David Reagan - The Future of Israel
What is the future for Israel? It appears today that Israel has no hope. It is a tiny nation the size of New Jersey with only 6 million Jews, and it is trying to exist in an area where it is surrounded by 22 Arab nations with over 300 million people who are determined to destroy it. Does Israel really have any hope? Or is it doomed to annihilation as a nation and extinction as a people? Stay tuned.
David Reagan: Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Blessed Hope, and welcome to Christ in Prophecy.
Last week I shared with you a number of interviews I made with Bible prophecy experts regarding their opinions as to what is the most amazing prophetic development in the world today. Most of them pointed to the regathering of the Jewish people from the four corners of the earth and the re-establishment of their nation.
If you missed that program, you can find it on our website at lamblion.com. It is also posted on many other Internet sites like HisChannel.com, LightSource.com, and YouTube.com. This week I want to continue with those interviews of Bible prophecy experts, and my question to them will be: “What does the Bible say about the future of Israel?” Is the nation going to continue to exist, or is it doomed to extinction? Let’s consider their answers.
Part 2
Andy Woods: Well there are some difficult things and then there are some good things. The difficulty that’s predicted Zechariah 14:2 and other passages predict all the nations will come against Israel in the last days so she won’t have a single friend. Which would even include the Late Great United States of America, sadly, as we have been a faithful ally to Israel. We even see the political climate shifty on that. But Israel at that point then reaches out to the only friend that extends the olive branch to her which is the Antichrist and gives her a temporary peace. But then the Antichrist replicates what the Jews well remember in their history from the days of Antiochus the desecration of the Temple. And so at that point he betrays them and the Jewish eyes I believe at that point are largely opened for they realize, wow this guy is not our Messiah, our Messiah came 2,000 years ago. And that’s where the blessing start because Jesus will save them out of that time of distress. And through that nation He will fulfill every single promise He every made to them. So there are some difficult days ahead but there’s a–the story ends happily.
Gary Fisher: They are going to face some dark days according to Bible prophecy from here forward. They are regathering back into the land. There is a thing called the Tribulation coming up. There’s going to be a signing of a treaty that allows them to go back and use the Temple Mount. That will be a terrible dark time for them mid-way through that Tribulation war is going to dominate. And two-thirds of them will perish according to Zechariah, but one-third of them will make it through that Tribulation. And they will be those that I believe I mentioned a moment ago will look at Him whom they have pierced, they will mourn for Him as one who mourns for an only son. And the Bible says in Romans 11:25 that in that day all Israel will be saved when they look on Him whom they have pierced and say “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai.” All of the blessing in the universe will turn–or the cursing in the universe will turn to blessing. And it is all wrapped up in the history of the nation of Israel and the future involvement of the nation of Israel concerning blessing the Lord. And their blessing will continue on into the Millennium. They will become exactly what God invented them to do that is to be kings, priests and so forth, representatives of the Lord. And we will be there in glorified bodies alongside them executing the plan of God, with a Jewish Messiah named Yeshua; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the whole earth. I cannot wait.
Bill Salus: Well I am looking for three major, maybe four major events, I believe there will be a concluding Arab Israeli War described in Psalm 83 prophesied. I believe that will be followed by the Gog and Magog invasion of Ezekiel 38 & 39 both of those would be predominately Muslim Wars, major wars coming against Israel different reasons and things like that but they are sequential. And then Israel is going to build a Temple and that is a big thing that is going to happen over there. And then ultimately there is going to be a confirmation of a false covenant with the Antichrist we are told this in Daniel 9. And that will ultimately lead to the Tribulation period where the Antichrist will attempt a final genocide of the Jews. We are told in Zechariah 13:8 that it will be horrible, two-thirds of the Jews will be cut off. But a faithful remnant of a third of the Jews will come through that and they will go into the Messianic Kingdom and there will be an Israel in the Messianic Kingdom.
David Hocking: Our friend Bill Salus wrote his book Isralestine, and it is based on Psalm 83. A lot of us have looked at Psalm 83 wondering about its possible fulfillment. If Bill is right on this then Israel is going to be attacked by those nations and groups that are adjacent to its borders. People like Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, and Hizbullah they still are big time trouble and they are financed by of course Iran which leads the list of nations in Ezekiel 38. So many prophecy teachers wonder, “Is there going to be a preliminary conflict from Psalm 83 by nations that want to cut off Israel from being a nation?” I suppose it is possible or it may be another description of Armageddon. Many Bible prophecy teachers including myself we seem to know everything when we started over 50 years ago, and now we wonder what we do know. Personally I know that half of Jerusalem is going to be taken, women raped, plenty of children killed, but they won’t be completely destroyed. Even the time of Jacob’s trouble God says even in spite of that He will never cut them off. He will never forget His everlasting covenant. So, I personally think Israel is probably going to be attacked soon. But I believe God is going to supernaturally intervene. And it appears it will be the Messiah Himself, who according to Isaiah 63 will trample the winepress of God’s wrath all by Himself.
