jews God has appointed
to be in the land when the day of the Lord begins. If
so, the day of the Lord may be right around the
corner.
Another important indicator of the nearness of the day
of the Lord is Israel's possession of Jerusalem, and
this is another part of the miracle that is Israel. In
June of 1967, Israel was
attacked by seven Arab nations, outmanned so badly it
appeared to be the end of the Jewish nation. However,
miraculously, Israel not only won that war in six
days, but it obtained land from three different
nations, as a result.
Part of the spoil of that war for Israel was the
regaining of Jerusalem. "The city of God" became
Jewish for the first time since 70 A.D.!
When God put Jerusalem back into the hands of Israel
in 1967, it fulfilled Jesus' prophecy of Luke 21:24,
where he announced that the Jewish capital would be
under Gentile control "until the times of the Gentiles
are fulfilled." It seems that "the times of the
Gentiles" refers to God's focus upon Gentiles for
salvation; in fact, this must be the identification of
"the times of the Gentiles". How do we know?
According to Luke 21:24, "the times of the Gentiles"
are connected with the possession of Jerusalem. As
mentioned above, Jerusalem came under Gentile control
in 70 A.D. when the armies of Rome besieged Israel.
Why did that occur? It was due to Israelite hardness
to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, God's
judgment came upon Israel, part of which involved the
chasing of Jews from "the city of God".
This means that Israel's current possession of
Jerusalem signals that God has begun to turn his
attention toward Israel for salvation. Since that
salvation will occur during the seven years
immediately preceding the return of Christ to
establish God's kingdom upon the earth, the initiation
of that seven-year period cannot be far away.
This means the return of Christ is growing close. So,
keep looking up!