The vision of the prophets

After Abraham came the prophets of Israel and Judah who received visions of future glory; visions of the time when God’s appointed king, the Lord Jesus Christ, will rule the earth in righteousness from Jerusalem, his capital city. Here is one example written 700 years before Christ:

“Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem … nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:3,4)

There are many other similar prophecies which make up the Bible teaching of the Kingdom of God on earth. It was the Good News of this Kingdom which the Lord Jesus preached. During his ministry he demonstrated the way in which we can enter the Kingdom of God, and he made that way open through his death and resurrection. All who believe and are baptized into Christ and seek to follow their Master have the glorious prospect of an eternal place in that Kingdom. Not even death can stand in the way because when Christ returns to establish the Kingdom he will raise his followers including Abraham from the dead.

But the Jewish nation rejected God’s Son and consequently, in AD 70, just 40 years after the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ, Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jews, was destroyed by the Roman armies. The vision of the prophets seemed shattered.

As the centuries rolled on, the Middle East came under the rule of the Saracens and then the Turks. The land of Palestine lay neglected and waste. The Jews were scattered throughout the world and subjected to brutal and remorseless persecution. To many it seemed that God’s purpose with Israel had been abandoned in favour of the Christian world. Church theologians developed the doctrine that the Church itself was the Kingdom of God on earth and that the Pope was God’s appointed ruler.

But these long years of despair for the Jews were clearly foretold by the prophets – and by Jesus himself. In his Mount Olivet prophecy the Lord Jesus Christ predicted that:

“They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

In these words the Lord summed up many Old Testament prophecies which were to come true in horrific detail. For example, in the book of Deuteronomy, written before Israel entered the land of Palestine 1,500 years before Christ, it was predicted of the Jews that:

“The Lord shall scatter thee among all people … thou shalt find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest.” (28:64,65)

And yet in all these prophecies, as in the words of Jesus, there was hope. Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles “until …” God has never intended to cast off the Jews for ever. Through Jeremiah He said:

“Though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee.” (Jeremiah 30:11)

The Apostle Paul warned the Gentiles to beware of the conceit which said that the Jews were finished and that God was now only interested in Gentiles. In Romans chapter 11 he asks: “Hath God cast away his people?” and then answers, “in no way”. He goes on to repeat the words used by the Lord Jesus himself:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery … that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)

The words of Christ and of the Apostle Paul are completely in keeping with the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures. Israel was to be scattered throughout the world; they would maintain their identity, and in the last days return to their land where they would become the focus of the Kingdom of God which will bring blessings to Jews and Gentiles. We have seen the partial fulfilment of these prophecies but there is still much to happen. The present State of Israel does not recognise Jesus as the Messiah and many do not even believe that Israel has been regathered in fulfilment of prophecy. A major change of heart is necessary, and indeed this is predicted in passages such as Ezekiel 37 and Zechariah 12. The latter passage sees Israel invaded by foreign powers and only then turning to God. It is at that time that Israel acknowledges Jesus (verse 10). This is the time that Christ comes to deliver Jerusalem and to re-establish the throne of David (Acts 3:21; 15:16).

Bible prophecies of the last days

Once we have grasped that Israel is at the centre of God’s dealings with mankind we have the key to understanding the direction of world affairs today. Through the prophecies of Scripture we can discern a clear pattern in current events. Here are some of those important prophecies:

Preparing for Armageddon: The important event in the Middle East which paved the way for the re-establishment of the State of Israel was the demise of the Turkish Empire. In a remarkable Bible prophecy in Revelation 16, reference is made to the drying up of the river Euphrates. The purpose of this was to make way for the events which will draw all nations into the Middle East arena. The result is described as the battle of Armageddon:

“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared … to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” (16:12-14)

Working on the basis that political powers in Scripture are frequently referred to by the river which ran through their territory, Bible students at least as far back as the 18th century interpreted the drying up of the river Euphrates as the shrinking of the then powerful Turkish empire. They anticipated that this would be followed by the return of the Jews to the land of Palestine and eventually the return of the Lord Jesus to the earth. The drying up of the river was accomplished through the First World War. Britain drove the Turks out of Palestine in 1917 and this paved the way for the emergence in the Middle East of new nations, some with ancient Biblical names such as Lebanon and Syria; but most of all it allowed the setting up of the nation of Israel.

Russia and Israel: The battle of Armageddon is described in part in Ezekiel 38: the prophet foresees a massive confederacy of nations invading the land of Israel just before the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The leader of the confederacy is called Gog of the land of Magog. Bible students have consistently looked to Russia to fulfil the role of Gog. Magog was an ancient name for the land of the Scythians in the southern part of what is now Russia and the Ukraine. This invader comes in confederacy with many other peopIes against Israel. The ancient names of these allies cover territories now occupied by other former Soviet Republics and European countries.