Perry Stone - Prophecies Fulfilled In Israel Proof of His Return
Summary:
The preacher emphasizes that one of the key rabbinical signs of the Messiah’s imminent return is the desert blossoming like a rose, directly fulfilling Isaiah 35's prophecy in the specific Hebrew region called the Arava. Standing in the heart of the Arava, he shows how underground water discoveries have enabled irrigation, farming, and greenery in a once-desolate area, with pools, grass, reeds, and a highway now present exactly as foretold. He connects this to Ezekiel 47's vision of healing waters flowing to the Dead Sea, noting current changes like the sea dividing into northern (potentially healable) and southern (salty) parts, underground aquifers, fish farms, and preparations that signal the land is being readied for the Messiah’s near return and millennial reign.
Welcome to Manifest in the Desert
Welcome to Manifest. I’m in a very special area where prophecy is now being fulfilled. You must watch this program today as I’m going to take you to several major Old Testament prophecies and show you that we in this generation are literally seeing the words of the prophets come to pass.
We are here with a group of partners on what’s called a partner pre-tour prior to our main tour group coming. And we’ve come a long way, brother. We’ve brought them through the desert. How many know we brought you through the desert? Come on. Yeah, we brought you through the desert. I mean, I wish you could see the trip we made down here, man. I said I was on another bus. I said, they’re going to say, «What is he doing»? Well, they get a feel of what it’s really like here in the desert of Israel.
Rabbinical Signs of the Messiah
Now, let me say something to you. One of the signs, what we would call rabbinical signs, that the Messiah would one day return to Israel would be, number one, that Israel would be restored as a nation. Number two, the Jewish people would return back to their land. And number three, that the arid desert places would begin to blossom like a rose.
Now, let me read to you the prophecy, and then I’m going to go back and explain to you why where I am is so absolutely important prophetically.
Isaiah 35: The Desert Shall Blossom
The prophet Isaiah said this in Isaiah chapter 35. «The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful, ‘Be strong. Do not fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance and with recompense of God. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. The lame shall leap as a hart. The tongue of the dumb shall sing.»
Now, here’s the important prophecy. I want you to listen to this. «Waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, streams in the desert, the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; the habitation of jackals where each shall lay. There shall be grass with reeds and rushes, and a highway shall be there.» Oh, the group’s already getting it because they’re here. «And a road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. For it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool shall not go astray.»
The Specific Desert: The Arava
Now, let me stop at that reading and explain to you where I am. In the Old Testament, what we call the Hebrew Scriptures, there is the word wilderness, there is the word desert, there is the word solitary place, etc. Now, in our English translation of the Bible, when we would say the word desert or wilderness, we get a mental picture of maybe the Sahara Desert or a desert maybe in California or maybe in Arizona. But the Bible is very specific with particular Hebrew words that distinguish the location of Israel or the surrounding area that identifies what that desert actually is.
For example, we read in the Bible where the children of Israel went through the area called Si. We read in the Bible about these places called the Negev. All of this is a particular area in either the outskirts of modern Israel or within. There are different words like midbar. Midbar is a common word for desert. It’s an arid place. It’s a dry place. There is shmama, which is another word.
However, I want to go back here and show you the word that is used in Isaiah chapter 35 where it says the desert shall blossom like a rose. It is the Hebrew word arava. Some translations of the Bible will actually translate it correctly where it says it shall rejoice and blossom like a rose.
Now, I never knew where this area was until my friend Gideon Shore many years ago brought us into this area and began to show me what was happening here. Now, if we were to go back, let’s say anywhere between 25 to 50 years ago, and you were to travel south of the Dead Sea, how many know we’ve done that? We’ve traveled south of the Dead Sea.
If you were to travel south of the Dead Sea, and you were to come all the way down to what’s called the Gulf of Aqaba, which is about 110 to 120 miles from here, you would see a desert. You would see the mountains of Jordan, Edom, and Moab on one side, and you would see the rugged mountains at the bottom part of where the Judean wilderness ends on the Israeli side, and in the middle would be a road that would be totally desolate.
Now, years ago, that’s exactly what this area looked like. The idea of a farm being in this area absolutely was impossible. Why? No water. You have to have water in order for there to be a farm.