Don Perkins: I like that question as well because the Bible says regarding Israel the Apostle Paul said in Romans 11:26 he said that all Israel shall be saved. Now what I like about that is even though Israel will go through a season of testing in the future God has a plan by which nation of Israel will come to a saving knowledge of Christ. What I love about that so much is that as Israel goes through her season, the Bible calls it the time of Jacob’s trouble, the end result of her going through the Tribulation is that she is going to cry out for Messiah. So, what I like about that the end result of the house of Israel will be salvation.
Al Gist: There is no doubt first of all that there is war on the horizon with Israel whether you are one of those who believe the coming Psalm 83 War or the Magog War, you know there is definitely going to be war. But here is what we know for sure Israel is going to win. Israel will win whatever war is coming because the Bible is absolutely clear that they are going to be there until the Lord returns. The very last verse of Scripture in the book of Amos, you know I like the fact that God put this right at the end of the book it’s like it’s the final word. And God says, “I will plant them upon their land, and they will no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them,” sayeth the Lord thy God.
Don McGee: Several things are going to happen to the nation of Israel. They are going to continue to nationally reject Jesus as their Messiah. One day they are going to accept Him but that is going to be awhile down the road. I also look for a growing estrangement between the nations of the world and Israel. And most unfortunate I believe is the fact that our own country is going to grow in its estrangement from Israel. We have policies going back several administrations that forced Israel to do things that they don’t want to do. And things such as the giving up of land that God has directly said that no one is to force them do. So there is an estrangement that’s going to grow. Also, after the taking out of the Church Israel is going to undergo what we commonly call the persecution of the Tribulation period. That is going to happen. And when that is over toward the end of it Israel nationally is going to recognize that Jesus the one that they call “that man” in the derogatory way today they are going to accept Him. They are going to recognize Him and they are going to say that, “Yes, He was and He is our Messiah.”
Michael Norten: The way that I understand in Scripture in Zechariah 12:2 the nations that share the border with Israel will attack Israel. And I feel that it will be very soon they will attack it in unison and Israel and IDF will have a great victory according to Isaiah they will expand their borders. That’s why the Jews like to call it the Battle of Restoration. And in fact it even says that they will be speaking Hebrew in the streets of Egypt. And also Syria will be out of the picture. And not long after that it looks to be that Ezekiel 38 & 39 Gog and Magog will take place and they will not be prepared as well for this one and so God will take on the victory Himself. And then after, sometime after that according to Zechariah 12:3 all the nations, in fact the United States has been found to be between the “A” and the “L” all nations will attack Israel. And Jesus will come, Himself in person to administer victory. We will be coming back with Him that will be our Second Advent as well, and we will witness this. He will administer this victory and the Jews will recognize Him as the one they have pierced and all of Israel will be saved. It will be an incredible time.
Nathan Jones: Israel since they were exiled out of the land have been living in kind of a crucible; as the Lord continue to refine the people to bring a believing remnant of Jews. And so they’re going to hit the worst time in their history, Jeremiah 37 says a time of “Jacob’s trouble.” So we know that Israel is going to have to deal with wars possibly a Psalm 83 War where they have to deal with the nations around them. They are going to have to deal with Iran and Russia and Turkey and those nations coming against them; which the Lord steps in. Then they have seven years of Tribulation where God is going to make it so difficult for them they have no choice but turn to the Lord. The decision will be so easy, either go with the Lord, or not with the Lord. When Jesus comes back we know that a third, a remnant of Jews will come to know Jesus as their Savior. And into Jesus’ 1,000 years Millennial Kingdom they will be a priestly people serving under Jesus receiving all the promises that the Lord has given them. So they have a terrible time ahead, but they also have a great and wonderful future ahead as well.
Part 3
David Reagan: I hope you are finding the answers of our Bible prophecy experts to be as interesting as I did when I interviewed them. They have been responding to the question, “What does the Bible say about the future of Israel?” Thus far, I have interviewed 9 of 16, and all 9 have confirmed that Bible prophecy clearly states that the nation of Israel will continue to exist, despite the fact that there appears to be no hope for the Jewish people.
Of course, the key to all this is that the Scriptures say that “He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.” And that Scripture reminds me of this cartoon showing a tug of war between Israel and the rest of the world’s nations, and Israel is winning because God has His finger on the rope on Israel’s side. Let’s return now to the answers of our Bible prophecy experts.
