Jonathan Bernis - How Close Are We to the End Times?
Jonathan Bernis: Shalom and welcome to Jewish Voice. I'm Jonathan Bernis and I'm joined today by my co-host, Ezra Benjamin. We wanna thank you for joining us today. Well, our world today is in a troubling state, and you may find it difficult to understand the times. Today, we're going to look at biblical times to help us navigate what is happening today. Ezra, as we look at the world nothing makes sense, but from a biblical perspective we can see more clearly what is occurring.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, I guess we have to go back to understand what's ahead.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: In a sense here.
Ezra Benjamin: We do. The scriptures are and really should be our anchor. And let me just exhort you right now. If you're feeling disoriented by what you're seeing in the headlines what you're reading in the news, what you're seeing in society around you, go back to the anchor, go back to the truth in the living Word of God. And let's get some clarity, Jonathan, on what Jesus said and what the prophets in the Old Testament saw would need to happen leading up to the days when the Messiah would come back to rule and reign, and we know that's Jesus.
Jonathan Bernis: Yea, Ezra, I think there's a lot of confusion at least that I'm hearing a lot of confusion from people that have endured some really difficult years: COVID, the war in Ukraine.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: The political turmoil, and it's angry and we're divided.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And there's not a clear sense of what the future holds. You have the economy reeling. So, these have not taken God by surprise. I think that's important to say. Nothing surprises God. And in fact, not much is really new when you look at the sweep of history. You'll have people that have suffered pandemics. You have people that have suffered economic turmoil, wars, rumors of wars. So, God is in control. I think that's the place to start. But there are clear indicators that we are in a very specific time period that the Bible spoke about a long time ago.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right, and before we dive into some of those specific indicators that we are in fact in the last days, as the scripture said. Jonathan, I just wanna highlight, you know, Matthew 24, Jesus is teaching his disciples about what would befall Israel and the nations in the days to come before he would come back to rule and reign. And he says two things that seem contradictory, but I think our responsibility is to hold them in a healthy tension. He says, "No man knows the day or the hour when the Son of Man will return. Only the father knows. The son himself doesn't even know when he'll be sent back to receive his bride". The body of Messiah, the church, the body of Christ from Israel and the nations. But then it also says in the name chapter, "But look at the fig tree. Because when you see the branches, the sprouts come forth you know that the season of summer is on its way". And his commandment is, "So when you see these specific things that I'm talking about come to pass, you know that the season of my return is right at the doorstep. It's right there". So, we don't know the exact day and we're not gonna speculate. Spoiler alert. We're not gonna tell you today, a date on the calendar when we think Jesus is coming back, but we are to know the times and the seasons.
Jonathan Bernis: I know we'd have a lot more views of we said, "We know the hour. We know the day". But this is not true. We shouldn't, and don't listen to anyone who says they know the day. That's right.
Ezra Benjamin: So, Jonathan, you know, you've said actually in so much of your teaching that Israel, and let's say Israel, the land of Israel, and also what we say in Hebrew is am yIsrael, the people of Israel. You know them as the Jewish people in Israel and around the world. Israel, the land and the people are really in a way God's prophetic time piece. If you wanna know where we are in history and how close we are to the return of the Messiah, you need not look much further than what's happening with Israel and the Jewish people.
Jonathan Bernis: They are indeed. And the mistake that so many Christians make is to isolate the issue of Israel from their faith.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: From their biblical understanding.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: It's just a people group. It's just a land, and it's usually not look very favorably upon. It's the Goliath oppression, a group of people. There's nothing unique or special about Israel. That's not what this book teaches. Our mandate is to help people understand how this all ties together.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: Israel matters in the plan of God, and it matters to you. You have a connection to the people in the land of Israel and we wanna help you understand that.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. So, there's two ideas here, Jonathan, and they're both really good news in the end. You know, we like to talk about good news. There's some bad news we'll look at, but that has to happen before the return of Jesus. But let's look at the good news first. And the two things are, the regathering of the people of Israel to the land of Israel called the Promised Land, many of you know that term. And that's because God promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as an inheritance forever. And the second is that Jerusalem would be in Jewish hands. There's a scripture that says, "Jerusalem will be trodden down by the gentiles". It's gonna be under the control of non-Jewish people, the nations until the time of the gentiles were fulfilled and then the end would come, that there would be a reestablishment of the Jewish presence, even a Jewish authority over the City of Jerusalem. And that these things had to happen before the end.
