It’s really fascinating how we can read the word of God over the years and not give certain passages a second thought. Then one-day “boom”, we happen to read those passages again, and something jumps out at us that we never saw before. Lately, I’ve been stirred up to take a closer look at passages about Israel, and In my looking, the Lord has illuminated some things about prophecy through research that I would like to share.
NOTHING COMES CLOSE
No excuses, but I can understand a little bit why people are hesitant to study prophecy. Many prophecies are some of the hardest sayings in the bible and take a lot of prayer and seeking to recieve understanding. But to not look at the prophecies that have already been fulfilled is an even bigger mistake. Of all the incredible events that have happened in this last century such as world wars, technological marvels, men walking on the moon, nothing comes close to the fulfilled prophecies about the restoration of Israel in this last century. Israel’s astonishing restoration did not come about by the will of man, but this prophetic event, without question, was orchestrated by the hand of God. The Most High God, being omniscient, through His word recorded future events with great detail thousands of years before they happened. He’s done this to reveal His glorious power, wisdom, love, and His faithfulness to keep covenant with His people. Truly, He wants us to consider these things that were carefully recorded for us in His word.
WHY ISRAEL
Russia has over 140 million people, Nigeria has over 190 million people, America has over 330 million people, China and India each have over 1.3 BILLION folks, but the nation that dominates the news is little Israel composed of 9 million people. Why? Thomas Friedman from the New York Times wrestled with this common question over the years as noted in the following excerpt:
“WHY ISRAEL? IN SEVEN YEARS of reporting from the Middle East, there is no question I have faced more frequently or contemplated more often than this: Why are so many people fascinated with Israel? Or, to put it another way, why is Israel so often the focus of news?
“Sometimes the question comes from angry readers demanding to know why Israel, a country with roughly the same number of people as Chicago, occupies almost as much news space as the Soviet Union. Sometimes it comes from within me, when I find myself sitting in the office on a Saturday afternoon reporting on some relatively minor incident on the West Bank and wondering to myself why, of all the incidents in the Middle East on this day, this is the one that editors define as news. And sometimes, as in the Iran affair, the question comes from those puzzled about why Israel involves itself in global politics that would seem far beyond the capacity of a country the size of New Jersey.”
Thomas Friedman doesn’t understand why Israel is in the news all the time, but just a casual reading of the scriptures would shine some light on this modern-day phenomenon.
THE APPLE OF HIS EYE
First, you must understand that Israel is the apple of God’s eye. Israel is so important that the Most High warns all nations to not scatter His people, or divide up His land; unfortunately, these are the very things they have done and are trying to do. Therefore, these offenses are what the nations will be judged for first.
Joel 3:2 “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,...”
In this essay, I will attempt to shine a little more light on why Israel is so special being the apple of God’s eye. I will cover some of Israel’s glorious past, I will then look to the future and attempt to describe the indescribable, unimaginable New Jerusalem, aka the Holy City.
1 Cor 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
BECAUSE OF THE LORD
Again, why is the land of Israel such a heated topic? To sum it up; the land of Israel is such a heated topic because of the Lord. In His unfathomable power and infinite wisdom, He chose this land for His eternal and glorious purposes. Our God promised this land to Abraham and his descendants, and through the great Moses and Joshua, God powerfully led His chosen people out of Egypt to this land of milk and honey. The following is the unconditional promise God made to Abraham and his descendants.
Gen 15:17-2117When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
ISRAEL’S PURPOSE
The formation of Israel was nothing less than epic; God has an incredible purpose for her. Israel’s great and eternal purpose was to show the rest of the world, a world full of lies and idolatry, who the true and living God is. So when Israel kept covenant with the Lord, Israel was blessed above and beyond any other nation in the world. But when Israel broke covenant with the Lord, they invited curses on themselves, lost their blessings and suffered immensely.
Deut 11:26-28 26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.
The consequences of their disobedience were absolutely devastating, which in turn caused the Jews to cry out to the Lord. Then God in His mercy would restore and bless them. Grievously, at times Israel dishonored herself to a place of being far worse than the nations that they were supposed to be showing who the true God is. During these times, God would judge Israel for their sinful rebellion and unbelief by turning them over to her enemies, which caused them to lose everything, including the control of the land God gave her. For example, one of the last curses listed in Deuteronomy had to have been devastating to the Jews and very grievous to the Lord. In light of the renowned fact that God miraculously delivered the once enslaved Israelites through the Red Sea by walking across it on dry land; when they rebelled, they were cursed. Instead of miraculously walking across the Red Sea again, they got into their boats and this time rowed back to Egypt. There, they pitifully offered themselves as slaves that nobody wanted.
Deut 28:68 68 And the LORD will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”
THEY REJECTED HIM
While producing some of the greatest men and women of faith this world has ever seen, Israel stayed on this course of blessings, curses, and repentance leading up to her most devastating act of rebellion; they rejected their Messiah. The Messiah that all Israel’s prophets prophesied about; the Messiah that all her rituals and ceremonies pointed to; the Messiah that all her greatest heroes and deliverers foreshadowed; JESUS, the King of kings, the Lord of lords! Of course, the consequences were devastating. Here’s Moses describing exactly what would happen, and what exactly did happen when Israel rejected God’s will:
Deut 28:64 64“And the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the LORD will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. 66Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. 67In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see.
