God chose Israel and the Jewish people to be His instruments on earth to bring salvation to the world. God never had a Plan A for the Jewish people and a Plan B for the Gentile Church. He has only had a Plan A, and we as a Church were brought into God's ongoing redemptive process that is still connected to the Land of Israel, which God calls His own. Sadly, the world and spiritual forces have fought God's plans throughout the ages.

"I will bring back My exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them" (Amos 9:14-15).

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the enemies of Israel attempted to overthrow and erase God's covenantal relationship between Israel and the Jewish people. In two wars between the Jews and Rome in 70 and 135 AD, the Romans destroyed the Temple of God; exiled most of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel; changed Israel's name to Palestine, reminiscent of the arch-enemies of Israel - the Philistines; forbade the Jewish people from entering Jerusalem except on their annual day of mourning, the 9th of the biblical month of Av; and rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, changing its name to Aelia Capitolina.

Who would have thought that the Jewish people would one day inhabit their land again, and that it would be called Israel? Certainly not the nations of the world, who took turns occupying the land and persecuting God's covenant people wherever they could be found.

Yet, God never forgot His people or His plan. On the one hand, His prophets spoke of the exile of the people and the deterioration of the land of milk and honey to a land of barrenness at the hands of the enemies of Israel. On the other hand, in His mercy, God also spoke of a prophetic day when His people Israel would be brought back from the four corners of the earth (Isa. 11:11-12), reinhabit their land, which would become fruitful again, and find complete spiritual renewal (Eze. 36). This is that day!

This prophetic process started just over 100 years ago and is progressing at full force during our lifetime. God is preparing His land and His people for the soon coming of Messiah. The Bible is full of prophetic Scriptures that we are seeing fulfilled before our eyes. The Land of Israel and her people were not just tools of God to be used in days gone by and subsequently discarded. They were, and are, part of God's plan for the redemption of the world along with His Church. His mercies do endure forever. In our day, instead of persecuting the Jewish people, millions of Bible-believing Christians are praying for the peace of Jerusalem and standing in support of God's prophetic plan.

I want us to look at some of the prophetic Scriptures that have been fulfilled by God in relation to the Land of Israel and God's covenant people, the Jewish people. Putting today's events into their biblical context will reveal much to us about God's faithfulness to fulfill His Word and keep His promises. This should be exciting news for the Church, because if God is faithful to His promises to Israel, then He will be faithful to His promises to the Church. As we both await the coming of Messiah, may we find ourselves as part of His plan that will bring blessing to the whole world.

Let's look at twelve key prophetic themes concerning Israel and the Jewish people, as found in the Bible. Remember, that these prophets wrote these prophecies in a day when the Jewish people were living in Israel, and the land was inhabited and cultivated. Therefore, their predictions are even more amazing, because they accurately depicted the situation 2,500 years into the future. God was surely speaking His Word through them.

Key #1

God's covenantal promise to the Jewish people concerning the Land of Israel, which He gave to them, is forever and unbreakable.

In Psalm 89:30-37, we read: "If his sons forsake My law, and do not walk in My judgments, if they violate My statutes, and do not keep My commandments, then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. But, I will not break off My loving kindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful."

Jeremiah 31:35-36 declares: "This is what the Lord says, 'He who appoints the sun to shine by day, Who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord Almighty is His Name; Only if these ordinances vanish from My sight,' declares the Lord, ' will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.'"

The last time I checked, the sun was still shining in the sky by day, and in the evening, the stars and the moon were still gracing the night sky. Therefore, because I believe that God's Word is true, I also believe He did not break His covenant with His people Israel. Sadly, the Replacement Theologians claim that God signaled He was finished with Israel and the Jews when Herod's Temple was destroyed in AD 70, and they were exiled from Jerusalem in AD 135, and bestowed all of the Bible's blessings on the Church. This malevolent teaching has fueled much of Christian anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews by the Church throughout Christian history.

