Prophetic Israel

With the ongoing war in Israel, it’s important to remember who Israel is! Israel is mentioned in the entire bible 500 times, 78 times in the Brit Chadesha alone! There are over 1,800 biblical prophecies contained in scripture that involves over 8,300 verses. The whole bible contains just over 31,000 verses so about 27% of scripture, or one third of the bible deals with prophecy (Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy). Of those prophecies, over 95% deal directly with Israel and the Jewish people.

Israel’s existence continues to be controversial. Some say God fulfilled His promise to Avraham so there should not be a modern state, others say there won’t be a state until Mashiach returns. Yet others say that Israel is a spiritual concept not a physical state.

God covenants with two resources: People and Land. They two are connected and cannot be separated. All of human history revolves around God’s interaction with Israel, the land and the people coupled with the revelation of Him, God unto the World. ALL World History, the rise and fall of nations, the rise and fall of Empires, humanities wars, humanities renaissances, Israel’s Diaspora’s, punishment and restorations throughout the last 5,000 years hasbeen for one purpose: To establish and restore God’s reign here on earth through Yeshua.

Israel’s two diaspora’s (exile from their land) were periods of correction and realignment that caused Israel to intensely seek God and follow Him. Israel’s reemergence as a nation is prophetic, biblical, and sign of the times we live in, There are ten specific prophecies fulfilled when Israel became a nation again in May 14th, 1948.

These 10 Bible prophecies were fulfilled in 1948 when Israel became an independent, united nation for the second time in history, and for the first time in 1,900 years.

In Amos 9:14-15, the prophet said that there would come a time when the exiles of Israel would again have Israel as their own land and that they would never be uprooted again. Amos lived about 2700 years ago, during a time when the people of Israel were being forced out of their homeland by a succession of foreign invasions. Despite many centuries of exile, many Jews returned to Israel and reclaimed sovereignty over a portion of their ancient homeland. This declaration of independence, in 1948, triggered a war with the surrounding countries, which objected to the presence of a Jewish state. On May 15, 1948, the day that armies from the surrounding countries invaded, Azzam Pasha, the Secretary General of the Arab League, said “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.” Similar quotes were uttered by others during the war of 1948-49 and during the two major wars that followed. Despite its tiny size, Israel prevailed in these wars, preventing its people from being uprooted again, as they had been in ancient times.

In Ezekiel 37:10-14, the prophet receives a vision in which Israel was seen as a scattering of dried-up bones. In this vision, God tells Ezekiel that the bones (Israel) would be brought back to life. Just as Ezekiel had prophesized about 2600 years ago, the Jews were brought back to the land, and the country of Israel was brought back to life. Israel re-established sovereignty in 1948, a mere three years after the end of the Holocaust, during which the Nazis killed about one-third of the world’s Jewish population.

In Isaiah 66:7-8, the prophet foreshadowed the re-birth of Israel in 1948. Isaiah describes a woman giving birth before going into labor, and he speaks of a country being born in one day. This accurately describes what happened on May 14, 1948 – when the Jews declared independence for Israel as a united and sovereign nation for the first time in 2900 years.

During that same day, the United States issued a statement recognizing Israel’s sovereignty. And, only hours beforehand, a United Nations mandate expired, ending British control of the land. During a 24-hour span of time, foreign control of the land of Israel had formally ceased, and Israel had declared its independence, and its independence was acknowledged by other nations. Modern Israel was literally born in a single day.

Isaiah said the birth would take place before there would be labor pains. And that too is precisely what happened. A movement called Zionism began in the 1800s to encourage Jews worldwide to move to Israel, which at that time was called Palestine. Within hours of the declaration of independence in 1948, Israel was attacked by the surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

When reading Isaiah 66:7-8, keep in mind that Israel’s status as a sovereign nation was established and reaffirmed during the course of one single day, and that it was born of a movement called Zionism, and that its declaration of independence was not the result of a war but rather the cause of one.

