Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): 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.

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct 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.

Gary Hedrick: Thank you and welcome, listening friends. 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. Some people say it wasn't because they say there are no prophetic signs for the church age, but is that true?

Well, we've been finding some interesting things in this remarkable passage in Matthew chapter 24 where Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus Christ, outlines a series of prophetic trends that will signal the approaching end of the age. Trend number one is that of widespread latter-day religious deception. "For many shall come in my name," he says, "saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:5. Trend number two is global warfare. In verses six and seven, he says, "And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom." The third trend is that of famines. Number four is plagues or pestilences, and those are both found in verse seven. And then trend number five is earthquakes. And then he says in verse eight, "All these are the beginning of sorrows." In the Greek, it says they are the beginning of birth pangs.

In other words, the closer we get to the end, the more these things will increase in frequency and intensity, just like in childbirth. And by the way, this is a Jewish concept. It's a Jewish teaching. In fact, you'd be surprised at how much of what Jesus said in the Gospels is also found in one form or another in the Talmud. In fact, it's sort of a contradiction because, on the one hand, many rabbis today will try to tell you that what Jesus taught was totally against Jewish teaching. They completely disown Yeshua and his teachings.

But then, on the other hand, other rabbis will say that many of the teachings of Yeshua bin Yosef, Jesus the son of Joseph, many of his teachings are so similar to Talmudic teaching they accuse him of plagiarizing his teachings from the Talmud. So it's a contradiction. Or rather, Yeshua himself is the contradiction. Bless their hearts, the rabbis don't know what to do with him. They don't know what to do with Jesus.

But what we have here in Matthew 24 is a thoroughly Jewish concept. The ancient Jewish sages taught that birth pangs would precede the coming of the Messiah based on the Old Testament prophecies. So Jesus was taking a Jewish concept and expanding on it and explaining it. In fact, the Talmud doesn't say specifically what those birth pangs will be; Jesus does. He explains the birth pangs in terms of world events that will converge and that will increase in frequency and intensity as we approach the time of the end.

Now, when we started this study a couple of weeks ago, we said that the question of whether or not the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy was an extension of the larger question of whether or not prophetic signs are for the church age. And I think we've established that there are legitimate prophetic trends and that the prophetic signposts outlined by our Lord here in his Olivet Discourse include things that very well could apply to our generation.

According to the childbirth analogy, these trends will continue increasing in frequency and intensity until they reach their climax at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The reasoning of the prophetic skeptics is a perfect example of a false premise leading to an erroneous conclusion. In this case, the false premise is that prophetic signs are not for the church age. And the erroneous conclusion is that the establishing of National Israel in 1948 was unrelated to Bible prophecy. You see, if you start out with a false premise, it's going to lead you to an erroneous conclusion.

But if you believe what happened in 1948 was unrelated to Bible prophecy, you've got all kinds of problems besides Matthew 24. For example, what do you do with the many latter-day prophecies in both the Old and New Testaments that assume the existence of a state of Israel before the commencement of the seven-year tribulation? Daniel prophesied that Israel will make a covenant with the Antichrist and his European Confederacy at the beginning of the tribulation. It says, "And he, that is the Antichrist, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Daniel 9:27.

After three and a half years, the Antichrist will repudiate his pact with the Jews and betray them. In order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, two entities must already be in existence when the tribulation begins. Number one, the government of Israel. And number two, the kingdom of the Antichrist. After all, with whom would the Antichrist make his treaty if there were no Israeli government?

Clearly, the rebirth of the Jewish nation in 1948 signaled the beginning of a significant prophetic trend, namely the reversal of the diaspora. The Babylonians crushed the Jewish state in 586 BC, turning Jerusalem into a smoldering heap of ruins. The city was later rebuilt, only to be destroyed again by the Romans in AD 70. The Jewish people were dispersed all over the world, and Palestine became a barren wasteland. Many observers wondered if the Jews would ever return to fulfill the ancient prophecies.

But then, in 1838, a startling pattern of Jewish immigration began to emerge in the Middle East. At that time, there were only about 11,000 Jews living in all of Palestine. With the birth of the Zionist movement, an exodus of Jews back to their national homeland began. In 1890, there were about 50,000 Jews in Palestine. 100 years later, in 1990, there were almost 4 million Jews in Israel.

The reestablishing of the State of Israel in 1948 represented a milestone in world history. It was the first time a nation had been defeated and disbanded and its people exiled to the four corners of the earth, only to later return and reclaim its homeland. Never been done before. The prophetic scriptures portray Jerusalem as the center of Jewish life in the end times. Zechariah chapter 14 and Matthew chapter 24.

At the midpoint of the coming tribulation, the Antichrist will desecrate the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple. Matthew 24:15. And that's how we know the Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt. As recently as 1957, these prophecies about the Jews and Jerusalem were hard to believe. At that time, there were no Jews living within the walls of Old Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount. Up until then, virtually all of Jerusalem's 80,000 residents were Arabs.

Then during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israeli defense forces took control of the old city for the first time since AD 70. Today, Jerusalem is a thriving Jewish metropolis and serves as Israel's national capital, although the United States, in an effort to appease Arab interests, continues to recognize only Tel Aviv as the capital. Orthodox Jews are now making plans to rebuild the temple precisely as the prophetic scriptures indicate.

Although it signaled the beginning of a significant prophetic trend, the rebirth of Israel in 1948 was not a fulfillment of the Palestinian covenant. In that unconditional Palestinian covenant, God promised to restore believing Israel to the promised land permanently, never again to be expelled. The Palestinian covenant will be fulfilled at the end of the tribulation period when the Jewish people are restored to Eretz Israel, never to be expelled again. That's found in Deuteronomy chapter 30.

Unbelieving Israel's present occupation of Jerusalem and the holy land is only temporary. The period of Gentile domination designated as the times of the Gentiles by Christ in Luke 21:24, that period of Gentile domination extends from the Babylonian captivity to the end of the tribulation period. During the last half of the tribulation, God will allow his people to be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles one final time, according to Matthew 24 verses 15 through 26.

In the meantime, the diaspora continues. It has begun to be reversed, but the dispersion is far from over. Today, in fact, more than two-thirds of the world's Jewish population continues to live outside Israel. But the Bible talks about a time when God will supernaturally gather all the Jews of the world, all of God's elect from the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will gather all of them back to the promised land.

And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24 verses 30 and 31. Well, we've come to the end of our study. The answer to the question is yes, unquestionably, undeniably, irrefutably, absolutely, categorically, unequivocally, the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. No question about it. God bless you, listening friend. See you back here next time. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. 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 not. 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 GT12. The title is simply The Rebirth of Israel in 1948: Was It a Fulfillment of Prophecy? Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292.

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