The Gospel has gone around the world to bring the Gentiles of the world closer to the God of Israel to fulfill His promise to Abraham that in him all the nations of the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). God did not break or violate any of His promises or His prophecies towards His covenant people, Israel. In fact, Romans 11 tells us Christians that the Jewish people are "beloved for the sake of the Patriarchs" (v. 28) and that "through your (Christians) mercy, they shall receive mercy" (v. 31).

Therefore, if God's covenant between His people and Land, Israel, is unbreakable, then there must have been a plan to restore both as part of His blessing to the world. In fact, this restoration which is occurring today is setting the stage for the soon coming of the Messiah of the world.

Key #2

God would re-establish the nation of Israel in a day.

Isaiah, the prophet, spoke of the recreation of the nation of Israel at the end of days before the Messiah would come. He said, "Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has even seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor, than she gives birth to her children... Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her" (Isa. 66:8,10).

The prophet Ezekiel, in his vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, saw the Lord raising up His people, Israel, out of their graves and restoring them to their nation as an exceedingly great army. After the detailed description of the restoration of the bones into flesh (Eze. 37:1-10), He said, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, My people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,' declares the Lord" (Eze. 37:11-14).

Many rabbis and Christian Bible scholars believe these prophecies were fulfilled after World War II and the Holocaust, when Israel became a modern state against all odds. Consider the utter devastation of the Jewish people after one-third of the world's Jewish population was annihilated by the Nazis. In these circumstances, who could have imagined that they could ever be restored as a people and nation in their ancient homeland again. At a time when the Jewish people were at one of their lowest ebbs in history, a miracle took place and God did raise them up, literally out of their graves, and made them into a nation once again. On May 14, 1948, the modern state of Israel was born in a day! Interestingly, this occurred 50 years after the First Zionist Congress, held in 1897, where Theodore Herzl shared his vision of a Jewish state in Palestine, which he said would occur in 50 years time.

Ezekiel also saw that Israel would rise up as an exceedingly great army. Interestingly, the defense magazine, Jane's Weekly, has rated Israel as the fourth most efficient army in the world. One of the tiniest nations, with one of the smallest populations in the world, has one of the most powerful armies to defend themselves. In September 1999, it was reported that when Israeli and US military pilots staged mock dog fights in Israel this year, the Israelis had a score of forty to one. Yes, God has brought back and strengthened His people.

Key #3

God's covenant people, the Jews, would return to Israel from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah, the prophet, wrote about the return of God's covenant people, the Jews, to the Land of Israel after an exile from the Land that God had given to them in covenant. In Isaiah 11:11-12, he says, "In that day, the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of His people, who will 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 coastlands of the sea. And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

These babushkas to the right represent the return of Jews from 15 countries of the former Soviet Union.

Just over 100 years ago, the population of the land of Palestine was sparse. But, in the 1880s, Jews began to return from the nations of the world - first, from Yemen, then from Czarist Russia to flee the Pogroms. A trickle of Jewish immigrants became a steady stream. Today, Israel's population is over 6 million people, of which 80% is Jewish. They have now come into Israel from well over 100 nations around the world, and they continue to flood into their ancient homeland at a rate that ranges between 60,000 - 100,000 per year, depending on what is happening in the world.

Many have come on their own because of their desire to live as Jews in their ancient, biblical homeland, e.g., the Yemenite Jews who came in the 1880s declared that God spoke to them and told them it was time to go back to their ancient, biblical homeland. So, they packed their camels and walked across the Arabian desert to Jerusalem. Others have come because they were exiled from their homes, such as those who came in the early 1950s, having been expelled from Moslem countries. Still others have come due to extreme economic and social disruptions, such as we have seen in the countries of the former Soviet Union in the past 10 years. As the economies of the CIS continue to deteriorate and Jews are increasingly blamed for the troubles, they immigrate to Israel for a better life and a future in relative safety. Praise God that there is an Israel for them to come to. Had there been an Israel in the 1930s, think of how many Jews would have been spared the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.

