02 - Jesus, The Indisputable Prophet Continued By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Israel: God's Timepiece

Part 2

Last time we saw that Jesus answered three questions put to Him by the disciples following His prediction that the glorious Temple in Jerusalem would be utterly destroyed. The questions they asked were:

Tell us, when will these things (the destruction of the Temple) be?

And what will be the sign of Your coming? (Greek par-oo-see-ah: the personal return of Christ to the earth).

And of the end of the age?

Jesus answered them one by one. The majority of what we find in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13 is Christ's reply to the first question. He wanted them to fully understand what was soon to come upon their generation and their city, Jerusalem.

We saw that within 40 years, Jesus's predictions for Jerusalem all came to pass. The city was surrounded by enemies, those who knew of His warnings fled to the hills, the Romans breached the walls and gates, and the Temple was utterly destroyed.

This was a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy, spoken by the greatest Prophet of all time, The Lord Jesus Christ. The surviving Jews were scattered to the four corners of the world without a place to call a homeland until 1948 when Israel became a nation again. When this remarkable event happened, it was a fulfillment of many Bible prophecies.

Ezekiel had predicted, "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land" (Ezek. 37:21).

"When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations." 28 "Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind" (Ezek 39:27-28).

The Prophet Amos wrote, "The days are coming, declares the LORD, when...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. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the LORD your God" (Amos 9:13-15).

And Jeremiah the Prophet wrote, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess,' says the LORD" (Jer. 30:2-3).

Jer 31:10 "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd."

Jer 33:7 "I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before."

So when Israel became a nation again after 20 centuries of wandering, displacement, and persecution, this was in the minds of many the greatest fulfillment of Bible prophecy in modern times.

Now after answering the first question, Jesus moved on to the second and third questions: "What will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Matthew picks up the Lord's answer in vs. 29-31:

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Now, many people have stumbled over verse 29 where Jesus uses the word "immediately." Because He goes on to predict things like the sun being darkened, the moon not giving light, and the stars falling from heaven. And right after that, the Son of Man returning.

But if all this was to happen "immediately" after Jerusalem's fall, some argue, then it would all have been over a long time ago in the first century! First, we should understand that in verse 29, Jesus is using apocalyptic language, as did many of the Prophets of the Old Testament.

One commentator writes, "The words reproduce the imagery in which Isaiah had described the day of the Lord’s judgment upon Babylon (Isaiah 13:10), and may naturally receive the same symbolic interpretation."

Isaiah 13:10 reads, "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light." This is apocalyptic imagery, not necessarily to be taken literally, but to express the impact of cataclysmic events that will shake the earth before Christ's return.

Then in verse 30 where Jesus uses the word "immediately" I turn to another Bible commentator who writes, "How are we to explain the fact that already more than twenty centuries have rolled away, and 'the promise of His coming' still tarries?"

"It is a partial answer to the question to say that God’s measurements of time are not as man’s, and that with Him “a thousand years are as one day” (2Peter 3:8).

The word "immediately" merely signifies a time break between what Jesus just predicted--the signs leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem--and the cataclysmic events that would take place leading up to His visible, literal return to earth.

Now again let's notice that most everything He says revolves around Israel. If you want to know what's happening in the prophetic arena, keep your eye peeled on Israel.

As we noted last time, the Prophets all pointed to the relevance Israel would hold throughout history, and particularly in the Last Days. Zech 12:2-3 predicts, “I will make Jerusalem and Judah like a cup of poison to all the nearby nations that send their armies to surround Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem will be a heavy stone burdening the world. And though all the nations of the earth unite in an attempt to move her, they will all be crushed."

As we draw closer to the return of Christ, Israel will continue to figure ever more prominently in world events. One Bible prophecy yet to be fulfilled has Israel at the very epicenter of world events.

In Ezekiel 38-39 the Bible warns of a coming war between Iran (Persia) and Israel will take place sometime after Israel has been re-gathered into Her land as a nation (which was fulfilled on May 14, 1948). This prophetic war has never yet taken place.

THIS WAR will be unlike any other war in history. This war will unleash a series of IRREVERSIBLE events which will change the world forever. God has set aside two whole chapters in the Bible to warn Mankind of this coming war.

THE BIBLE warns the US will NOT defend Israel. According to the Bible, Israel must stand alone with God. For when this coming war does finally start, the United States will be either unwilling or unable to help Israel defend herself. We see no one in Ezekiel's prophecy coming to Israel's defense but God!

Even though the Bible warns the invading armies will be ultimately destroyed by God, it will be a devastating war for both Israel and the whole world.

Bible scholars are divided as to whether this coming war is part of the prophetic battle of Armageddon or will just precede Armageddon in order to prepare a path for the Antichrist who will enforce a Peace Plan upon Israel which will trigger the final prophetic 7-Year period of time which God has set aside for Israel and the world called the "Apocalypse."

Either way, let's read some of Ezekiel's prophecy: Ezek. 38:1-9 "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."

4 "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords."

5 "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. 7 Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.

8 After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9 You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

The nations Ezekiel names are these:

Gog, Magog, Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal point to Russia, which Ezekiel further identifies as the land to uttermost north. "Then you will come from your place out of the far north" (vs. 15).

Then he names Persia, which includes the land mass of what is now modern day Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Then Ethiopia, which is today's Ethiopia and Sudan. Next is Libya which is still Libya. Then we have Gomer which includes today's Eastern Europe. And Togarmah, which comprises southeastern Europe including Turkey.

These and "many peoples with you" will descend like a cloud upon Israel, that will then be at the very center of the world's attention. Think about this. Even a hundred years ago this prophecy would have seemed impossible. There was no nation of Israel. And there was no "Palestinian nation." That is a myth. It was sparsely populated with a few nomadic people, some Arabs, and that was about it.

The land of Israel was undeveloped, filled with swamps and marshes and uncultivated land. Of all the real estate in the world, it was certainly the least coveted.

But now! Israel is filled with lush plains and green valleys. It is a nation again. It is a nuclear power. It possesses one of the most feared militaries in the world. It is a thriving democracy and national success story. And as Ezekiel predicted, it is surrounded by hostile nations, all named by Ezekiel, who want her utterly destroyed!

In Ezekiel 39 the Bible goes on to warn the invading armies will be utterly destroyed...by GOD! Ezekiel 39 also hints that this coming war may go nuclear because Israel will wait months to enter the battlefield after the battle, they will "set apart men regularly employed" (professionals) to bury the dead, and later if a bone is spotted it is to be "marked" for the professionals to bury.

These are exactly the same procedures that are now found in our military nuclear/biological/chemical "battlefield cleanup" manuals today. The aftermath of this invasion will be very, very gruesome.

The bottom line: If you want to know what is happening on God's prophetic calendar, watch Israel closely. All things are lining up for the final cataclysmic events predicted by the Prophets, and by Jesus Himself!