Israel - a Prophetic History.

I am going to add to this blog some other occasional articles on end time events. They will not appear in any logical order so the reader may have to fish around to find relevant bits and pieces.

The following piece is about Israel and the end times. It was written for a Bible study several years ago and updated in 2008 for posting on a chat group I belong to. It is not exhaustive - rather it is only an introduction.

Israel - A Prophetic History.

I find the following news article interesting – to say the least. You will find out why if you continue reading to the end of this post.

It prompts me to post today a bible study I did with a group about 20 years ago. But first I will post some of the news article again (so you connect with what I am talking about) and then talk little about bible interpretation by way of introduction.

The News Article:

Russia `Shocked' At US Plan To Expel Jews From North America
By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers (Traducción
al Español abajo)

Russian Foreign Ministry Officials are reported to be in `shock' over the secret summit agenda provided by the United States and meant to cover the agenda for the upcoming visit to Russia by the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates [both pictured top left with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov] over the American's plan to install their missile shield in Eastern Europe. According to these reports, under these proposed summit agenda guidelines, offered to Russia by the US, and labeled `Item 13', the United States War Leaders are to seek Russia's `cooperation' in what the American's are stating is their goal of `the efficient detention and removal to Israel of the entire Jewish population of North America'. The current Jewish population in North America is estimated [2006] to be a little under 6 million, with the US having the largest number of Jews, 5.3 million, Canada having the second largest population with 373,500, and Mexico having the least with 39,800. Russian Military Analysts point out in these reports that the United States believes it has `no choice' but to deport their Jewish population as they face the disintegration of their economy, and which many of these analysts believe will lead to civil war upon the North American Continent, with the Jewish population, as always, being blamed, and as they were in Nazi Germany prior to the outbreak of World War II. … the plan for the expulsion of Jews from North America appears to be accelerating.

A bit about Bible Interpretation.

It seems to me that a good number of interpreters adhere to the view that the OT prophecies concerning Israel were/are to be fulfilled in Christ and the church in a symbolic way. While I agree with this in principle I do not believe that this is exclusively so. I believe there will also be a fulfillment in the nation of Israel of the promises. Don’t get me wrong – I am aware that the NT quotes OT promises that seem, in the OT context, to be exclusively belonging to Israel, and applies them to Christ and the church (I’m not totally dumb). I don’t want to debate that...

It seems to me that once we start to go down the road of symbolic interpretation we are in danger of being on a slippery slope to weird and wonderful interpretations.

Where do we stop interpreting the bible symbolically?
Did Christ only symbolically die for our sins or did he really die?
Are we only symbolically born again or is it something that is for real?
And so on.

You can see the slippery slope it can become. I know this is an extreme, but my point is this: Who has the inside knowledge and authority fro God to say, ”Stop – we’ve gone far enough in symbolic interpretation.” And who is to say that my dividing line is right and yours’ wrong, or vica-versa?

In the study of typology, which is one branch of symbolic interpretation of scripture, the line is clear to most interpreters. There the guidelines are simple:

(i) The OT stories were literally how it happened in history.

(ii) God had a lesson to teach Israel from each story.

(iii) Each story also has a symbolic interpretation and applies to the Christian age or life somehow.

(iv) But the point of the story – the lesson, remains the same in both OT and NT.

(v) If we arrive at a different point we have gone too far.

If we took these rules and applied them to prophecy in the OT we would get something like this:

(i) The OT prophecies have a literal fulfillment.

(ii) There are principles/lessons which Israel have to fulfill to see the prophecies come true (most OT prophecy is conditional).

(iii) Each prophecy can be interpreted symbolically as applying to Christ and/or the church.

(iv) But the lesson/principles we have to obey to see it happen are the same in both OT and NT.

Some teachers quote 1 Cor 15:46:
“First the natural, then the spiritual”
-as a guide to understanding the double fulfillment of prophecy – in Israel and in the Church at the end of the age. The prophecy will first be fulfilled literally in Israel and then shortly afterwards in a symbolic, spiritual way in the church.

I think this is correct. Derek Prince, who has written several books on the end times, follows this pattern and he shows in his writings how, over the last 2000 years there has been a literal and a spiritual fulfillment of the prophecies that have been fulfilled to date. (He died a couple of years ago). In a later post I will give you a summary of some of his teaching of the parallel between Israel and the church.