Yes, Israel is a homeland open to all Jews from around the world who need a place to live and start a new life.

Key #4

The people would be specifically called out from the North and the South, and their return from the lands of the North would be even greater than the exodus from Egypt with Moses.

Isaiah, the prophet, wrote, "Fear not, for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west. I 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..." (Is. 43:5-6). Up until May 1991, this seemed like yet another unfulfilled prophetic passage concerning the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland. It seemed almost poetic until it was fulfilled specifically, to the word, as it was written.

For the past 100+ years, Jews have been free to immigrate to Israel from the lands of the east and the west with very little hindrance. However, the Jews of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, as well as those in Ethiopia, were prevented from immigrating by communist and Marxist governments. For decades, Jews and Christians demonstrated and governments and social agencies petitioned these lands of the North to "let My people go." Nevertheless, the Iron Curtain was closed tightly and only a few hundreds or thousands were allowed to immigrate to Israel while millions wanted to go.

Then, just as Isaiah predicted, the Iron Curtain lifted, almost overnight. With the breakup of the former Soviet Union, Jews were allowed to leave by the tens of thousands per month at its peak. Meanwhile, the Marxist Ethiopian government said in 1990 that the Ethiopian Jews could immigrate to Israel. They left their mountain villages in the Gondar region and made their way to the main airport in Addis Ababa. However, once there, they were held back. They refused to go home and they camped out on the land around the airport for over one year. Then, the Marxist government was overthrown, and in a day, the US CIA contacted US President George Bush, who contacted Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. Over 35 planes were sent from Israel, in every conceivable shape and size, in an airlift called Operation Solomon. Nearly 15,000 Ethiopian Jewish immigrants were airlifted in a day. This was the first time that black Africans were taken from Africa out of bondage into freedom. When they arrived in Israel, they were all bussed to the Western Wall where they raised their hands to thank God for delivering them and bringing them home.

Consider that the prophet foresaw that the Jews of the North and the South would be prevented from coming to Israel, so that God Himself would have to speak to these nations. Pay close attention to the specific words that God spoke. To the North, He said, "Give them up," and to the South, "Hold not back." The events show that the land of the North gave them up in large numbers. But, the land to the south held them back against their will. In a day, when the Ethiopian Marxist government was overthrown, the Jews were no longer held back. How specific and accurate are the words of God through His prophets.

In addition, they are still coming by the tens of thousands each year from the lands of the North in a huge immigration that has brought nearly 1,000,000 people since 1989.

Read the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who saw the magnitude of this future immigration, which is happening now and could still bring yet another 2,000,000 people if time and money permit. Jeremiah wrote, "Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that it will no more be said, 'The Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' but, 'the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands where He had driven them;' and I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, says the Lord, and they will fish them..." (Jer.16:14-16a).

For 3,500 years, the Jewish people and the world have celebrated and remembered the Exodus of the Jews from the clutches of Pharaoh. Yet, God says that His exodus of His people from the lands of the North, in a future day, will be so great that it will even overshadow the Exodus from Egypt. Today, the world is a witness of this prophetic move of God. Bridges for Peace is privileged to be sponsoring some of the "fishers" who are in the CIS, rescuing God's covenant people from these lands.

Key #5

God's people will restore His barren Land, Israel. It will be fruitful, inhabited, rebuilt and more prosperous than at any time in history.

When the Jews began to return from the nations of the world at the end of the last century, the land was barren and sparsely inhabited.

In the 1860s, the author, Mark Twain, traveled in what was then a backward region of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, called Palestine, and described the land by saying: "Nowhere in all the waste around was there a foot of shade." He called the land a "blistering, naked, treeless land." Of the Galilee, he said, "There is no dew, nor flowers, nor birds, nor trees. There is a plain and an unshaded lake, and beyond them some barren mountains." His summary of Palestine: "Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. It is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land."