Part 4
Jobe Martin: The nation of Israel will continue to exist forever it doesn’t matter how many people want to try to destroy it. It doesn’t matter if they have a commitment to remove even the remembrance of Israel like Psalm 83. They are going to be here. Now they might–they will for a short period of time during the last part of the Tribulation God is going to remove them to a special place. I don’t know where that is maybe somebody does. But they will be brought right back in and we will have our 1,000 year reign of Jesus, the Jewish people will be there. They are going to be there forever. So, the history of the Jewish people is one that will not be terminated in anyway.
Terry James: Of course Bible prophecy does tell us exactly what is going to happen we don’t have to wonder about it those of us who study Bible prophecy. From a Pre-Trib view in particular Israel is going to become more and more hated we see that happening in the news today. More and more hated, more and more isolated. Zechariah 12:1-3 says it will become a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone to the whole world, and certainly we see that developing. From that post-Rapture Israel is not going to have friends left at all, it is going to be finally a peace covenant made to insure their security. But it’s going to be a covenant made with death and hell by the Antichrist system and the Antichrist himself sign that covenant. And from that of course Israel becomes more and more hated and the most hated nation in world history will become even more hated. It will be worse than anything Hitler ever devised against the Jews. And then of course from that Israel will escape into the wilderness, a remnant will and those who are believers I believe will be protected. Some people think it’s Petra, I’m not sure, but that is what the thought is. From that they will be protected for basically the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. And they will see their Messiah returning as we see in Revelation 19:11 when Christ comes through the black clouds of the apocalypse of Armageddon. And all Israel; that is all believing Israel will be saved a remnant will be saved to go into the Millennium. So that’s basically Israel as I see it from a biblical viewpoint.
Randall Price: Well the nation of Israel is because it’s living in the times of the Gentiles and it’s going to be climaxed with the time of Jacob’s trouble; the time of Israel’s trouble. We are going to see increasing problems. Israel as I understand is under divine discipline that’s what the times of the Gentiles is it is a imposition of judicial judgment and hardening on the Jewish nation as a whole. With the same time Daniel 8 calls it the time of Israel’s indignation. So, it is a time in which God has them under discipline for the purpose of provoking faith ultimately in the Messiah. And to at the same time–I am going to say bring them to the place where they are going to fulfill the divine role and destiny. And in the past that’s been done by surrounding them with enemies causing those enemies to cause them to come to a place where repentance and desperation they cry out for their Messiah. As we come to Zechariah we see again Jerusalem surrounded by armies, the focal point of that attack provoking Israel to mourn, to cry out for the Messiah to come and save them, to rescue them. Isaiah 25:6-9 is a passage, “This is the Lord for whom we have waited that He might save us.” And so, again part of the discipline that was imposed on Israel because of their violation of the covenant was that He would bring these foreign armies and He would put them under foreign domination. And they would be cast out into other lands and serve other gods, as it were, because those are the gods of those lands. But in those places they would seek Him, and they would find Him, and they would be regathered and restored. So, that’s what’s going on everything is done with a purpose even though it seems to be moving towards a terrible climax that’s all for the purpose of ultimately bringing in the wonderful day of restoration and redemption.
Brian Thomas: Zechariah 13:8 tells us that during the seven year Tribulation two-thirds of the Jewish nation will be killed. It is going to look as though the Jewish nation is going to be annihilated. But also Zechariah goes on to say that a third, that remnant will look toward Jesus Christ, they will call upon Him as Lord. And that is the day when we go into the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ in which ten men from every nation will grab the sleeve of a Jewish man and say, “Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you,” as is recorded in Zechariah chapter 8. So the worst time is ahead, it is going to even surpass the Nazi holocaust in the Tribulation. But the best days also are ahead for Israel in which we will see the nation of Israel as the supreme nation during the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
August Rosado: Well according to prophecy Israel is going to go through a seven year period of tribulation. We find this in Jeremiah 30:7 where He says, “Alas, for that day is great so that there is none like it. It is even a time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of out.” Israel is back in the land, but they are back in the land in unbelief in preparation for a seven year period of tribulation to come. People say, “Well August, what is the purpose of this seven year period of tribulation?” Well it is to bring unbelieving Israel to faith in Yeshua as their Savior and their Messiah. So they have to go through a seven year period of Tribulation. Zechariah 13:8-9 tells us that two-thirds of the Jewish people will lose their lives at the hands of the Antichrist. But a third will be brought through the fire, come to faith in Jesus Christ at His Second Coming back to this earth. So passages like Jeremiah 30:7, Daniel 12:1, Jesus in Matthew 24:21, “There shall be great tribulations such as was not since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” And of course Revelation 7:14 says there will be a seven year period of tribulation. So, Israel is going to be in for a real bad time. But there is good news Jesus Christ will come back and all Israel shall be saved.