So the situation, as I understand it, is that there will be a double fulfillment of many (if not all) of the OT prophecies concerning Israel in the last days – a literal fulfillment in the nation of Israel and a spiritual fulfillment in the church.

It is not “either/ or”, but “BOTH / AND”.

So often when we fall into “either/or” thinking in Bible interpretation we miss it. Both/and is often the way to understand things. God often puts truths in tension with each other, e.g.

(i) The Trinity is three and one.

(ii) Jesus is God and man.

(iii) We are saved (past tense), are being saved (present tense) and will be saved (future tense).

(iv) The confusion of the three tenses of the words saved, sanctified and redeemed in scripture has led many an interpreter into error over the centuries.

My point in this is that there will be a literal fulfillment of the OT prophecies for Israel as a nation. This is because God has promised some things to Israel - and God cannot lie. If he does not fulfill his word to Israel then how can we believe his word will hold true for us. To argue that "It has come true, but in a spiritual/symbolic way" is not good enough. I just don't want to be symbolically forgiven for my sins, or symbolically be resurrected from the dead, or symbolically go to heaven. I want to really experience these things. A symbolic interpretation alone just does not cut it with me.

The study that follows is an analysis of some of the prophecies concerning Israel. It was written about 20-25 years ago and I have revised it only slightly for presentation here.

The Bible Study:

ISRAEL, A PROPHETIC HISTORY.

A) A PERIOD OF EXILE.

(1) They will be scattered among the nations of the earth.

Leviticus 26:33.
I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
Deuteronomy 28:64.
Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods- gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.

This was fulfilled in part by the Romans in the first century. Over 1,100,000 Jews were crucified by the Romans between 64A.D. and 135A.D. Only about 97,000 survived. The armies of Titus destroyed the forests around Jerusalem building crosses for the Jews. In A.D.135 the Romans banned Jews from living in Palestine and forcibly expelled the remnant from the country.

(2) Palestine would be totally uninhabited.

Leviticus 26:33 -36.
I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
"`As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them.”

This was true, except for a few small settlements of Jews and some nomadic Arabs for 1800 years. The Jews that lived in the land lived in fear of their neighbours, as v 36 says.

(3) The land would be infertile during this period due to a failure of the latter rains.

Palestine traditionally had three rainy periods - the autumn, or early rains softened the ground for ploughing. The winter rains drenched the ground and brought nutrition to it. The spring, or latter rains, came after the grain was in the ear and served to swell the grain so that it was worth harvesting. Without the latter rains the crop is a failure, even though the crop grows, the grain is shrivelled and inedible.

Joel 1:10-12,17 - the grain is destroyed.

Joel 2:19,23

JOEL 2:23
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

The restoration of rains implies its previous failure.

Shortly after Israel was expelled from Palestine in AD 132 the latter (spring) rains stopped falling and the crops failed. The land could not support a permanent population any more. The oasis of the world became a desert. Part of this was due to the destruction of the forests by the Romans. The Romans encouraged this destruction unwittingly by placing a "Tree tax" on trees in Palestine. The tax was so punitive that the Jews cut down every tree that the Romans left standing. The resulting increase in ground temperature was enough to stop rains from falling.

(4) The Jews would be persecuted in their exile, driven from country to country.

Deuteronomy 28:37
You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.

Deuteronomy 28:65
Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.

This was particularly true in the "Dark Ages" when Jews were regularly persecuted as "Christ Murderers".

3rd Century - persecuted by the Emperor.

4th Century - dispersed into various countries as "Vile fugitives and vagabonds". Their ears were cut off as they were forcibly expelled from Rome itself.

5th Century - Driven out of Alexandria and persecuted throughout the Persian domains.

6th Century - In a rebellion against Rome there was a great slaughter. In Arabia they were forbidden to practice their religion.

7th Century - Expelled from Jerusalem, Antioch, Spain. Many fled to France where they were given the choice - renounce their religion or be plundered. Mahommed in Arabia took their goods and expelled them.

8th Century - Islamic Law - any Jewish Child who rejected their religion was made sole heir of the family possessions. In Lisbon all over 14 years old were expelled, their children being given to others.

"Jew" became a name of derision throughout the world.

To some degree it was their own covetousness that brought this about. Their love of money was proverbial.

The Turks ruled Palestine so fiercely that the Jewish peasants were reduced to rags and never smiled. The revenue from Palestine was NIL. Arab tribes tore the country apart, destroying everything - roads, houses, fields, fences.