Ezekiel's prophetic description of the "barren mountains of Israel" (Eze. 36:1-7) indicated that Israel became that way when the Jewish people were exiled from their land. Those who followed did not care for the land and it became barren. God chose this land for His people, Israel (Lev. 23:5,6), and neither the people nor the land prospered at their peak apart from one another.

However, Ezekiel goes on to say that a change was coming: "But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then, you will know that I am the Lord. I will cause people, My people Israel, to walk upon you. They will possess you, and you will be their inheritance; you will never again deprive them of their children" (Eze. 36: 8-12).

Truly, the return of the Jews from over 100 nations of the world is a modern-day miracle. Yet, they were returning to a horribly depleted land, as described by Mark Twain. Nevertheless, Ezekiel tells us that it is the return of God's people that would trigger the beginning of the restoration of the land, increase the fruitfulness of the land, the animals in the land, and the people on the land.

Isaiah says, "The wilderness and the solitary place will be glad for them, and the desert will blossom as a rose" (Isa. 35:1).

Since those early days of the return of the Jews, the deserts have been reforested. Over 250 million trees have been planted by hand, with millions more germinating naturally from the seeds. The rocky fields are now fertile, the swamps are drained and planted, the ancient terraces have been rebuilt, and the ruined cities of old have been re-established.

Today the barren deserts are truly and literally blossoming as a rose. In the Jordan Valley and the Negev desert during the winter, farmers are producing and exporting over five million flowers a day. In fact, in 1998, Israel exported 1.5 billion flowers. Many of the flowers in the beautiful Amsterdam flower market are imported from Israel! In addition to flowers, fruits and vegetables are grown in the desert. Some, like melons, cucumbers and tomatoes are grown with underground brackish water to supply food year around to the tables of Israel and other nations. Special strains of apples and peaches have been developed to grow in the hot dry desert climate of Israel, and now these varieties are grown in other parts of the world. Israel can grow apples and oranges in the same field (unheard of anywhere else in the world); and this tiny land offers tropical bananas and pineapples along with colder climate strawberries. In 1998, 150,000 tons of fruits and vegetables were exported from Israel, over and above feeding her own population.

More than this, fresh and salt water ponds are producing the largest varieties of domestically produced fish in the world that are being consumed both in Israel and exported. The desert is fruitful and blossoming again, just as the prophets foretold.

The restoration and cultivation of the land has increased the vegetation and also changed the climate. Today, Israel has twice the number of plant species (3,000) than its huge neighbor, Egypt, that boasts the fertile Nile delta. One can find 460 species of birds (some from as far away as South Africa and Greenland) and also faraway animals like the African leopard and the Siberian wolf. Israel has even undertaken a program to re-introduce all the animals mentioned in the Bible, which had long been missing from the land.

Israel is now a food-exporting nation with over six million people. She boasts high levels of literacy, health, education and welfare, high technology and agricultural development. All of this is accomplished in a land no bigger than the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Key #6

God's people will cherish even the dust of Israel, signaling the time to favor Zion.

The Psalmist, in writing about God's restoration of Zion, says, "You will arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come. For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory. When the Lord will build up Zion, He will appear in His glory" (Ps. 102:13-16).

While modern archaeology got its start in the last century, the exploration of the biblical land of Israel has seen its greatest efforts since the return of the Jewish people. The prophets speak of the ancient cities being rebuilt. In this century, Jewish archaeologists have located thousands of ancient sites connected with Israel's historical, biblical past. All have been carefully preserved until there is time and money to excavate them. Meanwhile, the most important biblical cities have been excavated, and nearby, modern towns have been built with the same name as the ancient site - just like the prophets foretold.

All around Jerusalem, as well as the rest of the country, a road or a house cannot be built if the construction crews accidentally stumble upon buried history. Highways have been diverted and new buildings relocated to avoid damaging Israel's past.

