MOI-05    NR5-11

010311PM

This evening have you ever connected the happenings in the world, in our newspapers, history books, and on the evening news – with God’s Word the BIBLE?

To begin with open to Isaiah 11:11 as God describes the 2nd Return of His People. The 1st was after the Babylonian Exile in 586 BC, this is the 2ndReturn after the Roman Destruction of Israel in AD 70-130 and this 2nd Return has happened in OUR GENERATION! People alive here tonight have witnessed this happen!

As I read see if your heart thrills as your mind sees the modern day “Miracle of Israel” that has occurred in the re-gathering of almost ½ of all Jews from 100 nations around the world back to Judea and Samaria of the Bible!

And they have returned since 1948 under the “banner” of a flag containing the blue of the Messianic longings of the prayer shawl and the Star of David (symbolizing the Messianic line of Jesus through David) boldly centered as the only sign of their flag!

Where exactly did God say they would come back to in this 2nd Return? Jeremiah helps us by naming the places that the bones (the destroyed bits of the nation Israel) would come and be clothed with flesh (a nation again) awaiting the breath of God (revival) to come in the Tribulation Hour of Jacob’s Trouble.

God has a two part planned return for His people Israel. The promised restoration of Israel is to be understood as a two-phased process, encompassing a restoration to the Land followed by a restoration to the Lord, the God of Israel.

  • Jeremiah 24:6-7 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. (This must be after AD70″s Diaspora)  7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

Note Jeremiah 32:33-44.

Reading Ezekiel 36[1] gives us a remarkably clear description of what has been taking place in Israel over the past 100 years.

God promised He would bring His people home the 2nd and final time (Ezek. 36:8), this is God’s announcement:

“But you, O mountains of Israel, you will shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people of Israel; for they are soon to come home.” 

God multiplies Israel (up a million or 20% in 10 years) rebuild the ruined and wasted cities, and increase their flocks and produce of the land. When this happens, He says,

“You will know that I am the Lord” (v. 11).

God only scattered His covenant people for a season. Once scattered,Ezekiel 36:20 tells us that the people of Israel profaned the integrity of the Lord’s Name and His promises among the nations, when the nations said mockingly, “These are the people of the Lord, and they had to leave His land.” 

You see, in the ancient world, the pagans judged the effectiveness of their pagan gods by how well these gods protected them in their land and provided for them. In this region, they worshipped the god Baal, for security from invading armies and the provision of rain and food; and Astarte, the goddess of fertility, for offspring.

Therefore, when the Jewish people went into exile and the land of Israel became desolate, the pagan nations mocked the God of Israel as unable to protect and provide for His people.

For this reason, in Ezekiel 36:23-28, God speaks of a great end-time return of the Jewish people to their covenant land, which He would orchestrate for the integrity of His Name. This was to show the nations of the world that He is the living God who keeps His promises. To accomplish this, in verse 24, God says, “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” 

In addition, God also desires to restore spiritual fellowship with His people IN His land when He says in verses 27-28, “And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; and you will be My people and I will be your God.”

The process of this latter-day, prophetic move, as expressed by Ezekiel, is what I call the three R’s of end-time Bible prophecy concerning Israel:

  1. RETURNEDfrom exile to the land of their forefathers (36:8);
  2. RESTOREDof the land (36:9-15)
  3. REDEEMEDand RENEWED of the spiritual life of the Jewish people in the land. (36:16-28)

Yes, this day is today! The rabbis themselves even refer to our present day as, “Messianic Days.” Surely, we can see that the land IS being restored and the people have been returning for over 100 years. And, as the Jewish immigrants return, many from former communist lands where the worship of God and the reading of the Bible were forbidden, they are now learning of the Lord God of Israel in their ancient homeland, and a true spiritual renewal is beginning to take place. It is not all happening at once, but it is certainly in process.

Israel”s rebirth is God’s testimony to this world: Ezekiel gives us God’s last word to the heathen nations of the world who sought to occupy His land and prevent His people from returning. In 36:34-36, he says:

“The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited! Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.”

Israel’s 2nd return is final: This is an irreversible process, since we are promised that there will never be another exile (Amos 9:15; Isaiah 11:11).

  • Isaiah 11:11 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.
  • Amos 9:15  “I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.

Israel is not ready for God today: God has much to teach Israel in the days ahead. And while Israel has been promised the entire Land, we nevertheless must allow room for God to judge the nation of Israel in her borders, just as in biblical days, as His chosen means of divine correction, knowing His higher goal is to bring her to Himself

  • Ezekiel 20:33-44  “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God. 37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name”s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.
  • Hosea 5:14-6:3 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. 1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.  2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Israel is the Lord’s land and biblical Christians should honor them as the Lord”s people: Regardless of political developments within the Jewish State, we are to stand by her, encourage her, make her jealous by our zeal for Him and for His Word, and declare the Word of God to her concerning her destiny.