England - King Canute expelled them in 1020. They returned with the Norman conquest 1066.

In England they suffered robbery, outrage, murder. 500 Jews sheltering in York castle from persecution committed suicide rather than surrender and suffer indecencies.

Edward 1 drove the remnant from England again. Cromwell allowed their return 400 years later.

France – 1306AD driven out, 100,000 of them. Lands and possessions were confiscated by the crown. Their commercial ability was missed so they were recalled in 1316. A new persecution followed until the French ran out of victims to kill.

Germany - 1348-50, the Black Plague was blamed on the Jews, who were accused of poisoning wells and springs. Confessions exacted under torture "proved" this accusation and the Jews were destroyed.

Spain - 1492 - exiled or made slaves. Forced into ghettos.

This pattern continued and continues, into our century. There is not a country in the world where they have not been oppressed at some time.

(5) In their exile they would be atheistic.

Isaiah 17:10.
You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, …”

In part this is true. The leading atheists and infidels have nearly all been Jews, e.g. Karl Marx.

(6) They would be Materialistic.

Deuteronomy 4:28
There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which you
cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

Deuteronomy 28:36
The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.

Their reputation as "money grubbers" has become synonymous with "Jews".

B) A RESTORATION TO PALESTINE.

(1) They would be re-gathered to Palestine in the Last Days.

Ezekiel 34:13
I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.

Ezekiel 36:8-12
"`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.

This idea is implied in the OT more than it is stated. There are heaps of scriptures which ASSUME Israel's presence in Palestine at the End.

This restoration to Palestine would be the SECOND restoration to the Land. The first being that under Ezra and Nehemiah.

Isaiah 11:11
In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.

In this Restoration the Jews would come from all around the world.

Isaiah 11:12
He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

(2) They would be regathered as one nation, not as two.

Ezekiel 37:15-22.
The word of the LORD came to me:
"Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, `Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, `Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.'
Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
"When your countrymen ask you, `Won't you tell us what you mean by this?'
say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph- which is in Ephraim's hand- and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.'
Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land.
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

The old division between Israel and Judah would not continue.

When Israel returned to the land and was proclaimed a state in 1948 it became a state without a name because it happened so quickly. Discussions about what to call the name centred around two possible names - Judah or Israel. Israel was only chosen after fierce debate.

If Judah had been chosen the old divisions would have continued.

(3) The nation would be born in a single day.

Isaiah 66:8
Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever 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.

Israel came into being through a state of emergency and was literally born in a single day.

(4) The Restored Israel will become very rich.

Isaiah 60:5-9
Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.

Isaiah 61:6
And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

The Dead Sea contains phosphates estimated in 1970 to be worth over $1,270,000,000,000. This was then more than the combined wealth of the USA, UK and France.

There is oil in abundance, geothermal steam, and vast uranium deposits. In today's world energy is money.

Also Jews control most of the world's banking system through families such as the Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Warburgs, Morgans, etc.

New York is the textile centre of the world, controlled by Jews who make up over 30% of the city's population.

Other avenues of wealth exist in Palestine too numerous to list.

(5) The Land would become fertile again.

Ezekiel 36:9-11.
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.

Joel 2:24-27.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm- my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.

Israel has today made the deserts blossom as the Bible said. It supplies Europe all year round with fruit and flowers. Extensive tree planting and irrigation systems have lowered the ground temperature dramatically.

This fruitfulness would come about through a restoration of the (latter) rains.

Joel 2:23. (above)

Some interpreters have thought that Palestine only has two rainy seasons, the early rains and the heavy rains.

This idea has come about because of travelers going to Palestine during the period before the latter rains were restored and commenting on the two rains, identifying the heavy winter rains as the latter rains. Such is not the case. The latter rains are not heavy but gentle, as heavy rain would damage the grain forming in the ear. The story of the restoration of the latter rains is interesting.

The first community of Jews returning from exile was established in 1870 near Jaffa.

In 1883 Baron Rothschild founded an agricultural community in Palestine with some Russian Jews, also some Polish and Romanian Jews returned about this time.

The restoration of the Jews from the NORTH is an important theme in prophecy.

Isaiah 43:6
I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

Isaiah 49:12
See, they will come from afar- some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan."

The latter rains began to fall spasmodically at first after the first group returned but soon settled down to be a regular feature.

In 1912 Dr Grunhut observed that for centuries the land was barren because of the lack of latter rains but that they had now fallen for several decades.

