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Isaiah 11 : 1 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people ... 2) And He shall set up a ensign (sign) for the nations, and shall assemble the outcast of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

Jer. 23 : 6-8 “In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. 7 "So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' 8 but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land."

LOOKING BACK

In 70 A.D., just 40 years after Jesus was crucified, the Roman army burned down Herod's Temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus had predicted it: “1As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"

2"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down."—Mark 13

Luke’s gospel is even more pointed:

“When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (19:41-44)

When Titus conquered Jerusalem 40 years after the death and resurrection of Christ, he tore down the temple and the other structures stone by stone until no evidence of any buildings remained. His demolition of the city left Jerusalem in complete ruin, and initiated the dispersion of the Jews to the four corners of the globe.

It was a stunning loss. It happened on August 29th in 70 A.D., the exact same day the Babylonians had burned down Solomon's temple 657 years earlier. Like bookends, the identical dates spoke loudly of divine correlation.

This Roman siege of Jerusalem was one of the most terrible wars in history. Thousands of Jews were crucified, over a million were slaughtered, the temple was burned to the ground, and the city virtually vanished from history for over 50 years!

Zechariah the Prophet foresaw this scattering of the Jews and wrote,

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the LORD Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.”—13:7

“The man close to me” is speaking of none other than Jesus Christ, Who is at the right hand side of God. Zechariah predicted that when the Shepherd was stricken at the cross of Calvary, the unity of the nation of Israel would be destroyed, and the individual members would be scattered far and wide.

Jerusalem’s long and troubled road

The city of Jerusalem has a long history of being besieged.

The first recorded siege occurred when David took the city from the Jebusites around 700 years before the founding of Rome (2 Samuel 5:6-9).

Jerusalem was plundered by the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak in the days of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25-26).

Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon burned the temple and reduced Jerusalem to rubble.

Antiochus the Great took the rebuilt city, and it suffered horribly under the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes.

The Roman general Pompey besieged Jerusalem in 63 B.C. He attacked on a Sabbath and since the Jews refused to fight on the Sabbath, he was soon in possession of the city.

In 37 B.C. Herod, with the support of the Roman army, fought for five months to gain possession of Jerusalem.

And then came the massacre of 70 A.D. that Jesus had predicted.

In A.D. 135, the Romans again obliterated Jerusalem. They changed the name of the city to Aelia Capitolina, built a temple to Jupiter on the temple site, and banned Jews from going anywhere near it.

After four silent centuries, the church began to colonize Jerusalem. About A.D. 614 Chosores the Persian took the city, massacred thousands of Christians, and destroyed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Caliph Omar (Muslim ruler) entered the city in 637 A.D. and Jerusalem passed into the hands of the Turks.

In 1098 the caliph of Egypt sent an ambassador to subdue two rival Muslim factions in Jerusalem and again the city was plundered.

In 1099 the soldiers of the first Crusade besieged Jerusalem and in 1187 Saladin recaptured it for the Muslims.

In 1244 the Tartars (Turkish peoples) plundered the tragic city and slaughtered its monks and priests.

In 1917 British General Allenby led British forces against the city and took it without firing a shot.

In 1948 the Jews and Arabs fought over Jerusalem when Israel became a state.

In 1967 the Jews captured Jerusalem from the Arabs, united the city, and proclaimed it the capital of the state of Israel.

Such has been the troubled history of Jerusalem. But the worst siege still lies ahead!

1948

The rebirth of Israel as an independent nation in 1948 is one of the most significant events in world history. Never before has an entire race of people been without a homeland for so long without assimilating into surrounding populations.

However, no other conquered race had the promise of God to “give all this land of Canaan to you and to your offspring forever.” Genesis 17:8

As we’ve seen, the scriptures prophesied that Israel would be dispersed among the nations, then brought out from among them in a gradual process that would culminate in the establishment of Israel as a nation in a single day. And that’s exactly what happened.

Long ago the Bible predicted that the following six events would transpire in the last days:

1) The gathering of the Jews into their homeland2) The rebirth of Israel in a single day3) Israel’s possession of Jerusalem4) The nations of the earth aligned against Israel5) The war of Gog / Magog6) The rebuilding of the Jewish Temple

The first four of these seven prophetic events have already been fulfilled, and the final two are certain to follow.

