Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: On May 14, 1948, the Jewish National Council proclaimed the birth of the modern state of Israel. Was this unprecedented event foretold by the ancient prophets, or was it merely an accident of history? We'll find out today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctly first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, Gary Hedrick is leading our discussion about whether or not the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Welcome, listening friend, to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies dealing with the question of whether or not the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And we've been talking about this remarkable passage here in Matthew chapter 24. It's where our Lord outlines a series of prophetic trends, T-R-E-N-D-S, whereby his followers can know that the end of the age is approaching.

Just as there were certain indicators that were given to signal the approach of his first coming, there are certain prophetic indicators that have been given to signal the approach of his second coming. Haven't you ever wondered how the Magi knew what the Star of Bethlehem meant? How did they know that a child was to be born at about that time? How did they know to fall down and worship him when they saw him? They knew because they were Magi. They were wise men, learned men, and they had studied the prophetic writings. They knew the deliverer was about to be born at that time, and they knew he would be the Son of God.

You see, there were prophetic indicators that enabled certain people who were looking for them to know when the first coming of the Messiah was approaching. Matthew chapter 24 outlines a series of prophetic trends, prophetic indicators that would precede the second coming of the Messiah. And we said the first of those prophetic trends is that of latter-day religious deception, false messiahs and false prophets. "For many shall come in my name, saying, 'I am Christ,' and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:5.

Now, remember what we said at the beginning of this study. These trends represent events that have characterized the entire church age. There have always been false messiahs and false prophets. There have always been religious pretenders and opportunists, going all the way back to Balaam in the book of Numbers. So when does this trend become a sign?

First of all, when it begins to converge with the other signs, with all these things happening at the same time. And secondly, it becomes a sign when it begins to increase in frequency and intensity, like birth pangs. And I don't think there's any question about the fact that we're seeing this trend develop right now. There's more religious deception going on today than at any other time in the last 2,000 years, and it's increasing every day. So that's trend number one.

Then the second prophetic trend, enumerated here in Matthew 24, is in the next two verses. Let's look at verses 6 and 7. He says, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Global warfare.

And again, there have been wars and rumors of wars since the beginning of time. In fact, listen to what Dr. S. Franklin Logsdon says in his booklet, "Profiles of Prophecy." He says a former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, helped by historians from Britain, Egypt, Germany, and India, and using a computer, has found that since 3,600 BC, the world has known only 292 years of peace.

Now, think about that. Since 3,600 BC, there's been a total of only 292 years of peace. Only 292 out of almost 6,000 years. Then Dr. Logsdon goes on and says, "In this period of more than 55 centuries, there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which more than 3.6 billion people were killed. Since 650 BC, there have been 1,656 arms races, all except 16 of them ending in war. And those 16 ended in economic collapse for the countries concerned."

So it's clear that this old world has never known real peace. Only 292 years out of almost 6,000 have been peaceful. That's not a very good track record, is it? There have always been wars and rumors of wars, but again, Jesus says it becomes a prophetic indicator when two things happen. First, there's a convergence of all these trends developing simultaneously. And secondly, when there's a dramatic increase in frequency and intensity.

And the fact is, my friend, never before has mankind possessed such weapons of mass destruction as he has now. You know, it was only a hundred years or so ago that the skeptics used to laugh at the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:22. That's where he said that if it weren't for divine intervention, there should no flesh be saved. All life on planet Earth would be destroyed. And the skeptics would laugh and say, "Now, how in the world would all life on Earth ever be destroyed? That would be impossible."

And as far as they knew, it was impossible. They didn't know anything about weapons of mass destruction. They didn't know anything about chemical and germ warfare that can wipe out entire populations in a matter of a few hours. They didn't know anything about nuclear weaponry and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles. But we have them now.

For the first time in 6,000 years of recorded history, mankind possesses weapons of mass destruction that are capable of wiping the human race literally off the face of the Earth. And Jesus says that during the tribulation, that's exactly what would happen if it weren't for divine intervention. So the second prophetic trend outlined in Matthew chapter 24 is global warfare on an unprecedented scale.

After all, there have been two world-scale wars. Later we had Korea and Vietnam. More recently, the Persian Gulf War was one of the largest and most deadly military operations in history. Estimates of the number of Iraqis who were killed range anywhere from 50,000 up to 250,000. The official Pentagon estimate is between 85,000 and 100,000.

You say, "Well, wait a minute, Gary, what about this New World Order we've been hearing about? I thought we weren't going to have any more wars." Let me tell you something, my friend. There will never be true lasting world peace until the Prince of Peace rules from the throne of his father David in Jerusalem. There is no New World Order. It's the same old world order.

Now, don't misunderstand me. We support the Commonwealth of Independent States, the former Soviet Union. A pastor friend of mine called not long ago from Alabama and said he'd just gotten back from Moscow, where he had been asked to preach in the Kremlin to a group of several thousand members of the former state secret police, the KGB. He said many of those men have become born-again Christians. So we support what's happening in the former Soviet Union.

But we need to understand that this is really not a New World Order. True, there have been many changes, and some of them are for the better. But many other changes are not for the better. For example, several terrorist states are reportedly interested in purchasing some of the nuclear weapons the Russians are dismantling. Thus, the possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into irresponsible hands is very real.

And now we're getting reports of former Soviet nuclear scientists being hired by these terrorist states in the Middle East and Northern Africa. North Korea now has developed a nuclear capacity. At least when the Soviet Union was still intact, we knew whose finger was on the button. But now we don't know. In some ways, our predicament is more precarious now than it was before this so-called New World Order.

Well, we're out of time. On the next program, I want to read you an item. It's a memo that was issued by the Pentagon, and it tells us something about the potential for warfare that still exists in the world today. I hope you'll join us. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary, and thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. You know, with everything that's been happening recently in the Middle East, it's vital that Christians understand what the Bible says about this important piece of real estate. Has God given up on his people Israel, like the replacement theologians would have us believe? Is God finished with the Jewish people, as some people claim? Absolutely no.

In fact, nearly 2,000 years after the destruction of the Temple, God is now beginning to deal with his people Israel in a very specific way. All the information you need on this timely subject is right here on one convenient CD. It's available for a gift of just six dollars or more to the ministry of Messianic Perspectives. Just ask for series number GT-12. The title is simply, "The Rebirth of Israel in 1948: Was it a Fulfillment of Prophecy?"

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And as always, when you're in touch, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you? As Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series on "The Rebirth of Israel in 1948: Was it a Fulfillment of Prophecy?" Right here on Messianic Perspectives.

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