Jonathan Bernis: And that was the case for almost 2,000 years from the time of Rome.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: Israel has wandered from nation to nation.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: The fact that Israel now is restored back to their land is a direct, I wanna say that again, a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: It actually began, Ezra, in the mid to late 19th century. When God began to call not only Jews back to the land to irrigate the land, to drain the swaps, but Christians, Bible believing Christians that saw this in the Word of God worked arm and arm, shoulder to shoulder with Jews because they understood that this had to happen in order for the Messiah to return.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. And, you know, just think about the significance of this. If somebody would have said 200 years ago, Jonathan, in the 19th century, early 20th century, "Jesus is coming back". We would have said, "Well, where is Israel? They're not in the land of Israel. Where's the Jewish people in the land"? Today it's true.
Jonathan Bernis: And it was a prerequisite. Jesus could not come back in the 17th century. He couldn't come back in the 18th or 19th century. He could not come back until Israel was restored to their homeland.
Ezra Benjamin: What a day we live in, Jonathan. You and I can say that. "When is Jesus coming back"? I don't know the date, but I can tell you we're closer now than we ever have been in history. And how do I know that? How can you know that? Because the people of Israel are back in the land of Israel that God promised. And, Jonathan, even a step further than that, since june of 1967 there's a Jewish presence, Jewish leadership in the City of Jerusalem. That had to happen.
Jonathan Bernis: You know, if you... Many theologians saw this. You just have to look at the right books. You go back to books that are 200 years old or even older and there's, they had great clarity. "This land must be restored to the people of Israel". Why? Simply because Jesus said that he would return to a land that welcomed him back and that land was occupied by his own people, his own brethren.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: So, they... It was a requirement. "Jerusalem will be trodden down by the gentiles until, the fullness of the gentiles comes enter, the time of the gentiles be fulfilled". So, it had to happen. It was a part of the Bible prophecy.
Ezra Benjamin: And I'm thinking of that passage in Matthew. Jesus, this is the week in which he would come to Jerusalem. He was in Jerusalem looking at it from the mountain of olives and he knew what lied ahead. He knew that he would have to die for the sins of his people, and he would die some days later on a cross. And he's lamenting over the city, the actual City of Jerusalem and the Jewish people living there. "How often I long to gather you, as a mother hen gathers her chicks, but you weren't willing". And then he makes this promise, "So you won't see me again until you Jewish people in Jerusalem say, 'blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'".
Jonathan Bernis: You know, I wanna share a thought, Ezra, and I've written about this before. I think it's really worthy of consideration and thought. Many say that the Jewish people's restoration to their land was brought about by the holocaust. It took place during a time of great empathy for the Jewish people after Hitler killed two-thirds of European Jew.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: What if Hitler is a type of antichrist understood, maybe not Hitler, but the spirits controlling him understood that Jerusalem had to be restored, therefore Israel had to be restored first. And the holocaust was really and attempt to keep that from happening. To keep redemption from happening. So, what if it's the other way around?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: What if it's not the holocaust that brought about the restoration of the Jewish people back to their land but was actually an attempt to keep them from returning to their land, in the same sense that Pharaoh tried to keep the children of Israel from experiencing redemption and therefore, tried to kill all of the redeemers leading up to Moses. So much to think about, so much. Well, we've only begun a discussion, but we need to step away for a minute. This conversation is such a great reminder that we need to share the gospel as often as we can. This is God's plan for life, abundant life and eternal life. And here at Jewish Voice we work to share the gospel all around the world to the Jew first and to the nations throughout the year. We wanna show you some of the ways that we do that right now. So, please consider partnering with us as you take a look.