SOMETHING GREAT HAS HAPPENED
So we find the Jewish people spread out all over the world for thousands of years, longing for the restoration of Israel. But in our time, just recently, SOMETHING INCREDIBLE HAS HAPPENED! A major prophecy that has laid dormant for over 2000 years has now been fulfilled! I love how Alpha News Daily describes it in the following excerpt:
“God said He would re-gather Israel back in the Land . . . on May 14, 1948 God’s prophetic clock started ticking again, Loudly!
These prophecies are important because we can now watch the news, read a book on post World War II history, or look at a current map of the world and see there is now a nation called Israel. For almost 2,500 years – starting with the Jewish captivity under Babylon, then Persia, then Greece, then Rome; and, almost 2,000 years since the birth and rejection of the Messiah, when God held the children of Israel accountable, and then, using the Roman army, scattered the people into the nations around the world – the Jews have been dispersed. A people without a nation. However, God said He would one day re-gather the children of Israel into the land which He has given them as a nation. Through His prophets, God also warned He would then judge the children of Israel (and the whole world) at this time for their unbelief. This prophetic re-gathering, which this generation is now seeing take place, is to serve as a sign and a warning to the world that the Apocalypse, the “Day of the Lord,” draws near . . .
“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the Earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.” Isaiah 66:8
(Note: This prophecy was fulfilled in one day – on May 14, 1948)
He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12
“…then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. Ezekiel 37:21
“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the Word of the LORD …” “But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come . . .” “For I will take you (the children of Israel) from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own Land…”Ezekiel 36:1, 8, 24
1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?… Eze 37:1-3 *scripture added to quote
11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.” Eze 37: 11-14 *scripture added to quote
21“Thus says the Lord GOD ‘Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own Land;’” Ezekiel 37:21
Now, search through history for a sovereign nation Israel . . .
Year 500 BC? “No.”
Year 300 BC? “No.”
Year 100 BC? “No.”
Year 200 AD? “No.”
Year 500 AD? “No.”
Year 1000 AD? “No.”
Year 1400 AD? “No.”
Year 1700 AD? “No.”
Year 1800 AD? “No.”
Year 1900 AD? “No.”
Year 1948 AD? “Yes!!!” …There it is!!! . . . May 14, 1948!
How has the world reacted to such a profound fulfillment of Bible prophecy? A miracle that can be documented by simply looking at a map and a Bible. It has ignored it! Just as God says most of the world will ignore the warnings of the coming Apocalypse (also called ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’, the ‘Great Tribulation,’ and ‘the Day of the Lord.’). Remember, God uses prophecy to prove that He is who He says He is, and to authenticate the warnings and the promises found in the Bible.
The Bible warns of a series of events (which will change the world forever) that would begin after Israel would once again become a sovereign Nation (after almost 2,500 years) . . . Again, this remarkable fulfillment of prophecy took place on May 14, 1948!”
That’s a small look at Israel’s glorious past, In the next section we’ll take a look at Israel’s future that also shines some light on the question, “Why Israel?”
NEW JERUSALEM
Today, the imagination of man combined with today’s technology has produced a myriad of realistic-looking science fiction movies. Some of these movies put on display what man imagines earth’s future will be like. Some show the future being very bleak with overcrowding and decay; hoping space travel will be the answer. Many show great natural disasters such as a new ice age severely affecting the earth and throwing men back to the stone age. And yet there are other movies that show an earth entrenched in miraculous technology. The list of science fiction movies about the future of earth is long, but I haven’t seen any movie that compares to the even wilder truth; the truth that God says it will be.
What God has in store for the future of earth is quite astonishing. The number one thing that will be different, and is difficult to imagine, is the coming celestial city, otherwise known as New Jerusalem, aka Mount Zion. In the very near future right after the Millennial Reign, this heavenly architecture of the Most High, the Holy City, will be on display on the new earth. The book of Revelation gives a lot of details on how different the earth, and that promised land will look like in the next age.
SO WONDERFULLLY DIFFERENT
Rev 21:1 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
Truly the new earth will be vastly different. For instance, no more large bodies of salt water. Perhaps the Lord will uncover the beauty of what’s been hidden on the ocean floors: valleys and mountains. Maybe He will replace the water with land. Only God knows. Whatever the case, it will be perfect.
God will also give the earth a new type of water called the “Water Of Life”. It will be a crystal clear river that literally flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb! Some of this water will nourish the nearby “Trees of Life” that produce twelve kinds of monthly yielding fruit with leaves that will wonderfully heal the nations.
The heavens will be quite different too, God’s word gives us a glimpse of how He is going to drastically change it.
2 Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Just like the purification process of placing gold into fire, God is going to use a roaring intense fire with an atomic destroying heat to dissolve the heavenly bodies (the second heavens or outer space) and wipe the face of the earth clean. The newly created heavens will be just as different as the newly created earth; there will be no sun or moon to provide light. God’s glory will be our light, and the Lamb will be our lamp!
