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Israel in the End-Time 2. Landmarks on the way back |
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The Lord Himself is leading His people back to the land that He promised to their fathers as an eternal possession. None of the enemies of Israel can prevent this from happening:
"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. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth... and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off... There will be a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt" (Is. 11:11-13, 16).
"Set up signposts, make landmarks; set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, turn back to these your cities" (Jer. 31:21).
There are a number of important landmarks that Israel will have to pass on their way to complete restoration. But they have the assurance that God is with them, that He leads them and that He will help them to overcome any barriers their enemies might put in the way to prevent them from being led back to the land they received from God Himself.
Theodor Herzl - the man who paved the way
The first steps on the way back to Palestine were taken by a man called Theodor Herzl, born on 2 May 1860. Taking a firm stand against public opinion and ignoring the vicious criticism by his fellow Jews, he determinedly started to work for the restoration of Israel. He dedicated his short life to the dream of getting the Jews back to Palestine, and succeeded in making his people aware of the fact that it could be done. For this reason he organised the first Zionist congress in Basle, Switzerland, on 29 August 1897. This was followed by a similar congress in London in October 1897. Dr William Heckler, a Jewish Christian, was a good friend of Herzl. He was the author of the book The return of the Jews to Palestine in accordance with prophecy, and spoke about Israel's Messianic expectation in Basle and in London.
Herzl established a fund to which people all over the world donated millions of pounds. He also made contact with various heads of government to win their support for his idea of a Jewish state in Palestine. He even had an interview with the Sultan of Turkey, as Palestine was under Turkish rule at that stage. The fund was not strong enough to buy all of Palestine, but Herzl offered the Turks large sums of money in exchange for occupation rights in parts of the country. He visited Palestine, but had to leave after only three days, as the Arabs had heard about his plans for a Jewish state and wanted to kill him.
Theodor Herzl died in 1904 at the age of 44. He requested that Dr. William Heckler spend the last few days with him. Theodor Herzl's work did not die with him, for by then the dream of a Jewish state had already been born in the hearts of Jews all over the world.
The migration of Jews to Palestine steadily increased after the launching of Herzl's awareness campaign. Because the Arabs in the coastal town of Jaffa were so violently opposed to the Jewish settlers arriving in the area, the Jews finally bought some land from the Arabs and laid the foundation for the state of Israel as we know it today. The first 30 families then settled on a hill outside Jaffa and decided to call it Tel Aviv, which means Hill of Hope. They didn't have much in the form of material possessions, but they used whatever they could find to sweep the gravel aside and called this, their first street, Theodor Herzl Street. They also built tiny houses of clay.
Those early settlers could not have known that Tel Aviv would be the capital of Israel from 1948 to 1980! They could not have known that Jews from all over the world would still be settling there today. Many of the Arabs fled from Jaffa during the 1948 War of Independence, and in 1949 Jaffa became part of the fast growing Tel Aviv.
The work that Herzl started was carried on by other enthusiastic leaders after his death. They also continued their talks with the British government, because they were determined to establish a homeland for the Jews in Palestine. Britain would play an important role during this part of the history of Israel.
Chaim Weizman - the man who laid the foundation
Britain and its allies were in danger of losing World War I because of a shortage of explosives. Their problem was unexpectedly solved when Chaim Weizman, a well-known Jewish chemist at the University of Manchester, discovered a powerful new explosive that was to become known as TNT. One of its advantages was that the manufacturing process was relatively cheap. He offered it to the British government and it became one of the determining factors in the Allied victory.
When asked what reward he wanted for this great service, Chaim answered: "I don't want money. Just free Palestine and allow the Jews to settle there." That led to the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, in which the British government clearly stated that they approved of Palestine becoming the national homeland of the Jewish people.
A month later the British forces under general Allenby captured Palestine. What a profound difference from the previous invasions by Nebuchadnezzar in 604 BC, Titus in AD 70 and the Turks in the Middle Ages! No shot was fired when Britain captured Jerusalem, and no life was lost. General Allenby, a devoted Christian, did not want to destroy anything in the city where Jesus spent the last days of His earthly life - the city where He was crucified and buried, and where He rose from the grave. Therefore, he contacted King George and asked him for advice. The king's reply comprised only a single word: Pray! That is exactly what the general did.
The Turks in the city suddenly became terrified and sent a delegation to negotiate their surrender. When the delegation reached general Allenby's tent, he and his officers were praying for just that to happen! He marched through the streets of Jerusalem on 11 December 1917 and gave all the people of the city the assurance that there would be peace and that they would be protected.