Jonathan Bernis: Welcome back to the program, we wanna thank you for continuing your support of Jewish Voice. We couldn't and wouldn't want to do this important work without you. Well, Ezra, as we've been discussing the end is getting closer and closer, and we're talking about some very, very clear biblical signs.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: That we are truly in the time known as the last days or the end of days.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. The restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland. The modern state of Israel to be specific which we know happened in 1948, the un vote in 1947, and then the formal establishment of the state in '48. Even more so Jonathan, 1967 sought the resettlement of Jewish people in Jerusalem under Jewish control for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
Jonathan Bernis: Right, they're really connected events.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: You have to have Israel restored as the homeland.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And there was tremendous opposition to keep this from happening. You know the surrounding Arab nations thought that within two weeks they could put an end to this. They could push the 600,000 Jewish settlers into the Mediterranean and it would be over, but they failed.
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: Jerusalem, however, remained under Arab control, was not under the Palestinians, it was under Jordan. It was actually split in half. That was the battle line, and it was sectioned off including the holy of holies like the Temple Mount. And the wall was all under Jordanian control. And then in 1967, we had something called the six-day war. I can't think of a clearer sign that God's in control than the six-day war where over six days they defeated their, the enemy outnumbered 60 to one and on the seventh day they rested. What a clear sign. Now why is Jerusalem coming back under the hands of the Jewish people so important? One, it's been the capital of the Jewish people for almost 3,000 years. But two, it's Jerusalem that Jesus is weeping over and says, "You will not see me again until you say: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord".
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, Jerusalem has to be back under the control of an autonomous Jewish nation, and it has to be the place where Jesus is retuning to, to establishes his kingdom. He's not going to set up his earthly kingdom in Rome or New York, it has to be Jerusalem.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. And so, if the enemy knows that his, "Goose is cooked," as we say in American English. His time is through, his destruction is coming when Israel welcomes the Messiah back to Jerusalem. We can imagine he would do everything he can throughout history, to this day and it will continue even worse in the days to come, we see in the scriptures, to stop the Jewish people from remaining in Jerusalem even to wipe them off the face of the map.
Jonathan Bernis: And the greatest warfare, probably, worldwide is over Jerusalem.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And if you think about it, it makes no sense. It's not protecting it. There's no great resources.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Natural resources. It's not a military position of great value, at all. There's no reasons other than spiritual for Jerusalem to be the center of world attention.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. And yet, we see it. If you're wondering, "Why is this not particularly desirable piece of real estate the center of world attention"? It's a scriptural promise. It's a scriptural certainty, old and New Testament, Jonathan. Zechariah 12:2, the Lord himself is saying, "I'm going to make Jerusalem a cup," like a cup of drunkenness, "That sends all the surrounding peoples reeling". So, in essence people will be drunk with anger, inexplicable anger, rage against the City of Jerusalem. And then, Jonathan, again, two chapters later in Zechariah, this is Zechariah 14:2, God says, "I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to fight against it". And it goes on, "The city will be captured". And then at a moment when it looks like all hope is lost the Messiah shows up. Jesus himself returns to trample his enemies under foot. But what we see here is the not so good news that there's dark days ahead for Israel and the Jewish people, centered around this idea of an international desire to wipe Jerusalem off the face of the map.
Jonathan Bernis: The land and the people, by the way, because you have anti-semitism at an all time high. This, "We're wrestling not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers". We need to remember that. And Jerusalem, again, no military value, no natural resources. It just happens to be the place that God declared would be it, that the epicenter of his kingdom.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. And Jonathan, our audience maybe watching saying, "Man, all the nations of the world gathered together against a specific people and a specific city. That seems so farfetched. And yet I would argue, we don't have to look too hard to see rumblings of the same idea today". A massive increase in anti-semitism, un resolutions, Jonathan. We've talked about that a lot. This kind of international effort to condemn Israel and the Jewish people.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah, let me read some of this. This will give you a picture of this. Since 2005 there's been a growing movement called bds, boycott divestment and sanctions that is now supported by over a dozen countries, organizations, like anc, and some 150 to 200 large corporations. Up to 2013 Israel's been condemned in 45 resolutions by the un. In 2017 the un was issued another 21 resolutions or sanctions against Israel compared to the rest of the world combined. Six! Come on, this is Psalm 2, "The rulers of the world taking council against the Lord and his anointed".
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: In December of last year 151 un states voted to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem. Six were against and walked out. This is back when trump was ready to move the embassy. There was a lot of opposition to that. Thirty-two un nations don't even recognize Israel to this day. And on, and on, and on, more resolutions against Israel a democracy than any other nation of the world including North Korea, including Iran, including Iraq. This is ridiculous.
