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Israel’s restoration in the Last days In the last day’s God calls Israel back into their land of Promise. The Jews are scattered all over the world mainly from the dispersion that began in 70 AD and continually return after Israel has become a nation again. Deut. 30:3: “the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you” v.5 “And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.” (Lev 25:38) God had promised, Exod. 6:8: “ And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.” This began when Jews entered the Land under Joshua after Moses. There literally hundreds of scriptures that contain the promise concerning God's covenant with Israel and their land. We must distinguish between the promise of ownership of the Land found in the Abrahamic Covenant and Land Covenant and the actual enjoyment of their being in the Land, the fulfillment. To this day the nation has never enjoyed ALL of the Promised Land, and they will not enjoy all of the Land until they become a saved nation, at which point the Messiah will give it to them and be with them as their king ruling in Jerusalem (Zion). The prophet Ezekiel predicted a restoration of Israel in symbolism, “Then He said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; … I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel'" (Ezek. 37:11-12). They are being brought into the land (the ultimate fulfillment is at the resurrection for the Millennium). Ezek. 37:13 "And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.” These verses are part of the prophecy of the restoration of saved Israel in the Millennium. Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37 deal with the restoration of Israel from the four corners of the earth. This prophecy could only come true if Israel is a nation restored to their land. These verses to a certain extent have and are being fulfilled today. Israel is a nation in its land with a great army v.10 (Ez.38 is yet to take place). But still, well over half the Jews in Israel are still atheists, they are gathered in the land first in unbelief preparing them for the day of repentance when they will know who their Messiah is and call upon Him for salvation (Zech. 12:10-12). Moses spoke of Israel's future disobedience to the Mosaic Law that would result in their scattering over all the world (Deut. 29:2-30:1). God promised Israel in Neh. 1:8-9: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,' but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.” Israel has a history of leaving and then coming back to God. And God has always been willing to take her back and He has always protected her throughout her history of doing this. Isa. 54:6-10: “ For the LORD has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused," says your God. "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. "For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed, " says the LORD, who has mercy on you.” Scripture says Isaiah 66:8, in a day a nation will be born. May 14, 1948 the sovereign State of Israel of the Jewish people were miraculously reborn as foretold by Bible prophecy for the last days. This cannot be explained away as insignificant, or a coincidence. Amos 9:14-15 “ I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them," Says the LORD your God.” Zech. 8:7-8" Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west; I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.” The Bible speaks of her enemies surrounding her. All the ancient nations mentioned are the enemies of Israel today. Coincidence, I think not. For example in Ezek. 38:1-6 we see Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, v.5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them. V.6 Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north. All of these countries are involved against Israel today. Hitler attempted to exterminate the Jewish people, God gave Hitler a defeat and gave the Jews their ancient homeland and this begins to fulfill what is promised in Scripture. There are those who want us to believe that God does not care for Israel any longer, they are forsaken, and his promises made to them are null and void. This is the world’s view, and unfortunately, some Christians in certain denominations whose theological constructs are not based on the Bible. They say nothing happening with Israel today is in any way related to prophecy. Some go as far as to say God is not bringing Jews back into the land! Then exactly who are these people he calls his own that are returning today? The Abrahamic Covenant, the Land Covenant, the Davidic Covenant are all related to each other, the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Church has not replaced Israel nor is the Church fulfilling the promises to Israel. The distinctions of Gentiles and Jews are still with us. Rom. 11:1 “has God cast away His people? Certainly not!” GOD did not replace the Jews with anyone. The Promised Land (Israel) was never given to the church; nor was the church removed from the Promised land; for the church is not a “nation,” nor a theocracy. How can this refer to the church that didn't exist in Moses' or Joshua's day! The church is made up of people from every nation both Jews and gentiles who believe in the gospel of Jesus. The new covenant (promised in Jer. 30:31), which is the mystery hid from the beginning of the world (Eph. 1:9-10, 3:6,9 and Col.1:26 is, Christ in you – the hope of Glory. United by Gods spirit in both Jews and gentiles as the body of Christ.) Therefore the church cannot replace Israel in prophecy. There is only one nation, one people whom God ever gave a land to with specific perpetual promises, to the Jews (Hebrews) alone. God over 200 times calls Himself “the God of Israel” and has declared Israel his people ‘the apple of his eye.’ The Bible has written the title deed to this land, and goes back almost 4000 years. What is still in effect are God's covenants, first given to Abraham the father of the faith in the true God. Genesis 12:3: “And I will bless them that bless you and curse him that curses you.” Jesus spoke of the Tribulation time (Matthew 25:40) “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren (the Jewish people), ye have done it unto me.” This is especially applied to how Gentiles treat the Jews in the tribulation period. Abraham was promised a Land; specifically, the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1, 7; 13:14-15, 17; 15:17-21; 17:8). Abraham was the representative head of the whole Jewish nation in this covenant, it is developed further by his seed Isaac and then Jacob (who is called Israel). This is further developed in the Land Covenant. Abraham had eight sons by three different women. The Abrahamic Covenant was confirmed through Sarah's son, Isaac. Isaac then had two sons, and God confirmed the covenant with Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15) The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, still in effect and mostly unfulfilled until the kingdom Age, the Millennium commences. We read of the Mosaic covenant that God made with Moses as the nation Israel’s representative. (Exod. 19:3-8.) This covenant was not made with the Gentiles nor the Church that was not existent yet, (Deut. 4:7-8; Ps. 147:19-20; and Mala.4:4.) Deut. 29:1 further explains that the Land Covenant is distinct from the Mosaic Covenant: “These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” The land covenant was made with the same two parties as in the Mosaic Covenant, God and Israel, the nation he brought out of Egypt. What we find is that the title deed to the Land belongs to Israel. Psalm 129:5: “Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back.” “I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates ” (Exodus 23:31). The entire Land of Israel, includes Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Gaza, the Golan Heights, and all of Jerusalem. God speaks of her being unfaithful and disobedient, yet the right to the Land would never be taken from her. Living in the Land peaceably is conditioned on their obedience. The Davidic covenant tells us the Messiah will come from the Seed of David (I Chr. 17:11, fulfilling Gen.12 that all nations will be blessed) the Seed of Abraham which produced 12 tribes from Isaac and Jacob, Messiah is specifically from the Tribe of Judah. The Messiah and His throne and kingdom will be established forever (I Chr. 17:12-15). Where? In the land of Israel. Ezek. 39:28 God declares: “ I (God) ...caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.” This start of the gathering back to the promised land of Israel, it will end in final regathering under the Messiah’s millennial reign. The Bible speaks of the tribulation as a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:3-11; Zech. 12:10). The Church experiences tribulation in the world through the church age (John 15:18-25; 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:10-13), but it is distinct from Israel's time of trouble, which is ‘The Great Tribulation, ‘the Day of the Lord,’ and the Wrath of God. Specifically, the purification of Israel that leads to their repentance. As it is called the "time of Jacob's trouble." During the Tribulation Zech. 13:9“I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" Jer. 14:19-21 shows us Israel’s turmoil. “Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; And for the time of healing, and there was trouble. We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You. Do not abhor us, for Your name's sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.” Zech. 12:10, it is at this time later in the tribulation period the nation is led to repent. “Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land (Ezek. 37:21). Today we see Jews called from all four directions as Is. 43:5-6 states. Jews living in Israel today have come from more than one hundred nations. For this reason we should have confidence that we are witnessing the last-days regathering of Israel as stated repeatedly in scripture. The promise: Zech. 2:10-3:1" Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says the LORD. Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!"