It is said in Israel that every Israeli is an archaeologist. While this is not so professionally, it is certainly true that almost every Israeli knows something about archaeology and all seem to be amateur archaeologists. They truly "take pleasure in her stones and favor the dust," for every discovery reveals more of their past in this land. They painstakingly remove the dust from the stones at the archaeological sites, using small brushes so precious finds are not disturbed.

Today the city of Jerusalem is like a large archaeological garden, for all the finds have been preserved for everyone to see, enjoy and learn about her history. Jerusalem has grown larger in size and population than at any time in her history. Psalm 102 confirms that when the people of Israel love the stones and dust of the land and God builds up Zion, then He will appear in Jerusalem in His glory. Considering this passage along with the other fulfilled prophecies, it will not be long until we see the Lord Himself coming to Jerusalem.

Key #7

God will change the heart of His people, Israel, from stone to flesh.

The prophet Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 36, speaks of a great end-time miracle, which I call the three "Rs" of prophecy concerning Israel.

First, there is the Return of the people to Zion, discussed in Keys 3 and 4. Second, there is the Restoration of the Land, described in Key 5. Then, he speaks of the Redemption of the heart of His people, Israel.

Let's see what God says: "For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep Mine ordinances, and do them. And you will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you will be My people, and I will be your God" (Eze. 36:24-28).

God chose the Land of Israel for His people Israel. Neither prospered very well separated from one another, and God makes it clear that the reconnection of the land and the people in Israel is a key to the prosperity of both, both physically and spiritually.

We can see with our own eyes the prosperity and development of the land. While the people of Israel are far from perfect, there is a definite drawing to God in the hearts of those who come to Israel. The rhythm of the land is biblical; the national holidays are biblical; public buildings and parks are adorned with Scripture verses; the Bible is read at most official government events; Shabbat is observed; and the Bible is discussed openly all over the country. After all, it is the Bible that describes the fact that both the land and the people exist because of the plans and purposes of God. Without Him, neither can fulfill their fullest purposes for the redemption of the world.

Are all in Israel closely following the Bible? No. Nevertheless, consider the hundreds of thousands of Jews who have come from former Communist lands who never saw a Bible or heard about God. Now, in the land of Israel, they can read the Bible, hear about God, and worship Him openly - many for the first time in their lives. Truly, God is drawing His people back to Him, as they are finding Him anew in His Holy Land.

Key #8

God will use the Gentiles to bless His nation and people.

Isaiah, the prophet of Israel, said: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you... Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God... Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you... Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations ... For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined" (Isa. 60:9-11).

In Romans 11:11-14, Paul teaches us Christians that we are grafted into the olive tree, which are the covenants, promises and hopes of Israel. We do not hold up the tree, but it holds us up, so we should not boast against His people, Israel. In verse 28, he tells us that they are beloved for the sake of the Patriarchs. Without the faithfulness of the Jewish people in Israel, we would not have our example, our Bible, our Yeshua or our salvation. Therefore, he concludes, "by our mercy, they will receive [God's] mercy." (Rom. 11:31).

Paul teaches us Christians that we have a debt to pay to the Jewish people, by blessing them in tangible ways.

Romans 15:27 clearly states: "For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings." How much more direct can God be regarding our Christian relationship to Israel and the Jewish people?

Key #9

God will show the nations that He keeps His promises.

This same chapter 36 of Ezekiel declares that God is restoring His land and people to show the nations of the world that He is a faithful God who keeps His promises and His word. "And the desolate land will be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they will say, 'This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities have become fortified and are inhabited.' Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the Lord, built the ruined places, and plant that which was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it" (Eze. 36:34-36).

God is a god who cannot lie. He is a God about whom Jeremiah says, "Great is thy faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23). Once He has spoken, He will fulfill His Word, which is part of the reason why He has moved heaven and earth to bring His land and people, Israel, back together in these days. In a world that mostly disregards the Bible and the things of God, He is showing His faithfulness through Israel today, just as Ezekiel tells us. The nations can see the evidence of God's prophetic Word being fulfilled. Interestingly, this has been and is a catalyst for many to see the truth of God's Word and come to the Lord. The Church and even the Jewish people have had renewal and growth since the founding of the State of Israel. The fact of fulfilled prophecy, seen in so many areas, brings God out of the realm of mere philosophy and back into the reality of daily life. He is a living God who chooses to interact with man. Just as in the days of the Bible, God is again interacting in a physical way with His people Israel. While God does not need to be "proved," the fact that the world can "see" what He is doing today has brought many to faith.