Ezra Benjamin: The only explanation can be that it's spiritual. And Jonathan as we just read in Zechariah, Jesus talks about a time of Jacob's trouble proceeding his return. John talks about it in Revelation that part of that antichrist spirit even, the final attempt of the enemy to thwart the return of Jesus is connected to this attempt to wipe out the Jewish people. It's all related and it's a spiritual attack. It's a demonic attempt. It's an attempt of the enemy to stop what he knows will be his own death sentence, and that's the return of Jesus when the Jewish people say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord".
Jonathan Bernis: You know what, in one sense it's not against a specific people, it's against God. It's against God's plan, it's against God's promises. And so, it affects everyone that's a person of faith. It affects Jews, it affects Christians. Because Satan is committed to the destruction of God's plan, has convinced himself that he actually can prevail against God. And so, everything that Israel is promised becomes an affront to Satan.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And the role that Israel plays in the redemption of the world is a threat to Satan.
Ezra Benjamin: Absolutely.
Jonathan Bernis: Because ultimately, it includes his destruction.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Right? So, this is all spiritual. And unless we have eyes to see, we're gonna miss it.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And we just wanna challenge you listening at home, if you've said, you know, "I'm a Christian. I don't have a Jewish background. What does Israel and the Jewish people have to do with me"? See the connections. The enemy hates the people of God, and he hates the Jewish people. But the Lord will deliver Israel just in the same way that, "He will deliver all his people from every tribe, tongue, and nation". The Lord is a God of victory. We see the good news, the restoration of Israel and the Jewish state. We see the bad news, the persecution of Jerusalem and the Jewish people but the Lord will be found victorious.
Jonathan Bernis: It all ends well. Ezra and I are going to pray for your needs in just a minute, but first, our announcer will share an incredible opportunity that support Jewish Voice medical outreaches. Would you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly shalom partner with this? That will allow Jewish Voice to continue to share the gospel with scattered Jewish communities around the world. So, please consider in partnering with us today so we can keep this important work going. We'll return to pray with you and your needs in just a moment.
Ezra Benjamin: You know, Jonathan, what's happening with Israel and the Jewish people, and we see it happening according to the scriptures can give us a lot of confidence to understand the days and the season we're in. And yet, so many of the headlines, the political turmoil, nations raging against nation, maybe even more personally, some things happening in our families. People walking away from the Lord, people in medical crisis. Not wondering in an economically uncertain environment where the next paycheck's gonna come from. That can create a lot of chaos, and so, I just, I feel a burden right now as we close to pray for those listening today, those watching, for a shalom, a perfect peace which surpasses understanding. The scriptures tell us, "Don't be anxious in anything but through prayer and petition make your request known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in the Messiah Jesus". So, we pray right now. Just joining with you in prayer according to your specific needs. Lord, we present those requests to you. We're making a choice today not to be anxious in anything, but in all the things that weigh us down, all the things concerning us, all the things that could make us anxious, Lord, we're rolling those over onto your capable shoulders recognizing that you're in control. You're the healer. You're the sustainer. You're the provider. Lord, and we pray for a divine exchange right now. Just bless those watching from an exchange from anxiety to perfect peace which surpasses our understanding of what tomorrow may bring. Lord, thank you that you'll bring your perfect peace to guard our hearts and our minds in you, and it's in Jesus name that we pray.
Jonathan Bernis: In Jesus name.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: Perfect peace.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: Perfect peace.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: Perfect peace.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: I can feel the anointing, I hope you can at home as well. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can log on to our website, it's jewishvoice.tv. You can also send us your prayer requests right on the website. Our team here at Jewish Voice is committed to reading your prayer request and praying for you by name. We believe in the power of prayer, and we care about you. And more importantly, God cares about you. As we close our program today I wanna remind you of what God says in Psalm 122:6. We don't forget this and we don't want you to forget it. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper who love thee". If you pray for Jerusalem, you're praying for God's heart and intent for mankind to be fulfilled. So, don't forget and until next time. This is Jonathan Bernis along with Ezra Benjamin saying shalom and God bless you.