Discovery of Underground Water
Now, the reason I’m telling you about the bottom part of the Dead Sea all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba is that is the area in Hebrew called the Arava. In other words, where I’m standing right here right now is the heart of the Arava called the Arava Rift that comes all the way from the southern part of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
You say, «What’s so exciting about that»? Here’s what’s exciting. Many years ago, a satellite from the United States was taking satellite imagery underground in Israel, in this part of the desert, and they saw something underground. They told the Israelis about it, and they came to this spot. They drilled down about 1,500 feet, and guess what happened? Water from underground started shooting up out of the ground.
Now, the Bible says in Isaiah that in the Arava there will be a pool. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to look at where I’m standing. We are in an area where there is a pool. But more importantly than that, if you begin to read the prophecy of Isaiah, it says there will be a pool there. Then it says there will be grass there. Our people are sitting right now on grass. It says that there will be reeds there and rushes. That is the Hebrew word for everything that you see growing around this lake of water.
Now you say, «So it’s a lake of water. What’s the big deal»? Here’s the big deal. From this pool of fossil water, underground water, they are irrigating the entire Arava. And now there are farms all through this area producing food, in some places two harvest times a year. This water is slightly salty. It stays about 72 degrees on average, which means for farming it is absolutely tremendous.
Now, here’s my point. In a time when 25 to 50 years ago and way beyond that in the time of the prophet, there was absolutely nothing here. Now there are farms all over the area. You passed them, didn’t you? From the Dead Sea all the way down through here. You see the greenhouses, you see the covers with the tomato plants.
And I was amazed because one time we were here and we went into some of these farms to see what they were growing. There were peppers. There were melons. In fact, when Europe is cold in the winter, they have all sorts of melons that are shipped out to Europe. There are tomato plants. You know, in America, we’re lucky if we have one that grows this high. We saw them that were like eight or nine feet high, tomatoes hanging off of them. Even the cows give more milk down here. I mean, you know, they call them golden cows, you know, so…
The Highway of Holiness
Now, let’s go back and look at this because what I’m going to show you here is very important. There is also a highway that’s there, and the Bible teaches us that the highway will run through the Arava. Now, how, how, somebody tell me where have we been driving? Talk to me. We’ve been on that highway, which is right across that little hill right there.
Now, that highway goes all the way down to a place called Eilat. Now, Eilat is shared by several countries. You have Israel, you have Egypt, you have Jordan, and even the edge of Saudi Arabia is in that direction there.
Now, why is that important? Because this road, if you follow it all the way down to where the Gulf of Aqaba is, it connects to the northern horn of Africa. Now, you may say, why would that be important? Here’s why it would be important. Because when you go to the prophet Zechariah, he tells us that in the millennial reign all men will be required to come up to Jerusalem to celebrate every year the Feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles is the seventh feast of Israel. And it’s the one feast that both Jews and Gentiles participate in together. You have the entire continent of Africa. And there with the entire continent of Africa, you have the link of the road from that northern part coming up into Israel, coming from the Gulf of Aqaba, coming up through the Dead Sea. And we’ve been on that road, right beside the Dead Sea, that goes all the way up to Jerusalem.
Now, isn’t that amazing that this area would have the road, would have the pool of water, would have the farms?
Springs Breaking Out
Now, folks, listen to me very carefully. This is important you understand this. One of the signs of the Messiah’s return is the desert blossoming like a rose. Now, when you begin to read Isaiah 41 and other passages, this is what’s interesting. It says there that there will be springs of water breaking out in the desert.
I never will forget the first time I came here. It was right up on that hill there, on top of the hill. I noticed that they had made a channel, and they had laid some rock in the ground. And I thought, why do they have that? It’s like it’s a drainage. It’s like there’s supposed to be water here.
And I got up there and saw, and this was so amazing, where there were rocks that were actually splitting with water shooting up about 12 inches through the rock. But I never will forget I’m standing there and I’m saying, when Moses hit the rock in the wilderness and the water came out of the rock. This is exactly that—it wasn’t a large rock. It was, you know, about so high and so wide. I said this is the imagery of what happened in the desert, and that was right over here and that water was coming up underground.
So I asked somebody, I said, why was this taking place here? And they said the pressure underground eventually pushes the water out under certain circumstances. And so here is Isaiah’s prophecy because he is the one that really talks about the wilderness rejoicing, water in dry places, springs of water breaking out. So all of that is here.
Ezekiel 47: Healing the Dead Sea
Now there’s a second part, and because our group here—these are partners that have joined us on what we call a pre-tour. Aren’t you glad you came? And this is just—listen, this is just the first day. We’re just going to make a wreck out of them before it’s over with. You know, get them up and just go, go, go till they drop. You know, this is one of those tour-till-you-drop tours. You know what I’m saying? But hey, that’s what you came for. Come on. You know it.