On 24 July 1922 Britain received a mandate from the League of Nations. Palestine would be ruled by Britain in future and Turkey, who had supported Germany in the war, would have no further control over the area.
After the British mandate became effective, the Jews immigrated to Palestine in even greater numbers. They came from Europe, Asia and Africa. They developed the country and changed deserts into fertile farming land. Hebrew was again spoken. Chaim Weizman was designated Commissioner of Palestine. He appointed a responsible government, and when the British mandate expired on 13 May 1948, he and his team were ready to take control. He then announced the birth of the Jewish state, which was to be known as the state of Israel. The USA was the first country to acknowledge the new state. Chaim Weizman was the first President of Israel and remained in that position until his death in 1952. David Ben Gurion, who had been Prime Minister since 1948, succeeded him.
The birth of the new Jewish state during the night of 14 May 1948 was truly a miracle. From the very first day, the protecting hand of God was often visible in the life of Israel to deliver them from imminent danger. Of course, Israel's Arab enemies in the Middle East reacted violently and threatened to utterly destroy them, fulfilling the words of the Scriptures:
"They have said: Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent: They form a confederacy against You" (Ps. 83:4-5).
Clearly, these threats are not only aimed at the people of Israel, but first and foremost at the God of Israel. They emanate from the kingdom of darkness as the source of all hatred against God and His people.
Israel's 30 million Islamic neighbours wanted to destroy the new state with its 760 000 citizens straight away. As the British left Palestine on 15 May 1948, six of the Arab states declared war against Israel: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The enemies of Israel, however, did not take the God of Israel or the military genius of the Israelis into account and paid dearly for their misjudgement. The conflict between Israel and the Islamic states also revealed certain psychological characteristics of the typical Arab. The moment he takes control, he becomes a cruel and tyrannical oppressor. When he sees that the opposition is stronger than he thought, his morale plummets and he flees. 600 000 Arabs fled from Israel in 1948, with the result that settlement space in the country became considerably bigger between the birth of the new state and the cease-fire declared in 1949. Jerusalem was divided into two sections, an Israeli and a Jordanian section. The Temple Mount was part of the latter.
The Palestinian refugees were not allowed to return to their homes, but had to remain in the neighbouring countries. The deplorable conditions of the camps in which they were accommodated, led to the founding of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). This organisation, led by Yasser Arafat, is violently opposed to Israel. Through the years it has succeeded in mobilising thousands of Palestinians in and around Israel for their struggle against the Jewish state.
The unceasing hostility from across Israel's borders gave rise to strained relations with neighbouring countries. The Arabs refused to conclude peace with Israel or to recognise the new state. Border incidents became the order of the day. The port of Eilat was blocked and Israeli ships barred from the Suez Canal. The Arab states even tried to prevent the Israelis from using water from the Jordan for irrigation projects in the Negev Desert.
The situation later became so unbearable that Israel attacked Egypt in October 1956. This led to the occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel held until 1967. In that year, and after intensive international negotiations, they returned the biggest part of the occupied territory.
By May 1967 the political and military situation in Israel was critical. All their efforts to defuse the explosive situation and ease the tension, had failed. President Nasser of Egypt ordered his army to take up positions in Sinai. At the same time Jordan, Syria and Iraq, who were united for this purpose, issued statements to the effect that they would destroy Israel. Despite all these preparations, Israel was the one who attacked on 5 June 1967, and this war lasted a mere six days.
God gave His people a miraculous victory. They captured the whole area west of the Jordan River, including the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem. The acquisition of this important piece of land had long been Israel's dream, as the Temple Mount had, until then, been out of bounds for the Jews. Soldiers and civilians alike all went to the Western Wall to offer thanks, and there were intensely emotional scenes at the wall. The wall is all that is left of the temple that was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, when the Jews were led into captivity.
After the Six Day War, the tension remained high between Israel and its neighbouring Arab states. The Security Council intervened to make an end to the war, but no official peace accords had been signed. By 1972 the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that President Sadat of Egypt again fanned the flames of anti-Semitism and announced his country's intention to annihilate Israel.
6 October 1973, the Day of Atonement, saw the beginning of yet another war in the Middle East. As this is the most important Jewish religious holiday of all, the Israeli security forces were demobilised and the attack took them by surprise. The attack on the Egyptian and Syrian fronts was so fierce, and their Russian technology so advanced, that it was widely rumoured that it was the beginning of the Russian invasion prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39. At that stage Dr. Thomas McCall and Zola Levitt were working on their book, The coming Russian invasion of Israel, and they feared that there might not be enough time to publish the book before the final invasion. It really seemed as if the invasion from the north and the tribulation was about to start! However, God again intervened and the enemy retreated.
Israel's victory suppressed the emotions somewhat, and the tension seemed to ease a little. But the war-clouds didn't recede very far and the Arabs immediately resumed their preparations for a new round of confrontation.
In August 1980, Jerusalem was declared as the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel, and the office of the Prime Minister was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, many countries insisted that Jerusalem should have an international status to be a centre where Jews, Christians and Muslims could enjoy equal rights. They tried to persuade Israel, but at that stage Israel was strong enough to stand firm in the face of tremendous opposition and pressure from abroad.
When Jerusalem became the capital of the independent Jewish state, the prophecy in Luke 21:24 regarding the end of the times of the Gentiles was partially fulfilled. Jerusalem would not be trodden down (politically) any longer. In the spiritual sphere, if one considers that there are two Muslim mosques on the Temple Mount, the treading down of Jerusalem still continues.
The Arabs were so upset about the events in Jerusalem, that they declared a holy war (jihad) against Israel. They also used their position as oil suppliers to influence other countries not to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Their intimidation was so successful that all the embassies that had been moved to Jerusalem, were moved back to Tel Aviv within only a few weeks.
Thus it happened that Jerusalem was again rejected by the nations. In that year (1980) the Lord called hundreds of Christian pilgrims to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem for the first time. Despite the age old hostility between Jews and Christians, they were warmly welcomed by the Israelis. They used the opportunity to open the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem on the last day of the feast. Through the years various Christian groups and churches have used this embassy to express their solidarity with Israel, and to support Israel's Biblical claim to their land and Jerusalem as their capital city.
Israel's enemies maintained their hostile attitude, and with the aid of Russian weapons relentlessly tried to destroy the Jewish state. When conventional warfare fails, they continue with their arms build-up as well as the supporting and financing of subversive activities such as the promoting and extension of terrorist networks.
As the situation in the Middle East deteriorated after the events surrounding Jerusalem in 1980, Yasser Arafat visited Moscow for high level talks with members of the Kremlin. A final decision was reached: Russia would actively support the PLO with its diabolical plan to destroy the state of Israel. While the Jews were still celebrating the declaration of Jerusalem as capital, the Russians were building a secret military base in Sidon, South Lebanon. The underground bunkers could store weapons for an army of more than 500 000 men, but at that stage the PLO only had 19 000 freedom fighters in its army.
The Israelis discovered this arsenal when they attacked Lebanon in 1982. They seized 4 000 tons of weapons and ammunition and made an end to an advanced Russo-Palestinian plan to destroy Israel. In his book Magog 1982 - Cancelled, David Lewis expresses the opinion that the big war prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39 was averted and postponed at the last minute.
The Syrians, who occupied Lebanon with the onset of the hostilities, were also drawn into the war against Israel, but in the first week they lost 80 MIG fighter planes in clashes with the Israeli Air Force. Again the Arab powers were temporarily halted in their constant endeavour to destroy Israel. Egypt had signed a peace treaty with Israel; Iraq was at war with Iran, and Jordan was afraid to attack Israel without the assistance of allies.
The constant struggle against the PLO
Since 1982 the PLO has intensified its attacks on Israel. It does not only operate from within Israel's borders, but also has camps and bases in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and other countries. It calls its terrorist campaign the Intifada, and it doesn't hesitate to mobilise thousands of stone-throwing youths to cause chaos in the streets and damage the property of Jews.
The PLO has special task forces with automatic weapons and explosives, and its members attack military and civilian targets alike. Therefore, not even buses with civilian passengers are safe from their attacks. Terrorists affiliated to the organisation do not hesitate to set fire to buildings and vehicles, and they are also notorious for their knife attacks on Jewish citizens. It is very difficult to control urban terrorism of this nature, but the Israeli forces have learned how to react swiftly and effectively to curb such attacks in the different areas.
The Intifada has further strained the relations between Jews and Arabs. The Arab states invariably and openly support the PLO whenever Israel retaliates after terrorist attacks by the organisation. They flatly refuse to let go of their demand for a Palestinian state on the West Bank - a state with Jerusalem, or at least part of the city, as capital.
Any concessions to the PLO will endanger the future of Israel as a sovereign state. Therefore, they have no choice but to continue with the struggle against their enemies.