Key #10

Jerusalem will no longer be in the hands of Gentile nations, and God will restore the worship of Himself in the city of Jerusalem.

Luke 21:20-24 foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of most of the people, which occurred in AD 70, with its final loss to the Jewish people in AD 135, both times at the hands of the Romans. From that time onwards, Jewish sovereignty of Jerusalem has only been the stuff dreams are made of. Who would have ever thought Jerusalem would again be under Jewish sovereignty?

Well, many of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures (Older Testament) thought so, and so did Luke. In verse 24, Luke wrote, "...Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Interestingly, in fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham, the redemptive Word of God went out to the nations for the purpose of converting the pagan Gentiles into belief in the One God of Israel. However, this was only for a season, the "times of the Gentiles," at the end of which God would focus His attention again upon His people, the land of Israel, and His city, Jerusalem. We have seen this theme running throughout this teaching letter.

In 1967, Luke's prophecy became a reality. The biblical portion of Old Jerusalem, which had been in the hands of Gentile nations from AD135 until 1967, was finally put back in the hands of the Jewish people. In June 1967, during the famous Six Day War, the Old City of Jerusalem once again fell into the hands of Israel - after about 1900 years of exile. A picture of Israeli soldiers praying at the Western Wall attests to the sanctity of this moment in the life of Israel. Their ancient holy city was theirs again.

Would God now take this sacred Old City away from Israel and give it to the Moslem world, which is what Yasser Arafat and the Arab/Moslem world wants? Interestingly, all through even the Newer Testament, Palestine is never mentioned, but only Israel and Jerusalem. And, for us Christians, it is important to note that the Bible records that Yeshua is coming back to Jerusalem, not a Moslem city called, El-Kuds, the name by which Jerusalem is called by the Moslem world.

There will be a struggle over the city of Jerusalem, but the source of the battle is spiritual. God is working to re-establish His throne in Zion, and His enemies don't like it. Nevertheless, God will prevail and the nations will one day worship only Him in Jerusalem.

When the Jerusalem Council met (Acts 15) to decide on the degree of the Law which had to be followed by the Gentiles who found faith in the God of Israel through Messiah Yeshua, James quoted from Amos 9:11-12. Here, there is a description of the restoration of Jerusalem to the worship of God, by Jews and Gentiles, at a future time when Messiah comes. It says, "After this, I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the nations (Gentiles), upon whom My Name is called, says the Lord, Who does all of these things" (Acts: 15:16-17).

Interestingly, even the Council, living in Jerusalem where the Lord God of Israel was still being worshipped, understood the prophecy of Amos. It described what would entail an exile and return of the Jewish people to restore the worship of the God of the Bible, not pagan gods, back to the Holy City.

Zechariah 14:16 sees a time, after the Messiah comes, when "His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives" (Zech. 14:4), and the nations (Gentiles) will join God's people in worshipping the Lord in Jerusalem. Verse 16 says, "And it will come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem will even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles."

While the fullest measure of the worship of the God of Israel in His holy city, Jerusalem, has not reached its fullest measure, it is nevertheless moving towards this glorious day. Then there will be God's peace and presence in Jerusalem once again, and only He will be worshipped in His Temple.

Key #11

God will make Jerusalem the central focus of the world to judge the nations.

The prophet Zechariah speaks boldly about God's use of Jerusalem at the end of days. He says, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about, when they will be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day, I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all that burden themselves with it will be cut in pieces, even though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it... And it will come to pass, in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (Zech. 12:2-3,9).