  • Isaiah 62:1-12 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,  Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;  But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. 6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. 9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.” 10 Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! 11 Indeed the Lord has  proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
  • Romans 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

The church needs to maintain a biblical orientation: We, Christ’s Church, are commanded to honor the natural olive tree of Israel into which we have been grafted (Romans 11:17-18). We note that there is a Body of Messiah in the Land of Israel today with much to offer the universal Body of believers – a living testament to the Jewish roots of our faith and to the faithfulness of God to His promises, and a means to counter anti-Semitism and encourage the Church in the nations to embrace Biblical Zionism.

  • Romans 11:17-18  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Israel is God’s key to unlock true world peace: God’s Word clearly foretells of a coming time of blessed rest and peace for the whole earth. No greater hope has ever been instilled in the heart of mankind, as when “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” The Scriptures also reveal that this age of peace will be preceded by the restoration of Israel, which will come in the midst of great conflict and distress, as the nations resist and oppose the Jewish return to Zion. It has not been hidden from man that ultimately God will judge the nations for coming against the Jewish people whom He has regathered in Jerusalem (Joel 3). And it is only after the Lord “rebukes strong nations” for these actions that the promised universal peace shall prevail.

  • Isaiah 2:4  He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
  • Joel 3:1-3 For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel,Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.3 They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
  • Micah 4:3  He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

israel’s enemies are fighting against God’s plan: Any nations and all peoples that those who seek to dislodge the Jewish people from any part of Jerusalem, to disinvest Israel of her bequeathed inheritance, or to divide the Land of Israel are placing themselves in conflict with the God of the Bible (Joel 3:1-3). Indeed, they shall rupture themselves and fall irreparably under the judgment of God (Zechariah 12:1-9).

  • Zechariah 12:1-9  The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” 4 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God. 6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

Christ’s 2nd coming is to a regathered Nation in the Lord’s land called Israel: Ultimately, we affirm that the restoration of Israel will usher in the coming of the Messiah to the Mount of Olives, as the Hebrew prophet Zechariah declares (14:3-20), and bring rest to God’s people and the entire world.

TAGS: 010311PM

This evening have you ever connected the happenings in the world, in our newspapers, history books, and on the evening news – with God’s Word the BIBLE?

To begin with open to Isaiah 11:11 as God describes the 2nd Return of His People. The 1st was after the Babylonian Exile in 586 BC, this is the 2ndReturn after the Roman Destruction of Israel in AD 70-130 and this 2nd Return has happened in OUR GENERATION! People alive here tonight have witnessed this happen!

As I read see if your heart thrills as your mind sees the modern day “Miracle of Israel” that has occurred in the re-gathering of almost ½ of all Jews from 100 nations around the world back to Judea and Samaria of the Bible!

And they have returned since 1948 under the “banner” of a flag containing the blue of the Messianic longings of the prayer shawl and the Star of David (symbolizing the Messianic line of Jesus through David) boldly centered as the only sign of their flag!

Where exactly did God say they would come back to in this 2nd Return? Jeremiah helps us by naming the places that the bones (the destroyed bits of the nation Israel) would come and be clothed with flesh (a nation again) awaiting the breath of God (revival) to come in the Tribulation Hour of Jacob’s Trouble.

God has a two part planned return for His people Israel. The promised restoration of Israel is to be understood as a two-phased process, encompassing a restoration to the Land followed by a restoration to the Lord, the God of Israel.

  • Jeremiah 24:6-7 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. (This must be after AD70″s Diaspora)  7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

Note Jeremiah 32:33-44.

Reading Ezekiel 36[1] gives us a remarkably clear description of what has been taking place in Israel over the past 100 years.

God promised He would bring His people home the 2nd and final time (Ezek. 36:8), this is God’s announcement:

“But you, O mountains of Israel, you will shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people of Israel; for they are soon to come home.” 

God multiplies Israel (up a million or 20% in 10 years) rebuild the ruined and wasted cities, and increase their flocks and produce of the land. When this happens, He says,

“You will know that I am the Lord” (v. 11).

God only scattered His covenant people for a season. Once scattered,Ezekiel 36:20 tells us that the people of Israel profaned the integrity of the Lord’s Name and His promises among the nations, when the nations said mockingly, “These are the people of the Lord, and they had to leave His land.” 

You see, in the ancient world, the pagans judged the effectiveness of their pagan gods by how well these gods protected them in their land and provided for them. In this region, they worshipped the god Baal, for security from invading armies and the provision of rain and food; and Astarte, the goddess of fertility, for offspring.