That the Iraqi armed forces became the strongest power in the Middle East during the eighties, was a matter of grave concern for the Israelis. A whole new dimension was added to the existing danger, as Iraq was steadily developing new chemical and bacteriological warheads for their missiles. The Iraqis also continued with the construction of a nuclear reactor. It was common knowledge that Saddam Hussein is an aggressive man without any mercy, a man whose hatred for Israel knows no bounds. The Iraqi situation before the Gulf War contained all the ingredients for what could have become another holocaust.
Again God intervened, and this tyrant fell into the trap he had set for Israel. He had dreams of becoming the Nebuchadnezzar of this age, of ruling over the entire Middle East, but instead he was defeated and humiliated. However, the defeat by the allied forces was not decisive enough and a new threat is now emerging from the same region.
The Russians, who have been among Israel's most bitter enemies, have run into serious political and economic problems. For nearly a century, Jewish emigration from Russia was confined to a minimum while the Communists persecuted the Russian Jews mercilessly. Then, suddenly, the tyrannical regime of the USSR tumbled and the doors were flung wide open. The one million Jews, almost half of Russia's total Jewish population, who had indicated that they wanted to immigrate to Israel, were free to do so. The modern Pharaoh had no choice but to let God's people go. The plagues he had to deal with, left him no choice: the iron curtain was in ruins, Russia's economy was crumbling, and one republic after the other became independent from the disintegrating Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. Yes, this Russian leader had no choice but to say: "Go, if you want to go!"
The revising of emigration laws resulted in a steady stream of Jews suddenly arriving in Israel, initially between 1 000 and 1 800 every day. Many of the Israelis should certainly realise that this turn of events would not have been possible without God's intervention. The words of the prophet Jeremiah are now being fulfilled:
"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said: The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt; but: The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them. For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks" (Jer. 16:14-16).
The people of Israel welcome these newcomers in their territory, but finding work and accommodation for everyone is quite a problem. There must be many of them who feel like saying: "The place is too small for me; give me a place where I may dwell" (Is. 49:20)!
Yes, hunters are used to hunt the people of God so that they can escape to the land He has given to them. For example: there are various anti-Semitic groups in Russia, such as the Pamjat, who accuse the Jews for all the problems experienced in Russia. Many people are influenced by the negative propaganda of these groups, and the Jews are openly persecuted and threatened. That is the reason why thousands of them want to leave the country and emigrate to Israel.
God also uses fishers to catch His scattered people. The late rains are falling, and there is word of a spiritual awakening among many Jews.
Samuel Nadler, evangelist and executive director of Chosen People Ministries in the USA, went to Russia in May 1990. In a congregation in Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, he asked the Christians to bring their Jewish neighbours to church with them the following Sunday. There is a strong Jewish population in that city, as about 180 000 of the two million residents of Kiev are Jewish. The reaction from the Jewish community was overwhelming. That Sunday the church was packed to capacity. Every possible space in the building was taken and many had to stand outside. Samuel Nadler's message was about the spiritual restoration and rebirth of Israel, and was based on Jeremiah 31:3-4:
"The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel!"
When He gave the altar call at the end of his message and invited the Jews to accept Jesus as their Saviour, the response was overwhelming. So many of them went forward that the area around the altar was packed. This set the tone for the whole of Samuel Nadler's Russian tour. Wherever he went, he reached the hearts of the Jewish community - even in Moscow. Because of the positive response, he went back there in August 1990 and distributed a great number of Russian Bibles.
A similar breakthrough was made in New York. In July 1990 the group Jews for Jesus organised a campaign in which the gospel was brought to the Jewish community of the city. They worked at it for a full month, and in that time the 21 evangelists led 1 212 people to Christ. This was the first major breakthrough in the fifteen years that they had been working for Jesus, and one of their leaders commented: "It is like hammering your head against a stone wall for fifteen years, and then suddenly discovering that the wall is starting to crumble in a most astonishing way."
Many of the Jewish immigrants in Israel are asking for Bibles and other Christian literature. They know that the office of the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem can supply them with books and other reading matter, but they prefer Christian material and they prefer it in Russian, as many of them had accepted the Lord Jesus before they left Russia.
The full remnant of Israel will be saved after the dark night of the tribulation. Then they will truly be a blessing to the whole world. The remnant of the Arab nations who tried to destroy Israel since 1948, will then also become Christian, having been freed of the evil influence of Islam. They and Israel will serve Jesus with great enthusiasm.
"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying: Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance" (Is. 19:23-25).
Only people with a real sense of spiritual destiny can understand God's plan with the nations, and in particular with the nation of Israel. All Christians should give their full support to the physical restoration of Israel, while earnestly praying for the spiritual revival of the entire nation. From such prayers the spiritual needs of Israel's deluded enemies should never be excluded.