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:
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
A bit about Bible Interpretation.
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
(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.
(i) The OT prophecies have a literal fulfillment.
(ii) There are principles/lessons which
(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.
“First the natural, then the spiritual”
-as a guide to understanding the double fulfillment of prophecy – in
(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).
The study that follows is an analysis of some of the prophecies concerning
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.
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
(2)
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.
Joel 1:10-12,17 - the grain is destroyed.
Joel 2:19,23
JOEL 2:23
Be glad, O people of
The restoration of rains implies its previous failure.
Shortly after
(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
5th Century - Driven out of
6th Century - In a rebellion against
7th Century - Expelled from
8th Century - Islamic Law - any Jewish Child who rejected their religion was made sole heir of the family possessions. In
"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
In
Edward 1 drove the remnant from
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
(1) They would be re-gathered to
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
Ezekiel 36:8-12
"`But you, O mountains of
This idea is implied in the OT more than it is stated. There are heaps of scriptures which ASSUME
This restoration to
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
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
(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
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
The old division between
When
If
(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
(4) The Restored
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
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
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.
Other avenues of wealth exist in
(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
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.
This fruitfulness would come about through a restoration of the (latter) rains.
Joel 2:23. (above)
Some interpreters have thought that
This idea has come about because of travelers going to
The first community of Jews returning from exile was established in 1870 near
In 1883 Baron Rothschild founded an agricultural community in
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
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
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.
(7)
Zechariah 10:6
"I will strengthen the house of
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
Micah 7:12.
In that day people will come to you from Assyria and the cities of
From the River Euphrates to the
The "
There are indications that
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
In The last days
(2) Nations will serve
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
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,
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
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)
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
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
It seems as if Antichrist sets up his capital temporarily in
(6) At some stage
"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
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
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 (
(something is wrong with the text - it has been corrupted but the following part indicates that
...And when they reject him he shall slay with the sword, and there shall be many martyrs. Then shall the twigs of
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
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)
Zechariah 12:1-3.
This is the word of the LORD concerning
"I am going to make
On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make
Antichrist breaks his treaty.
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)
Isaiah 19:18,19.
"In that day five cities in
In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of
The absence of
Ezekiel 38:1- 5.
(9) Jews will again be forcibly expelled from countries around the world and will be sent to
Deuteronomy 28:68.
The LORD will send you back in ships to
(10)
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
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
"`As for you, O house of
(11) A sign shall arise in
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:
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
This revelation comes to
As
"Jacob" here means "the natural seed of Jacob", where "
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
"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
"In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of
An outpouring of the Spirit on
(12) One third of
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
that when Christ comes there will only be two groups of people alive on earth:
(i) The Church, including the 1/3 of
(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
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
Antichrist will already be present in the Middle East, ruling from either
God will intervene with a mighty deliverance.
Zechariah 12:7-9.
"The LORD will save the dwellings of
On that day the LORD will shield those who live in
On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack
Zechariah 12:10-13:1
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of
the inhabitants of
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
This describes radiation sickness and the effects of the neutron bomb.
The side effects include the splitting of the
Zechariah 14:4,5.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of
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
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
"`For seven months the house of
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
2 comments:
The Abomination of Desolation
The start of the three and a half year tribulation under the beasts of Revelation chapter 13 will occur once the abomination that makes desolate is SET UP, and then ENFORCED.
The abomination that makes desolate is a law that will be enacted which will cause as many as will not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The law will be SET UP 1290 days prior to the sounding of the Seventh, and final, Trumpet. Thirty days AFTER the law is set up the law will be ENFORCED.
When the law is SET UP that will be the time that the 144,000 are to flee. The 144,000 are protected during the three and a half years of tribulation when Satan goes after the rest of the seed of the woman.
Patricia (ndbpsa © 1982) Bible Prophecy on the Web
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BibleProphecy
Again Patricia makes assertions that she doesn't back up.
The idea of the 144,000 "fleeing" I'm not sure what she bases this on. Anyway take a look at my notes on Rev 7 where I discuss the identity of the 144,000. It is a symbolic number indicating the whole Church.
John
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