19The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give you light;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of mourning shall be ended.
21Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.d
22The least one shall become a clan,
and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the LORD;
in its time I will hasten it. Isaiah 60:19-22
While looking at the old heavens and earth, we can only try to imagine how incredible the “new” is going to be.
THE PRECIOUS MIDDLE EAST and NEW JERUSALEM
Yes, the Middle East is precious; not just because of the amazing people that have lived there, or the holy history that’s transpired there; not just the reality that our Savior and Lord of the universe walked on it’s very ground; nor the truth that the Christian church first started there; or the incredible fulfillment of prophecies that have taken place; but something even more incredible is going to take place there; God in all His glory, the Blessed Trinity, is going to dwell there with His children in the Holy City! This Holy City is in the shape of a perfect cube. The perfectly cubed inner sanctuaries, or Holy of Holies, of Moses’ and Soloman’s temple were patterned after this heavenly temple. Fantastically, this holy structure is going to descend out of heaven; as a bride adorned for her husband (absolutely beautiful)!
Rev 21: 2-3 2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God
DIMENSIONS
Now it’s time to cover the most incredible design of the most awe-inspiring place of all time; a place far beyond the capabilities and imagination of man: New Jerusalem. By giving so much detail, it’s clear that the Lord really wants us to behold what He has in store for His people in the Next age. Let’s start with the measurements of the Holy City;
And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. Rev 21:15-21
Now let’s take a look at what those biblical measurements are in today’s measurements. According to Wikipedia:
“In 21:16, the angel measures the city with a goldenrod or reed, and records it as 12,000 stadia by 12,000 stadia at the base, and 12,000 stadia high. A stadion is usually stated as 185 meters, or 607 feet, so the base has dimensions of about 2220 km by 2220 km, or 1380 miles by 1380 miles.”
The thickness of the walls which are 144 cubits roughly translate into the length of a 20 story building.
In comparison, the highest mountain is about five and a half miles above sea level; a commercial jet flies about 7 miles up, and space starts around 62 miles up. Let’s say you’re out walking on a good night, you happen to look up and you see a point of light slowly moving across the sky. That point of light is the Space Station which is in orbit 240 miles above the earth. Again, the ceiling of the coming New Jerusalem is 1380 miles up! Remarkably, just the base of the New Jerusalem would cover a landmass that is roughly two thirds as big as the United States. So there’s plenty of room and then some for all of God’s children who have ever lived to have their own place in God’s staggering beautiful, heavenly city.
John 14:1-31“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also
Only our God can connect the heavens and the earth in such a marvelous way.
WHERE
Today’s Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey, but the base of the Holy City would cover more than half of the landmass of the USA. Old Jerusalem is but a speck compared to the coming New. Let’s take another look at what God promised Abraham.
Gen 15:18 “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, …..”
- The curvy red line on the left is the Nile river. The curvy red line on the right is the Euphrates River.
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To the best of my knowledge, Israel has never controlled that much land, especially today. The landmass outlined in red comprises of Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, as well as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, U.A E, Oman, Yemen, most of Turkey, and the land east of the Nile river.
Today’s Israel is a partial fulfillment of what God spoke to Abraham. I would even say it was an overarching prophecy to Abraham, because through her history the territories God allotted to Israel changed over time. Nevertheless, His words cannot return to Him void.
After seeing the dimensions of the Holy City and looking at the mass of land promised to Abraham, it seems that God is going to fulfill His promise by the descending New Jerusalem. Fitting it right in today’s tumultuous Middle East between the Nile and Euphrates river just like He said. The square miles pretty much line up; New Jerusalem will fit like a puzzle piece between the two rivers. Keep in mind that John saw a new earth before New Jerusalem comes down, so the Red Sea will be no more, it won’t be an issue. To sum things up, God speaks HIs promise to Abrahm in Genesis and completes that promise in Revelations.
THE GREATEST TRUTH
Behold the beauty and brilliance of New Jerusalem! Behold the streets of gold, the emeralds!
The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. Rev 21:18-21
And let’s not forget how God is going to gloriously honor our Jewish brethren forever by placing each name of the twelve tribes of Israel on the twelve gates of the Holy City; and each name of the twelve apostles on the twelve foundational layers of the city walls.
12It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Rev 21:12-14
Forever will the Holy City symbolically remind us of the following spiritual truth:
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22
The supernatural light of our Lord shall illuminate the city and the earth. Imagine the brilliance of our Lord shining through all those jewels and translucent gems lighting up the whole world. The beauty will be overwhelming. But this is the glorious truth and wonder above all others; Our God will be the holy temple of whom we will live in and through! Somehow His people will live in Him as He lives in us. A supernatural oneness and intimacy that words truly can’t capture, or even begin to give justice.
In this age, we are the living temple that the Holy Spirit dwells in; marvelously, in the next, our Lord will be the living temple and we will dwell in Him as He dwells in us. Glory to Him who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb!
22And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Rev 21:22-27