From 1960-1982 there was a 60% increase in annual rainfall.

However it is important to note that at the same time the rest of the world's weather patterns have been disturbed in the fulfilment of other prophecies. God puts his hand on his people in Goshen.

The land will become like the Garden of Eden.

Ezekiel 36:35.
They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited."

(6) Foreigners will build up their walls.

Isaiah 60:10
"Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.”

Walls speak of defence.

USA military aid to Israel in 1977 was $1500 million. This aid continues.

(7) Israel will be strong.

Zechariah 10:6
"I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.

She always defeats her enemies.

C) THE FUTURE.

(1) This restoration will eventually give them back the land as defined in the OT.

1 Kings 4:21
And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life.

Micah 7:12.
In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

From the River Euphrates to the River of Egypt. This includes all of what we now call Lebanon, Syria, Most of Iraq, Jordan.

The "river of Egypt" is not the Nile but a small stream in the Suez.

There are indications that Israel will take possession of this land, but that it will be in a largely barren, uninhabited state when they do. This would seem to indicate that some catastrophe had already removed the population before Israel invades. The release of large quantities of poisonous gases would easily do this, or the possible explosion of oil reservoirs underground.

Don't be surprised to see more wars between Arab states in the near future.

Isaiah 11:14
They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will lay hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

In The last days Israel possesses Moab (Jordan) and Ammon (Syria) and Philistia (The Present Palestinian State).

(2) Nations will serve Israel.

Isaiah 61:5.
Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

The Palestinian Question?

(3) Nations will Come to Her for Counseling.

Isaiah 60:3.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

In many areas of expertise, Israeli advice is sought around the world.

(4) The Temple will be rebuilt.

Implied in Isaiah 40-66 in various places.

Ezekiel 40-48 gives its design.

Daniel 9:27 - some form of cult activity is restored for Antichrist to stop.

It has been claimed that stone has been cut for the temple and 62,000 tonnes of it is stored on Pier 26, New York Harbour in readiness for shipping to Israel. The cornerstone has already been shipped.

What sort of Cult activity could be restored?

It is hard to see. Legal requirements meant that any temple could not be rededicated without the special sacrificial blood of the Red Heifer offering, which by its nature cannot be repeated. It is hard to see what Israel could do with a temple if they had one.

It is unlikely that God would allow the recommencing of sacrifices as this prefigured Christ who has fulfilled these laws. Nor is it likely that God would allow a resurgence of the Levitical priesthood now that Christ has re-instituted the Melchizedek priesthood.

(5) Israel makes some sort of relationship with Antichrist, though at that stage they do not realise his true nature.

Daniel 9:27
He will confirm a covenant with many for one `seven.' In the middle of the `seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Isaiah 28:14,15.
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the
grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it
cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."

This passage has traditionally been interpreted to apply to the Antichrist and Israel.

It seems as if Antichrist sets up his capital temporarily in Jerusalem.

(6) At some stage Israel realises that Antichrist is false.

"Apocalypse of Peter".

"And ye (learn a parable) from the fig tree, whereby ye shall perceive it: so soon as the shoot thereof is come forth an the twigs grown, the end of the world shall come."

And I, Peter, answered and said unto him: "Interpret unto me concerning the fig tree,..., for throughout all it's days the fig tree sends forth shoots...we do not understand it."

And the Lord answered: "Understandest thou not that the fig tree is the house of Israel. Even as a man that planteth a fig tree in his garden and it brought forth no fruit. And he sought the fruit thereof for many years, and when he found it not he said to the keeper of his garden: Root up this fig tree that it may not make out ground to be unfruitful.

And the gardener saith unto God: (Suffer us) to rid it of weeds and dig the ground around about it to water it. If then it will not bear fruit we will straightway remove it's roots out of the garden and plant another in it's place.

Hast thou not understood that the fig tree is the house of Israel?

Verily I say unto thee when the twigs thereof have sprouted forth in the last days then shall feigned Christ's come and awake expectation saying, "I am the Christ who has come into the world."

And when they (Israel) shall perceive the wickedness of their deeds they shall turn away...

(something is wrong with the text - it has been corrupted but the following part indicates that Israel shall perceive Antichrist to be false).

...And when they reject him he shall slay with the sword, and there shall be many martyrs. Then shall the twigs of Israel shoot forth...