But in Ezekiel chapter 47, one of the amazing prophecies, and again, back home in the States, this is not always reported there because people are unaware of it. But as we were driving, and I want to ask them if they noticed this, but as you were driving from the northern part of the Dead Sea, did you notice that when you got near Masada and downward, there was a big area where it had dried up and there was a channel that was connecting some of the water from the north into the south?
Did you also notice that in the southern part of the Dead Sea, the salt that’s there, you don’t see it in the northern part? The northern part looks like sea water, ocean water, right? Am I right on that? But when you cross that one area where there’s this peninsula where the Dead Sea is driven up, they have a channel now. It’s kind of a bluish-green water that comes all the way into the southern part. Did you see the salt? I mean, you’re driving, you’re saying, «Wow, that is just pure salt».
Now, listen to this prophecy because this, to me, is one of the first things I saw just a few years ago as a major fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. To abbreviate this, he sees a temple in the future that’s going to be in Jerusalem that the Messiah will build. Then he says water is coming out from underneath the threshold in Jerusalem.
Now I know for a fact, having researched this and talked to Rabbi Yehuda Getz, who has now passed away, there is an underground water source that comes, he said he’s not sure where it’s coming from, from the mountains somewhere, the Judean mountains or the mountains toward Hebron. It’s an underground water source that actually is under the city of Jerusalem.
Now, that’s interesting because the prophet talks about this, and he says it starts out ankle-deep, knee-deep, you know the story, waist-deep, and then it becomes a river. Now, when it becomes a river, here’s what he says. «These waters, ” I’m in verse eight of Ezekiel, in fact, let me go back a few verses.
He said to me, son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. Ezekiel 47:7. Now when I returned, there along the bank of the river were many trees on one side and the other. And he said to me, „This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.“
Now listen to the prophecy. „It shall be that everything that moves wherever the rivers go shall live. There will be a great multitude of fish because these waters go there, for they will be healed. Everything that will live wherever the river goes.
It shall be that fishermen will stand by it, by this river, by the Dead Sea. Okay? Where there’s fish, watch this. From En Gedi—you were just at En Gedi—to En Eglaim there will be a place for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kind as the sea fish of the great sea.“ In other words, the fish that are in the Mediterranean, the same kind of fish will be there, exceeding the Mediterranean.
Watch this. „But the swamps and the marshes"—now the King James says, «The mire places thereof shall not be healed. They shall be given to salt.»
The Dead Sea Dividing
When I read this prophecy years ago, I realized something. I said, «Now, wait a minute. The Dead Sea is one large body of water. For this prophecy to come to pass, you have to have two separate seas. You have to have a northern sea that would be healed and the southern sea that would be totally salty.»
I could show you drawings from old Bibles; you may have one in your home right now. You’d have to go back 50, 100, 150 years ago where the maps of the Dead Sea had been drawn by scholars. When these maps were drawn, it was one large body of water.
However, the Dead Sea has been drying up over the years. Now, part of the drying-up process is right below Masada. There is an area, and you can see it on a satellite picture that was recently made where there’s a peninsula that actually is from the Israeli side all the way to the Jordanian side. And what has happened is the Dead Sea has actually formed two seas.
Now the northern sea is salty just like the southern half except the southern half is totally given to salt. It’s like a marsh. You know, if you know what a marsh is in Florida, if you step in it, you’ll go down about two to three. You can actually sink up to your waist. Well, the Dead Sea is the same way. Those are like marshes. You see it, and if you step on that salt, you may actually sink in a little bit more than what you see there. So, this is exactly the description.
Sources of Healing Water
Now, if you look at what the Bible says, it says there has to come water from Jerusalem to heal the sea. But where’s the water going to come from to help bring the life into the Dead Sea? Because it’s, you know, you got 22 different chemicals and minerals; it’s totally given to salt. There are no fish there.
I have to tell you this funny story. I was in Jordan one time, and I saw this tour guide that said Dead Sea Fishing Club, and I’m thinking, you know, my first time there. I’m the rookie, you know, and I’m like, and I said, «Wow, I didn’t know there were fish in the Dead Sea.» He says, «There’s not.» I said, «What’s the deal with the shirt?» He turned around, and it had a fishing hook and it said the unhappy hooker. Suddenly I realized it was all a joke.