The Gathering of the Jews

In Ezekiel 37 we find a remarkable vision unfolding as God speaks with Ezekiel:

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.”

God flew the prophet Ezekiel “on location” to an old battlefield where the carcasses of a defeated army had died.

The “bones” are a prophetic picture of the future nation of Israel, who would be scattered from 70 A.D. forward, persecuted everywhere they went, with no apparent future or hope. Israel looked and would again look like these dry, dead bones.

2 “He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.”

There were very many, very dry bones. It was a desert situation, much like Death Valley, California. No life, just cacti, tumbleweeds and sand blowing about…

“Very dry,” the bones were parched and bleached by the sun.

3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."

Only you, the Prophet says, could do such a thing.

4 “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!’”

God literally tells the Prophet to preach to lifeless bones! But then He informs Ezekiel how they will live again:

5 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”

It was the Spirit of the living God—the Breath of God—that would bring life to the dead bones! God didn’t stop there. He said:

6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

God begins with the spirit-man in people. He breathes the breath of life into our souls, then begins working from the inside out.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.”

When God moves in revival, there is always a rattling, a shaking sound. God, in essence, rattles your cage! He shakes your world. And notice: The bones began coming together, bone to bone.

When God moves in revival and restoration, the Baptist bone gets connected to the Methodist bone. The Pentecostal bone gets connected to the Lutheran bone. The Catholic bone gets connected to the Protestant bone.

When God moves, all pretense and division melt away and the blood-bought church joins hands.

9 “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”

It was when the breath of God’s Spirit came into them that they stood up—a vast army!

11 Then he said to me: "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.' 12 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. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 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.' "

We can look at the Bible's ancient prophecies today, long after all the events have been laid to rest, and recognize the accuracy of the Holy Spirit's words.

It is written in scripture that "no prophecy ever came from man's own initiative. When men spoke for God it was the Holy Spirit that moved them." (2 Peter 1:21).

Israel Becomes a Nation in a Single Day

God foretold long ago that after He brought His scattered people out from among the nations, He would declare them to be a nation in a single day:

“‘Who has ever seen or heard of anything as strange as this? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, the baby will be born; the nation will come forth. Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?’ asks the Lord. ‘No! I would never keep this nation from being born,’ says your God.” Isaiah 66:8-9 (NLT)

This is exactly what happened on May 14, 1948. Having been brought to the brink of extinction by the horrors of the Holocaust, facing persecution around the world, and surrounded by their enemies, the Jewish people gathered together in Israel and declared themselves a nation in a single day. The United States recognized Israel as a nation on that same day, and Israel’s victories in the wars since then have solidified their place among the nations of the world.

Israel an Object of Scorn in the Last Days

The prophet Zechariah noted the following would be true of Israel in the last days:

“I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed.” Zechariah 12:2-3 (NLT)

The rebirth of Israel in 1948 has been accompanied by constant war and conflict with surrounding Muslim nations. The main focus of world attention today concerns Israel’s relationship with its neighbors. Just as God foretold, Israel has become a “burdensome stone” for the world’s political leaders. The majority of the Islamic countries surrounding Israel have made it clear their primary goal is the destruction of Israel. However, God has made it clear that Israel is here to stay.

The War of Gog/Magog

A Sneak Peek at Next Week

As we’re about to see, in the last days Russia and a coalition of Muslim nations led by Iran will gather a horde of armies together in an effort to wipe Israel off the map. Israel will appear defenseless in the face of this massive invasion force with none of its worldly allies willing to come to its defense.

However, God is Israel’s greatest ally, and He vows to make his presence known to the entire world by supernaturally destroying the armies arrayed against Israel:

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself. You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, and you will cover the land like a cloud. This will happen in the distant future. I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 38:14-16 (NLT)

Why All This is Important

Jesus told his disciples the primary sign of His soon return would be the restoration of Israel:

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near. Just so, when you see the events I’ve described beginning to happen, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” Matthew 24:32-35 (NLT)

The fig tree Jesus refers to is Israel. It’s been six decades since Israel was once again declared a nation against all worldly odds. Jesus promised that the generation which witnessed fulfillment of this prophecy would not die off until all the things of which he spoke came to pass.

Given the past credibility of the Bible and God’s Son Jesus Christ, we should fully expect these events to come to pass. What this means is that Jesus is going to return soon, within this generation. A wise person will prepare accordingly.

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