Enoch and Elias (Elijah) shall be sent forth to teach them that this is the deceiver ... and therefore they (Enoch and Elijah) shall die by his hand..."

Presumably this occurs in conjunction with Antichrist's blasphemy and abomination in the Temple. Possibly he sacrifices pigs, or some other unclean animal, or even human beings.

Daniel 9:27. (above)

Matthew 24:15.
"So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel- let the reader understand-

2 Thessalonians 2:4.
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

(7) Israel becomes "a burden to the nations" and is attacked by Antichrist.

Zechariah 12:1-3.
This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:
"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.
On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.

Antichrist breaks his treaty. Jerusalem is trodden under foot until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Revelation 11:2.
But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.

(8) Israel has a special relationship with Egypt.

Isaiah 19:18,19.
"In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. One of them will be called the City of Destruction.
In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border."

The absence of Egypt from the list of enemies of Israel in the last days suggests there is still a treaty with Egypt.

Ezekiel 38:1- 5.

(9) Jews will again be forcibly expelled from countries around the world and will be sent to Egypt.

Deuteronomy 28:68.
The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

(10) Israel will again exodus (from Egypt?) and in the process will meet God.

Ezekiel 20:33-39.
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will rule over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered- with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
I will bring you into the desert of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you.
As I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign LORD.
I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
"`As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.

(11) A sign shall arise in Israel and Jesus shall be revealed to them as the Christ.

This is not the Second Coming but is a move of spiritual renewal whereby the natural branches are re-grafted back into the tree of faith (Romans 9-11).

Romans 11:25-31.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.

Apparently this renewal in Israel indicates that God has completed his work in the Gentile world as far as the Gospel is concerned. The times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

This revelation comes to Israel through "Zion" which presumably means the church (Hebrews 12:22-24).

As Israel sees the reality of God in the church, and the love of Christians for them under persecution they turn to Christ.

"Jacob" here means "the natural seed of Jacob", where "Zion" = the "spiritual seed of Jacob".

Joel 2:28-3:1
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.
"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
"In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

An outpouring of the Spirit on Israel. The outpouring on the day of Pentecost fulfilled this – IN PART – but it does not exhaust the prophecy.

(12) One third of Israel turns to Christ.

Zechariah 13:8,9.
In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, `They are my people,' and they will say, `The LORD is our God.'"

The other two thirds perish in the following conflict. Clearly God allows a miracle of deliverance on those Jews who accept Christ.

Joel 2:32 - has a literal meaning, not just a spiritual meaning.

The result of this revival, and the later destruction of unrepentant Israel, is

that when Christ comes there will only be two groups of people alive on earth:

(i) The Church, including the 1/3 of Israel who repented.

(ii) Non Christians who have all heard, but rejected the gospel.

There is no other group of non-Christian Jews who enter into the next phase of history.

(13) The invasion of Palestine by Russia and her allies precipitates Armageddon.

Ezekiel 38.

See references in Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the "North".

Not wanting to miss out on the spoils the kings of the East also invade;

Revelation 16:12-16 9:12-21.

All of the nations are represented there (with only a few exceptions).

Zechariah 12:3.
On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.

Antichrist will already be present in the Middle East, ruling from either Babylon or Jerusalem.

God will intervene with a mighty deliverance.

Zechariah 12:7-9.
"The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.
On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

Israel, the remnants of it, shall repent.

Zechariah 12:10-13:1
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,and all the rest of the clans and their wives."On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

Apparently the armies of the world are destroyed by nuclear holocaust.

Zechariah 14:12
This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

This describes radiation sickness and the effects of the neutron bomb.

The side effects include the splitting of the Mount of Olives by a massive earthquake.

Zechariah 14:4,5.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

A major fault line passes through the Mt of Olives.

It will take over 7 months to bury the dead.

It takes over 7 years to burn their arms.

Interestingly enough weapons are now being made from plastics that can be burnt but are very tough.

Ezekiel 39:9-12
"`Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up- the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.
They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD.
"`On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.
"`For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.

It is hard to imagine what these scriptures mean if they do not mean what they literally say. If they mean something different to what they say then we will eventually find out- but how can we be sure the rest of the Bible means what it says if these parts don’t?

For me the key promise is Romans 11:28,29
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.

There is still a place for the natural Israel in God’s plan. His call, his election and his gifts are without “change of mind” (Greek metanoia). Whatever symbolic interpretation we come up with we still need to allow room for God to move in Israel as he wills.