In Ezekiel 37:21-22, the prophet said that God would one day bring the people of Israel back to Israel, as a united nation. This might have been a shock for Ezekiel. He lived about 2600 years ago. At that time, the people of Israel had already divided themselves into two separate kingdoms. And, both kingdoms had been conquered by foreign invaders, who forced many of the people, including Ezekiel, into exile. But, when Jews reclaimed sovereignty in 1948, they did so as a united people, creating one nation – Israel.

In Jeremiah 16:14-15, the prophet said the second Israel would be more impressive than the first. In many regards, it is. The first time that Israel was established as a country was after Moses led the descendants of Jacob (typically referred to today as Jews) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for 400 years. They then conquered Canaan and established Israel about 3400 years ago. But the second time that Israel was established was after the Jews had been scattered far and wide for a few thousand years. This time the Jews had to return from as far away as the United States, China, Russia and South Africa.

In Ezekiel 4:3-6, the prophet said the Jewish people, who had lost control of their homeland, would be punished for 430 years. This prophecy, according to Bible scholar Grant Jeffrey, pinpointed the 1948 rebirth of Israel. Here’s a summary of Jeffrey’s theory:

Ezekiel 4:3-6. Then take an iron griddle and put it in place as a wall of iron between yourself and the city, and fix your gaze on it – the city is under siege, and you are the one besieging it. This will be a sign for the house of Isra’el. 4 “Next, you are to lie on your left side, and have it bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el – for as many days as you lie on your side, you will bear their guilt. 5 For I am assigning you one day for each year of their guilt; thus you are to bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el for 390 days. 6 Then, when you have finished that, you are to lie on your right side and bear the guilt of the house of Y’hudah for forty days, each day corresponding to a year; this is what I am assigning you.

In Ezekiel 34:13, the prophet said that God would gather the people of Israel scattered throughout the world and bring them back to “their own land.” After many centuries of dispersion, hundreds of thousands of Jews returned to their ancient homeland beginning in the late 1800s. But, millions more returned after Israel declared independence in 1948. In other words, millions of exiles returned to their ancient homeland which was now truly “their own land” in the sense that it was now a sovereign Jewish state.

In Jeremiah 31:10, the prophet said that God would one day gather the Jewish people back to Israel and that He would watch over them like a shepherd. History proves that God indeed has watched over the re-established nation of Israel. Hours after Israel declared independence in 1948, the surrounding countries attacked, hoping to replace the Jewish state with an Arab state. These countries are much larger than Israel. But tiny Israel prevailed in that war and was able to capture additional land, increasing the land size of Israel by 50 percent. Israel also prevailed in the two other major wars that followed.

In Leviticus 26:3, 7-8, the Bible says that the army of Israel would have a supernatural power to prevail during times of conflict, if the people are obedient to the Lord. This Bible passage says that 5 people would be able to chase away 100 people, and that 100 would be able to chase away 10,000. Is there any proof to this incredible claim? Judge for yourself:

Example 1: Within hours of Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Israel. The combined population of those countries was at least 20 million at that time. Israel had fewer than 1 million Jews. Even so, the Israel won the war and expanded the size of Israel by 50 percent.

Example 2: During the War of 1967, Israel attacked the air force bases of the surrounding countries and took control of Jerusalem for the first time in 2000 years. They also regained control of the West Bank and the Golan. That war lasted a mere 6 days.

Example 3: On Oct. 6, 1973, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria. Other countries later joined the attack. But Israel was able to push back the attacking armies and occupy land outside of Israel’s borders.

In Deuteronomy 30:3-5, the Bible said the Jews would be scattered worldwide and that they later would return to their homeland and have their fortunes restored. This prophecy began to be fulfilled in modern times during the late 1800s when many Jews returned to Israel, from as far away as China and the United States, Russia and South Africa. Israel declared independence in 1948. Today, Israel is among the world’s most prosperous countries. In 1999, for example, Israel’s per capita Gross Domestic Product was twice as prosperous than the neighboring countries.

Israel is the center of God’s prophetic timeline for the future Messianic Reign! Israel is nothing short of supernatural!

Blessings and Shalom,

Rabbi Eric S Carlson