Interestingly, "in that day" which is a prophetic marker to indicate a future day, God says He will use Jerusalem as a standard by which to judge the nations of the world. Just as God has always used the land and the people of Israel to show the nations His glory, He is doing it again. Individually, our relationship to God is based on our salvation experience and our return (tshuvah) to the Lord. Nationally, however, God can test the pulse of a nation by its attitude towards what He is doing in the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. This is God's litmus test: Do you understand My redemptive plan for the earth and support My will for Jerusalem to be restored to My people Israel in preparation for My soon arrival, or will you fight against it?

God promised that those who fight against it will incur the very wrath of God Himself. They will be "cut in pieces." Now, it does not say that this will happen to all the nations of the earth. Rather, it says this destruction will happen to those nations who rise up against God's plans for Jerusalem.

The question for us today is this: If God is restoring Israel in preparation for the coming of Messiah, is a Jewish Messiah coming to a divided Moslem city or a united Jewish city, where the God of Israel is being worshipped in His holy city? Those nations who seek to divide God's city again will be the nations who will come up against Judah and Jerusalem to incur God's wrath. We have seen in recent years how the nations of the world have all ganged up on other nations who have been in error, e.g., Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Serbia, etc. While this was necessary for these unruly nations, I believe the time will come when other nations will rise up against God's plans for Jerusalem and the Jewish people, because Israel is considered unruly. For what reason, you may ask? The refusal of the Jews to allow Jerusalem to be divided again and the holiest part given over to the Palestinian Authority as a Moslem capital of a Moslem state of Palestine. The nations believe this intransigence on the part of Israel to redivide their city is an obstacle to the New World Order and their "god" of peace.

Which side of this argument will your nation take? Will you be for a partition of Jerusalem or against it? Only through your prayers and speaking out to your government leaders can you work to keep your nation from being among those who come up against the continuation of a united Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty. Please note, however, the Scripture is clear that if your nation supports a blockade of Jerusalem for the purpose of dividing the city again, it will be judged severely by God.

Key #12

God's people will return, never to be exiled from their land again.

Some critics of Israel say all of the prophecies described in this letter do not apply to Israel today. Rather, they say all of these prophecies were fulfilled when the Jewish people returned from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC.

However, the fulfillment of these passages in our day has been specific to these verses, and the magnitude of the fulfillment has never occurred to this degree at any other time in history. Whatever degree of fulfillment took place when the Jews returned from Babylon, it was only a small picture of a greater fulfillment to come.

Amos 9:14-15 is most conclusive that the Babylonian exile and return is not what he was talking about, when it says, "I will bring back My exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them." Note the last verse, when it says, "NEVER AGAIN to be uprooted from the land I have given them." After the return from Babylon, the Jewish people were uprooted again, so it is obvious that Amos was talking about yet another exile and return, which I believe is fulfilled in the Roman exiles and today's return

What Does this Mean to Us?

In the Newer Testament, there are many occasions when the author is referencing the fulfillment of a specific prophecy and uses words like, "according to the Scripture" referring to a fulfilled prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures. When Yeshua was reading an Isaiah prophecy in His home synagogue in Nazareth, He concluded the Messianic reading by saying, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). The "this-is-that" declaration of a fulfilled prophecy is powerful, because we are able to see that God does fulfill His Word, and it brings faith to the heart of man.

This teaching letter is not attempting to speculate on the future as through a crystal ball. Rather, I have used the "this-is-that" method of interpretation to show that so many of the prophetic passages of the Bible have been fulfilled in our lifetime - to the letter. For me, and for many others, seeing God at work in this day is a real faith booster.

Let us move our faith out of the realm of mere philosophy and religious duty into a dynamic walk with the living God of Israel who is not only fulfilling His miracles for His people Israel, but for His Church. Both of us need to realize that the time is short before the coming of Messiah, and therefore we must work double-time to bring God's redemptive message found in the Bible to a hurting world in great spiritual need of God's truth.

With appreciation from: