The Prophet 22
This is what I believe the Bible teaches about what is going on concerning Israel today. It is taken from the Bible, which many do not accept as God and His word.
Genesis 12 King James Version (KJV)
12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him;
Genesis 17:9-10 King James Version (KJV)
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee;
Zechariah 12: 2,3 King James Version (KJV)
"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. 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."
Mount Zion
There is only one place in the world that God has declared as holy, and that's Mount Zion and the land of Israel. The prophet Isaiah wrote this - "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously." Isaiah 24:23.
There is only one people that are God's "chosen people", and they are the Jews.
"And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people." Isaiah 51:16.
And there is one main event in bible prophecy that had to happen to usher in the time that the bible calls the "Last Days", or the "time of Jacob's trouble", and that event happened on May 14, 1948.
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matthew 24:32-34
The Apostles came to Jesus and asked Him about the end of the world, and how would people living then know it was happening. It went like this:
"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 coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Matthew 24: 2-6
So Jesus begins to tell them about how things will gradually heat up and increase until we reach the time that we call the Last Days. The Book of Matthew continues, giving more and more details and time clues until we reach the "big clue", the biggest one of them all. Stating in Matthew 24:32, Jesus says this:
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
So He tells them that the generation of people that will be alive on the earth when the Last Days come about, would witness what He called the "fig tree" blooming, and putting forth it's leaves. And He equated that with the fulfillment of His End Time prophecy. So what or who is the "fig tree"? It would seem that if we could figure that out, then we would know who the last generation might be.
Throughout recorded history, nations have always be typified by "types and figures" to describe them. Russia is the "bear", America is the "eagle", England the "lion", and Israel the "fig tree". (There is so much more here)
So Jesus was saying that when you see ISRAEL re-blooming, whenever that would take place, that that generation would be the one that would be on the earth and living when the Last Days would occur. So if Israel was destroyed in 70 AD, and it was, when did it "bloom" again? May 14, 1948 is the date that history records that fact occurring? The generation that witnessed that, the WWII generation, still have not, for all intents and purposes, passed off the scene. They are still alive and with us today, and we are the people that Jesus said would be alive on the earth when the Last Days would happen. That time is right now!
The time of the "last days" that Jesus referred to, is not "in the future" and it's not "coming soon". It is here right now. (I believe) For the past 6 decades, all the major players have been taking the stage and playing the parts that God said they would.
Consider the following events which have already taken place: (u can google these events)
• Russia and China, two major End Times players, have already signed a pact. (Ezekiel 38 and 39)
• Russia, (one of the biggest) End Times player, has already helped Iran build a nuclear reactor.
• Iran has repeated over and over their desire to wipe Israel off the map.
• Iran now has nuclear weapons capable of reaching Israel.
An Unbelievable Prophecy
On the face of it, it's a crazy prophecy. Thousands of years ago, the prophet Zechariah said that in the End Times, Israel, tiny little Israel, would be front and center on the world stage. And that all the nations of the world would scheme for and fight over her. Why has Israel captured world atttention? A people of 12-15 million?
Does Israel have any great natural resources for someone to want to steal? No, they don't. Do they have a great seaport that someone would like to take over? No, they don't. Are they strategically located to anywhere of great value? No, they are not. So, why on earth would Zechariah make the bold statement that tiny little, nothing Israel would be the one spot on earth that would command the world's attention in the Last Days? Simple - because God said that's the way that it was going to be.
Add to this dilemma the fact that Israel was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans, and all the Jews run out of it. So for the last 1,900 years there wasn't even an Israel existing to make Zechariah's prophecy come true. Certainly, it looked like God was wrong, and that the Bible wasn't true.
Adolph Hitler, during World War II, decreed that the Jews should be wiped out, and set out to do just that in the Holocaust, effectively murdering over 6 million Jews, as well as 5 million non-Jews. By the time the war ends in 1945, it looked like not only would there never be a rebirth of Israel, but it also appeared that the very existence of Jews anywhere in the world hung in the balance.
And yet, within 3 short years of the end of WWII, right in the very spot where the Romans had set the city on fire 1,878 years earlier, Israel was miraculously reborn on May 14, 1948.
From that day to this very day, Israel has captured the attention of the whole world, and indeed is the major focal point in any discussion of world politics. Everyone who watches drama play out between the Jews and the Arabs nervously watch and wait for what they all fear will happen - World War III.
What is Israel today?
It is a "cup of trembling" for the whole world to see. And how accurate was God's prophecy that He gave to Zechariah? 100%. And in what time of history did God say that this prophecy would come true? In the Last Days...which is exactly where we find ourselves right now I believe. If God is to be believed, according to His Word, we are indeed in the Last Days.
So, yes, WWIII (Armageddon - Ezekiel 38 and 39; Revelation 16:16) is on its way, and will be fought very soon. Would you like to know how it all turns out for all the nations that will attack Israel? This is exactly how it will turn out:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. "
Zechariah 12:9
Or you can simply dismiss what the Bible says.