"Therefore behold the days are coming, says the Lord, that they shall
no longer say 'As the Lord lives who brought up the children of
Israel from the land of Egypt,' but 'As the Lord lives who brought up
and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and
from all the countries where I have driven them'" (See Jer.16:14-i5;
23:7-8). Jews have both conditional and unconditional covenants with God, In Jer. 31 right after God promises to forgive our sins because of the new covenant (Jer. 31:35-37) "Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): "If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever." Thus says the LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD.” Only if one can remove the sun the moon and stars then will God not be able to fulfill His promise made to Israel. God is committed to the people of His promises. The “new covenant” (Jer. 31:31) was actually made to the house of Israel and Judah without conditions and this is the covenant all gentiles are grafted into that makes us one in Christ (Rom.11). If it no longer sustains or is applicable to the Jews, how can it for the Gentiles? Matthew 12:21: “And in His name Gentiles will trust.” Luke 2:30-32:For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Rom 9:24-25: “ even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved.” Jesus came to bring first a spiritual Kingdom, one that is within us. This is preparing His people who will participate in a literal, physical kingdom under His Messianic leadership when He is physically present on earth in his return. Replacement teaching which says the church is now spiritual Israel and the nation of Israel is rejected. If you look this up, you’ll never find the term or concept of the church called Israel or called spiritual Israel in the Bible. If the Church is the kingdom reigning why is condition of the world worse not better? Why is the influences of the world shaping the church? Scripture says that evil and lawlessness will increase not decrease. Scripture says Israel's land would be from the River of Egypt to the great River Euphrates. This land promise has never been fulfilled with Israel in the land in history. Why would all the prophets write about the land and what will take place in the future if it already happened. “then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.” (Deut. 30:3) And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.’ (Deut. 30:5) God is at work fulfilling what he spoke in ancient days. Jer.30:18, 31:8 “Behold I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth.” Isa.43:5: “I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west...” Isa. 43:6-7 “I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar,And My daughters from the ends of the earth-- Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." Neh.1:9 "though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.” Scripture clearly prophesies of dispersions and the regathering of the nation of Israel. The regathering has already begun, the present regathering of Israel is not the final regathering when the Messiah returns to reign over Israel (and all nations) in the Millennial Kingdom. This is when all nations will gather against it to battle. ‘ In that day I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. … For I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem ’ (Zech. 12.3, 14.2.) A day is coming when the nation will repent and ask him to come back. This will be in toward the end of the tribulation period. Zech. 13:8-9 “ And it shall come to pass in all the land," says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; and each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'" Amos 9:9-10 "For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve;Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.' One of the purposes of the tribulation is to break the will of the Jewish nation that rejected their Messiah for a national regeneration, this is when the latter rain will occur, His spirit will be poured out on all flesh. God says in Hosea 5:15: “I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” God will return to his place, which is heaven which He left when He became the man Jesus. (Jn.14) All of this is based on Israel recognizing their Messiah (Zech.12:9-14 the nation will repent and call upon him, as Jesus said to them, “Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" (Luke 13:35; Mt.23:37-39) Their affliction is the Tribulation period, the offense they need to confess will bring about the fulfillment of the land covenant. Lev. 26:40-42: “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt-- then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.” We are told to Pray for the peace of Jerusalem- this will be answered by the Messiah coming back again, only then will there be true peace for them and all the world. Gen.12, the covenant with Abraham is still in place. You either accept the Bible and God's covenant that is still in effect or you are against it. If you do not accept it you have become an enemy of God for God is for his people Israel. As Christians we need to stand by Israel, and support Israel as much as possible (Mt.25). This does not mean every decision the government makes is right. Israel is in a precarious position, more than any other nation. They are still being persecuted by many enemies near and far. Satan knows that prophecy depends on Israel being a nation. As God has begun to bring them back into the land, the enemy of God is doing everything he can to prevent this, using nations, terrorism and a particular religion to violently oppose her. To also prevent these prophecies from taking place he is using the unknowledgeable church that is taught the opposite of what God has promised. Which results in not evangelizing Jews. There is a national day of reconciliation prophesied for Israel, then “the LORD shall be king over all the earth; that day shall there be one LORD and his name one” (Zech. 14:9). Isa. 46:12-13: “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness: I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; my salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory.” |
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