One time we were talking about no fish being there, and we were there, and there were some fish floating on top, and they said, «You told us there were no fish in the Dead Sea.» I said, «No, think about this. The Jordan River empties into the northern part of the sea. It has fish. Sometimes those fish can make their way into the sea, but the salt content is so heavy that when it hits the sea, what happens? It kills it. But the sea is going to be healed.»
Now, how’s it going to be healed? Number one, water from Jerusalem. When Jesus comes back and the Mount of Olives splits in Zechariah 14, that water will come off of those mountains into the sea because there’s a brook now called the Kidron brook that circles in the Kidron Valley and it goes into the mountains now. Right near Qumran, you have this wadi they call it, which is a riverbed, and that water actually comes there now. Now there’s not a lot of it, but during rain time there can be, and it empties into the sea.
But here’s the big one. Ready? Right in the Qumran area, a few years ago, a Globes magazine reported a huge discovery of underground water that’s a lake like three miles in circumference. That water is there now.
Here’s part three. There is a discussion going on with Israel about either taking perhaps water from the Mediterranean and running a pipeline. Now remember, the Dead Sea is low; the Mediterranean is high. They could actually put generators there that would generate electricity and bring water into the Dead Sea to help heal it. So water from Jerusalem, water underneath Qumran, and water that could be brought from a pipeline from the Mediterranean will all bring that water level up from a salty level to a more fresh level, which would eventually produce fish.
Fish Farms and Future Fulfillment
Now, here’s the part that’s amazing. A few years ago, Gideon Shore, my guide, and I, along with some of us, were at the bottom part of the Dead Sea, the southern half. And I saw a sign, and it said Dead Sea Fish. And I’m thinking, «Yep, just like the guy in Jordan, you know, they’re going to fake me out with something.» I go over there, and there is a fish farm at the southern part of the Dead Sea.
They have taken the water from underground that’s there, again, slightly salty, and they actually are producing—when we were there, it was three types of fish, and they produce those fish and sell them to restaurants.
Now folks, let me tell you, here it is happening right in front of our eyes. See, sometimes we look for a major thing, or we look for the things we’ve heard preached on for years. We talk about the alignment of nations or the dragon and the beast and the antichrist, and we miss some of the most fascinating, powerful prophecies being fulfilled.
Another thing I thought about is it talks about that you will see trees producing fruit in that area. Did you not see the palm trees and the date trees? Can I tell you that when I was here in 1986, '87, '88, none of that was there? There was nothing but desert. Now the trees are lining the area. Now the farms are lining the area.
And when I began to read this prophecy, then I got to looking at this. It says they will spread nets from En Gedi to En Eglaim. Now here’s what’s important about En Gedi. There is a huge spring of water that’s there that’s coming off the mountain. It’s not just a spring; it’s a waterfall that’s coming off the mountain there right now. And there’s also a kibbutz there with several hundred people. It’s a beautiful park that we were just at.
But think about this. En Gedi is inhabited by people, and there’s fresh water there. It’s one of the only places along this area where there’s fresh water. Now when it talks about En Eglaim, some scholars say that’s the northern part of the sea in the Qumran area.
So I told somebody one time, I said, when Jesus comes back in the millennial reign, we rule with him. Somebody needs to get them a net business because somebody’s got to sell nets to these fishermen that are going to fish from the Dead Sea.
Conclusion: The Messiah’s Return is Near
Now, when you read this, and you just look at all these different prophecies of Ezekiel 47, folks, here’s what it means. And I want to conclude with this. It means that if the Lord is getting this land ready by the farming and by the Dead Sea and these specific prophecies, then it means his return is somewhere in the near future.
The Dake’s Bible — I’ve been a student of Brother Dake for many years. He’s long gone to be with the Lord, but in the old Dake’s Bibles that I have, he gave a comment on Isaiah 35, and he said, «Because this is not happening now, this will happen in the millennial reign.»
I believe Brother Dake would love to be alive right now, stand where I’m standing, and say, «Wow, I wrote about that many, many years ago in the 1930s and early '40s. Look at it. It’s already happening. Surely the king is coming back. Surely, he’s preparing this land for the reign of the Messiah.»
And so, I want to just give that information to you today and bring you here to show you Bible prophecy is being fulfilled right before us. And we are here to verify it to you. Yes, my friend, it’s happening.
Now, as you well know, on every manifest program, we have a special offer. And I want to make this offer available to you today. And so, here’s the announcer coming to tell you how to get it. Hallelujah! Praise God for what he’s doing in this place.