Therefore, when the Jewish people went into exile and the land of Israel became desolate, the pagan nations mocked the God of Israel as unable to protect and provide for His people.

For this reason, in Ezekiel 36:23-28, God speaks of a great end-time return of the Jewish people to their covenant land, which He would orchestrate for the integrity of His Name. This was to show the nations of the world that He is the living God who keeps His promises. To accomplish this, in verse 24, God says, “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” 

In addition, God also desires to restore spiritual fellowship with His people IN His land when He says in verses 27-28, “And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; and you will be My people and I will be your God.”

The process of this latter-day, prophetic move, as expressed by Ezekiel, is what I call the three R’s of end-time Bible prophecy concerning Israel:

  1. RETURNEDfrom exile to the land of their forefathers (36:8);
  2. RESTOREDof the land (36:9-15)
  3. REDEEMEDand RENEWED of the spiritual life of the Jewish people in the land. (36:16-28)

Yes, this day is today! The rabbis themselves even refer to our present day as, “Messianic Days.” Surely, we can see that the land IS being restored and the people have been returning for over 100 years. And, as the Jewish immigrants return, many from former communist lands where the worship of God and the reading of the Bible were forbidden, they are now learning of the Lord God of Israel in their ancient homeland, and a true spiritual renewal is beginning to take place. It is not all happening at once, but it is certainly in process.

Israel”s rebirth is God’s testimony to this world: Ezekiel gives us God’s last word to the heathen nations of the world who sought to occupy His land and prevent His people from returning. In 36:34-36, he says:

“The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, ‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited! Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.”

Israel’s 2nd return is final: This is an irreversible process, since we are promised that there will never be another exile (Amos 9:15; Isaiah 11:11).

  • Isaiah 11:11 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.
  • Amos 9:15  “I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.

Israel is not ready for God today: God has much to teach Israel in the days ahead. And while Israel has been promised the entire Land, we nevertheless must allow room for God to judge the nation of Israel in her borders, just as in biblical days, as His chosen means of divine correction, knowing His higher goal is to bring her to Himself

  • Ezekiel 20:33-44  “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. 36 Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God. 37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name”s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.
  • Hosea 5:14-6:3 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. 15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. 1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.  2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Israel is the Lord’s land and biblical Christians should honor them as the Lord”s people: Regardless of political developments within the Jewish State, we are to stand by her, encourage her, make her jealous by our zeal for Him and for His Word, and declare the Word of God to her concerning her destiny.

  • Isaiah 62:1-12 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. 2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord will name. 3 You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. 4 You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,  Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate;  But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, And your land shall be married.5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. 6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, 7 And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. 9 But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lord; those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.” 10 Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! 11 Indeed the Lord has  proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
  • Romans 11:11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

The church needs to maintain a biblical orientation: We, Christ’s Church, are commanded to honor the natural olive tree of Israel into which we have been grafted (Romans 11:17-18). We note that there is a Body of Messiah in the Land of Israel today with much to offer the universal Body of believers – a living testament to the Jewish roots of our faith and to the faithfulness of God to His promises, and a means to counter anti-Semitism and encourage the Church in the nations to embrace Biblical Zionism.

  • Romans 11:17-18  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

Israel is God’s key to unlock true world peace: God’s Word clearly foretells of a coming time of blessed rest and peace for the whole earth. No greater hope has ever been instilled in the heart of mankind, as when “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” The Scriptures also reveal that this age of peace will be preceded by the restoration of Israel, which will come in the midst of great conflict and distress, as the nations resist and oppose the Jewish return to Zion. It has not been hidden from man that ultimately God will judge the nations for coming against the Jewish people whom He has regathered in Jerusalem (Joel 3). And it is only after the Lord “rebukes strong nations” for these actions that the promised universal peace shall prevail.

  • Isaiah 2:4  He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
  • Joel 3:1-3 For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel,Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.3 They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
  • Micah 4:3  He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

israel’s enemies are fighting against God’s plan: Any nations and all peoples that those who seek to dislodge the Jewish people from any part of Jerusalem, to disinvest Israel of her bequeathed inheritance, or to divide the Land of Israel are placing themselves in conflict with the God of the Bible (Joel 3:1-3). Indeed, they shall rupture themselves and fall irreparably under the judgment of God (Zechariah 12:1-9).

  • Zechariah 12:1-9  The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” 4 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God. 6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

Christ’s 2nd coming is to a regathered Nation in the Lord’s land called Israel: Ultimately, we affirm that the restoration of Israel will usher in the coming of the Messiah to the Mount of Olives, as the Hebrew prophet Zechariah declares (14:3-20), and bring rest to God’s people and the entire world.

[1] Clarence Wagner, BFP online, Covenants of God article.