Tim LaHaye: I believe that Israel is faced with plenty of good times to make them more attractive for the Arab terrorists to come down and snuff them out. But also very perilous times, even before the Rapture or possibly before the Rapture or before the Tribulation period, because much is said about what’s going to happen during that seven years. But before that Israel is going to become the target of the Arab world and Russia. Isn’t that interesting? They’re colleagues today. And they’re going to come down against Israel according to Ezekiel 38, well 37, 36, 37 and 38 and through 39. And God is going to do what He did in the Old Testament when He brought Israel out of Egypt He is going to show His strong arm. And 8 times in those two passages Ezekiel 38 & 39 He is going to show His strong arm so that all the world will know that He is the Lord. How? By saving Israel when they can’t save themselves, or unfortunately their allies will not save them. And that’s where God comes in. But be sure of this: this is not the end of Israel.
Ed Hindson: Well prophetically the Bible is always filled with a combination of good news and bad news. It’s only bad news for the unbeliever; it’s always good news for the believer the Blessed Hope that gives us hope to anticipate the coming of Christ. But for the nation and people of Israel I would foresee several things prophetically. First of all, Israel will eventually on the bad news column suffer an invasion of several nations against her in the end times. I think the book of Ezekiel and other passages make that very, very clear. On the good news side God will dramatically intervene on Israel’s behalf and she will win that war. And I think there will be a wave then of Jewish nationalism and excitement even that could lead to the rebuilding of the Third Temple. But on the bad news side if they don’t through all of that come to a real experience with Christ Himself then eventually the Antichrist will deceive them after the time of the Rapture into signing a peace treaty with him. He will break the treaty, turn against them, invade Israel and literally everything will go wrong. Israel will end up having to flee into the wilderness. And yet God will use those experiences of the Tribulation period to bring many of the Jewish people to faith in Yeshua as Hamashia the Messiah. That they will come to understand that Jesus really is the Son of God. He really is the Savior. That the Rapture has occurred and they have been left behind. And in the process of that everything has gone wrong. God will raise up two witnesses to proclaim the truth of the Gospel from among the Jewish people themselves. And then at least 144,000 will be converted and I believe many, many more then even that. And God will do an amazing work in the hearts of His people and they begin to finally cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” And by the end of the time of tribulation I think you will see a wave of conversions in Israel like we have never seen before in all of history. And the dramatic return of Christ. And then the good news is the literal reign of Christ on earth for a 1,000 years from the Throne of David in Jerusalem. So, when things seem to be going wrong we always want to remind ourselves God is always going right. He’s on the throne. He knows what He’s doing. And God will fulfill His prophetic plan for the nation and people of Israel.
Part 5
David Reagan: Well there you have it, the answers of 16 Bible prophecy experts in response to the question, “What does the Bible say about the future of Israel?”
Let me try to provide you with a summary of what they have said about Israel’s future, presenting the events in chronological order. Israel will soon experience a major war with her immediate neighbors, those with whom she has a common boundary, and she will win that war overwhelmingly. The whole Arab world will then turn to their natural ally, Russia, and appeal for help. The Russians will respond with a major invasion, together with many Muslim allies, and this great invasion army will be supernaturally destroyed by God on the mountains of Israel. At that point the Antichrist will emerge and guarantee the peace of Israel, enabling them to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. This treaty will also mark the beginning of the Tribulation, a 7 year period of unparalleled horror upon the earth during which one half of the world’s population will die and two-thirds of the Jews will be killed. But God will supernaturally preserve a Jewish remnant through this holocaust, and at the conclusion of it, the Jewish people will be brought to the end of themselves and will accept Yeshua, Jesus as their Messiah, resulting in the salvation of a great remnant. They will cry out, “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai,” meaning, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. That remnant will then enter the Millennium in the flesh and will serve as the initial population of the state of Israel. Jesus will reign in Jerusalem as the King of kings and Lord of lords. David, in his glorified body will reign as the King of Israel. And to this Jewish remnant and their descendants, God will fulfill all the kingdom promises that He has made to Israel. The nation will serve as the prime nation of the world, and thru it all God’s blessings will flow to the other nations. This is why the Bible says in Zechariah 8:23 that in those days, when ten Gentiles see a Jew walking by, they will grab his robe and say, “Let us go with you, for we know that God is with you!”
For more detailed information about the Jews in prophecy, I would suggest my book, “The Jewish People: Rejected or Beloved?” In just a moment our announcer will tell you how you can get a copy. Well, that’s our program for this week. Until next week, the Lord willing, this is Dave Reagan speaking for Lamb & Lion Ministries, saying, “Look up, be watchful, for our Redemption is drawing near.”